Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 342.2

(EP-342.2) Of Hearts #11

342 – Queen of Hearts #11

“This is strange. I expected some resistance, or maybe a scream. But it’s as quiet as an egg.”

Could something have happened to Aira? Or was there some kind of bizarre change? I couldn’t help but worry.

“What if we release her? If she goes wild, we can always subdue her again.”

Mirna let out a thoughtful hum at my suggestion. But with Aira motionless and silent, Mirna seemed to have no better ideas. She nodded reluctantly.

“Fine.”

—Mutter, mutter.

Mirna chanted an incantation.

Crack. Crack-crack.

Visible fractures began forming on the paper shell of the egg. Then, at last, one side shattered completely—

Shluck.

Something dark tumbled out through the broken gap and collapsed onto the floor. From behind damp strands of hair, hazy eyes met mine.

I’d braced myself for an attack the moment the seal broke, but the sight of her limp figure left me deflated.

She looked like a newborn chick.

A bird with wet, black feathers.

“Aira-nim, can you hear me?”

I snapped my fingers in front of Aira. But she looked vacant, and didn’t seem to comprehend my words.

Elga’s face twisted in frustration.

“Hey, Mirna. She’s completely broken. What the hell did you do? Did you mess with her mind or something?”

“If I could do that, don’t you think I would’ve made things easier? This isn’t my doing—”

Leaving the two to their bickering, I held Aira’s empty gaze.

What came to mind was the Queen Aira from the original story—defeated by the Hunter. After losing to the Hunter’s party, she had given up and was ultimately hanged on the gallows.

That was right.

Despair.

Perhaps Aira let go of whatever semblance of a ‘heartʼ she’d been clinging to.

Proud and regal to her core, the queen we knew couldn’t bear the shame of losing to intruders like us. So she fled.

She turned away from what she couldn’t endure, pretending it didn’t exist.

━There’s commotion over there! Protect the queen!

━Defend Her Majesty!

The clatter of armor and weapons echoed from the hallway.

Hearing the approaching footsteps of people carrying torches, Mirna, Elga and I frantically looked around in alarm.

“Sir Theo, we need to move!”

I agreed. Hoisting Aira up, I bolted toward the least active path in the familiar interior.

But there were soldiers everywhere.

Cornered in a dead end, Mirna then clicked her tongue.

“We can’t surrender the queen quietly. At this point, there’s no hiding the fact that we’ve infiltrated the palace.”

Would we need to fight?

—Shhh! Over here!

Just then, someone suddenly grabbed Elga’s arm.

We were all caught off guard by the unexpected situation—an arm just sprouted from the solid wall and seized Elga’s wrist.

“What the hell?!”

Elga looked genuinely startled.

“A trap?! Something’s pulling me! It’s stronger than I thought!”

With a whoosh, Elga was being dragged into the wall. But she was strong and wouldn’t just allow herself to be taken.

Then—

Mirna shoved Elga’s back toward the wall.

“Wha—?!”

With a yelp, Elga vanished.

“Sir Theo, this way!”

Mirna slipped into the wall after her.

I think I knew what Mirna was planning. Pressing my body against the wall, I pushed through.

Suook-. For a moment, it felt like passing through a thin film of soap.

A small flickering candle, and a bed made from discarded wooden crates gave the space a lived-in feeling. Why was there such a place in what we’d thought was a dead end?

Whatever the reason, we were alive.

━Where’d they go? This is a dead end!

━I don’t know! Find the Queen!

Loud noises came from behind me. It felt as if there was an invisible glass window in front of our group, allowing us to clearly see what was happening on the other side of the wall.

I worried for a moment that they might be able to see me as well, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. Was this something like a one-way magic mirror?

━You go that way, you follow me!

The soldiers, armed with swords, spears, and torches, frantically searched the area before eventually scattering in different directions. Only then could we finally let out the breaths we had been holding.

“Whoever you are… thank you. This must be one of Narmi’s safe zones. But who are you? Some kind of hidden magic she left?”

Ever polite, Mirna first offered her thanks before asking about the person’s identity.

“Huh?”

The owner of the wall sprouting arm made a strange noise. Then, they pulled back the hood of their robe, revealing their face.

“Safe zone? Magic? What are you talking about? This is my home.”

Shraa— Golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, framing a pale face with blue eyes that felt both familiar and strange.

Since they had pulled Elga in by sheer strength, I had expected someone rugged or a man. But surprisingly, it was a girl.

She looked even younger than I had imagined.

Fourteen, maybe fifteen? But her age was hard to pin down because of her short, pointed ears.

A nymph.

I had heard that blonde nymphs were quite rare.

She looked almost like a doll.

At that moment, she suddenly scowled.

“Is that the Queen? You defeated her and kidnapped her? Are you people insane? No—no, even crazy people wouldn’t do this lunacy. You almost ruined my perfect plan…!”

Edit by: faker