Embracing the Silver Chains: Reincarnated as a Captive Princess
When I woke up, I was inside a dizzyingly beautiful prison. I, Rimuru Tempest, had somehow been reincarnated as the princess of a kingdom utterly destroyed by Shion, the hero who defeated the Great Demon Lord Veldora. He is my enemy who took everything from me.
Shion's eyes are always cold. But sometimes, he shows me a look of such deep pain that it makes my heart clench. His voice, telling me 'You are mine,' is a mix of anger and sorrow that makes my whole body burn. I shouldn't feel this. He'
Embracing the Silver Chains: Reincarnated as a Captive Princess - The Truth of the Curse and the Price of the Sacred Jewel — A Resolve That Lights the Crumbling Heart
The dawn light slowly seeped across the transparent ceiling.
The stone floor of the Star Chamber was cold. Rimuru sat huddled in the corner, unable to move. Their long silver hair sprawled across the floor, its tips touching the black, dried traces of blood. Gabir's blood.
(*It won't go away.*)
No matter how many mornings came, that scene refused to fade. Being trampled by Shion, the sound of bones grinding. Screaming while coughing up blood. And then—the moans that spilled from their own mouth. Their body responding helplessly to Shion's fingers, feeling pleasure right in front of Gabir.
"......"
Rimuru hugged their knees and clenched their teeth.
The rage toward Shion still burned. The conqueror who had destroyed their homeland, driven their parents to death, and trapped their childhood friend. They hated him. They were supposed to hate him. And yet—their body remembered that man's hands. That heat, the movement of those fingers, the sensation of his seed poured deep inside them.
(*My body is already defiled.*)
The calm ego of their former salaryman self tried to sort through the situation. But their young, reincarnated body couldn't control its emotions. The depths of their chest felt like they were being churned into chaos.
*Click.*
The sound of the magic shackle releasing. The female guard had brought in the breakfast tray. Bread, water, and a small pouch of medicinal herbs. Something they'd been told was for managing their physical condition.
" Your meal."
Rimuru didn't lift their head. The guard looked down at Rimuru for a moment, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she silently set down the tray and left the room.
The door closed.
Rimuru didn't touch the breakfast. Their stomach couldn't accept it. Instead—they placed a hand on their abdomen. Through their clothes, they checked the position of the Reincarnation Jewel. A faint pulsing. *Thump, thump.*
(*This is... the key?*)
That's what Benimaru had said. That only they could save Shion. The hundred-year-old curse. They didn't know what it was. But—right now, even that pulsing felt unpleasant. It made them feel like they were being used as some kind of tool.
(*Who am I living for?*)
For Shion?
For Gabir?
Or—for myself?
None of them felt right. They didn't understand their own reason for existing.
---
In the afternoon, the door opened again.
This time it wasn't the guard. Long red hair tied high at the back, narrow golden eyes quietly gazing at Rimuru. It was Benimaru. Just like the previous night, he was alone.
But this time, he didn't remain standing. With slow, deliberate movements, he pulled a chair in front of Rimuru and sat down.
" ...How is your physical condition?"
" ...You can see for yourself, can't you?"
Rimuru answered without looking up. Their voice was hoarse, so weak it surprised even them. Benimaru held his breath for a moment, then quietly opened his mouth.
" The continuation of what I began to say last night. I will tell you about the curse engraved upon Lord Shion."
Rimuru's shoulders trembled slightly.
Benimaru began to speak slowly, choosing each word with care.
" One hundred years ago—in the final battle to vanquish the Great Demon Lord Veldora, Veldora, at the moment of his death, engraved a curse upon Lord Shion's chest. The curse is called the 'Brand of Love-Devouring.'"
" The Brand of... Love-Devouring...?"
" Yes."
Benimaru's golden eyes narrowed slightly.
" This curse—activates whenever Lord Shion truly loves someone, in proportion to the strength of that emotion. His body is eroded by a black mist, and ultimately... he devours and kills the one he loves."
Rimuru's violet eyes widened.
(*Devours—the one he loves?*)
" This is the reason Lord Shion has spent these hundred years avoiding deep connections with anyone, engaging only in conquest and domination. He has lived by severing all human relationships, by refusing to harbor affection."
Benimaru's voice dropped slightly lower.
" However, ever since capturing you—the frequency of the curse's activation has increased dramatically. Almost every night."
Rimuru gasped.
Shion's pained figure as he left. His shoulders trembling, one hand braced against the wall, as if fighting something—that back.
" Lord Shion is beginning to love you. That is why the curse can no longer be suppressed."
" ...No... that's..."
Their voice shook.
The reason Shion had demanded them so fiercely every night. The reason he hadn't let them go, even going so far as to trap Gabir. All the pieces clicked into place with an audible snap.
(*That man—is... me.*)
An emotion different from hatred pulsed violently in the depths of their chest.
" And now, the main point."
Benimaru dropped his gaze to Rimuru's abdomen.
" The Reincarnation Jewel within your body. A cursed tool that governs death and rebirth—it may possess the ability to purify the curse of the Brand of Love-Devouring."
" It can... purify it...?"
Benimaru gave a quiet nod. But his expression was stiff.
" However—to fully release the Jewel, the owner must directly apply their own soul to the core of the curse. And,"
His words stopped for a moment.
" At that time, whether the owner's physical body can endure it... cannot be guaranteed. In the worst case—you will be annihilated."
Rimuru's hand unconsciously moved to their abdomen.
The Jewel's pulsing felt stronger than before.
" In other words... if I die, that man can be saved...?"
" Death is not certain. However—the possibility of losing your life is more than sufficient."
Benimaru stood up. The dry sound of the chair legs scraping against the stone floor.
" The final decision is yours."
His narrow golden eyes looked straight down at Rimuru.
" Lord Shion—hates sacrificing others for his own sake more than anything. That is why he cannot ask this of me."
" ...What do you mean...?"
Benimaru began walking toward the door without looking back.
" Exactly what I said."
The door closed.
The magic shackle clicked into place once more.
Left behind, Rimuru couldn't move for a long time.
(*Annihilation—*)
The memories from their days as a salaryman demanded rational judgment. Throwing away one's life for someone else was absurd. A part of them thought so.
But—another part of them remembered Shion's back.
A man who had fought alone against the curse for a hundred years. Asking no one for help, opening his heart to no one, protecting himself solely through domination.
(*Can I... save that man?*)
They placed a hand on their abdomen.
The Jewel pulsed with heat.
---
Night fell.
Rimuru stared blankly at the small pouch of medicinal herbs the guard had left for their health check. Absently, they picked it up and sniffed it.
In that instant—their stomach clenched.
(*...Huh?*)
A discomfort they had never felt before. Similar to nausea, but different. More like—something appealing from the inside.
Rimuru checked their own body.
The time when their monthly cycle should have come had long since passed. The smell of breakfast had been bothering them for days now. Something separate from the pulsing of the Jewel in their abdomen—a fainter, warmer heartbeat.
(*—No way.*)
Their hands trembled.
All the signs pointed to a single answer. The knowledge from their former salaryman days calmly acknowledged the possibility.
(*I'm pregnant—*)
Shion's child.
Rimuru stifled their voice and wept.
They hugged their knees, clutched their silver hair, and bit their lip to keep the sobs from escaping. The tears wouldn't stop. Anger, hatred, guilt—all of it pushed aside—and they were simply, purely terrified.
(*If I release the Jewel, I might disappear.*)
That was a resolve they had been able to steel themselves for, because it was only their own life. But—this life inside their belly. This tiny heartbeat that knew nothing yet.
(*What will happen—to this child?*)
Rimuru placed both hands on their abdomen.
In one hand, the hot pulsing of the Jewel. In the other—the faint warmth of a new life. They could feel both heartbeats at the same time.
" ...What am I supposed to do...?"
No one gave them an answer.
---
Late at night.
Taking advantage of a gap in the guard shift, Rimuru stepped out into the corridor for the first time. Whether the magic shackle had loosened by chance, or whether it was Benimaru's doing—they didn't know. But—they had to confirm it, no matter what.
Barefoot, they advanced through the cold stone corridor.
At night, only the pale blue light of the magic candelabras flickered in the corridors of the Black Obsidian Palace. On the walls were murals of the Great Demon Lord War. The figure of a silver-haired hero faintly emerged from the darkness.
(*Where are you—Shion?*)
That was when it happened.
From a blind corner of the passage, they heard someone's ragged breathing.
Rimuru hid in the shadow of a pillar and quietly peered around it.
—There he was.
Shion stood with one hand braced against the wall. His long silver hair was disheveled, and a black mist seeped from his shoulders and back. His crimson eyes were tightly shut, his teeth clenched, desperately suppressing something.
(*The curse—*)
The Brand of Love-Devouring.
The mask of the conqueror was gone. What remained was only—the pure anguish of a man who had fought alone for a hundred years.
Shion asked no one for help. He called out to no one. He simply stood alone, one hand against the wall, silently waiting for the black mist to recede.
(*So much—*)
The depths of Rimuru's chest ached.
Several minutes later, the black mist slowly subsided. Shion exhaled deeply and pulled his hand away from the wall. That motion—was steeped in the exhaustion of a hundred years of repetition.
Without noticing Rimuru, Shion walked away down the corridor.
Rimuru couldn't move from the shadow of the pillar.
(*I can't leave that man alone.*)
The guilt toward Gabir, the self-loathing, the fear of the Jewel's price—all of it remained. But—even so, the emotion that swelled within Rimuru for the first time tonight was far greater than any of those.
They wanted to save Shion.
The fear of annihilation hadn't vanished. They still had no answer for what to do about the life in their womb. Even so—only their resolve quietly solidified in the depths of their heart.
Rimuru returned to the Star Chamber and looked up at the transparent ceiling.
The stars flickered coldly.
The next night would be the full moon.
The night Shion was most consumed by the curse—that's what Benimaru had said.
Placing a hand on their abdomen, feeling the two heartbeats, Rimuru spent a long time putting their resolve into words.
" ...I've decided."
The voice that slipped from their lips reached no one, fading away into the starlight.
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