Vivian (18)

Vivian’s eyes were filled with rage.

I tried to calm my trembling heart and replied to her.

“Excellia is the Daughter of the World Tree. If you kill her, not only will we become hostile with Daesurim, but we’ll also have no way to deal with problems if something happens to the World Tree.”

“Hmph.”

“If you lose your teeth, your gums will collapse. If you don’t want to destroy the Empire, you’d better stop doing such things.”

I gave up on trying to persuade Vivian emotionally.

Even if I said anything now, there was a high probability she wouldn’t listen.

Instead, I had to thoroughly prove Excellia’s necessity based on reason.

“Whether the forest collapses or the Empire falls, that remains to be seen.”

“…”

“That’s not enough to persuade me. Do you have any other excuses?”

Vivian scoffed.

I had held a glimmer of hope, but it was useless after all.

What should I do now?

Indeed, only one method came to mind.

“Excellia is just like a girl in puberty.”

“…”

“From your perspective, it might feel very outrageous. But I hope you can forgive her.”

It was submission.

I had to save Excellia, even if it meant groveling.

“Puberty? An Elf who’s hundreds of years old in puberty? That’s absurd.”

“Elf ages are different from ours. Even as the Daughter of the World Tree, she’s just a novice who’s recently become an adult.”

“So you’re asking me to forgive her because she acted childishly?”

“Yes, if Vivian shows mercy, I won’t forget it.”

“…”

At that, Vivian stared intently into my eyes for a moment.

“What will you do if you don’t forget?”

“I’ll do everything Vivian wants.”

“Even if I ask you to place a Geas on yourself?”

“…”

A Geas.

I had expected it, but sure enough, it came from her lips.

Was there truly no other way now?

I nodded with difficulty.

“If that makes you feel at ease, then by all means.”

“Ha, what supreme love. You used to detest it so much, but now you’re willing to even endure a Geas just to save that Elf?”

“…”

Vivian growled and glared at me.

“Vivian, I don’t think these words will calm your anger, but please listen anyway.”

“Alright, I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

“Nothing happened with Excellia. Physically, that is.”

“I know that.”

She knows?

Did she perhaps interrogate Excellia?

I barely managed to suppress the urge to shout.

“I heard the Elf’s true feelings through a maid. She said she tried to seduce you but failed every time, didn’t she?”

“…”

“Well, I’ll give you that much. But Helix, the emotional connection is always greater than the physical.”

Vivian approached me with chilling eyes, meeting my gaze.

“Didn’t you feel any deep affection for that Elf, even once?”

“I…”

“Answer me. Say ‘no’ clearly.”

Dragons do not lie.

And that was my conviction.

But now, Excellia’s life was on the line.

I couldn’t weigh her life against my paltry conviction.

“I didn’t.”

“You hesitated to lie.”

“It’s really not, Vivian.”

“Ha, so Helix has learned to lie now.”

Vivian dropped her head with a sigh.

The despair she felt seemed to spread to me like poisonous smoke.

“How could my little Dragon, that lovely Dragon who only looked at me… become such a liar? How could this happen…”

“Vivian…”

“Don’t say anything, because I don’t want to hear it.”

When she lifted her head, Vivian’s red eyes had already lost their vitality.

She was like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

“Helix, didn’t you say before? That you couldn’t kill me. No matter what I did.”

“Vivian, surely you’re not…”

“From now on, I’m going to commit a very grave sin. It might become an indelible wound in your life.”

I had to stop Vivian.

She had clearly made up her mind now.

To kill Excellia.

“Honestly, I thought you were just weak-hearted and being swayed by that Elf all this time.”

“It’s a misunderstanding, Vivian. Just listen to me for a moment.”

“But, but that wasn’t it. That woman comforted your heart. That woman mended your tattered heart, wounded by me.”

Vivian let out a hollow, bitter laugh.

Now, all that remained for her was venom and emptiness.

“Ah… this is truly fucked up. I just wanted to be acknowledged by Helix. I just wanted to be a woman worthy of standing by your side.”

“Vivian, nothing has happened yet. Just calm down a little.”

“Do you know, Helix? Every single action you take now only seems to be for that Elf. It’s already come to that point.”

Vivian raised her hand and caressed a ring.

From the tip of that gem flowed a terrible magic power of death.

That was the artifact on which Excellia’s life depended.

“So, I’m going to kill that woman. Don’t even think about stopping me anymore.”

“No…!”

“Hmph…”

I couldn’t let her die helplessly like this.

I tried to cover Vivian’s mouth and snatch the ring.

Vivian, not backing down, generated a sphere of flame in her hand and pressed it against my shoulder.

“Kuk….!”

Intense pain surged along with the smell of burning flesh.

In my fading consciousness, I barely managed to place my hand on Vivian’s ring…

“Break.”

Pajik!!

I instantly shattered the ring with magic.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a trigger-based magic.

Destroying it wouldn’t activate the magic’s trigger.

“Vivian, let’s stop. Nothing will change if you kill Excellia.”

“…”

“Please, if you let Excellia go safely, I will truly only look at you.”

I appealed to Vivian with all my sincerity.

“As you said, it was really difficult, and perhaps Excellia healed my emotional wounds. But that doesn’t mean a severance with you. So…”

“Helix.”

“Yes, Vivian.”

Had she calmed down a little? I approached Vivian with a glimmer of hope.

And I carefully embraced her.

With all the regret and longing I had felt during that time.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

“…”

“Will you forgive me…?”

At that, Vivian hesitated for a moment, then hugged me tightly.

The warmth of our bodies pressed together after so long.

My tense heart seemed to slowly relax.

“Of course… Of course I’ll forgive you.”

“Really…?”

“I have to, because I only have you, Helix.”

My breathing slowly returned to normal with relief.

Had I finally found some peace?

Unconsciously, I raised my hand and stroked Vivian’s cheek.

Her face was much thinner and gaunt.

She must have suffered a lot emotionally during that time too.

“Helix. But you know…”

“Yes, Vivian.”

“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t forgive that woman.”

“…!!”

“She tried to steal my precious Dragon, didn’t she? How can I forgive that?”

Vivian gave a chilling, twisted smile.

Only then did I realize I had been tricked, but it was already too late.

“I will never forgive her, that woman.”

“Damn it.”

I immediately broke free from Vivian’s embrace and cast a tracking magic spell.

I knew Vivian had done something to Excellia.

However, I had destroyed the ring earlier.

She wouldn’t be able to send any signals through magic now.

“Where is she, Excellia?!”

“Who knows?”

“Tell me now! Now!”

“What are you going to do if I don’t tell you? Kill me?”

“You…?!”

“You can’t kill me.”

I grabbed Vivian by the collar and urgently shouted.

Vivian, in response, spoke with a languid, teasing look in her eyes.

Ultimately, I changed my approach.

Kwaaang!!

I transformed a part of my body, returning to my Dragon form.

I immediately smashed the surroundings, issuing a threat to all the unspecified individuals in this Imperial Palace.

“Excellia, where are you?! Anyone who knows, speak now!”

Kwaaang!!

Walls crumbled and pillars collapsed.

The Imperial Palace of the Empire, once called a thousand-year legacy, instantly began to fall into utter ruin.

“Kyaaak…!!”

“Where is she?!”

“There! She’s in the annex over there! Please save me!”

Finally, a maid, terrified, opened her mouth.

I had no leisure to leisurely confirm whether it was true or not.

Peolleok!!

I immediately spread my wings and leaped towards the detached palace.

Vivian’s scoffing laughter reached my ears.

“It’s already too late. You’ll only see something you don’t want to see if you go there.”

“If anything happens to Excellia, I will never forgive you.”

Leaving only those words, I searched for traces of Excellia’s magic.

The likely place for her to be was obvious anyway.

It would be a place heavily guarded by the Empire’s knights.

“There.”

Knights were firmly guarding an iron gate.

As soon as they spotted me, they drew their swords and blocked my way.

“O Dragon-isiyeo! No one may enter this place!”

“Get lost!”

I unleashed threatening flame magic projectiles towards the knights.

Forgetting even their dignity as knights, they rolled on the ground, barely dodging the fireballs.

Kwaang!!

I instantly shattered the iron gate’s latch.

As the thick door swung open, a metallic scent of blood stung my nostrils.

At the far end of the room, Excellia lay diagonally on the bed.

With blood gushing from the corner of her mouth.

“Excellia..!”

“Ah, Helix, you came…”

Excellia glanced at me, then smiled weakly.

I rushed to her, checking her condition.

A terrible poisonous aura flowed around her.

“You, surely not…? You ate what those bastards gave you?!”

“I had no choice. They threatened me with Mother World Tree.”

“What…?”

“I drank this with my own hands.”

Excellia showed me the small bottle clutched in her hand, giving a faint smile.

“The situation was worse than I thought. The Imperial army had already destroyed the forest and taken thousands of Elves as prisoners. They had already advanced to the very front of where Mother World Tree resides.”

“Such a…”

“This is the price for forgetting my duty as a leader and acting arbitrarily.”

Excellia’s face contorted with guilt.

But what good was any of that now?

I squeezed her hand tightly.

“I… I’ll do something, no matter what, so don’t give up on life.”

“Helix.”

“I am a Dragon, I know all the knowledge in this world and can utilize it, so…”

At that moment, Excellia hugged me.

“It’s alright. Just let me stay like this for now.”

“…”

“This happened because I was greedy.”

I could feel it.

Excellia’s body was growing cold.

That I was powerless in the face of death.

My foolishness…

It had driven her to her death.

“No, please…”

“Helix, please forget me.”

“Do you think that’s possible now…? Don’t talk nonsense, just think about living…!”

“It might be painful for now… but you have to forget. Forget and live your own life…”

Tuk.

Excellia’s arm fell limply.

At the same time, with a creaking sound in my heart…

Something broke.

“Excellia…?”

No answer came.

Excellia was no longer here.

What I held was merely an empty shell, devoid of life.

The woman I knew was no more.

“Haha…”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

Only then did I finally realize.

What the fundamental cause of this situation was.

“I was the problem.”

It was I who ultimately chose Vivian, even knowing her dangerous nature.

It was also I who couldn’t harshly push Excellia away, even knowing Vivian could go berserk.

It was my fault.

My indecisiveness.

My weakness.

It had driven her to her death.

“Your Majesty, what shall we do now…?”

“Just leave him for now. Helix must understand now.”

Vivian turned away, muttering with a bitter expression.

“So why did you give your heart to another bitch?”