Special Side Story: The Unfinished Tale (8)
Oscar stared blankly at the princess, who was in shock, then looked down at Vivian, who was growing cold in his arms like a block of ice.
What should I do?
Seeing Oscar fidget anxiously, the princess spoke with difficulty.
“Oscar, run straight to the entrance of the Geupa Forest and call Harun’s knights. The army’s medic will definitely be with them.”
“Yes, Princess.”
As Oscar ran off carrying Vivian, Margaret screamed.
“Idiot! You’re leaving the baby behind! How do you expect to run while holding her?”
“B-But if we leave her like this, she could die any moment.”
“If we delay, I will die. I’ll die! Do you understand?”
Seeing the hesitation in Oscar’s eyes, Margaret’s anger exploded.
“How dare you weigh a life against that of Harun’s princess and the daughter of a demon?”
She squeezed her strength and approached Oscar, wrapping her hands around his neck.
“You dare challenge me? You worthless fool!”
“W-Wait, Princess… please…”
Under the suffocating pressure, Oscar’s body trembled violently.
In truth, Margaret never intended to actually kill him. She only meant to scare him into obeying.
But Oscar, overwhelmed by the fear of death, fought back with all his strength, desperately pushing the princess away.
“Ah!”
Taken by surprise, the princess stumbled and fell.
Seizing the opportunity, Oscar ran off with Vivian in his arms.
She said the army medic is with Harun’s knights; I have to get Vivian treated quickly.
From behind, Margaret’s screams rang out again.
“Argh! Go away! Damn ice monster, go away!”
It seemed the ice creature from earlier had attacked the princess again.
Oscar hesitated briefly but continued running. Returning to the princess could mean both he and Vivian would be attacked again.
The further he ran, the darker and more treacherous the path became. He nearly fell several times but gritted his teeth and kept going.
Then, a bright beam of light appeared ahead.
Squinting, he saw three large men approaching, clad in polished armor and wielding blood-stained swords.
“P-Please save me!”
The moment the imposing knight lifted him, Oscar lost consciousness.
“Have you still not found Vivian?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness Shine.”
An hour had already passed since Vivian, Oscar, and Princess Margaret had disappeared.
I had first investigated the area near the large rock with silverberries, as I had seen the three of them head that way, but it was useless. There was nowhere for an adult and two children to hide nearby.
Duke Julmon and the guards were now searching the entire Silverberry Cave like a net being drawn.
I cautiously asked Melvin, keeping eye contact.
“Melvin, when you explored the cave with Oscar, where did you go?”
“We mostly explored around the hiding spot and a few spots near the large rock. We didn’t go far.”
“Did Oscar behave or say anything strange?”
“Hmm.”
Melvin frowned, trying to recall the events. The situation looked serious, even to him.
“Oscar said he could tell what was beneath the floor just by touching it with his hands.”
What on earth did that mean?
“He also swept his hands around the large rock for a while, but I didn’t understand a thing he said.”
So there really was something around that rock.
“Your Highness Shine, please check around that rock again.”
“I saw them go toward the rock to hide, too. But there’s nothing there…”
At that moment, the area around the large rock suddenly sank slightly, and a familiar figure emerged from it.
“Mike?”
“Father!”
We all shouted at once.
My husband, Mike, had really appeared holding Vivian.
Soon after, Duke William appeared carrying Princess Margaret over his shoulder, and Marquis Ralph appeared holding Oscar.
“Vivian, oh, my baby!”
King Shine and Duke Julmon, tears of relief streaming down, tried to rush forward, but Mike stopped them.
“It seems Princess Vivian was bitten by an ice monster. We must treat her first.”
“What?”
Shine, pale, felt his daughter’s hands and feet. As Mike said, they were icy cold.
Duke Julmon removed his coat and held Vivian, trying to warm her with his own body, but if she had been attacked by the ice monster, that wouldn’t work.
I had the nurse prepare a place to lay the child down.
When Duke Julmon gently set Vivian down, I placed my hand on her heart.
It was weak, but it was still beating.
If I still had my old healing powers, I could have fixed this instantly.
But now was not the time for useless imagination. I had to find the most realistic way to save Vivian.
“Mike, do you have a dagger?”
“I do, but… why a dagger?”
“Vivian was definitely bitten on her right ankle by the ice monster.”
I turned to Shine and Julmon. To treat the princess’s wound, parental consent was necessary.
“We’re going to make a small cut on the princess’s ankle and suck out the poison. We must act quickly before the ice monster’s venom reaches her heart.”
Shine turned pale, but Julmon nodded resolutely.
“I’ll do it.”
But his hand trembled as he reached for the dagger.
“I’ll do it. But Duke Julmon, you’ll help remove the poison.”
Thankfully, he handed me the dagger without hesitation.
After a deep breath, I prepared to place the dagger on Vivian’s right heel.
Then…
“Mother, wait a moment.”
Melvin suddenly stepped in front of me, clutching Vivian’s ankle tightly with both hands.
“Melvin, stop!”
Michaela shouted from behind, but Melvin faintly smiled.
“I’ll heal Vivian.”
Then I saw it: a blue light emanating from Melvin’s hands.
I locked eyes with Mike. He seemed just as shocked as I was.
Though the form wavered from his lack of control, it was definitely healing energy.
Reflexively, I reached out to support him from behind.
Soon, Melvin, having poured all his energy, collapsed into my arms.
“Oh! Princess Vivian’s body is warm again!”
The nurse’s tearful cry finally brought everyone in the cave back to their senses.
William gently set down Princess Margaret, saying,
“She seems to have suffered heavily as well.”
Margaret’s left arm had already begun to show gangrene from severe frostbite.
“Looks like she’s been bitten multiple times.”
Julmon’s words sent her into a terrified, desperate panic.
“Please, save me! I won’t harm the Malau Kingdom again! I won’t touch Princess Vivian! Please!”
At that moment, Julmon swung his sword and cut off Margaret’s left arm.
It was an unavoidable decision to prevent the frostbite from spreading to her heart.
Mike and I quickly shielded Melvin and Michaela’s eyes.
Seeing her severed arm, Margaret fainted on the spot.
“We’ll take her to the palace and save her.”
Julmon’s cold, grim voice echoed through the cave.
Looking into his eyes filled with burning hatred, I thought it might be a mercy that Margaret had fainted.
Back at the Malau Royal Palace, Mike and I first cleaned, fed, and put the children to sleep.
Melvin, having collapsed after healing Vivian, kept nervously watching me.
“Mother, the truth is…”
“It’s okay, Melvin. Rest first. We’ll talk after you wake up.”
“Okay.”
Seemingly reassured that I wasn’t angry, he closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.
Even determined Michaela fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.
“They must have been exhausted.”
“Indeed.”
“By the way, Mike… how did you get here?”
He shrugged lightly.
“I wanted to see you and the children quickly. Once the Omora tribe’s business was settled, I set out for the Malau Kingdom with William and Ralph.”
As they approached the Geupa Forest, they sensed something unusual.
“Prince Miklock, I hear the clash of weapons… and the sound of horses.”
“About a hundred… no, maybe 150.”
They were soldiers of the Harun Kingdom waiting at the forest entrance.
At first, they only wanted to observe, but upon realizing there were only three opponents, they launched an all-out attack on the king of Fritan and his knights.
“I didn’t plan to kill them all, but William got too excited—probably because the battle with the Omora tribe wasn’t satisfying enough.”
As they struggled, they suddenly saw strange light emanating from a rock at the forest entrance.
“Prince Miklock, that looks like a magical signal flare.”
Following the light into the passage, the three met Oscar running with Vivian and then discovered Margaret collapsed and in pain.
“Oscar, once conscious, told King Shine and Duke Julmon everything. The king of Harun seems insane to let this happen.”
“So, the conquest of Harun should be left to the Malau Kingdom?”
“Seems so. Both Julmon and Shine weren’t going to let this go easily.”
I sighed lightly. I wished the tragic war could be stopped, but as long as human greed and folly remained, it seemed unlikely.
“It seems even Shine didn’t know about this passage.”
“Seems like it,” Mike whispered slyly, as if he had already lost interest in the matter.
“How about we return to Fritan tomorrow?”
“Good idea. I want to get back to our palace quickly too.”
Mike and I held hands tightly.
People in the Malau Palace might be upset, but I missed our home too much.
