Chapter 89: Count Corrode and the Eight Knights – 8

“Ah… Aah!!”

Vivian let out a scream she had been holding back at that very moment.

The maids and guards who had been following her blocked her way as she tried to reach Kailo.

But Vivian paid no attention to them, shouting desperately at Kailo, who was hovering between life and death.

“No!! Get up, get up, Kailo!!”

Tears she thought had dried up blurred her vision.

Breaking free from the maids and guards, Vivian quickly rushed to Kailo’s bedside.

It was the only spot where no one else attending to Kailo was present.

Vivian held his face upside down from above and pleaded.

“Do you think I’ll let you die here? Do you think I’ll allow you to run away like this!!”

Tears fell onto his face like raindrops.

Gritting her teeth, she pressed down on his trembling face.

“Where do you think you’re going without my permission? Who gave you the right to leave!! You’re my prisoner, remember!!”

Her anger soon turned into a plea.

“No, Kailo… Please… Please… No, you can’t, Kailo…”

Kailo gave no response.

He coughed violently, spitting blood.

“Please… Please… I’ll grant your wish… Just come back… No, you have to survive, Kailo… Please…”

But once again, her pleas turned to fury.

“Is it because you think I’ll rise to power… because I’ll rebuild Rondor? Are you that scared of losing our bet?! We were almost there, you have to see this through!!”

The maids and guards pulled her away from Kailo once more.

Her screams gave way to exhaustion as she was finally torn from him.

Vivian couldn’t understand.

He belonged to her, yet everyone was stopping her from going to him.

If only she could regain a little composure, she’d realize how irrational she was being, but that small bit of sanity eluded her.

“Lady Vivian!”

At that moment, a familiar voice called out to her.

It was Valon, Wallace, and Martin—Kailo’s closest friends.

Vivian also met them often and, though she never expressed it, considered them a kind of friend.

“Lady Vivian, please calm yourself.”

Wallace tried to bring her back to her senses.

“…Calm down. If you want Kailo to survive, you must calm down.”

Survive?

Why should such a terrifying word even need to be said?

He was alive before.

Why had he suddenly come so close to death?

Why was he trying to leave like this?

Vivian took deep breaths, trying to sort her thoughts.

…No, this wasn’t it.

Kailo wasn’t trying to leave.

He had promised not to.

Even when given the chance, he had chosen to stay by her side.

This wasn’t Kailo trying to leave—it was Count Corrode who had torn him away.

Vivian quickly pieced together the reason for such a drastic plan.

Kailo had been getting in the way of the Count’s attempts to target her.

No matter how many excuses he might pile on to hide this truth, Vivian knew it was the reality.

She clenched her teeth.

If not for Count Corrode, nothing would have interfered with the future she and Kailo were meant to share.

Kailo would have stayed by her side for the rest of his life, and she had every intention of keeping him there.

So the one at fault wasn’t Kailo.

It was Count Corrode.

“Crellin!”

Vivian called out to Crellin, who was performing the surgery.

“…Yes!”

Crellin responded firmly, though struggling to hide his agitation.

“Count Corrode… will no longer be your backing.”

Vivian delivered the news in a chilling tone.

The room’s atmosphere turned icy.

Those unaware of Crellin’s betrayal exchanged uneasy glances, while those who knew were stunned by Vivian’s audacity.

Without hesitation, Vivian continued.

“If Kailo dies… dies, d-dies… I will execute you for treason with Count Corrode.”

“Lady Vivian, please!”

“But if you save him…!”

Vivian bowed her head, making a solemn promise.

“I’ll forget all your crimes ever happened. I’ll send you quietly back to your hometown.”

“The choice is yours.”

It didn’t take long for Crellin to make his decision.

He stood up, shouting at the maids.

“Where is the hot water I asked for earlier? Why isn’t it here yet?!”

Valon and Wallace lightly placed their hands on Vivian’s shoulder.

“…You trust in Kailo, don’t you?”

Valon said.

“He’ll pull through. Trust him… and let’s step away for a moment.”

But even in Valon’s tone, there was a deep undercurrent of doubt.

Vivian, who knew this was the best they could do, could only nod.

Without even wiping away her tear-streaked face, Vivian went back to her duties.

Looking down at the eight knights strewn about like trash, she asked,

“…Have their identities been confirmed?”

Wallace, who had once idolized the Eight Knights, answered in a shocked daze.

“…Yes. All of them.”

Vivian clenched her teeth.

“Hand them over to the kennel master. Turn their corpses into dog feed.”

Nestor, the Spymaster, suppressed the shiver running through his body and offered advice to Vivian.

“Lady Vivian… These were the Eight Knights. No matter what crimes they’ve committed…”

“Knights? You’re joking, right?”

Vivian cut him off.

“They barged into my grounds and almost killed my guest. And you’re calling them knights?”

“…Delrum Kingdom will be in an uproar if they find out the corpses of the Eight Knights were fed to dogs. It could lead to more enemies…”

Even though she found Nestor’s false concern infuriating, Vivian suppressed her feelings and replied.

“Let them come. I don’t care.”

“Throw them to the dogs. If anyone questions this decision even once more, throw them in as well.”

Soldiers from the Fourth Knight Order appeared, dragging away the corpses.

The knights’ blue cloaks were soaked in blood, frayed at the edges, and their armor, damaged in multiple places, broke off during the process.

This was the grim fate of the Eight Knights.

Here and there, people checked their ruined state, and whispers about Kailo’s incredible feat against them grew louder.

Vivian knew this incident would spread Kailo’s name far and wide.

Kailo Alan, son of the Undefeated Knight Jade Alan.

The news of him slaying a dragon had only spread faintly, but this event couldn’t be hidden.

The man who single-handedly defeated the Eight Knights in battle.

However, no matter how people described him, none of it mattered to Vivian.

If Kailo wasn’t by her side, none of it had any meaning.

Immediately, she gathered all the knights.

Baelor, Thoros, Mordain, and Vergor came together.

“…Prepare the soldiers.”

But she didn’t tell them to prepare for war.

It felt too emotional to make such a decision just yet.

Still, if Kailo was to die, that could change.

Vivian knew deep down she might make that choice.

Sometimes, she surprised herself.

At thirteen, she had gagged at the scent of blood.

Now, after witnessing the horrors of war, she was ready to wage one herself.

…She suddenly remembered something.

Her witch mentor, Elena, had once told her she would grant her the death of one person.

To choose the target wisely, Elena had said.

Perhaps that target had already been decided.

After finishing her work, Vivian returned to find Kailo’s surgery had been completed.

Unlike earlier, his body no longer convulsed.

Instead, his entire figure was covered in sutures, as though he were a frayed cloth patched up in every possible way.

An exhausted Crellin answered honestly,

“…I’ve done my best. But still, you should prepare yourself—”

“Quiet.”

Vivian cut him off, closing her eyes tightly.

She wasn’t ready to hear about preparing for the worst.

“Just… leave, please.”

Crellin nodded.

“…Make sure to keep a fire going. His body mustn’t lose warmth.”

He left the room.

The once noisy space was now silent.

Vivian remained alone with Kylo.

-Tap, tap…

Tears streamed down her face again.

She gently took Kailo’s hand.

“…Just a little more, Kailo. Hang in there.”

His faint breaths rasped in and out.

It was the faintest sound of his breathing that she had ever heard in her life.

She wasn’t used to seeing him so weakened—it was completely unfamiliar.

He seemed like a flame about to go out at any moment, and it felt unbearable not to protect him.

Vivian felt a tangle of emotions as she looked at Kailo.

There was the hatred stemming from the belief that he was the son of her sworn enemy, the source of all her suffering.

The animosity born from their clashes and the wounds they inflicted on each other’s hearts.

And yet, there was also the camaraderie that had developed from being together.

As their bodies matured, there was the physical desire they had felt for one another.

And then there was this chaotic mix of feelings that had blossomed into…

Love.

No, it wasn’t love.

It couldn’t be love.

That boundary, at least, she had firmly maintained.

Vivian felt overwhelmed by her complicated emotions as she gently stroked Kailo again.

This strong knight who had always protected her so steadfastly now seemed so fragile.

His body was unbearably cold.

Anyone else might not have noticed.

But Vivian did.

Having lived in the frigid northern regions, Kailo’s body naturally retained a lot of heat.

For his body temperature to have dropped so drastically was a rare occurrence.

Swish… swish…

Vivian didn’t deliberate for long.

As if it was the most natural thing to do, she began to undress, layer by layer.

Leaving only her undergarments, she slowly crawled into his bed.

She pressed her warmth against his freezing body.

As their skin touched, the cold chill was palpable.

Yet Vivian didn’t let go of Kailo.

“…Wake up, Kailo.”

If only he would wake up, they wouldn’t have to part anymore.

“We… can’t be apart, remember?”

She suddenly felt like she was back to being that powerless 13-year-old girl, the first time she had met Kailo .