Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 119
âWhatâs going on?â
Curious, Irene and Reyna moved closer to the path. The voices coming from the approaching group grew louder, and they soon saw figures running toward them.
âEveryone, step back.â
The knights drew their swords and positioned themselves in front of the purifiers.
As the group drew nearer, their features became clearer. They were not monsters, and among them were people Irene recognized from the princessâs entourage, people she had seen around the fortress before.
However, the sight of them left everyone speechless.
âWhat happened to them?â
Reyna blinked in disbelief beside Irene.
The people running toward them looked as if they had been wandering outside for weeks, in rags.
It wasnât just their clothing. Their sunken eyes, hollow cheeks, chapped lips, and bloodshot eyes made them look barely humanâalmost monstrous.
Seeing Ireneâs group, they screamed.
âPeople! Food! You have food!â
They rushed forward, frantically grabbing at the food Ireneâs group had laid out to share. They devoured it with wild desperation, causing everyone to recoil in shock.
Princess Ceciliaâs groupâknights and purifiers alikeâwere behaving like ravenous animals, stuffing food into their mouths and gulping down water.
Just as Irene was about to ask what had happened, a woman in the middle of the group threw down an empty water bottle in frustration.
âThereâs no more! Whereâs the water!?â
Irene could hardly believe her earsâor her eyes.
âPrincess Cecilia…?â
The woman who stood before her, angrily clutching an apple, was unmistakably Princess Cecilia.
But the princess Irene remembered had always been the epitome of royalty. With long black hair cascading down her back and delicate, perfectly balanced features on her small, round face, she had always carried herself with a mixture of charm, arrogance, and grace.
Her royal status and her first-class purification abilities made her an extraordinary figure, someone even the most powerful kingdoms on the continent couldnât ignore. Even the fortress, which treated everyone equally harshly, had shown deference to her.
She had lived in the fortress as a noble, untouchable figure, someone who seemed as though sheâd never set foot on bare earth her entire life.
Yet now, here she was, scrambling on the ground, desperately picking up crumbs of bread.
âWhat happened? Why are you like this? What happened to you?â
If they had simply been fighting monsters and had gotten roughed up, it wouldnât have been so surprising.
What shocked everyone was that they looked as though they had endured weeks of hardship, despite having only been in the dungeon for a few hours.
Princess Cecilia, clutching her apple tightly as if afraid someone might snatch it from her, shouted back at Ireneâs question.
âWhat do you mean, why do we still have food? Itâs only been a few hours since we entered!â
âA few hours?â
The princessâs face twisted into an expression of disbelief.
Her voice shook with frustration.
âWeâve been trapped here for two weeks!â
* * *
Ireneâs group and Princess Ceciliaâs group sat apart, an invisible line dividing them.
Reyna, looking at the huddled figures from the princessâs group, whispered to Irene.
âIâd love to talk to them, but they smell so badâŚ.â
Reyna knew her comment was rude, but Irene couldnât help but nod in agreement.
It wasnât just their appearanceâthe princessâs group, who hadnât bathed in over two weeks while battling monsters, was covered in blood and filth, emitting a foul stench.
Still, avoiding them wasnât an option.
With determination, Irene rose from her spot and approached Princess Cecilia, who sat apart from her group.
Irene did her best to keep her expression neutral, but as the stench hit her, her face involuntarily tensed.
The princess, noticing Ireneâs reaction, scowled.
Normally, such an expression from Cecilia would have irritated Irene, but this time her gaze shifted to the empty spot beside the princess.
Her pair had died.
