The Reincarnated Young Girl Is Adored by the Spirits She Helped in Her Previous Life
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The afternoon of the day when Luria helped Sui. King Gastone was irritated.
In the king’s office, only the leader of the “Shadows” was present.
The “Shadows” are an elite force directly under Gastone’s command, responsible for protecting the king and gathering intelligence.
“This is getting nowhere.”
The leader of the “Shadows” bowed in front of the visibly displeased Gastone.
“…I apologize.”
Recently, Gastone had ordered the “Shadows” to investigate Luria.
“This should have been a simple task, shouldn’t it?”
And yet, the “Shadows” failed.
“Even though there is no time to spare.”
Before Graf brings Luria into the palace, all the necessary information needs to be obtained.
Information is crucial. Without it, they risk falling behind on all fronts.
To proceed as Gastone wished, information is essential.
“And what is this report? A monster appeared, but disappeared?”
“That is correct. We tried to investigate further, but we were hindered by the animals…”
Luria is surrounded by guardian beasts, including goats.
The guardian beasts, sensing that the “Shadows” were suspicious, interfered.
“Does this mean the information leaked?”
“That can’t be… “
Until recently, there had been only one “Shadow” monitoring the lakeside villa.
That one had simply been observing from a distance, remaining unnoticed.
However, under Gastone’s orders, the number of “Shadows” monitoring Luria had increased to five.
Moreover, to obtain more detailed information, they had closed the distance physically.
The guardian beasts, who had been silently guarding Luria, could not overlook such activity.
The birds spotted the “Shadows”, the cows and wild boar shoved them, and the goats trampled them.
As a result, the “Shadows” were forced to retreat in disarray.
But, of course, Gastone was unaware of all this.
Suspicious and paranoid, Gastone concluded that there was now a traitor among the “Shadows.”
“If it hadn’t leaked, why were we suddenly obstructed? No one but us should know about this!”
“I apologize.”
All the “Shadows” were able to report on was the existence of a rampaging Sui and that it had disappeared.
“Useless fools.”
“……”
The leader of the “Shadows” offered no defense, knowing it would be pointless.
And then, Gastone, alone, began to think.
(What exactly was this “monster”? Does the disappearance mean it was exorcised by the Saint’s power?)
Gastone couldn’t understand, and his doubts only grew stronger.
The very existence of the “monster” now seemed dubious.
“I need information.”
“Understood. I’ll send my subordinates now.”
“No need. I will go myself.”
“Pardon?”
If there is a traitor in the “Shadows,” the correct information will never reach him.
Thus, Gastone decided that he must obtain the information himself.
“Please wait. It is dangerous.”
The leader of the “Shadows” was right in his advice. For the king to collect information himself was an extremely dangerous move.
“That’s why I’ll go now.”
If plans were made in advance, the likelihood of leaks would increase.
Gastone believed it would be safer to act impulsively, as the enemy wouldn’t have time to target him.
Though he wasn’t aware of it, his paranoia had overtaken his sense of calm.
“Only two. Choose two who are absolutely loyal.”
“……Understood.”
There was no choice but to follow the orders.
The leader of the “Shadows” selected two of the most loyal members, and Gastone left the palace.
Before sunset, Gastone was on a simple carriage, heading to the lakeside villa.
“……Everyone is so useless.”
He couldn’t trust anyone, and worse, they were ineffective. They were all fools.
Perhaps it was time to replace all of the “Shadows” who had let a traitor emerge.
As he pondered these things, the carriage was suddenly rocked by a violent jolt.
“What… what was that?”
Gastone crawled out of the overturned carriage, blood dripping from his forehead.
“Your Majesty, it’s an honor to meet you.”
Then, five figures dressed in black surrounded him.
Their robes were black hoods, and everything they wore, from shoes to swords, was pitch black.
Their faces were concealed by black masks, making it impossible to determine their gender or race.
The voice sounded too high to be a man’s and too low for a woman’s—it must have been magically altered.
“Run, Your Majesty—”
But the “Shadows” who tried to protect Gastone were easily defeated.
The enemies were strong enough to take down even the elite “Shadows.”
“You…!”
Two of the “Shadows” could have escaped, but they chose to protect Gastone.
In front of him, he lost two of the loyal “Shadows.”
“…Who are you? What do you want with me?”
“We are those who hold a grudge against you, Your Majesty.”
With that, the figures in black pinned Gastone’s head and forced his mouth open.
They then shoved something wriggling, like a leech, into his mouth.
“Ugh, g-gobo!”
Gastone tried to spit it out, but the leech-like creature invaded his body on its own.
“Now, Your Majesty, you are cursed.”
“Cursed… you say? Ugh… ughhh…”
A horrible pain surged from deep within his abdomen.
He wanted to vomit but couldn’t. His head, joints, muscles, and insides all throbbed with pain. He felt cold to the very core of his being.
His limbs twitched, and he couldn’t muster any strength.
“Uggghhh…”
His entire body itched unbearably, and swelling began to form.
The black-clad figures used a mirror to show Gastone his own distorted face.
“Now, no one will recognize you as Your Majesty.”
“Ah… Ah…”
“You can’t speak anymore, can you? Your vocal cords are swollen too.”
The figures in black laughed mockingly, clearly enjoying themselves.
Now, there would be no way to prove Gastone was truly the king.
His hands were twitching so badly that even writing a signature was impossible.
“Ah…”
“This is not the end, though.”
The black-clad figures shoved Gastone’s head into a jar that emitted a repulsive odor.
“Gobbo… gobbo!”
Filth entered through my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The filth seeped into my swelling wounds, causing unbearable pain.
When I was on the verge of suffocating from the filth, I was pulled out.
“Geoooh…”
My body tried to vomit the filth, but I couldn’t. It was likely the effect of the curse.
“…ah… ah…”
Why is this happening? I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t make a sound.
“You, the king, will be covered in filth, unknown to anyone, and die miserably in pain.”
“…ah.”
“No one will help such a filthy, stinky old man.”
“………”
“A lonely and miserable death suits you, Your Majesty.”
The black-clad figures laughed happily.
“…ah.”
But even in that situation, Gastone still had a faint hope. His hope was that the leader of the Shadows would come if he disappeared.
The leader of the Shadows would surely use magic to find him.
“Yes, yes. One of the effects of the curse is that it hides your presence.”
“…eh?”
“Even if someone tries to find you using magic, they won’t be able to locate you.”
“………”
“Well, it’s not like anyone would be looking for you anyway, since you’re not well-liked.”
With that, the black-clad figures laughed. They then abandoned Gastone in a forest far off from the road.
“…ah.”
As the sun set and darkness began to settle in, the presence of creatures in the forest could be felt, but they didn’t approach.
It was painful, cold, and unbearable. The swelling all over my body itched terribly.
“………ah.”
As the black-clad figures said, no one would come to help the person they didn’t recognize as the king.
Furthermore, I was covered in filth. No one would help such a filthy old man.
People won’t help others unless they gain something from it.
“………”
What was the purpose of my life? From a young age, I had been targeted for assassination. I couldn’t trust my parents, uncles, grandparents, siblings, sons, or even my trusted aides.
Even so, I tried to be a good king for the people. I know I made enemies.
Even the great nobles were punished without mercy if they broke the law.
But I only punished them because they used their status to oppress the people.
“………ah.”
God, were my actions so sinful? Was I such a sinful person that I deserve this kind of punishment?
“….uu.”
Unable to speak, Gastone cried alone in the forest.
By dawn, Gastone was found by the guardian beast, the owl, and carried by the cow.
For a while, a meeting was held among the guardian beasts.
“Boooh!” “Meeh~!” “Moooh!” “Hohoh!”
The debate was heated. The topic was whether to prioritize human life or Luria’s safety.
The boar argued, “Should we call Lady Luria every time we find someone on the verge of death? That’s impossible.”
The goat argued, “But Lady Luria would still want to save them.”
After the debate, the spirit king, Kuro, was summoned, and it was decided that the decision would be left to Luria. Kuro prioritized Luria’s safety, while the goat prioritized human lives.
Because of that, Kuro told them to return to the mansion, and the goat informed Luria about the person who was collapsed.
“………ah… (Who are these people?)”
While the guardian beasts were debating, Gastone was suffering in silence.
Were the beasts planning to eat him? He wondered.
They didn’t need to eat him covered in filth. He thought about this.
“It’s alright, but Sara, stay away.”
How long had passed? Suddenly, a human voice was heard. It was the voice of a young girl.
“Ah… ah… Ah…”
Gastone looked at the young girl desperately.
There was no way someone would help such a filthy, hideous person like him, but he still sought help.
“It’s okay now. You don’t have to speak.”
The young girl said, and without hesitation, she touched Gastone, who was covered in filth.
She cleaned him up and treated him.
“…ah.”
The young girl didn’t recognize him as the king. He must have looked like nothing more than a filthy, sick old man to her.
Yet, the young girl helped him without hesitation.
She didn’t mind that her hands were covered in filth, nor did she worry about getting infected.
What great self-sacrifice and unselfishness she showed.
Gastone couldn’t put his gratitude into words. He was deeply moved and cried.
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