In a dimly lit room illuminated by the faint moonlight, Sena tossed and turned in bed.
“Ugh.”
His throat felt dry.
His eyes were reluctant to open.
The room was dark.
He fumbled around, grabbing the edge of the table and struggling to sit up.
A sharp pain pierced his chest. His head was still dizzy.
“How long have I been asleep?”
Two days? A week?
It felt like he had slept for quite a long time. He slowly recalled his last memories.
To finish things up, he had hurled harsh words at Astria—words he didn’t truly mean.
And then he remembered Astria’s cold, blonde hair as she turned away. Sena smiled faintly.
‘Seems like I did it right. So, Sylvia must be the one who moved me here.’
He would need to do something similar with Sylvia.
His thoughts shifted.
In his final moments, he hoped no one would be around.
“I can’t find my place to die.”
He decided to abandon his only wish. There was no time or leisure for that now.
Sena finished getting ready and moved towards the window. After a moment’s hesitation, he opened the curtain.
His reflection was faintly visible in the window. Counting the days was still manageable.
How much time is left? His time.
This was different from before. This was ‘true remaining lifespan’.
[10]
Sena no longer intended to extend his lifespan.
In fact, he had no intention of using up all of it either.
**
“Your Majesty.”
Sylvia knelt before Astria.
“I have managed to gather around 300.”
“Knights, I presume?”
“…Half of them are knights.”
“Of little use then.”
Sylvia cautiously handed over the emblem of the Empress. Astria accepted it roughly and tossed it into the air. The black void swallowed the emblem.
“Well done, Miss Sylvia. Better than having none.”
Astria spoke to Sylvia, who couldn’t tell what Astria was thinking.
“What should I do?”
“I want to say, ‘Protect that furball’ … But that won’t work. I’ll have to use you.”
“Yes.”
Sylvia spoke without any hesitation. Astria quietly turned her head to gaze outside the walls.
A large army was approaching. The number wasn’t very high.
But each one was formidable. Not a single soldier among them.
The Holy Order of Knights could easily wipe out a kingdom. Cruyff had brought them here from Hamus.
“Quite skillful.”
“…The pretext seems to be a divine prophecy. He must be planning to draw the senior member into the order.”
“That seems likely.”
“Your Majesty… What are you planning?”
As a member of the Teutonic Order, Sylvia had heard much about Astria.
Although they had never fought on the same front.
‘The commander said that she was a natural warrior.’
The stories were like fairy tales. Almost impossible to believe.
If it weren’t for the fact that the leader of the Teutonic Order had shared such tales, Sylvia would never have believed them.
Yet even knowing such tales, Sylvia saw no hope this time.
The Holy Order of Knights was the source of the order’s tremendous influence.
One holy knight equaled ten ordinary knights. Among them, a special holy knight could even challenge a Master.
In contrast, the opposing force was just 300 ragtag troops. No matter how much of an empress one was, victory seemed unlikely in a direct confrontation.
“You seem to think I can’t win.”
“Th-that’s…”
Sylvia was taken aback when her thoughts were exposed. Astria continued to watch the advancing Holy Order before speaking.
“Cruyff must have thought a small elite force would suffice against me. But that’s his mistake. War is about quantity over quality. The most terrifying thing is not the blade of a well-trained knight but the rusty spear of a blind peasant.”
With that level, victory could be achieved.
As the Holy Knights drew closer, certainty grew.
‘But…’
Astria’s gaze fell.
The battlefield always had variables.
In this game, the only variable Astria was most worried about was one.
Granz Kairos.
A Master who could match her own skill.
There was no way he wouldn’t show up at this well-prepared table.
‘Although he isn’t visible for now, it’s ambiguous. If Granz is here, we need to conserve our strength.’
Astria’s mind was racing. She calculated numerous scenarios. A few times she lost, a few times she won. And winning always required the same premise.
“I had asked Chris a few times.”
“Yes?”
“But it wasn’t much help. Even that furball is a man, after all. It seems his attitude differs when dealing with men compared to women.”
Sylvia blinked at the sudden comment.
What does that mean?
Astria finally tore her gaze from the front lines and looked at Sylvia.
“I heard you were a junior to Sena at the academy.”
“…Yes.”
“What does Sena truly want?”
Sylvia felt a strange emotion.
‘What happened while I was away?’
Astria looked as pitiful as a wet cat.
Sylvia thought it might be due to the grim situation, but Astria seemed confident about the fight.
‘I’m not sure, but…’
Sylvia knew very well what Sena wanted most right now.
But she couldn’t reveal that.
‘If it’s this person, it will surely be possible.’
It wasn’t her place to fulfill Sena’s dreams or even to speak them.
She had realized enough over the past time. Despite being the closest person to him for a while—
She had failed. She couldn’t restore Sena to his bright former self.
‘Now, it’s time to concede.’
With the conclusion in mind, Sylvia felt relieved.
“Your Majesty.”
Sylvia turned to Astria and smiled gently.
“I think it’s better to ask Senior directly.”
She drew her sword.
“I can buy you at least an hour.”
“Are you serious?”
“The gate is narrow. I doubt there will be an immediate attack, but if it comes to it, I’m confident I can hold them off for an hour.”
“…”
Astria only stared with a stern expression. The Holy Knights had now advanced to a distance where their faces were visible.
“Go on. Didn’t you say you’d use me? Isn’t this what you meant?”
Astria’s expression changed. She slowly nodded once and quickly descended the castle walls.
As she watched Astria’s retreating figure, Sylvia wiped her eyes. It felt too early, but her intuition as a woman told her otherwise.
Her first love had just ended.
**
“Haha, you don’t need to imprison me. More importantly, weren’t you on my side?”
Ellie avoided eye contact. Lucia spoke with a stern face.
“We are on Sena’s side. Even now, we are working for Sena.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to listen to me?”
“That’s not possible. If Sena were to meet Cruyff, it would certainly be disadvantageous for him.”
“Well, I don’t think Cruyff would do that. Although, it seems something very sad might happen.”
Sena awkwardly smiled as he brushed off the blood-stained ceremonial robe.
It was Ellie’s ceremonial robe. Unfortunately, there were no other clothes to change into.
He had wanted to die in a clean state if possible.
“Please. Will you let me go? I’m confident I can persuade Cruyff if I meet him. No one will be harmed.”
He believed there was no other option.
The mere ten days of his small wish and the lives of innocent people.
The two couldn’t even be compared.
Dying here cleanly and ending everything seemed right.
But Ellie and Lucia remained unmoved.
Sena smiled bitterly.
“How frustrating.”
“Do you not even know who’s truly frustrated?”
The door opened, and Astria entered.
“A-Astria?”
Sena was flustered, addressing the Empress by her name.
He had been certain he would never see her again.
Why was she here?
“It’s cute to be this way once or twice, but this level of patheticness can’t be covered even by your good looks.”
“W-What are you talking about?”
Sena, who had been accepting death with stoic indifference, now felt an unprecedented surge of emotion.
Astria lightly grabbed Sena by the collar and said coldly.
“If your father made a mistake, it’s up to you, his child, to resolve it. You shouldn’t be sitting here like a doll burdened with the world’s sorrows.”
“…I’m trying to resolve it.”
Sena’s bangs fell over his eyes.
Astria, who had been looking down, glanced towards the back.
“Get out.”
It was a very simple command, but there was something in Astria that made it impossible to resist.
No matter what Sena said, they did not relent and quietly left the room. Sena clenched his fists so tightly that his white skin turned red and trembled.
“Is that method… death?”
“There’s no other choice.”
“Isn’t there a way to just run away?”
“Why do you always say such negative things? Is there a better solution in this situation?”
Sena, agitated, raised his voice, which was rare for him. Astria showed no sign of emotional disturbance.
“This doesn’t concern Your Majesty in the first place. Whether I live or die, what does it matter— Huff.”
Astria grabbed Sena’s wrist and forcibly kissed him.
Sena’s pupils trembled slightly as he hit the wall. The situation was incomprehensible.
An oppressive kiss with no consideration. Sena tried to escape, but with both hands restrained, he was powerless.
After a while, when Sena was gasping for air and finally pushed Astria away, the long kiss ended.
“Heh, heh. Wh-what…”
Sena, bewildered. Astria once again roughly explored Sena’s neck without a word.
“St-stop it!”
The actions were repeated several times. When Sena was out of breath, it would pause for a moment, and when he tried to protest, Astria would kiss him again.
Eventually, Sena, with a dazed expression, lost strength in his legs and collapsed to the floor.
“Only now have you become obedient.”
“…”
Fearing another kiss, Sena watched Astria cautiously.
Astria wore a satisfied smirk, raising one corner of her mouth.
“You’re fine as you are. I won’t tolerate any resistance. Look only at me, and listen only to my words. Don’t think about anything else.”
“That’s… absurd.”
Astria’s eyebrows twitched. Although Sena hurriedly tried to retreat, he was already backed into a corner and had no escape.
Astria roughly explored Sena once more and then looked down at him. Sena sat meekly with a hiccup.
“I’m going to the battlefield from now on. When this war ends, I’ll take you as a reward.”
“Wh-what?”
Sena’s face flushed red.
Astria arrogantly folded her arms.
“You have no right to refuse. It has already been decided. The spoils of this war are you.”
Hic.
Was it because he had a fever?
Astria’s words seemed to echo strangely.
“However, I don’t need clumsy control. To completely dominate you, I will give you the most desired item as a dowry. What is it that you want the most?”
“P-please wait. Even if I’m an easy furball to handle, I’m still a person… This kind of proposal is difficult…”
As Astria’s eyebrows raised again, Sena unintentionally spoke his true feelings.
“I… want to go back to my hometown. Even if just for a while.”
After saying it, he felt a sense of emptiness.
There was no value in keeping it hidden.
“Hmph. I should have expected this from the start.”
Astria, seeming to have finished her words, turned her head sharply to leave.
Sena, with trembling legs, hurriedly stood up.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“?”
Astria frowned and turned back.
Sena was timidly looking at the floor, nervously fidgeting with his hands.
Hesitating, Sena unwrapped the bandage wrapped around his wrist.
Then he tightly grasped Astria’s wrist.
“I-I learned that you should do this for someone going to war.”
Sena carefully wrapped the bandage around Astria’s wrist.
“It seems like the gender has changed… it should be a handkerchief rather than a bandage, but unfortunately, I don’t have one. Still…”
After tying the final knot tightly, Sena looked up at Astria.
“You must return safely.”
