Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 296
TL: Elphie / PR: Marm
âPrincess Cecilia has tried to kill me twiceâŚâ
Ireneâs footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
Just now, she had clearly thought it. This was the second time Cecilia had tried to take her life.
The first time had been before they fell into this place. But when was the other time?
A sudden, unfamiliar memory flashed through Ireneâs mind.
In it, she was dressed in ragged clothes.
A bitter wind howled, cutting through the thin, worn fabric, chilling her to the bone.
Huddling against the cold, she stood at the entrance of a lower-ranked dungeon, mustering the courage to step inside.
Before entering, she had turned around and there stood Princess Cecilia.
Back then, she hadnât known, but now, she did.
Cecilia had lied to her. She had told her the dungeon had already been cleared.
âWhat theâŚâ
Ireneâs trembling grip on the dagger tightened.
A foreign memory was surfacing.
Irene shook her head. What was this?
Her eyes darted around the eerie surroundings, unease tightening in her chest. Was this place affecting her mind somehow?
âI have to get out of here somehow.â
Determined, she took a step forwardâ
[Found you!]
âAAHHH!â
A voice suddenly burst out from the darkness ahead.
Startled, Irene let out a scream and instinctively swung her hand.
Thud!
She struck the unknown figure with the sheath of her dagger, landing a clean hit.
The figure was sent tumbling backward.
Heart pounding, Irene activated her defensive artifact and tightened her grip on the dagger, bracing herself as she stared at the fallen figure.
It shot upright.
âThatâsâŚâ
“The worm!”
There was no mistaking it. It was the same creature that had gleefully wriggled as it sent her plummeting into this nightmarish place.
At that moment, the thing, which had collapsed onto the floor, suddenly straightened itself and shouted.
[Itâs Chomp-chomp!]
“Chomp-chomp?”
Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered hearing that name when she fell.
[Calling me wormâhow could you?! Your Majesty even gave me a proper name!]
The creature, which had been sprawled on the floor just moments ago, sprang up, practically brimming with energy, and whined at her with a voice full of resentment.
Irene was at a loss.
Judging by its form, it was undoubtedly a monster. And yet, it was talking to her.
Not only that, but it was acting as if they were close.
And what was that about âYour Majestyâ?
Who exactly was supposed to be the Majesty here?
The tentacle-like creature in front of Irene raised its voice, wailing as though deeply wronged.
[You have no idea how much I suffered! Your Majesty doesnât care about my struggles at all! Waaahhh!]
Well, if nothing else⌠it seemed safe to assume that this monster had no intention of harming her.
Slightly relaxing her guard, Irene cautiously addressed the creature.
“Uh⌠where exactly is this place? And who are you?”
[I am your first familiar, Chomp-chomp!]
Chomp-chomp.
For some reason, that name didnât feel unfamiliar to her.
[And as for where we are⌠Weâre in the wrong place. You need to move again.]
Chomp-chomp slumped, its body sagging like a guilty child caught in a mistake.
“What? Move? To where?”
[Where else? You need to find the King! But first, we have to get back to where you originally landed. Only then can I send you somewhere else!]
As the tentacle creature glanced around, it lowered its voice to a whisper.
[This place is one of the scattered fragments of His Majestyâs consciousness that broke apart when he perished. But, uh⌠it looks like we ended up in the most dangerous one. Not my fault, though. Hehe.]
Irene had no idea what it was talking about.
The only thing she did understand was that this place was extremely dangerous.
âWhat should I do?â
Could she really trust this strange monster?
The same creature that had dropped her into this horrific space?
[We need to hurry! This is only a small piece of His Majestyâs consciousness, so itâs going to disappear soon! And if it disappears, we disappear too! I donât wanna disappear!]
“Shh!”
Irene clamped her hand over the tip of one of its tentacles, silencing it.
Either way, she had no desire to stay in this nightmare of a place.
She had no idea where this creature planned to send her, but somehow, she doubted it could be worse than here.
After all, this monster was clearly very determined to survive.
Irene gripped the dagger tightly and stepped back into the corridor.
The stench was overwhelming, making nausea rise in her throat, but she forced herself to swallow it down as she made her way back to the place where she had first woken up.
And thenâ
Bang!
A loud crash of metal rang through the air.
Startled, she turned toward the source of the sound. A man, drenched in blood, was pounding on a door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His hands must have hurt, yet he didnât seem to care. He just kept hammering against the door with relentless force.
Irene didnât need an explanation. Somehow, instinctively, she knew.
He was the one who had caused this massacre.
Fear gripped her, and she took a step back.
She didnât know what was happening, but she knew one thing. She had to get out of here.
The man suddenly stopped. Slowly, he turned.
And the moment she saw his face, Irene whispered his name before she could stop herself.
ââŚMichael?â
At the sound of his name, Michael turned to face her.
His face was drenched in blood, yet he smiled at herâbrightly, almost joyfully.
âIrene.â
And then, he started walking toward her.
