Ch.11Tale of the Past: Charlotte de Gargantua – 1

# If one were to seek the person most befitting the word “genius,” Charlotte would undoubtedly be the first to come to mind.

Charlotte had been hailed as a genius since childhood. She began learning basic magical knowledge at age five and could draw lower-level magic circles by nine.

Considering that children typically start studying basic magical knowledge at ten and learn to draw lower-level magic circles around fifteen, her progress was incredibly fast.

She also excelled in swordsmanship and absorbed all kinds of non-magical knowledge at an astonishing pace.

The royal magicians, tutors, and royal knights lavished praise and encouragement on Charlotte as they watched her absorb knowledge like a sponge.

Unlike children born into high status with overwhelming talent who typically grow up prideful, self-centered, and arrogant due to constant praise, Charlotte developed proper conduct thanks to her mother’s excellent upbringing.

It seemed as though only a path strewn with flowers awaited the future kingdom that Charlotte would lead.

That is, until that incident occurred.

She had an older brother, seven years her senior. His name was Alexandre de Gargantua. He was a person with abilities and personality completely opposite to Charlotte’s.

In normal circumstances, her brother would have inherited the throne, but unlike Charlotte, the well-behaved and talented princess, Alexandre was a prince whose very existence was problematic.

So much so that one might doubt they were siblings.

His pudgy body and the smell he constantly emitted from his aversion to bathing, the verbal abuse and personal insults he hurled at servants, his rampant abuse of his position as prince, not to mention his sense of superiority—

Above all, he was terribly incompetent.

Swordsmanship, magic, character, talent, even appearance—he wasn’t better than Charlotte in any respect.

Even Charlotte herself had nearly been struck by Alexandre on more than one occasion. Without the queen’s intervention, she would certainly have become a victim of his violence.

If Charlotte was a child born with abundant divine love, Alexandre was one born with abundant divine hatred.

Even the boundless love and compassion of Charlotte’s mother ultimately failed to correct Alexandre’s character. It only provoked more severe violence and rebellion.

With such a stark contrast between their two children, it was natural for the king and queen to be troubled.

If there had been precedent for not following the principle of primogeniture, it might have been different, but sadly, their choice was about to set a precedent.

In the Gargantua dynasty, the firstborn had always maintained above-average abilities compared to other children.

The incident occurred the very next day after the king and queen, who had been deeply contemplating for years, decided to transfer power to Charlotte before it was too late.

It was a rebellion.

Several nobles invaded the kingdom, insisting that Alexandre de Gargantua should be crowned king according to the principle of primogeniture.

No one knew when or under whose leadership the rebellion had been planned. One thing was clear: almost all the nobles in the kingdom had participated.

The palace instantly turned into chaos, and only Charlotte and her mother managed to hide in a room.

Looking at her mother who was catching her breath after locking the door, Charlotte sobbed.

“Mother… let’s run away together, okay? I can handle intermediate magic now. I know how to draw magic circles, and, and… so, please? I’ll protect you.”

Despite her daughter’s tearful plea, her mother shook her head. Her long silver hair, so similar to Charlotte’s, swayed gently from side to side.

Outside in the corridor, soldiers’ shouts and maids’ screams echoed.

“Open up, you filthy woman! If not, we’ll break down the door!”

Several strong hands pounded on the firmly closed bedroom door. The banging noise grew louder.

Charlotte’s mother took Charlotte in her arms and approached the wardrobe in the corner of the room, opening its door.

“Mother?”

Charlotte looked with trembling eyes at her mother’s face, which wore a sad smile. She was known as a genius. She must have realized what her mother was planning.

Their identical red eyes met briefly.

“No matter what happens, don’t come out. Don’t make a sound.”

The pounding on the door grew more violent. Now they were using weapons to break down the bedroom door. The hinges were gradually coming loose; it wouldn’t hold much longer.

“I love you, my daughter. Now and forever.”

Her lips touched Charlotte’s forehead with a soft kiss. A single tear finally rolled down from her eye.

After giving a gentle kiss to Charlotte, her adorable daughter who resembled her in everything from appearance to personality, her mother closed the wardrobe door.

Just as she stepped back three or four paces, the bedroom door could no longer withstand the assault and shattered, allowing the intruders to enter. A line of arrogant men streamed into the bedroom.

Their number easily exceeded ten. And at the very front stood Alexandre, wearing a vile smile.

“Here you are, Mother.”

“Shut your mouth, Alexandre! What on earth are you doing? A rebellion—do you have any sense at all?”

“Well, you should have quietly passed the throne to me. Then I would have spared your life.”

“Nonsense! Withdraw this instant!”

“Withdraw? Everyone here came with a purpose.”

As soon as he finished speaking, malicious laughter echoed throughout the room. Every one of them had bulging groins and eyes gleaming with greed. Gazes that were likely directed at her body.

It wasn’t difficult to guess what purpose these men had come for.

“I’ve brought some especially rough ones for you. They’ll be on a completely different level from Father. Been feeling lonely lately? Don’t worry. You won’t even remember that pathetic cock.”

After the chaotic mixture of footsteps, the sound of clothes being violently torn, and her mother’s piercing screams, Charlotte covered her ears. She closed her eyes too.

Tears flowed ceaselessly from her closed eyes.

Charlotte desperately buried her face between her knees, fearing her sobs might leak out, afraid her choked crying might mix with those terrible sounds from outside.

She didn’t want to comprehend what was happening outside. She desperately ignored the vulgar sexual harassment directed at her mother.

She forcibly erased from her mind the squelching sounds and degrading terms used to refer to women.

Charlotte knew. She knew that escaping the palace with such basic magic was impossible. That her mother had sacrificed herself to save at least her daughter.

Charlotte’s brilliant mind understood this fact all too easily.

“By the way, Mother, where is Charlotte? As her brother, I have something personal to discuss with her.”

Alexandre, who had been panting heavily, suddenly asked such a question. He pulled out what he had been pushing into her mouth and slapped her cheek hard, forcing her to spit out the liquid that had pooled in her mouth.

“…Don’t, *cough*, know. Even if I did, do you think I’d tell you?”

“Hmm, it seems I need to use a drug to improve your memory.”

After a clicking sound and a brief pause, her mother’s voice had completely changed. It was as if she was trying to suppress excitement boiling up from deep within her body.

“You, *gasp*, *moan*.”

“Are you remembering now?”

“……”

“Whew, you’ve completely shut your mouth. This makes me even more excited.”

Charlotte roughly guessed what Alexandre had just done.

It must have been that drug that caused a big commotion about half a year ago. A drug that gives women extreme pleasure for a short time but essentially turns them into invalids afterward.

Alexandre had secretly administered it to his maid for his enjoyment and then killed her, which had truly angered the king.

Even the insolent Alexandre had realized something was wrong and begged the king for forgiveness. And now he had used such a dangerous drug on his own mother without hesitation.

Charlotte pressed her hands harder against her ears. The tears still hadn’t dried.

How much time had passed? Charlotte, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion after crying, suddenly raised her head. She was still inside the wardrobe.

The first emotion she felt was relief. Relief that the wardrobe door hadn’t been opened, that she hadn’t been discovered.

She gently placed her ear against the wardrobe door. It was quiet. No sound came from outside.

Charlotte carefully placed her hand on the door and pushed, silently praying dozens of times that no one was outside. With a small creaking sound from the hinges, the light from the room poured into the wardrobe.

A terribly foul smell hit her. Charlotte retched. Despite the wardrobe door being open, the room remained silent.

She carefully surveyed her surroundings and took a step out of the wardrobe. The entire room was filled with a putrid smell.

Through the window, she could see the setting sun. The shattered door and chaotic footprints were also visible.

“Mother?”

Charlotte cautiously called for her mother. There was no answer.

“Mother?”

Still nothing. Charlotte hesitantly moved forward. And on the bed in the middle of the room, she discovered a familiar figure.

“Ah…?”

A bewildered voice cut through the air.

The silver hair that resembled Charlotte’s so closely was all tangled and matted, stained white. The red eyes, also identical to Charlotte’s, no longer held any light.

Between her half-open lips, an enormous amount of white fluid had pooled and was slowly leaking out.

It would be harder to find a part of her body—hands, feet, face, neck, legs, navel, pelvis—that wasn’t covered in dried white fluid.

The grotesquely twisted pelvis and the white fluid mixed with blood, half-flowing out and half-congealed beneath it. The bloodstained blades scattered around and the deep cuts carved into her skin.

Charlotte sat down on the spot and retched after seeing those empty eyes staring into space.

“Urgh… ugh,”

Unable to bear it any longer, she vomited, and transparent gastric juice leaked from her mouth. Her esophagus burned. Tears that had dried up began to flow again.

“Mother, Mother…”

There was no answer.

“…Mama. *sob*, *wail*…”

Even though Charlotte had used the word “Mama” instead of “Mother,” her mother still didn’t move.

It felt as if her mother would approach her at any moment, saying, “My good girl, don’t cry,” and wipe away her tears with a loving smile, so Charlotte called out for her mother at the top of her lungs.

But nothing changed.

The pungent smell filling the room and her mother sprawled on the bed remained exactly the same.

Only after crying for a long time could Charlotte finally stop her tears. Not because her sadness had subsided, but because of her determination to survive.

If she continued crying here, someone might come to this room. If Charlotte were caught too, this sacrifice would be in vain.

She couldn’t let her mother’s sacrifice be for nothing. Wiping her tear-blurred eyes, Charlotte got to her feet.

Standing at the boundary between the corridor and the room, Charlotte carefully peeked out to survey the corridor. It was horrific beyond words. Naked maids lay dead everywhere, and blood covered everything.

Knights who had died with parts of their bodies severed, and traces of fighting all over the walls and floor, showed what had happened here.

After looking around one last time, Charlotte stepped into the corridor. Fearing the sound of shoes, she went barefoot, and the traces of the carnage were felt directly on the soles of her feet.

She swallowed another rising retch.

‘It’s okay. Just need to get out of the castle. Surely… someone will help me.’

With anxious eyes, Charlotte walked down the blood-soaked corridor, constantly on guard. Had she ever resented this huge castle as much as she did now? Until now, this castle had been her pride.

Fortunately, there was no one in the corridor. Charlotte, who had safely descended to the second floor, fumbled to open a window.

Standing on the windowsill, she looked down and softly chanted a spell. As the incantation ended, a mound of earth rose from the ground and stopped right in front of the window where Charlotte stood.

She carefully climbed onto the mound of earth. Following the slope of the mound, which crumbled under her feet, she reached the ground and let out a sigh of relief.

Now she was done. She would run and seek refuge anywhere, in the name of Charlotte de Gargantua—

“Hello, sister? Where are you going in such a hurry?”

—Charlotte’s body froze. From beside the gate in the castle’s outer wall, Alexandre, still wearing that vile smile, emerged with six knights.

They weren’t wearing armor, but the faces were vaguely familiar to Charlotte.

Those were the men from the Royal Knights who were too busy drinking with the prince to attend training.

She remembered hearing the captain of the knights complain that even after he had reprimanded them, they didn’t listen, probably relying on the prince’s protection.

“Hmm? Not even greeting your brother? That’s quite hurtful.”

“H-how…?”

Charlotte hesitantly stepped back. In response, Alexandre and the surrounding knights moved forward.

“Our sister, always praised as a ‘genius,’ is quite stupid. Of course we were waiting here, as this is the only way out of the castle.”

Alexandre sneered, emphasizing the word “genius,” and gestured. The knights lined up according to his signal.

“Come, let’s go back, Charlotte. Your brother has a lot to talk about with you.”

Alexandre extended his sweaty, pudgy hand. His half-closed eyes were gleaming with desire.

Charlotte screamed at the unbearable disgust she felt from his heavy breathing.

“No! You murderer! You pig! I’ll never listen to someone like you!”

“P-pig…?”

Alexandre’s eye twitched. When the knights snickered at Charlotte’s unexpected choice of words, Alexandre glared at them.

As the knights cleared their throats and composed their expressions, Alexandre drew his sword from his waist. Due to his fat belly, it took him quite a while to find the handle of the sword at his waist.

“I was going to treat you kindly, but you’re asking for punishment. Catch her. But I get to have her first.”

As the knights rushed forward, a panicked Charlotte tried to turn and run, but it was futile.

No matter how much of a genius she was, it was obvious what an 11-year-old child could do against trained knights. She was so panicked that she even forgot to use magic.

As Charlotte tried to run back, one knight threw a spear at her. The thrown spear landed precisely in front of her feet.

With a thud, the spear stuck in the stone and trembled. While Charlotte was startled by the spear vibrating in the ground, a strong hand grabbed her arm.

“L-let go!”

Charlotte struggled with all her might, but the hand gripping her arm didn’t budge. Alexandre approached slowly, snorting.

Just as his sweaty, dirty hand was about to touch Charlotte, and as she closed her eyes tightly, inwardly praying for anyone to help her—at that very moment:

“Ah shit, am I too late?”

At the man’s voice from the castle’s outer wall, the knights all aimed their weapons. Alexandre, who had stopped moving, turned around with an annoyed expression.

Someone was walking toward them from a distance. His face looked quite young. Sixteen, maybe seventeen. At most, eighteen.

Moreover, the fact that he was quite handsome further irritated Alexandre.

His clothes were ordinary adventurer’s attire, as if hastily put on somewhere. However, he wore no armor.

Not even arm or knee guards that even the lowest-ranked adventurers somehow managed to wear. He held a sword in his right hand, and that was the extent of his armament.

His black hair and matching black eyes were examining Alexandre and the knights. From this angle, Charlotte was hidden behind Alexandre’s bulk.

His face frowned deeply, but when he realized he could hear a woman’s voice struggling from behind, it relaxed a bit.

“Let’s see… That behind you is Princess Charlotte de Gargantua, right? I heard you saying something about a sister earlier.”

“Who are you?”

“Me? I don’t really have a name. Just call me whatever you like.”

The man in front of them pointed his sword with a swish. The knights left Charlotte and rushed in front of Alexandre.

“But I’ll be taking the princess with me.”

“What nonsense are you spouting, you!”

“It’s not nonsense. At the very least, I’d be better than a pig like you, right?”

“Pig…? Eek, kill him! Kill him! Bring me that worthless man’s head!”

As soon as Alexandre’s words fell, the knights charged toward the man. Charlotte, sprawled blankly on the ground, watched the man who was about to face the knights with a relaxed smile.

Wondering if her prayer had really been answered.