Ch.214I finally had to leave the woman who had been with me.

*

Could the dense branches and leaves have somehow held back the flow of time?

Unlike the days in the fallen forest, my time in my hometown of Goldfield truly flew by like an arrow.

I would suddenly come to my senses and realize that the seasons had changed, startling me.

Goldfield, which had always been farmland, was still a land that responded sensitively to the passage of time, even though its farmers and residents had disappeared, making the changing seasons all the more palpable.

Of course, the reason time seemed to pass so quickly wasn’t simply due to the difference in environment.

The incredibly busy days we spent were also one of many factors that made time feel like it was flowing rapidly.

There was an endless list of tasks: helping Pia thoroughly clean the mansion, throwing away broken or worn-out furniture, gathering various materials with Sylvia to make new furniture, and more.

This was not only my childhood home but now also my newlywed home with Sylvia, which made me put even more care into it.

Although I had no intention of actually living in it, I also thoroughly cleaned the Count’s mansion.

Not only that, but I traveled around the damaged estate to bury scattered corpses, made new tombstones for sister Alice and Laila, and cleared away various debris strewn across the streets.

Since the three of us—myself, Sylvia, and Pia—couldn’t manage the entire estate, we effectively only touched the area within about 5km of the mansion, but by the time we finished organizing things to some extent, spring, which had arrived without our notice, was already coming to an end.

*

It wasn’t until early summer that we finally began to enjoy our proper newlywed life.

The issue was that by then, Sylvia’s belly had already begun to swell.

Of course, I was overjoyed at the fact that she was pregnant.

The very idea that a child was being created between Sylvia and me was incredibly endearing, but an even greater reason for my joy was that someone would remain by her side in place of me, who would soon die.

The fact that at least Sylvia wouldn’t be left alone was my greatest comfort and solace.

Moreover, it turned out that the reason Sylvia could communicate with spirits like Sister Maria and Pia was likely due to her pregnancy, which meant that the child in Sylvia’s womb was also proudly playing a part in defeating the Demon King.

Just like me, Sylvia, Sister Alice, Pia, and Sister Maria, this child in her womb was also an unsung hero who played a decisive role in saving humanity.

Of course, as the life in her womb gradually took shape, we couldn’t engage in the kind of passionate lovemaking we had shared on those nights in the forest.

While I was also quite disappointed that I couldn’t share such intimacy with her for a while, I wasn’t as sad about it as Sylvia was.

I could endure it because I had no desire to force anything that might be harmful to the child and mother, but Sylvia would often look down at her own belly with sulky eyes, as it interfered with what she considered a newlywed couple’s primary duty.

One day, she even confessed to me that she felt the urge to punch her belly.

I tried my hardest to comfort Sylvia at such times.

I earnestly appealed to her about wanting to see a child who resembled her, and I handled all tasks that might cause her discomfort.

Of course, since she was a hero and would occasionally whine about wanting to move around herself, we often went for walks within reasonable limits.

To appease her sexual desire that bubbled up so intensely it pushed even maternal instinct aside, I tried all sorts of strange things.

Most of these, of course, were initiated at Sylvia’s request.

Most of her demands for caresses were so bizarre that I wondered where she had acquired such knowledge, but they were far better than watching her pound on her belly, so I tried my best to satisfy her.

For the sake of my remaining dignity and particularly sensitive sense of shame, I won’t describe those “pseudo-sexual acts” I performed, but they were intense and sensual things I certainly wouldn’t have done if there had been even one more living person in this estate besides us.

If I were to give even a slight hint, there is now not a single part of her body that my tongue hasn’t touched.

Truly, not a single part.

*

Although our location had completely changed, our lives hadn’t changed that much.

From waking up to the warm morning sunlight to spending most of the day together, there wasn’t much difference between the forest cabin and the estate mansion.

The only real change was that Sylvia had to avoid physical labor as much as possible due to her pregnancy.

Unable to go hunting with her swollen belly, Sylvia instead began tending to a large garden in front of the mansion, while Pia, who knew the geography of this estate thoroughly, occasionally went out to hunt in the nearby mountains.

Perhaps because she had grown herbs since her days living alone in the cabin, Sylvia managed the garden quite skillfully.

Of course, I handled the rougher tasks like digging the soil and pulling weeds.

Meanwhile, I ended up doing more physical labor than I had in the forest.

This was because I had to cut down the rotting crops scattered across the estate’s fields and regularly visit the cemetery to maintain the graves.

Essentially, my profession had become that of a gravedigger.

I had never once thought in my life that I would become a professional gravedigger, but surprisingly, this job matched my aptitude quite well.

Whether it was because I had grown accustomed to it or because these were the graves of people dear to me, I found managing the graves quite enjoyable.

“…Hah.”

Suddenly reflecting, I realized that it was exactly around this time last year when I first entered the forest, and I couldn’t help but let out a small, hollow laugh.

Just one year.

In just one year, I had become such a different person, and this world had changed so much in that same year that I couldn’t help but laugh at the realization.

Of course, most things had changed for the worse, but there was exactly one thing that had changed for the better: my happiness.

Last year, on the day I first experienced the carriage accident.

I thought I was the most unfortunate person in the world.

But now, I could proudly say I was one of the happiest people in this world.

Managing the graves of my family and the Count’s family was fulfilling and satisfying.

Occasionally watching things grow in the garden and then embracing Sylvia who came out to greet me never grew tiresome no matter how many times it happened.

Falling asleep holding her hand tightly in the large bed that my parents once used felt so blissful that wanting anything more seemed sinful.

Placing my hand on her belly filled my head with happiness that seemed to compensate for all the pain I had endured.

When I gently placed my ear against her belly, which grew a little each day, I could hear the faint but distinct sound of a miraculous life pulsing.

That sensation was thrilling to the point of giving me goosebumps.

Pia would also place her ear against Sylvia’s belly, then startle and flutter the two ears on top of her head.

My and Sylvia’s child.

It was a magical existence that made me feel warm just imagining it and happy just by mentioning it.

Even Sylvia began to look at the fruit of our love wriggling in her womb with increasingly affectionate eyes.

Before going to bed, we would always place our hands together on her belly, and whenever we felt the child’s presence, we would shower each other with kisses.

I love you.

I loved my new family so much that those words seemed trivial.

It felt a bit guilty to be enjoying such happiness in this broken world, but what does it matter?

I think we deserve it.

Maybe not me, but Sylvia certainly does.

The right to be happy forever.

*

Once again, the seasons changed in the blink of an eye to autumn, and Sylvia’s belly had grown quite large.

I wasn’t sure of the exact date, but it was clear that our child would be born next month at the latest.

However, there was no longer any happy atmosphere surrounding our mansion.

“Cough, cough,”

“…Ash?”

For the past few days, my coughing hasn’t stopped.

Today too, after coughing dryly throughout the night while asleep, I gently opened my eyes at the sound of Sylvia’s voice.

Having become able to sense Sylvia’s feelings just from her voice, I could feel the bewilderment and shock filling her voice.

With a sticky feeling as if dry grass had been plastered across my entire chest, I slowly raised my head.

“…Ah,”

My blanket and top were soaked with blood.

The hardened blood had seeped between my clothes and skin, sticking them together, and when I forcibly pulled at a piece of clothing, it separated from my skin with a tearing sound.

Seeing the clearly significant amount of blood loss, I slowly turned my head toward the large full-length mirror in the bedroom to examine my face.

Blood stains that had clearly erupted from inside my mouth covered the area around my mouth, my cheeks, and my chin.

How much blood had I coughed up?

My face reflected in the mirror was deathly pale, without a hint of color.

I took a slow, deep breath, then wiped the blood from my mouth with my sleeve and murmured.

“I see… so now…”

In truth, my body had long been in a state where it wouldn’t have been strange if I had died.

Although much of the demonic energy accumulated in my body had disappeared, the organs that had been ravaged by it were still in shambles, and the remaining demonic energy prevented those organs from recovering.

Until now, Sylvia had been forcibly keeping me alive by pouring in holy power every day, but it seemed that even that had reached its limit.

Sylvia shook her head and said.

“No… don’t say that.”

“You knew… Sylvia, we’ve talked about this many times.”

“No, I don’t know… First, let’s… take off your clothes… clean up the blood…”

Sylvia got up from the bed and waddled over to get a basin.

I tried to stop her, worried that she was overexerting herself with her full-term pregnancy, but I couldn’t muster the strength to grab her.

Just lowering my legs from the bed seemed to drain all the strength from my body.

By the time I managed to raise myself up by leaning on the bed, Sylvia had already returned to the room with a basin full of water.

Sylvia set the basin down at my feet and sat me back on the bed.

“Stay still… I’ll clean you up.”

“…Ha, haah… cough,”

A few drops of blood mixed with my cough and sprayed out.

Some drops landed on Sylvia’s face, but she paid no attention and continued wiping my mouth with a cloth soaked in water.

Each time her hand touched my face, my head swayed helplessly.

Seeing this, I laughed weakly.

“Haha…”

“What’s so funny, when things are this serious!”

“Well…”

“…?”

“This is probably when Sylvia is at her weakest, but I’ve become even weaker… It seems I’m destined to never be able to beat Sylvia in my lifetime.”

Sylvia’s hand stopped abruptly.

Is she angry?

I dropped my head, avoiding Sylvia’s gaze.

Yet I could tell that she was staring at my face for a long time.

After a moment of silence, she dropped the blood-soaked cloth into the basin and slowly caressed my face with her bare hands, saying:

“You fool.”

“…”

“I’ve never once beaten Ash. It’s always been Ash who won over me.”

“…”

At Sylvia’s melancholic voice, I was at a loss for words.

I wanted to ask what she meant by that, but I knew that if I opened my mouth now, only a dry cough would come out.

Sylvia soaked the cloth in water again and began to remove my top to wipe away the blood stains that covered my neck and chest.

I silently accepted her ministrations.

Sylvia’s hands were rough and coarse, but at the same time, they were incredibly warm and attentive.

She would make a good mother.

*

For a week after that, Sylvia and I hardly did anything.

Leaves must have piled up on the graves, and weeds must have grown abundantly in the garden, but no one cared about that.

Within a week, I had become so weak that I couldn’t even leave the room on my own, and with each passing day, Sylvia’s obsession and affection toward me only deepened.

Practically all the meals and household chores were being handled by Pia, but she expressed no complaints.

She would simply bring me meals, rest her head on my lap, cry for a moment, and then disappear.

We could all feel the final moment approaching, impossible to deny.

Sylvia spent as much time with me as possible.

Toward the end, we were literally together twenty-four hours a day.

The face of my beloved was always in my sight, and the scent of my beloved was always nearby.

For someone with my rough fate, this was quite a luxurious end.

I would think such thoughts and smile weakly.

On a particularly chilly night.

I looked at Sylvia’s face while breathing heavily.

This would probably be the last day I could look at her.

If I fell asleep tonight, I would never wake up again.

As I blinked slowly, I anticipated death.

Each time I closed my eyes, I saw the faces of my parents and Laila in the darkness.

Had they come to greet me?

As grateful and welcome as that was, I was more concerned about the wife I had to leave behind than the family I would soon join.

That’s why I was struggling to keep my eyes open, to look at my lovely wife.

Sylvia was holding both my hands tightly, pouring in holy power meaninglessly.

I thought about stopping her, but she wasn’t the type to listen if I did, and I didn’t want to argue with her until the very end, so I began to organize the things I wanted to say to her.

“Sylvia…”

“…Yes,”

“I love you.”

“…I love you too. I love you so much. So very much.”

Sylvia’s lips were trembling.

Her face showed an expression as frightened as when she had rested on my shoulder that time.

Looking at such a Sylvia, I slowly opened my mouth.

“I’m sorry…”

“For what… what are you sorry for, Ash…”

“I wanted… to spend more time together…”

“…”

Sylvia swallowed for a moment, then forcibly turned up the corners of her trembling lips into a miserable smile and continued.

“You will… Of course Ash will spend more time with me… We’ll welcome residents back to Goldfield estate… You have to watch our child grow up together… Give them siblings too… Right?”

“…”

“So… don’t go… Ash.”

Sylvia pleaded in a pitiful voice.

“Don’t go… If Ash leaves… what will I do here alone…”

“…”

I couldn’t say anything.

Asking to be buried next to Laila, joking that we were both novice parents who hadn’t even named our child yet, or saying “I love you” one last time.

I had prepared many things to say, but they all shattered into empty echoes before the jewel-like tears forming in the blue eyes of this lovely woman who, despite a week of nursing me, was not at all prepared to let me go.

I slightly pulled my head back.

It was a kind of signal I had been consistently sending over the past few days, as I lacked the strength to caress her face.

Thanks to a week’s experience, Sylvia immediately understood the signal.

Her lips slowly approached mine.

Her lips gently pressed against mine, which could barely tremble.

It was a brief kiss, but Sylvia infused it with holy power.

I could vividly feel her desperation.

“…Sylvia.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“In the Demon King’s illusion, I saw death.”

“…Huh?”

Sylvia made a confused sound, not understanding what I was trying to say.

We had thought that the Demon King’s illusion showed what the person most desired.

Sylvia said she saw a peaceful daily life spent with me in her illusion.

But in my illusion, I heard the voice of an omnipotent being telling me it was finally okay to die.

“I wanted to die. I must have been too tired.”

“…Ash,”

“That was the limit of my capacity…”

“No, Ash, you’re an amazing person. Much more than you know.”

“…That’s not true.”

I shook my head, then helplessly dropped it into Sylvia’s arms.

Sylvia held my head tightly.

“Ash, stop it… We can overcome this. You can overcome this. You can live… So please stop saying such frightening things. Please… please, I’m begging you… okay?”

“Sylvia once asked…”

“…Huh?”

“If the reason I loved her… was because she killed those people that day…”

“…”

“It’s not.”

I struggled to take my remaining breaths.

“I just fell for you because you were so beautiful. Like a fairy… The Sylvia I peeked at bathing in the river that day was so beautiful…”

“Ash…”

“What about you?”

“…What?”

“If I hadn’t appeared in the forest that day, would Sylvia have loved me?”

I asked Sylvia a harsh question.

To make her able to live without me, to diminish her love.

“What are you saying…”

“I’m not amazing. I’m just someone who happened to be by Sylvia’s side by chance… someone who received Sylvia’s love because of that luck. That’s all I am.”

“…”

“And Sylvia was just lonely…”

“No, that’s not true. Absolutely not.”

Sylvia shook her head vigorously while still holding me in her arms.

I continued speaking with an increasingly faint voice.

“Sylvia… stop forcing yourself,”

“I said no!”

Sylvia roughly cut off my words with a shout.

“No matter how lonely I was, no matter how much I was suffering in the pain of being alone, if it hadn’t been Ash who knocked on my cabin door that day, I wouldn’t have fallen in love.”

“Sylvia…”

“Ash, no. I love you. Not just any random man who comforts me, but you because you’re Ash. I will only love Ash.”

Perhaps because I was in her arms,

It felt as if her intense emotions were directly colliding with me.

Indeed, her love was too great and heavy to be diminished by mere words.

In the end, I was happily crushed under that weight.

“…Thank you… I’m so happy.”

“I love you, I love you… so please…”

Sylvia’s passionate heart enveloped me like a fierce flame.

In her warm embrace, I felt like I would burn to death in her intense love.

This must be the happiest death in the world.

But the thought of Sylvia remaining alone kept haunting me, preventing me from peacefully closing my eyes in happiness.

“But… we have to part now…”

“No… No, I can’t let you go like this. I can’t live without Ash.”

“That’s nonsense.”

Sylvia can live on her own.

No, she no longer even needs to live alone.

“The curse is broken now, and the Demon King is gone.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“When I die… leave this place and meet other people. You’re a hero… a champion… Even in a world like this, there must be places that would accept you and our child…”

“Ash, don’t say that.”

I left her a selfish request for her sake.

“Meet other people, blend in… love someone else.”

“Ash!”

“Please… I brought Sylvia here because of my selfishness… and I was truly happy… and that’s enough for me…”

“Stop, I said stop it!”

My vision is fading.

It felt as if her warm embrace was wrapping comfortably around my entire body, then seeming to merge with me.

I struggled to squeeze out my final words.

“Live with other people… mixing in… That’s… my last request… Okay?”

“That will never happen, do you understand? Ash, don’t say such terrible things.”

“…”

“How can you ask me to love someone else? How… how could you, Ash?”

“…”

“I will never…”

“…Ash?”

.