The Villain's Ending is Only Death Chapter 77
After that, I kept firing the crossbow while the Crown Prince covered me. The agile assassins were different from the large, slow-moving monsters.
However, the power of the game system ensured that every shot from the crossbow hit its mark.
As the 20 beads I had loaded steadily decreased, so did the number of assassins.
"Princess. How many are left?"
The Crown Prince suddenly asked.
I caught my breath, having just taken down another one.
"About three or so... Why do you ask?"
At that moment, the horse, which had been galloping non-stop, came to an abrupt stop.
Looking around, I saw that we were at the end of a narrow cliff. The width was too small to turn the horse around.
"Since they can't shoot arrows at close range, it's better to get off and finish them off on foot."
The Crown Prince muttered this as he lifted me off the horse.
He then leaped down himself.
With no visible assassins, the body that had been forced by the system relaxed for a moment.
However, since three remained, I kept the crossbow at the ready, alert in all directions.
"It's dangerous, stay behind me."
The Crown Prince blocked my path, saying something unexpectedly princely.
But this quest was none other than [Protect the Crown Prince from Assassins].
Therefore, I stood beside him, equal to him.
"It's fine. I'll take care of myself, so Your Highness should focus on protecting yourself."
He glanced at me with a look that said, "What strange things you say."
"They only target me, but it's reassuring to have you here."
I felt a bit uncomfortable and just ignored him, looking towards the forest.
Apart from the sound of the weakening rain, there was no other sign of movement.
I pulled the wet strands of hair from my face and glared at the floating white text in the air.
I wanted to quickly finish off the remaining three and end this tedious quest.
Several throwing knives flew towards the Crown Prince from the bushes at the edge of the cliff.
Clang, Clang—! The Crown Prince deflected them with ease.
However, it seemed to be a diversion, as two more assassins leaped out of the bushes at the same time.
The assassins, wielding daggers, rushed towards the Crown Prince, who had narrowly deflected the knives.
Startled, I shouted, and my body, controlled by the system, moved first.
One of the assassins hit by the bead convulsed on the ground.
Clang—! But the other assassin's dagger clashed with the Crown Prince's sword.
I was about to aim at the remaining assassin.
In the heat of the moment, I had overlooked the fact that one more remained.
Perhaps intentionally, as soon as one fell, the last assassin, hiding in the bushes, leaped out with a long sword.
But his target was not the Crown Prince, but me.
The system wasn't optimized for all variables.
My body, which had been aiming at the assassin fighting the Crown Prince, turned towards the attacker a beat too late.
"Damn! Get out of the way, Princess!"
At the same time as the Crown Prince's shout,
Click, Bang—! I pulled the trigger.
The moment the bead was fired, the assassin's sword was inches away.
He would surely fall to the bead I fired, but the distance was too close.
The system would execute the action of firing the crossbow regardless of whether I lived or died.
I couldn't avoid the sharp blade slicing through the air.
My eyes involuntarily squeezed shut.
But at that moment, something large and solid wrapped around me.
As I was roughly pushed back by the strong force and heavy weight,
A chilling sound and a low groan echoed.
I saw the wet blond hair of the Crown Prince, who had thrown aside the assassin he was fighting and rushed to embrace me.
The sword in his back and the assassin hit by my crossbow.
Then I saw another assassin running to finish us off.
The entire process seemed to unfold in slow motion.
I couldn't support the Crown Prince's body, which had rushed to protect me without controlling his strength.
My body was pushed helplessly towards the edge of the cliff.
The Crown Prince, who had tightly embraced my waist with both hands, whispered in my ear.
The moment I felt the emptiness behind me, a dizzying sensation overwhelmed me.
Even as we fell off the cliff, my hand, holding the crossbow, automatically aimed over the Crown Prince's shoulder.
Just as I finished off the last assassin.
〈SYSTEM〉 ~Main Quest: Become the Queen of the Hunt~
[Second. Protect the Crown Prince from Assassins] Quest successful!
〈SYSTEM〉 As a reward, you have obtained [Assassin's Emblem], [Calisto's Favor +10%], [Reputation +50].
Instead of the sky, I and the Crown Prince began to plummet into the deep abyss, with white text as the background.
The sound of burning logs came from somewhere.
I opened my eyes groggily. In my blurry vision, the first thing I saw was flickering flames.
Behind them, an unfamiliar cliff face.
I pushed myself up with my arms, struggling to sit up from my lying position.
Swish— As the blanket covering me slipped off, I felt a chill on my skin.
Without thinking, I lowered my head and my eyes widened at my exposed shoulder.
Checking under the blanket, I found myself completely naked except for my underwear.
Moreover, the blanket covering me was the Crown Prince's red cloak.
At that moment, a deep, resonant voice echoed from the other side.
Turning my head reflexively, I gasped.
A solid chest, scarred in various places, and prominent abs.
Indeed, the Crown Prince was walking towards me, his upper body bare.
"Ah! What are you doing?!"
I belatedly covered my eyes with both hands in shock.
"Why are you walking around naked?!"
He dropped the logs he had brought next to the campfire.
Then, he sat down in front of it, responding nonchalantly.
"Should I keep walking around in wet clothes? I don't want to."
He glanced at me and added with a smirk.
"Besides, you're also naked, aren't you?"
"This... this is despicable...!"
"That's not something someone who's spreading their fingers to look should say. Why don't you just look openly?"
I cleared my throat loudly and subtly lowered my hands.
He sent me a mocking look.
'Just in case you had any sinister thoughts while I was covering my eyes!'
It was absolutely not because I wanted to see his upper body. Absolutely not.
I tightened the Crown Prince's cloak and looked at him with a wary gaze.
"Then, did Your Highness...?"
He shrugged, confirming it.
"Thanks to you, we've seen everything now."
"Please stop saying such terrible things."
I shuddered at his response.
The Crown Prince looked at me in disbelief.
"Isn't that a bit harsh for someone I saved and brought here?"
"Then why did you touch a lady's body without permission?"
"Should I have just left you to die from the cold?"
"Maintain chivalry and leave me alone. Or wake me up."
He chuckled at my bold answer and then spat out.
"Even if there's nothing to see."
"Right now... what did you say?"
I stuttered, stunned by his outrageous statement.
"I said there's nothing to see."
"There is... there is something to see!"
"Is there a lot to see? Actually, it was too dark in the cave to see properly. Should we check together now?"
I barely held back a curse.
'Just endure... He's the Crown Prince, the one with 2% favor... '
As I muttered to myself, my eyes widened at the white text I suddenly noticed.
The changed favor of the Crown Prince reminded me of the forgotten quest.
〈SYSTEM〉 As a reward, you have obtained [Assassin's Emblem], [Calisto's Favor +10%], [Reputation +50].
The Crown Prince's favor had moved significantly away from death.
In the end, I had successfully completed that damn quest.