FTMR 02

Chapter 2

An Ambush by Bayendor at This Moment?

Meanwhile, Franz, the eldest son of King Hayworth and Anette’s older brother, rushed over as soon as he heard the news, tears streaming down his face.

〈I’m sorry, Anette. Your older brother was powerless, unable even to speak up about your marriage. And Father… how can he be so indifferent? After all you’ve done for the kingdom…〉

Seeing Anette remain silent, Franz wiped his tears and forced a smile.

〈From what I’ve heard from the servants, Duke Harzent is kind and well-regarded. You’re a good and gentle girl; surely he will treat you well.〉

Well… Duke Harzent had once been said to be incredibly handsome, capable of captivating anyone at first sight.

But now, his beauty had been marred by the blood of beasts. Could someone like him, with his red eyes from that cursed blood, ever feel any warmth toward her—herself, born with red eyes like a beast?

Anette was certain he wouldn’t—but she did not let it show in front of Franz.

Her older brother, whose heart had been weak from birth, had grown even more frail after the death of the late queen, having received little proper care.

The only ones who could report the news to him were the palace servants. They had likely withheld the terrifying rumors surrounding the duke, fearing Franz might collapse from shock.

‘Kind and well-regarded… Hah. I’ve heard that after being tainted by the blood of beasts, he became a cruel murderer who revels in bloodshed.’

Before that, he had been a war-obsessed maniac.

Anette decided it was for the best that weak Franz didn’t know the full truth.

〈Don’t worry about me. Take care of your health so you can attend the ceremony.〉

Because the alliance between the Arkan Empire and the Hayworth Kingdom was primarily meant to guard against Bayendor, the engagement had been arranged in secret.

However, the royal wedding itself would be a grand affair in the Empire.

Anette wanted Franz, her only family, to attend and celebrate her wedding. But she worried he would eventually learn the truth about the rumors.

‘Perhaps it’s better if he remains ignorant…’

“…?!”

At that moment, Anette suddenly looked up.

With a sharp crack that cut through the air, something slammed into the carriage door.

Instinctively, Anette caught the arrow flying toward her.

Barehanded—and with her right hand, the one she normally didn’t use.

If Queen Esther, who had forced her to retire from the Royal Knights once she could no longer wield a sword, or the nobles under her, had witnessed this, they would have been utterly shocked.

In truth, no one in the Hayworth Kingdom outside the Royal Knights had ever seen Anette fight beasts herself.

No matter how talented she was, they still feared she might be a Seed of Beasts—born from a mother she had killed, cursed with strange powers and a prodigious recovery. They avoided studying her abilities too closely, wary of the dark arts.

The Arkan royal family, too, possessed powers beyond normal humans—but they were revered as blessed by God, while Anette’s abilities were treated with suspicion.

Yet, even if you blocked your ears and closed your eyes, Anette was indisputably the continent’s greatest swordswoman.

Ignoring the slight ache in her palm, she examined the arrow.

Its shaft bore a subtle reddish hue, with two large fletchings—definitely from the Bayendor Empire.

Finally, she saw the blackened arrowhead and narrowed her eyes.

‘An ambush by Bayendor at this moment…’

The messenger she had sent to the Arkan Empire with the engagement documents had returned just last night.

Anette had signed immediately, and the king had ordered her to leave for the Empire without delay.

It wasn’t unusual for him to want her out of the palace, but the sudden Bayendor attack had only one implication: there was a traitor opposing the alliance.

‘Who could it be?’

The Arkan Empire likely didn’t even know she was on her way. The traitor had to be someone from the kingdom.

‘A noble? Or perhaps a palace servant…’

There was also a possibility that Bayendor had planted a spy from the start.

“Huff… a-a beast!”

At that moment, a sudden scream erupted outside, startling her.

Hearing the terrified voice of Count Randel, Anette leapt from the carriage.

She remembered clearly how he had called her “trash” earlier, but it didn’t matter.

Many people had mocked or despised her in the past, and she had wielded her sword for all of them.

“Ugh!”

But as she hit the ground, she nearly stumbled.

Only then did she realize she was wearing a long, flowing dress and high-heeled shoes—not her usual armor.

The king had ordered her to dress like a proper princess for her trip to the Arkan Empire.

He had even added that, to avoid offending him, she must wear a black hood covering her from head to toe while leaving the palace.

‘And once I reach the Empire, I’m supposed to leave the carriage and step out.’

Yet here she was, facing beasts in this dress.

Looking around, she saw the monsters surrounding the carriage. Frowning, she noted their unfamiliarity.

She had expected assassins from Bayendor using poison arrows—but actual beasts?

The creatures resembled wolves, though their size rivaled that of a bear. All of them growled simultaneously.

“Grrr!”

The largest, in the center, flashed its crimson eyes and roared as if about to charge.

“D-destroy them! Hurry!”

The panicked count shouted at the knights, but they too hesitated, frozen with fear. They were palace guards, not trained Royal Knights.

Anette sighed, instinctively reaching for her sword—but she had none.

Even the blade her brother Franz had given her at fourteen, to hunt beasts despite her youth, had been taken away upon her retirement.

Suppressing frustration, she gripped the arrow tightly in her right hand.

For those who had neither commanded her nor intended to protect her, she tore the hem of her dress and kicked off her heels.

“Hah!”

“Wow… the princess…”

“Kyaah!”

With a swift, agile movement, Anette ran forward and stabbed the arrow at the beasts’ weak points. Her strength allowed the arrow to pierce skin even swords could not cut.

Wherever she went, beast after beast fell, leaving corpses behind. Those watching were chilled to the bone.

‘Who did he think he was mocking just now?’

Count Randel’s face turned pale, especially. He staggered backward, legs giving out, collapsing to the ground.

When Anette, having slain all surrounding beasts, turned sharply, he met her crimson eyes—far more terrifying than the beasts themselves.

“Hii! Hiiik!”

She narrowed her eyes and stepped toward him.

He was dead. She would kill him, surely.

“Count…”

“D-don’t come!”

The terrified man scrambled to rise, only to fall again, trying desperately to flee. When he finally turned his back to her…

Crack!

A chilling sound accompanied the spray of dark red blood.

Count Randel’s earlier boast that he wouldn’t make a fool of himself in the Empire had, in the end, come true.

Hours earlier, Anette had pictured the moment his head would be severed from his body with a sigh.

Though she had killed all the beasts, the air around her felt strange.

She wanted to warn the others to hide behind her—but had she appeared more beast-like to them?

The count ran in terror as soon as she stepped forward, only to be killed instantly by a flying-type monster at incredible speed.

Blood spurted from his head like a fountain as he fell, spraying the ground.

The servant and knights who had witnessed the gruesome death panicked completely.

And as if confirming the ominous feeling, new beasts appeared, surrounding them.

Anette urgently told the remaining people to hide behind her—but her voice no longer reached their ears.

And the result:

‘Did even one of them survive…?’