Vivian (14)

At Vivian’s sudden appearance, I froze.

I was facing the worst-case scenario I had tried so hard to avoid.

“You suddenly disappeared, so I followed you to see where you went… and you were meeting an Elf?”

“…”

Vivian made no attempt to hide her anger as she strode towards me.

The atmosphere was like walking on thin ice.

But even amidst that, Excellia showed no intention of moving away from me…

In the end, I was the one who gently pushed her away first.

“Explain yourself.”

“If I explain, will you understand?”

“No.”

“Yeah, I figured.”

Funnily enough, both Vivian and I knew.

Whatever was said now would be meaningless.

Vivian would never listen to my words.

Whether it was an explanation or an excuse.

“I don’t think Helix would betray me.”

“…”

“But the mere fact that this situation occurred is unpleasant.”

Next, Vivian glared at Excellia.

Her red eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Yet, Excellia simply met her gaze calmly, showing no sign of fear.

“You’ve boldly snuck into the Imperial Palace. Are you prepared for the consequences?”

“Are you the Empress?”

“Yes, I am the Empress of the Empire and Helix’s wife.”

“…”

“Don’t you know? According to ancient Imperial law, if you’re caught coveting another’s husband, your wrist is cut off. Shall I do that to you too?”

Excellia stared intently at Vivian, then quietly uttered her thoughts.

Naturally, they were not pleasant words to hear.

“You are not worthy.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want to blame Helix, but it’s hard to deny that he has poor judgment.”

Excellia looked up at me and whispered softly.

“Her soul is so filthy, it’s like a sewer, reeking. It makes me want to vomit.”

“Don’t talk about Vivian like that.”

“But it’s the truth, isn’t it? Helix, even if I interpret things to my convenience, I at least don’t lie.”

Excellia’s deep green eyes turned towards me.

That sharp gaze seemed to ask if I didn’t already know.

“Don’t look away, Helix. If you stay with that woman, you’re the one who will be ruined.”

“Hah, I can’t listen to this anymore. There’s a limit to how pathetically you can cling.”

Vivian strode forward and…

Smack!!

She immediately slapped Excellia across the cheek.

Then, with eyes blazing in extreme fury, she snapped.

“Get lost, Elf. This is your last chance.”

“…”

“Cutting off your head here is nothing. But considering your connection with Helix, I’ll give you one last chance.”

I was the one who was surprised by those words.

Vivian showing patience.

Considering her usual personality, it was a truly astonishing change.

“How cunning.”

Even after being slapped, Excellia merely touched her reddened cheek.

There was no significant change in her expression.

“Even though you already have troops waiting behind you.”

“…”

“Do you just want to pretend to be magnanimous in front of Helix?”

Vivian offered no reply.

As if even being discovered by Excellia was part of the plan…

“You’re quick-witted, then just die.”

As Vivian snapped her fingers, numerous Imperial Guards poured out from behind.

The Imperial Guards pointed their swords at Excellia.

I raised my arm to block them, as if protecting her.

“Vivian, let’s talk this out.”

“Now?”

“It’s precisely because it’s now that we can stop.”

First, I had to get Excellia out of here.

If they stayed together, emotions would only escalate.

Delaying the conversation until later wouldn’t be too late.

“Don’t make me laugh. Do you think I didn’t see what that bitch was trying to do to you?”

“Vivian, please…”

“Even if she didn’t know, it wouldn’t be forgivable. But she clearly knew you were taken and still went for you? There’s no room for negotiation from that point on.”

Vivian gestured to her Imperial Guards.

“Seize her. If she resists, you may kill her.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At the same time, the Imperial Guards began to slowly close in on Excellia and me, swords drawn.

They knew I was a Dragon, and that facing me meant certain death.

But despite their tense eyes, there was no hesitation in the tips of their swords.

Their loyalty to their Empress, their master, was absolute.

They had to obey her command.

“O Dragon-isiyeo, please follow Her Majesty’s command.”

“I usually do, but not this time.”

The Imperial Palace had a Magic Defense Barrier.

A powerful barrier that blocked all Teleport Magic.

It was impossible to break through, even for me, a Dragon.

Clang!!

I caught the sword strike aimed at Excellia with my claws.

It was a technique using partial Polymorph.

“Gasp!!”

I kicked one Imperial Guard knight away, but other knights rushed in consecutively.

Excellia elegantly dodged their attacks, weaving through the knights.

As one of the strongest among the Elves, she was somehow managing to avoid their attacks, but…

“Helix is too soft-hearted to kill you all anyway. So just stab that Elf bitch without hesitation.”

“Tch…”

Vivian, as if she had read my intentions, issued a cruel command.

Curses naturally escaped my lips at her order, but…

The situation was too urgent to dwell on it.

“Hmph!”

“Excellia..!”

And numbers always win.

A sharp sword strike grazed Excellia.

Ultimately, Excellia couldn’t avoid the attack and was wounded.

Red drops of blood scattered in the air for a moment.

“A-Are you okay…!?”

“I’m fine… The wound isn’t deep…”

But contrary to her words, her face was deathly pale.

The pristine white dress she had boasted about earlier was now stained with red blood.

At that sight, something snapped inside my head.

“Why are you doing this, what for…”

I thought I had tried hard to understand Vivian all this time.

And I had no doubt that there had been some progress.

But for it all to crumble in an instant like this.

Before resentment towards Vivian, I felt a terrible sense of futility.

“Hah.”

Whoosh!!

At the same time, a storm of magic began to rage around me.

Responding to my will, the air trembled, and the surrounding atmosphere froze.

“I… I can’t kill them, you say?”

“Helix..?.”

“Ah, fine. If you’re going to push me this far, I have my own ideas too.”

I drew forth blazing magic from my hands.

My yellow eyes simultaneously transformed into vertical slits, like a Dragon’s.

It felt like I needed to smash everything around me to alleviate this boiling rage, even just a little.

“The Dragon… seems extremely angered, Your Majesty.”

“What should we do now…”

The Imperial Guard knights hesitated, startled by my changed demeanor, and didn’t rush forward.

And at the same time, a blazing sphere of flame formed in my hands.

A concentrated mass of an immense amount of magic.

If I unleashed this, I could at least burn down this entire Imperial Palace.

“Helix, are you serious…?”

“Normally, no. But you keep testing me.”

“Calm down. Let’s disperse that first. I’ll pull back the knights too…”

Vivian rarely showed such dismay.

Just moments ago, she was trying to kill Excellia, and now she was trying to stop me.

Well, as a fire magician, she must know.

What would happen the moment this thing exploded.

“No.”

“…”

“No, Helix…”

At that moment, Excellia grabbed my hand.

With a pale face, she shook her head, trying to dissuade me.

“This isn’t your way. It isn’t.”

“…”

“Helix, you’ll surely regret it if you do this. I won’t let you do something you’ll regret.”

I won’t let you do something you’ll regret.

Why did those words resonate so deeply?

A pang in my chest was accompanied by a surge of nausea.

And… I unknowingly released the magical power.

“Yes, you did well.”

“Excellia.”

“Yes, Helix…”

“First, let’s just escape from here. Right now, I don’t even know what I might do.”

Whoosh!!

At the same time, I released my Polymorph and returned to my Dragon form.

Then, I carefully enveloped Excellia with both hands, as if protecting her.

Teleport Magic was unusable here.

In that case, flying away was the only option.

Flap!!

I powerfully flapped my wings to take flight.

Vivian, realizing what I was about to do, cried out urgently.

“Wait, Helix! Where are you going…?”

“Grrrrr….”

“You, are you really going to abandon me and choose that woman?!”

Vivian let out a desperate cry, as if she couldn’t believe it.

Her red eyes were filled with dismay and betrayal.

Wasn’t she a truly ridiculous woman?

There would have been no reason for me to make such a choice if she hadn’t cornered Excellia and me like this in the first place.

‘You brought this upon yourself.’

I wasn’t choosing Excellia immediately.

But for now, I needed to start practicing distancing myself from Vivian.

I had agonized over it for a long time, and only now could I find an answer.

Vivian, regardless of good or bad…

Was a woman I couldn’t handle.

“Don’t go! If you go now, it’s really over!!”

“Grrrrr…”

“Don’t go… please….”

Tears welled up in her red eyes.

Vivian, a mix of viciousness and desperation, was indescribably broken.

For a moment, I hesitated at her plea, but…

Swoosh.

Excellia tightly gripped my claw.

She was trembling at my hesitation.

That made me cast aside even my last shred of doubt.

Flap!!

Finally, I made up my mind and began to ascend into the sky.

Numerous magic alarms installed in the Imperial Palace blared loudly and began to fire bombardments at me.

Boom!! Boom!!

I endured the barrage of attacks with my entire body, struggling to protect Excellia.

Vivian’s screams could be heard from below, but they were quickly drowned out by the loud explosions.

“Thank you, Helix…”

Amidst it all, Excellia uttered a small word to me.

After saying that, she fainted.

‘She’s just fainted. But if I leave her like this any longer, it’ll be dangerous.’

I urgently flapped my wings faster.

To save Excellia.

And to escape from Vivian.

I didn’t think about anything else that would happen afterwards.

******

The escape route was not easy either.

It wasn’t long before the Imperial Army’s Wyverns began to pursue us.

“O Dragon-isiyeo! Stop, please!”

“Kwarararara!!”

Of course, with one roar, the Wyverns were terrified and immediately fled from the spot.

Thus, Excellia and I barely managed to escape the Empire Capital.

After flying for about two hours, we landed in a quiet, remote small town in the countryside.

“Excellia, just wait a moment.”

With her on my back, I looked around for a place to stay.

Then, I luckily found an abandoned house.

It smelled musty, but it was relatively clean.

“Let’s go there.”

There was even a bed, which was perfect.

Better than nothing, so I took out the cleanest cloth I could find, made a makeshift bed, and laid Excellia down on it.

‘Her injuries aren’t severe. She managed to stop the bleeding well on her own.’

True to Excellia, who had fought fierce battles with Termites, she knew how to take care of herself.

With some healing magic and good nutrition, she would recover quickly.

But the problem was just beginning.

“Where should we go now?”

Unfortunately, the direction I had fled was not towards Daesurim.

The Empire’s Magic Surveillance Network was densely spread, so there was no other way but to take a detour through this remote area.

‘Even going straight into Daesurim would be a problem.’

The moment Vivian knew I was in Daesurim, she would undoubtedly invade it.

Or she might deliberately attack it to lure me out.

In any case, it was a frustrating situation.

“Helix.”

“Excellia, you’re awake?”

Excellia, who had been unconscious for a long time, finally opened her eyes.

I let out a belated sigh of relief.

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know exactly either. I just know it’s a remote area of the Empire.”

“It seems even further from Daesurim.”

“Right, it’s the complete opposite direction.”

Excellia languidly stared at the ceiling, then

glanced at me and smiled.

“Thinking about the situation now, it’s completely an elopement, isn’t it?”

“It’s a relief you have the leisure to talk nonsense, at least.”

I was dying of worry, but she seemed to have time for jokes.

Feeling a little annoyed, I pinched her cheek.

“Ow, ow… That hurts, Helix…”

“You find this funny, right now?”

Even so, Excellia giggled, seemingly amused.

Sigh, what a fate I have.