Shadowless Night

Cough! Cough! Ricardis coughed bitterly as he heard it. He doubted his ears. It’s not that he hasn’t heard such praises before, but it’s from someone he never thought he’d get such a compliment from. The destructive power of the rhetoric that popped out like a surprise attack was considerable. The other escort knights around couldn’t even spit out a cough and could only make a sound as if being hit hard on the neck.

‘P, Pull her out…’ Such a whisper was heard. It was also a precaution because of the young girl who had sent 20 marriage proposals to Ricardis until a few years ago.

“You have large muscles and an exceedingly beautiful shape, Your Highness. I want to be that buff too, but since my physical condition is different from that of a man… I’m envious.”

Her eyes were genuinely full of envy. Ah, unbounded, unbounded. The scene where the knights wiped their hearts with a sigh of relief came into Ricardis’s sight.

‘Ahh, thank goodness.’ The scene where the knights wiped their sweat with a sigh of relief also came into Ricardis’ sight.

“… Is that so…”

Ricardis frowned. ‘Right, we’re talking about Rosaline. What more could she want with such a statement?’ His mind, which had been disturbed for a while, calmed down. For Rosaline, it was merely like saying, ‘The colors are beautiful,’ while looking at a well-drawn picture. She was not being particularly offensive, but strangely it bothered him. A glimpse at Rosaline showed that she was drawing Ricardis’ body line with a gentle gesture in the air.

“… Isn’t it too much? Even the curves of a woman with a voluptuous body wouldn’t be as defined as that…”

Rosaline immediately slapped away Isserion’s bad hand coming toward her and gave him an incredulous expression. After that, she got scolded thoroughly for sexual harassment. Isserion, who was clamoring that she should have sex education, summoned Raymond. Although he was summoned as her guardian, Raymond still slightly avoided the eyes of the 2nd Prince’s chief secretary.

“Our Rosaline’s guardian… is Calyx Radwiell…”

No one wanted to be in charge of sex education, so he simply passed the responsibility on. While Isserion and Raymond quarreled over the sex education issue, Rosaline discovered faint bloodstains on Ricardis’ abs. She took out her water bottle and wetted her handkerchief. Ricardis, who witnessed Rosaline’s behavior, looked like he wanted to say, ‘Don’t tell me…’ from his expression.

“Excuse me, Your Highness.”

“I knew it.”

Words came out of her mouth just as he had thought before. Rosaline walked up to him and rubbed the dried bloodstains on his stomach with her handkerchief. The feel of the cloth brushing against his stomach was tickling. Ricardis twisted his eyebrows with each touch. As the blood had dried up, Rosaline knelt on her knees and wiped it passionately.

He was seeing a woman kneeling before him, holding his pants, and wiping his abdomen enthusiastically. Ricardis looked up to the sky and thought quietly. ‘What should I call this feeling? Am I upset? Am I sad?’ Well, it seemed difficult to express his feelings at the moment in any language.

Ricardis took the handkerchief from her hand and took over the duty. The behavior of this escort knight, who has completely forgotten common sense, often embarrassed him these days.

“You…” Ricardis said. Then changed his words to, “No, I mean, seriously.” And tried to express his frustration, but in the end, he merely said, “It’s done…” mournfully.

Rosaline left to hunt for her share only after the senior knights returned from hunting. Ricardis watched her disappear back into the woods for a moment before turning his head. Isserion and Raymond stood still and stiff at the scene and then resolved to increase her sex education time tenfold.

***

A person ran through the green forest. The animals didn’t even notice Rosaline’s presence as she passed right next to them. She climbed the twigs of tall trees and reached places she shouldn’t be able to reach in a single step. The landscape changed in an instant. The surroundings with tall trees were similar to Illavenia, but the scent surrounding the forest was slightly different due to the different climate.

Rosaline skimmed over the branches in search of prey. She gave Ricardis the rabbit meat, so she needed something to eat. The best profit after transforming into a human was food. Humans cooked meat, fruits, and vegetables in a variety of ways. It went beyond the limit that could be made with just one ingredient and created a harmony of various and complex flavors. Rosaline felt this harmony was amazing, mysterious, and delicious. Yes. It wasn’t until she became Rosaline that she realized the taste of deliciousness. Even missing just one meal is a pity. She sharpened her nerves and watched the vast landscape with her whole body.

As she climbed over the tree, she encountered a familiar space. It was near the area she had visited with the guide earlier, and it turns out the guide had set a trap.

Rosaline jumped from the tall tree because of this sudden realization. There was no thumping sound on the ground as she landed. She stilled as if the slightest noise had sunk into the dirt floor.

Biiii. Biiii.

She heard the cry of an animal. Rosaline, who had eaten several animals, noticed that it came from a deer. She could immediately identify the owner of the sound. A young deer was caught in a net set by a hunter, its dark eyes blinking. The deer tried to get out of the net, but when it noticed Rosaline, its body stiffened, like a child caught doing something wrong. Rosaline narrowed her eyes and looked at the young deer. No, to be exact, she looked at the inside covered in light brown leather. She quietly peered into the convective aura of magical power within the deer’s form.

Rosaline quickly recognized what this being was. Since she had an intellect, she was the first of her kind who became aware of her existence. Magical power was not a force that could be perceived unless it was used. It was also a coincidence that she now met her kindred.

The magic convecting vigorously inside the deer was a sign it was on the verge of mimicry. It would probably have escaped if it turned into a creature smaller than the net had Rosaline not found it herself.

‘So, can I just walk away?’

As she was about to get up, she heard footsteps not far away— a metal sound. Constant stride length. The breathless footsteps of the trained. They were from the same delegation.

Rosaline squatted and made eye contact with the young deer, watching her actions.

“Run.”

The deer seemed to speak with its look, ‘You have to disappear so I can run away.’ It was a look of reproach. The young deer in front of her had a very diverse expression even with the head of an animal. Rosaline held up one of her arms. Reptile scales began to rise above the back of her hand. It was a characteristic of the crocodile ‘It’ ate before.

The deer looked at her hand with widened eyes. Instead of focusing on the reptile’s skin, it focused on the magical energy that had just begun to convect within the form. The deer then noticed. The woman in front of it was of the same race as itself.

Rosaline spoke again, “Go.”

The light of determination flashed in the deer’s eyes. Color began to fade from the legs of the young beast entangled in the net. From a light brown to the color of wood and then to all black.

It gradually spread and covered the entire body of the deer. Like the shadow of a deer, the dark form all over was slowly crumbling. It spread and flowed like sand, like smoke. The darkness lifted in the brief moment Rosaline blinked her eyes.

A small squirrel remained in place of the deer. The little animal stared at Rosaline for some time while twitching its elongated nose. Her face reflected in its black, gleaming eyes. As the footsteps of the knights got closer and closer, the squirrel quickly got out of the net. But just before it climbed a tree, it looked back at her once more. When people came to check the traps after a while, traces of the squirrel or human, who had dove into the forest, could not be found.

***

The barracks located on the hillside shook. The enchanting smell of meat spread from the burning bonfires everywhere. Everyone was drinking from a canteen full of water, but they acted like they were intoxicated. It was such an exciting atmosphere that could rival a festival.

“Rosaline! Rosaline!”

“Rosaline!”

“You’re great, Rosaline!”

“Awesome, Rosaline!”

The senior knights laughed and patted her on the back. Rosaline also raised the corners of her lips and smiled. Since 50% of the meat this large number of people are eating was Rosaline’s achievement, she had greatly contributed to this festive atmosphere.

It had already been the second day since they had barely relieved their hunger with dry ingredients and jerky. It was an insufficient amount for those who climbed the mountain bearing the weight of swords and armor. The master, Ricardis, told them to hunt to eat well, but most knights had poor hunting skills compared to their excellent swordsmanship skills. Someone caught a frog, and someone else brought something that looked like the left behind carcass of an animal.

It was then that Rosaline strode out of the dark woods, carrying a boar on her shoulders. It was a thick wild boar the size of an adult male and weighed twice the size. She swung the wild boar into the barracks and told the lesser knights to prepare it. After she gave the best cuts to the Prince, she told the others to eat. Many men, especially Nestor, who had caught a frog for dinner, looked at her with a gloomy gaze. ‘She is so cool.’