Translator: Nox
(8) The Princess Who Wants to Die and the Cursed Grand Duke (8)
Roxy's desperate wish could only be granted by him, the master of this Grand Duchy. So, she had no intention of displeasing him.
She was a slave anyway, so what was a little mockery? She could endure even worse than this.
"How are you feeling?"
Contrary to her resolve, his voice was kind.
"Kirshan says you seem to have been starved for a long time. You'd probably rather have a meal than have this conversation with me, right? Tell me if there's anything special you want to eat."
He was polite. So, Roxy held onto hope once more.
'If he's this kind to a slave...'
He would understand her wish, this desperate desire.
She hadn't eaten properly for a long time. She had been crammed into a narrow box, her body twisted, and there wasn't a place that didn't hurt. Still, Roxy pulled herself together and got out of bed.
Roxy didn't even know what she was wearing. The thin dress fluttered with every movement, annoyingly wrapping around her ankles. She was too weak to even lift the hem of the skirt that clung to her calves.
Floyd had been frowning and watching her ever since Roxy staggered out of bed. The moment she swayed, looking even more unsteady, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up.
"What are you doing? You can't even move properly. Don't be a nuisance and lie down."
Roxy ignored his scolding. He was glaring at her with eyes blazing like a tiger, but even that couldn't frighten her.
Roxy wanted only one thing. Her mind was filled with only one wish.
Roxy finally knelt before the master of this Grand Duchy of Torkan, the Crimson Tiger who exterminated monsters.
The strength left Floyd's hand that had been holding her arm. He narrowed his brow, staring at the hair that flowed down her white neck.
"Please allow a lowly being, forsaken by the gods, to speak."
As a thin voice flowed from her lips, Floyd's face contorted. But Roxy, who was bowing deeply and assuming the posture of a slave, did not see his discomfort.
He crossed his arms and stared at the back of her head, his lips pressed into a tight line. Roxy waited for Floyd to grant permission, as if she wouldn't speak until he did, almost prostrate.
Floyd was bothered by her thin back, exposed outside the dress. An inexplicable annoyance filled his chest, so when he opened his mouth, an angry voice came out.
"I'll allow it, so speak, Princess."
"I will do anything. If you command me, I will do anything, so please, grant me just one request."
Her voice, which flowed out as if she had been waiting for it, was desperate. Her fists, clenched on the floor, caught Floyd's eye.
Her fists, with blue veins visible through her white skin, looked firm, like those of someone with a deep resolve.
He knew what Roxy's request was without even hearing it.
She wanted revenge. She wanted him to bring down a bloody hammer on those who killed her parents and siblings.
He had been prepared to receive such a request even before entering this bedroom. And because he had also prepared an answer for it, Floyd replied leisurely.
"You will do anything. Very well, how far can you go?"
"If you tell me to be a shield at the forefront of the battlefield, I will be a shield."
"Oh, dear. There are plenty of people who can be my shield on the battlefield. And they're bigger and sturdier than you, Princess."
"If you tell me to be a sword guarding Your Highness's back, I will be a sword that does not fear death."
"There are many swords that will give their lives for me. And they have thicker arms than you, Princess."
Roxy slowly raised her head.
Floyd looked down at her, as if to see how far she would go. As if realizing Floyd's thoughts, she gently bit her lower lip.
The corners of her eyes, which held green pupils, turned slightly red. Her appearance, as if she would burst into tears at any moment, bothered Floyd, and he abandoned his intention to tease her.
He was about to tell her that he didn't need any of that, and to just say what she wanted, but Roxy lowered her head again and said.
"If you tell me to be a wanton Sorceress on Your Highness's bed, I will be that as well."
"Ha!"
Floyd burst into a hollow laugh at the unexpected words.
"Ah, really. You'll protect me on the battlefield, fight for me, and even take care of me in bed at night. If you do all that for me, Princess, it'll be a bargain no matter what you want. Very well, let's say I desperately want that. What is it that you want so much that you're willing to go that far?"
His tone became mocking, as if he was jeering, because he was getting angry. Floyd was cursing himself inwardly when Roxy raised her head again and met his eyes.
Only then did Floyd realize that her pupils were different from the ones he had seen in the past.
The green pupils back then shone like jewels, like sunlight, like a clear lake, but now there was no light in Roxy's pupils. They were still green with a golden rim like before, but the vitality of that time was no longer there.
She looked at Floyd with lifeless eyes, like a dead person, and said.
"If I die living like that, please do not put my body in an Adelia Flower coffin, but throw it away."
"What?"
"If you are going to throw it into the sea, please tie a stone to it and throw it so that no one can find it, and if you are going to throw it on land, please bury it deeply so that no one can discover it."
At Roxy's desperate plea, Floyd was so dumbfounded that he couldn't even manage a hollow laugh anymore.
Was this woman joking? Or was she saying things she didn't mean to shake him up?
Suspicion arose, and he carefully examined her face, but he couldn't find a trace of falsehood or deception on that small, pretty face. She was simply speaking her wish earnestly, desperately, and honestly.
"Don't you know what happens if you're not put in an Adelia Flower coffin?"
"I know. A monster might invade and revive me. I might become Undead and cause trouble for Your Highness. If that happens, you can cut me up and feed me to the beasts."
"Look here, Princess. Even barbarians who don't believe in God carry a tag engraved with Adelia Flower with them. Recently, the power of monsters has become stronger, and if ten people die, six or seven of them become Undead."
Roxy's eyes did not change even at the threatening words.
"Yes, I know that too."
"And what you want, even if it means playing the Sorceress on my bed, is for me not to put you in an Adelia Flower coffin? Not revenge?"
"My parents and siblings are no longer in this world, so what can I gain by taking revenge?"
"At least you'll feel better. You can make those damned bastards kneel at your feet and laugh at them to your heart's content. If you want, you can torture them a little and make them beg for their lives, or brand them as slaves and sell them to terrible places."
Floyd listed the things that could be gained through revenge, but Roxy's eyes did not change.
This man doesn't know. What happened to my family.
Being thrown away without being put in an Adelia Flower coffin was a very dishonorable thing. It was a world where not returning to the embrace of God was considered a greater disgrace than betraying one's master.
Because of this, Roxy couldn't tell Floyd everything that had happened to her family.
"Your Highness, I simply wish for my body to be thrown away without smelling the fragrance of anything."
Floyd was suddenly furious.
Why did this princess want to die when she had just barely saved her life? Of course, she had lost her family. She had lost her country and her status. So, it was understandable that she wanted to die, but to even ask not to be put in an Adelia Flower coffin...
It was absurd.
If you survived, you had to live somehow. Floyd himself had been like that. He had struggled to survive even in that humiliation and despair, and had come to sit in this position.
"Princess, I don't have the confidence to just throw your body away, so if you want to die that much, go jump into the sea yourself. Don't ask me."
"If I do that, Your Highness. If I do that, even if you happen to find my body, can you order that not even a piece of Adelia Flower plank be placed over it?"
Roxy's voice was unadorned and desperate. Floyd was going crazy with anger at her attitude, which showed that she really wanted to die and didn't even want to return to the embrace of God.
Floyd jumped up and glared at Roxy. It was a terrifying gaze that would have made even the captain of the royal guard flinch, but it had no effect on Roxy. Her eyes were already dead.
Floyd gritted his teeth and said.
"It seems that you want to make me a very vile and ruthless man, Princess."
Floyd's accusation was justified.
If he gave the order not to allow even a piece of Adelia Flower plank to the dead, his reputation would be tarnished. So, Roxy took out her last card.
"I heard that a long time ago, when Your Highness was wandering without a place to go, you were entrusted to our palace. Please remember the kindness of that time..."
"Ah, it seems that the Princess doesn't remember me."
"...I was young at that time..."
Floyd twisted the corners of his lips upward.
"I see. Well, I have no intention of repaying a favor that the Princess doesn't even remember. I'm not that generous. Also, I have no intention of throwing the Princess's body in a place without even a single Adelia Flower. I'm not that merciless either."
Floyd strode up to Roxy and knelt on one knee in front of her. He grabbed her chin with his thumb, made eye contact, and said.
"So, Princess, you should eat well, sleep well, and live well in this comfortable and luxurious palace. That's all I can do for you."
