episode_0212

From Tia’s red eyes, floating in the darkness, I felt… an undeniable killing intent. It was as if—a scorching sun had momentarily descended to the earth, burning my face, chest, and wounds that faced her. This suffocation, where flesh and skin completely dried up, leaving me utterly immobile. With a killing intent more intense than what I had harbored for Fosao. Tia swung her sword. There was no time to think. The moment I arched my body backward, a sharp wind passed beneath my chin. That feeling alone made me think my neck had been cleanly severed, making me wonder if I had died for a moment. But this sensation of my body falling through the air. And as soon as my back hit the floor, I rolled backward. Clang-!! By dodging the downward sword strike, I realized I was still alive.

“Hoo…” Sweat trickled past my ear. It was a movement I couldn’t believe myself. It felt as if this body wasn’t mine. Tia’s attack was clearly too fast to dodge, yet I had moved even faster to avoid it. Uncle Joseph’s ‘survival instinct’, gained from roaming battlefields, was forcing me to move, as I had absorbed his memories.

“Aaaargh-!!” Tia let out a sharp cry and charged. I could clearly see it in the darkness. The fierce gleam in her eyes directed at me, the blade swung as if to absolutely kill me. Never in my life had I faced such killing intent. I was just a gentle, ordinary boy, a pharmacist who brewed medicine for the villagers. I hadn’t had the time to live badly enough to incur anyone’s hatred, nor did I have the capacity for it.

Yet. The woman I truly loved. The woman with whom I once swore eternal love… Was now rushing at me to kill me. To protect her husband, Fosao. And to protect the baby inside her. My beloved woman was trying to execute ‘me’—the assassin who had infiltrated the royal palace.

I quickly fumbled in the darkness. I didn’t know why I did it. Only the thought that I couldn’t die now persisted. My fingertips brushed against something. It was the hilt of the Rose Sable, which I had dropped just moments before. Without a moment’s thought, I gripped it tightly and swung it forward. Clang-!!! Sparks flew as sword met sword. And a tingling shock ran through my wrist and shoulder. It felt as if some invisible, massive force had collided with me.

“Aaaargh-!” “Ugh…!” Screech! Grind! The opposing blades scraped against each other, making a chilling sound as they slid little by little. These trembling fingers, dancing to a grotesque rhythm… were proof that they were desperately blocking each other.

Swish-! Suddenly, Tia twisted her entangled sword at an angle. “…!” I instantly understood what she was trying to do. A technique to deflect the weight of my ‘forceful’ Rose Sable to the side, then strike a vital point in the opening. It was the same sword technique Tia had used when she was on the tribute stage, during her duel with Apprentice Knight Allan. I knew Tia’s intention precisely, and so my body moved instinctively. Countering Tia’s sliding blade by twisting my own sword around it–. Clang! I parried it back.

“…Hmph?!” Tia’s arm jerked up, leaving her exposed. Even without seeing, I could tell by instinct. If I just thrust the Rose Sable forward now, I could pierce Tia’s chest. But how could I do that? The one I intended to kill was Fosao, not Tia.

Thud. I remained still, not seizing the opening, and Tia quickly recomposed her stance. Then she urgently called out to Fosao. “I’ll hold her off! You go, quickly! Go call the Royal Guards!” I narrowed my eyes. Could Tia have realized that the assassin’s target wasn’t her, but Fosao, just from that brief hesitation I showed?

“Groan… groaning… ugh…!!” Fosao began to move, making whimpering sounds. I heard the sound of his heavy legs getting off the bed and walking. But he didn’t go far before falling to the floor with a dull thud. “My, my leg… ugh…!” My blade, which had aimed for his heart, must have missed and instead deeply cut his leg. Thank goodness. The damn god who was never helpful had given me one last piece of luck. I had to finish him here before he could get out and call the soldiers.

Footstep. As I took a step forward, Tia flinched and blocked my path. It seemed she had no intention of letting me go easily.

“Haa!” Clang! Swords clashed again. As expected, Tia was clever. As soon as she realized the assassin was only interested in Fosao, she began to charge in ferociously. She put all her strength into blocking my path, throwing her whole body to prevent me from advancing. I roughly pushed her back. But she rushed forward again.

When had Tia ever properly held a sword? She hadn’t wielded one after leaving Breezedon, and after becoming pregnant, she had sold her Rose Sable. Perhaps now that she was Queen, she avoided strenuous exercise for dignity and recovery. Even so, Tia was strong. No different from when she impressively faced the renowned gladiators of Deseo. She hadn’t rusted at all. She relentlessly pushed me back with clean, economical movements, and every time our swords clashed, she persistently aimed at various places as if searching for an opening.

Clink! I blocked her charging sword, lightly retreating two steps–. Then swung the Rose Sable widely. Clash! “Ugh-?!” A metallic burst of sound echoed before my eyes. At the same time, I felt Tia’s light body pushed backward. Indeed. Tia was excellent. The sole disciple left by this country’s greatest swordsman. But as she herself had said, ultimately, a woman cannot defeat a man with strength. Especially now, when I had gained Uncle Joseph’s memories and my sword skills were comparable to hers.

“Pant- pant-.” Tia, whom I had thought I could never defeat in my life, stumbled before me. It was a strange feeling. We, the innocent ones from Breezedon. We, who whispered love back then. A year later—to be clashing swords like this at the edge of Deseo’s royal palace.

Footstep. I took another step forward. Undeterred, the Queen raised her sword again. But unlike before, the tip of her blade trembled precariously and rattled. Only now, her eyes, realized that this assassin standing directly in front of her was not ordinary.

“Da- damn it! Damn it…!” Fosao had by now crawled to the door and was fumbling with the lock. But in the pitch darkness where nothing could be seen, and with a deep wound in his leg making it hard to even stand, it would not have been easy to pull out the tightly stuck scabbard. Tia asked in a trembling voice. “Are you ready?” “Something’s… something’s stuck…! Aaaargh-!!” The pig’s voice, struggling to escape, echoed loudly.

Footstep. As I took another step forward, Tia retreated by the same amount. From the footsteps, taken with bated breath, I sensed a caution different from before. What was she thinking? Was she thinking this was the greatest crisis of her entire life? I wasn’t sure. But that was how I felt. A feeling as if I was about to go crazy. I wanted to end this moment right now.

Footstep. Footstep. As we repeatedly advanced and retreated.

“…!” Tia moved first. Swish-! A fierce blade thrusting in to attack. I quickly swung the Rose Sable to parry it. Clang! Tia’s arm rotated to the left. This was an opportunity, with her stance so badly off-balance. I should close the distance in an instant and grab her wrist… Wait, this is…?

“-Haa!” With a shout, a flash sparkled from her left. Thwack! Though I immediately pulled my head back in response to the sudden incoming blade, The helmet was grazed by a tiny margin and fell straight off my head. She predicted my attack and accurately counterattacked in that short time? I had let my guard down.

Tia rushed at me again, now that my helmet was gone. I barely managed to raise my Rose Sable to block the continuing attack, and we stood in a standoff, our swords crossed. “Ugh…!” Now, it was a distance where not even a single step could be conceded. Between our fully close faces, only a razor-sharp sword, trying to kill the other, was entangled. I could feel Tia’s hot breath on the tip of my nose.

…! And then the sky flashed. A blinding white light burst out at once from the curtained window, briefly illuminating the room. That’s when I saw it. Tia looking up into my eyes. The fleeting flash disappeared just as quickly, but I felt the tension release from our entangled swords. CRASH-!! Even as the belated thunder roared loudly enough to deafen, we didn’t move. Breaking the sound that faded into the distance, and the descending silence, was.

“…Ritsu?” Tia’s voice, calling my name. “…….” Ah. All the sharpness accumulated in my body… Felt as if it had been washed away by that single voice. My bristling scales laid down, and the veins on my forearms softened. I had forgotten, having not heard it for so long. That when Tia called my name, I would become a foolish boy.

“Tia.” I unknowingly called out her name. It was not a gentle or warm voice, but one completely discolored, almost metallic. Yet, my body responded instinctively. Tia, in shock, stumbled backward.

“Lies…” The clashed swords fell apart. We no longer had a reason to wield weapons against each other. Just as I couldn’t kill Tia. Tia couldn’t kill me either.

“Why… Ritsu… you… died…?” She denied reality with a trembling voice. “I never died, Tia. Not from the beginning.” My plan to kill Fosao while hiding my identity had utterly failed. In the end, it was our destiny to face each other.

“However, there was one who tried to kill me. Do you want to know who that is?” A painful destiny, but one where all the truth must ultimately be known. “Do- don’t listen! He’s a fake! Ki- kill him! Kill him! Tia!” Fosao, leaning against the door, screamed. He was afraid. Afraid that Tia would learn all the truth. So I reached out and firmly grasped Tia’s shoulder. Even in the darkness, after getting close enough for her to see my face. I told her the truth.

“-Fosao.”