I looked at the final boss in front of me.
And just like that, my body froze.
Like how people stop moving for a moment when they have too many thoughts.
So many things filled my head that I couldn’t think properly.
Even when I tried to focus on one thought, my mind was overloaded and out of control.
It felt like someone was forcefully injecting an overwhelming amount of data into my brain.
‘Why is the final boss here?’
‘She shouldn’t have been captured in the first place.’
‘There was no such scenario in the game.’
‘Then why the hell is this happening?’
Thoughts kept flooding my mind, throwing everything into chaos.
But since no one could read my thoughts, they couldn’t tell what kind of state I was in.
The maid beside me just looked at me strangely.
“Oscar-nim?”
Hearing the maid repeatedly calling me, I barely snapped out of it and turned my head.
Seeing me like that, the maid looked at me as if she was puzzled.
“Is something wrong, perhaps?”
“Huh? Uh… no, I was just thinking about something else for a moment…”
It wasn’t a lie.
I really had been distracted by my thoughts.
But there was no time to worry about things like that.
Because something far more serious was sitting right in front of me.
She just sat there, staring blankly at the ground with dull eyes.
As if she had already lost the will to live, she simply sat there in a daze.
‘She becomes the final boss later? Why was she even in the criminal organization to begin with?’
As I looked at her with growing questions, the maid, as if she had expected it, began to explain.
“She was part of the organization, but when we asked the members about her identity, they said they didn’t know either. So for now, we’re keeping her locked up here.”
‘Even the members don’t know who she is?’
What in the world is going on?
The more I thought about it, the more it became a question without an answer.
Nothing came to mind, and her entire existence felt like one big pile of unexplained foreshadowing.
I couldn’t make a decision.
Whether I should just leave her be, Or kill her here and now.
“…”
“…?”
As I continued to stare at her, she weakly raised her head to look at me.
She looked at me with a questioning expression, as if wondering why I was staring at her.
No—more precisely, the gaze she gave me was already filled with pain and sickness.
I couldn’t figure out how to respond to those eyes, so I just kept staring at her.
‘She already looks like she’s lost the will to live… in that case.’
I slowly drew the sword hanging at my waist.
Startled by my sudden action, the maid hurried to stop me, grabbing my hand in alarm.
Being the maid at Her Highness’s side, she was surely stronger than most knights, but as I was still a guest, she couldn’t restrain me recklessly.
Step, step.
“Oscar-nim…!”
I walked past the maid and approached Iris.
I slowly brought the drawn sword up to her neck.
But she didn’t react at all—only her eyes followed the blade.
My arm trembled, but she didn’t even flinch.
She just stared blankly at the sword.
Was it pity I felt?
Or just a sudden whim?
I let go of the sword and dropped it to the floor.
“Haah…”
To be honest, if I had swung my sword just now, the final boss would have been eliminated.
And maybe I could have delayed the end of the world.
But would that really be enough?
Let me say this again—‘Iris Hildegart’ was the final boss.
She wasn’t the root of evil or the mastermind behind everything in this world.
In other words, killing her wouldn’t save the world.
The only reason she was designated the final boss was because she was the most powerful.
‘So… isn’t it still possible to give her a chance?’
Or maybe I could turn her, who hasn’t fallen yet, to our side and gain a massive advantage.
‘The problem is… how do I get her to move?’
She had already lost the will to live, and had no drive left to act.
There was no reason for her to work for me.
But since I also knew that if I left her here, she would eventually become the final boss…
I couldn’t just abandon her either.
Unable to choose either option, the decision I made was.
“I’ll take this woman, and that big guy over there, and the woman next to him.”
—To keep her by my side.
At this point, I figured it would be safer to have her close to me.
But the maid, who didn’t understand why I would take someone who wasn’t even a combatant, asked with a puzzled look.
“…You may take them all. Her Highness the Princess would wish for that as well.”
I shook my head and replied.
“No. I’m already so grateful just to receive this much. If I take more, I’ll just feel guilty.”
“If that is the Duke of the Border’s will.”
And so, I began loading supplies onto the carriage, preparing to return to the Territory with a few of the prisoners.
Thankfully, Illya also provided us with supplies.
She was truly a friend far too good for someone like me.
‘I should at least say thank you before I go.’
No matter how shameless I might be, I wasn’t insane enough to leave without even expressing gratitude.
To deliver my thanks, I made my way back to her room.
On the way, I was met with the maids’ scornful stares, but I had no choice but to keep walking.
Enduring their eyes, I finally arrived in front of her room and knocked softly.
Knock knock.
“Is Her Highness Illya inside?”
After saying that and waiting for a moment, her door opened and I heard a voice.
“Come in.”
With that, I stepped into her room.
As I entered, I was greeted by various decorations adorned with gold.
Even the picture frames were lined with gold, reminding me just how wealthy the royal family was.
‘Wow…’
I couldn’t take my eyes off the luxurious room and let out a breath of awe.
But once I remembered this was the Princess’s room, I quickly approached her.
She was sitting on the bed, waiting for me.
I knelt down before her.
“Your Highness, I’m deeply grateful for the support you’ve provided this time…”
“Illya.”
“…Pardon?”
I was caught off guard when the Princess suddenly said her own name.
But as if such things weren’t worth caring about, she simply repeated her name again.
“Call me Illya.”
“Your Highness, I don’t quite understand what you mean…”
“Not ‘Your Highness’—Illya.”
“…Alright. Illya.”
I sighed inwardly as I spoke her name.
Actually, whenever she met me alone, she always asked me not to use formal titles and just call her by her name.
Like we did when we were kids.
‘But that was so long ago…’
Back then, we were still young and immature, so that’s why I called her that.
But now, our social status was different, and the situation had changed.
She was expanding her influence overwhelmingly, enough to be called the most outstanding among the candidates for the throne.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t even come close to being half the man my father was.
Just a useless heir, criticized by the people of the Territory.
There was already a gap between us that could never be closed—how could I treat her casually?
But she treated me just as I was, as if I were still the person from back then.
Seeing myself receiving her kindness… it made me feel sick, like I was about to throw up.
It felt like I was looking at a pathetic parasite clinging to a friend.
Sometimes, I even wondered if living like this was right.
If I kept living like this… I would…
“Oscar?”
“Ah… ah, Illya.”
I must have spaced out again, lost in another thought.
I ran a hand through my hair and looked at her.
‘Still beautiful.’
The golden hair unique to the royal family and her delicate features still shone as beautifully as ever.
Maybe it was because I stared at her face too intensely.
She suddenly blushed and turned her head away.
“Don’t look at me like that so seriously…”
Then quietly added, “It’s embarrassing…”
The way she said that was just so beautiful.
I laughed at her reaction and apologized.
“Haha, sorry.”
“As long as you know.”
Then she turned her head back and looked at me again.
“But are you really not staying here any longer?”
“Yeah, my younger sister is waiting at home.”
Illya looked at me as if she didn’t like that answer.
But in the end, as if accepting it, she handed me something.
“What’s this…?”
“It’s a gift.”
It was a small dagger that looked clearly expensive.
I tried to hand it back.
But she refused, as if saying no was not an option.
“Always keep it with you.”
At her words, I replied reluctantly.
For a moment, it felt like her gaze was sharp enough to kill, but it must’ve just been my imagination.
Thinking that, I left her room.
And just like that, I returned to the Territory with the prepared carriage.
**
“…”
Left alone in the room, Princess Illya stared at the chair where Oscar had been sitting.
She slowly gazed at the spot he had just been, as if savoring it.
A maid approached her side.
Looking at the maid, Illya spoke.
“Did you bring what I asked for?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The maid handed a magical device to Illya.
Receiving it, Illya smiled with satisfaction.
“Good work. You may leave now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After the maid left the room, Illya examined the magical device in her hands and discovered a button.
Beep.
Flash!
Before her, an image of Oscar sleeping in the carriage appeared.
Gazing at Oscar’s sleeping form, Illya slowly smiled.
“Haa…”
As if she were melting in heavenly bliss.
Her smile was completely different from the one she had shown Oscar earlier.
If the smile she gave Oscar was a fake one.
Then this must be the Princess’s real smile.
With a twisted grin, like that of a madwoman, the Princess stared at Oscar on the screen and spoke.
“I love you… Oscar. So much it’s driving me insane.”
At this other side of her master, the maid could only let out a sigh.