3. Dragon’s Eye, Human Mind (54)
Creatures with thick and hard shells tend to hide soft flesh.
This trend is not limited to just the biological field. Looking at it, human psychology was also not very different.
The more solid the shell is, the thinner and softer the kernel is.
The 5th princess of the empire, Shien, was the same.
She was the one who suffered many wounds in her childhood. The ‘dragon’s eyes’ had the power to read people’s minds, and this came as an indescribable fear to others.
Everyone he encountered showed either fear or loathing. It was the kind of experience that even strong-minded adults find difficult to endure.
Not to mention, the girl, who had just started talking, couldn’t stand it.
In this way, wounds that no one could see were piling up in the princess’s heart, and the girl’s world gradually began to converge on the inside.
Everyone hated and hated her. Therefore, it was inevitable that Shien would distrust everyone.
This may have been a predestined outcome. It was because being able to read someone’s mind was tantamount to seeing the bottom of that person.
Seen through the ‘dragon’s eyes’, there was no existence as uglier as humans. All beings who moved with desire, sometimes Shien even thought about stabbing his eyes out.
Her beautiful appearance also played a part in fueling the princess’s hatred of humanity.
A lofty and beautiful woman was more precious than jewels.
Men are possessive and women are jealous. Shien, who had to accept and feel emotions similar to those instincts, naturally realized.
Human reality is so ugly.
The princess had no choice but to believe that words such as ‘purity’ and ‘sincerity’ were just fantasies.
At times, I felt a sense of piercing loneliness because of it.
Being someone who didn’t treat anyone sincerely and didn’t show their true feelings to anyone was so lonely and lonely.
There was not even a single exception.
There were only false relationships made of false feelings.
Even Irene and the maid, whom Shien cherished, were not free from that fact. They were following her because they had their own calculations.
Whether it’s money, fame, or even s*x.
No one treated Shien without self-interest. That was the reason she made a mistake on the first day she met Ian.
Ian Percus was a human.
And all human beings are lumps of desire. So it was right to assume that Ian Percus was also driven by desire.
It was a clear syllogism. It was next to impossible for Shien to doubt this.
Of course, when I first met Ian, I was a little confused.
Even though I looked at it with the ‘dragon’s eyes’, Ian’s intentions were so far away that I could not read them at all.
It was an experience he hadn’t experienced in a long time, except for the sword fight of the Empire he had experienced as a child. Nevertheless, Shien believed in the ugliness of humans that he had seen so many times.
Although the result was the disgrace of being hit by a thunderbolt.
The nightmare of that day set fire to Shien’s heart for a while.
Still, it was a little easier to deal with Ian, whom I met after that day. It was because the psychology began to show, albeit in a hazy way.
However, that did not change the relationship between Ian and the princess. Even if Ian had changed, it was because the world Shien was trapped in remained the same.
The girl tried hard to deny and distort the feelings the man showed and accepted them.
All of those feelings were fake and felt like mockery. Also, the fact that someone sympathized with her was unbearable.
I didn’t want to go back to those days again.
I couldn’t go back to the past, where I was alone in my bedroom, trembling for fear of anyone bumping into me. It was she who had made a firm resolution several times that she would break up with that weak and mean girl.
So it was unknown if he had raised his hair even more ferociously and pushed Ian. Although it did not produce any significant results, it was an action close to a self-defense mechanism.
The more I expected, the bigger the disappointment.
Anyway, the feelings of that person are just temporary lies.
Shien repeated dozens of times that a momentary goodwill would only have overcome desire. He vowed never to believe it, and that urgency was expressed as an over-the-top response.
However, the moment he met the man in the dungeon, Shien’s thoughts stopped.
How could that be?
Can you accept all the malice and pain without expecting anything in return?
It couldn’t have been. I thought it was a lie.
However, as the homecoming festival began, the assumption she had made was reversed.
As soon as he entered the crypt, his aides were manipulated, and the escort knights who did not were exploded, and Shien’s mental strength was gradually reaching its limit.
It was then that Mitram’s words lodged in the girl’s brain like an awl.
As the hidden truth continued, Shien’s brain began to come up with more and more clear answers. Even so, Shien wanted to deny that reasoning to the end.
She had committed too many sins to admit that fact.
He returned Ian’s favor with hate, and the results were also terrible. Promising escort knights had lost their lives, and the princess herself was feeling the risk of her life.
If Mitram’s words were true, how could she raise her head in front of that man?
Even if he died, he would have to apologize.
That’s how Shien fell into the abyss of despair.
Until the man who had been criticizing and insulting so deeply appeared.
Blood, gushing out.
It was right before Mitram plucked out Shien’s pupils. A piercing sound rang out, and Mitram’s arms fell to the ground.
It was Ian Percus. He had arrived to save the princess.
Afterwards, she suffered the humiliation of having her head trampled on, but it was not because of the humiliation that she shed tears.
The words Mitram uttered one by one hurt so much.
Even when the Dark Priest told Ian to leave Shien behind, he even agreed with his words. Even so, I didn’t have too much shame to come and ask for help.
Nevertheless, the man eventually saved Shien.
His body was seemingly in tatters. When he slapped Shien on the cheek as he repeated his apology while shedding tears, she was surprised but relieved at the same time.
It was a feeling that I would rather be beaten until I became porridge.
Then wouldn’t it be better to say that he was punished? However, Ian did not listen to the princess’ wishes.
He just said with a wry smile as he guarded the collapsing crypt.
“… … I am glad you are alive.”
For the first time that day, Shien was able to face someone’s sincerity.
Not even the slightest desire was visible. If he had been that kind of person in the first place, he would not have given priority to the life of the princess in a situation where he would almost certainly lose his life.
That’s right, the girl muttered to herself and burst into tears.
There is such a thing as ‘sincerity’ in this world. The real one, not the fake one, was in front of Shien’s eyes. But by the time I realized that, it was already too late.
The crypt was shaking and collapsing.
The princess cried and pleaded with her tongue, which was intoxicated with the anesthetic and could not move properly.
“Ah, Irene… I, I have to save Sir Ian… … .”
“… … I’m sorry, Your Highness. But I cannot let Sir Ian’s sacrifice be in vain.”
Irene’s voice was soaked with water. The princess had no choice but to shed tears, blaming her body for not moving at all.
No, now I just found it for the first time.
The only ‘real’ person in my life, the only one who treats her without the slightest pretense.
Memories of the past became knives and hacked through Shien’s heart. How could she not have realized sooner that the man she hated so much was her one and only rope.
But regret is too late no matter how fast it is.
Read at noblemtl
Just as Irene managed to throw herself out of the crypt, there was a roar and a pile of dirt began to attack the crypt.
Mounds of dirt poured down as if a graveyard worker were burying a corpse. Seeing this, Shien’s eyes were stained with despair.
The girl couldn’t bear the pain, and after that, she pounded her chest and cried.
Irene’s expression also sunk in bewilderment.
She was also responsible for Ian’s death.
Because she was not enough as an escort knight, she had to depend on the mercy of others for the life of her master.
So Irene had no choice but to bite her lips and lower her head. While blaming himself for his own shortcomings, he had no choice but to commemorate his end as a knight.
It was a few hours later that news of a man accidentally being rescued from the dungeon came.
let him cook
– Were you killed?
Ian: – Sadly, yes… but I lived!