Chapter 70
“I will definitely drag you to hell.”
Those words were the last will of Clara, the First Princess.
And the only one who heard that will was…
Arlhardt, the one and only Princess.
That day, the sky was cloudless and blue.
Because the weather was so nice, I pestered Clara until she agreed to take a walk with me.
While Clara and I were walking in the royal palace garden.
A stranger suddenly rushed in, and Clara was shot and died from excessive bleeding.
The culprit was a radical rebel who bore a grudge against the royal family and killed the First Princess.
There was no tangled scheme behind it, nothing complicated—just that.
But Clara misunderstood.
She thought I was the one who killed her.
Well… my talent had been dazzling, after all.
Though I was the youngest child, my talent for mana among the royal bloodline was overwhelmingly superior.
Even my mother was the Empress, who had recently risen to first in rank.
There had even been rumors among the nobles that I would take the position of First Princess.
Clara had been conscious that her position might be stolen at any moment.
Because of that.
She believed that I was the mastermind of the assassination, that I killed her to rise as the First Princess.
Clara died with that mistaken belief.
Becoming the First Princess brought me no joy at all.
Though she was my half-sister, the shock of losing the sister I had loved most in the world was immense.
And the fact that my beloved sister cursed me with her last breath as she died.
I wept bitterly.
Even when I appointed young knight Verdi, who had been crying endlessly before my sister’s grave, as my knight.
Even when I insisted on entering Yggdrasil with only the most carefully selected bodyguards.
Even when I favored lavender most of all flowers.
It was all to remember the sister who had loved me.
But.
“……”
When I finally faced my sister, no words left my lips.
As though I would be admitting my guilt if I spoke.
I simply could not.
I could do nothing at all.
Just as I sat there in despair.
Crash!
As if the heart that had frozen inside me shattered.
The stained glass of the chapel exploded into fragments.
Crash! Clang!
I broke through the stained glass and landed lightly in the hall.
As all the main characters turned their gaze toward me, only one thought filled my head.
‘I don’t even know anymore, damn it.’
It had been fun when Clara had just risen from her coffin.
Because the scene I’d only ever seen in the game was unfolding right before my eyes.
The episode was reaching its climax.
Wasn’t this one of the most famous, well-loved scenes in the game?
As a gamer, there was no way I could miss this moment.
Somehow, the main storyline had stayed intact!
…Or so I thought, watching as though enjoying a game.
But when I saw the red sword appear in Clara’s hand, a sigh slipped out on its own.
‘Blood Moon.’
A sword made of crimson blood.
One might think she had simply taken up a weapon.
But Clara only drew that sword starting from “Hard Mode.”
‘No wonder there were so many ghouls around… it didn’t feel like Normal Mode anyway.’
Unless one was a veteran who had cleared the game multiple times, this was extremely difficult.
‘There’s no way to clear this on a first try.’
There was a high chance both Ren and the Princess could die.
This was the worst situation since I’d entered this world.
‘It’s screwed, but if it has to be done, I’ll do it.’
My only option was to intervene.
After sneaking out of the monastery.
I hid my identity with Shurk’s ability and smashed through the stained glass.
‘At the very least, I can’t let it be revealed that I’m Villed.’
I didn’t use the Heart of Ilawne but drew my titanium sword instead.
There was a chance my voice or height could expose me, but that was fine.
I could just deny it wasn’t me.
“…And you are?”
Ren, the Princess, Verdi, and even Clara.
Everyone looked at me with wary eyes.
It was natural—someone who shouldn’t exist in the story had just appeared.
‘I don’t know either.’
Even if the main story changed, at the very least, I had to save Ren and the Princess.
If the protagonists died, the story couldn’t continue.
That would be the worst-case scenario.
‘It’s better to twist the storyline than let those two die.’
As I was preparing what to say.
“Ah.”
Ren seemed to realize something first and spoke.
“Are you perhaps that Black Knight Mr. McGrim mentioned…?”
“That’s right.”
Thankfully, it seemed the conversation would move faster.
Pointing my sword at Clara, I spoke.
“I’ll handle that one, so you take care of Verdi.”
“Understood…!”
His eyes immediately shone with trust in me.
If I were the bad guy, what would he do, believing me without a shred of doubt?
‘Anyway, it looks like the Princess’s eyes have regained a bit of light.’
But she still looked broken in spirit.
If she joined the fight, she’d be a great asset…
But in her state, no words could persuade her.
I focused on Clara.
“Hehe, Remi, I’m jealous. You have all kinds of knights. I only have Verdi. But that’s fine! As long as I have Verdi.”
While she rambled nonsense, I swung my sword at her.
As expected of a Hard Mode boss, she dodged my attack.
Though not completely—it seemed, as blood flowed from her forearm.
“You attack suddenly while I’m talking? How cowardly.”
Clara licked the blood from her forearm.
“Fine, I’ll play along.”
When Clara held her sword horizontally.
The strategy guide I had written myself came to mind.
‘When she grips the sword in one hand and holds it sideways, it means ultra-fast charge.’
I stomped the ground and threw myself to the right.
Swoooosh!
In the blink of an eye.
Clara charged past me like a crimson drill.
Shhhaaa!
The moment she lifted Blood Moon with both hands.
‘When she grips it with both hands and raises it, she’ll unleash a rectangular area attack with a burst of blood.’
This situation was far too tense.
I instinctively tumbled to evade.
Boom!
Sure enough, from the ground her sword struck, blood like fire erupted like a volcano.
According to the setting, that blood was basically like acid or something.
Anyway, I remembered at least that I must not let it touch me.
“Hahaha, the way you’re scurrying around is just like a rat!”
Clara looked as though she was enjoying the battle.
But she would never know.
That there existed a strategy guide that analyzed her perfectly.
And that I was the one who wrote it.
After that, Clara used various skills.
And I barely managed to evade them.
The attack locations, timing, and order.
They were identical to the game, so it wasn’t too difficult.
“…What are you?”
Has she only just noticed something strange?
Tired from her continuous attacks, Clara’s movements had grown sluggish.
Her relaxed smile vanished, and she blinked her eyes.
“It’s like you’re predicting all my attacks…”
Stab.
“Urgh!”
In that instant, blood scattered in the air.
I didn’t give her a chance and pressed my attack.
‘After exhausting her with constant dodging, strike during the opening.’
No matter how high the difficulty.
As long as you knew the strategy, you could clear it.
Thanks to that, I was confident I could defeat Clara.
“Again, while someone’s talking, such cowardice…!”
Her left arm hung limp, unable to move, meaning she had taken a critical hit.
From now on, she would be unable to use that arm, and her techniques would be greatly limited.
“Cowardly, cowardly, cowardly…!”
No matter what she shouted, I didn’t bother to respond.
‘Just shut up and die already.’
I didn’t say a single word to Clara.
I had no bizarre taste for talking to corpses.
Nor did I have any desire to converse with her.
She was just one of many boss monsters.
“……”
The Princess’s eyes had already begun to return.
‘Things are going better than expected, so it looks like I might be able to preserve some of the main story.’
This was my chance to set the pillars of the story straight.
I turned to the Princess and suddenly spoke.
“Hey.”
When I called out, the Princess slowly lifted her head.
“Before you regret it, speak your true feelings.”
Hearing that, the Princess looked at Ren.
Clang!
“…The one who created this barrier, the one who attempted to assassinate Remi.”
Ren muttered.
“It was all your doing, Verdi.”
A yellow glow lingered in Ren’s eyes.
“I cannot forgive you.”
The protagonist always has an absolute trump card.
Crackle!
Yellow sparks danced around Ren.
The ultimate move he had revealed during the sparring match, ‘Thunder God.’
Crackle crackle!
Intense lightning spread around him.
In this situation, it was clear Ren had the advantage.
‘Against Verdi at full strength, it wouldn’t even be a contest.’
But the limits of Verdi’s current condition were obvious.
He was already somewhat worn out from fighting Curio and had sustained minor injuries.
On top of that, he was using a vast amount of mana just to maintain this enormous barrier.
‘So there’s no need for me to help with this one.’
As I expected, Ren began to overwhelm Verdi.
This time, I could trust him to handle it.
Perhaps because I saw Ren fighting with all his strength.
“Unni.”
Before I realized it, Princess Arlhardt had stood up on shaky legs and spoke.
“There’s something I need to say.”
Arlhardt explained everything to Clara.
That she had never harbored hostility toward her.
That it was all Clara’s misunderstanding.
“You weren’t the one behind the assassination…?”
Clara’s face looked slightly shaken.
Even Clara, who bore royal blood, could feel it.
Whether the other was deceiving her or speaking the truth.
…Arlhardt was speaking nothing but the truth.
“…I was mistaken?”
Arlhardt nodded her head.
“Yes, I want to reconcile with you, Unni.”
“Remi…”
But Clara still didn’t lower her sword.
“It’s surprising, but honestly, that’s not what matters to me.”
“…Unni?”
Not what matters?
At the unexpected response, Arlhardt’s face showed confusion.
“If I have Remi’s intact corpse, they say I can be revived.”
Her voice was sincere.
“Remi, can’t you die for me? It’s my lifelong wish. I want to live. I want to go to Yggdrasil too.”
It was a desperate plea.
“……”
Hearing those words, Arlhardt’s mind was thrown into confusion.
If I die, can my sister really be brought back?
…It was something I had imagined since childhood.
If I had died back then instead, my sister could have lived.
“Remi, don’t listen to the words of a wraith!”
Ren shouted from amidst the battle, and the Princess, lost in thought, snapped back to her senses.
“Princess Arlhardt.”
Unable to bear it any longer, the Black Knight spoke.
“Do you believe everything people say?”
“……”
Princess Arlhardt lifted her head and looked at the Black Knight.
“What proof is there that corpse is your real sister? Someone might just be controlling that body.”
“……”
Indeed.
The truth had not been revealed.
As he said, it might be controlled by someone else.
“The only thing certain is this: Clara has been dead for a long time.”
The dead cannot return.
“No matter what you do, the dead can never be brought back.”
That was an immutable, eternal law of nature.
“If you truly wish to honor your sister, then you must survive.”
Arlhardt’s eyes grew clear again.
“If you throw away your life, you’ll be desecrating your sister’s memory.”
“……”
With newfound resolve, her hands gripped a magic tome and staff.
“I’m sorry. As the Princess, I showed a weak side.”
The Princess’s eyes, as she looked at Clara, were now filled with determination.