Hansel’s Enchanted Fairytale: Fill Me Up With Magic! - Chapter 60
The knights exchanged uneasy glances before muttering amongst themselves.
My forest, he said? The forest’s owner? Could he be a warden? Or a mage? He doesn’t seem armed, just wearing a robe—must be a mage, then. But isn’t the master of this forest supposed to kill mages on sight? We’re just ordinary humans, so we should be safe… but wait, wasn’t it supposed to be a witch? Could it be a woman with a deep voice?
After their whispered debate, a bearded knight nervously raised his head.
“If you’re the forest’s owner… are you a mage?”
“No.”
“So you’re the forest warden.”
The knights latched onto what seemed the most reasonable explanation from their limited understanding. Realizing Dante posed no immediate threat, they began sheathing their swords one by one. A bearded knight stepped forward to speak again.
“We’re looking for a woman. Hansel Arsinoe, the eldest daughter of the Arsinoe family. She was reportedly seen in this area. Do you know anything about her?”
Dante’s brow furrowed slightly.
“No.”
Arsinoe. A mage from a family with such immense magical power entering his forest without his notice? Impossible. If Arsinoe’s magic had been detected, he would have killed her on the spot.
The knights, now assured of their safety, shuffled back to the campfire. The winter air was brutally cold—just a few steps from the fire and their hands and feet began to numb. They pulled their leather armor tighter as they shivered around the flames.
“Why are you searching for that Arsinoe?”
What business could ordinary men have with the daughter of Arsinoe? His quiet question drew a cautious glance from one of the knights.
“She was promised in marriage to the king of the Faraway Kingdom. But she’s gone missing, and her whereabouts are unknown. Since mages can’t enter this forest, we’ve been tasked with searching for her.”
“Marriage…” Dante murmured.
So that’s what it meant—pairing with a female, or rather, a woman, to live together forever. Never looking at anyone else, staying only with each other.
As the thought crossed his mind, he wondered: if he got married, would he get to stay with that small, white mouse of a woman forever?
One of the knights poked at the fire with a stick, grumbling.
“Yeah, sure, His Majesty is seventy-five this year, but he’s the king. I doubt that girl would have any complaints.”
“How old is Arsinoe?” Dante asked.
“Not sure. Twenty, I think? Perfect age to marry our king. She’s young, so having children shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Even a young female is useless if the male’s seed is old.”
The knights froze mid-movement.
“Old males are no good. Their rods don’t rise.”
“……”
“And they’re worthless for meat. Just useless overall.”
The knights exchanged uneasy glances. Dante’s tone was so flat and factual that it was hard to take offense, even though his words were undeniably insulting to their king. It wasn’t as if they could shout, “How dare you insult our king like that!” and retain any dignity.
Dante’s voice lacked malice, making it feel less like an insult and more like a clinical observation. Factually, he wasn’t wrong. But the insinuation—that they were delivering a young woman to an old, impotent man—made them feel complicit in something unsavory.
One of the knights, coughing to break the tension, defended himself.
“The Arsinoe family proposed the marriage first. We’re merely acting on their behalf. From what I hear, she’s damaged goods. Becoming queen is probably the best outcome for her.”
He tore a large bite from the roasted venison, chewing noisily as he chuckled.
“Still, damaged goods or not, selling her off for the price of a mine? This feels less like politics and more like buying a mage w***e.”
“Hey! Watch your mouth! Just because the captain’s not here doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want. Sure, talk all you want now, but once she becomes queen, you’d better watch your tongue. Unless you want all our heads chopped off—”
The knight trailed off, his words swallowed by the chilling atmosphere that suddenly enveloped the clearing. The air hadn’t changed, but the primal instinct for survival roared within them like an alarm. Something was wrong.
Their heads turned slowly toward the source of the unease.
Dante.
“You’re subordinates of Arsinoe.”
Boom. Splatter. Thud.
It was over in the blink of an eye. Flesh rained down like a macabre shower, the remnants of exploded skulls staining the pristine snow with crimson. The bodies collapsed like lifeless marionettes. Amid the carnage, Dante stood unscathed, towering like a gnarled tree in the midst of chaos.
Under the gray hood, his red eyes were icy, reflecting the gruesome scene on the snow. He looked down at the headless corpses and muttered softly.
“Men who mistreat women are scum.”
It was an important lesson he had learned from his small, white mouse of a woman.
Thinking of her now, he felt an urgent need to return home.
Maybe he’d ask her about marriage when he got back. The thought tickled his chest with a strange warmth.
Dante turned away from the corpses without hesitation.
In the next moment, he was at his front door. He had teleported directly to the bedroom. His heart thudded with anticipation as his hand reached for the doorknob. She would rush out to hug him—he was sure of it. His excitement was almost dog-like in its purity.
He flung the door open.
“I’m back.”
His crimson eyes scanned the empty bedroom.
(End of Volume 1)
