Episode 109

“First, pretend to be captured by me, and let’s go out quietly.”

I said to him with a wide smile.

“Why should I trust you and do that?”

But the Eastern assassin was quite suspicious.

His lips twitched through the torn mask.

“Unless I’m certain you’re under the Crown Prince, I won’t move.”

He maintained his posture with a dagger raised.

‘As expected, it’s not easy with words alone.’

“I’ve laid smoke bombs at the entrance of the cathedral in advance.”

I raised both hands.

And said with a gesture that I had no intention of harming him.

“Let’s first come out pretending you’re captured. Then, when I detonate the smoke bombs, you can escape.”

The assassin was intrigued as I detailed the plan.

“Is that true…?”

“Yes, I’ll tie your hands very loosely. So, just send a signal and you can break free and run away.”

I put my hand into the pocket of my suit jacket.

And then, the moment I took out the tie.

Seeing the leopard print, I put it back in.

“……”

Instead, I picked up a rotten rope that was lying around near the cathedral.

The assassin looked intently at the obviously weak rope.

Then, he coughed and slowly lowered his dagger.

“Now, let’s start by tying your hands.”

He looked at me with a suspicious glance.

“I tied it so that it will untie if you just pull with both hands.”

“I know that much.”

The assassin still didn’t let his guard down.

Only after I loosely tied the rope that he start to lead the way obediently.

I observed his body comfortably from behind.

Strong spirit wrapped around his heart.

And that spirit was connected to his head.

If he stabbed his heart, the spirit would rise and explode in his head.

Before that, I need to cut off his airway.

“But… when is the support force coming?”

He cautiously asked while we were on our way out.

It seemed like he was quite anxious after losing his comrades and being left alone in the cathedral.

As expected, his eyes were quite bloodshot as he glanced back at me.

“If you run east for 10 minutes, the Deputy Commander of the Red Flames, Ekina, will be waiting for you. She will lead you to Samad.”

I smoothly told a lie.

“Good, that’s believable.”

The assassin, knowing Ekina was the Crown Prince’s shadow, finally relaxed.

“As per the contract, regardless of the outcome, you will rescue Lord Hakim, right?”

‘As expected, the backers are the Eastern Kingdom’s Hakim-supporting forces.’

“Of course, have you ever seen the Crown Prince break a promise?”

I answered his question with a firm gaze.

Then, the assassin spoke in a very dissatisfied voice.

“You better compensate generously for today’s incident.”

“What do you mean by that?”

I frowned and asked.

The assassin firmly replied.

“Just my luck, there were knights waiting at the entrance of the passage you guys told me about.”

His murky red eyes suspiciously glared at me.

“As if they knew we were coming…!”

That was something I didn’t expect either.

I didn’t know Irina was separately chasing Leon.

“The Crown Prince must explain this incident…!”

He shouted at me in a very dissatisfied voice.

As if he were the one in charge.

But….

His attitude soon came to a complete halt.

“Here I am to save you, and you’re being very noisy.”

Now that I had extracted enough information from him.

I had no reason to keep him alive anymore.

“What…?”

The assassin tried to quickly turn his head towards me.

That moment.

I wrapped both hands around his head.

“I’ve heard enough. I’ll tell the Crown Prince myself.”

“…!”

Then, I firmly twisted.

To the point where his neck broke.

Crack!!

His face twisted like an owl’s.

After that, he couldn’t speak anymore.

The Eastern assassin lay sprawled on the ground in that state.

The Princess looked on with a grim expression at the easily fallen assassin.

Then, she looked at me with a worried expression and asked.

“Vail… are you okay?”

“Yes, I am.”

I smiled slightly.

And showed my open palms.

‘I cut off his life swiftly before piercing his heart, so it should be fine.’

My relaxed demeanor also reassured the Sinrok knights.

Among the relieved knights was Allen.

“It’s a relief you’re safe, Sir Vail!”

Irina took off the jacket she had draped over her shoulders.

Then, dressed in tights and a uniform, she slowly approached me.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

I picked up the fallen assassin’s body.

His body was still full of peculiar energy, but his heart was intact.

As long as it wasn’t pierced, it wouldn’t explode.

Thinking so, I grabbed his shoulder.

Then, just as I was about to lift him up.

“…?”

A chill ran down my spine at the twitching mass of the assassin.

‘What? I definitely twisted his neck properly.’

His twisted neck slowly turned back.

Then, his previously stiff lips began to move.

“You… indeed… were not sent by the Crown Prince…”

I was flustered by this unprecedented situation.

He had stabbed his own left chest with his hand.

With bare hands, he pierced his ribs and grabbed his heart.

And…

He exploded it deliberately.

“The true ruler of the East… is Lord Hakim…”

He muttered in a dry voice.

Afterward, the entire energy in his heart began to explode.

Boom!!

“Cough…!”

With a loud explosion, the gunpowder scattered around burst into the air.

Those powders soon turned into flames, creating a massive firestorm.

“Vail!!”

Irina did not retreat, even after seeing the flames.

She staggered and started running towards me.

“Don’t come, it’s dangerous!!”

I raised my foot to block the explosion from reaching Irina and the young knights.

And then I slammed it down forcefully.

Bang!!

The giant fragments of the floor erupted.

I shielded my back with it, blocking the explosion heading towards them.

Thankfully, the direct flames did not engulf the Princess.

But…

Rumble!!

The impact of the explosion caused the cathedral ruins to start collapsing.

Just like Irina’s palace in my past life.

“No….”

The Princess gazed blankly at me, standing alone amidst the collapsing palace.

With a distant and powerless look, just like back then.

“This can’t be happening….”

The silver-haired woman murmured in disbelief.

Then, she began to run towards me, gradually disappearing into the debris.

“Your Highness, you must not go!”

Allen and the knights tried to stop her.

But Irina approached me faster than them.

Like the day of the purge when she returned to me.

“Don’t come, it’s dangerous!”

I shouted while standing firm.

However, the Princess eventually…

Arrived at my chest and buried her face in it.

With her delicate body, devoid of mana.

“Cough…!”

I wasn’t as strong as I was in my past life.

I wasn’t even sure if I could withstand such a massive explosion alone.

The debris relentlessly struck my body.

And the splendid golden aura flickered like a stone thrown into the water.

It was incredibly painful and agonizing.

But…

Irina pressed against my body.

She gently embraced me.

Just like that day.

“Vail….”

She cautiously lifted her head that was buried in my chest.

And looked up at me with reddened eyes.

“I won’t just receive help all my life.”

The Princess tightly hugged me.

Then she closed her eyes, concentrating.

“This time, I will save you…!”

At that moment.

A white aura began to emanate from her body, surrounding me.

“This is…!”

It was the aura of a Grand Master.

She wasn’t a mage like Rea.

However, in a moment of desperation.

The Princess emitted a power identical to the Conqueror Emperor, creating a barrier around us.

Boom!!

The debris of the cathedral fell upon us.

Engulfed in a cloud of dust, the Princess and I hid beneath it.

Just like that day.

“……”

“……”

When my consciousness returned, there was only pitch-black darkness.

My whole body felt crushed with pain.

‘Was it really gunpowder capable of destroying a palace…?’

The explosion was more powerful than I thought.

Had I known, I wouldn’t have intervened.

My desire to nurture Irina was excessive.

‘But….’

Knowing that, why did I jump into danger again?

Because of the short-lived memories I had with her in my previous life?

Or simply because Irina was just too beautiful?

“……”

I let out a shallow breath.

And at the moment, I barely opened my eyes.

I realized the answer to the question I had asked earlier.

“Sob… Vail… try to open your eyes….”

Irina.

Her tears, shimmering in the darkness, trickled down my cheek.

Perhaps it was the moist and warm touch.

I felt that I was still alive.

“Why has it come to this…?”

The Princess murmured in a pained voice.

The regal demeanor she had shown me until now was long gone.

Right now, she seems like her old self from those days.

“I just wanted to protect you and Father….”

I could barely hear Irina’s voice.

She was certainly saying something, but my ears were still ringing from the explosion.

“Sigh…”

The space within the debris where the two of us barely lay together.

She exhaled a shallow breath there.

Due to the narrow space, our bodies were intertwined.

Irina’s thighs wrapped around my legs.

Her soft chest was completely pressed against my body.

However, the Princess paid no heed to them.

She just gazed intently at me, swept away by the explosion.

“……”

Irina’s hand touched my cheek.

She carefully observed my face.

“Vail, are you awake…?”

At the Princess’s question, I barely opened my eyes fully.

And then, with a haggard face, I looked up at her.

“Yes.”

“It’s really a relief…”

The Princess wiped her tearful eyes.

However, her eyes still flickered.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this…”

“Don’t be sorry. It was me who insisted on handling it alone.”

I lifted the corners of my mouth to reassure Irina.

But even that brought pain, causing me to tightly close my eyes.

“Don’t overdo it… Your injuries are severe…”

“I’m sorry.”

She wrapped around me.

Pinned under the debris, we couldn’t move any further.

However, the Princess showed no discomfort.

Instead, she looked as comfortable as if she were lying on a bed.

“The power I had left was just that, so I couldn’t completely protect you…”

“Remaining power, you say?”

When I asked, the Princess hesitated to answer.

Then, she carefully chose her words.

“Yes, I inherited a bit of the Grand Aura from my father. Though it’s limited.”

It was intriguing how she could use the aura despite having no talent for mana.

It was a miraculous power.

“Once used, the power cannot regenerate. That’s why I’ve used it sparingly throughout my life.”

To be able to use the full power of a Grand Aura.

Even if limited in usage, it was impressive.

“Because I used it largely once before… That was the last of it, I’m sorry.”

“What’s there to be sorry about? I’m grateful you used such power for me.”

I somehow managed to lift the corners of my mouth.

“Rather, I’m the one who’s sorry.”

I glanced down briefly.

And then I looked at the Princess, who lay on top of me like a lover.

“In such a place… in this embarrassing position…”

Perhaps because we were entangled.

Unintentionally, my eyes drifted towards the Princess’s pressed chest, and I closed them tightly.

Somehow, her figure felt more mature than in my previous life.

“No, Vail.”

The Princess chuckled at my question.

Then, with her cheek against my collarbone, she murmured.

“I’m fine with it right now….”

With my eyes closed, I couldn’t quite catch Irina’s murmurs.

But the steady resonance of our hearts was enough to feel the Princess’s comfort.

“……”

“Princess Irina, Sir Vail!! Are you alright?!!”

A voice came from above.

“If you can hear us, please respond!!”

Other Sinrok Knights as well.

They were searching for us atop the debris.

“It seems everyone is safe.”

I murmured with my eyes closed.

“Yes… it’s really fortunate.”

Irina also exhaled a breath of relief.

I could feel the Princess’s warmth and the curves of her body wrapped around me.

Perhaps because of that comfort.

I decided to take a brief rest.

“Then, I’ll rest a bit more assuredly….”

Just a little.

“Yes….”

When I said nothing more, Irina peeked up.

And asked carefully.

“Vail, are you asleep…?”

The Princess’s emerald eyes shone in the darkness.

When I didn’t respond, she laid her cheek on my chest.

“He’s still breathing….”

Relieved, she lifted the corners of her mouth.

“He’s asleep, that’s fortunate.”

Irina said so and then closed her eyes tightly.

She anticipated the Emperor’s praise and the knights’ status when they returned to the surface.

“If we are rescued like this, everything will be resolved.”

But….

The Princess’s eyes flashed like a wild animal.

As if the current situation were much more important.

“But I want to stay here longer with you now.”

Irina observed my body with a shy look.

Then, her eyes suddenly turned greedy.

“This is….”

The leopard print tie inside the torn jacket.

The Princess knew well what the leopard pattern signified.

Slowly, she raised her head.

Seemingly displeased, she gazed intently at the face of the sleeping man.

“……”

Suddenly, the words of a fortune teller came to the Princess’s mind.

Lions and leopards.

And one man who matched well with everyone.

Irina shook her head to dispel that memory.

And then she looked down at the man through her disheveled hair.

“I was preparing first; how dare you…?”

The man she discovered before anyone else.

Now, the Princess was closer to him than anyone else.

Was it because of that?

The heart of the young woman, just twenty, started to race.

“Whether a multitude or a leopard, it doesn’t matter…”

Her body temperature rose, warming the cooled body of the man.

As if awakening to an instinctive emotion she hadn’t been aware of.

“Vail, you are mine.”

Empowered by that emotion, the Princess half-closed her eyes with a suggestive look.

She then swept her disheveled hair aside and brought her face close.

“In this life….”

The Princess’s soft lips drew nearer.

But it was different from the hesitation she had shown at the villa.

“I will not let go this time.”

Irina pressed her own lips against the man’s, whom she had chosen.

She breathed in his breath and left her scent on his body.

“Absolutely.”

The more she left her mark, the more the Princess became aware of new sensations.

She felt guilty for realizing how sensual she was.

However, she immediately erased those feelings from her mind.

“Sigh…”

Instead, as a woman, she marked the man she fancied to her heart’s content.

Deep enough that a white bond stretched between them.

The deeper her instincts, the more unconsciously she tightened her thighs.

Her flesh was so taut within the torn tights that it stood out.

“Phew….”

The more their saliva mixed, the more she felt her body heat up.

“It’s hot….”

Such was the sweetness of the man’s body.

Even a woman who had been dignified all her life was made instinctive by him.