Ch.32Extra Chapter – Behind the Scenes of a Romance Fantasy Ending (Part 1 Episode Complete)

The air was cold.

The mountain path at dawn, as the moon faded, was chilly and dangerous. The slope deceived one’s perception from beyond the field of vision, while protruding rocks and tree roots lay in wait to trip unwary feet.

“Huff… huff…”

“Haa… haa…”

The harsh breathing of two people created white puffs in the air. Such was the temperature of the winter mountain still covered in white snow.

Damn it, no matter how they stepped, the soft snowfield faithfully imprinted the fugitives’ tracks. With enough time, no target would be impossible to track.

“Haa… hic… Rodrick… I’m so tired…”

“Bear with it, kid. If we stop now, we might all end up dead.”

“Hic… Will Rahilt be safe?”

“He’d survive even if everyone else in the world died. So worry about yourself.”

“Okay…”

Eshtiel squeezed out a labored response while catching her breath. Watching her, Rodrick squeezed his eyes shut.

‘Damn it… why is this happening?!’

It had started as a simple request.

A request came in to subjugate bandits that were rampaging in a territory. Since all available forces were away at the time, Rahilt decided to go alone.

That was the beginning of trouble.

An unidentified force attacked their headquarters.

The number and quality of troops were overwhelming for Rodrick to resist alone. With his retired and aging body, it was difficult to move as he wished.

So Rodrick fled with only Eshtiel, the most precious member of the mercenary group.

Eshtiel, with only three years left until she came of age. He had to save this young girl somehow. As long as Eshtiel survived, Rahilt’s mind wouldn’t completely collapse.

‘I absolutely cannot lose her. He’s finally shed his old shell and become more human. I can’t let that all be in vain.’

The child of the deposed emperor, Rahilt. They first met when he was eight years old.

The child who showed not even a fragment of emotion seemed like an intricately carved doll made by God.

The only desire he had was not wanting to be alone. Just that modest yearning was the only human scent the child possessed.

It felt strange.

He should have just begged for his life and meticulously planned how to use the situation… but as time passed, the child gradually changed from being a means to an end.

Sometimes he would fall into foolish fantasies, wondering if this was what it felt like to have a child of one’s own.

Was that why? Like a fool, he even visited the imperial palace, wanting to completely cut away his past that was called “the Plague.”

He pleaded that he would give up everything about the assassin known as the Plague. That he would contribute to establishing the imperial special forces. He begged them to erase his past while promising to serve with great contributions.

Fortunately, the Emperor and Empress of that time accepted his proposal.

He would secretly grin at the thought of becoming even slightly more respectable.

Later, as time passed.

When they took in Eshtiel, he felt like a nanny with two children. Before he knew it, they had grown up and transformed into not-so-cute appearances. Yet somehow, that made him even more pleased.

“Haa… haa…”

The well-raised young girl was working hard to keep up.

Youth is truly wonderful. Despite having lived an intense life, his body was reaching its limit, yet Eshtiel was moving her legs so diligently.

What Plague?

Who was the Tower of Assassins?

This was the end of an old man steeped in human warmth.

He spoke softly.

“Kid, don’t stop. Run even if your lungs burst. As long as you’re not caught, he’ll somehow resolve everything.”

“Rodrick…?”

“I’m just a burden. Leave me behind and go quickly.”

“What nonsense is that?!”

Oh my, perhaps it was because of the group she grew up in. The seemingly well-raised young girl was cursing.

He set aside his startled heart. He had to detach her meager sympathy by any means necessary.

“You disliked me anyway. Why hesitate now? I don’t like people who dislike me either.”

“You… jerk… who, who dislikes whom!”

“I dislike you, kid.”

He deliberately spoke provocatively, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“Don’t do this… don’t leave me alone, Rodrick… let’s go together, okay?”

“Where to? The afterlife?”

“Rodrick…!”

“At least you need to survive. I’ll buy you enough time, so hurry and go.”

“What am I supposed to say if I go alone? Tell Rahilt that I used you as bait because I wanted to survive? And then comfort him as he blames himself? No, I don’t want to, I don’t… we have to go together, okay?”

“Haah…”

By now, he had an intuition.

This was a forced choice between either both of them not making it, or both of them reuniting in tatters. One of two futures.

“This way!”

“They seem to have tired themselves out…!”

“Finally caught up.”

The unidentified pursuers were catching up.

They claimed to be knights of the imperial court. Indeed, the swordsmanship they used was unmistakably imperial. Under normal circumstances, one would dismiss any doubts, but…

“Their shamelessness leaves me speechless.”

In reality, it was likely swordsmanship hastily learned to make their disguise convincing.

Where did these madmen come from, impersonating the imperial court without even trying to be subtle?

“Eshtiel.”

Not “kid” or “youngster,” but Eshtiel. It had been a long time since he properly called her by name.

“Step back so you won’t get in the way.”

“Okay…”

Eshtiel retreated behind a thick old tree. After confirming her movement, Rodrick drew two daggers and throwing weapons tied at his waist.

“Haah… I’ve really lived such an exemplary life until today.”

He gave them a sincere warning that might be his last.

“If the world ends, know that you fools are the primary contributors to that stupidity.”

Spitting his lament onto the freezing ground, the man once known as the Plague charged at full force.

◇

It was a scream of a person’s character crumbling into pieces.

The winter wind carried the thick scent of blood. White snow created a red blood path, gradually covering the numerous corpses at its end.

Among them, trembling hands reached toward two bodies.

The cold, stiff bodies of a beautiful young girl and an elderly man.

His peaceful world collapsed in an instant.

The happiness he had held in his hands slipped through his fingers like fine sand.

His heart ached.

For the first time in his life, his emotions violently surged.

The last unknown emotion he recognized was hatred. A dark, viscous feeling that could tear the sky apart if only he could find the culprits.

A woman following behind placed her hand on his shoulder.

She was Rashera Ruat, the precious daughter of the marquis territory where Rahilt had been dispatched.

“This is imperial swordsmanship.”

“…”

“Given my father’s position, I’ve heard such stories. That the imperial court secretly established a special force. People whose identities no one knows, who carry out assassinations, operations, and even manipulate public opinion.”

Rashera slightly corrected herself, placing her index finger on her lips.

“Of course, it’s just a conspiracy theory… but seeing this, the evidence is too clear to dismiss. No matter how much they try to hide it, habits become ingrained. These wounds show traces of imperial knights’ swordsmanship, however clumsily executed…”

Then Rashera’s hands touched the two bodies.

Brushing off the accumulated snow, she knelt before them. Then, with her hands clasped in prayer, her demeanor was like that of a devout saint.

“May they find peace…”

At this sight, Rahilt’s eyes turned toward her. Then he took the hand of Rashera, who had been praying with her eyes closed for a long time, and helped her up.

“The ground… is cold.”

But Rashera, now standing, declined his consideration. Instead, she prostrated herself again and looked into Rahilt’s blue eyes with her reddened ones.

“What does it matter? These two who met unjust deaths are still lying on the cold snow.”

“…”

“I… find it hard to accept. The guild master is our territory’s benefactor, and for people who were like family to such a person… to be so brutally…”

Rashera’s sympathy fueled the hatred just budding in Rahilt.

Rodrick and Eshtiel.

To exact a price for the deaths of the two people he truly considered family, he could erase the imperial palace from the map right now.

Then, as if reading his will, Rashera spoke.

“Do you want revenge?”

“I don’t kn—”

…

……

“Yes, I do.”

“Do you want to kill them all?”

“Do you think I can’t?”

“No, quite the opposite. I’m asking because I think you’re more than capable.”

Then Rashera subtly asked.

“Have you ever thought that death might be a luxury? Wouldn’t you rather give them a life of crawling at the bottom than a moment of pain?”

Rahilt knew well.

As the child of a deposed emperor and a court lady, he knew better than anyone.

From his youth, he had constantly observed the despair and hellish obstinacy felt by those of high status when they fell into the abyss.

“I’ll be on your side.”

“…”

“Until the day your revenge is achieved to your satisfaction, I’ll be by your side. I won’t leave you alone.”

“…”

“I’m sorry for hiding my true feelings. The truth is, I need you. Perhaps more than anyone in the world.”

“…”

“Let’s help each other. I’ll try my best. So will you come with me?”

Rashera extended her hand.

Rahilt, struggling with hesitation, slowly reached out his hand. Rashera forcefully grabbed his hand.

She approached the man she had captivated and nestled deeply against him.

At that moment, joy bloomed on her face hidden below his chest.

‘…Success.’

The assassins disguised as special forces had more than fulfilled their role.

There was no possibility of the deception being exposed. Because among them were one or two real special forces members recruited by the marquis family.

All that remained was to build Rahilt’s trust and wait for him to reveal himself as the child of the deposed emperor.

As she contained her excited emotions, she met Rahilt’s piercingly blue eyes.

“Someday, I’ll take away your sadness.”

The empty vow scattered on the winter wind.