“Now, now..."
Lips that cannot even form words properly.
"Now, where. Where..."
"From where? Yes, I just returned from Belzer."
"..."
Nike's vision, having been cruelly verified, turned red.
Eyes drenched in despair, pupils that have lost focus.
David noticed Nike's expression, as if he had lost the world, and felt a tingling sensation in his brain.
He didn't expect it.
The relationship between the 3rd Prince and Vania.
"So why didn't you keep her by your side? There is only one reason she died. Because she was Your Highness's consort, the castle of Valencia..."
"Aaaaaaaah!!!!"
Nike charged forward, screaming with reddened eyes. As David recoiled in surprise, more than ten of his guards quickly stood in his way.
Nike's eyes had completely lost their reason. Even in this state, his movements were unrestrained, fueled by a murderous intent toward David. In an instant, he drew a dagger from his bosom and plunged it into the throats of the guards blocking his path. Without a single frill.
"Aaaah! Th-that crazy bastard, what the hell!"
A startled Diana screamed.
<Restoration of Light>
The guards' wounds heal like magic before they die. Accustomed to her support, the guards stood blocking Nike with their bodies without a single scream, even when stabbed and pierced, to prevent him from reaching David.
"Ah. Haa...!!!"
Nike's eyes, which had been glaring fiercely, trembled with rage, appearing as if they were about to roll back. Gasping breaths continuously escaped through his lips.
Dozens of times, pitifully and desperately. With meaningless slashes, pushing through a pile of impenetrable meat shields, he stared straight at his target, David.
Nike's bloodshot eyes were filled with a desperate murderous intent that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Ah! Aaaah!!!"
David trembled as he watched his desperate struggle to reach him.
Ecstasy, ecstasy, ecstasy.
Yes, that is why. This is the will of his always wise father.
If insects helplessly submit to the providence of power, they cannot inspire any emotion. Only by trampling on their rampage, struggle, and thrashing can god-like superpower users be stimulated.
He suffered several humiliations at the hands of the man amidst the meaningless hierarchy of power, but...
Behold, is he not now tasting such sweet ecstasy!
If it had been a fruit picked and eaten without any humiliation, it would not have been this sweet!
"Since you did not see it yourself, I will convey the child's final moments! Writhing in agony and resenting Your Highness, she passed away!"
Nike’s expression rolled back as if he were about to faint. Amidst his disordered reason, his eyes, which had not lost their murderous intent, flashed and let out a scream instead.
Swish, swish!
With a swinging dagger, he ceaselessly stabbed the bodies of those blocking him. Splattered blood poured onto his face. It was a horrific sight.
"In agony as my insides burned one by one, spitting up blood, crawling on the floor like a worm, screaming, and begging to be saved!!!"
At the cruel voice that repeatedly flowed into his ears.
“Aaaah!!!!”
Screaming, blood-mixed rage
"In the end, she turned pitch black! Without a trace or form! It became a pile of ashes!"
The lover's final words, cruelly whispered into the ear. Nike, who used to writhe more agonizingly than Vania when tortured, suddenly stopped moving.
"Haa. Ha..."
Soon, his whole body twisted. As strength slowly drained away, his movements finally collapsed as if in a seizure.
Thud. Nike, kneeling, had empty eyes that were wet with red.
"I never dreamed that Your Highness was so close to that child."
David was satisfied with the sight of Nike finally kneeling before him.
"I am sorry. If I had known... I would have just let her live and cut off her limbs."
"..."
"But please do not worry. Couldn't I send you to be with that child before long?"
David looked down at Nike, who seemed to have stopped breathing in despair, and smiled.
It was a victory he had finally tasted.
***
Four days after that.
Central, Remstadt territory.
Shoot!
It was a night when the refreshing downpour of rain blocked out all sounds.
An old two-story mansion located in the residential area of the estate. Purchased long ago for its location, it was the butcher's waiting place.
“Does our father know?”
Ryan sat on the windowsill of a second-floor room and spoke wistfully.
The fact that there is a murderer behind one's own house...
His gaze was fixed on the top of Wassenberg Castle visible in the distance.
This is a territory bordering the Wassenberg domain, reachable in less than 30 minutes on horseback.
"...? They shouldn't know. That would ruin everything. What kind of bullshit is that?"
Revan came out after washing up and frowned while shaking his head with a towel.
"Hey. Do you think I asked because I was genuinely curious? A murderer is supposed to deliver a scary line around this time."
"Damn it, why are you staring so wistfully at a castle that isn't even a single ant in it! You came unnecessarily early and have nothing to do!"
Revan grumbled.
It is a distance of over a week from Belzer to this butcher's stronghold. However, they arrived in exactly three and a half days. It was because they drove without sleeping.
Just when he felt so groggy he thought he might fall off, they snatched a quick nap sleeping outdoors and set off again. They finished his meal within five minutes of the horse resting.
They neither rested nor washed. They arrived after nine and a half years like that.
"Bunny wants to go like that, so what can I do?"
"If Bunny tells you to die, will you die?"
Vania, who arrived comfortably in terms of physical strength by hiding in Ryan's shadow using her special ability (Dark Footsteps).
However, due to the nature of this ability, she shares the vision and awakened state of the target whose shadow she stole, so she had accumulated a massive amount of fatigue. She had washed up and fallen asleep quite a while ago as soon as she arrived.
"Aren't you tired? Let's go to sleep. Come on."
"Yeah. I'm not tired. I should wait since my son-in-law might be here."
He was supposed to meet Nike immediately upon arrival.
Without a single written message to maintain strict secrecy, they communicate the situation merely by exchanging messenger hawks.
He was given a whip and set off, and since he was sent back as soon as he arrived here, Nike from the capital should arrive around tomorrow, judging by the time.
"He’ll make it through the rain just fine. There’s no need to rush, so why bother? At the earliest, it won’t be tomorrow morning... Oh my god."
Revan went over to Ryan, who was sitting on the windowsill, and his mouth dropped open.
“In half a day?”
Outside the window, a black horse was seen galloping through the silent rain. Anyone could tell it was Ryan's son-in-law.
“Did you see it?”
Ryan's eyes instantly turned fierce as he spoke with arrogance.
"Don't make a slip of the tongue."
"Me? You better hide the crazy look in your eyes, brother."
The fact that David had visited Belzer was a matter of absolute secrecy to Nike.
It was because he knew very well that his mental state would be shattered into pieces.
"Hmph, worrying about others instead of thinking about burning up your own mental state."
"Others! The Third Prince is my precious son-in-law!"
A man who betrayed his country to save his lover. A lunatic who abruptly sent her back in time, saying, 'You don't have to see me again, and it's fine if all the criminals come back to life, just make sure you survive.'
If a person that obsessed with Vania and so impulsive were to find out about what happened that day, it would surely cause a huge uproar.
Even though he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Ryan knew that Nike would run wild even more than what he had seen firsthand.
It just so happened that he ended up taking in all the memories as well.
Even when Nike had no memories, he doted on Vania and made a huge fuss, but now Nike even has all his memories back.
Did the two of them only love beautifully?
They endured countless trials with clenched teeth, never letting go of each other until the very end. Their memories must be filled with moments as desperate and precious as their lives.
To Nike, who has received all those memories back, the meaning of 'Vania' now...
'Ugh. That's absolutely horrible.'
He didn't really want to imagine it.
Ryan, who had been devastated by the death of Vania, hoped that Nike would not go through the same experience.
"Let's go meet the son-in-law!"
"I need to wake Bunny up first."
Ryan went to the first floor, and Revan went to Vania's room.
As soon as Ryan opened the door, Nike was standing there, wearing a rain-soaked robe pulled down over his head.
He closed the door and came in, pulling up his robe.
"Your..."
Ryan, who was about to call out to Nike, froze when he saw his face.
'Why?'
A face that seemed familiar yet completely unfamiliar, empty eyes, a hollow expression, rough skin.
Everything. like...
'Why does he look like he has a mental illness?'
The reason that face doesn't look unfamiliar is probably that it resembles the reflection Ryan saw in the mirror for the entire three days he waited for Vania to wake up.
So it was ominous.
"Your Highness."
“Don’t talk.”
Nike, cutting Ryan off, suddenly reached out his hand.
As if telling him to catch it.
"Just tell me how much to wrap."
"..."
Telling him not to talk about it means he doesn't want to hear about what happened twice.
And simply, a request to be told the time to return so that the situation could be fixed.
It felt really, really ominous, so Ryan barely managed to open his lips, which had been twitching without any reaction.
"Um... Your Highness. By any chance."
"Please."
"..."
Ryan's mouth dropped open in surprise at Nike's expression.
He was in agony, looking as if he were about to suffocate at any moment. With his wet eyes contorted in an instant, he spoke with great difficulty, as if sobbing.
"Don't say a word, just quickly... erase..."
The memories that will disappear for Nike upon regression.
Ryan doesn't know what it is, but Nike clearly heard and found out something—the thing that is now tormenting him to this extent.
"Please erase it..."
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