The Extra Saved the Terminally Ill Princess and Ran Away - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Triang Village (2)

***

In the pitch-black darkness of the forest, a darkness that would have terrified anyone unfamiliar with it,

The boy, having faced the Lycansthrope, felt no fear.

" Ugh…! I'm telling the truth!!! I swear!!! I answered your question! Why are you doing this…?"

The man's voice, hoarse from hours of interrogation, pleaded for mercy.

What had gone wrong?

How could this boy torture him so ruthlessly, his expression remaining unchanged?

Just hours ago, when he received the report that a boy and three girls had entered his territory, he had celebrated.

According to his subordinate, they were academy students, and only the boy was armed.

Even elite academy students would be caught off guard by a surprise attack in the dark.

And they were outnumbered. He had licked his lips, anticipating the spoils of his victory. The young, untouched girls.

But he was a cautious man, having learned the importance of thorough preparation through years of banditry.

He had ordered his men to prepare poison-tipped daggers and paralysis-coated arrows.

Even if the girls' skin melted slightly from the poison, it didn't matter.

Academy students, even if commoners, were bound to be prettier than village girls, and their flesh would be just as tender.

The chance to have his way with three girls far outweighed the slight decrease in their value.

But fate, it seemed, had other plans.

The darkness, the very night they had chosen for their ambush,

Had become the boy's playground.

And their carefully laid plans were rendered useless against a boy who had faced a monster far more terrifying than they could imagine.

The moment the scent of campfire smoke reached their nostrils,

The boy appeared, bathed in moonlight,

And his men, their faces twisted in lecherous grins, had their heads split open instead.

He couldn't believe it.

He knew there was a difference between possessing skill and actually using it.

What good was training under a knight if you hesitated at the crucial moment? That single second of hesitation could cost you your life.

That's what he always said, as he killed men who tried to protect the women he targeted.

But this boy…

Was he a natural-born killer?

'He's insane.'

That's what he thought, as he watched the boy's emotionless face as he continued the interrogation, cutting into his skin.

You shouldn't provoke a madman. So, despite the agonizing pain, he answered the boy's questions truthfully.

And yet, the boy continued to torture him, stabbing his thigh.

"…You truly disgust me."

That was the reason.

The reason why he continued to torture him, despite his truthful answers.

***

This was a necessary process for Grace.

The first step in teaching her that evil was easy, its rewards tempting, and that evildoers rarely changed.

In the original story, Grace had successfully identified all the heretics in Triang Village,

But she hadn't reported all of them.

She had spared the elderly and the children, driven by her misguided sense of justice, her misplaced compassion.

Her illogical, emotional decision had allowed the heresy to take root again, leading to the deaths of innocent people later in the story.

So, she needed to learn.

That expecting villains to repent and change their ways was foolish.

That they needed a harsh lesson to set them straight.

"Do you understand now, Grace? These people are nothing but opportunistic vultures, preying on the weak, stealing their possessions, and violating their women."

"…."

"Grace?"

She looked up at me, her eyes filled with pity, sympathy, and compassion.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

I wasn't the one bleeding and writhing in pain. I couldn't understand her gaze.

***

Grace was an orphan.

Abandoned at the gates of an orphanage with a small sum of money and a note that simply said, "I'm sorry." That was the beginning of her life.

Yet, she had lived a comfortable life.

Firstly, because she was born in the Holy Kingdom.

And the Holy Kingdom, as a matter of policy, provided ample funding to orphanages.

Secondly, because of her unusual beauty.

Her bright eyes, her soft cheeks, the halo-like glow that surrounded her whenever she smiled, had captivated the boys in the orphanage, who protected and cherished her.

Watching the boys blush and stutter around her, Grace had only one thought.

'Those round, wiggly things are so strange.'

Her words were accurate, but she wasn't talking about the boys' physical appearance.

She was talking about the world only she could see.

"W-What did you say, Grace?"

"That boy doesn't like you, sister. He's lying. Those round things wiggle every time he looks at you!"

The older girl, concerned that Grace might be suffering from some kind of mental illness, took her to the orphanage director, who questioned her about what she saw.

But the more Grace explained, the clearer it became that she wasn't ill.

"That boy has the same thing as…."

The commonality among the people Grace described.

They were all deeply infatuated, or had been at some point.

The orphanage director summoned a priest, suspecting that Grace's abilities might be divine in nature.

Since the Holy Kingdom managed and supervised the orphanages, it didn't take long for the priest to arrive.

After questioning and examining Grace, they discovered something remarkable.

"This child can see the movements of souls."

Her ability wasn't just a lie detector.

She saw the souls of people experiencing strong emotions, their souls fluctuating and swirling.

But strong emotions were usually expressed outwardly, so her ability wasn't particularly useful.

Few people could completely mask their rage.

Or their love.

So, Grace's ability was most useful, or rather, most practical, in one specific scenario.

Detecting the anxiety and guilt of someone telling a lie.

And this ability, related to "sincerity," one of the Holy Kingdom's most valued virtues, led to her departure from the orphanage.

"And this child… possesses an extraordinary amount of divine power."

That's how Grace, at a young age, left the orphanage and began her training in divine magic at the church.

And that's how the character "Grace" was born.

Raised among priests and nuns, her divine power far surpassing her peers.

Adored and cherished for her beauty, she had always been surrounded by love and affection.

And in the Holy Kingdom, where sincerity and benevolence were paramount,

While priests and nuns might tell harmless white lies, malicious deception was rare.

That's why Grace, despite her exceptional talent, retained her innocence and idealism.

And so, the story I knew began.

And the story I didn't know, the story of Grace's selfless, tragic love, began as well.

Her environment had changed drastically.

Unlike the church, where everyone was kind and virtuous, the academy was filled with envy, jealousy, and malice.

Of course, that was just her perception. The academy wasn't filled with villains.

They were just ambitious students, desperate to prove themselves after working so hard to gain entry.

But for her, it was too much, too overwhelming.

And then, Ian Cedric, the embodiment of virtue and righteousness, appeared before her, like a beacon of hope.

She followed him like a lost puppy, finding comfort and solace in his unwavering goodness.

And so, her love began, a love destined for a tragic end.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, the two souls coexisting within a single body, a sight she had never witnessed before.

If she hadn't realized that both souls were focused on a single person... she would have met a terrible fate.

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