Going to the wedding ceremony with the main villainess... This was definitely not part of my plans.
Not only had every hope of escape crumbled, but other difficulties had also been added. I was sure that in the presence of the Crown Princess, I would have to carefully watch my every step. There could be no question of enjoying the celebration.
For a while, I worried about how to behave at the upcoming celebration, but then I decided not to think about it for now. After all, I couldn't influence anything anyway.
It's okay. If I keep quiet and stay inconspicuous, as if I weren't there at all, there shouldn't be any problems. — this was the plan I decided to stick to.
Since the journey north was supposed to take some time, we left a week early to make it in time for the appointed day. As expected, I rode in the same carriage as the main villainess, which guaranteed me frayed nerves for the rest of the journey.
I looked out the window as the carriage rolled along a remote forest path that ran among densely planted bare trees. This forest, more like a dead one, was appropriately located close to the territory of Heilos lands. The trees cast long, thin shadows on the frozen ground. After surveying the gloomy landscape, I turned away and sighed longingly to calm my pounding heart.
"Camilla," a voice sounded at that moment. I turned and saw the princess sitting right in front of me.
"Is she alright?" Kaena watched as the woman before her looked weak and trembling. This led her to certain thoughts. "This woman must be eagerly awaiting the celebration."
In reality, the Crown Princess didn't care at all about some stranger's wedding. She had never been to such events in her life, considering them merely a burdensome waste of time. Except her own, of course. However, even if Kaena had wanted to stay and attend to more important matters, there was a reason she still chose to go.
"Camilla was so happy when she found out I was going with her. So I can't let her down."
"Don't worry so much," she decided to assure her in a warm voice. I looked at her in surprise. What did she mean?
An ominous foreboding seized me as the main villainess smiled beautifully and said: "Because I'll be by your side."
I didn't quite understand why she said something like that to me, but I assumed it was a threat. Don't do anything unnecessary, because I'm always watching you. From nervousness, I swallowed the lump in my throat, but nevertheless, I had to keep my composure.
Predators become even more excited when they sense fear in their prey's behavior. "Oh, I'm so glad," I lied, forcing myself to smile.
Okay, if I try not to cause any problems, everything will be fine.
Comforting myself with such thoughts, I involuntarily noticed that the villainess was smiling strangely again. Her behavior sometimes confused me. Nevertheless, no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't understand her, so I just gave up.
Descending a steep hill, the carriage tilted slightly forward. We had been on the road for two days already. And, if all went well, the carriage would arrive at the destination on time. That is, in five days.
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I felt tired, because in two days of travel I hadn't managed to rest properly. It was very difficult for me to force myself to relax when the Crown Princess was next to me and never took her eyes off me.
Oh, I really want to sleep. — nevertheless, I couldn't fight my natural urge.
On the other hand, if this woman wanted to do something to me, she wouldn't have to wait for me to fall asleep. This thought somewhat eased my anxiety. It wouldn't hurt to take a little nap.
But just as my eyelids began to droop, the heavens themselves seemed to oppose my peaceful rest.
Before I realized it, the ground around began to rumble. At the same time, a thunderous roar reached my ears. It sounded like the growling of wild animals. It happened so suddenly that I barely managed to stifle a scream.
Kaena frowned.
"What's happening?" she inquired of one of her subordinates accompanying us. "Your Highness, it's demonic beasts!" came the answer from outside.
At this phrase alone, the blood froze in my veins. Demonic beasts? That's all I needed!
Of course, I knew of their existence, but I never suspected I would ever have to encounter them.
As in any fantasy novel, there were such creatures here that the heroes had to fight, among other things. These were demonic beasts. They remotely resembled ordinary wild animals, but their strength was several times greater, and their appearance was distorted by the influence of dark energy.
Where these creatures came from was not mentioned in the novel. Or maybe I read it inattentively... In any case, I just knew that such monsters existed in this world.
Thanks to the efforts of brave warriors, demonic beasts had been driven all the way to the very borders of the empire. In other words, encountering them in a city or ordinary settlement was practically impossible. That's why I was so surprised. Although, on the other hand, considering that this wasn't too far from the main villainess's lands...
Just as some conclusion was forming in my head, a cold palm covered mine, making me shudder even more than from the wild roar that had just sounded.
"Don't worry and stay here," the princess said calmly, "I'll deal with this quickly."
If I had heard these words from any other person going to fight demonic creatures, I would have felt justified doubt. But in this case, I took her confident statement as a matter of course. I wasn't even too scared of these monsters. After all, I had been in a confined space with a creature far more terrifying than them for several days now...
In short, as soon as I weakly nodded my head, the villainess left me alone in the carriage. Out of pure curiosity, to see what demonic beasts looked like, I slightly opened the curtain. My eyes fell upon creatures covered in dark thick scales, with vicious maws full of sharp teeth. Ugly things...
In my opinion, they resembled a cross between a land animal and a fish.
However, despite how scary they looked, for the knights of the Dark Army, this battle was no more than an ordinary hunt for wild animals. The warriors quickly dispersed and skillfully cleared the area, keeping the creatures away from the carriage. Perhaps for the first time, I felt fleeting relief that these thugs were accompanying me on the journey.
For ordinary people, this battle would have been a matter of life and death.
I pulled the curtain back and simply waited for the battle to end. The battle cries of the knights, the thud of paws, and the clang of swords continued for some time. Then, finally, the situation gradually quieted down.
"Camilla, are you alright?"
When the Crown Princess returned to the carriage, she reeked of a smell of blood I had never smelled before. This smell was different from that of human blood or ordinary animals. I was about to say that I was fine, but I couldn't speak. All because the villainess suddenly reached into her pocket and pulled out some thing.
I stared at her in bewilderment.
This round object, glinting slightly in the sun, at first glance resembled some kind of precious stone. True, I couldn't understand where it could have come from in such places. But the next moment, the princess dispelled my doubts:
"This is the heart of a half-dragon." Her voice was slightly muffled.
"Wh-what?" I was even more dumbfounded.
"I know you love jewelry," she smiled, "But this gift is special. The remains of a half- dragon are extremely rare, especially its heart. It can't be bought on the ordinary market. If dried, it will shine and become more beautiful than any expensive gemstone."
Hearing this, my jaw dropped.
Well, it's true that most noble ladies like jewelry and similar things. But that means jewelry specifically, not animal innards...
I didn't know what to say when the main villainess was forcing me to accept the heart of a demonic beast.