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Episode 1
Chapter 1. The Shrimp’s Ambition
— — —
*Scritch. Scritch.*
The sound of chalk being ground away tickled the air, filling the space.
Only after I had etched the final character into the floor did I straighten my back for the first time.
"Giselle."
"Yes, Your Highness."
My loyal maid replied simply to my call.
I offered her a small smile before striking a match.
*Whoosh—!*
The magic circle I had painstakingly completed began to burn fiercely.
Feeling the flickering heat wash over my face, I slowly closed my eyes.
"I will become a queen."
My future had been decided from the moment I was born.
The heir to the weakest country with the most coveted land.
"You who wish to claim my soul."
The next Grand Duchess, destined to be crushed between powerful nations.
Idir Hubert. Also known as the "Shrimp Princess."
I was sick and tired of the mockery and pity that always followed me. I would shatter that predetermined answer.
And I would have my revenge, without fail.
"Answer my wish."
As I chanted the final incantation, I scattered red liquid into the flames.
The droplets of blood split apart, emitting a fishy scent before burning away in an instant.
The flames slowly died down, and the room was plunged into absolute silence. A terrible stillness.
*Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.*
The sound of the second hand marked the passage of time that had seemed to pause for a moment.
"……Your Highness."
"……Why?"
"It seems to be a failure."
"……I know."
I pouted my lower lip and rummaged through the books.
'This is a failure, too.'
I drew a line through the viper's blood. I don't even know how many times I've failed now.
"Haa."
I let out a deep sigh and shoved my feet into my hunting boots.
It’s more efficient to go find the next ingredients than to sit here sighing.
"Your Highness, I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while now."
Giselle, who was helping me with my shoes, pointed toward my chest.
"What is that you’re wearing around your neck?"
At her question, I gripped the Angel Statue dangling from my neck.
Honestly, it was a bit tacky to wear as a necklace.
"I bought it because they said it brings the protection of an angel."
Giselle’s brow furrowed slightly at my words.
"Wouldn't it be faster to form an alliance with a family that can actually help you, Your Highness?"
"That won't do."
I shook my head firmly and stepped out of the Grand Duchy castle.
Forming an alliance with another family is nothing more than a temporary stay of execution.
I want only one thing.
To raise this Grand Duchy I am to inherit into a kingdom—a powerful nation that the rest of the continent would never dare to covet.
"Giselle. I want to become the queen of a powerful nation solely through my own strength."
"Does that not include summoning a demon to grant your wishes?"
"The summoning is my own ability."
I shrugged nonchalantly.
'This is part of the effort, too.'
It’s a sad state of affairs, but if I don't rely on the power of a demon, this country has no hope.
'Even if I inherit the succession rights in these times, the outcome is obvious.'
Pulling the reins tight, I recalled one of my past memories.
That night was like a night blessed by angels, with countless shooting stars falling from a milky sky.
"Idir. On the day this country reaches its 100-year history, I will hand this position over to you."
That promise was everything to me.
Because that day was…….
"Your Highness! Watch your step!"
At the same moment Giselle’s warning rang out, the horse reared up.
The dagger Giselle threw flew like lightning and pierced the ground.
When I regained my senses and looked again, a black lizard was writhing, letting out its final scream.
"Scared me."
I muttered to myself calmly and looked around. It seemed I had arrived at my destination.
'I will succeed this time.'
I felt like I wouldn't be satisfied until I saw what a high-class demon looked like.
Without hesitation, I picked up the lizard on the ground and put it in a sack.
It was right after I had ruthlessly captured the lizard.
"Aaaah—!"
An echo rang out from somewhere in the forest.
"Giselle."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Giselle drew her sword reflexively.
At the same time, the scream rang out once more, as if to announce its presence.
"Let’s go check it out."
Now that I’d sensed suspicious human presence, I couldn't just ignore it.
It would only be proper to confirm who the idiot was that dared to set foot in this place without fear.
The closer we got to the source of the scream, the louder the commotion became.
"……you, you human!"
Someone’s hysterical shouting was cut off.
'Internal conflict?'
I increased my speed while guessing the situation. And when I pushed through the bushes.
"……A bear?"
A giant black bear curled into a ball appeared.
"No, it’s a person."
Looking closer, it was a person.
Seeing that there was no movement, it looked like they were dead. I pointed to the parted bushes.
"Giselle. Track down the person who fled and catch them."
"Yes, understood."
I gave a short command to Giselle and leaped off the horse.
"Not dead?"
Looking again, the man still had breath in him.
'Though he looks like he's about to die.'
But he wasn't in a normal state.
When I lifted the man's robe, sticky blood flowed out. It was enough to be dead immediately.
"Hmm."
I swallowed a groan and examined the man's condition in detail.
There were traces of someone’s hurried touch. The awkwardly torn ornament on his shoulder stood out.
'Trying that hard to hide your identity?'
A sneer escaped me at the crude disguise.
He had deliberately dirtied his clothes and face, and removed anything that might give away his identity.
The opponent must have moved the moment we sensed their presence.
He had made a wise judgment in a split second. However…….
'You can't fool my eyes.'
Unfortunately, I knew this man's identity.
He was a man I first met at a banquet held in the Adorif Empire.
He had escorted me politely in his sleek military uniform, and then cut a man in half in the middle of the banquet hall.
"I have carried out your orders."
The knight, covered in blood, had knelt before his master without a single breath out of place.
I would never forget that low voice as he reported so calmly.
Dejan Vojislav Nemanjić.
It was the moment the man known as the Immortal of Adorif was branded into my mind.
"Should I kill him, or let him live?"
I began to calculate quickly.
The problems that would arise if this man died in my country, and the future that would come if I saved him and sent him back.
While I was weighing which was better and which was more terrible, Giselle returned.
"Your Highness. I have captured the suspicious person."
"Ugh! Ugh!"
Seeing the person struggling in Giselle’s grip, I made up my mind.
"Giselle. Let’s take this man with us, too."
"Him?"
"Yes."
'There is much to gain from this man.'
Dejan Vojislav Nemanjić was a man so loyal he might as well have had no ego.
At the same time, he was a powerful barrier protecting the borders of the Empire, and a demon-like creature who loved the battlefield.
"It’s a bit boring. Can’t I go outside for a moment?"
"In principle, it is not allowed."
However, the man I actually met was very polite and overflowing with grace, contrary to his public reputation.
"That’s why I’m asking."
"……."
"You can just follow me and keep watch, can’t you?"
"……Just for a very short while."
And he was quite reasonable, too.
'Once I put him in my debt, I’ll have a use for him.'
Crucially, this man’s very existence acted as a deterrent to the outbreak of war.
"Can we put him on the horse? He’s incredibly heavy."
I tugged at Dejan’s sleeve, struggling.
"I will do it."
Giselle approached quickly and skillfully lifted Dejan’s body.
But at that moment, his hand twitched.
"Giselle!"
I instinctively reached out toward Giselle.
But Dejan was faster, grabbing Giselle by the collar.
"Ugh!"
Giselle, slammed into a tree trunk by Dejan’s attack, let out a faint groan.
"Sir Nemanjić! What do you think you’re doing?"
When I shouted in anger, his head slowly turned toward me. Our eyes met in the air.
'No.'
There was no focus in Dejan’s eyes.
Or rather, should I say there was no reason? In any case, he was not in his right mind right now.
"Hey."
"……."
The enemy knight growled low. Like a starving beast.
He slowly approached me.
"Sir Dejan Vojislav Nemanjić."
I stumbled backward, fumbling at my side. I felt the dagger hidden inside my clothes.
There was no way I could defeat a man called the strongest on the continent, and an Immortal at that, with something like this.
'But I can't just stand here and get beaten, can I?'
*Glance.* Blood was still dripping from Dejan’s abdomen.
'I’ll have to give up on the plan I just made.'
Even if the aftermath became complicated, it was better to kill him than to be attacked by this man.
'Even an Immortal would die if you stab a stab wound again.'
Holding my breath, I waited for the enemy to get close enough, looking for the perfect opportunity.
Finally, when the distance was close enough for my arm to reach him.
Just as Dejan’s large hand seemed to cover my vision, he turned back the way he came.
*Thwack!*
"Oh my?"
Surprisingly, it was not me that Dejan attacked, but himself.
*Thud—!*
Not content with punching his own face, he slammed his forehead into the tree trunk right next to him.
And then, he fainted on the spot.
"……Oh my?"
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