Aurora calmly raised her sword and thrust it at the giant dog biting her.
Her swordsmanship was extraordinary, surpassing even the finest Sword Art Master in the kingdom. Everyone who saw her wield a sword praised it as the greatest swordsmanship they had ever seen.
These two dogs were larger, stronger, and fiercer than the first, but the trained Aurora was stronger than they were.
Cold swordlight flashed beneath the moon. In only a few moves, Aurora defeated the two terrifying monsters.
The two dogs fled in panic, dragging their bleeding bodies behind them.
Their blood dyed an entire street red—the bakeries, alchemy workshops, luxurious inns, and people's homes were all stained crimson. The blood flowed into the river, turning it red as well.
From then on, the Royal Capital had a street lined entirely with red houses.
The soldier ran and ran, sprinting through the moonlit streets.
"Pant, pant... I'm exhausted. I got away, didn't I? I must have escaped that monster, right?"
The soldier recalled what had just happened. It had been like a dream.
What a beautiful girl. Why was she so terrifying? he thought.
Now that he was temporarily out of danger, the love and desire he had forgotten in his fear surged back up. The soldier suddenly felt that he should not have run so fast or so far. He even felt an urge to turn back.
"Maybe that girl can still be reasoned with? She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. If I could be with her, that would be wonderful."
Just as the soldier thought he was safe and gradually slowed down, a hemp rope by the roadside suddenly came to life. With a whoosh, it lunged at him and bound him tightly.
The rope seemed to have been granted life. It twisted like a snake, and no matter how the soldier struggled, he could not break free.
"An exceptionally fine performance. To defeat those Three Dogs, you have become a warrior capable of standing on your own, Aurora!"
Rhine emerged from who knew where and applauded Aurora.
He had not captured the soldier beforehand because he wanted to witness Aurora's growth for himself.
Yet there was no joy of victory on Aurora's face.
"Mentor, was the story that strange man told true? Has the kingdom truly been cursed?" The golden-haired girl wiped the blood from her face.
Rhine nodded gently.
"Yes."
It was something Aurora would have to be told sooner or later.
What truly worried Rhine was that the soldier had said that the hostile neighboring country, Engeland, was preparing to reveal the truth about the curse.
Fear was a weapon more dreadful than swords. If people learned that the nation would perish in a few years, the entire kingdom would surely descend into chaos. Order would cease to exist, farmers would abandon their fields, and soldiers would no longer be willing to fight. Engeland could then take the opportunity to plunder everything.
Aurora sighed again, sounding somewhat regretful. "What a pity. The culprit who nearly killed Grandma Rosa got away."
"No, I captured him. He will receive the judgment he deserves," Rhine said.
As he spoke, Rhine turned to look toward the inn room.
The badly wounded, howling dog on the floor had vanished—it was clearly still alive, yet it had disappeared without a trace, as mysteriously as it had appeared. It would only appear again when summoned by its master.
From Rhine, the King and Queen learned how the soldier had abducted their daughter.
They were furious and had the soldier seized and thrown into prison.
The soldier was locked in a cell that was dark and stiflingly hot.
The other prisoners in the same cell all said:
"Friend, you'll be hanged tomorrow."
The soldier was terrified when he heard that. He searched his entire body for The Tinderbox that could save his life, only to discover that it was not on him.
"Heavens, what terrible luck! I remember now. When I was tied up by that rope, The Tinderbox fell out. It rolled into a roadside ditch!" The soldier fell into despair.
The next morning, dawn had only just begun to break.
Through the small window covered with iron bars, the soldier saw many people leaving the city to watch him be executed.
He heard drums thunder like rolling thunder. He saw the King's guards marching, and he saw the King and Queen seated in a magnificent four-wheeled carriage. Great crowds were all heading out of the city.
"Even the King came. Did I really kidnap a princess?"
"No way. But that creature I saw barely seemed human."
"Could it be that the King imprisoned the princess because he didn't want people to discover that she was actually a monster?"
The soldier made one guess after another.
By now, he was becoming increasingly unable to make sense of the truth.
At that moment, through the barred window, the soldier saw a boy among the people running out of the city. The boy wore a hood and cloak and was running especially fast, his cloth hood concealing his face.
The soldier looked outside through the bars. "Hey, little fellow, why are you in such a hurry? Before I arrive, there won't be anything to see."
Then he tempted the boy. "If you fetch something for me, I'll give you four copper coins. But you must swear that you'll run as fast as you possibly can!"
The soldier told the hooded boy which street and which ditch The Tinderbox had fallen into. The hooded boy ran toward the street where the soldier had previously lived.
"Please bless me. I hope no one has picked up The Tinderbox yet." The soldier knelt on the ground in the dark, sweltering cell and prayed.
Before long, the hooded boy ran back, even faster than the soldier had expected.
The moment the soldier saw The Tinderbox in the boy's hand, he was so delighted that he nearly jumped up.
"Here, this is your Tinderbox. Give me my copper coins."
The soldier happily took out the copper coins and stuffed them into the boy's hand, then tucked The Tinderbox into his pocket.
"Hahaha! My Tinderbox is still here, still here! As long as I have The Tinderbox and the Three Dogs, the King won't be able to execute me."
What the soldier did not see was that once the boy had walked away from the barred window with his back turned, a strange curve suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth, forming the faintest smile.
"Your wish has been granted."
Several strands of silver hair slipped out from beneath the hood and swayed gently in the morning breeze.
Outside the city, a thick gallows had already been erected. The King's guards and countless commoners stood around it.
Facing the jury, the King and Queen sat upon two splendid thrones in the best seats for viewing the execution.
The judge loudly pronounced the soldier's two crimes:
First, attacking an innocent person with a sword; second, abducting and attempting to molest an underage girl. The first charge seemed to refer to his attack on the old Witch—though the soldier had no idea how it had been discovered.
The soldier was already standing on the execution ladder.
When the executioner was about to place the noose around his neck, the soldier suddenly spoke loudly.
"I've heard that the kingdom has a tradition: before a criminal sentenced to death receives punishment, he may make one request. If it is a reasonable request, his wish should be granted."
"There is indeed such a tradition," the Old King said from the platform.
"Right now, I desperately, desperately want a puff of tobacco. Please, merciful and just His Majesty the King, I truly want one puff! And this will be the last puff I ever smoke in this world. Surely His Majesty the King would not refuse even this request?"
The King granted the soldier's request.
The soldier reached into his pocket, pulled out The Tinderbox, and struck it several times in rapid succession.
An uncontrollable smile overflowed across his face.
The soldier saw the future—yes, an incomparably wonderful future:
The Three Dogs would all leap out to save him. One had eyes as large as teacups, another had eyes as large as water wheels, and the third had eyes larger than the first two combined. They might have been injured, or they might have magically recovered. But injured or not, they were terrifying, powerful monsters.
The dogs would pounce on the judge, the jury, and the King's guards, bite off their legs, tear off their noses, and fling them into the sky, throwing them more than ten meters high so that they all smashed into pulp.
The King and Queen would suffer the same fate. He could choose to have the dogs eat them, or he could choose to spare their lives—if he wished to show his mercy. People would praise his mercy.
The surviving guards and the surrounding commoners would fear him and support him. They would lead him into the King's four-wheeled carriage, while the Three Dogs guarded him at its side. He would become the nation's new King.
As for that golden-haired girl, whether or not she was truly a princess, she's a terrifying monster, but I swear she's also the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, the soldier thought. If possible, he hoped to build a good relationship with her again. After all, he was now the noble King, and no one was more suited to become his Queen than that girl. They would hold a grand wedding lasting eight days and eight nights, and the Three Dogs would attend, their eyes staring wider than ever.
After becoming the new King, he would enjoy himself to the fullest for two or three years. Before the catastrophe of the curse erupted, he would flee the kingdom with his Queen. He had three magical dogs; no matter what country he went to, he would live well.
The fantasy ended.
The soldier's mouth hung open. That momentary beautiful dream had nearly made him drool.
His gaze fixed on The Tinderbox in his hand.
Strike, strike, strike.
He struck it again and again.
But nothing happened.
Not a single dog appeared.
"Why?"
"How could this happen?"
"Why has my Tinderbox stopped working?"
The soldier trembled violently in fear.
He even wondered whether everything he had experienced over the past month, including the magical Tinderbox and the Three Dogs, had been a morning dream, an unrealistic fantasy—just like the fantasy he had just imagined.
"Your Tinderbox looks like it got wet. It won't light. Let me light your tobacco for you."
The executioner smiled. He took out a tinderbox—the most ordinary kind, without any magic—and lit the soldier's tobacco for him.
The tobacco in his mouth was lit, but the soldier's legs went weak and he collapsed onto the ground.
For once, he spoke an honest truth—this really was the last puff of tobacco he would ever smoke.
The execution proceeded as usual.
The executioner placed the noose around the soldier's neck and hoisted him into the air.
The watching commoners cheered. They praised the King and Queen, the judge, and the jury for ensuring that a villain who deserved punishment had received the judgment he deserved.
Hanging in the air, the soldier saw several people among the cheering spectators who had been his friends at the inn when he had been wealthy.
Just days earlier, these "friends" had praised the soldier's generosity in hopes of getting one more silver coin as a reward from the newly rich man.
Clearly, his friends did not think there was anything improper about their behavior now—because they no longer needed to flatter and curry favor with the soldier.
The rope around his neck strangled him tightly as the soldier kicked his legs in the air.
His eyes were indeed wider than they had ever been before—almost as large as teacups.
Before you continue