A gigantic magic circle floated in the sky.
Golden mana, shimmering like it might blind you, radiated in all directions.
In the next moment.
—Kuguhng!
The palace rose into the sky.
Like a floating castle.
The Imperial Palace, uprooted entirely from the deep bedrock below, ascended endlessly.
“Oh my gosh.”
“What on earth is happening….”
All members of the Imperial Knights and allied soldiers who witnessed the surreal scene froze.
Taking advantage of the brief lull in combat, Lishe shouted.
“Everyone, get out of the way! Right now!”
The Imperial Palace had become akin to a massive meteorite. If it fell in free fall and collided with the ground, an explosion capable of overturning the empire was imminent.
Knights still hesitating in a standoff. Lishe decisively planted her sword into the ground. Kawang! A pillar of light descended from the sky. All eyes turned to the spot as the battle came to a halt.
“The fight is over. Let’s evacuate.”
Lishe’s calm voice. Soon, everyone began to retreat. Even the last remaining knights of the empire ultimately turned their backs on the imperial family.
Lishe lifted her head.
The palace had turned into a floating castle. Surely it was Acella’s strong magic affecting time and space.
—Kuguhng!
Magic above was unstable, revealing whatever was happening. Bits of rock broke off and fell. Kuuung! Each time, the ground cracked and shifted.
“Brother, sister.”
Lishe observed the falling rocks intently. She steeled her resolve and leapt toward the sky.
*
—Kagak!
Charles swung the holy sword aimed at Acella’s temple. But it couldn’t reach her, blocked by the defense magic she cast, sparking as it collided.
“You’re not even hiding your intent to kill. How barbaric.”
“I’ve endured a lot, haven’t I? You could’ve just taken a hit. A swing from the flat of the blade would’ve just knocked you out.”
“Ha, how compassionate, it brings tears to my eyes.”
“Receive what I give!”
Kawang! Mana exploded, sending Charles flying. She spun around, sliding down.
Acella immediately prepared magic circles in both hands, readying her next attack. She walked forward, glaring fiercely.
“Giving? Are you saying you want to take my life? You’re quite greedy, considering you’ve taken everything from me!”
“Ridiculous. Who’s saying that!”
Paang! The two lights collided. Each time, the ice palace crumbled, and the space trembled precariously.
“If it weren’t for you…! What’s your problem with me and Lars!”
“This is me. Empress Acella von Württemberg! This is how I was born!”
Ice spears shot forth. Charles desperately swung her sword to deflect them. As debris obscured her vision, a follow-up attack struck.
Bringer. Before she knew it, the holy sword slipped from Charles’s hand and floated in front of Acella.
Charles was flustered.
Acella smiled victoriously.
“What’s left if you take away the mystery?”
Before Charles could react, the magic circles unfolded.
An ultra-low cold air pricked at her core.
—Jjanggang!
In an instant, the holy sword shattered.
In that moment, confusion spread across Charles’s face.
After all, she possessed the essence of the holy sword.
The destruction of the holy sword was synonymous with her own death.
Forcing her eyes shut, she experienced the unpleasant trigger of being reborn under unfavorable circumstances for what felt like eternity.
Acella didn’t know those circumstances when she attacked the holy sword.
She merely noticed from Charles’s habitual movements that she cherished the sword.
The Holy Sword made her mysterious, and she also had the desire to eliminate the source of her inferiority complex.
And the result is…
“…Hoo.”
Nothing happened.
Charles still recognized that the consciousness was still ongoing.
“It’s okay.”
Then a hand landed on her shoulder.
“You’re here.”
Turning her head, the familiar face supporting her was always there.
Charles nodded slowly at the rising warmth.
“…Why.”
Watching the two of them, Empress Acella’s face contorted.
“Why is it not me?”
―Pababat!
Dozens of circles simultaneously rose behind Acella.
Multiple castings.
The ice spears shooting out were as numerous.
Seeing Charles gearing up to fight, Lars stepped in to stop her.
He held a golden crown in his hand.
“Purification.”
―Fwoosh!
As a saint’s power, it dispels the black magic of Acella.
The ice spears that were flying faded in mid-air, and the dark, mixed magic circles melted away.
“Ugh…!”
Step by step, with each movement Lars made closer, another magic circle vanished.
One laurel leaf from the crown, fulfilling its purpose and losing its color.
“Why…?”
When Lars arrived in front of Acella, she had already lost all magic.
She fell, unable to stand alone anymore.
“You said the Royal Princess was always this way, didn’t you?”
Lars knelt down before her, meeting her gaze.
“At least, as far as I know, that wasn’t true.”
“…What do you mean?”
“You didn’t cause destruction for pleasure without purpose, and you definitely wouldn’t invade if there was no political gain. You’re far too capable for that.”
“…What do you know about me?”
“I know. I was your attending physician.”
At those words, Acella hung her head low.
“Now I can understand why the Royal Princess acted this way.”
Gently, Lars lifted Acella’s chin.
In her golden eyes, resentment mixed with undeniable affection shimmered.
“I’m in love too, you know.”
Acella’s lips trembled with her breath.
“…You love the Hero?”
“Yes.”
“I… love you.”
Lars hesitated in responding.
Watching the two, Charles felt a sense of embarrassment and twisted her body back a step.
Boom! The castle shook once more.
Biting her lower lip, Acella made a firm decision.
Glaring at Charles,
―Fwoosh!
She instantly cast magic and trapped her in an ice prison.
“What the heck! You were waiting just to ambush? I shouldn’t have trusted that wicked woman!”
Acella lightly ignored Charles and, with a shove, knocked Lars off balance.
Without a chance to resist, Acella magically bound his hands and climbed on top of him.
“If you lose your purity, you’ll lose your saintly status too.”
“What?”
“Then there’s no reason for you to get tangled up with that woman anymore. Am I right, Lars?!”
“That crazy…! Hey, Acella!!”
Charles, furious, slammed into the prison with all her might. Seeing the sturdy ice unmoving, Acella grinned with a devilish smile.
“Lars, you’re my betrothed.”
It was when her slender fingers brushed over Lars’s chin, gliding down to his chest.
As she brushed her chin while passing over her chest.
―Quack!
Suddenly, like being pounced on by a wild beast, Acella was overwhelmed by a figure that appeared out of nowhere.
After rolling around for a while, Acella was subdued.
“Are you okay, brother?!”
It was Lishe. When Lars nodded, she let out a sigh of relief.
“…Why are there two of you?”
Only then did Acella realize a crucial secret she had missed.
Understanding why she lost Lars and how long the Hero and Lars had been together made a wave of unfairness surge inside her.
Wasn’t it a fight she couldn’t win from the very beginning?
“Ah, you too, sis. Phew, I’m glad. I was worried.”
“Thanks to you, I’m alive.”
“Really… Ha, I was a fool to let my guard down in front of that woman.”
While Lars and Charles broke free, Lishe looked down at the sobbing sound.
“Ugh, Your Royal Highness… Oh, no. Your Majesty, what brings you here?”
Lishe lifted the subdued Acella as if she were handling a child, slipping her arm under her armpit.
“That’s right, that’s right. Everything will be alright.”
Then she hugged her and patted her back gently.
Acella lingered in Lishe’s warmth for a while.
*
As the floating castle wandered the sky like Acella’s heart, it eventually crashed to the ground.
When Lars, Charles, Lishe, and Acella regained their senses and looked around after escaping the castle, they found themselves in a snowy mountain range they didn’t recognize.
“Where is this…?”
“It can’t be the Middle Realm. I guess it’s the East.”
They had clearly fallen into the unexplored land of the Empire’s eastern high mountains. In the distance, they could see a landscape that resembled the Empire’s territory.
“…Ha.”
Acella let out a deep sigh. Hesitation clouded her golden eyes as she looked out.
Reading her emotions, Lars quietly suggested.
“Don’t go back, Your Royal Highness.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“We’ve finally come to a place that’s neither the Empire nor the human realm. Here, you’re neither an Emperor nor a ruler.”
“How could I do that? I have responsibilities. How much trouble have I already caused? Are you telling me to run away?”
Lars gently caressed Acella’s cheek.
The cold skin that was splitting felt warmth seeping in.
With a soft sigh, Acella, who had something deeply hidden melting away in Lars’s warmth, instinctively held onto his arm tightly with both hands.
“For the name of the Saint, I forgive your sins.”
Lars’s voice resonated more melodiously than ever, flowing through Acella’s veins.
“I will forgive your love, Acella.”
Acella’s frostbitten face began to thaw little by little.
The melted emotions dripped down her cheeks.
Unable to hide her body language filled with fear, Acella buried her head into Lars’s embrace.
“…Will you love me too?”
“Yes.”
“…As much as those kids?”
“I am a Saint, after all. I am filled with love.”
“…It’s a promise.”
Acella slowly brought her hand to the crown she wore.
The crown she had to endure countless patience and pain to wear.
With a gentle motion, it effortlessly fell away, buried in the snow.
“You have to visit often.”
Acella turned her back on Lars and started to walk away.
A massive palace of ice began to rise before her.
The two heroes and one Saint watched until the platinum-haired woman walked inside, disappearing from view.
They kept watch until then.
With Empress Acella’s disappearance, the Empire’s war had come to an end.
Complicated international affairs remained, but that was the politicians’ problem.
Lars returned home with Charles and Lishe.
“Brother! Heroes! Come quickly!”
Seeing Neria greet them more warmly than ever, they finally felt that everything was over.
“Neria, you’ve grown taller.”
“Hehe, of course! I drink a bottle of milk every day!”
Seeing Neria proudly put her hands on her hips and puff out her chest, Charles couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
At the Marquis’s Estate at sunset.
The flower garden was vibrant, bursting with colors.
“How amazing. I never imagined a day like this would come.”
Charles, feeling awkward about the peace carried by the fluttering spring breeze, hunched her shoulders.
Lars could clearly see what kind of worries she was having. There was no need for counseling skills.
Having been comrades who fell together on the front line for a long time, and now being lovers by each other’s side.
It’s PTSD.
The wounds from the battlefield that she had endured for so long were not the light kinds that could be healed in a day or two.
“It’s okay.”
So Lars decided to hold her hand for now.
As much as he offered her stability, resilience would come back.
Charles smiled brightly and leaned her shoulder against Lars.
Next, her head.
The hero and the saint stood side by side, gazing at the same scenery.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
The trembling ceased.
“Today and tomorrow, you’ll be by my side.”
“It’s a tomorrow that wouldn’t exist without you.”
It was as if they had made a promise, gently turning their heads toward each other.
Like puppies being cute, they rubbed their foreheads together to confirm each other’s feelings.
“Brother! Sister!”
A voice calling them from afar could be heard.
“It’s almost dinner! It’ll all get cold if you’re late!”
From over the hill, Lishe waved her arms energetically.
“It’s thanks to Lishe being here too.”
Charles nodded slowly.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
The two stepped forward together.
“Tomorrow, Lishe should join us too. I made her do too many chores today.”
“Hmm….”
“Why?”
At Lars’s question, Charles giggled mischievously.
“Who did you think I was with until now, brother?”
Upon hearing that, Lars froze for a moment.
Charles laughed heartily and nudged his shoulder.
“Hehe, just kidding. You look the funniest when you make that face.”
“Sometimes it’s really surprising, so stop it.”
“Yes, yes, brother.”
With a single leap, Charles ran toward Lishe.
They overlapped as if facing a mirror.
And as for that smile, both of them were definitely real.
―――――――――――
· Good Ending
· Tomorrow, I will meet you from the past
―――――――――――
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