A Terrifying Moment
Her response, a nod, was followed by a creak from Wilhelmina as she shook her body violently.
It was a grotesque and horrifying sight, one she had witnessed countless times.
And yet, in this moment, a strange sense of pleasure bloomed within her.
“I truly am going to summon a monster.”
Cecilia set down her teacup, still unable to believe the words as she rose from her seat and turned toward the red Wilhelmina.
Summoning a monster.
It was an act strictly forbidden by the laws of the continent. Yet no one around her cared.
LT__strong>Those who know how to summon them are few and far between, after all.
It was a method discovered by scholars in the early days of the dungeon’s creation.
The kingdom that learned of it intended to use the monster as a weapon against enemy lands.
But when a summoning mishap destroyed their own country, the method vanished from history.
That story was common knowledge across the continent, and Cecilia knew the full tale.
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, scholars who stole the method had fled to her kingdom just before its fall.
The king at the time ordered them all executed to keep the knowledge from spreading.
Thus the ability to summon monsters remained only within her kingdom, forgotten by the people.
LT__em>Even the royal family has begun to forget it.
It was a powerful weapon in capable hands, yet knowledge of its difficulty had led to its practical abandonment.
Knowledge buried deep in the palace library alongside rotting books, waiting to be erased from human memory.
Cecilia had found it.
But she had no intention of summoning a monster.
She was, after all, a purifier who would face one.
Yet now she had decided to use it.
To kill Irene Rodiam.
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* * *
From the moment of her birth, her life had been noble.
Born a princess and blessed with the strength of a first-rank purifier.
She had been specially raised within the royal family, and even when she first arrived at the fortress and watched others boasting about their purifier abilities compared to her own, her confidence only grew.
Seeing that scene, Cecilia made her resolve.
She would continue to live above others.
And soon after arriving at the fortress, the world began to learn of Michael’s exploits as a paladin.
Cecilia had visited him before the dungeon raids began.
The entire journey had been infuriating.
LT__em>Why must I move for someone else to meet?
It was the first time she had ever adjusted her own actions to accommodate another person.
But there was no other choice. No matter how many times she sent word requesting a visit, Michael had only replied with the vague message of a priest: he would meet her when the goddess led him.
Nearly a year passed, and his reply remained unchanged, so she grew even angrier.
Her maid then spoke cautiously.
“Your Highness, it seems Lord Michael desires for you to come find him yourself.”
“Come find him? Me personally?”
In this world, such audacity was unheard of.
But there was no other way.
LT__em>A knight powerful enough to solo a high-rank dungeon.
Even the kingdom’s strongest knight would fall short at his feet.
His strength was unmatched.
LT__em>Same as me, in a way.
So pairing with him was only natural.
And the moment she laid eyes on him, Cecilia’s certainty only deepened.
Such a handsome face and unbelievable strength.
He had to be the one the goddess had prepared as her destined partner.
Just as she had fallen for him at first sight, he must have felt fate from the very beginning.
Her purification ability was outstanding, but so was her appearance.
A princess praised by all.
Even a paladin who followed the goddess’s will would naturally pursue beauty, since he had eyes.
Cecilia approached Michael with that thought in mind.
“I have no intention of pairing with you. Please return home.”
Cecilia tasted her first rejection in life.
She gnashed her teeth in humiliation and shame.
She was forced to pair with the kingdom’s strongest knight and begin dungeon raids.
Whenever she encountered Michael, she would ostentatiously heal her pair before him.
Wounds and demonic energy vanished at her touch alone.
Cecilia had expected Michael to eventually realize his mistake, grab her, and cling desperately.
But he simply hurried past, as if relieved that the purification act—something he was not doing—had been witnessed.
A man unaffected by power or influence.
From that day, Cecilia’s obsession with Michael began to fester.
Whenever a purifier approached him, she would fabricate an accident and have them removed.
The method was simple.
When entering the dungeon, deliberately send the purifier and pair into the most dangerous area so they could not be helped.
Then the monster would handle the purifier for her.
It was convenient and clean.
She would not have to dirty her own hands.
She could show up at the right time, save their lives, and earn praise.
Those days continued.
The foolish purifiers lingering near Michael had disappeared.
Not because she had done it, but because he had swept them away like a knife.
LT__em>This alone is enough to satisfy me.
It was a shame she could not have him, but no one else could either.
That was enough.
But one day, suddenly, Irene appeared.
And everything fell apart.
* * *
Cecilia whispered to the monster wearing Wilhelmina’s face.
“Today, do your job once more.”
The monster moved unnaturally, then vanished.
Seeing the monster disappear, Cecilia smiled in satisfaction and left the room.
She glanced at the small stone plate hung on the door.
It was an artifact her kingdom had kept in secret.
Purchased long ago through a black market.
The artifact allowed her to avoid the eyes of monsters and ensured the place would not be discovered by the Eye of Exploration.
The maids were barred from entering, so for the time being, no one would find this spot.
LT__em>Conveniently, I needed a human to use as bait, and Wilhelmina walked right into my trap herself.
If it weren’t for that foolish woman stealing alone, it would have been hard to get the bait.
The only eyewitness had been killed after turning into Wilhelmina’s form after being swallowed by the monster…
‘I will kill Irene Rodiam.’
Now, no matter what happened to the others, it was irrelevant.
LT__em>Everything that has befallen me is because of that woman.
Cecilia, who had suddenly fallen from glory, gnashed her teeth.
She could no longer think clearly.
All she could think was that this mess had happened because she and Michael were not paired, and Irene had stolen her rightful place.
As if to support her thoughts, Irene was steadily stealing the glory she had once enjoyed.
‘Then I must kill her.’
Was it because the monster had swallowed Wilhelmina?
It had obeyed her command, and when she had ordered it to kill Irene, it had looked pleased.
Cecilia returned to the room, opened the window, and looked outside.
She waited for Irene’s scream to echo through this place.
* * *
Irene was returning to her room, arms full of books.
Once she began thinking of the future, she found it hard to stop.
Where would she live? What would she do? In what kind of house? What would she put inside it?
LT__em>I must place a large sofa in the living room. I want several large vases too. If I have the chance, I would like to buy a house with a view of the sea or river…
As she pondered these things, another person suddenly appeared in her imagined house.
LT__em>Michael.
The moment she smiled and recalled him, another presence appeared beside Michael in the imagination.
A small child next to Michael.
In that instant, Irene touched her belly with one hand.
It was strange how lately, whenever they were intimate, Michael had been especially gentle with her belly.
As if he wished for something to be inside it.
LT__em>It’s impossible, though.
The medicine she had taken upon entering the fortress lasted for a year.
So even if they had been intimate before that, there was no chance of a child.
LT__em>Does Michael not know about it?
If so, she should tell him. But she could not be certain he touched her belly because he was thinking of a child.
Still, even if he did, she was still a paladin, and she worried he might be taken aback if she said such a thing.
As she thought that, Irene turned a corner.
LT__p>…
Irene stopped in her tracks.
At the end of the corridor, someone lay collapsed.
The clothes confirmed it was one of the maids here.
But the problem was…
LT__p>…Wilhelmina?
Standing beside the fallen maid, a woman with her back turned.
The figure from behind was unmistakably Wilhelmina.