Three People

A crimson, ominous glow streamed from the creature’s eyes, and a beast-like growl escaped its mouth.

“Grrrrrr.”

Na Seoyu spoke in despair.

“No.”

At the same time, the Iron Fiend charged toward her.

Whoosh!

“Grrrrrrr!”

Its ferocious movement resembled a wolf lunging at its prey.

Na Seoyu despaired.

There was no possibility that she could fight an Iron Fiend that even pinnacle masters could not handle.

However, even if she wanted to resist, she first had to draw her sword, and that was the one thing she could not do.

To draw her sword, she would have to release the stretcher.

However, doing so would jolt her father.

And even the slightest impact could place her father in critical danger.

“Grrrrrr!”

Whoosh!

The Iron Fiend’s fist was already surging toward her.

‘Father.’

Na Seoyu glanced briefly at her sleeping father and ultimately closed her eyes.

She knew perfectly well that both of them would die if she remained still, yet she could not bring herself to harm her father with her own hands.

Suddenly, a man’s face appeared clearly before her closed eyes.

The face of the man she desperately wanted to see….

In her heart, she gave him her final farewell.

‘Goodbye….’

It was then.

Boooooom!

An enormous collision exploded right beside Na Seoyu’s ears, and she snapped her eyes open and looked in that direction again.

A broad back now stood before her where the Iron Fiend had been charging only moments earlier.

Na Seoyu recognized who it was merely by seeing that back.

It was him.

The very man whose face she had imagined, believing it would be the end.

Na Seoyu blankly murmured his name in disbelief.

“…Seol Pung?”

Seol Pung, breathing heavily from how urgently he had rushed there, suddenly turned his head toward her and smiled.

“Forgive me… for being late.”

Tears instantly filled Na Seoyu’s eyes.

“Ah….”

She could not believe it.

At the moment she had prepared herself for death, she had been able to see his face again, and he had rushed all the way here to save her.

Just like the moment she had first taken him into her heart, he had appeared before her as though it were a lie.

“Captain….”

It was then.

“Grrrrrr!”

The Iron Fiend that had been sent flying into the distance charged again.

As though he had already known, Seol Pung glanced at it and spoke gently to Na Seoyu.

“Please wait a moment, my lady.”

Seol Pung stepped forward, his eyes burning crimson with blazing fury.

However, the red glow in his eyes, shining no less fiercely than the Iron Fiend’s, did not come only from anger.

His true consummate art, the Red Eyes, which he normally used with his eyes closed, was now openly revealing its ominous radiance.

“You dared….”

Bang!

Seol Pung’s body shot forward like a fierce tiger.

“To attack Lady Na!”

Boom!

Seol Pung’s fist pierced through the shoulder of the Iron Fiend as it swung its arm.

Its right shoulder flew away as though struck by a cannon.

The Iron Fiend staggered as though caught in a storm.

“You tried to kill her!”

Crack!

His kick smashed into the Iron Fiend’s knees, snapping both of them backward.

With its joints pulverized, the Iron Fiend could only collapse, unable to maintain its balance.

Seol Pung watched it fall with cold eyes.

Then he delivered the final blow toward its head, which had dropped below his chest.

It was a full-force strike drawn down low before rising toward its jaw.

“How dare you!”

Booom!

As Seol Pung’s fist surged skyward like an ascending dragon, the Iron Fiend’s shattered head scattered like fireworks.

Seol Pung’s martial prowess while using the Red Eyes had now surpassed even the Supreme Realm.

The thought that the last Iron Fiend might have gone directly after Lady Na occurred to me while I had been struggling with the other two for quite some time.

‘Surely not….’

Merely imagining it sent a chill through my chest.

It felt as though my heart had dropped.

After that, I clashed with the creatures with everything I had.

At that moment, I realized that until now, I had never truly reached my limit.

The strength I was displaying now seemed to be my limit.

It was a moment when my mind felt as sharp as the tip of a blade.

My concentration felt so intense that even a needle’s eye seemed like a wide-open passage.

With that absurd level of focus, I ultimately succeeded in cutting through both creatures’ necks.

It had only been possible because I struck the same spot dozens of times on each one without even an inch of deviation.

“I really… did it.”

It was an enormous achievement.

I had cut off the necks of Iron Fiends, and I had done so while fighting two of them at once.

In my previous life, only Supreme Realm masters had been capable of such a feat.

However, I had no presence of mind to celebrate it.

‘Please. Please.’

I frantically launched myself toward Na Manor’s rear gate.

My mind contained nothing but worry for Lady Na.

What if one Iron Fiend had attacked her directly?

What if, even in this life, I had ultimately failed to protect her?

I did not think I could ever forgive myself.

I clenched my teeth and prayed desperately.

‘Lady Na, please!’

When I landed atop the wall by the rear gate, I finally saw it.

The remains of what had presumably once been an Iron Fiend, now reduced to wreckage scattered across the field.

And Lady Na, crying in Captain Seol Pung’s arms….

I stood there as though frozen.

For a moment, no thoughts came to mind.

I merely stared blankly at the sight.

The Lady Na before my eyes looked completely different from her usual strong appearance, which had always seemed motherly or sisterly.

Like a fragile girl, like a devoted woman who had finally reunited with her beloved, she was buried in the captain’s embrace and sobbing.

Endlessly, and looking utterly at peace.

In contrast, the captain remained awkward.

With stiff, mechanical movements, he clumsily patted Lady Na’s back.

However, I could still tell.

His movements were painfully awkward, but the gaze with which he looked at Lady Na was warmer and gentler than at any moment I had ever seen.

Having always wanted to resemble everything about the captain, I felt I could understand what that gaze meant.

The woman I loved most was being held by the man I respected most.

They gazed at one another with such tender eyes….

I could only stand there and stare blankly at them.

Endlessly….

I could do nothing.

As we gathered the two decapitated Iron Fiend corpses, Captain Seol Pung raised his thumb toward me.

“You cut off the necks of Iron Fiends? And while fighting two of them at once. Impressive, Jin.”

I answered him with an arrogant smile.

“Hmph. It won’t take me long to catch up with you, Captain. You’d better stay alert.”

He smiled and replied.

“Yes, I suppose I should. I look forward to it.”

However, after joking like that, I glanced to the side and saw the corpse of the Iron Fiend that had been reduced entirely to rags.

Its head and shoulder had been completely destroyed and disappeared. I unconsciously swallowed.

‘Catch up soon, my foot. I’ll be successful if I catch up before I die.’

We were organizing the Iron Fiend corpses so they could be brought back to the Flying Dragon Unit.

We had already sent a message by carrier bird, so once we finished gathering them, the Flying Dragon Fifteenth Unit would come and retrieve them.

When I glanced elsewhere, I saw Na Manor’s warriors busily repairing the shattered wall and main gate.

I watched them briefly before speaking.

“Still, it’s fortunate there weren’t too many casualties.”

The captain nodded in agreement.

“Indeed. This is all thanks to you, Jin.”

Na Manor had suffered more than twenty deaths. It was not a small number, but compared to nearby Jo Manor and Gwak Manor, whose entire populations had been slaughtered, it was an immense stroke of fortune.

I suddenly asked the captain.

“You said Sayoung is bringing Ma Maeng-un here?”

“Ah, yes. They departed with me, but Maeng-un’s martial arts are still insufficient, so it seems to be taking them longer.”

I gave a faint laugh and asked.

“Or perhaps you flew here at a speed they could never possibly follow?”

He smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.

“C-could that be it? I’m not certain.”

After hearing that Lady Na’s father was ill, the captain had apparently instructed Ma Maeng-un, the son of the Living-Dead Eccentric who was waiting to join our platoon, to come here with Bi Sayoung.

He was not the Living-Dead Eccentric himself, but Ma Maeng-un had inherited his medical teachings, so his skill would undoubtedly be far more helpful than that of someone like Physician Yang.

It was yet another example of the captain’s remarkable thoughtfulness.

I smiled playfully and spoke to him.

“As expected of our captain! You truly are a man worthy of entrusting Lady Na to!”

He jumped in surprise and stammered.

“E-entrusting Lady Na to me?! What are you talking about?!”

“Hm? What do you mean? Aren’t you and Lady Na officially courting now?”

“C-c-courting?! Th-that’s absurd!”

The captain hurriedly shook his head and tried to deny that anything had happened.

However, that was utterly impossible with his face turning into a roasted sweet potato in an instant.

“Tsk, tsk.”

I clicked my tongue.

The captain was perfect in every respect, but it seemed I would at least have to help him with women.

Hmm, what should I do?

After thinking of something, I subtly whispered to him in a serious tone.

“Captain, did you know that before you arrived, Lady Na’s mother was trying to marry her off?”

The captain’s face instantly froze like ice.

He looked as though he had been struck by lightning from a clear sky.

“Marry her…?”

“Yes. It seems she had already sent a marriage proposal to a nearby faction.”

The captain’s eyes began shaking as though caught in a storm.

“Th-then, if that’s true….”

Across both of my lives, I did not think I had ever seen the captain, who remained calm and composed before any powerful enemy, look this restless.

Suppressing my laughter, I continued seriously.

“Think carefully, Captain. Of course Lady Na would not want such a marriage, but even if she does not, with her kind personality, could she truly reject the orders of her elders so firmly?”

The captain’s gaze slowly fell toward the ground. Then, with an expression as though the world had collapsed, he spoke.

“…She could not.”

It was a very satisfying sight.

The mood seemed sufficiently prepared now.

So it was time to give him a push.

I firmly gripped his shoulder and spoke intensely.

“Exactly. Lady Na could never refuse. That is why you must act, Captain.”

He raised his head and looked at me as though grasping at a lifeline.

“Me? What could I possibly do?”

I looked at him with a burning gaze and spoke forcefully.

“Go and say it proudly! Tell them Lady Na is already your woman! Tell them you have promised to marry each other!”

The startled captain’s gaze shook as though struck by a violent wave.

“M-me? How could I possibly…?”

It was frustrating, but it was also the response I had expected.

So at that point, I released a deep sigh and shook my head.

“As expected, it’s too difficult for you. Well, if you cannot do it, then Lady Na will ultimately marry someone else. If that does not bother you, then I suppose there is nothing to be done.”

Then I glanced at him.

His expression changed several times in the span of a moment. Even from the side, it looked as though determination and despair were repeating within him at least five times.

Finally, he clenched his teeth and spoke.

“Yes. Jin, you are right. I must act.”

Then he began striding toward the room where Lady Na and the Lord of Na Manor would be.

I watched his retreating back and smiled with satisfaction.

To tell the truth, there would be no more marriage proposals even if the captain did not do that.

The person who arranged the marriage had disappeared.

When Lady Na had been in the captain’s arms, I watched them for a while before pursuing Lady Min and her son, Na Seohwang.

Then I ensured that they could never return.

It felt as though that was the only thing I could currently do for Lady Na.

“Haaaa.”

A deep sigh suddenly escaped me.

The smile had already vanished from my face.

At some point in my previous life, Captain Seol Pung had stopped showing even a single happy smile.

As though he were a man clinging to the past rather than living toward the future, his eyes were always stained gray.

They resembled the eyes of the Red-Rain Divine Sword, Hwa Yeong-bin, when he had wanted to die.

Thinking back, it seemed that it had begun after Lady Na died.

So many other companions had died as well that I had failed to notice it, but the point when the captain had completely changed into another person was after Lady Na’s death.

A hollow laugh escaped me at the realization that I had only understood it now.

‘And Lady Na was the same.’

Thinking back, Lady Na always smiled most brightly when she was beside the captain.

She always showed the other platoon members a motherly smile, but only beside the captain did she smile like a young girl.

That was also something I had only now realized.

Ultimately, the two of them had carried each other deeply in their hearts long before they ever met me.

I simply had not imagined it because they were the man I respected most and the woman I loved most.

No, perhaps it was not that I had failed to imagine it.

Perhaps I had refused to imagine it.

Because if those two were involved, there was nothing I could do.

Yes, if it was the two of them, I could do nothing but bless them.

My chest felt as though it were being wrung and carved apart.

In truth, that pain had not stopped for even a single moment since then.

Even so, I forced a smile and muttered.

“It’s fine. I can yield to the captain without hesitation. If it is the captain, my hero and benefactor, he will surely make Lady Na happy. Far happier than I ever could. Yes. I’m certain he will.”

As though trying to persuade someone, I continued muttering those words for a long time.

Even as tears streamed down my face, and even as my chest continued to ache as though it were being crushed.

However, no matter how much I tried to persuade myself, the pain in my chest showed no sign of disappearing.