The Shattering Betrayal
With a chilling metallic screech, the prison's iron door slowly creaked open. Leoness and I held our breath in unison. The cell was thick with dust from the broken wall, and amid the hazy smoke and shadows, the figure that emerged wasn't Esilla or Lilliana.
"So you were here after all."
And it wasn't a guard either. A man cloaked head to toe in black robes.
Squelch, squelch. Each step he took sent a wet, sticky sound echoing through the cell. Dark red liquid dripped steadily from the hem of his robe. The metallic tang of blood assaulted my nose.
Staring at him, my mind filled with questions.
Who the hell is this guy?
A complete stranger. But Leoness's eyes widened the moment she saw him.
"Ka...rihim?"
She shot to her feet, as if recognizing the face.
"Karihim! How did you get here? Have you come to rescue this one?"
The man called Karihim pulled back his hood, revealing a middle-aged man with a dignified, mature face. He dropped to one knee before Leoness, his expression brimming with emotion.
"Your Highness. I beg your forgiveness for arriving so late."
"No, no! This one knew you would come. As expected of my most loyal knight!"
Leoness grabbed the iron bars and bounced like an excited child. I watched the sudden reunion with my arms crossed.
Viscount Karihim.
Now I remembered. A noble of the fallen Austria Kingdom and Leoness's closest advisor. In the game, he was always at the forefront during the coup route. A man of unwavering loyalty.
Or at least, he should have been...
The robe he wore looked oddly familiar. A faint red moon emblem stitched into the hem.
Red moon emblem...
Something tugged at the edge of my memory.
No way.
"Your Highness."
Karihim drew a small vial from his pocket.
"Please, take this first. It's an elixir to restore your weakened vitality."
"Oh, as expected from the one this lady trusts and cherishes most."
Leoness reached through the bars without a hint of suspicion and downed it in one gulp.
"How have you endured your time in this prison?"
"It was utterly humiliating. But now that you've come, we can escape. Come on, open the door. We'll regroup the scattered knights and—"
"No."
Karihim rose slowly.
"Your Highness must not leave this place."
"...What?"
In that instant, Leoness staggered. She clutched her chest and collapsed.
"Leoness!"
I gripped the bars, shouting her name in the sudden chaos.
"Urk... Wh-what is... this..."
"Qi-Dispersing Poison."
His voice was calm, matter-of-fact.
"Procured from a nation far east of the kingdom. It will temporarily suppress Your Highness's formidable aura."
Karihim smirked coldly as he unlocked the cell door.
Clank.
"Kingdom restoration? Revenge? All futile endeavors, Your Highness."
He stepped inside, a gleaming dagger in hand.
"I've realized we could never topple the Empire, no matter our efforts. That's why I sought... greater power."
"...!"
Then it all clicked.
"You. You've joined hands with the Black Moon Cult, haven't you?"
The Black Moon Cult. The villains who invade the academy mid-story, turning it into a wasteland.
Why the hell are they showing up this early?
Karihim glanced at me as I blurted it out.
"Lady Bellaph, was it? Quite perceptive."
He nodded shamelessly.
"Ha, what'd they promise you? Money? Honor? Power?"
"All of it."
Greed gleamed in Karihim's eyes.
"I open the academy gates for them, and they lend me the power to claim the throne. Oh, and as a bonus, I have to hand over Your Highness's corpse."
"Betrayal... Was it all betrayal? My trust... Father's will..."
Leoness ground her teeth, struggling to stand. The poison made her sway, but her eyes burned fierce.
"This one is Austria's princess! You think a mere poison can break me?!"
She forced herself upright, her body crumbling but her spirit holding firm on willpower alone.
But Karihim didn't flinch.
"Impressive as always. But do you know this, Your Highness?"
He tossed a blood-soaked bundle of papers to the floor. Leoness's pupils trembled as she recognized them.
"These are... the knights'... Why..."
"While Your Highness languished here, I issued one order: 'By Her Highness's command, all assemble.' And at that location... our cult awaited."
"What... do you mean..."
"Three hundred."
"..."
"Do you grasp the significance of that number?"
"...I don't... know..."
"The exact count of those who gathered at your command. Three hundred souls—men, women, elderly, children—not a one spared. All slain."
"...!!!!"
Leoness couldn't even scream.
"Because Your Highness lived, they clung to hope. That hope drew them together. And so they died."
"Ah... Aaaah..."
"Your very existence was their curse. Had you quietly died to the Empire... Had you not survived this prison... They could have lived as ordinary imperial citizens. Never dreaming of some foolish kingdom."
Her red eyes dulled to gray.
Those words clawed at this one's heart more viciously than the Qi-Dispersing Poison she'd been fed. Ahh... What had this one done until now? All this one had built wasn't the foundation of a kingdom, but a tower of corpses.
Her legs gave out. Not from the poison.
Bloodstained documents scattered across the floor. Familiar names stared back at her: the knight captain she'd sparred with, the nursemaid who'd carried her on her back, the young squire dreaming of the kingdom's future.
All dead. Because of her. Because she lived. Because she'd filled their heads with vain dreams.
Her head bowed of its own accord.
"...Kill me."
She had no will to resist.
"If this tragedy ends with my death... then take my head."
That was the final atonement she could offer them.
She closed her eyes. Icy killing intent poured over her crown. She felt Karihim raise his dagger.
Forgive me... everyone...
In the darkness, she awaited death.
But then—
"God, listening to this crap is so disgusting I can't even."
A low, cold voice laced with fury cut through.
The woman who'd shared this cell with her for two days. Elise de Bellaph.
At least you escape quickly...
She tried to will the thought.
But the lady's next words shattered her expectations.
"Figures the cult freak's gaslighting game is top-tier."
Karihim's descending arm froze at her words.
"Ha, and what can you do from in there? Slip out that hole in the wall behind you nice and quiet, and I'll pretend I didn't see."
"So I run and get caught by your cult buddies?"
"Oops, you caught me. Truth is, the higher-ups want you dragged in alive too."
"Well, you're right—I'm locked up, so options are limited. But y'know..."
The lady pointed a finger through the bars. No hesitation, pure confidence.
"I can do this."
"What're you gonna—"
"So quit messing with my prison buddy and fuck off."
Her lips moved.
Bang.
KABOOM! A heavy explosion tore through the air.
I slowly opened my eyes. Dust choked the air. As the cloud settled, the scene revealed itself.
Karihim, who moments ago had raised his dagger to strike me down. Only his lower half remained where he'd stood. His upper body was gone without a trace—as if some massive beast had chomped it off in one bite. Cleanly severed at the waist.
"Ah..."
A sigh was all that escaped me.
My loyal retainer. The betrayer who'd slain three hundred lives. The man who'd come to end my life too.
For one with such titles, his end was pathetically anticlimactic.
"Fucking loud, seriously."
The lady's voice echoed from the dust. She blew the lingering black smoke off her fingertip.
"Killed him, but damn, overdid the power a bit."
She approached me slowly. The cell door hung open from Karihim's entry.
The lady crouched before me.
"Got a lot to say, but..."
Her amethyst eyes bored into mine.
"You okay?"
I stared up at her blankly.
Okay? How could I answer that?
Relieved to be alive? Satisfied my betrayer was dead?
No. What welled up inside wasn't relief or triumph.
Just endless void... and guilt too heavy to bear.
"Why..."
My cracked voice scraped from my throat.
"Why save this one?"
"Huh?"
She scowled.
"Why not just let me die? Leave me to that bastard's blade. Why?"
"After I save your ass, this is what you say?"
"I should have died!"
I slammed my fist into the floor.
"They died because of me. My foolishness killed them all..."
My vision blurred white. I couldn't even make out the lady's face right in front of me. Tears streamed down my cheeks, mingling with the blood on the floor.
"You there... I propose once more."
Tears fell in drops.
"I know you're a true black magician now. Will you not make a deal with me?"
"...For what."
"My blood, my life, my lifespan—whatever you desire."
I clutched her hem with trembling hands.
"I want nothing in return. Just take my life..."
"..."
"Please... let this pain end..."
The lady said nothing to my desperate plea. She merely gazed down at my broken form with cold, dead eyes.