Monster Wearing a Girl's Skin

Aurora had been snatched away in the dead of night and told by a strange man that the kingdom was about to perish, yet she showed not the slightest panic.

Though she was highly wary of the soldier before her, Aurora remained elegant and polite. Her bearing and words displayed a maturity far beyond her age; she did not resemble in the slightest a pure, innocent Little Princess who had never left the palace.

"Why do you say the kingdom will be destroyed within a few years? What evidence do you have?" she asked.

The soldier smiled.

"Perhaps you have heard of Engeland, the neighboring country that has always coveted our land and resources—a powerful military empire, a domineering Bandit Country!

"I once served in the army. A few months ago, my companions and I captured an Engeland nobleman. He had once been invited as a foreign guest to a grand event in our kingdom more than ten years ago.

"According to him, at that event, Black Witch Maleficent cursed our Rose Kingdom, declaring that it would be destroyed more than ten years later! Counting from now, there should only be five or six years left!

"When that time comes, Thorns and Tribulus will cover the kingdom's lands, and everyone will bleed from all seven orifices before dying miserably.

"Yet the king deceived us—deceived all of us! He never revealed this secret to the people."

Clearly, the soldier did not know that Aurora standing before him was the source of the curse.

"That nobleman also said that Engeland was considering exposing the secret and telling our country's people the truth about the curse.

"Once everyone learns the secret of the curse, the entire kingdom will fall into chaos. Everything will become a complete mess.

"But there is no need to be afraid. I can protect you and take you out of the kingdom ahead of time."

As he said this, the soldier did his best to straighten his back and display his masculinity.

To be honest, the soldier himself half-believed and half-doubted the captured nobleman's claims. But that did not stop him from presenting them as established fact to the Princess before him.

He believed that a terrible crisis would make an ignorant girl panic. This was his chance to win the Princess's heart!

Even if the girl did not believe him at all, he had The Tinderbox and could forcefully take her away! There would be plenty of time in the future to build a relationship.

After listening to the soldier's impassioned speech, Aurora remained utterly unmoved, still looking half-convinced and half-doubtful.

Growing somewhat impatient, the soldier added, "It was those useless princes and nobles who angered the terrifying Black Witch, yet we are the ones who must bear the disaster.

"If I were king, I would do far better. I would never dare offend a powerful Witch!"

Unexpectedly, Aurora rebuked him sternly. "Even if everything you say is true, the true culprit should be Black Witch Maleficent, who laid this curse upon the kingdom! If the king committed any crime, it was the crime called cowardice.

"He should have declared war on the Black Witch. Even if he had to mobilize the entire kingdom's army and hire every mage he could find, he should have killed the true culprit and ended the curse. Even if everyone died in battle, that would still be better than sitting helplessly and waiting for the end."

For ten years, Aurora had been raised jointly by Rhine and the 12 Witches. She deeply loved this land and loved this country.

She loved listening to babbling streams, loved the bustle of the alleys and streets, played ball with the children in town—and no one could beat her at it! She explored the kingdom's long history through books alongside the scholars who taught her, and Rhine, her magic-wielding mentor, had used Teleportation to take her to many famous sites throughout the kingdom.

Though she did not know whether the stranger's words were true, hearing that the kingdom would soon descend into chaos and be utterly destroyed in a few years still filled her with anger from the bottom of her heart.

The soldier froze.

He had never expected this beautiful little girl, no taller than his waist, to rebuke him in such a severe tone.

And to say such terrifying things as "gather the strength of the entire nation to kill the Black Witch" and "even dying in battle is better than sitting helplessly and waiting"!

The soldier felt a trace of discomfort.

There was something dangerous about this breathtakingly beautiful blonde girl—something that frightened him.

What right did she have to argue with him? What right did she have to say such things?

Was she not the Princess who had been hidden deep in the palace since birth, never exposed to the world? No, this was not how it should be.

She should have obediently listened to him, trembling in terror after hearing him describe the kingdom's future, then nestling into his arms.

And then he would stroke her soft blonde hair and soothe the trembling Princess in his embrace!

The soldier felt a flicker of displeasure. He was an adult, a soldier who had fought through life-and-death battles. A mere little girl had no right to reason with him.

"I am doing this for your own good, beautiful Princess—if you truly are a princess. When the kingdom truly falls into chaos, you will understand."

After saying that, the soldier ordered the enormous dog beside him, whose eyes were as large as teacups, "Take this girl and get out of here!"

The soldier had once used the dogs against bandits on the road and knew full well how terrifying the Three Dogs were! They possessed limitless strength, skin tougher than rock, and bones stronger than steel.

He even suspected that the Three Dogs alone would be enough to crush the king's guards—any ordinary army that encountered three such monsters would suffer an immediate collapse in morale. If he wanted to, he could become the new king at any time.

The dog opened a huge maw as large as a vat and lunged at the blonde, blue-eyed Aurora, intending to forcibly carry her away! Yet the little girl, who was not even as tall as the soldier's waist, moved with astonishing agility. With a practiced sidestep to the left, she avoided the dog's attack.

Aurora moved so fast that she even left an afterimage in the air.

"Ah?"

The soldier's body jerked in shock.

The girl's rolling movement was far too practiced, as though she had rehearsed it hundreds or thousands of times. Even he could not see it clearly at all.

What was going on?

Was she not the beautiful Princess? Why did she possess such exceptional skills? As a genuine soldier, he knew very well that neither he nor any of his comrades possessed such abilities!

"It's fine, it's fine. She's just a little girl. At most, she's a bit agile. Am I really supposed to fear a little girl?"

The soldier consoled himself while instinctively retreating and widening the distance between himself and Aurora.

The girl moved with practiced ease, like a battle-hardened warrior. Using the momentum of her roll to the left, she pressed herself against the wall.

The soldier's eyes widened. He suddenly understood the blonde girl's target! His sword hung on the wall! The next second, accompanied by a crisp sound of steel leaving its sheath, the sharp sword was drawn from the wall.

Aurora stood holding the sword.

Nothing gave her a greater sense of security than a weapon in her hand.

The dog, larger than a lion, had not forgotten its previous order and lunged at Aurora again.

The blonde girl moved, and her sword sliced through the air with a chilling whistle! In a single instant—an instant so brief that the soldier's naked eyes could not catch it—the dog fell, collapsing into a pool of blood.

The severely wounded dog trembled and struggled on the ground, letting out agonized whimpers. Everyone in the inn—no, on the entire street—was awakened by the noise.

Scalding blood gushed out like a fountain, instantly dyeing the entire luxurious room red.

"How is this possible?"

The soldier could scarcely believe his eyes. He even wondered whether he was dreaming.

Ever since he had summoned the dogs with The Tinderbox, he had never seen the Three Dogs shed even a single drop of blood! Those three Big Dogs were practically wish-granting monsters, capable of accomplishing anything.

Aurora stood in the pool of blood as the dog whimpered. Blood had already dyed her pure white nightgown crimson.

The blood-soaked blonde girl slowly approached. Her golden hair and half her beautiful face had been stained red, and blood dripped from the sword in her right hand. Yet her expression remained as calm as ever, as though nothing had happened.

This bizarre and horrifying sight became a blade called fear, plunging deep into the soldier's heart.

Monster!

This was a monster wearing a girl's skin!

"My God, what kind of creature did the dogs bring here?!"

The soldier ran out of the inn in panic, rubbing The Tinderbox several times in succession. His hands trembled with fear, and he nearly failed to hold onto the treasure.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The other two Big Dogs appeared in the night.

One dog had eyes as large as wagon wheels, while the other had eyes as large as round tower roofs.

"The Tinderbox... So it really was you—the soldier who broke his word and wounded Grandma Rosa..."

The moment Aurora saw the soldier take out The Tinderbox, she understood. She understood everything.

The soldier before her was the culprit who had attacked Grandma Rosa and stolen The Tinderbox! Aurora chased after him, her gaze sharper than ever.

The soldier was afraid—completely afraid. He had never been so utterly terrified, not even on the battlefield.

That sharp killing intent seemed almost pressed against his back, soaking his undershirt with sweat.

She is going to kill me, without a doubt! She definitely wants to kill me!

The soldier fled miserably toward the end of the street and into the depths of the night, nearly bursting into tears.

"Dogs, attack her! Protect me!"

As he fled, he ordered the dogs, as though one moment later, the monster wearing a girl's skin would devour him.

The two dogs pounced on Aurora together! The dog whose eyes were as large as waterwheel rims bit Aurora's shoulder. This time, the girl did not dodge.

But it was completely useless. The sharp teeth could not even leave a scratch on the girl's skin.

The dog whose eyes were as large as round tower roofs also clamped its teeth onto Aurora's body, but that too was useless.

The two dogs used all their strength, trying to bite the girl in half, yet it was as if they had bitten something harder than iron.

Snap! The two Big Dogs' teeth broke at the same time!