episode_0043

I ran and ran again. Unlike Camilla, I did not have the talent to fly through a window, and it was inefficient for two people to fly long distances.

Even so, you had to prepare for the carriage ride and it was slow. That’s why I ran. I ran, whipping my sick body. Camilla tried to dissuade me, but my will was firm.

Even though he is sick, this is nothing when you think about his time on active duty.

It is nothing. It shouldn’t have been anything. But… I was out of breath. The distance, which would have been uneventful in the past, only felt difficult.

My stamina fell. My body wasn’t what it used to be. The organ could not withstand the same load as before. And that wasn’t all. Even though I had to stay calm at all times, my stride and breathing broke down first.

What is this feeling? This feeling that is tightening my stomach. This unpleasant feeling feels like my heart is being squeezed by a heated chain.

“… It’s an unpleasant feeling indeed.”

How long has it been since I felt this tired? Since I hadn’t moved my body properly recently, it looked like it was rusty. The nails were coming out, the joints were broken, and even the blades were dull.

It’s truly ugly and pathetic. How pathetic is this kid who can’t run properly even when a crisis approaches.

I wanted to ask my father. How is it that I, so pathetic, am still alive?

Even though I felt so miserable about myself, I felt thirsty. You will feel hunger and you will also feel pain. For someone who doesn’t even know the cause of this feeling, they are truly like an animal.

As I uncorked the water bottle I brought with me and drank the contents inside, a sweet and cool feeling went down my throat. Even though it’s just lukewarm water.

Anyway, it was a really unpleasant forest. A forest filled with gloomy trees that cannot be distinguished as dead or alive. The heat that makes you sweat naturally and the unknown sounds of insects in the grass.

And even the smell of this blade flying towards me.

“Your skills have improved.”

As he narrowly avoided the tip of the flying plainclothes sword, the blades of the plainclothes sword instantly returned to their owner as if they had never unfolded in the first place.

“Yes. Because I practice watching political affairs every day. Can I confidently say that I am not inferior to you?”

“… She hoped you wouldn’t grab a weapon. Rosie.”

“With that mouth… With that dirty mouth of yours that killed my sister… Could you please not mention my sister…?”

“It’s not just her. We went to the battlefield because we did not want you to take up arms.”

At that moment, the plain clothes sword she was holding trembled and transformed into a sharp sword.

Before I could say anything, the chain scythe flew through the wind to kill me.

Although this level of attack can still be repelled without difficulty, the lack of physical condition was a problem worth keeping in mind.

Chain sickle, plain clothes sword, chain sickle, plain clothes sword, chain sickle. She attacked me, constantly changing the form of her weapon.

“I knew you would come this way, so I anticipated it and moved first. Because you would have done that. Because you are treading a fine line between emotion and efficiency.”

The chain scythe narrowly grazed my cheek.

It was because my body became sluggish because I couldn’t even catch my breath.

“Because you are like that… because you resemble me to the point of disgust… I was able to predict it easier than anyone else.”

“You and I are different.”

Unlike her, who hated me with a legitimate burning desire for revenge, I was now just a charcoal with most of my emotions having died down.

“Because your and my feelings have different values.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Her attacks began to become more and more fierce. Her older sister has skills that are rarely seen. He was truly a great hard worker.

It was something to be proud of.

But that’s it. Everything was lacking. Teacher, training, and blood on hands. It is just as the devil said. If you don’t have enough blood on your hands, you can’t become strong.

Unlike us, who ended up with a river of blood, her hands were not soaked in blood. That’s why they were proud, and that’s why they couldn’t beat us.

“Rosie Nevermore. From now on, I will speak to you as your sister’s friend.”

I didn’t want to hurt her too much, so I kicked her off the ground, went forward, and hit her in the chin with my cane. Light enough not to cause scars or bruises, but deep enough to knock it over.

“You have reached the level of a great warrior. I guess we’re at a similar level to where we were before the expedition.”

She immediately transformed the weapon into a scythe, but I trampled on the head of the scythe and threw it to the ground.

Looking at this, you can see some immaturity. If it were her, she would have used a dagger or a hatchet instead of a scythe and stabbed me in the foot.

“That’s why it’s beautiful. You have not yet crossed the line as a human being. You are still just a special human being. You can still turn it back.”

“That’s not even funny… It’s so absurd that I want to rip my eardrums out.”

“…. Now it has become something so distant. Strength, heart, and spirit. Everyone has been tainted by the blood of their enemies.”

I knew it. That the giants I casually kill are also life.

But I was afraid of myself, who could not feel something special after killing those lives as if dusting them off.

Even though I knew that, I couldn’t control myself.

“I will respond appropriately to those who insulted my father. But I don’t understand.”

“What do you mean…? Why did they attack you for even bothering to leave…? Why am I still obsessed with old revenge…?”

“My father taught you everything, even though you were practically an idiot. Why did you target my father and not me?”

My father was a wise man who was called Ji-seong.

He was so passionate about training his successors that he taught many things not only to Camilla’s older brother, but also to Penelope and Rosie.

Because he was such a person, he extended his hand to Rosie, who was treated as an outcast in favor of her bright older sister, and recognized her talent before anyone else.

“… ha.”

She had a dumbfounded expression, no, she definitely had a dumbfounded expression.

“Are you asking about the strategic aspect? Or are you asking about the moral aspect?”

“All.”

“It was done to tie up the first imperial family and the Duke of Argos. The second moral aspect is… I just followed his teachings.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He also said. If you have set one goal, you should use whatever means you can to achieve it.”

The scythe I was stepping on began to tremble.

“My goal is to kill you, so shouldn’t I use whatever I can? Even if it is a lie from a woman who is crazy about money and speaks nonsense.”

“What would your father say if he saw you now?”

“Didn’t you teach me that there is no word as fleeting as the word if?”

What should I say? What can I say to completely turn that anger towards me?

What words should I combine to end the revenge with just revenge?

I don’t know. I felt like I was going crazy because I didn’t know. No, maybe I’m already crazy, but this worry might make me come to my senses.

“I will warn you, Rosie Nevermore.”

“Why are you doing that? Are you going to kill me? Like you killed my sister?”

“I will always treat you as the friend and demigod Raoul Bergé of your sister Leila Nevermore.”

I will treat Rosie as her loving and loving younger sister.

“But if you want to mess with my family one more time for revenge.”

I pierced the wood next to her neck with my cane as a threat.

“At that time, I will respond as Raoul Bergé, the son of Arthur Bergé and Liesel’s brother.”

“Ha, it’s scary. Your brutality…”

In an instant, her words disappeared into confusion along with tinnitus. But soon the confusion was overtaken by dizziness and pain that turned the world upside down.

Even though I took the medicine, the poison that was gradually eating away at my body caused the seizure. Since this hasn’t happened recently, I let my guard down.

“Keuuuugh…!”

The only pain I felt was the bugs crawling across my cardiovascular system and eating away at my body.

I scratched my chest until it bled. Even though I knew it wasn’t actually a bug crawling around, the pain was so great that my body moved instinctively.

It was a foolish move, thinking that doing so would lessen the pain. Because if I don’t do that, I think I’ll die from the pain. Even I couldn’t properly explain the principle of its action.

In times like this, I had to take more painkillers. Before he died of shock.

I took some painkillers out of my pocket and tried to swallow them, but lost sight of the bottle due to the pain. The vial rolled towards Rosie.

“Medicine… No, this could be the end of it.”

As long as she throws the bottle away like this, it’s all over. No, all you have to do is take advantage of this moment and plunge a weapon into my heart.

I will end up alone. Revenge will end justly and she will stop this scheme. How… wonderful.

It was a problem that would end with me alone as an unfilial person who could not keep my promise to my father. I was truly foolish to think about this simple problem.

“Don’t be funny…”

She came towards me holding the bottle.

“I’m the one who kills you. Only then will my revenge be complete. I must kill you with only my wisdom and strength, without anyone’s help. I swore I would do that. I will take revenge so perfectly that I can’t even use excuses like poison or a chronic illness. Your pain, the person who breaks your heart, the element of your death… it has to be me…!”

She came closer and closer to me, holding a vial and a weapon.

okay. Just stab me like that. So that I can finish it on my own.

So that your revenge may be brought to a just end.

That must have been the case.

“… Where am I?”

Books, bottles of alcohol, and even clothes were all messed up.

It was difficult to call it an ordinary room.

“I’m sorry. Because the animal was so unreasonable, I ended up putting it to sleep in its cage.”

Although Rosie was obviously the last person I saw, the person in front of me now was Camilla’s brother.

“I’ll skip the introduction since it’s spherical.”

“Did you also die for reasons I cannot understand?”

“This is not the underworld, but the animal cage where my brother stays. And, except for the anemia, I am extremely healthy, so I haven’t died yet.”

“Can you explain why I am in Camilla’s room?”

“Someone left you in front of the Duke’s house after barely giving him first aid.”

indeed.

Judging from Rosie’s words, it was clear that she kept me alive in order to kill me completely.

It was an act that was typical of her as a smart woman, but it was also an act that was unbecoming of her who was crazy about revenge.

“What happened?”

“It’s just a regrettable contradiction.”