What meaning is there in regret after death?

What meaning is there in longing after loss?

Even if revealing my true self leads to unintended suspicion, what does it matter? As long as I can protect.

“One.”

One that just turned to dust before my eyes.

Following that, I sensed another one approaching.

They know. That I, the only human outside the yellow aurora, am currently the only prey.

Something approaches in the empty air above. Invisible, but I can sense its presence.

– Screech

A Caligari – larger than the huge fountain Lahert once built in the southern citadel – stretched out its long claws.

Without dodging, I watched those claws, more than twice a person’s height.

When its foot came beside my waist, I raised my sword upward.

From the sole of its foot to thigh, body, and head.

Drawing an arc, I precisely bisected its body vertically.

I know it’s cruel, but the beasts must see this to feel fear.

The massive Caligari crumpled and scattered like paper without even a scream.

Beyond the fallen beast’s corpse, I saw the knights and the Grand Duke watching me.

I met eyes with the startled Grand Duke.

‘Your Highness, this is who I am.’

– Screech!

Evading another attack, I sliced it in half with my sword aura. Another one too.

“Four.”

I wasn’t even slightly out of breath.

Before long, the Caligari’s attacks stopped.

‘Have they completely left? No.’

That’s when it happened.

“Esther!!!”

Bran’s scream rang out.

In the distance, I saw Greiny running towards me at mad speed like a dog reunited with its owner.

Bran was clinging to my horse’s neck and screaming.

And above them, a Caligari appeared in an instant.

0.1 seconds before the Caligari’s long hand reached Bran.

I sent out a sword aura and blew up the beast in midair.

“Why did you come!”

“This crazy horse, waaah!”

“The captain!”

“Waaah, I left him inside the wall.”

Bran cried.

“Esther, please protect me, waaah.”

“…Okay.”

Of course.

Another one appeared.

I blew that one up too.

Leaning fully on me, Bran Ophilit’s crying made me feel like the sins from my previous life were being washed away, just a little bit.

My heart flutters.

I’ll protect you.

“Esther!!!”

Just then, the Grand Duke’s voice rang out.

He’s running towards me, along with the other captains.

Eodel’s yellow aurora was weakening. The boy mage was on the verge of collapsing from using too much power.

The Grand Duke shouted.

“Esther! Use us!”

“?!”

“Stop your power!”

With the Grand Duke’s shout, Eodel withdrew his power. The yellow aurora protecting the Grand Duke and all the knights disappeared.

At the same time, five Caligari appeared above them.

– Ssaaeaeak

Their attacks approach like a storm.

I sent a sword aura upwards to push them up, then leapt into the air. And cut down all four at once.

The remaining one had its leg cut off by the Grand Duke’s sword and fell to the ground.

I closed my eyes and sensed invisible presences. But I no longer felt the presence of Caligari.

Silence fell for a moment.

The Grand Duke, who had also closed his eyes to sense presences, said:

“We’ve won.”

“We’ve won,” I replied.

“Waaaaah! Waaah! Esther!”

“Esther! What are you? You were hiding this kind of power?”

“Neeeeeigh!”

Bran, the captains, and even the horses cheered.

The black horse carrying the Grand Duke approached me. From atop it, the Grand Duke extended his hand to me.

“Well done, Esther.”

His eyes were warm.

A surge of hot emotion rises from deep in my chest.

“I’m offering a handshake, to an official knight of the North.”

The Grand Duke said.

I took his hand.

‘It’s warm.’

– Boom, boom, boom

In the distance, drums sounded from the city walls.

“It seems they saw everything too. Let’s go back, before more come.”

The Grand Duke smiled.

I mounted Greiny. Bran clung to my waist with his face a mess of tears and snot, as if determined not to fall off.

“Isn’t the horse too small? Knight Bran, why don’t you ride my horse?”

At the Grand Duke’s words, Bran replied:

“No, Your Highness. You’re already carrying the mage, hic.”

He must have been terribly frightened by his near-death experience.

So you were such a coward, Bran Ophilit.

When you died by my hand, how scared were you?

A corner of my heart stung.

That’s when it happened.

– Boom

– Boom

– Boom

Something massive enough to shake the earth was walking towards us from the distant darkness.

“What is that?”

The captains cried out. The horses began to stir.

We all froze when it finally revealed itself.

It really was an orc the size of a fortress.

A gaunt orc with long, hair-like black locks hanging down like a veil.

“It’s the Orc Queen!”

One of the older captains shouted.

The monster queen’s long arm flew towards me.

I cut off her arm.

– Kigigigigik

The Orc Queen retreated with a strange scream.

But…

A new arm instantly sprouted from the part where her arm was cut off.

“Everyone get away!”

I shouted to the people, then dismounted. I sliced the queen’s massive leg, and moved away from the Grand Duke and knights.

‘Attack only me, monster.’

That monster slowly turned its body towards me. It was like watching a massive tree touching the sky move.

But the Grand Duke and captains weren’t leaving.

“Go quickly!”

“Esther!”

“Hurry! You’ll only be in the way!”

“…I’ll come back.”

The Grand Duke, carrying the collapsed young mage in his arms, began running towards the city walls.

I channeled magic into my sword, increasing its length fourfold. Then I charged towards the queen.

But.

Something was descending silently from the sky.

It passed behind the Orc Queen’s head and headed towards the people returning to the city.

In an instant, its claws snatched up the Grand Duke.

At the same time, the Orc Queen attacked me.

I dodged her attack and blew up the queen’s leg.

– Uooooooooong

Though letting out a deep cry, the queen wouldn’t let me go.

In the distance, I saw a monster that looked like a giant bird carrying away the Grand Duke. Bran too, clinging to the Grand Duke’s cloak.

“Your Highness!”

Sion Belfast hung his head, motionless.

The bird’s claws seemed to have pierced the Grand Duke’s shoulder.

The Orc Queen’s newly sprouted leg falls towards my head.

[This is the timeline separator]

After beheading the queen, I chased after the Grand Duke.

But I couldn’t chase him, since I didn’t know where he had gone.

I could only run in the direction the bird had flown.

The mud flats grew deeper and deeper, making riding a horse only waste time.

I ran and ran between the endless sky and earth.

“Your Highness!”

I called out to him. But there was no answer.

“Your Highness!”

Where have you gone, my lord?

To where?

Fatigue washed over me to the point of blurring my vision. At the same time, an unfathomable fear overtakes me.

“Your Highness!”

A day and a half had already passed since I began wandering the land.

‘I feel like I’m suffocating.’

Because I’m scared.

Sion Belfast, the fear of possibly losing you. The fear that I might be too late weighs me down.

The sun was cold.

Gradually, the muddy flats change to parched land.

Why am I living this life again?

It was to make you the new emperor, Sion Belfast.

Is that so? Is that really why, Esther?

I asked myself.

No, perhaps not.

Grand Duke, I wanted to see that sincere smile of yours just once.

I wondered what you look like when you smile, when you eat, when you rest.

In this life, I wanted to protect you, who didn’t hate me, so that you could be happy.

There were times when revenge against Lahert was a bigger reason.

But if you, who are to be my future after revenge, disappear, what will I have left?

The princess?

No.

Without you, it’s just an empty second life.

“Sion! Sion Belfast!”

I screamed like a madman.

“Where are you!”

That’s when it happened.

“Estheeeeer!”

Someone called me from far away.

I stopped. I froze in place.

‘Bran?’

It’s definitely Bran’s voice.

An endlessly flat land. But there are still high places.

I found a steep rocky cliff and climbed to the top.

“Bran! Where are you!”

There was no answer. But after a while,

“Here! Esther! Over here!”

“Where!”

Again after a while,

“Here! There’s a cave here! His Highness is in critical condition!”

For a moment, my vision blurred.

My heart pounded madly.

‘He’s still alive.’

I scanned the direction the voice came from.

In the distance, I saw a craggy mountain. Halfway up that mountain was a familiar, giant bird monster.

Though it looked like a dot from far away, I recognized the monster.

I ran there like a madman. And killed the attacking monster with one strike.

“Esther!”

Bran poked his head out from a small cave halfway up the rocky mountain.

I entered the cave in one breath.

It was a deep cave, narrow at the entrance but wide inside.

Water dripped from the ceiling with a plop, plop sound.

The Grand Duke lay beneath it.

“Your Highness.”

I ran to his side and sat down.

– Huff huff

He was breathing rapidly like a child.

A face flushed with fever, cold sweat streaming down, hair soaked wet.

“His Highness is very ill. He’s been unconscious for a while.”

Bran whimpered.

The Grand Duke was still in his armor. One shoulder part of the armor was torn like paper.

“How long has it been?”

“From last night until now…”

Anger welled up.

“I didn’t know what to do, I was afraid moving him would hurt him more.”

“Bran.”

“Waaaaah.”

“Bran!”

Bran stopped crying.

I soothed him gently.

“Calm down, Bran. That’s how we’ll all survive.”

“…!”

“We need to take off his armor.”

Together, we removed the armor enveloping the Grand Duke’s body.

Beneath the removed armor, the white shirt the Grand Duke always liked to wear was revealed. It was so soaked in blood it could no longer be called a white shirt.

‘Sion.’

It felt like all the blood in my body was draining out.

“Esther, he asked for water before losing consciousness, but he couldn’t swallow when I gave it to him.”

Bran held out a stone bowl filled with water.

“I’m a fool. I only learned how to swing a sword, I never learned how to save and heal people. This fool, this idiot!”

Bran hit his own head violently.

“Don’t do that, Bran. If you hadn’t followed His Highness, I really… wouldn’t have been able to find him. You’re a truly brave person. Thank you so much.”

I meant it sincerely.

Deep in my heart, I was grateful to Bran.

I scooped water with my hand and rubbed the shirt around the wound area, already stuck to the flesh with blood.

Carefully, so as not to cause pain, I rubbed for a long time until the shirt came off the flesh.

There was a large hole in one broad shoulder. The flesh around the torn hole had turned blue.

“It drove its claws into His Highness’s shoulder.”

‘It’s poison.’

I’d heard that monster claws contain poison.

I looked at the Grand Duke’s face. He was still unconscious and breathing rapidly.

I undressed the Grand Duke.

Then I tore my own shirt. I soaked the shirt pieces in cold water, then placed them on the Grand Duke’s forehead.

“Bring more water.”

“Okay.”

Fortunately, the water dripping from the ceiling was clear.

I held cold water in my mouth. Then I opened the Grand Duke’s lips with my hand.

“Esther?”

I had no time to respond to Bran’s words.

I pressed my lips to his. And using my tongue, I pushed the water I was holding deep into the Grand Duke’s throat so it wouldn’t spill out.

I did this several times.

– Ha…

Finally, the Grand Duke exhaled for the first time. His breath was hot from the poison spreading through his body.

‘I need to hurry.’

I carefully cleaned around the Grand Duke’s wound. Then, I put my mouth to that wound.

“What are you doing, Esther!”

“I’m going to suck out the poison. It can only be done with the mouth.”

That’s why I gave him water first, because I can’t give the Grand Duke water with the mouth I used to suck out poison.

I buried my face in his shoulder.

Though unconscious, the Grand Duke trembled slightly.

I pressed my lips to his wound. And began to suck out the blood and poison and spit it out.

‘Live, Sion Belfast. Live and protect my world.’