Chapter 95: The Hell of Cowardice (4)

[95] 14. The Hell of Cowardice (4)

A graceful humming flowed over the starlit lake.

A slender boatwoman rowed the boat as she read a book. Moonlight dimly illuminated the book’s title: . The boatwoman, as if gauging her location, looked back and forth between the book and the moon.

And then, after a while…

The humming and the rowing stopped simultaneously.

The boatwoman set the book down and stood up. She faced the surface of the lake, which reflected the night sky. Then, chanting a spell, she extended a white hand.

[difn]

At first, there was only silence. But then the surface of the water started to bubble and churn, and something shot up from the water.

It landed perfectly in the boatwoman’s hand.

It was a beautiful blue gem, the size of a baby’s fist. The light emanating from within resembled starlight.

But at the same time, it was also a fruit.

The boatwoman smiled and pulled back her hood. Eyes that someone had once described as snake-like glanced at the Memory Fruit.

“Fate is like inertia.”

Skuld smiled as she put the fruit away in her clothes. Then, she resumed humming as she started rowing again.

Toward the other side of the lake, where the cowards were fighting.

***

Blind faith is often mistaken for clarity.

Especially by those who are blinded.

This is because blind faith erases hesitation and doubt. Those who are blinded don’t contemplate nor are they swayed by trivial emotions. They simply march toward the answer they’ve already decided on.

And that, strangely enough, sometimes helps in solving a problem.

After having thrown the Memory Fruit into the lake, Feya sat by the lakeshore all night, thinking. She was figuring out her next steps.

First, she realized that the prince would never keep his promise. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say she *admitted* it.

The prince had completely broken her. He had done so first with illusions, and then with guilt. Even now, she could still feel the sensation of that day gnawing at her mind.

…Perhaps that’s why she wanted to be free. Why she clung to that promise, even though she knew it was a lie. Because she didn’t have the confidence to live, carrying this burden.

But it’s different now.

There’s Rem, who dreams of a future.

There’s someone who can fill the hole that had been empty for so long.

She could live for tomorrow.

…But before she could do that, there were a few things she had to get rid of.

“Feya?”

Rem looked at Feya with a puzzled expression upon seeing her enter the tent.

“Shouldn’t you be out there because of the operation…?”

Feya walked toward him and pulled him into a hug. Rem was bewildered for a moment before relaxing into her embrace.

“What’s wrong? Why all of a sudden…”

Feya took a step back. However, she still holds Rem’s hand.

Feya’s expression, mixed with fear, asked.

“Rem, do you trust me?”

It was a shameless question. How could she ask if he trusted her, after giving in to her fear and chopping off his legs. No matter what answer comes back, it wouldn’t be strange…

“Yes, I trust you.”

Feya looked at him. Rem, his cheeks slightly flushed, lowered his gaze.

“…Because you’re someone I love.”

Feya felt a warmth surge up from her chest. But she didn’t let that warmth dominate her head.

What she needed now was composure and quick action.

Squeezing Rem’s hand, she said,

“We’re going to escape. Right now.”

“What? But if we do…”

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen if we run away. But…”

Feya’s eyes avoid Rem’s gaze. She chews on her lower lip for a while before finally spitting out the words.

“There’s something you need to do for me.”

“Me…?”

Feya pulled out a dagger from her bosom. It was a dagger so small and thin that she could easily hide it in her wrist or his prosthetic hand. In fact, it was closer to a stiletto than a dagger.

“This is a dagger coated with paralytic poison. If you stab someone with this, you can even paralyze a bear instantly.”

Rem’s eyes flinched at the sight of the sharp blade.

“Why would you give me this…?”

Feya hesitated again. She looked down at her feet, anguish and anxiety swirling within her. It was Rem’s voice that finally broke her hesitation.

“Feya, I-I’ll do anything you ask of me. So…”

Rem trailed off, but Feya could easily guess what he was going to say. She took a deep breath and finally spoke the words she had prepared.

“Today, when the moon reaches its peak, Rosalia, your companion, will come to rescue you.”

Doubt and hope simultaneously bloomed in Rem’s eyes. Seeing this, Feya spoke with an even more pained expression.

“When she does, stab her with this dagger.”

***

The plan that Rosalia and Feya had agreed on was simple:

Rosalia would create a distraction outside to draw the knights’ attention. While they were distracted, Feya would infiltrate the prince’s tent and retrieve the fruit. At the same time, Rosalia would rescue Rem.

And then, they would meet at a designated location, and Feya would return the fruit.

Feya would get a chance to get revenge on the prince,

and Rosalia would get her companion back.

It was a mutually beneficial plan. Well, except for one thing.

Feya wasn’t interested in revenge.

Whether that prince ruined the empire or slept with a hundred prostitutes, it didn’t matter to her.

All she wanted was a peaceful future with Rem.

It was inevitable that Feya would make slight adjustments to the plan.

***

When the moon reached its peak in the sky…

A shout cut through the night.

“Fire!!”

The commotion spread as quickly as the flames.

Knights, barely having the time to put on their armor, ran through the camp. Senior knights rushed around, barking out orders.

And normally, that would have been enough to handle the situation, since knights, in the end, are all elite soldiers.

However, the fire, far from subsiding, cast a premature dawn on the night sky.

This was thanks to the swords and arrows hidden in the shadow of the flames. They targeted the knights who had been isolated, picking them off one by one.

Those who went out to fetch water didn’t return, and the orders that were sent didn’t get delivered. As the system crumbled and the chaos deepened, the flames climbed higher.

But even so, knights are knights.

The situation turned around when Adolf appeared.

At the prince’s rebuke, they were barely able to regain control of the situation. They abandoned their solo patrols and started moving in groups of two or three.

The moment their surprise attacks were rendered useless, the man leading the mercenaries in the darkness made a quick decision.

The mercenaries hiding in the darkness rushed out with a battle cry.

The battle had begun.

***

And at that very moment, inside Sheila’s tent. Feya was holding a sword against Sheila’s throat.

Faint sounds of battle could be heard from outside the tent. Sheila, who wasn’t even wearing armor, frowned.

“Have you finally lost your mind? How dare you set fire to the camp where the Highness is? This is treason…!”

“Shut up.”

Feya’s sword pricked Sheila’s throat. Blood trickles from the tip of the blade.

Even rage subsides in the face of death. Sheila asked in a trembling voice,

“…What do you want?”

“A deal.”

Question fills Sheila’s eyes.

“A deal? Just what…”

“After the fire is out, look for a turtle-shaped rock. You’ll find Rosalia lying there, paralyzed.”

Sheila looked as if she’d been slapped.

“Wait, that’s…”

“In exchange, stop chasing me and Rem. And tell the prince the same.”

Feya’s plan was really that simple:

Have Rem subdue Rosalia, and then hand her over in exchange for safety.

Of course, she didn’t think the prince or Sheila would keep their promise. Surely, they would try to capture her and Rem, even after getting Rosalia.

But they wouldn’t chase them as relentlessly as before.

A lion with a full belly moves sluggishly.

It would be the same with them who have already achieved their goal.

Perhaps in a few years, they would even forget about Rem and Feya’s existence altogether. And even if they didn’t, the continent was vast. There would be many places to hide.

And, though Feya hadn’t realized it back then, there was another calculation behind her plan.

If Rem were to stab Rosalia,

If he were to commit the same sin as Feya herself had…

Then an unbreakable bond would be formed between them.

Humans are cunning creatures.

Feya looked down at Sheila with cold eyes.

“Remember? The turtle-shaped rock. South-west from here.”

“…You will pay for this, one day.”

Sheila bared her teeth and growled menacingly. But Feya simply sneered.

The thirty deaths the prince had inflicted on her.

And the sin of having chopped off the legs of the man she loved.

“I’ve already paid.”

Feya slammed the hilt of her sword against Sheila’s head.

***

Feya’s steps toward the turtle-shaped rock were hurried.

Half from the joy of the future that was about to come,

and half from the anxiety that her plan might fail.

But when she arrived at the rock, she felt her worries melt away.

“You’re here.”

Under the dim glow of a magic lamp,

two figures came into view.

Rem, with a somewhat stiff expression,

and Rosalia with a face that seems to be forcibly holding something back.

Rosalia was alone.

If Rem were to stab Rosalia right now, then she could just grab him and run. And that would be it.

And in Feya’s hand, a peaceful future would be grasped. A tomorrow where she could be with the one she loves.

Feya put aside the rising imaginations for now. And once again, she examined the surroundings for any presence.

But no matter how hard she looked, Rosalia was alone.

“Did you bring the fruit?”

“I did.”

Feya, suppressing a smile, nodded. She stepped toward Rosalia.

“Stop. That’s far enough.”

Rosalia’s cold words stopped Feya in her tracks.

“Throw the fruit over here.”

As expected, she’s meticulous to the end. But how could anyone prepare for everything?

Feya turned her gaze toward Rem.

“…I have something I want to say to Rem one last time.”

Rosalia’s face contorted mercilessly. But before she could say anything, Rem stepped forward.

“I want to hear it, Ms. Rosalia.”

“…Fine.”

Rosalia nods with a distorted face. Rem looks at Feya with an expression waiting for something.

And so the end of the story was approaching.

No, it would be more accurate to say that the beginning of the story was approaching.

Every single day with Rem by her side.

Feya took a deep breath and spoke.

“Rem, do it.”

And silence flowed.

A terrible silence.

After a single second, Feya was puzzled.

After two seconds, Feya tried to somehow rationalize this situation.

And then, after three seconds…

A cold expression appeared on Rem’s face.

It was then a chilling realization pierced Feya.

A trembling voice escaped her lips.

“W-wait, it’s not, right? Rem? Tell me this isn’t happening. How did you get your memories…”

“Feya. I remember everything now.”

It wasn’t that weak, soft voice anymore.

It was the cold, hard voice of an enemy.

His mechanical eyes Had never seemed so heartless.

“So, I hoped that you would make a different decision at the end.”

A bitter smile appeared on his lips.

“But it looks like you’re not the person I thought you were.”

Feya collapsed onto the ground. But after a moment, she started crawling toward him with her arms.

“N-No! Rem! I can ex-explain everything! I… I did it for you! Because you’d be in even more d-danger if you got your memories back! So…!”

“No, Feya.”

A dagger was tossed in front of her. It was the very same dagger she had given him.

“Even if you’re right, that was a decision for *me* to make.”

Tears spilled from Feya’s eyes.

“And you told me to stab my friend.”

“I-I’m sorry, Rem. I won’t ever do it again. I… I-I regret it, so…”

Rem shook his head.

And then, in a cold voice she’d never heard before, he said,

“Don’t ever appear in front of me again, Feya.”

They say that in the afterlife, there’s a special hell for cowards.

The devils there, instead of holding burning flames and pitchforks,

carry swords of ice and worms that tear your heart out.

In that hell, people are eternally frozen in heart and torn apart in chest,

their tears forming oceans, and their screams weaving the very wind.

And at that moment, Feya must have fallen into that very hell.