Ch.127Red Moon (1)

“What did you talk about?”

“…Just, we had a little chat about the ancient dragon Mabeth.”

When Evan came out of the World Tree, Irene rushed to him and immediately checked his body. Being alone with the Queen—he’d gone in when the sun rose and only came out after it had set—Irene sighed with relief when she found no marks on Evan’s body.

She trusted Evan, but that was separate from trusting another woman.

…Though it seemed a bit silly to be suspicious of the Queen, Irene didn’t want to ignore these feelings. She hugged Evan tightly like stamping a seal, then stepped back slightly and spoke.

“Hmm, so. Did she agree to cooperate with us?”

“Yes. It was already decided with the Elder anyway, so I was just there as a formality.”

Evan quietly studied Irene’s face.

If he told her his story… how would she react? But he couldn’t hide it forever. Though it was something he could keep secret if he wanted to, Evan wanted Irene to know everything about him.

Even if it was embarrassing, even if it was an unforgivable sin.

His hand slowly rose to caress Irene’s cheek. Her skin was quite cold—she must have been standing here the whole time. Evan frowned.

“Have you been waiting here the entire time? You must be freezing.”

“…I thought you’d come out soon.”

“Wouldn’t it have been better to wait somewhere warm? What if you caught a cold?”

“I won’t get sick. I’m an Expert now too, you know.”

Seeing Irene’s expression insisting she was fine, Evan quietly grasped her collar. He buttoned up the unfastened buttons and took off his own coat to drape it over her exposed neck. No matter that she was a knight, to Evan’s eyes she still looked like a fragile woman. What was she thinking, risking catching a cold like this? Irene, momentarily startled by the coat wrapped around her neck, quietly gazed at Evan, not minding the situation.

“I’m worried. You’re being so careless. You’re not just responsible for yourself anymore.”

When Evan placed his hand on Irene’s stomach, she flinched in surprise and narrowed her eyes at him. Her slightly swollen belly was now visibly rounded. Inside were two children created by him and Irene.

What kind of world would these children see when they were born? If he made a mistake, these children might never be born at all.

The thought alone weighed heavily on his shoulders. Evan forced a smile and pressed both hands against Irene’s cheeks, stretching her soft cheeks into a smiling shape. He chuckled at the sight, then removed his hands and simply smiled without saying anything.

“…If, let’s say, I fail to deal with Mabeth—if it looks like I might—”

“I won’t run away.”

Irene shook her head firmly. If such a situation came, where would she even run to anyway? She knew what position Evan held in the Imperial Army. If Evan was defeated, there would be no hope left. Irene would rather choose to die with Evan than face such a scenario. She didn’t want to die alone and desolate as she had in her dream.

Evan snickered as if he’d expected this response and ruffled Irene’s hair carelessly. He wished she would listen to him just this once. But it didn’t matter. He was determined to win. He harbored no doubts, no suspicions.

The only future he envisioned was one where he defeated Mabeth.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Evan sat Irene down against a tree and sat beside her, gazing at the World Tree. Around them, elves were preparing to depart for Yuris’s territory. All preparations would be complete in three days, and once the elves completed their relocation to Yuris, they would need to prepare to face Mabeth again.

“It seems like we can finally see the end approaching.”

It felt like it had taken a very long time. The first battle against Extinction was four years ago in winter, and only now were they finally facing the ancient dragon Mabeth, the final enemy. Of course, there was no guarantee they would win that battle, but Evan wanted to imagine a happier future. When all the fighting ended and spring came, then summer… the child conceived in autumn would be ready to enter the world.

Would he really be called “daddy” then?

Finding that title a bit awkward, Evan pulled at the corner of his mouth and fixed his gaze on the stars in the sky. Stars he once thought were lonely—his impression of them was clearly different now. Perhaps he had changed too much since meeting Irene. When he lived as a pianist, people often called him aloof… but now he smiled quite often.

“What should we do in spring?”

“Participating in the seasonal festival wouldn’t be bad. Or perhaps we could take a trip?”

“I’d like to ride a ship someday. There are other continents in the world besides this one, right?”

A ship, huh? Come to think of it, Evan realized he had never been to the sea while living as Evan Fried. There was a sea to the north, but it was always frozen due to the cold weather. Scratching his cheek briefly, Evan thought that wouldn’t be a bad idea. Taking a ship would probably take them to the neighboring continent. A honeymoon there might be nice.

“What will we do in summer?”

“We’ll be busy in summer, won’t we? It’ll be quite hot then… and our children will be born.”

At the mention of children, Irene exhaled a white breath.

Children—she still couldn’t believe there were twins in her womb. Just as her mother had given birth to her, now she would give birth to two children. It was both moving and frightening. Irene rested her head on Evan’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

“When the children are born, will I be a good mother?”

“…I’m not sure. I don’t know if I’ll be a good father either.”

Neither of them had much experience with what made a good father or mother. They had only heard about such things through stories and rumors, but now that their own children were about to be born, vague worries began to surface. How would they educate them, and how should they care for them?

“About names. I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

“I’ve thought about it too. Well, there are various names, but… none seemed to really fit.”

When they had nothing else to do, they thought about their children. It might be considered too early, but wasn’t a name said to determine a child’s future? They had visited many name experts and spent money, sought advice from elders, but still couldn’t find satisfactory names for their children.

“But I’m worried. What if our son is born looking like Evan? If he goes around charming women like you do, I don’t think I could handle it.”

“Well, the child will do as they please, won’t they? We can’t tell them not to meet people.”

Irene pouted, narrowed her eyes, and lightly hit Evan’s shoulder. Was he serious right now? Did he plan to take responsibility if their child ended up surrounded by girls? If the child resembled Evan, that wouldn’t just be a joke—Irene thought her role would be crucial.

If her son tarnished the Yuris name with women problems… the thought alone gave her a headache. Especially if he resembled Evan, it would be hard to scold him. If a child who looked exactly like Evan apologized for doing something wrong, she knew her heart would soften and she’d forgive him immediately.

“I’m actually more worried about our daughter.”

“Our daughter?”

“If she takes after you and has a bad temper… ugh.”

“…I didn’t have a bad temper when I was young.”

Back then, she was more like Rofena—a bit of a chatterbox who often whined to her mother and was quite mischievous. If a daughter was born who resembled that version of herself… she would have to make sure the girl didn’t end up like her.

Their conversation continued for a long time. Autumn, winter, and the next year. The lengthy discussion was briefly interrupted by snow that began to fall from the sky.

“It’s snowing.”

“I’ve seen it so much now that it just feels normal.”

“Do you remember what you told me before?”

“How could I forget? I even remember you practicing smiling in front of the mirror.”

“Ah, no… you don’t need to remember that specifically.”

From years ago—memories that were starting to become a bit hazy now. But Evan still vividly remembered those days. He couldn’t even recall what he was thinking when he said he would remain Irene’s knight instead of joining the knights’ order as the Duke had suggested. But what did it matter? That promise had been fulfilled.

The moon in the sky showed only half of itself. When that moon became fully round, it would turn red. And when the moon turned red, the battle with the ancient dragon Mabeth would begin. Perhaps the battle itself might not even happen. If they found and subdued Mabeth before it revealed itself to the world, everything might end peacefully without any fighting.

That was the most hopeful scenario, but Evan thought the probability of such an ending was not very high. If the fight could end so easily, it would have ended long ago with no casualties. Someone else might die in the upcoming battle. Even with the elves fighting alongside them, all knights gathered, and even with him using his full power, it would be a battle where someone would die.

And if they were defeated, all that remained was an ending like an endless cliff.

What was the ending of the novel he had read? That novel where Irene died while Extinction’s forces remained almost perfectly intact. Didn’t it end with the woman who looked as beautiful as a rose ultimately piercing the heart of the Empire with her thorns? Scarlet Terazein. Now Evan had some idea of what kind of person she was.

You with the rose thorns—the once pure woman would ultimately become the Empire’s downfall. Hadn’t he wondered when he saw her handling dragon language in the novel? He had dismissed it then, thinking it was just a novel and she was the protagonist, but now he thought differently. Dragon language could only be handled by those of dragon lineage.

The fact that Scarlet used it meant either she had inherited dragon blood like him… or she was a dragon herself. The original story began after the red moon had risen. Scarlet, who wasn’t foolishly pure like now and sometimes showed cunning behavior, was far from the current Scarlet.

The ancient dragon Mabeth had clearly consumed Scarlet Terazein’s existence and was merely wearing her skin. Drawing the Crown Prince to her side under the pretext of love, and despite the Emperor’s threats, continuing to pressure Yuris until its destruction. After that, it was obvious she would have devoured the entire Empire.

A woman sacrificed to Extinction. For a moment he had thought she was the leader of Extinction, but now he realized she was merely being used. Could they stop it? If they couldn’t find their base before the red moon rose, they would have no choice but to watch Scarlet die.

“Only two weeks left now.”

Two weeks until the red moon rises. Two weeks until the end of everything is decided.

“Everything will be fine.”

At Irene’s words, Evan, who had been staring into space, eventually nodded and smiled brightly. Everything would be fine, wouldn’t it? Everything would end well—Scarlet would live, many people wouldn’t die, they would capture the ancient dragon. And after that, couldn’t they live imagining only happy things?

The pure white snow accumulated on his head and slowly melted. Despite shuddering at the chill that ran down his hair, Evan’s eyes widened slightly when he saw Irene’s head resting on his trembling shoulder. A smile formed as their eyes met. The cold he had felt momentarily was completely forgotten, his attention drawn to the fact that it was just the two of them here now.

It was cold, a bleaker winter than any other. All that remained in the forest without a single blade of grass were rotting fallen trees and elves preparing for the long winter. But because of this, they knew a better spring awaited them. As always, when this winter passed, spring would come again.

The fallen trees were dark, and the snow covering them sparkled white. A winter where only white shone. Eyes of green and blue added color to it. They painted the verdure, the flowers, the season of spring that would appear after a little more time had passed.