Chapter 67 : Worst Warrior (6)

It was merely a life spent walking a neatly paved road.

My own will likely did not exist in that place.

After all, he was the indisputable heir to the Kingdom of Mines.

At first, I didn’t even question the path I walked.

I thought it was my duty, the proper road I had to follow.

Such foolishness.

It was Jeanne who first planted doubt in Jaiha’s mind.

Initially, he felt no particular emotions toward her.

To put it bluntly, he thought Lana, who took Jeanne in and gave her a name, was needlessly making life harder for herself.

But as Lana’s servant, Jeanne, often crossed paths with Jaiha.

Through their many conversations, Jaiha began to question freedom for the first time.

“Are the things I possess truly mine?”

“I may seem freer than anyone in the kingdom, but am I merely clutching at an illusion while averting my eyes from reality?”

At first, it was just a small doubt.

But as time passed, Jeanne’s words grew clearer in his mind.

The questions in his heart grew louder.

Afraid of these unfamiliar emotions, he once confided in Lana, his fiancée at the time.

Surely, as his wise fiancée, she could provide a definitive answer.

[“Don’t be swayed by such nonsense, Your Highness. Aren’t you the proud crown prince of the Kingdom of Mines?”]

[“You must stand firm. If you falter, who will the people trust and rely upon?”]

It was true.

As the crown prince of the Kingdom of Mines, Jaiha would one day ascend to the throne.

If the king wavered, the nation would falter.

He had to endure and stand strong.

“I know that much.”

“But… how am I supposed to endure this?”

Was he expected to remain unyielding, like a pine tree, forever?

Even this thought was one he could not share with others.

Everyone would simply criticize him as being privileged and spoiled.

Perhaps they’d be right.

Slaves who’d lost their freedom, or survivors of the Eternal Winter resorting to cannibalism to live—compared to them, how petty were his concerns?

Yet, the loneliness of having no one to confide in stung, if only a little.

That is, until Jeanne sat beside him.

Looking back, Jaiha thought he must have been insane.

To confide so openly in Jeanne, a mere servant to his fiancée.

But Jeanne had listened without interruption or judgment.

“You must have suffered so much, Your Highness.”

“What?”

“Suffered… Can I even call this suffering?”

“Isn’t this just a privileged worry? Born a prince, walking an easy road… Compared to those struggling to survive out there—”

“What does that matter?” Jeanne interrupted.

“You’re human too, aren’t you?”

“Everyone has worries and struggles. It doesn’t matter how noble your status or how much you have.”

Her warm words comforted him for the first time.

That was likely the moment it all began.

When Jaiha started to take an interest in Jeanne.

After that, he found his gaze following her.

Whenever their eyes met and she waved at him, he felt an inexplicable joy.

“This is ridiculous,” he thought.

“I have a fiancée, and my path is set.”

But no matter how much he tried to deny it, his feelings remained unchanged.

Finally, he understood.

“This is true love.”

He knew that choosing this path would turn his life into one filled with thorns.

The wise crown prince Jaiha was not oblivious to this truth.

Yet, he decided to be honest with himself.

He did not want to lose love only to regret it later.

Even if that love led to his ruin.

Perhaps, he had foreseen this outcome from the moment she told him the legends of the heroes.

For ten years, they fought together for the revival of the kingdom.

And in that time, he realized the truth:

Jeanne was a noble Saintess who sacrificed everything for others.

The knights of the kingdom, herself, and even her loved ones.

Jaiha turned to look at Jeanne.

She tried to suppress her emotions, but tears flowed down her face like a broken sky.

“Why are you crying?”

“I’m sorry… I wasn’t strong enough.”

“It’s fine. I accepted this from the beginning.”

From the day he became her man, he understood she would sacrifice herself for everyone.

And so, he resolved to be a man worthy of her.

Jaiha’s steps toward the hero’s tomb showed no hesitation.

As he walked without faltering, it was Jeanne who stopped him.

“Your Highness, one last—”

“No, it’s fine.”

“But—”

“If I turn back now and see you again, I don’t think I’ll be able to move forward.”

Even if it was for her and the kingdom’s future, he didn’t want to die.

If he turned back to see her, he felt he might break.

And so, Jaiha threw himself into the sarcophagus.

At that moment, his vision was swallowed by eternal darkness.

Blood poured from his body, seeping into the sarcophagus.

As it absorbed all of his blood, light began to flow from it, and a spirit appeared.

The glowing blue soul entered Jaiha’s empty body.

The entire process—from Jaiha’s death to the soul taking over his body—was so brief that his body didn’t even have time to collapse.

It was short enough for one to mistake it as if Jaiha had never truly died.

But Jeanne knew the truth.

The moment the being that was once Jaiha turned toward her, she was certain.

This was not the crown prince she once knew.

If it were truly Jaiha, he wouldn’t have looked at her with such an emotionless expression.

Tears welled up in Jeanne’s eyes as she realized he was gone.

“Your Highness.”

“Are you mourning the lover you lost due to your own greed?”

“That’s not…!”

“Or rather, are you relieved? You know the soul within that shell isn’t your lover.”

The being occupying Jaiha’s body smirked.

“You, the Saintess, have always worshipped the goddess who reduced everything we built to dust under the guise of a new era.”

“If it weren’t for our pact, I’d snap your neck right now.”

[“Remember our deal, Hero. Your lover’s soul is in my grasp.”]

A warning echoed in his mind, silencing his thoughts of violence.

He sighed, recalling her words from the past.

“Let’s fight for a world where everyone can live in peace.”

Her ideals were mocked at the time, but it was her hero party that ultimately defeated the Demon King.

Yet, even after achieving peace, they had now been reduced to this state—a puppet dancing on strings.

It was humiliating, but he couldn’t give up.

No matter how hopeless it seemed, there was one reason he could not yield.

[“No matter how desperate things seem, never give up. The moment you do, the chance becomes zero.”]

“Saintess, tell me what I must do.”

For giving up would truly change nothing.