“Now return to the palace. At my side.”
Oh, of course.
I always knew he wouldn't hesitate to say something like that. Although I expected Dietrich's request, I didn't react as I stared at him, but that didn't last long.
“I don't know what a terrible person I was to you.”
It was because of his next words.
“That goes without saying. I blamed you, thinking that you abandoned me of your own free will after Lady Vanessa was executed and expelled. And now… I admit it.”
Dietrich's voice cracked painfully.
“I kept you close to me by force, and at the same time I made you suffer... all for the same reason.”
“…….”
“And maybe, I'm actually the one who could put you in danger.”
After the glitch, and after recalling the memories of the previous rounds, Dietrich suffered endless pain and continued to think.
Do I really want to kill Presibe?
…Could there come a day when I actually kill her?
In my dreams, I killed her over and over again. I executed her mercilessly, shooting her with arrows as she ran away, and cutting her throat with my sword.
Even though I loved her, I couldn't trust her, so I chose to die together.
“I promise, Prisippi.”
But…
“I will never hurt you again.”
The Dietrich in my dreams was not me.
It's true that my feelings for her were insanely complicated, but I would never actually do those things.
Maybe I was trying to convince myself of that...
“Please, believe me.”
His voice was almost pleading.
Presibe did not answer. She just looked at him silently, staring at Dietrich who looked miserable.
This was not Dietrich bound by the game settings, but the real person, very different from the previously painted image of him.
Was Dietrich Atelioya always like this?
Dietrich continued:
“If you accept my request, I will tell you what I saw that day.”
Then he added, in a quieter voice:
“But I won’t force you. I won’t hold you by force like I did before.”
He needed to prove that the person in his dreams was not the real him.
He thought about it alone, silently.
“So, if I don’t return to the palace, you won’t tell me anything?”
After listening patiently, Presibe finally spoke.
“You say you're not forcing anything on me, but in the end, I have to agree to get the answer, right?”
“Prisibe, I just…”
“Okay.”
Dietrich's eyes twitched slightly at Precipe's short but firm answer.
Okay.
I knew you would understand.
Because you were the one who cherished me.
He was about to extend his hand towards her as he thought about this.
But she said:
“I won't listen.”
"……What?"
“I don’t want to return to the Imperial Palace, nor to Your Majesty’s side. So, even if I don’t get the answer, it’s okay.”
Precipe was well aware that Dietrich's answer might be of great benefit to her.
But, what would change if she returned to the palace? What will really change?
In the end, you still needed to find the real hero to leave this game, and Dietrich was not someone you wanted to stick around that much.
Then things are different now.
She no longer needed the Imperial Palace, she had somewhere else she could return to.
“You said you wouldn't force me, so I'll just believe this part. Make me believe it.”
“…….”
“I'm leaving now.”
That was the last thing she said.
After bowing courteously to him, Presibe turned around without any hesitation and began walking away.
But then, his voice grabbed her from behind, as if he was grabbing her by the ankles.
“Do you really think you're safe away from the palace... away from me?”
Her steps stopped for a moment.
“You trust Duke Fenric, whom you have only met for a long time, more than me, who has been by your side all your life?”
What is this nonsense now?
Precipi looked at Dietrich in astonishment.
“It may be more serious than you think.”
“…….”
“How can you not see that? You don’t even understand my true feelings!”
“This is completely normal.”
Precipi responded with an expressionless face.
“At least Duke Fenric didn’t make me suffer for absurd reasons. Not once.”
“…….”
“Even if Duke Fenric is truly a dangerous person, and even if I get into trouble because of him… it will be much better than my life so far.”
"What…?"
“At least, it would be the result of my own choice.”
The image of her vanishing back was reflected in Dietrich's hopeless eyes.
She looked like someone else entirely.
She was no longer that weak girl who could never disobey him in her entire life.
“…….”
Dietrich clenched his hand tightly as he stood in the middle of the garden, then bit his lip hard before leaving the place as well.
—
“Do you know? Because of you, I have suffered a lot, Duke.”
At Ivan's words, Fenric smiled sarcastically as if he found the matter trivial.
“If you're trying to pretend to be suffering, you better stop.”
“…….”
"You should be thanking me instead. If you had lost your head, you would have suffered a lot more."
Ivan clenched his teeth tightly.
“And your saying that I am the reason for your suffering is a fallacy. If you had known your position well from the beginning, and had not tried to do what you should not have done, all of this would not have happened.”
In fact, he had already decided that he would get rid of him at the first opportunity. But since the other approached him himself, Fenric had nothing to lose.
“But it applies to you too, right?”
Ivan stared at him for a moment, then smiled wryly and continued:
“The suffering I speak of is not just these trivial wounds. Perhaps you are underestimating me too much, Duke?”
“I don't know, I usually see things as they are.”
“…….”
“If you feel like I'm belittling you, it's because you're already a petty person.”
That damned bastard… Ivan swallowed his insults inwardly. However, he wasn't the only one who wanted to kill the other.
“So, did you go running to the Emperor and try to mess things up?”
"……What?"
Ivan's face suddenly hardened.
“The disappearance of Siegfried and his knights, isn’t it because of the same thing?”
There was no sign of the knights anywhere, not even of Siegfried himself.
[However, we have brave and superior knights, we have the Holy Church that will not hesitate to protect us, and if we encounter a crisis, there is the Mage Tower that will be at the forefront.]
He remembered Dietrich's speech, which made him feel strangely disturbed.
Fenric quickly understood.
Evan was already planning something.
“…….”
As he stared at him with cold eyes, Fenric's gaze suddenly turned forward.
He had returned from the garden, and saw Prisippi looking around for him.
“Ah, Duke...”
When their eyes met, Precipe smiled brightly at him. But as soon as she realized that Ivan was next to him, she furrowed her eyebrows slightly.
“You better remember this better, Evan.”
The moment he passed by him and was heading towards Presipe, Fenric lowered his voice and said to him:
“No matter what tricks you try, you will still be just a worthless person in my eyes.”
“Oh...!”
Ivan's anger flared up, and he reached out to grab Fenrik, but he couldn't keep up with his stride.
“Looks like you two had a good talk.”
“Yes, that can be said. But, has the Grand Wizard done something strange again, Duke?”
Fenric didn't answer. Just smile lightly.
“So, he actually did something? No, what was he saying this time…?”
Prisippi started muttering annoyedly, but she couldn't finish her words.
This was because of the knights who suddenly appeared in organized ranks.
“Huh…?”
What is this now?
Prisippi's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the knights, then began to look around anxiously. Then, she saw Dietrich approaching from behind.
There is something uncomfortable about this...
Reflexively, Precipe gently grabbed the edge of Fenric's sleeve, and at that moment—
“Knight Commander Siegfried, by order of His Majesty the Emperor, we have completed our preparations for departure.”
Launching? To where?
“In order to protect the peace of Ateloya, we swear to carry out this mission with our lives.”
Siegfried and all the knights knelt down on one knee, lowering their heads towards Dietrich.
Dietrich looked at them silently, then began to walk slowly towards Siegfried and stood in front of him.
“As I said before, there are still those who covet Atiluia’s prosperity.”
The nobles' whispers drowned out each other, before Dietrich's clear voice rose above them.
"And this is not limited to humans alone. In the woods of the West, savage beasts still wreak havoc on the frontier."
to lie.
“Today, on the 999th anniversary of the founding of the Kingdom, and as we approach a new millennium, I order the complete annihilation of all monsters in the Western Forest.”
But Ivan didn't say that. On the contrary, he said, it has decreased.
“The Holy Knights of Ateloia, and Siegfried born with the blessing of the gods, as well as...”
At that moment, Dietrich's cold eyes turned to Fenrik.
“Dear Duke Fenric, who will be at the forefront of the extermination campaign.”
That damn thing...
He said he would not force him to return to the Imperial Palace...
[If the Empire falls into danger, and one of its subjects refuses to obey the Emperor's order, he will not be considered a child of Ateloia, and will be punished accordingly.]
So, these words were not just passing talk. He was subtly threatening him.
“D-Duke…”
Presibe looked at Fenric anxiously, her face pale as if covered in dirt.
Then, she saw it very clearly—
The corners of Fenric's lips curled into a faint, mysterious smile as he stared forward.