Stigma Effect

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

This was the first time she had approached the border of Mogris Estate on a non-paved road or railroad.

Yuriel, who thought that the part bordering the Mogris Estate was the beginning of the forest, found out that her thinking was wrong.

This was where the forest began. Yuriel touched the back of the monster that was following her closely. It was all thanks to the monsters that she was able to come here safely.

It was also thanks to the monsters that she was able to reject Shudmuel’s offer of a place to escape. On the day Yuriel escaped from Albraka, as soon as Shudmuel broke down the wall, a monster that did not leave Yuriel’s surroundings ran towards her.

Shudemuel, who can handle at least one monster, did not resist, with his arms stretched in front of the monster protecting Yuriel. She couldn’t watch it to the end, but she could tell that Shudmuel was seriously injured.

‘Commander Shudmuel!’

‘The Commander comes first, call the medical team!’

They gave up chasing after Yuriel as she ran away with the monster and heard a voice calling the medical team first.

Even when she wiped the blood from the monster’s feet and hid in the alley, everything was bleak. Not knowing where to go, no money, food, clothes.

Yuriel, who was moving along the alley avoiding the gaze of people, entered the Imperial Palace area as if flowing into it. It was a mistake that occurred because she was not used to the geography of the Imperial Capital. The moment she saw more guards, she thought it was all over.

‘Yuriel?’

‘Princess.’

‘Why are you like that?’

When she met the princess, she thought it was all over. Contrary to Yuriel’s expectations, the princess let her go.

‘I have no intention of forcibly arresting anyone who doesn’t want it, Yuriel. Of course I know you don’t hate me, but…. Well, actually, you don’t even like me.’

The princess, who smiled kindly, said to Yuriel.

‘It’s good to take this opportunity to make you like me. Now, I’ll give you what you need, so run away safely. If you want to come under me, feel free to contact me.’

After confirming that Yuriel was protected by monsters, she released even the monsters she had collected so that they could protect Yuriel. Knowing that Yuriel had to flee, she would have heard rumors that Yuriel was involved in terrorism, but the princess didn’t mind.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking… ”

She was selfish but she was a strangely difficult woman to hate. The bizarre loyalty of the knights around her sometimes made sense.

A beautiful appearance, and the attitude of giving everything to her own people, made her heart flutter. Among the people outside of Albraka, the princess was the only one who was so fond of Yuriel.

She could not give her heart to her princess because of her experience of being betrayed by Shudmuel, but when she saw the monster that protected her, she sometimes thought of her princess.

Yuriel slowly entered the forest. She realized that the long winter was about to begin, and the ground was frozen in between.

“I need to find a place to stay before it gets cold. Get food and firewood before it’s completely winter….”

If she finds a cave to shelter from the wind, that’s enough. If she crouched among the monsters, it would be quite warm, so she doesn’t have to worry about freezing to death.

Yuriel was well aware of how persistently the knights of Albraka pursued monsters. It was necessary to take risks to avoid the order to capture her .

The winter forest of Mogris was the most dangerous place Yuriel knew.

Yuriel wrapped her arms around her belly that was still the same as in her early pregnancy and she entered the forest and muttered.

“It won’t be easy to find me here.”

＊＊＊

Raphlet greeted Helio as he nodded his head towards him. Baraha stared at Raphlet’s face, who volunteered for rear support.

As if trying to comprehend Raphlet’s intentions, his narrow eyes scanned him.

“You say that Commander Raphlet will support you from the rear?”

Baraha approached Helio and asked in a slightly sensitive tone. Helio was a little shaken by the sudden question.

Baraha was blunt when it was good, and was helpless when it was bad. He preferred to follow rather than command, so he was not a person worthy of being a leader. He was not lazy, but he looked lazy.

Such a man rushed to him like thunder and asked a question. Helio, who placed Raphlet in the rear so that Raphlet could find Yuriel before the chase team, looked at Baraha with a puzzled expression.

Baraha seemed to have doubts that Raphlet would not take the lead. Baraha opened his mouth stubbornly.

“I’m going to the rear too.”

Raphlet, who was repairing his equipment, raised his head. He made eye contact with Baraha. Helio, noticing the sharp bouncing atmosphere, intervened between them.

“In the rear, Commander Raphlet alone is enough. It’s departure time. Hurry up and get the line in order.”

When the subjugation begins, Raphlet will leave the ranks.

It was difficult to tell the truth because Baraha was close with Yuriel, yet there were many ears to hear. The fact that Raphlet, who was always at the forefront, fell to the rear, other knights were also expressing their doubts.

Helio cleared the place before the doubts deepened.

Among the knights leaving for subjugation, Raphlet was nowhere to be seen.

＊＊＊

The sound of dry branches breaking was heard. Even before Yuriel woke up, the monsters who opened their eyes were gleaming brightly.

She put out the burning bonfire.

Yuriel hurriedly packed up her belongings and retreated behind the monsters. It was a narrow cave. There was nowhere to escape.

Fortunately, there was only one pair of footsteps. Occasionally, from the sound of stepping on dry branches, it seemed to be a timid man who was not very careful.

To walk around with such a loud noise in the forest at night. Even if he got caught by a beast and got his neck ripped off, there would be nothing to say.

As a single person, he would not be a pursuer from Albraka.

Yuriel sprinkled the soil she had gathered in front of her over the fire. The small embers quickly disappeared. Turning off the lights, she focused on the sound of the footsteps.

Only the shapely eyes of the demons flashed in the darkness.

Her heart was beating loudly because of the tension.

The shadow of a person began to shake at the entrance of the cave where the moonlight leaked in. A strong physique and short hair, evidently a man, were reflected in the shadows.

Yuriel, seeing the familiar shadow, tilted her head. He was a person with a shadow very similar to Raphlet.

But the sound of his steps was different from Raphlet’s. Raphlet didn’t move as wildly as the person heading towards Yuriel now.

“… Lord Raphlet?”

Then, after confirming the man with his appearance, Yuriel said, stunned. She began to see the face of the man who appeared with his back to the dim light.

He was still not yet completely visible, so she recognized him only by his size and shape. Yuriel stood blankly with her mouth open, and he quickly approached Yuriel. The monsters around Yuriel showed an indifferent attitude.

If anyone approached Yuriel, the monsters who would even try to bite her by climbing the mountain, were strangely calm.

“Is it really master?”

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was convinced. Yuriel, ready to run at any moment, threw away the luggage she hugged and walked up to Raphlet.

The man didn’t answer anything. The man who stopped right in front of Yuriel created a dark shadow on her body.

Yuriel called out to him in a very excited tone and got up on her feet.

“Really? How did you get here?”

Yuriel, speaking in a voice filled with joy, noticed that Raphlet was particularly silent. Raphlet would nod his head affectionately or give a brief reply when she spoke to him, even if he had nothing to say in return.

If she had spoken to him like this, he would have put Yuriel’s name in his mouth.

“Lord Raphlet?”

Yuriel called him anxiously. Come to think of it, the subjugation was still in progress.

As the Commander, there was no way he could appear in a place like this alone.

Yuriel, who had been clinging to him by pulling the hem of his clothes, felt strange and took a step back.

It was not the atmosphere she usually feels from Raphlet.

The dangerously sinking momentum was heavy. As Yuriel stepped back, his momentum grew stronger. Among the monsters whose eyes were shining, his golden eyes also shone like that of a beast.

Even though Raphlet’s golden eyes were clear, Yuriel couldn’t believe he was Raphlet.

“Is it Lord Raphlet… ?”

It was like seeing a terrible fantasy. The problem was that it was not just Yuriel’s own fantasy when she saw the monsters being vigilant.

While retreating, the narrow cave wall touched Yuriel’s back. She had nowhere to escape.

Yuriel groaned as she watched the monsters protecting her calmly surrounded the man. The atmosphere of the quiet nest had changed. It looked like she had become a prey caught in a sticky web.

Yuriel stepped back, gazed anxiously at the monsters who were watching the man approach, and raised her gaze. The man who had Raphlet’s face and acted unlike Raphlet closed the distance with Yuriel again, who had stepped back.

He grabbed Yuriel’s waist and finally opened his mouth. A low-pitched voice came out.

“Why didn’t you come back to me?”

Yuriel flinched as it was not different from Raphlet’s voice that she remembered.