The Villain's Ending is Only Death Chapter 76
The amulet was too thin to block the sharp and sturdy arrow.
However, it did seem that the defensive magic had activated, as it had lost its original golden color and was now charred black.
I looked at it with a strange expression and asked,
“Did you... not throw this away?”
I had assumed he would throw it away, thinking he had forcibly taken it from me just to tease me.
At my puzzled expression, the Crown Prince raised one eyebrow.
“Throw it away? How could I treat a token of affection given by someone I once had feelings for like that?”
“What kind of terrible thing to say...”
Another arrow flew through the rain and embedded itself in the tree trunk above where I was sitting.
I let out a short scream in surprise.
At the same time, the Crown Prince sprang to his feet.
“It seems the Empress is having another fit. Get up, Lady. We need to run.”
He roughly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me up.
Even as I stood up in a daze, I couldn't understand.
“Do you want to stay here and get hit by an arrow and die?”
“If they're people sent by Her Majesty, they're targeting Your Highness. So if you just go somewhere else... Ah!”
I didn't get to finish my sentence.
The Crown Prince had wrapped me in his cloak and hoisted me up.
It was hard to believe that this was the same person who had just fallen off a horse after being hit by an arrow.
He placed me on the saddle like a piece of luggage.
Clunk. The bear's head that had been placed on the saddle fell to the ground, but no one cared.
I asked, bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
“Stop talking nonsense, Lady. The assassins who came to kill the Crown Prince won't let the only witness go easily.”
The Crown Prince spat out irritably as he leaped onto the horse.
Then, he tightened the reins, trapping me between his arms.
The black horse began to gallop at lightning speed.
Swish, swish- Thud, thud.
At the same time, two darts flew from the side.
The Crown Prince clicked his tongue in annoyance, ducked his head, and easily dodged them.
He then hugged me tighter, as if to protect me.
The situation was so urgent that it didn't feel particularly moving.
‘Damn... Now I'm even getting involved in an assassination attempt.’
I just wanted to cry at the absurdity of this crazy game.
I should have just turned around and left this guy's side when the clouds started to gather.
Thud, thud, thud. The galloping horse and the relentless rain left me completely disoriented.
A group of pursuers could be faintly seen behind the Crown Prince.
Swish, swish. Arrows and darts continued to fly from their direction.
The Crown Prince drew his sword with incredible speed and deflected the incoming arrows and darts.
As he deflected the continuous attacks, the Crown Prince muttered a low curse, finding it difficult to escape.
“Stay still, Lady. It's dangerous.”
Calisto muttered lowly as he deflected another arrow.
The tension in his body, which was pressed against mine, was palpable.
I was also on high alert.
Even if the protagonist can't die, they can still be seriously injured.
‘Besides, this isn't even a quest.’
Without a reset, this is reality for me.
Gradually, fear began to seep into my toes.
Pouring rain. A fierce chase unfolded on the forest path.
The distance between us and the unknown attackers gradually closed, allowing us to see their shapes.
A group of people dressed in black masks and dark clothing. They were clearly assassins.
Suddenly, I recalled the shocking scene where the Crown Prince had beheaded an assassin at the second prince's birthday banquet.
‘...Does the Crown Prince often get into situations like this? It never happened in Normal Mode.’
At that moment, the scene before me suddenly brightened.
〈SYSTEM〉 ~Main Quest: Let's become the Queen of the Hunt!~
Do you want to proceed with the [Second. Protect the Crown Prince from Assassins] quest?
(Target: 20 assassins, Reward: Assassin's Emblem, +10% Calisto's Affection, +50 Reputation)
A white rectangular window suddenly appeared behind the Crown Prince.
Then, my face twisted in anger.
‘I don't want to be a queen! Besides... 20 people?!”
I wanted to spam the [Reject] button immediately.
But I couldn't. The affection reward was a whopping ‘10%’.
In Normal Mode, it could be increased with just a few conversations, but in Hard Mode, 10% was unimaginable.
〈SYSTEM〉 As this is a main quest, it will be automatically accepted in 5 seconds.
In the end, I reluctantly prepared to shoot the crossbow, wrapping it around my front.
The Crown Prince sternly warned me, noticing my movement.
I called out to him in a gloomy voice.
I slightly lifted the edge of the cloak to show the crossbow I had already slung across my chest.
“I'll shoot all the pursuers, so just cover me.”
Calisto's lips moved as if to say something, but I didn't have time to listen.
The 5-second grace period had finally run out.
〈SYSTEM〉 The quest has been automatically accepted.
The moment the white text in the rectangular window turned into numbers, my body, which had been huddled in the Crown Prince's arms, sprang up.
Then, using his broad shoulder as a support, I mechanically cranked the crossbow to load it.
Click. The sound of the trigger engaging was heard.
I immediately closed one eye and aimed at an assassin.
The heavy rain obscured my vision, and the horse's movements made me sway, but neither of these were a problem for me, or rather, the system.
Just as an assassin noticed me and aimed his bow,
The assassin who had been aiming disappeared from the horse.
The bolt hit its target without error. I could see the guy who had fallen off the horse convulsing from the impact.
But I didn't have time to revel in the thrill.
Click, bang-! Bang, bang-!
My body was busy shooting down the other pursuers one after another.
With each pull of the trigger, I hit the pursuers. In no time, I had taken out seven of them.
The pursuers who had been closing in fell off their horses and crawled on the ground.
Perhaps the assassins were taken aback by the unexpected counterattack.
Swish, swish-. Arrows began to fly in a swarm.
Thud, thud! Arrows that narrowly missed me were viciously embedded in the trees.
But my body, which had lost control, didn't falter even under the rain of arrows and kept shooting the crossbow.
They seemed to be approaching from all sides, and with a final scream, one of them fell from a tree.
The Crown Prince suddenly pulled me down and hugged me tightly.
The Crown Prince groaned softly. A dart had embedded itself in his left shoulder.
One of the assassins approaching from the side had aimed at the Crown Prince's left side, where he wasn't holding a sword.
After shooting down that guy, I quickly raised my body again and aimed the crossbow.
“Are you... okay, Your Highness?”
Even as I shot the crossbow frantically, I honestly wanted to faint.
I wanted to check his wound, but my body, which was being controlled without a break, wouldn't let me.
“Would it matter if I wasn't?”
He sounded quite pained, but the Crown Prince spoke irritably.
Then, he added in a softer voice,
“Don't worry. I'm wearing light armor, so it didn't penetrate deeply.”
The Crown Prince deflected another incoming dart with his sword.
I breathed a deep sigh of relief and vented a bit of my resentment for getting involved in this damn situation.
If he hadn't pulled me down just now, the dart might have hit my head.
I mumbled timidly. At least my mouth could move as I wished.
The Crown Prince sneered.
“How about it? Isn't this enough to justify the reason you originally agreed to give me an answer about your affection?”
“I don't think once is enough.”
He clicked his tongue at my sharp response.
Seeing him still able to make such remarks, he seemed fine.