Chapter 43

I ran and ran. Unlike Camilla, I didn’t have the skill to ride a spear and fly, and it was inefficient for two people to fly long distances together. Taking a carriage would require preparation and was too slow. So, I ran. I whipped my sick body and ran. Camilla tried to stop me, but my resolve was firm.

Even with my sick body, if I thought about my active days, this was nothing. It should’ve been nothing. But… my breath caught in my throat. A distance that would’ve been nothing in the past now felt exhausting.

My stamina had declined. My body wasn’t what it used to be. My organs couldn’t handle the same strain as before. And it wasn’t just that. Even though I should always remain calm, my steps and breathing faltered first.

What is this feeling? This tightening sensation in my chest. This unpleasant feeling, as if a heated chain is constricting my heart.

“…Truly an unpleasant sensation.”

How long has it been since I’ve been this exhausted? Since I haven’t moved my body properly lately, it seems I’ve rusted. The nails have come loose, the seams are broken, and the blade has dulled.

Truly pathetic and pitiful. How pitiful is this state of being unable to run properly even as danger approaches.

I wanted to ask my father. How is it that someone as pitiful as me is still alive?

Even though I felt pathetic, I still felt thirst. I would feel hunger and pain too. Without even knowing the cause of these emotions, I truly resembled a beast.

I pulled the cork from the water bottle I brought and gulped down its contents. A sweet and cool sensation flowed down my throat. Even though it was just lukewarm water.

By the way, it was truly an unpleasant forest. A forest filled with gloomy trees that made it hard to tell if they were dead or alive. The heat that naturally made sweat pour down, and the indistinguishable sounds of insects.

And the smell of the blade flying towards me.

—

“Your technique has improved.”

As I narrowly dodged the tip of the Sword of Four Forms, the blades of the sword returned to their owner as if they had never been unfolded.

“Yes. I practice every day while handling administrative duties. I can confidently say I’m not falling behind you, can’t I?”

“…She didn’t want you to wield a weapon, Rosie.”

“With that mouth… with your filthy mouth that killed my sister… could you not mention her…?”

“It’s not just her. We took to the battlefield because we wanted you not to wield weapons.”

At that moment, the Sword of Four Forms she held shimmered and transformed into a sharp Chain Scythe.

Before I could say anything, the Chain Scythe flew towards me, cutting through the wind to kill me.

I could still deflect this level of attack without issue, but the irregularity in my condition was something to keep in mind.

Chain Scythe, Sword of Four Forms, Chain Scythe, Sword of Four Forms, Chain Scythe. She continuously changed the form of her weapon as she attacked me.

“I knew you would come this way, so I moved first. Because I knew you would. Because you tread that ambiguous line between emotion and efficiency.”

The Chain Scythe narrowly grazed my cheek.

I couldn’t even catch my breath, so my body felt sluggish.

“Because of that… because you’re disgustingly similar to me… I could predict you more easily than anyone.”

“You and I are different.”

Unlike her, who harbors a burning desire for revenge and hates me, I am now like embers, most of my emotions extinguished.

“Our emotions hold different values.”

“Is that so?”

Her attacks grew fiercer. She had reached a level where her sister’s skills were occasionally visible. She truly was a hard worker.

It was admirable.

But that was it. Everything was lacking. Her teacher, her training, and the blood on her hands. As the Demon King said, you cannot grow stronger without enough blood on your hands.

Unlike us, who had enough blood to form rivers, her hands were not stained with blood. That’s why she was admirable, and that’s why she couldn’t defeat us.

“Rosie Nevermore. From now on, I will speak as your sister’s friend.”

I didn’t want to seriously injure her, so I kicked off the ground and struck her chin with my cane. Light enough not to leave a scar or bruise, but deep enough to knock her down.

“You’ve reached the level of a fine warrior. You’re on par with us before we went to war.”

She immediately transformed her weapon into a large scythe, but I stomped on the scythe’s head, pinning it to the ground.

This showed her inexperience. If it were her, she would’ve transformed it into a dagger or hand axe to strike my foot.

“That’s why you’re beautiful. You haven’t crossed the line as a human yet. You’re still just a cunning human. You can still turn back.”

“Don’t make me laugh… It’s so absurd it makes me want to dig out my eardrums.”

“…I’ve become too distant. My strength, my heart, my spirit. All have been tainted by the blood of our enemies.”

I knew. That even the giants I killed without hesitation were living beings.

But I was afraid of myself, who could kill those lives as if brushing off dust and feel nothing special.

Even knowing that, I couldn’t control myself.

“I will respond appropriately to the insult against my father. But I don’t understand.”

“What are you talking about…? That I attacked you even after you left…? That I’m still obsessed with a stale revenge…?”

“My father taught you everything, even though you were practically a nobody. Why did you target him instead of me?”

My father was wise enough to be called the Wisdom Star.

He taught not only Camilla’s brother but also Penelope and Rosie many things, being passionate about nurturing successors.

That’s why he reached out to Rosie, who was treated as a nobody overshadowed by her brilliant sister, and was the first to recognize her talent.

—

“…Hah.”

She looked incredulous, no, she definitely looked incredulous.

“Are you asking from a strategic perspective? Or a moral one?”

“Both.”

“First, to tie down the Imperial Family and Duke Argos’s house. Second, from a moral perspective… I was just following his teachings.”

“What do you mean?”

“He said, ‘If you’ve set a goal, don’t hesitate to use any means to achieve it.'”

The large scythe I was stepping on began to tremble.

“My goal is to kill you, so shouldn’t I use whatever I can? Even if it’s the lies of a woman obsessed with money.”

“What would my father say if he saw you now?”

“Didn’t he teach you that there’s no word as futile as ‘if’?”

What should I say? What words should I use to fully turn her arrow of rage towards me?

What combination of words could end this revenge as a just revenge?

I don’t know. Not knowing made me feel like I was going insane. Or maybe I’m already insane, and this dilemma might bring me back to my senses.

“I’ll warn you, Rosie Nevermore.”

“Why? Are you going to kill me? Like you killed my sister?”

“I will always treat you as Layla Nevermore’s friend and other half, Raul Berze.”

I will treat Rosie as the lovely, and once lovely, younger sister she was.

“But if you dare to touch my family for revenge again.”

I pierced the tree beside her neck with my cane as a threat.

“Then I will respond as Raul Berze, son of Arthur Berze and brother of Rizel.”

“Hah, how scary. Your brutality…”

—

Suddenly, her words disappeared into confusion along with a ringing in my ears. But soon, that confusion was overwhelmed by dizziness and pain that turned the world upside down.

Even though I had taken my medicine, the poison gradually consuming my body caused a seizure. I had let my guard down because this hadn’t happened recently.

“Ugh…!”

It felt like bugs were crawling through my blood vessels, eating away at my insides.

I clawed at my chest hard enough to draw blood. Even though I knew there were no actual bugs, the pain was so intense that my body moved instinctively.

It was a foolish movement, thinking it might lessen the pain. If I didn’t do something, I felt like I would die from the pain. I couldn’t even properly explain the logic behind that action.

I should’ve taken more painkillers at times like this. Before going into shock.

I tried to take painkillers from my pocket, but the pain made me drop the bottle. It rolled towards Rosie.

“Medicine… No, this could end it.”

If she just threw the bottle away, everything would end. Or if she took this chance to stab my heart, it would all be over.

It would end with just me. The revenge would end justly, and she would stop this scheme. How… admirable.

It would end with me alone, a unfilial son who couldn’t keep his promise to his father. I was truly foolish to agonize over such a simple problem.

“Don’t make me laugh…”

She picked up the bottle and approached me.

“I’m the one who’s going to kill you. That’s the only way my revenge will be complete. Without anyone’s help, only with my wisdom and strength. I swore I would kill you. No excuses like poison or illness. I’ll make my revenge perfect. Your pain, the one who breaks your heart, the cause of your death… It all has to be me…!”

She approached me, holding the bottle and her weapon.

Yes. Stab me. Let it end with just me.

So your revenge can end justly.

—

That’s how it should’ve been.

“…Where am I?”

A mess of books, liquor bottles, and clothes.

It was hard to call it an ordinary room.

“Sorry. The beast was being stubborn, so I had to put you in the beast’s den.”

Even though the last person I saw was Rosie, the person in front of me now was Camilla’s brother.

“We’ve met before, so I’ll skip the introductions.”

“Are you also dead for some reason I don’t know?”

“This isn’t the afterlife, it’s the beast’s den where my sister stays. And aside from anemia, I’m perfectly healthy, so I’m not dead yet.”

“Can you explain why I’m in Camilla’s room?”

“Someone barely managed to give you first aid and dumped you in front of the Duke’s mansion.”

I see.

Judging from Rosie’s words, she clearly spared me to kill me properly.

It was a clever move, typical of her, yet uncharacteristic of her revenge-driven self.

“What happened?”

“Just a regrettable contradiction occurred.”