Chapter 214 - 3−18
The magic sleeping within the Princess had likely overflowed, and she could no longer control it herself. Even so, I couldn't just leave her.
"Your Highness, please, please listen to me."
My pleading voice didn't reach her. Her magic swirled around her like a pitch-black vortex, and from it, a gale began to howl. Whether it was trying to protect her or not, whenever I touched the black mist, it immediately slashed at me like a sharp knife.
"Ow!"
Visibility was poor due to the black mist and the raging wind, and the closer I got, the sharper the attacks became. My dress was torn in places, and cuts appeared on my exposed wrists. I didn't have the luxury of worrying about the blood.
"I just want it all to end."
Aside from the violent magic, her whisper was frail, as if it might vanish at any moment. She placed her hands on the railing, tears flowing silently. Seeing her look as if she might jump at any second, my heart leaped into my throat, and I cried out in shock.
"Your Highness! You mustn't lean out any further! No matter how painful it is now, someday..."
"Someday? That 'someday' never existed for me. I only knew a place where I couldn't even imagine a future or hope. Idealism from someone who doesn't know hell is just nauseating."
"No! I know the value of life because I've experienced it myself. ...That's why!"
My desperate persuasion was in vain. The black mist of her magic shifted, lifting her up and placing her on top of the railing. One gust of wind would be enough to knock her off balance and send her plummeting to the ground.
"W-what are you planning to do? Come, take my hand!"
I rushed to the railing, but her magic showed no mercy. Ignoring the new cuts that must have been forming all over my body, I forced my aching self toward her as fast as I could.
The moment my hand brushed her fingers, she looked at me, startled. As our eyes met, her reddish-purple eyes flickered back to pink for an instant. But it was fleeting.
"I... I can't do this anymore."
She smiled slightly, her brows lowered in sadness, before her eyes returned to the darkness-shrouded reddish-purple. Looking up at the sky, she spread her arms and closed her eyes.
"Your Highness!"
At my scream, she threw herself into the air.
I won't let you!
I reached out as far as I could. Please, reach. Make it in time—
Supporting my entire weight with my right hand on the railing, I leaned out as far as possible. With a sharp smack, my hand managed to catch hers. But I couldn't relax for a second. The moment I grabbed her, her magic sent a powerful shock through my body, like lightning strikes. Despite the damage and the black mist that continued to sting me, I poured every ounce of strength I had into holding onto her.
Sweat dripped from my body, and my face contorted in pain from the constant magical assault. Still, I wouldn't give up.
"...Why?"
Perhaps because she didn't feel the impact she expected, the Princess looked up with a stunned expression. "Rachel...?"
Her eyes showed a mix of terror, relief, and pain. Then, her face quickly turned to panic. "W-why... why are you trying to save me..."
"Why? Because I'm obviously going to save you!"
"B-but... I... I said so many horrible things to you..."
"And I... I must have made you suffer so much, right? ...Then we're... even."
The Princess's eyes widened so much they looked like they might fall out. She kept repeating "Why?" and "How?" as if she couldn't believe someone was actually trying to save her.
"I will not let you die."
At my firm declaration, her lips trembled. "How can you go that far, Rachel..."
"I don't need a reason. ...If I don't save you now, I'll regret it. So just... let yourself be saved by me."
I gripped her hand even tighter. Her face contorted, and a single tear fell. "Let go. At this rate... you'll fall too."
She tried to pull her hand away with her weak strength, her eyes filled with panic at my sweat-drenched, pained expression.
"I won't let you... end everything... while you're still in pain."
"Rachel, Rachel! If you don't let go, you'll..."
Tears streamed down her face. Even now, she was worried about me. She was surely a kind and warm person at heart.
"You have the right... to experience more... fun and happy things."
Only twelve years. Most of it spent in pain and hardship. For this girl, who had almost no allies and lived in pitch-black loneliness, to give up on life as if she understood everything... that was something that should never happen.
Because the game didn't go as planned? Because a savior didn't appear? Even so, she might find something in the future that changes her current situation completely. She likely thought there was only one path, but that couldn't be true.
"If His Majesty the Emperor... is scary... then just run away."
"Run away... where!"
I smiled at her while struggling to support her weight as it pulled me further down. I probably wasn't smiling well, but I wanted her to feel even a little bit of peace.
"...Anywhere. Wherever... you like."
She must have learned something from her time studying in this country. Just like the days I spent in the Marquis Marcel territory, she must have realized that the world she thought she knew—everything she believed in—could have completely different values depending on the person, the place, and the country.
The more special one's birthplace and status, the narrower their world becomes. But that world isn't everything. Only by laughing and crying with trusted lovers and friends, and gaining many experiences, can one truly see their own life.
If there is still life to hold hope, it's okay to run away from a painful place. If you want to give up because you're trying to carry other people's lives, then just try believing in your own happiness.
And for the beautiful memories within this girl to be nothing but a fantasy... that's just too sad.
"Besides, it's not just fictional romances... your own real love... might even begin!"
It's wonderful to have your heart flutter at a romance story. But I couldn't help but believe that someday, she would meet someone special and experience the miracle of love herself.
"Do everything you can... until you've done it all... and only then, look toward the end."
If you're going to die, let it be in a warm bed, not a place like this. If I'm talking about ideals, let it be while surrounded by family and loved ones, immersed in happy memories. I'd rather it be after holding Louis-sama's warm hand and having him stroke my head, telling me I did a good job.
I never want to experience such a cold, lonely, and painful death again. That's why... neither I nor the Princess should have our lives end in a place like this. This shouldn't be the time.
"Now is not the time!"
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
I pulled with all my strength, but it wasn't working well, and my hands began to slip from the sweat. The Princess seemed to realize I was at my limit, sobbing and pleading with a distorted face. "No, you can't die too!"
I won't die. And your small life shouldn't just vanish like this either.
But it was frustrating. My hands had no strength left. Gravity slowly pulled us down. At the same time, her fingers began to slip. Looking at her face, messy with tears, I forced my remaining strength into my hands, refusing to let her twelve-year-old life end here.
But then, the hand supporting our combined weight on the railing suddenly gave out. In an instant, I lost my balance and was pulled by the Princess's body, falling headlong from the top of the tower.
No!
In that moment, the world seemed to move in slow motion. The Princess's eyes wide with shock, my hand still gripping hers, and Louis-sama's smile, though he wasn't here. I thought I would never face a death filled with regret again, yet my reckless actions were going to make Louis-sama sad.
No, no, no! I don't want to never see Louis-sama again!
At that moment, a dazzling green light erupted from the bangle on my left wrist. The green light instantly transformed into a pure white radiance and shot up toward the night sky.
Then, it immediately turned back toward us, swallowing us both in its massive white glow. I instinctively closed my eyes at the force of it, and my falling body felt as if it were being wrapped in a soft, fluffy duvet. My body soared, and I felt as if I were flying through the air.
I cautiously opened my eyes. I really was flying.
"...A dragon? No way..."
Instead of falling, the Princess and I were now on the back of a massive white dragon with its wings spread wide, swimming through the sea of the night sky. The Princess, just as confused as I was, clung to me, her mouth moving but no sound coming out.
The dragon circled the night sky as if enjoying itself before pulling up alongside the top of the tower where we had just been.
"You want us to get off here?"
Without knowing why, I supported the Princess, who seemed to have no strength left, and we tumbled back onto the top floor of the tower. My knees shook, and all strength left my body. My heart pounded so loudly I could hear it in my ears, and I finally let out a sigh of relief, knowing I was still alive.
"We're saved... I think. But this dragon..."
I watched the dragon from the tower as it flew freely through the sky again. It was about five meters long, its pure white body standing out against the dark night. I glanced at the bangle on my left wrist and touched it. I noticed a deep crack in the once-sturdy jewelry. I wondered if it had been damaged by the Princess's magic, but then the bangle crumbled into shards of light and rose into the sky. Following the light with my eyes, I saw the dragon soaring gracefully, as if enjoying its newfound freedom.
"Dragons were supposed to be extinct. They didn't even exist in the sequel."
The Princess, still clinging to me, stared blankly at the sky. I turned my gaze back to the dragon.
"What is happening..."
"That dragon was sealed by a previous Dark Saint. It seems I've broken the seal."
"A seal! On a dragon?"
"...So you really didn't know. I thought perhaps your and Lute-sama's study abroad was to investigate the fact that I had broken the dragon's seal."
Seeing the Princess's speechless, shocked face, I realized she truly hadn't noticed anything about my bangle or the dragon.
There's nothing to be done now.
Lute-sama must have seen the dragon overhead. The news would undoubtedly reach the Empire. In the not-so-distant future, the Emperor of Tratia might invade.
"I must return to the palace immediately..."
I had to report to Louis-sama and plan our next steps. I supported the Princess to head toward the stairs, but she wouldn't take her eyes off the dragon.
"That dragon... something is wrong with it."
"Eh?"
"It's moving as if it's lost control."
At her murmur, I hurriedly looked up. Just as she said, the dragon was spinning violently in the air, thrashing its body as if in pain.
"Look out!"
At the Princess's scream, the dragon let out a massive blast of fire. The force of it was enough to incinerate the trees around the palace in an instant. The dragon didn't stop, growling and spitting fire again and again.
The surrounding area quickly became a sea of flames. Even though it was night, the fire spreading through the forest around the palace made everything bright. Looking down from the tower, I could see the fire had reached the house as well.
"Your Highness, do you know any way to stop that dragon? I heard the Dragonewt blood has the power to command dragons."
"I... I don't know. But... I'll try!"
She shook her head in confusion but then looked up with a determined expression and stood up with all her strength. Closing her eyes, she clasped her hands in prayer. She was likely channeling her magic; the black mist appeared around her again. But this time, it didn't have the sharpness that had attacked me.
"Please! Stop! Stop it! Don't destroy this place. ...Don't destroy my precious place... this country!"
The black mist stretched toward the dragon like thorns. But the dragon noticed and twisted its body, flicking the mist away with its tail. At the same time, the dragon's tail struck the roof of the tower, and the top of the sturdy building crumbled easily. Stones from the roof rained down on us.
"Watch out! Your Highness, hold on!"
I pulled her close and ran to the corner of the room. A massive sound echoed as countless pieces of rubble scattered around us. A large piece of debris fell right where we had been standing; the thought that we might have been crushed if we hadn't moved made my blood run cold.
"Cough, cough... I'm sorry, I wasn't strong enough."
The dragon showed no sign of calming down, continuing to spit fire. The Princess was trembling, coughing from the smoke and dust.
"We have to get out of here. It's dangerous if this place collapses."
Supporting her, I headed for the magic stone. If I channeled magic into it, we could get out. Escaping was the priority.
"No... why now of all times... the magic stone is broken!"
I placed my hand on the stone embedded in the wall. But no matter how much magic I poured in, it wouldn't glow; it was just a regular stone. The Princess's face turned pale at my panic.
"What do we do?"
The stone must have broken from the earlier impact. But we couldn't stay here. I glanced toward the stairs. They seemed to have withstood the shock and looked fine. But could this exhausted girl make it down those long stairs safely?
"...Can you make it down the stairs?"
"Yes. Rachel saved me, after all. ...I'll do my best."
Her pink eyes were full of life. I gave her the best smile I could and squeezed her hands.
"Your Highness, let's make sure we both get out of this alive."
I didn't know where this choice would lead. But to survive, we supported each other and began to descend the cold, narrow spiral staircase.