Chapter 2: Regression – (2)

The war ended more anticlimactically than expected.

No matter how advanced the magical engineering of the kingdom was, the empire’s overwhelming number of soldiers pushed through, and within less than three years, the kingdom surrendered and became a vassal state of the empire.

That marked the end of the war and also served as proof that Ilia and I had survived.

Though “survived” might be an understatement, considering all we had accomplished.

Ilia, much like the past of the Rigmond family, became a war hero and left the battlefield.

However, the journey to that point was fraught with too many hardships to summarize briefly.

The kingdom’s magical engineering produced powerful weapons that could easily kill low-ranking knights and unleashed endless firepower.

The moment one lost focus, knights and soldiers were torn apart, leaving no trace of their bodies behind. We lived constantly with injuries.

The most dangerous moment was when we faced the kingdom’s knight commander.

His masterful swordsmanship, supported by numerous magical weapons, mowed down soldiers and knights like ants.

By the time Ilia and I defeated him, the surroundings were a sea of blood, with no one left alive.

The only survivors were Ilia, clutching her half-severed shoulder, gasping for breath, and me, trying to stop the bleeding from my severed fingers.

“Huff… Ilia, are you okay?”

“…No, I feel like I could die any moment.”

She was right.

Ilia’s shoulder was severed to the bone, and it was a miracle it was still attached.

‘It’s my fault.’

I couldn’t block all the attacks aimed at her, and in the end, she suffered severe injuries.

Despite my vow never to let her be hurt, her wounds only increased with each passing day, and this time, I left a scar on her body.

“…Are you okay?”

Ilia’s cautious question.

I could tell where her gaze was directed.

“I wish I could say I’m fine, but… it seems I’m not.”

Exposed bones in my legs and arms were something I’d experienced before, so I could handle that.

The wound on my neck was just a graze from a sword, so it was minor.

But the three severed fingers on my right hand, lost while taking a blow meant for Ilia, were beyond repair.

If they were still intact, maybe something could have been done, but the knight commander shredded them before my eyes.

They were probably somewhere among the corpses, tangled in the flesh.

“…Will it be hard to treat?”

“Most likely.”

We fell into silence.

Partly because we had to keep our bodies from collapsing, but also because Ilia and I were more comfortable with silence than words.

It was Ilia who broke the calm silence.

“…Do you regret it?”

There were too many things she could be referring to, so I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant.

“No, I don’t. Not the knight’s oath, not joining the war, not taking the blow meant for you.”

“…Why?”

At Ilia’s question, I raised the corner of my mouth.

It wasn’t a habitual smile.

It was a smile born of satisfaction.

“Because I can be by your side.”

“…What if you die?”

“I don’t mind dying for you, no matter how many times.”

“…That doesn’t mean I’ll love you.”

It was something I’d heard countless times from Ilia over the past three years.

Yet, despite it being a statement that should have been unpleasant, my heart raced every time I heard it.

Like when I was 15, the day I first met her at the engagement ceremony.

“It’s fine. I don’t expect anything in return.”

I just wanted to see her smile.

That was all.

“You’re such a fool.”

“I’m a fool only for you, so please bear with me.”

“My family doesn’t need fools.”

“I’ll still stick around.”

“…Of course. You’re the only one who’d put up with a fool like you.”

At the time, I didn’t realize that was her way of showing courage.

…

After the war, Ilia and I returned to the Rigmond family after three years.

Not much had changed.

If anything, it was summer when we left, and now it was winter.

Our lives hadn’t changed much either.

But a bit of leisure had blossomed between us.

No longer needing to be on the battlefield or spending all our free time training, we relaxed, and our relationship progressed slightly.

Of course, not physically.

In our relationship, love was one-sided, and I didn’t try to show it.

We just became a bit closer.

Eating lunch together, spending time in the office, having tea and snacks—our relationship was more like close friends.

So I thought.

I wished this time would last forever.

But I had forgotten one simple truth: nothing lasts forever.

Chaos comes easily, but peace is fragile.

It all started with the visit of the First Prince.

The First Prince, the son of the former emperor—the emperor’s older brother—was the one who should have inherited the throne.

It was only natural that he turned his attention to us, who had distinguished ourselves in the war.

Ilia, his cousin in a similar position, would surely join his rebellion.

Ilia didn’t take long to make her decision.

At 21, Ilia hadn’t forgotten the emperor’s mocking smile at the funeral when she was 15.

The man who killed her parents deserved to be torn apart.

So it was only natural that she sought revenge.

“I… will follow the First Prince and take revenge on the emperor.”

“…If that’s what you’ve decided, I will follow you.”

And I couldn’t stop her.

Bound by my knight’s oath and my own inability to quell her anger.

The emperor was too greedy and cruel.

But the revenge plot ended in futility.

After just a month, I was summoned by the head of the Serigard family—my older brother.

“Tomorrow, the Obsidian Knights will attack Rigmond.”

His words meant only one thing.

The plan had been exposed.

The rebellion had been leaked to the emperor.

“It seems we missed a spy.”

“…Why didn’t you inform the emperor?”

My brother glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

“You’re now branded a traitor! I, as the leader of the Obsidian Knights, must kill you!”

“…”

I couldn’t say anything.

Death was coming tomorrow.

I didn’t mind dying.

I had prepared for this three years ago.

The problem was Ilia.

To the emperor, I was just a side note.

What he wanted was Ilia’s head.

That’s why the Obsidian Knights were coming to Rigmond.

“…Brother.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Just one request.”

My brother remained silent.

I took it as a sign to continue.

“Please, let Ilia live.”

“…What?”

My brother’s eyes turned redder than ever.

The anger in them was something I couldn’t even begin to fathom.

“You’re asking me to spare a traitor? Not yourself? Have you gone mad?”

“Well, maybe I have.”

I chose to go mad for one person.

I vowed to burn my body and throw myself into death for her.

If that’s madness, then I was indeed mad.

“I took a knight’s oath.”

“…Sigh…”

At my words, my brother grabbed his head.

“You’re definitely mad. There are countless women in the world, and you had to choose the one from Rigumond…!”

“I believe it was you who recommended me to the emperor as Ilia’s watchdog.”

My brother glared at me for a moment before slumping into his chair.

“…Yes, it’s my fault. I thought you’d kill her and come back quickly.”

“I didn’t expect to fall for her at first sight either.”

“Sigh…”

My brother sat in silence, staring at me for dozens of minutes.

“Brother, what are you doing?”

At my words, my brother spoke in a sharp tone.

“I’m engraving my little brother’s face in my mind before I kill him with my own hands.”

“Ah, I see.”

“…I’m joking.”

“I thought so.”

“…Leave.”

“Is that the last thing you’ll say to me?”

“…”

My brother said nothing.

He just quietly watched me with sad eyes as I left.