The sharp metallic sound hitting the floor pierced the ears. Natasha and Kyle’s gazes simultaneously turned towards the object, while the man quickly kicked the sword away with his foot.

He had completely eliminated any element that could harm him.

Kyle looked at the woman’s face stained with bewilderment and sneered.

Finally, he glanced around and listened for any surrounding noises. A perfect silence greeted the man, without a trace of human presence.

Only then did Kyle sense that this foolish woman had entered the room alone.

Sharp-witted bitch, the man spat out a brief curse and kicked Natasha in the abdomen.

With a dull thud, Natasha fell backwards without even letting out a groan, and her hair was immediately grabbed. The pain of her scalp feeling like it was being torn out followed shortly after the ache from her strongly kicked abdomen.

“Seeing as you came alone, it seems you noticed my trap in advance.”

“…Ugh!”

“I heard you’re with the Charliee royal knights. Ah, perhaps you came alone because you didn’t want to make your loyal knights die?”

“……”

“Truly admirable, Natasha Charliee. A truly righteous lord indeed.”

Kyle praised her courage while sneering. If he hadn’t been holding her hair with his other arm, he looked ready to applaud.

Natasha, who had been listening silently, finally looked up at her opponent. Her face, which should have been crumbling with defeat, was somehow triumphant.

“Yes, unlike you.”

“What?”

“Unlike you who betrayed your parents to climb to the top. Not only committing filial impiety but also bringing down all your siblings. Even after becoming the sun, instead of being generous, you’ve been indulging in corruption and injustice—”

“……”

“I’m completely different.”

Even if she was trapped in the man’s grasp, she couldn’t kneel before her archenemy.

She had learned from her previous life that the end of submission was not liberation. Kyle Letius, that vicious demon, would strive to make her even more despicable.

Natasha finished speaking and then spat at her opponent.

Kyle Letius, wiping the spit off his face, repeatedly closed and opened his eyes. He seemed flustered by the unexpected situation.

When he finally reacted, it was with a sigh. The man, trying hard to raise the corners of his twitching mouth, applied more force to the hand gripping the woman’s hair.

“Well, if you’re going to be like this, I have no choice. I’ll have to treat you roughly, madam.”

Kyle pulled Natasha’s hair forward and then immediately threw her backwards. She collided with the bookshelf, pushed back powerlessly.

Kyle Letius strode towards the woman who was groaning and crouched down. Seeing his shadow cast over the woman’s pale face, he smiled with satisfaction and wrapped his hand around her neck.

“You came here on your own feet, so you must have been prepared for there being no exit, right madam? You didn’t think I’d tremble and let you off when you arrived, did you?”

Kyle carefully scanned Natasha’s body and continued speaking.

“I was going to let you off if you behaved a bit obediently, but it’s too late to overlook it now, considering how much you’ve climbed up.”

He shrugged his shoulders spitefully while looking at Natasha who had fallen silent. It was an attitude certain that her silence stemmed from fear.

“Are you afraid?”

“……”

“What to do, there’s no little duke here to save you. Unless a god to torment you.”

Her voice couldn’t come out due to her constricted throat. At some point, she couldn’t even swallow her saliva properly because of her blocked throat.

“Selfish woman, if you had just chosen for everyone to die, Sieghart would have come afterwards to finish his revenge.”

The sound of clicking his tongue echoed loudly inside.

“By choosing your sacrifice over everyone’s, you’ve ultimately failed the plan.”

“……”

“Do you understand what I’m saying? Because of a few measly knights, you and Sieghart will be defeated. I’ll take that bastard’s heart using you as a hostage!”

Kyle bared his white teeth at Natasha, who remained silent. His widely split mouth drew a strange smile.

“Thank you, thanks to you I’ll be able to decorate the imperial palace with the heads of Sieghart and those annoying Asthart knights. Your persistent head and those of the Charliee royal knights will look quite nice too!”

Natasha, unable to breathe, coughed out rough coughs. The man shouted boisterously as he watched her complexion turn blue.

“You’ll be nothing but a hindrance, Natasha Asthart. So watch silently. Observe closely your incompetence that only harms instead of helping your loved one.”

Kyle, who had been cursing the woman, opened his eyes wide as if he had thought of something more interesting. For a moment, mischief dripped from his dilated pupils.

“Ah, does it not matter? After all, you’ve been a hindrance to that bastard all this time. You’ve always been a pest-like existence that only held him back.”

“……”

“And even now! Sieghart, who must be dying to kill me, will ultimately be unable to do so!”

And Natasha belatedly realized how great an impact her mistake would bring.

Kyle Letius was right. By falling in love with Natasha, revenge had become secondary to the man.

If a moment comes when he has to choose between Natasha’s life and the success of his revenge, he will unhesitatingly choose his beloved.

“Because my blade will graze your neck before his blade does. He’ll be too scared to kill me because of that, won’t he?”

“……”

“So you’ll remain a harmful existence to him until the end.”

Kyle loosened his grip on the woman’s neck. Natasha, who had nearly lost consciousness from the prolonged torment, fell to the floor coughing.

“So stay there quietly and watch.”

“……”

“How miserably Enoch Calent and Sieghart Asthart crumble.”

The almond-shaped field of vision slowly began to narrow. Subsequently, Natasha’s gaze towards Kyle Letius grew increasingly blurred.

“Watch how the perfect plan fails by your own hands.”

As the streak of bright light subsided, his vision finally became clear.

Sieghart, frowning as he opened his eyes, soon felt relieved at the familiar sight.

Pure white smoke enveloped the man’s body and led him to a statue.

The man, having reached the statue, naturally looked upwards. Soon, a majestic voice slowly descended.

‘Well, how are you faring in this life?’

It was his long-time helper.

Before Sieghart could answer, the voice spoke again.

‘Well, seeing that you’re alive and well without needing to be threatened with your life, I suppose you’re doing alright.’

“That’s… about right.”

The man laughed awkwardly at the affectionate yet sharp tone.

Hmm, a contemplative sound followed as if examining Sieghart.

‘Are you going to the final battle? To eliminate Kyle Letius, your other nemesis?’

“Yes, that’s right.”

‘You’ve managed to come this far at last, my proud hero.’

The voice, tinged with laughter, seemed to regard Sieghart with admiration.

‘So much has changed.’

“Indeed, it has.”

‘Have you never regretted it?’

“…What do you mean?”

‘All the choices you’ve made to get here.’

It was a rather ambiguous question, difficult to grasp the meaning of. Sieghart, trying to gauge the other’s intentions, carefully opened his mouth.

“If you’re asking about that woman… No. Not even once.”

‘What a great love. To never regret even once, despite suffering so much because of that woman.’

“It’s the same principle as your love for me.”

‘Oh ho.’

“You, the great one, have always been there for me. You’ve always granted even my reckless and impolite requests.”

‘You know it well.’

The god jested, telling him to consider all the past mercies as an honor.

‘Well, it’s fortunate that you don’t regret it. I’m truly glad that the one I chose isn’t a fool who dwells on past matters.’

Having received a satisfactory answer, the god smiled benevolently.

‘I hope you continue to make choices you won’t regret in the future. I wish you good fortune.’

“I am… always grateful. My benevolent god.”

‘May fortune be with my son.’

The gradually fading voice signaled the end of the meeting.

Soon, the thick fog that had blocked reality cleared. The ransacked study came into view as the man’s gaze, which had been hazy, became clear.

Sieghart, grasping his sword and steeling his resolve, looked around the study.

Unlike the chaotic surroundings, the study was utterly quiet.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of disconnect, Sieghart crossed over to the room on the other side.

Even Kyle Letius’s bedroom was quiet. To the point where it made one doubt if the man had come to the wrong place.

The empty scene rather fueled the tension. The silence, as if the world had stopped, seemed to stem from the woman’s loss, making him increasingly anxious.

Sieghart, who had moved into the corridor, mercilessly dispatched the knights he encountered thereafter. He felt a slight relief, foolishly thinking that at least these wouldn’t reach Natasha.

Afterwards, he moved quickly.

Outside, where the sun had already risen, fireworks were beginning. Outside, unaware of the situation in the imperial palace, people were busy enjoying the festival commemorating today.

Despite so much time having passed, he still hadn’t found Natasha. Everything suddenly became frightening again. Even while clinging to a thread of hope, all the futures he imagined pointed to the worst.

His steps quickened. The man, who had been running swiftly as if chased by something, tensed up at the sound of approaching presence a moment later.

Something was coming aggressively.