Episode 52
“Commander!”
By the time I reached Rurick’s door, his adjutant, Jesus, was anxiously knocking on it.
—Knock knock knock!
“Commander, what’s going on? If you don’t open up, I’ll have to force my way in!”
A few guards stood rigidly nearby, exchanging tense glances.
“W-what’s happening?”
Jesus noticed me, his face pale as he spoke.
“Your Imperial Highness! The Crown Prince is inside… It sounds like they’re having a serious argument……”
“Gyaaah!”
From inside the room, another scream erupted—I’d lost count of how many it had been.
Finally, Ren’s muttering ceased.
As he placed a hand on my shoulder, a cozy yet refreshing sensation enveloped my body.
‘…A barrier.’
It was a feeling I’d never experienced before, but I knew instinctively.
The fact that Ren would protect me, and that unlike in the novel, I was by Rurick’s side as he was about to lose control, felt immensely comforting.
Just then, Ren spoke to Jesus in an uncharacteristically cold voice.
“Step aside.”
His violet eyes seemed devoid of emotion.
—BANG!
Without anyone touching it, the door swung open with a loud crash.
The scene inside was almost the complete opposite of what any of us had imagined.
Contrary to the expectation that Rurick would be brandishing the demonic sword, it was held in Hart’s hand.
“H-hhaaack!”
But although he held the sword, he couldn’t even swing it through the air.
He just groaned in agony, his eyes pitch black.
“Gyaaah! Ry, Rurick……!”
Rurick paid no mind to the open door, who entered, or even the Crown Prince moaning his name.
With an expressionless face, he picked up the new demonic sword rolling on the floor, examined it from various angles, and then tossed it aside like a piece of trash.
—CLANGGG!
As the sound of clattering metal rang out, Len grabbed my wrist.
“Step back, Ru.”
I tried to pull away, but a strange pressure began to emanate from the center of the room.
—Hummmmm…
Looking up, I saw a dark energy swirling ominously.
“Uu, uoooooogh!”
The arm of the Crown Prince holding the sword jerked upwards in an unnatural manner.
“Damn it!”
Ren spat out a curse and released my wrist.
From his hastily outstretched palms, thin, white beams of light spread out like a net.
The intricate web of light enveloped both the demonic sword and Hart into a single mass, but the dark magical energy flowing from the sword surged like flames, piercing through Ren’s net.
‘Damn it! Is it really going berserk after all?’
Was there no way to prevent the sword from running wild?
Was my hard-won second life going to end after just two months…
‘Why, of all things, did I have to write this damn novel?!’
It felt unfair, but thinking about it, I was lucky to get a second chance at life, and those two months were enjoyable.
Even if it was a dream, it was by no means a nightmare.
But what about Rurick?
‘He spent his whole life trying to protect just one person, but even that one and only brother turned his back on him for so long…’
I swallowed hard and took a step towards him.
Even if it ends, I have to do everything I can.
“Brother.”
But my voice was too soft, drowned out by Hart’s screams, the gathering guards, and the sound of Ren chanting spells.
Yet, even at that faint voice, only Rurick turned to look at me with his jet-black eyes.
“Ru!”
Ren’s urgent plea brushed past my ear.
‘I’m sorry, Ren. But I…’
I finally took another step and reached out towards Rurick.
The closer I got, the more a foul stench of death stabbed at my nostrils.
It seemed the demonic sword was revealing its true, hideous nature.
The fury filling Rurick’s black eyes was directed at me, but I still had to speak.
“Let go of the demonic sword, Brother.”
“Let go of the demonic sword, Your Highness.”
In Helena’s stead.
—KABOOOOM! CRREEAK!
A sound of something collapsing came from behind.
“Without you, it is nothing but a lump of metal that could not even exist.”
In this novel, I am a nobody, an extra whose death wouldn’t have affected the story even if I died early.
“Without you, Your Highness, it is nothing but a lump of metal that could not even exist.”
But now, it’s my turn to act.
“Close your eyes, Brother. Don’t let the demonic sword see this world through you.”
The swamp-like black eyes stared at me.
Devoid of any affection or concern, they were no longer Rurick’s eyes.
But I believed in the Rurick who was surely fighting within them.
“Close your eyes, Your Highness. Don’t let the demonic sword see this world through you.”
Like Helena, I slowly raised my palm.
It didn’t matter that I had no special abilities.
“Ru, don’t go any closer!”
Ren’s voice boomed through the room, but I couldn’t stop.
With a trembling hand, I covered Rurick’s blackened eyes.
A wind of unknown origin began to blow fiercely.
I forced my tongue, stiff with fear, to move and repeated.
“Close your eyes, Brother.”
How many times did I say it?
A fierce whirlwind rushed out through the broken window, and the surrounding commotion died down.
The oppressive pressure that had gripped my chest vanished, and the net of light Ren had created disappeared as well.
“Close your eyes.”
Yet, I could only stand there like a broken doll, repeating the words.
That was all I could do.
Finally, a warm body temperature enveloped my shoulders.
It was Ren.
“Stop, Ru. It’s over now.”
He carefully pried my hand, which was blocking Rurick’s vision, away.
Only then could I breathe easily and look up at Rurick.
The last remnants of dark energy slowly faded from his pupils.
Then, Rurick let out a rough breath and spoke.
“…Ru.”
The red eyes looking straight at me were finally the ones I knew.
My legs gave way, and I staggered. Ren immediately tightened his hold on my waist, then bent down and lifted me into his arms.
Rurick watched, utterly exhausted, and then asked Ren.
“…Tower Master. What did I do?”
His eyes were red-rimmed as he asked.
“Did I… hurt Ru?”
Ren’s tightly pressed lips twisted into a fierce grimace.
His deep violet eyes blazed with anger.
Ren gritted his teeth and replied.
“You’d better hope not. If you had, I would never forgive you.”
As I was carried out of Rurick’s room in Ren’s arms, I saw the fragments of dark metal, several guards standing stunned, and the Crown Prince, who had lost consciousness.
Out in the hallway, the Captain of the Guard, who seemed to have just arrived, asked.
“W-what happened?”
“Later.”
Ren ignored him and headed straight for my room.
“Check if the baby is alright.”
I whispered anxiously, but Ren pretended not to hear.
His straight eyebrows looked stubborn.
“…Ren?”
The violet eyes, which had been staring straight ahead, glanced down at me for just a moment.
I could easily read the anxiety and fear within them.
Ren averted his gaze and growled.
“Be quiet.”
I couldn’t believe my ears, but he added, chewing on his lip.
“You come before everything else for me.”
I found unexpected comfort in his fierce tone.
I gently stroked my stomach; thankfully, it didn’t hurt.
Feeling relieved, my eyelids grew heavy.
The Imperial Palace was in an uproar.
Crown Prince Hart remained unconscious for two days, and even in his stupor, he clutched the hilt of the shattered demonic sword, ‘Velih’.
Empress Dorotheus was so shocked that she couldn’t even interrogate Rurick until her son awoke.
But the outcome she had so desperately awaited for her son was more devastating than death itself.
“The hungry… sword……”
“What? Hart, what are you saying……”
“The hungry sword…, victory……”
The Crown Prince’s once crimson pupils—
the most prominent feature of the Brentani Imperial family—were now stained black.
Hart stared vacantly into the distance, repeating the same phrase over and over.
“Victory… to the sword……”
The Empress couldn’t possibly fail to understand.
They were the words from that very book Moghold had read long ago only to the Emperor and Empress.
‘We never told Hart such detailed information…’
The Empress was terrified, and the Emperor was equally so.
No, in some ways, even more.
Thus, the Emperor focused all his efforts on ensuring the blame for this incident did not fall on Rurick.
If Hart had touched the demonic sword and was permanently broken, then Rurick was the only son left to the Imperial family.
