102. Betrayal (1)

Somehow, the monsters had moved close behind Count Alexei. Yet Count Alexei was aiming at them instead of the monsters, and the monsters weren’t attacking him.

“Ugh…… now it’s clear. Though I realized it too late.”

At that moment, Arshama spoke with a bitter smile. Anette couldn’t believe Count Alexei’s betrayal even in this dire situation.

“You can control monsters?”

“You’re quite curious for someone about to die. You might have lived if you’d stayed quiet. You’ve been too conspicuous, Anette Inkheart.”

Count Alexei gestured to the monsters, calling Anette by her full name rather than addressing her as the Grand Duchess.

While wind power could block the count’s bullets, physical attacks from monsters were different. It was obvious they couldn’t withstand them for long, even if they survived the first few.

“This can’t be. The count has been at the forefront of killing monsters……”

“I suppose one can act such a part for a greater purpose.”

As Arshama muttered bitterly, Count Alexei sneered.

“Freeing the slave market, joining the Northern Mountains defense procession. You’ve accomplished so much. But what will happen to the North if the Grand Duchess who has led all these efforts dies?”

“Sylraion!”

In response to Alexei’s ominous threat, Anette called forth a humanoid high-level wind spirit. With the power she gained from the past, she didn’t hesitate.

「Mas……ter……」

But Sylraion’s briefly visible form dispersed like smoke.

‘It failed!’

Gulp.

Simultaneously realizing this, Anette coughed up blood. It was the aftermath of failing to summon a spirit.

‘……My spirit power!’

Something was wrong. The spirit power that had increased dramatically when she went to the past had somehow been reduced by half again. This was the result of attempting a summoning without realizing her insufficient spirit power.

‘Why! Why!’

What was the difference between then and now?

At this rate, it would be difficult to even maintain Sylph and Sylraphe.

Eventually, the fierce wind that had been blowing around Anette like a protective barrier soon stopped.

“What? What trick is this?”

Although this was fortunate for Count Alexei, he questioned it as if testing uncertain ground, then called his monster troops.

“Go and behead that woman. There will be a great reward from your master.”

Even as he said this, the count wasn’t going to miss this opportunity and aimed his gun at Anette.

Hesitantly, Anette, her strength drained, backed away toward Arshama, who had already lost his energy.

Anette gritted her teeth.

“Take the mountain tribe’s curse instead.”

She was blankly watching the monster swing its large arm when—

Slash.

Disgusting green blood splattered. The upper body of the monster raising its arm toward her split in half, revealing its innards.

Thud.

The monster, its shoulder separated from its body, collapsed.

“What on earth……”

“Are you alright?”

Anette stared at him with her mouth still open.

It was the trajectory of a sword she had watched many times from close by. She couldn’t mistake whose black hair danced like that.

Yet Anette couldn’t bring herself to call his name. She had already experienced someone appearing at such a moment who wasn’t him.

Fearing this might be a hallucination born from her desperation.

‘Dari……us.’

Instead of uttering the name she couldn’t speak, a sob rose from her throat.

“My Anette.”

My Anette, who else would call her so affectionately?

Only when her name was called in his voice did she realize it wasn’t a hallucination.

Not for a single moment during their separation had she not wanted to see him.

“Darius!”

Anette called his name aloud. Facing him, she felt the tension from everything she had experienced until now release. She wanted to be embraced in his arms and comforted.

She wanted to complain that she had missed him so much, that she had looked in the mirror as he said but couldn’t see him.

And that now that she finally saw him, it felt like everything was over—that’s what she wanted to say.

“So you were alive after all, Count.”

“Did you come here looking for your death? Well, that’s convenient. There will be no regrets in the afterlife if husband and wife lie together.”

Suddenly, Anette noticed the blue light surrounding Darius.

Thump, an anxiety she had never felt before devoured her heart.

Darius stood in front of Anette and Arshama to protect them from the monsters and the count. And beside Darius was…… Sylphid.

‘Why?’

Why is Sylphid here? Darius can’t even see spirits.

“Dari, us?”

A gritty emotion circled in her mouth like poorly chewed sand, refusing to be swallowed.

But despite her call, Darius continued to face forward, dealing only with the count.

“It’s unfortunate for the noble count’s fiancée. She’ll never know how her fiancé died.”

「This is the end anyway. There will be nothing more to hear once that friend dies.」

Sylphid, who agreed with Darius’s words, also didn’t look at her.

“Your mouth-running ends now!”

Provoked by his taunt, Count Alexei’s monster troops rushed toward Darius.

Sylphid’s tremendous power poured onto the ground without restriction.

A deafening roar sounded.

Whoosh, the wind was so strong that even Anette couldn’t withstand it and was pushed back.

‘What on earth is happening?’

It was strange.

Every time Darius swung his sword, the sound of wind cutting through the air was different from usual.

He was incredibly strong. As if borrowing Sylphid’s power.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible for Sylphid to help. Darius was also a descendant of Inkheart, and that spirit king was capricious.

Yes. Somehow, Sylphid might have suddenly taken a liking to Darius and sided with him.

“Darius, no!”

Despite thinking this, Anette screamed desperately.

Something she couldn’t even imagine was happening right now.

Something truly unwanted, something that had to be stopped.

“No, no! Please!”

I’d rather be caught in an avalanche again. I’d rather revisit the past one more time.

But despite her desperate cries, Darius’s sword easily cut through the monster horde as if slicing scarecrows and advanced toward Count Alexei. Without a single pause.

“Kuhek, huk……”

Count Alexei looked down at his own body.

Due to Darius’s sword piercing through, there was a hole in his heart. As if his insides had been torn to shreds from within.

Just from a single stab to the chest.

“I’ll at least deliver the news of your death to your fiancée. Out of respect for your noble fiancée’s honor.”

Wobble, Count Alexei’s lifeless body collapsed helplessly.

Darius’s voice as he bid farewell was serene.

“Darius.”

“Anette.”

Darius turned to look at her, appearing so normal that Anette hoped.

And pressing strength into her trembling fingertips, she whispered to herself.

This ominous feeling is wrong.

Nothing bad will happen.

See, Darius is so healthy……

Suddenly, thud, the sword in Darius’s hand fell to the floor.

Anette’s pupils dilated. A loud ringing, like screams from all directions, filled her ears.

「This is as far as I can go if I want to keep you alive a little longer.」

Anette didn’t hear those words.

‘No, no, no!’

Unable to prevent what was coming, she could only pray helplessly.

The blue light surrounding Darius sparkled and disappeared. Like a firefly that had completed its short life.

And simultaneously, Darius collapsed.

“Darius!”

Anette wailed in agony.

* * *

The Northern army couldn’t enter the temple.

They had followed Darius’s traces to the entrance, but the temple was barely withstanding collapse from the power Darius wielded alone, so they dared not enter.

Therefore, they only entered after Darius had already dealt with all the temple’s monsters and Count Alexei.

“The Grand Duchess is over there!”

“My lady!”

“God has protected our lady!”

When the army entered the temple, they could see the Grand Duchess who had disappeared.

But the Grand Duchess, who always greeted the people of the North with a cheerful smile, had lost that smile.

“His Highness the Grand Duke…?”

“Grand Duke!”

The Grand Duchess was holding the collapsed Grand Duke, trembling and crying. The Grand Duke, who had used the spirit king’s power without restriction despite not being a spirit mage, was now experiencing the moment closest to death.

* * *

“There are no particular external injuries. His body is exhausted from the accumulated fatigue of forced marching, so he’s resting. He’ll wake up on his own when he recovers.”

Schmidt finished his examination and reported to Anette. Despite the doctor’s reassurance, Anette couldn’t take her eyes off Darius.

“But he’s not waking up.”

“It’s because his nerves have been on edge all this time. Besides, he must be very tired from this ordeal, so it’s best for him to sleep until his body stabilizes.”

In Schmidt’s view, Anette was in worse condition. She had stabbed her palm with her fingernails so much from anxiety that her palms were all torn up. She didn’t even care about the wounds on her face from the temple incident.

For several days now, the Grand Duchess had been clinging to her unconscious husband’s side, staying up all night.

She held his hand to check if his body temperature had cooled, and placed her finger under his nose to continuously confirm that he was still breathing.

Though he couldn’t bring himself to tell Anette, Lucion sighed at how the couple similarly neglected their own bodies while only worrying about each other.

“My lady, you must also worry about your own body.”

“My body is fine.”

Schmidt fell into thought. He considered advising Anette that the body she was currently abusing was the precious one her husband had sacrificed his life to protect, but he refrained.

It would be too cruel.

Especially for the wife who was soaked in sorrow, looking like she might collapse at any moment, and who knew she would crumble the instant she cried, so she held back her tears and endured with her last strength.

“Please take care of yourself. When the Grand Duke wakes up, he’ll want to see you first.”

He closed his doctor’s bag and went outside.