episode_0059

– The Free City of Petenbourg shall comply with the following:

1. All military forces of Petenbourg shall disarm and surrender.

2. The gates of Petenbourg shall be opened.

3. Yulia Petenbourg shall be arrested and handed over to the Crusaders.

A declaration of war and simultaneous demands.

Reading it again, the wording was absurd.

Demanding unconditional surrender at the start of the war.

Of course, that was never going to happen.

Petenbourg may be a small city, but it was not to be underestimated.

Located deep in the mountains, a city filled with concrete buildings resembling fortresses.

No matter how many days of bombardment or attempts to climb the mountains, Petenbourg would never fall.

Self-sufficient, capable of producing all kinds of weapons and equipment, a true stronghold.

The Crusaders had chosen their opponent poorly.

“Eugene… I may never see you again…”

But regardless of that.

My war had already ended.

I made a mistake.

Stirring up the suspicions of the Lord of Frost.

Provoking the jealousy of the Saint to isolate Eugene.

To thoroughly separate Eugene, and ultimately make her come to me.

It was going well until then.

Until the Saint went berserk and led the Crusaders to attack.

Petenbourg was quickly surrounded.

Unable to escape or enter, like a single ant trying to escape.

Theoretically, Petenbourg could hold out forever, but the same applied to the Crusaders.

Even if they left us surrounded and did nothing, we would be trapped here forever.

“How did it come to this…”

I lost.

To the Saint’s determination, I was defeated in the battle for Eugene.

Eugene still remained as the Saint’s bodyguard.

She would not fight for Petenbourg, cornered as it was.

– There is someone climbing the mountain! Shall we attack?

At that moment, a radio transmission came with a hesitant tone.

As if asking me whether to intercept instead of reporting.

– They appear to be the enemy, but they seem to have met Lady Yulia before…

“H-Hold your fire! S-Stop!”

As soon as I saw the man’s face outside the window.

I quickly shouted into the radio.

In my confusion, my usual firm voice was replaced by a stuttering one.

“How…”

It was Eugene.

Eugene was climbing the mountain, approaching our side.

The moment I saw her, I lost my composure and ran towards her.

The time it took for the elevator to come down felt unusually long.

I even forgot about the carriage and ran on foot.

The view of the splendid city disappeared.

Replaced by the ruined outskirts of the city under Crusader bombardment.

There, exhausted, I saw Eugene gasping for breath.

My beloved Eugene.

The Eugene I thought I would never see again.

“E-Eugene!”

“My name is not E-E-Eugene.”

“Ugh…”

I embraced Eugene playfully laughing.

She was drenched in sweat, smelling and damp.

But I didn’t mind.

She had come all this way for me.

Turning her back on the church.

Betraying the Saint and coming to me.

Choosing me over the Saint.

Tears of joy streamed down my face.

“Why… why did you come? Petenbourg is surrounded. We can’t leave now.”

“I know. I came knowing that.”

“Why…”

“I couldn’t leave you alone.”

Once again, tears threatened to spill out.

I felt like I had everything.

And in reality, I did.

When everyone thought of me as the ruthless ruler of Petenbourg or the cold witch to be feared.

The only person who approaches me without hesitation, knowing my true self, is Yujin.

Yujin is my world.

“Yujin. I, I’ve been wrong all this time… I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

I’m sorry for everything.

Yujin is the one who loves me the most.

And I foolishly did things that could have ruined everything.

I isolated Yujin and tried to destroy him.

You shouldn’t do that when you love someone.

My twisted desires almost ruined everything.

“I’m sorry for not coming sooner.”

“Yujin…!”

Yujin forgave me for being like that.

He accepted me.

He came back to me.

“I-I won’t… I won’t doubt you again… I won’t… cry…”

I embraced Yujin.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t make Yujin regret choosing me.

I wouldn’t try to control Yujin again.

“I love you. I love you…”

Steadily.

Without stumbling over the words I’ve practiced so as not to be misunderstood.

Yujin responded with a smile and tilted his head.

With closed eyes, our lips slowly met.

And in the rush of overwhelming sensations, my eyes flickered open.

I wanted this moment to last forever.

Even that thought crossed my mind.

‘Huh?’

Time stood still.

‘What’s happening?’

In the frozen moment.

My body wouldn’t respond.

But my mind was alert in this strange situation.

“Ugh, this is so annoying.”

‘…?!’

Yujin sighed and pulled away, his lips leaving mine.

He wasn’t smiling anymore.

Just looking at me with what seemed like annoyance before turning away.

His gaze felt like it froze my heart.

It felt like the world was crumbling.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have seen the ending this time. You really know how to ruin the trophy heroine theme.”

Yujin muttered incomprehensible words as he walked away.

Strange lights and numbers appeared in the sky.

In the midst of the confusion.

I understood.

This life is not Yujin’s first.

Second? Third?

I don’t know.

Maybe he’s been through it dozens or hundreds of times.

Yujin doesn’t take this world seriously.

To him, this world is just a game.

I understood that I was no different from a collectible to Yujin.

I understood that cruel truth.

“See you in the next chapter. Even though I won’t remember it.”

‘…’

Yujin glanced back at me with a pitiful expression before turning away.

The world went dark.

And I…

“Ahh! Ugh, ahh. Ugh…”

I woke up from another nightmare today.

The same dream.

Every day, I dream of that day.

The moment hope turns into despair.

I dream of the moment when the unbearable reality crashes in.

It’s been over a month since I regained my memories.

Yet, I still have the same dream.

“Ugh…”

I struggled to catch my breath and swallowed a pill.

These days, my headaches are too severe.

I can’t function in daily life without medication.

“Sigh.”

I downed the coffee I just made and left the dark room.

The view outside the large glass window, the bleak cityscape.

There are no ruins from the Crusades.

Just a bustling city where trains run smoothly.

“I still can’t get used to this.”

I went back to the past about a year ago.

With memories of the past.

According to Yujin, I should have lost my memories.

But for some reason, I vividly remember the previous chapters.

At first, I thought I had regressed alone instead of with Yujin.

But that wasn’t the case.

Yujin was moving differently from the previous chapters.

This time, he didn’t even reveal himself.

He didn’t meet the saint in Hameln or face the Frost Lord in Palana.

Of course, I have never been to Petenbourg.

I could quickly figure out what was on his mind.

Yujin is fed up.

He has given up on us.

I knew very well why he made that choice.

Because I made it hard for Yujin.

I pretended to love him and tried to break him down.

Even though we have gone back in time, that fact remains unchanged.

I know, and Yujin knows.

It may have become a thing of the past, but as long as we remember, it is not a thing of the past.

-Cheoboh

Documents stamped with confidential seals placed on the desk.

Things left behind by the secretary.

I cannot mix words with anyone other than Yujin.

-National investigation of the Holy Empire conducted over two periods. Authorized by the Saintess of Hameln.

-Aides of the Lord of Pallana dispatched in large numbers to the southern continent. Mission details unknown.

Yujin has abandoned us.

But there are still people who have not accepted it.

The Saintess of Hameln.

And the Lord of the Frost in Pallana.

Are these two also returning with memories like me, searching loudly for Yujin?

“Fools…”

It’s a foolish act.

Yujin doesn’t want to meet us.

He left because he didn’t like us.

The more we chase him, the more he will hide and quietly run away.

Even if we miraculously find him, there will be no dramatic reunion.

Yujin will push us away as if confirming a kill.

He will scold us to stop chasing him.

And then, irritated by this failed attempt, he will regress again.

Just imagining it hurts.

With Yujin’s cold gaze from the future in mind, my heart aches.

It’s painful and difficult even now.

If I hear those words from Yujin’s mouth, I will collapse.

I can’t hold on any longer.

That’s why I can’t muster the courage to go find Yujin.

Everything will end when we meet.

This world will be abandoned by Yujin once again.

“Just stop showing off…”

To prevent Yujin’s regression.

I don’t know how many hindrances the foolish humans and demi-humans have set up to prevent Yujin from meeting them face to face.

Yet, they don’t know how to give up.

They keep searching for Yujin.

They will only stop when they hear that Yujin is dead.

No. Even then, they won’t stop…

“We need to find a way.”

This can’t go on.

Even though the search area for the two of them is wide, it’s still too wide.

The Saintess controls the entire south, and the Lord of the Frost controls the entire north.

No matter how much Yujin is, he will eventually be caught.

That’s why I have to find Yujin first.

Find him, and find out the conditions for his regression.

And then block his regression.

“You don’t want to regress either, do you…”

That look.

I understood when I saw that pitiful look as he turned his back on me.

Yujin is not regressing willingly.

He is repeating regression because of external pressure, unable to help it.

He probably wants to stop regressing as well.

“I will make you stop.”

If I stop, it will be over.

By any means necessary.

I will definitely stop Yujin’s regression.

Then naturally, Yujin will come to me.

He will have no choice but to embrace me.

There are ways to solve the lifespan issue.

Ways to share lifespan.

I learned it when I visited Elvengard last time.

Although I vowed not to set foot there again and left, I visited for Yujin’s sake.

“I wonder if Elvengard is burning by now.”

I was about to leave quietly.

But when I tried to leave, anger suddenly overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t bear it, so I went to find Ifrit.

And I told Ifrit about the dungeon beneath the World Tree.

As expected, Ifrit began to grow his army and march towards the World Tree.

Before I knew it, the blaze had grown so massive that it illuminated the night sky as bright as day, and that’s when I left Elvengard.

By now, Elvengard must have been destroyed.

“Huh?”

But the moment I unfolded the newspaper.

The headline article was none other than the news of the successful suppression of the Elvengard Great Fire.

Even a photo capturing the scene of the recovery operation featured Ifrit standing alongside.

For a moment, my thought process came to a halt.

Ifrit, who was burning down the World Tree, was now involved in fire recovery operations?

A contradictory situation.

There is only one possibility for this situation to occur.

Ifrit was subdued by a formidable opponent.

And the dungeon beneath the World Tree was conquered.

Otherwise, such a scene would never happen.

A powerful individual capable of subduing Ifrit.

And a skilled adventurer who dares to conquer the dangerous dungeon that even the elves have given up on.

The only person who fits all these criteria is…

“Huh?”

It’s Eugene.

Eugene had visited Elvengard.

Just a few hours after I left…

“Aaaaaahhh!!!”

As soon as I realized this fact, my blood boiled in anger.