Chapter 003
Lilibel rushed toward me, waving her hands frantically.
“I-It’s real black magic! I heard the basics of black magic involve using shadows, but I never imagined I’d see it for real!”
“Ex-Excuse me…”
“Is it because it’s night that it’s so easy to use? They say shadow magic can be used infinitely under the cover of darkness…!”
“Lilibel?”
“Ah! And you used that magic to save me!”
Lilibel seemed unable to hear my calls; she was too busy rambling to herself, her face flushed a bright red.
“My goodness, you saved me. I’m so moved!”
‘This girl… she’s a bit strange, isn’t she?’
Don’t people usually tremble with fear when they see black magic? Lilibel’s common sense was clearly skewed.
Trying to dampen her excitement, I firmly grabbed her arm and pulled her into my embrace.
“P-Princess?”
“Stay still.”
She tried to wiggle out of my arms in confusion, but I was already extending my hand toward the front.
“You demon-like wench…!”
Through the shadows, I saw Hans. He was charging toward us again, a dagger clutched in his other hand. His face was contorted with a mixture of urgency and the malicious intent to finish what he started.
Realizing only then that Hans was still targeting her, Lilibel flinched in my arms. I patted her back with my other hand to comfort her and then drew upon my mana.
‘Do not resent me.’
This time, I aimed the shadow precisely. I had considered talking to him just moments ago, but seeing that he hadn’t suppressed his killing intent even after being struck, I realized there was no need for mercy.
‘I have no intention of dying a second time.’
“You…!”
It was the first time I had used shadow magic as a human, but it felt as natural as if I had practiced it for a lifetime. The shadow unfurled like a massive shroud and swallowed Hans whole.
“……!”
Hans couldn’t even let out a scream before he plummeted into the darkness. A sickening crunching sound echoed from within the shadow. There was no need to check on his end.
As he vanished, only the dagger remained, clattering onto the bedroom floor.
“Huh? Wh-Where did Attendant Hans go?”
Lilibel pulled away from me and scanned the room. To change the subject, I picked up the fallen dagger and spoke.
“Lilibel, can you explain what exactly happened? I’m still not quite sure what’s going on.”
“Oh, yes! Well, I came to the bedroom today to change the candles, and then…”
Lilibel stuttered through an explanation of the events that occurred before I opened my eyes.
‘As I thought, I really did die.’
Unconsciously, I placed a hand over my chest. My heart was beating vibrantly, unlike before. Within me, the mana from my days as a demon surged. While it wasn’t at my former peak, it was certainly far beyond what any human should wield.
‘But my soul is that of a demon. If a priest ever finds out…’
The horrific vision of a witch hunt flashed through my mind.
“Princess?”
“…It’s nothing. What happened next?”
“Ah, yes. Attendant Hans suddenly appeared looking for a ‘stake.’ Then he confessed that he had killed you, Princess…”
I wasn’t surprised that Hans was an assassin. He wasn’t the only one in this detached palace who wished me dead. I had known for a long time that the servants were conspiring to kill me.
The problem was the word “stake.”
To Dana, it was an unfamiliar term, but to Asmo-Dina the demon, it was a household name.
‘It’s a tool usually used by curse-casters.’
I recalled the method: placing a stake or totem concentrated with malice near the target to channel a curse.
‘Thanks to my mana, all the poison that had accumulated in my body has been neutralized. The curse should be the same.’
Against overwhelming mana, a weak poison or curse is nothing more than a sandcastle before a tidal wave. My physical strength, weakened by long-term illness, hadn’t recovered yet, but the influence of the “stake” Hans mentioned would no longer remain in my system.
There was no need to worry, yet Hans’s desperate search for it bothered me.
‘Did someone steal the tool? Or is it still hidden somewhere in this room?’
If I had known, I might have kept him alive a little longer. Pushing my curiosity about the stake aside for now, I was about to ask about the situation outside when—
“Cough!”
A tickling sensation in my throat forced a violent cough out of me. Lilibel’s face turned pale as she shrieked.
“B-Blood! Princess, you’re bleeding!”
What came out of my mouth wasn’t saliva, but dark, blackened blood. I was startled by the sudden coughing of blood.
‘What is this… could it be the mana?’
I hurriedly checked my condition. Fortunately, my soul was intact. Instead, I felt a knot of mana congested near my lungs and stomach.
‘It seems to be a backlash from the excessive mana.’
Just as muscles ache the day after an intense workout, my body hadn’t yet adapted to using mana for the first time.
‘Powerful mana requires a fitting vessel. If I fail to control the mana even once…’
The image of my body bursting like an overinflated balloon came to mind.
‘I can adapt if I gradually increase the usage… but I must not overexert myself.’
I shook my head at the chilling thought.
“…Is it because you used black magic?”
“In a way, yes, but it’s no big deal. My body is just a little weak, that’s all.”
Lilibel didn’t look convinced. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wiped my mouth. I tried to refuse, saying I could do it myself, but she kept moving her hand, insisting I had spilled too much to do it alone.
After thanking Lilibel for cleaning my face and clothes, I pointed toward the bedroom door.
“By the way, Lilibel, is the Head Maid working today?”
“She should be arriving this morning. Since dawn is breaking soon… she’ll be here shortly.”
“Then, tell her to come see me as soon as she starts her shift. I have something urgent to discuss.”
Lilibel looked curious about what business the Princess could possibly have with the Head Maid so early in the morning. However, sensing it wasn’t her place to pry, she nodded and left the room.
I straightened my disheveled nightgown and sat in a chair in the corner of the bedroom. Sleep wouldn’t come, so I contemplated my next move.
‘I don’t even know where to start. To find the mastermind behind the assassination, I need to regain my freedom to leave this palace, all while hiding the fact that I’m a demon…’
Most of the problems couldn’t be solved immediately, but there were a few threads I could pull.
‘First, I’ll need the Emperor’s permission.’
The father who abandoned me in this palace—I needed the royal rights he had stripped away. Only with those could I lead a “human” life.
As I formulated a concrete plan, morning broke, and the Head Maid arrived at the bedroom.
“……!”
Her eyes widened the moment she saw me sitting in the chair. It was only natural, considering I had looked like I was on the verge of death just last night, only to appear perfectly healthy now.
I gestured toward the chair opposite me.
“Sit down, Head Maid Emma. I have something to say.”
Head Maid Emma. She was the servant who had looked after me for over ten years. After a brief moment of shock, she offered a polite bow and took a seat.
“Has your health recovered?”
“Something like that. This is the first time you’ve seen me looking so well, isn’t it?”
“I am glad to see you have recovered.”
Looking at her stiff, mask-like expression actually made me feel at ease. A workaholic who didn’t involve herself in politics or factions, but focused solely on her duties—that was Emma, who had been dispatched from the main palace.
‘She probably realized there was an assassin in the palace as well. She just didn’t get involved because it wasn’t her job.’
A machine-like person with neither sympathy nor contempt for me. To put it harshly, she lacked humanity, but it was that very trait that made her trustworthy.
‘Considering when she was dispatched, she’s the safest person after Lilibel.’
That made her the perfect person for the task I was about to assign. I steeled my resolve and spoke.
“Head Maid, the truth is, someone tried to assassinate me today.”
“…I see.”
“Not interested, I suppose?”
Only her eyebrow quirked slightly as she spoke with total composure.
“Security is not part of my duties. Shall I summon the Imperial Guards? Or perhaps it would be best to call for the Chief Attendant.”
‘That man is one of the suspects.’
The Chief Attendant, who was in charge of managing the detached palace, was a prime suspect. Handing it over to him would only result in the destruction of evidence.
“Forget it. Pretend you didn’t hear that. I’ll find the evidence myself. Instead, I need you to go to the main palace for me.”
“What is the nature of the task?”
“A simple delivery. As you know, I am currently forbidden from entering the main palace. So, you go in my stead.”
“What could the contents be…?”
I gave her a bright smile. This was the drastic measure I would use to flip the Emperor’s perception of me now that he deemed me of no use.
And that was…
“I’m going to put out an advertisement for a fiancé.”
“…Pardon?”
“I don’t necessarily want to get married, but I’ve found myself in need of a husband.”
It was time to start wielding my status as a royal.
This time, even Emma couldn’t hide her shock, her jaw dropping open in disbelief.
