Translator: Nox

My Husband Was Clearly a Paladin

Chapter 60

“What’s going on?”

Driven by curiosity, Irene and Reina stepped closer to the path.

Perhaps the people approaching had also spotted Irene’s raid, as their voices grew louder and they began running toward them at a rapid pace.

“Everyone, stand back.”

The knights drew their swords and stepped in front of the purifiers, blocking the way.

The figures grew clearer as they drew near.

They certainly weren’t monsters. Among them, Irene could see faces she had passed a few times at the Fortress—people from the Princess’s Faction.

However, everyone was so shocked by the appearance of the newcomers that they were struck speechless.

“Why do they look like that?”

Reina blinked beside her, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

The members of the Princess’s Faction running toward them looked like beggars who had been rolling around in the dirt for weeks.

It wasn’t just their clothes. Their eyes were sunken, their cheeks hollow, and their lips parched and cracked. Their eyes were so bloodshot that for a moment, Irene wondered if they were monsters.

Upon seeing Irene’s group, they screamed.

“It’s people! There’s food!”

They lunged into the center of the group, frantically grabbing and devouring the food Irene’s party had set out to share.

Everyone recoiled in shock at their ravenous behavior.

The Princess’s party—knights and purifiers alike—snatched up food and gulped down water from the skins like possessed ghouls.

Just as Irene was about to ask what on earth had happened, a woman in the center threw down an empty waterskin and snapped in irritation.

“There’s no more! Where’s the water!”

At the sound of that voice, Irene doubted her own eyes and ears.

“Princess Cecilia…?”

The Cecilia that Irene remembered was a woman who suited the title of Princess better than anyone.

Black hair that cascaded down to her waist. A small, round face with delicate, perfectly placed features.

She was a woman who was lovely, yet arrogant and brimming with composure.

Her noble status as royalty was high enough, but her rank 1 purification ability made her a special person who couldn’t even be compared to other royals.

Not only in her own kingdom but across the entire continent, there wasn't a nation that didn't walk on eggshells around her.

Even the people of the Fortress—who were famously unpleasant to everyone equally—hadn't they bowed and scraped before her?

She had lived more loftily than anyone within the Fortress. She was a noble lady who seemed as though she would never once step on bare earth in her entire life.

Yet the person currently scrambling on the ground to pick up breadcrumbs in front of her was unmistakably Princess Cecilia.

“What in the world happened? Why do you look like this? What occurred?”

If they had looked like a mess from fighting monsters, Irene wouldn’t have been this shocked.

The reason everyone felt a sense of bizarreness from the Princess’s party was that they looked like they had been suffering for a very long time.

It had only been about three hours since they entered the dungeon, so why were their clothes so tattered and their bodies so gaunt?

“What about you people? Why do you still have food!”

At Irene’s question, Princess Cecilia shouted, clutching an apple as if someone might steal it.

“What do you mean, why do we have food? It’s only been a few hours since we entered, so of course we do.”

“A few hours?”

At those words, the Princess’s face twisted grotesquely.

She spoke in a voice filled with disbelief.

“We’ve been trapped in here for two weeks!”

 

The Princess’s party and Irene’s party sat apart, as if an invisible line had been drawn between them.

Reina watched them huddle together and whispered to Irene.

“I’d like to talk to them if possible, but the smell is just too much…”

Reina knew it was rude to say such a thing.

However, Irene could only nod in agreement.

Those who had been fighting monsters for over two weeks without washing were not only a sight to behold, but they were covered in blood and filth, emitting a truly foul stench.

Even so, they couldn’t stay far away forever.

Steeling herself, Irene stood up and approached Princess Cecilia, who was sitting slightly apart from her own group.

She tried her best not to let it show, but her expression stiffened involuntarily as the pungent odor hit her.

Perhaps noticing this, the Princess’s expression crumpled as she looked at the approaching Irene.

Normally, Irene would have felt annoyed by the Princess’s attitude. But instead, Irene’s eyes went to the empty spot beside her.

‘They said her pair died.’

Sir Britson, who had been the Princess’s pair, was the strongest knight in her kingdom.

They said he was the youngest man ever to be appointed Knight Commander.

He had served the Princess with absolute devotion. It wasn't just because she was the princess of his country or because she was his purifier.

The heat in the knight’s gaze when he looked at the Princess was something anyone could easily recognize.

‘So he would have been all the easier to keep by her side.’

The Princess’s Faction lacked a powerhouse on the level of Michael.

The reason such a group had been able to subjugate high-level dungeons was that the knights truly risked their lives to face the monsters.

No matter how much a purifier could heal wounds and purify demonic energy, they couldn't erase the pain felt at the moment of injury.

Because of this, knights often became unstable for a while after a dungeon subjugation due to the pain and trauma they had endured.

The Princess’s knight had been no different.

She was the woman he loved, the one who brought him stability, and the one who held his life in her hands.

Irene had seen him give her his total devotion many times, and yet…

“Where is Sir Michael?”

The Princess was more concerned with the empty space beside Irene than the empty space beside herself.

“He went to scout. There’s something strange about this dungeon.”

Irene told her—and loud enough for the others nearby to hear—everything they had experienced so far.

She judged that sharing their information first was necessary to put them at ease and gather information in return.

When they heard that the Princess’s other raid had been wiped out, everyone groaned in sorrow, but their faces brightened at the news that Michael was safe and would return soon.

“That’s our side of the story. Now, will you tell us what happened to you?”

At Irene’s words, Princess Cecilia bit her lip before she began to recount the events they had faced.

The Princess’s raid team had proceeded with the subjugation smoothly after entering the dungeon.

As it was judged to be a mid-to-high rank dungeon, they encountered monsters of appropriate difficulty and found a few reward chests.

But the Princess had not been satisfied with that.

“Let us finish this as quickly as possible, gather as many rewards as we can, and return.”

To keep the rival group in check, the Princess had announced that she would distribute the rewards equally this time.

Upon hearing that, those who had left returned with pathetic excuses as if they had never left at all.

She had wanted to cast them out immediately, but she had to endure and take them back this time. She even had to ensure they were given plenty of rewards.

So, the Princess had pushed the knights harder.

While they were walking for a long time, another purifier spoke to the Princess.

“I wonder if the other side is doing well?”

The Princess, realizing exactly who 'the other side' referred to, gave a soft smile.

“Who knows. I heard their raid only consists of about thirty people in total. They haven't worked together as often as we have, so it might be difficult for them.”

“But Sir Michael is with them, so they might do better than expected.”

Michael.

The moment that name was mentioned, the Princess found it difficult to maintain her composure.

‘Why on earth does Sir Michael keep helping her?’

The Michael the Princess knew was absolutely not the kind of person to help with a raid.

He was a man who believed his abilities were a gift from God and dedicated everything he gained through them to Him.

And yet, he was participating in a raid filled with the greed of mere mortals.

‘It must be because of that woman.’

Irene Rodiam.

Just thinking about her made the Princess’s blood boil.

She had spent years courting Michael, trying so hard to win him over…

“I heard it was simply because Irene Rodiam was nearby, and he rushed to her in an emergency.”

The moment she heard the reason he had chosen Irene, Cecilia had been so dumbfounded that her anger flared.

To become a pair for such a ridiculous reason.

Still, since he was a Holy Knight, she assumed he would keep a certain distance from his pair and perhaps only go to her to hold her hand when he truly couldn't endure it anymore.

Indeed, until recently, she hadn't heard anything about him specifically seeking Irene out.

But a week ago, she learned that he had started summoning that woman to the Temple.

Since the people of the Temple were welcoming her, she assumed there was no physical contact involved.

‘I heard he taught her the sword himself.’

The Princess bit her lip at that fact. She would rather they had slept together.

Such things could happen if one lost their reason to rampaging demonic energy.

But it wasn't contact as a pair; it was the fact that Michael seemed to be genuinely giving his heart and care to her that bothered the Princess even more.

And so, while the Princess was walking and thinking of Irene.

That thing appeared.

 

“I’ve seen many monsters, but I’ve never seen anything like that. It was so bizarre… It floated in the air and stared at us intently for a long time before it started to move…”

Princess Cecilia trembled as if remembering that moment.

Just then, Cynthia spoke in a shaking voice from a short distance away.

“Could it be… that thing?”

At those words, everyone’s gaze turned toward the ceiling of the dungeon where Cynthia was pointing.

From a great height, a monster that looked like a mass of flesh with a giant eye was staring down at them all.