Two dwarves trudged back along a familiar path, and on the way, another dwarf named Gulanbi had taken the opportunity to use his axe to dispatch a wild rabbit.

The unexpected meal lifted their spirits, and they hummed harsh, discordant tunes. They soon arrived at their lodgings—a small, unsightly hut, just like themselves, with a low roof barely over a meter high, constructed from crooked wooden planks.

Gulan kicked open the wooden door, and a gruff voice called out, “Damn it, can’t you be a bit more careful? You’ll end up kicking the house down soon enough.”

Ignoring the reprimand, Gulan and Daos set down their catch. The small, cramped space was cluttered with four dwarves sprawled out lazily, napping.

“Where’s the woman?” Gulan inquired.

A lecherous chuckle replied, “Bashir took her out for a walk.”

Gulan grumbled, “That damned pervert. If he hadn’t killed the last cook, would our food be this miserable?”

A large sneeze followed by a grumbled, “Hurry up and find him. I’m hungry too…”

“Damn it,” Gulan snapped, slamming the door behind him as he left in a hurry.

...

The demon tattoo on Carlo’s shoulder flared up once again. Initially, he feared it was the two blessed sons pursuing him, compelling him to retreat deeper into the forest. But the persistent heat of the tattoo suggested otherwise.

Could there be another presence of the blessed sons in the Lost Forest? After some contemplation, Carlo decided to investigate further.

Following the tattoo’s guidance to his destination, Carlo was met with an unexpected sight.

“Move it, Princess Sophia. Hurry up.”

The grotesque dwarf yanked harshly on the rope tied around the woman’s slender neck. The woman, bent over and searching for potatoes, possessed an astonishing beauty. Her face was etched with despair and shame, her movements mechanical and numb.

Her clothes were filthy and torn, but their once-luxurious design was still discernible.

“Too slow. Let me help.”

The dwarf’s eyes gleamed with a lecherous intent as he advanced on her from behind while she was bent over.

“Ah!” The woman’s scream was filled with terror.

In an instant, a blinding blue light erupted from her, sending the dwarf flying, his body slamming into the ground, covered in dirt.

“Damn magic,” the dwarf cursed angrily, his eyes reflecting a mix of hatred, desire, and a hint of fear.

Unwilling to give up, the dwarf made several more attempts, but each time he revealed his vile intentions, the mysterious blue force repelled him.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Eventually, the dwarf desisted, muttering curses, and vented his frustration on the rope, tugging it violently.

The woman could only endure, her condition growing ever more wretched.

Hidden in the shadows, Carlo observed with a wry expression. If he was correct, this unfortunate woman was indeed Princess Sophia, who had vanished from the kingdom.

The king had offered a reward of one hundred thousand gold coins for her, and countless people had risked their lives to search the Lost Forest. Yet, here she was, subjected to such indignities.

If the public knew that their noble, beautiful princess was being humiliated by a vile dwarf, their despair would be overwhelming.

Carlo was nearly certain that Sophia was the blessed child he sought, but the enigmatic blue light around her made him hesitate to reveal himself.

He chose to remain in the shadows.

Soon, another dwarf arrived, presumably to call his companions back. The two dwarves then dragged the beleaguered princess back to their residence. Sophia, resigned and emotionally numb, prepared deer meat and potatoes in a pot. After the dwarves had eaten their fill, she curled up and stepped outside the wooden hut, silently eating the leftovers by the door.

At that moment, Carlo was deeply unsettled.

“One, two, three… seven?” Carlo’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Dwarves? The princess?”

The reality was astonishingly different from the legend.

According to the tale, a princess exiled to the forest by an evil queen was supposed to be aided by kind-hearted dwarves, living comfortably in a cozy wooden house. But the truth was grim. These so-called benevolent dwarves were, in fact, repugnant, cruel creatures who had shamelessly imprisoned the princess to satisfy their depraved desires. Although the mysterious blue light preserved her purity, she was subjected to relentless humiliation and torment.

Was this the harsh reality of XX?

For a moment, Carlo was overwhelmed by the revelation. Strangely, witnessing the beautiful princess’s suffering brought him a twisted satisfaction, a perverse pleasure from seeing something pure and beautiful being cruelly destroyed, reflecting his demonic nature.

As night fell, the sky adorned with a tapestry of stars, the unfortunate Sophia sat by the door of the hut, trying to curl up against the cold. The scant warmth she had was insufficient to ward off the chill of the forest night.

Shivering from the cold, Sophia had tried to escape countless times, even preferring death at the hands of a beast over the humiliation inflicted by the vile dwarves. Yet, the cunning dwarves had bound ropes to her neck, feet, and hands, making any significant movement a signal to them.

Her heart was heavy with sorrow and despair, tears streaming down her smooth cheeks. She could only silently weep to the roses in the corner of the wall.

“Great father, please send your strongest knight to rescue me… or anyone, take me away from this wretched place. I would offer anything in exchange… or grant me poison; I would rather choose death in agony…”

The princess’s lament attracted a nightingale, which sang a soothing melody to comfort her despairing soul.

Perhaps Sophia’s prayers had finally reached the heavens. From the darkness came a voice full of seduction.

“Poor child, come, embrace the darkness. All your pain and torment will vanish, and your soul will revel in endless joy…”

Sophia saw a slender, pale hand emerge from the shadow before her, accompanied by a voice coaxing and urging her. Her gaze grew increasingly dazed as she instinctively reached out to grasp the hand.

Just as their hands were about to touch, a blinding blue light cut through the darkness, followed by a scream as the shadow vanished.

Sophia, startled and relieved, recoiled in fear. Who was that?!

The night was eerily silent, with only the dwarves’ snoring and mutterings faintly audible from inside the hut.

What had just happened felt like a dream, as if nothing had transpired.

Sophia sighed, burying her head between her knees, and fell into a troubled sleep amidst the cold and despair, preparing herself for another day of torment.

The nightingale’s song abruptly ceased, its tiny body falling to the ground. A pair of ominous eyes watched Sophia silently.

Carlo’s face was ashen. The backlash from the blue light had left him slightly injured. It was not only difficult to kill or tempt Sophia, but even touching her proved challenging.

Was it because of his demonic identity? The greater the malevolence, the greater the backlash.

Carlo composed himself, realizing that he might have to wait for some old crone bearing a poisoned apple to make an appearance.