Chapter 125……………………………………………..
But it was only for a moment. Ron quickly slipped free and, instead, pinned him down.
“Are you really not going to tell me?”
“Ugh!”
“Please tell me.”
“Ughhh… Fine! You little brat!”
Shebert finally managed to loosen himself from Ron’s grip and spoke with a deeply furrowed face.
“Haa… You’re strong for no reason. What on earth did you eat to grow so big?”
“I grew up eating the soup you always gave up for me, Brother.”
“What? Pwahaha!”
Shebert couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
He thought Ron hadn’t noticed, but it seemed his little brother had known all along.
Seeing Ron still looking curious, Shebert finally spoke.
“So, the one line Anne sent me was this: Don’t get hurt carelessly, and don’t die. Just like a savior who always ends up saving me.”
“I see.”
“Yes, that’s all. So now… don’t worry.”
With a faint smile meant to reassure him, Shebert stepped forward first.
Soon, Ron’s voice came from behind.
“All I wish for… is that Anne meets the person she truly loves and becomes happy…”
…And you too, Brother.
Hearing Ron’s wistful words trailing off, Shebert continued walking.
For some reason, his heart felt lighter.
*
Once again, dawn settled over the world.
Standing silently atop the castle walls, Ron stared for a long time at the fading darkness.
His mind was filled with every letter Anne had sent him.
He’d read them so many times he’d memorized them all.
[Ron, I’m sending you a handkerchief with all my sincerity. And when I meet Shebert, who keeps calling me his wi-fe, I’m going to scold him.]
[It’s already been a year since you left. Ron, you haven’t been hurt or sick, right? I heard from Father that you’re stationed in the rear, so you need to stay there.]
[Ron, it’s winter here. Loudne is in the north, so it must be even colder. Oh, and you’re still wearing the necklace I gave you, right? If you’re not, I’ll sulk.]
[Spring has come before I knew it. So many flowers bloomed. I wish we could see them together. Today I tried making a two-tier chocolate cake. Chef Purée sighed and walked out of the kitchen… but it tasted good!]
Every time he thought of Anne, a smile naturally spread across his lips.
Shebert had once said:
“Ron… Anne is precious. Not just to me, but to all of us.”
He was right.
Anne was someone incredibly precious.
From the moment they first met in that cave until now, she had never not been precious.
And now that they were far apart, Ron longed for her more than ever.
I miss you… always.
He thought of her every day.
Missed her every day.
Whether it rained, snowed, or the wind blew…
Always.
This feeling is love.
As Ron grew older, he came to understand that what he felt was love.
And he realized something else.
He wanted to stand beside Anne—not as a friend, but as a lover.
As if from an old childhood habit, Ron pressed his lips together and recalled what Anne had once said.
“Of course, it’s rare, but sometimes engagements get broken off midway. If the hearts of the engaged couple don’t match, they separate.”
Watching the sun slowly rise, Ron placed a hand over his heart.
Thump. Thump.
It beat wildly.
He didn’t know when it had begun.
The moment Anne entered his heart.
He just… liked everything.
Her eyes.
Her lips.
Her hair.
Everything.
He missed her.
He thought of her with his eyes open, and even with them closed.
Even in sleep, she appeared in his dreams.
And so… Ron suffered.
More painfully than anything before.
Because she was…
His brother’s fiancée.
The brightness of the light forced Ron’s head to bow.
But there was still a chance.
…Bianca… Anka!
The name Shebert had called in his sleep.
And the moment Shebert had dared ask the Crown Prince whether he truly intended to marry.
Only then did Ron realize—
There was another woman in his brother’s heart.
From that point on, Shebert’s teasing didn’t anger him as much…
(Though words like wife and marriage were still hard to endure.)
So Ron wanted to annul the engagement between Shebert and Anne.
But then, the most important question held him back.
Does Anne… like me?
Not as a friend from the cave.
But as a man.
Even if the engagement were broken, what mattered was whether Anne’s heart would turn toward him.
If not…
Ron hated even imagining it.
So while he was glad his brother liked Bianca…
He also suffered, because he still didn’t know Anne’s feelings.
It’s been so long since I’ve seen her.
After pushing away the tangled thoughts, he simply missed her.
Wait for me, Anne. I’ll come to you soon.
The scenery reflected in Ron’s red eyes was already shining brightly.
*
A few days later.
The long and brutal monster subjugation finally ended, and the expedition forces began preparing to return to the capital.
Shebert would join the advance group.
Ron would depart the next day with the rear group.
That morning, after the imperial knights left, Ron found a note Shebert had left behind.
[Ron… I want you to be happy too. With Anne.]
*
Southern territory, Duke Alter’s estate.
A man whose face was hidden behind a tightly fitted mask spoke.
“The walls of Loudne have been restored.”
“And the monsters?”
“The monsters near the walls are almost all… dead.”
A trembling voice barely managed to speak.
The woman listening stepped out of the shadows toward the light.
She removed the veiled hat she wore.
Under the bright flame, a pale face was revealed.
The Duchess of Alter.
The woman known publicly for her upright and kind nature twisted her lips into a vicious smile.
“How unfortunate. More lives should have died.”
“Though it was only a few hundred this time… next time, you will be able to kill thousands.”
His reply satisfied her greatly.
With an elegant gesture, she dismissed him.
After he vanished as if he’d never existed, the Duchess stared at the flickering light, lost in thought.
She licked her red lips slowly.
What could be more entertaining than the walls of Loudne…?
She was the one who had ordered the walls destroyed and summoned the monsters.
Killing life, again and again, was her pleasure.
But no one would ever know.
That such a noble duchess was pulling the strings from behind.
I should have entered a woman’s body sooner.
No suspicion.
So comfortable.
She remembered the days she hid in darkness.
Each time she killed someone, she was quickly labeled a criminal and forced to abandon that body.
It was the same in other worlds.
She became a murderer, killing endlessly.
Then, one night, I met a woman in an alley…
That was her greatest mistake.
The soul and malice she tried to devour disappeared…
And she ended up returning here, to the Empire of Triya.
Regrettable.
Living as a killer in the world called South Korea had been enjoyable in its own way.
“…Mother.”
The Duchess raised her eyes sharply.
She hadn’t even noticed Bianca’s arrival.
“Yes, Bianca.”
Bianca’s thin face slowly lifted.
Her skeletal hand was raised by the Duchess.
“Did you fail to eat properly again today?”
“…Yes.”
“Oh dear. My daughter must stay healthy.”
“…”
“Shall I replace everyone in the kitchen? Perhaps filling it with people more suited to your taste would be better.”
Bianca trembled and shook her head.
“No, Mother. I-I will eat better from now on. Please… just let everyone stay…”
Bianca knew.
If she nodded, the kitchen staff would all be killed.
She had seen it.
The gardener.
The maids.
All dead overnight, leaving only empty shells.
The Duchess released Bianca’s hand and stroked her cheek.
“Good. Such an obedient daughter.”
“…”
“You must stay healthy. Only then will your holy power flow well. My daughter will become the Crown Princess.”
“…”
Staring coldly at Bianca’s silence, the Duchess continued.
“Listen carefully, Bianca. The one who caused your father’s sacrifice… was you. If you act foolish again, everyone around you will die until not even corpses remain.”
“…Yes.”
After the Duchess left, Bianca stood there blankly for a long time.
Words she heard every day since her father died.
The one who sacrificed everyone… was you.
Now, it felt like truth.
The one who ruined her family and house…
Was Bianca herself.
It’s my fault. Everything.
So she had to do well.
She had to obey her mother.
Otherwise…
More people might die again.
Dad…
Bianca wiped her dry eyes with the back of her hand out of habit.
She had cried so much…
No tears remained.
