On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

[Lunea dis Cresundia\'s POV]

As the last child in my family, I have never expected to be on the throne. I might be excellent in Magic, but my brothers are way more capable than me in terms of dealing with people.

I am not suited to be a Queen and I don\'t want to be one. I just want a carefree life where I can do everything and go everywhere I want without anyone telling me otherwise.

I was naïve for thinking it would be possible. My brothers, seeing the love that my father showered me with, were worried that I might have a chance to inherit the throne; they did something to limit my movement.

Arranged marriage.

As soon as I heard those words come out of their mouth, my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I didn\'t have to think twice to conclude that I abhorred the idea.

A discussion was commenced to talk about that; my appeal was vetoed by my brothers. I ran to my room and cried, but my father, in the end, managed to convince me everything would be all right. I accepted the proposal and that was a mistake.

As soon as I met my soon-to-be husband, I knew there was something wrong with him. He never saw me once even though I was right in front of him; it was very clear that he would only marry me for gaining favour from my brothers.

\'Very well, it is better that he is not interested in me at all. I may be able to have a carefree life after all,\' I thought at the time. Again, it was a very naïve thought.

"As the King of Cresundia, I welcome you, Heroes! We may not be the best Kingdom, but we can guarantee that you will be the best Heroes with our support."

Everything changed when the Heroes arrived.

As my father was busy minding the Heroes, the talk about who would inherit the throne was entirely forgotten. The situation was calm among my brothers, but the leash around my neck was getting tighter.

I felt controlled—my activity was limited and that was because my fiancé "told me so." By the time I knew it, he had marked me as his possession, so he thought no one but him could interact with me—that was disgusting.

The Heroes were all professional; they focused on their personal growth and rarely interacted with people that didn\'t have anything to do with the battlefield. Unlike the Heroes from Antares, they ignored my attempt to make friends with them.

I was curious about them—I wanted to hear the stories about the world where they came from, but none of them was willing to tell me that. Well, except for one person— Yūto.

"I notice that you have been watching us for two whole weeks. I don\'t know how to act like a friend, but if you are willing, I don\'t mind being your friend."

He was the most awkward and understanding person I had ever met. He was the first male that looked at me; not my body.

Awkward as he was, we became good friends very quickly. We often hung out together and spent our time talking about the journey he had had—it was fun.

Somehow, a weird rumour was spreading around the palace: Princess Lunea dis Cresundia is committing adultery with one of the Heroes. I was maddened by that rumour since Yūto\'s name was slandered along with mine.

"Someone called me a dog one day. I looked behind but I found no tail. \'Apparently, I am not a dog,\' I said. He just looked at me weirdly and left me alone."

"That means…?"

"People are just like that. Sometimes, they don\'t speak because they need to, but because they can longer hold back the urge to. Just ignore it."

Yūto had always been dubbed as the odd duck among the Heroes but he didn\'t care about it. His mentality never ceased to amaze me and being his friend, I couldn\'t help but be influenced.

I paid no mind to the rumour, but my fiancé, unsurprisingly, couldn\'t do the same. He didn\'t want to call off the marriage despite his trust issues and he became, even more, controlling of me.

He limited the time I could meet and talk with Yūto and even did as far as hiring someone to harm Yūto. That was my breaking point, so I had a huge fight with my fiancé on the night that marked my last stay at the palace.

"You cheating whore, how many times have I told you to stay away from that bastard!"

"Cheating? I know you have always sent people to spy on us, Atticus—you should\'ve known better! Oh, I also know where you go every night—spending money on prostitutes—and you still dare to talk about infidelity? Ridiculous!"

"This… this whore!"

For the first time in my life, I was hit. It was very painful and I couldn\'t help touching my cheek in disbelief as my eyes welled up.

Crash!

Two people suddenly broke through the window, much to our surprise. They were Yūto and one of the Heroes.

Looking at their state, it was easy to conclude that they just had a serious fight. Yūto came to me even before I could ask for an explanation and, much to my shock, he cut my fiancé in half as he carried me outside.

"Your father is now nothing but a puppet. One of the Heroes has betrayed all of us and he is taking the Kingdom under his control with your brothers. We have to go away. You and I are going to be killed even if we don\'t do anything."

Everything happened so fast that my mind couldn\'t register the event entirely; we fell and bleed as we ran and, by the time I know it, a poison had entered my bloodstream. Yūto felt very guilty about that, but I was just grateful that we had somehow survived.

Having poison in my bloodstream, certainly, had some effect on me. Breathing was getting harder for me the more the day passed, causing Yūto to worry that I might lose my life soon.

One day, we encountered a Dark Elf. He saw my condition and told us that he knew how to heal me. Yūto instantly bought that and asked the Dark Elf how. He told us to go to Lysimork to get the antidote, but it was impossible for us at the time.

Well… for us.

"I will return quickly, so please hang on."

"Please… be careful."

I was optimistic at that time that Yūto would return. Something unexpected, however, seemed to happen and the day when Yūto returned never came.

I was alone yet again. Stranded in a place that I didn\'t know, all I thought about was ending it all; I had suffered enough.

Just as I thought about jumping off the cliff to end my suffering, a Dark Elf came to me, bringing a pill with him. He said nothing much before telling me to take it.

My health improved drastically just a few seconds after I gulped it down. It made me ecstatic, but the next thing he said made my day coloured gloom.

"The Hero Yūto has fallen. I am here to tell you that and offer you something to honour the death of the brilliant hero."

I had seen the news coming, but it still gave me shock when I heard it. As I cried, I listen to the offer the Dark Elf gave me: information about the Heroes of Antares in exchange for being able to stay in Lysimork and receive its protection.

I had honestly lost my will to live at that time, so I accepted the offer without expecting the other side to keep the deal. Still, when it turned out just as I expected, I was disappointed.

"Ha-Ha-Ha. What am I lamenting for?" I can\'t help laughing sardonically. "You have lost your will to live, aren\'t you, Lunea? Why are you acting like someone afraid of leaving this world?"

Now, lying on my back as I gaze at the sky that is faintly covered by the canopy, I can\'t help shedding tears that I thought I had emptied. It has been less than three weeks, but my life course has entirely changed.

Although not in this world, in a sense, I can finally have the carefree life that I want so badly. Another chuckle comes out of my mouth as I think about that and my vision gets even more blurry at the same time.

Shrrk! Shrrk!

My heart skipped a beat as I heard the sound coming from my side. My blurry vision instantly cleared up and my fear of death resurfaced.

Breathing was already hard for me thanks to the poison that takes effect again after the pill that the Dark Elf gave me wore off, but whatever Wild Beast is approaching me is making it worse. Even before it does anything to me, I am sure I will be dead.

Whoosh!

A strong wind suddenly crashed into my face from above, prompting me to look up. I huge Wyvern that makes me almost wet myself is hovering above me.

Thud!

Someone lands on the ground and I immediately know he is a Demon from his aura and horns. As he turns around, he takes off his mask, showing me his peerless handsome face and then stares at me with his empty, cold eyes.

"You reek of despair but you are afraid to die. Disgusting," he says without any remorse. "I can never be your light, but I can give you a reason to live."

He crouches down and gives me a slice of apple. "I want you to help me hunt the Heroes. I know you know where all of them are. Take this slice of apple if you want to live. Once you do, your life shall forever be mine."

Being bound to another person after taking off my leash is a very repulsive idea; however, for some reason, I don\'t think I will regret ever grasping this Demon\'s hand.

"W-Will you let me see the world if I help you," I ask painfully.

"Ah, the world, huh? Of course, you will see the world along us." He smiles emptily. "What you will see, though, is not only the beauty of this world. The further we travel, the clearer it is how ugly the world is. Despite so—oh, a very eager one, I see."

I immediately take the slice of apple and eat it. I don\'t care how ugly the world actually is; I know it is ugly the moment I had my first menstruation cycle.

Today, my journey begins with darkness being my guide.