Ch.215Chapter 215. Her Deceptive Appearance

Everything had ended well.

I realized this after returning to reality, when nearly a day had passed.

The Void Predator that had been devouring the hidden world hadn’t followed me here, and there didn’t seem to be any issues with Garam Lee’s sanity either.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Baudouin visited my room while I was spending time alone in a separate chamber.

I responded casually to his concerned words.

“Physically I’m fine, no injuries. Mentally, I’m not quite sure yet…”

Hadn’t I experienced a torrent of power without any protection?

Even if I thought I was fine, others might see me as insane.

That worry led me to spend time in isolation, but Baudouin showed no particular wariness when facing me.

“Unlike the dead like myself, the minds of the living like you are bound to your physical bodies. If that connection wasn’t severed when you returned, your original state shouldn’t be disturbed.”

“…So I’m fine, at least for now?”

“Yes, though I didn’t expect you to return so intact… As I sensed in our first meeting, you possess remarkable mental fortitude.”

His compliment carried extra weight, considering his original self had been a king.

Of course, it wasn’t just about my mental strength alone.

“…Without my ability, I probably couldn’t have returned.”

“The ability to never be forgotten, wasn’t it?”

Yes, my ability ensures that no matter what happens, my existence won’t be forgotten.

Even when my mind is at risk of shattering, my existence remains intact, allowing me to rebuild my consciousness from that foundation.

In a sense, it grants me near-immunity to all mental interference.

Recalling this ability, Baudouin let out a bitter sigh.

“That’s a power I truly envy.”

“Envy? You mean my ability?”

“If everyone could use that power… she wouldn’t have set out to slaughter the living.”

His voice conveyed not just resignation but guilt.

Though he had broken free from the Lord of Corpses’ influence, that didn’t erase what he had done.

For someone with the identity of a virtuous king, he couldn’t easily dismiss his transgressions.

“…May I ask what you experienced there?”

I sensed that he had come to face his guilt directly.

Perceiving this, I quietly nodded, deciding to answer everything he wanted to know.

“I saw Britain of the past. Just before and after your death…”

I saw the past where people infected by extraterrestrial matter transformed into monsters and began sweeping through the entire kingdom.

How the scholar he trusted researched the phenomenon, recognized the otherworldly beings, and eventually became their servant.

And how his grieving companion contacted the outer gods and awakened as a witch.

“Until the very end, she followed the teachings you left behind.”

What would have happened if she had forgotten her love and loyalty to her companion during that process?

In Flan’s words, she would certainly have fallen to become no different from an ordinary witch.

Forgetting human ethics and morality, twisting the laws of the world for her intellectual curiosity and purposes, causing even greater chaos…

“At least I believe that thanks to you, she met a humane end.”

Despite becoming such a calamitous being, she could die as a human because she remembered the king who fought for his people until the end.

Despite my opinion, Baudouin only bowed his head and expressed his devastation.

“Even if it led to the birth of the Lord of Corpses?”

If she hadn’t carried on his teachings, the dead who were resurrected based on that lingering attachment wouldn’t have awakened as a calamity.

Feeling the virtuous king’s lamentation of responsibility, I couldn’t bring myself to deny it even with empty words.

“That might be true.”

Looking at the result, its cause stemmed from Baudouin Britannia’s righteousness.

If he knew that a calamity was born because of it, the living Baudouin would surely have condemned himself as well.

“…Still, no one can predict the immediate future.”

But who could have predicted that a country ruled by a virtuous king would fall overnight?

Who could have foreseen that beings called outer gods would approach her?

Who could have anticipated that a woman who retained her humanity until the end would be resurrected and grow into an unprecedented calamity?

“The Lord of Corpses may have been born as a result… but it wasn’t from her own choice.”

To blame them for everything would be like claiming humans could overcome natural disasters.

At least to me, what I witnessed then—the intervention of outer gods in this world—seemed like just that.

I learned that these natural disasters, for some reason, were targeting this world with their own will.

“Even if the outcome was wrong, at least the beginning…”

So I sincerely sympathized with the person before me.

Despite being manipulated by outer gods, they worshipped the beauty of life and met their end as humans—I even felt admiration for them.

“I don’t want to deny the lives of Gwen Hwibar and Baudouin Britannia.”

So I hoped the person before me wouldn’t deny that catalyst either.

Denying that would be like denying his current desire to atone and save the living.

“So please don’t blame yourself too much. It’s hard to say all responsibility is yours… nothing went according to your will.”

So if he wanted to make things right now, I wanted to respect him and overlook everything he had done.

Despite my earnest plea, Baudouin still couldn’t straighten his mind and continued to express his guilt.

“But even so, if I hadn’t existed…”

Just as his excessively upright mindset was becoming a curse that bound him—

As I wondered how to comfort him, something welled up inside me and began to cover my mouth.

-I can’t listen to any more of this.

Swish—Annabelle emerged from me and revealed herself.

Baudouin’s eyes sharpened as he recognized her form.

“…Red Knight?”

“Yes, a being who inherited the Red Knight’s personality. You’d understand if I called myself Annabelle Britannia?”

Annabelle Britannia.

That must be a name Baudouin couldn’t overlook.

Like Gwen, he must have considered her his own flesh and blood.

“…So that’s what happened.”

And that meant she also inherited the guilt he felt toward her in life.

Soon, Baudouin asked Annabelle in an even heavier voice.

“Do you… resent me?”

For failing to care for her as a father, forcing her to die, and making her commit sins even after death.

“Resent? Why would I resent you?”

But what came from Annabelle’s mouth was an incredibly light voice.

Then she frowned and poked Baudouin’s forehead with her finger.

“Don’t be mistaken. You are not Baudouin Britannia. Just as I inherited Annabelle’s memories and personality but am a separate being, you are merely an undead who inherited Baudouin Britannia’s personality…”

Her gaze narrowed, and her voice conveyed displeasure.

“Don’t tell me you think we have a father-daughter relationship just because we share memories?”

“……”

“…Your silence means you understand. No matter how much we inherited memories, we are separate beings from our past lives.”

Annabelle withdrew her finger and folded her arms, looking down at Baudouin reproachfully.

“And that also means you’re not Baudouin himself, so you have no connection to the birth of the Lord of Corpses.”

“T-That’s…”

“Of course, inheriting memories from a past life would be troubling, but it should stop at that—trouble. If you recognize yourself as a separate being, what you should inherit from your past life isn’t responsibility, but how to build your identity using those memories.”

Not responsibility, but future direction.

Emphasizing this, Annabelle asked Baudouin another question.

“Let me ask you something. Why did you start saving people as soon as the Lord of Corpses disappeared? If you had decided to follow her, couldn’t you have continued her work even after she was gone?”

Certainly, though awakened by the Lord of Corpses, the reason she instilled such ideals was because she remembered Baudouin’s teachings.

Since he sincerely participated after being resurrected, he could have considered becoming a new Lord of Corpses in her place.

“The king of Britain who became your original self worshipped the sanctity of life more than anyone.”

Yet there must be a clear reason why he took a different path from hers.

To Baudouin, who maintained his silence, Annabelle continued with conviction.

“You joined the Lord of Corpses because you predicted the tragedy you witnessed would spread throughout the world. But the master who was to carry out that absolute purpose collapsed, and that made you feel your ideals wavering.”

Though reluctantly acting because he believed it was the only answer, the naturally timid woman could hardly fulfill that role properly.

Seeing his master collapse, he felt his ideals being denied, which, combined with his memories as a virtuous king, must have led to unbearable guilt.

If their pursuit of complete destruction and preservation couldn’t be achieved, it would mean they had walked the wrong path.

“Then as you wandered, you must have soon encountered people desperately resisting to survive in a world where calamities even worse than the Lord of Corpses roamed.”

But how could the Lord of Corpses be the only calamity in this world?

Even now, the Demon Lord’s army is invading across the continent, and monsters are swarming even in human territories.

Seeing those who fought for survival without even cursing him, the one left alone might have thought:

“If such will to survive continues, even if the world ends, the will of the living might remain in this world.”

“……”

“…You, who pursue the sanctity of life, placed your hope in that, which is why you drew that monster’s attention to help this fool, isn’t it?”

Without a single denial, Baudouin listened to her conjecture and then bowed his head.

Annabelle turned her gaze away from him and drove in the final nail.

“If you’re going to walk a different path from the Lord of Corpses, then stop feeling responsible for things you didn’t even do. If you truly want to inherit your past life’s personality, fulfilling your calling by protecting the remaining people should be enough.”

Atoning for the sins he committed as a resurrected undead, not as the king who birthed a calamity.

That would still mean he was guilty, but that responsibility would be infinitely lighter compared to causing a great calamity.

With that, unlike when he was consumed by self-loathing, he could be more devoted to helping people using the personality he inherited.

“…Yes, I suppose that’s one perspective.”

Seeming to accept her opinion to some extent, Baudouin soon thanked Annabelle in a lighter voice.

“Thank you for teaching this foolish one.”

“It’s not teaching—I just scolded you because your actions were frustrating. Do I really need to tell you how pathetic you look, being even more of a pushover than in your past life?”

Annabelle turned her head away, still showing displeasure.

Seeing this, Baudouin drooped his shoulders as if ashamed.

“…I’m sorry for showing only my pathetic side.”

Oh dear, it seems he’s taking her words too literally.

Worried, I quickly approached him and whispered as quietly as possible.

“Don’t be too disheartened. Even though she speaks roughly, she’s not a bad person. In my world, we call this ‘tsundere’…”

“…Tsun?”

“It means someone who acts harsh but is actually kind inside. I’m sure she wants you to cheer up.”

“What nonsense are you muttering about!”

Oh no, I thought I was speaking quietly, but she heard everything?

Sharing senses with her isn’t always a good thing, I guess.

****

After successfully concluding my conversation with Baudouin, I decided to leave Annabelle with him and step away for a while.

Even though they were separate from their past lives, I hoped they could now have the conversations they couldn’t have before, given their shared memories.

Of course, I worried about Baudouin being hurt by Annabelle’s words… but no, he should be fine. She had granted all my unreasonable requests in the afterworld.

Despite her act, she would take good care of Baudouin.

Having firmly established that trust, I decided to spend time informing others of my return.

“Merilyn, I’m back…”

But my body froze at the first place I entered.

Seeing the scene in Merilyn’s room, I unconsciously held my breath.

“…Merilyn?”

Yes, the one lying on the bed was definitely Merilyn.

But she showed no reaction to my arrival and just stared blankly at the ceiling from her bed.

“Ubuu, u…”

The sounds coming from her mouth could hardly be considered normal language.

It was because she had something in her mouth preventing her from speaking properly… no, looking closely, it wasn’t a gag.

What she had in her mouth, matching the bib on her upper body, was what’s commonly called a “pacifier”—an item for infants.

“Ubup, jjup…”

But why was Merilyn lying in bed with that in her mouth, endlessly making baby-like noises?

What on earth happened while I was gone…?

“Ububu… buu…”

How could a Greater Demon, ranked second in the Demon Lord’s army, be greeting me in such a miserable state?