MDL | Chapter 1.8

While they were struggling to resist the monsters with these efforts, the wizard was wandering in search of the Prince.

After the monster turned its back and left, the wizard began running again.

To find the Prince.

……

……

What exactly did he plan to do once he found him?

I don’t know.

But searching for the Prince was almost instinctual for the wizard. You know how this character came to be, don’t you? The wizard was created solely for the Prince—to cast the curse upon him. Though the curse failed, the Prince still exists in this world. So the wizard has no choice but to run. As long as his limbs are intact.

Fortunately for the wizard, finding the Prince wasn’t too difficult.

Thanks to the magic sword.

The sword, glowing white as snow and humming loudly.

How many more black monsters had it devoured in that time? The sword’s white light had grown stronger, and the sound vibrating through the air had become louder. It was like a beast that cried out no matter how much it ate. Yes, a living…

A living beast.

……Unlike the vividly glowing sword, the Prince was exhausted. While it was fortunate that the Prince’s sword was a magic weapon that devoured monsters, the Prince was still human. No matter how exceptional, he was only human. After swinging the sword a hundred times, he was bound to be worn out. And the monsters kept coming. As long as the world continued to crack and collapse, the monsters would keep being born.

The Prince slashed through another monster.

An old man, moments away from being devoured, clutched a baby wrapped in a blanket and ran. The knights nearby escorted the old man and the baby to safety.

Another crack appeared in the world.

From beyond the crack, a monster’s claw burst through.

The sword in the Prince’s hand glowed brilliantly, as if delighted.

The Prince’s brow furrowed.

His shoulders heaved violently. It was as if some spot between his shoulder blades was unbearably itchy and painful—a place he couldn’t reach or see on his own.

The wizard spotted the Prince.

“Your Highness!”

The wizard shouted as he ran toward him with all his might.

“Your Highness! It’s the light!”

What? The Prince didn’t understand. The light? Suddenly?

“Your Highness! Your Highness!”

The wizard flailed his arms wildly, trying to convey something. The worn-out soles of his shoes finally split apart. The wizard fell again. But this time, he didn’t burst into tears or babble nonsense. He kicked off his torn left shoe, got up, and ran toward the Prince again.

“It’s the light! We have to get rid of all the light!”

Did the wizard’s message reach the Prince?

The Prince, as if struck by realization, turned his head sharply to look at the monsters. Then he looked at the moon shining brightly in the night sky. And he saw the torches lighting up the Kingdom as brightly as day for his birthday celebration.

“It’s the light!”

The Prince shouted.

Yes, it was the light. The light was the problem.

“Put out all the torches! Send word to the palace immediately! Everyone inside must take shelter underground!”

The knights, though bewildered, immediately obeyed the Prince’s orders. They formed small groups to extinguish the torches, while messengers rushed to the palace. Who knows what state the palace was in? It was even brighter and more illuminated than the homes of the citizens, so it was likely in worse shape. Would the King and Queen be safe?

The number of torches began to dwindle. And, astonishingly, the number of monsters crawling out of the cracks in the world also decreased.

Where there is light, there is also shadow. The monsters were shadows. That’s why they took the form of dark, squishy creatures with vaguely defined faces and limbs. This calamity was so catastrophic that no one had noticed the truth. In reality, these creatures didn’t appear in places untouched by light—dark storerooms, basements, under eaves, or narrow, smelly alleyways. They only roamed and thrived in brightly lit areas.

…What are they shadows of, you ask?

……

Well, that… I’m not sure either.

Really, I truly don’t know. Even if you glare at me like that, I can’t tell you yet, haha.

…Yes, not yet.

“Your Highness, Your Highness…! Ah, Your Highness… are you… are you hurt…?”

The wizard stumbled to a stop in front of the Prince. He was gasping for breath, even retching a few times, but he still managed to reach out and grab the hem of the Prince’s cloak.

The Prince didn’t scold the wizard for his audacity in touching his clothes. His gaze was fixed on the wizard’s feet. The wizard’s feet, scraped and bruised from stumbling over rocks, with broken toenails and one shoe missing its sole. His left foot was bleeding profusely.

Now, all the torches had been extinguished.

The surroundings had grown very dark.

But not all the light was gone.

Moonlight and starlight remained.

The Prince’s magic sword still emitted a dazzling white light, but no monsters emerged from its shadow.

Under the beautiful moonlight and starlight, the dark shadow monsters lurked. It would take at least two more hours for the moon and stars to set and true darkness to fall.

The Prince adjusted his grip on the sword. His arms were nearly numb from fighting the shadow monsters alone. The faint trembling of his sword hand showed that his muscles had reached their limit.

The remaining citizens and knights, pale with fear, looked up at the night sky. Never in their lives had they wished so desperately for the moon to set and complete darkness to fall.

The Prince’s jaw clenched as he looked up at the sky. Like someone enduring great pain, he furrowed his brow slightly, closed his eyes, and let a moment pass.

The sound of hooves approaching broke the silence.

“Your Highness! His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen are safe.”

The messenger the Prince had sent to the palace had returned.

“As you instructed, we’ve moved all the survivors to the palace basement. We’ve warned them not to light even a single candle, so they should be safe.”

Hearing the messenger’s words, the Prince slowly opened his eyes. Then he addressed the knights around him.

“Good. Then, from now on, you will escort the surviving citizens to the palace basement. I will stay here and buy time until the last person passes through the gates. From this moment, this is the final line of defense.”

It was a decisive order. The knights murmured among themselves, exchanging uneasy glances. If the Captain of the Guards had been here, he would have protested immediately, shouting, “That’s unacceptable!” He would have insisted that the Prince should be the first to take shelter.

Of course, the Captain would have been right. In a situation where the nation’s safety is threatened, the royal bloodline is the nation itself. Isn’t the foremost quality of a royal the ability to preserve their own life? Only then can they plan for the future, right? The survival of the ignorant masses is secondary—what matters is escaping first. Countless historical events prove this.

…But the Prince didn’t do that.

Why?

A sense of responsibility?

Ha, how laughable.

That’s not a virtue inherent to royalty.

……

……

The knights couldn’t bring themselves to protest the order, but they also couldn’t bring themselves to leave immediately. They kept glancing nervously between the approaching monsters and the magic sword in the Prince’s hand.

“Or would you prefer to stay here and hold off these monsters yourselves?” the Prince asked.

It was an impossible task, as both the Prince and the knights well knew. The only thing that could kill the monsters was the white magic sword the Prince wielded.

“We pray for Your Highness’s safe return. May the twelve gods bless the Kingdom.”

One of the knights, his hair streaked with gray, stepped forward and spoke.

“May the twelve gods bless the Kingdom.”

The Prince nodded in response. The knight immediately turned and shouted, “Everyone, follow me! Help the injured, the children, and the elderly who can’t run!”

One by one, the other knights turned away from the Prince. They carried or supported a boy who had collapsed in fear, a man whose leg was trapped under a fallen pillar, an old woman leaning on her cane, and a woman cradling a child in her arms, quickly retreating toward the darkened palace.

And so, under the radiant moonlight and starlight, only the Prince remained.

“Your Highness, Your Highness…”

…No, only the Prince and the wizard remained.

The few remaining monsters began to shuffle toward the Prince and the wizard. The Prince turned his gaze to the wizard, who was still crouched on the ground.

The wizard let out a strained groan and struggled to his feet. He looked much more energetic than before, when he had been panting like a dog exhausted from the heat.

“Your Highness… you should run too. Even if their numbers have decreased, it’s too much for you to handle alone. You’re exhausted.”

At the wizard’s remark, the Prince clasped his sword hand with his other hand, gripping it tightly.

“I’ll be fine for now. I can hold out until the moon sets.”

“Hmph. Liar.”

The wizard pouted as he retorted. The childish tone in his voice made the Prince smile despite himself.

“Your Highness is a liar. I’ve seen your arm trembling since earlier. So stop pushing yourself and go take shelter with the others. I’ll handle things here from now on.”

“How?”

“Are you underestimating me? I’m an evil wizard, you know!”

“Yes, a frail wizard. One who trips over rocks.”

“No, that’s not…!”

Just as the flustered wizard was about to retort, the Prince suddenly tore a long strip from the hem of his silk cloak. He knelt on one knee and grabbed the wizard’s foot—the left one, bare and covered in broken toenails, dirt, blood, and bruises.

“What… what are you doing?”

Let go, it’s filthy… The wizard muttered weakly, but the Prince ignored him and began wrapping the strip of silk around the wizard’s injured foot. The smooth, fine fabric was soon stained with the blood, sweat, and dirt from the wizard’s foot. The wizard’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment and confusion…

Pretending not to notice the wizard’s state, the Prince tore another strip from the cloak. This time, he began wrapping it around his own right hand, the one gripping the sword hilt. No matter how much his muscles trembled or how exhausted he became, he wouldn’t let go of the sword unless someone cut off his arm.

The wizard opened his mouth, looking displeased. But he said nothing. He knew from experience that he couldn’t break the Prince’s stubbornness.

“Even if you’re a mad wizard who tried to kill me, you’re still one of my people. So go. Take shelter until the moon sets.”

In the end, the Prince’s motivation was a sense of responsibility.

A virtue that kings and princes should never prioritize.

“I wasn’t trying to kill you,” the wizard said.

“I was trying to put you to sleep. How many times do I have to tell you?”

Though slow and limping, the wizard could now walk, thanks to the Prince tightly binding the wounds on his bare feet. The wizard bit his lower lip hard. Even though he knew the Prince could come back to life even if killed, why was the Prince being so kind? Was it that damn sense of responsibility? It was utterly infuriating.

The wizard pulled the magic quill from his sleeve again. Run away? How could he leave the Prince behind?

Dear readers, do you still remember the title of this story?

Yes, the title of this story is The Sleeping Prince of the Thorn Castle. Although the time for the hundred-year slumber has passed, and the Thorn Castle seems to have vanished without a trace… the protagonist of this story is still the “Prince,” isn’t he? So, how could the wizard abandon the protagonist and run away? Even if everyone else in this story dies, the Prince must survive. Because he’s the protagonist.

Of course, if this story were an epic heroic tale or a tragedy hurtling toward destruction, it might be acceptable for the Prince to die heroically while protecting his people at this point.

But this is a fairy tale.

A story that begins with “Once upon a time, a long, long time ago” and must end with “And they lived happily ever after.”

So the Prince, as the protagonist, must survive until the end and find happiness.

No matter what.