Ch.34(-3) – The Princess Who Doesn’t Cry

# This is a side episode.

[Sleep well my baby, my sweet baby]

[May the demon god protect you in your dreams tonight]

[Sleep well my baby, rest peacefully through the night]

[Dream sweet dreams of paradise as you sleep]

* * *

‘Finally, I’m being appointed as an official royal physician!’

Farewell to all those days of persecution.

Aslan’s steps were exceptionally light today.

When the previous physician, Isaac Peterovich, suddenly retired and left for the countryside to recuperate, Aslan was appointed as his replacement.

Since royal physicians typically served short terms, Aslan wasn’t particularly concerned about this personnel change.

What mattered most was that the peers who had looked down on him would no longer be able to say a word against him.

Public perception suggested that royal physicians must fulfill their duties with strict discipline and might be executed if anything happened to a royal family member, but the reality was different.

As long as there was no negligence on the physician’s part, punishment was merely formal, and one could even return to duty after a brief leave.

Above all, the greatest benefit of being a royal physician was the possibility of receiving an official noble title.

Aslan couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.

To make things even better, he was told he would be in charge of the 4th Princess, whom the Kaizen Empire had kept hidden.

Being so far from the line of succession actually pleased Aslan.

He wouldn’t have to get involved in unnecessary political struggles.

Slow and steady—that was Aslan’s life motto.

“Princess Estasha. Excuse me for a moment.”

“…”

“I am Aslan Yevadov, your physician. I will be in charge of your treatment this month. I look forward to working with you.”

“…”

“May I… remove the bandages?”

Despite the young man’s gentle inquiry, the young princess remained silent.

Without the patient’s consent, Aslan couldn’t proceed with treatment.

Touching a royal body without permission was considered disrespectful, which was why knights or guards of similar rank always accompanied the treatment process.

After nearly five years of experience, Aslan was no longer nervous about conducting examinations in such a formal atmosphere.

However, this case was somewhat different.

[Why are the Black Stars… here?]

[Mind your words. Just focus on what you need to do.]

The “Black Stars,” the Emperor’s special forces.

And not just a few—about a dozen members surrounded them from all directions.

Even Kaizen nobles might see them once in a lifetime, if at all. These secretive operatives were rarely seen in public.

“I was told there’s a tumor. To treat it, I need to see it with my own eyes, so please forgive me for touching your head.”

“…”

The princess remained silent. Finally, Aslan turned around.

One of the Black Star members nodded.

Taking this as permission, Aslan slowly unwrapped the bandages around the princess’s head.

The bandages were wrapped so tightly they must have gone around at least 20 times.

Such a young child already suffering from a tumor.

If it was just a sebaceous cyst, that would be fortunate, but if it was a basal cell carcinoma, the situation would be complicated.

Judging by the location, it seemed quite large, and he could only hope it wasn’t growing near the brain.

As the outer layer was gradually revealed, Aslan swallowed a groan.

‘This isn’t… anything like a tumor…’

Before he could react, a masked man handed Aslan a terrifyingly large saw.

“Please cut off the tumors on both sides, leaving no more than a finger joint in height.”

“This… this is… a horn…!”

“It’s a tumor, Aslan.”

“Ah… yes…!”

It was a real saw, bumpy but with a razor-sharp blue edge.

Compared to the princess’s small head, the saw—as large as an adult man’s elbow—was horrifying.

Aslan felt dizzy to the point of spinning.

Am I dreaming right now?

He wished it were just a nightmare.

“Please hurry.”

“Haa… haa… yes…”

Urged by the Black Stars, Aslan reluctantly positioned the saw.

The princess didn’t even flinch.

A small black horn, about the size of a pinky finger.

As Aslan pulled his arm, the saw teeth scraped sharply against the surface.

Screech.

It barely made a scratch.

The horn was extremely hard, but the saw was no ordinary tool either.

Screech.

Squeezing his eyes shut again and extending his clasped hands forward, the saw blade grazed the crack, producing an unpleasant sound.

Screech.

Screech.

Screechscreechscreechscreechscreech

“Haa haa haa haa…”

The thing dangled precariously.

With just one more cut to go, Aslan suddenly stopped.

But as if unwilling to allow him a break,

The masked young man grabbed the princess’s horn and casually pulled it off.

“Please take care of the other side as well.”

The cross-section of the horn was clearly visible to Aslan.

Along with the dizzying smell of blood.

But the liquid flowing from the cross-section wasn’t reddish at all—it was perfectly black.

The viscous liquid slowly trickled down her head, grazing the princess’s eye.

At the same time, her eye blinked unnaturally.

It almost looked as if the princess was shedding tears.

At the sight of this black liquid of original sin flowing down, Aslan nearly lost consciousness.

“Hurry.”

Yes, this must be a dream.

“Hurry.”

Aslan picked up the saw again.

Even as the liquid spurting from the princess’s head splashed onto his face,

He continued sawing.

Screechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreechscreech

* * *

When the Demon King broke the ceasefire agreement, the people of the Empire feared dark clouds would cover the world again, but fortunately, the situation was resolved when the Demon King decided to retreat without crossing the border.

Nobles who didn’t want any more chaos pressured the royal family and the military to explain what had happened, but they gained little information.

“It’s just a temporary measure. Taking a hostage… is not a solution.”

Keeping Princess Estasha alive instead of killing her bought Kaizen unexpected time.

Of course, as Vargo said, this was merely a temporary measure to suppress the Demon King’s wrath, like a dam that could burst at any moment.

Irogen was well aware of this fact.

“Demons fundamentally lack family affection. There must be something with Tenebreia. We just don’t know what that ‘something’ is.”

“I’ve just requested the Black Stars to investigate.”

Irogen curiously fingered the horn.

“The cross-section isn’t smooth.”

“Since it’s part of a demon’s bone structure, it’s a kind of skull protrusion. It has nerves and blood vessels, making it quite hard and difficult to cut off.”

Irogen muttered that it must have been quite painful.

“Fifteen years… Fifteen years will probably be the limit of his patience.”

“Do you think he will wait that long?”

“What else can we do? We hold the cards.”

Irogen sneered.

‘Tenebreia, and Estasha.’

What exactly are you?

The Emperor recalled a woman who had come to the palace three years ago.

She was heavily pregnant and had requested an audience with the Emperor alone.

Trusting only a token left by the Emperor, she had traveled from the countryside without even a carriage and was settled in the most secluded corner of the palace.

The child she gave birth to had blonde hair, and the Emperor became convinced that she was the woman Tenebreia had been desperately searching for.

And someday,

Someday he had planned to proudly accept them as members of the royal family,

But Tenebreia’s sorrowful lullaby in the middle of the night reached the ears of the Black Stars,

And the Emperor could no longer delay the investigation of the mother and daughter.

‘Nothing in this world is easy.’

The woman who had saved him from the flames of war turned out to be the Demon King’s daughter,

And the person who had been his father’s mortal enemy in his childhood was now his attendant.

‘There is truly nothing in this world that doesn’t change.’

If something hasn’t changed, it means it has become obsolete.

Meaning it disappears.

Meaning it is forgotten.

The Emperor still found his position burdensome.

But if not him, then who else could do it?

Irogen clenched his fist around the horn until it bled.

For now, he would have to hope the Demon King would be content playing with his granddaughter’s horn.

“Vargo.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Send a letter.”

“Yes, a letter? Where to…?”

“To the Papal State of Alpenheim. Include that the Empire strongly supports the 20-year plan to defeat the Demon King.”

* * *

[Sleep well my baby, my sweet baby]

“Mom.”

[May the demon god protect you in your dreams tonight]

“I had a bad dream today.”

[Sleep well my baby, rest peacefully through the night]

“I dreamed that everyone in the world hated me.”

[Dream sweet dreams of paradise as you sleep]

“You won’t abandon me, will you?”

[……]

“Even if I can’t walk, even if I can’t see. Don’t leave me.”