Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Beneath the Ruins
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“For now, just pretend you’ve been captured by me and come out quietly.”
I smiled brightly as I said this to him.
“What makes you think I should trust you?”
But this Eastern assassin was quite the skeptic.
His lips twitched beneath the torn mask.
“Unless I’m certain you’re one of the Crown Prince’s men, I won’t budge an inch.”
He held his dagger raised, maintaining his stance.
‘As expected, words alone won’t cut it.’
“I’ve planted smoke bombs at the cathedral entrance ahead of time.”
I raised both hands.
With a gesture showing I meant no harm, I continued.
“For now, pretend to be captured and come out with me. Then, when I set off the smoke bombs, you can slip away.”
As I explained the plan in detail, the assassin’s interest was piqued.
“Is that for real…?”
“Yes, I’ll tie your hands nice and loose. So when I give the signal, just untie them and run.”
I slipped my hand into the inner pocket of my suit jacket.
The moment I pulled out my tie—
Seeing the leopard print on it, I shoved it back in.
“…”
Instead, I grabbed a rotten rope I’d seen lying around near the abandoned cathedral.
The assassin stared plainly at the obviously flimsy-looking rope.
Then, with a fake cough, he slowly lowered his dagger.
“Alright, then. Let me tie your hands first.”
He eyed me suspiciously.
“I’ve tied it so you can just pull your hands straight out to loosen it.”
“I know that much.”
The assassin remained on guard.
Only after I tied the rope genuinely loosely did he finally start walking ahead.
I observed his body leisurely from behind.
A powerful malevolent energy coiled around his heart.
And that energy was connected to his head.
Stab the heart, and the energy would surge up and explode in his brain.
I had to cut off his breath before that.
“By the way… when exactly is your backup coming?”
As we headed out, he asked cautiously.
The plan had gone awry, he’d lost his comrades, and he’d been facing off alone in the cathedral—it must have left him deeply uneasy.
Sure enough, his pupils, glancing back at me, were badly bloodshot.
“If you run east for ten minutes, Vice Captain Ekina of the Crimson Flame will be waiting. She’ll lead you to Samad.”
I rattled off the lies smoothly.
“Sounds trustworthy enough.”
The assassin, knowing Ekina was the Crown Prince’s shadow, finally relaxed.
“Per our agreement, you’ll rescue Lord Hakim no matter the outcome, right?”
‘As expected, the masterminds are Hakim’s supporters from the Eastern Kingdom.’
“Of course. Have you ever seen the Crown Prince break a promise?”
I answered his question with a firm gaze.
At that, the assassin spoke in a deeply dissatisfied tone.
“You’d better compensate us handsomely for what happened today.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I furrowed my brow and asked.
The assassin replied firmly.
“The entrance to the passage you told us about—it was crawling with knights waiting there.”
His murky red eyes glared at me suspiciously.
“As if they knew we were coming in advance…!”
That was something even I hadn’t anticipated.
I hadn’t known Irina was off chasing Leon separately.
“The Crown Prince will have to explain himself about this…!”
He shouted at me in utter frustration.
As if he were the one in charge.
But…
His attitude came to a complete halt.
“I came all this way to rescue you, and here you are making a racket.”
Having extracted all the information I needed from him—
There was no longer any reason to keep him alive.
“What…?”
The assassin tried to whip his head toward me.
In that instant—
I wrapped both hands around his head.
“I heard everything, so I’ll relay it to the Crown Prince myself.”
“…!”
With that, I twisted hard.
Until his neck bones snapped.
Crack—!!!
His face spun around like an owl’s.
After that, he could say nothing more.
The Eastern assassin crumpled to the floor in that state.
The princess stared at the fallen assassin with a troubled expression.
Then, she looked at me with concern and asked.
“Veil… are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
I curled my lips into a grin.
‘As long as I snapped his neck before stabbing the heart, it should be fine.’
Seeing my relaxed demeanor, the Knights of Verdant relaxed as well.
Among the relieved knights was Allen.
“I’m so glad you’re safe, Sir Veil!”
Irina shrugged off the jacket draped over her shoulders.
Dressed in her tights and uniform top, she slowly approached me.
“You’re not hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.”
I picked up the sprawled assassin’s corpse.
His body still brimmed with that sinister energy, but his heart was intact.
As long as I didn’t pierce it, it wouldn’t burst.
Thinking that, I grabbed his shoulder.
Just as I was about to drag him up—
“…?”
A chill ran down my spine at the twitching nape of his neck.
‘What…? I definitely twisted his neck properly.’
His twisted nape slowly turned.
Then, his once-rigid lips moved.
“You… weren’t sent by the Crown Prince after all….”
I panicked at this unprecedented situation.
Because the man stabbed his own left chest with his hand.
He pierced through his ribs barehanded and gripped his heart.
And then…
He crushed it deliberately.
“The true master of the East… is Lord Hakim….”
He muttered in a raspy voice.
With that, all the malevolent energy in his heart began to explode.
Boom—!!!
“Urk…!”
A deafening blast, and the scattered gunpowder around us ignited.
The powder turned to flames, whipping up a massive firestorm.
“Veil!!”
Irina didn’t back away even seeing the flames.
Staggering, she started running toward me.
“Don’t come closer—it’s dangerous!!”
To block the explosion heading toward Irina and the young knights, I raised my foot.
Then slammed it down with all my might.
Boom!!
Massive chunks of floor erupted upward.
I shielded them with those chunks on my back, blocking the surging blast.
Thanks to that, the direct flames didn’t reach the princess.
But…
Rumble—!!!
The shockwave from the explosion started collapsing the cathedral ruins.
Just like her palace in my past life.
“No….”
The princess stared blankly at me, holding out alone amid the crumbling ruins.
With the same distant, powerless eyes as back then.
“This can’t happen….”
The silver-haired woman muttered in disbelief.
Then, she sprinted toward me, vanishing into the ruins.
“Your Highness, you mustn’t go!”
Allen and the knights tried to stop her.
But Irina reached me faster than they could.
Just like the day of the purge, when she’d returned to me.
“Don’t come—it’s dangerous!”
I shouted while holding firm.
Yet the princess ultimately…
Buried her face in my chest.
With her frail body that held not a scrap of mana.
“Urk…!”
I wasn’t as strong now as in my past life.
I wasn’t even sure I could withstand such a massive explosion alone.
The debris battered my body relentlessly.
Even my brilliant golden aura rippled like a pond struck by a stone.
It hurt so much. It was agonizing.
But…
Irina clung to my body amid it all.
She enveloped me gently.
Just like that day.
“Veil….”
She cautiously lifted her head from my chest.
Her eyes rimmed red, she gazed up at me intently.
“I won’t just keep receiving your help forever.”
The princess wrapped her arms tightly around me.
She closed her eyes and focused her mind.
“This time, I’ll save you…!”
In that moment—
A white aura began to rise from her body enveloping me.
“This is…!”
It was a Grand Master’s aura.
She, like Lea, was no mage.
Yet in this desperate moment—
The princess unleashed the same power as the Conqueror King from her body, forming a barrier around us.
Rumble—!!
The cathedral debris crashed down on us.
Whirled in choking dust, the princess and I vanished beneath it.
Just like that day.
「――――――.」
“…”
When consciousness returned, only pitch-black darkness filled my vision.
My entire body ached as if it had been crushed.
‘So this is the power of the explosives that leveled a palace….’
The blast’s force was greater than I’d expected.
If I’d known, I wouldn’t have stepped in recklessly.
My greed in trying to empower Irina had been excessive.
‘But….’
Even knowing that, why had I thrown myself into danger again?
Because of the brief memories with her from my past life?
Or simply because Irina was so breathtakingly beautiful?
“…”
I let out a faint breath.
The moment I barely opened my eyes—
I realized the answer to my earlier question.
“Sniff… Veil… open your eyes, please….”
Irina.
Her tears sparkled in the darkness, trailing down my cheek.
Perhaps because of that moist, warm touch.
I truly felt that I was still alive.
“Why did it come to this….”
The princess murmured in a heartbroken voice.
The regal demeanor she’d shown me until now was long gone.
Right now, she was just like her old self.
“I only wanted to protect you and my father….”
Irina’s voice barely reached me.
She was saying something, but my ears were still ringing from the blast.
“Haa….”
A cramped space in the debris where the two of us barely lay together.
She let out a shallow breath there.
Because of the tight space, our bodies pressed against each other.
Her thighs wrapped around my leg.
Her soft breasts fully pressed against my body.
Yet the princess paid it no mind.
She simply stared intently at me, swept up in the explosion.
“…”
Irina’s hand touched my cheek.
She carefully examined my face.
“Veil, are you awake…?”
At the princess’s question, I finally opened my eyes fully.
Then, with a weary face, I looked up at her.
“Yes.”
“Thank goodness….”
The princess wiped her eyes.
But her gaze still wavered.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this….”
“Sorry? I’m the one who bragged about handling it alone.”
To reassure Irina, I lifted the corner of my mouth.
But even that sent pain flooding through me, forcing my eyes shut tight.
“Don’t push yourself… your injuries are severe….”
“I’m sorry.”
She lay atop me, enveloping me.
Pinned under the debris, we couldn’t move from that position.
Yet the princess showed no discomfort.
If anything, she looked as comfortable as if lounging on a bed.
“The power I had left was just what I used back there… I couldn’t protect you completely….”
“Power you had left?”
When I asked, the princess hesitated before answering.
“Yeah… I inherited a bit of my father’s Grand Aura. It’s limited, but still.”
She had no talent for mana, yet she could wield aura.
It was a wondrous power.
“Once I use it, it doesn’t regenerate. So I’ve portioned it out over my lifetime.”
To wield the full might of a perfect Grand Aura.
Even if limited in uses, it was incredible.
“I used a big chunk once before… that was my last bit. Sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for? I’m grateful you used such power on me.”
I somehow managed to curl my lips upward.
“If anything, I’m the sorry one.”
I glanced downward briefly.
Then looked at the princess lying atop me like a lover.
“In a place like this… in such an embarrassing state….”
Was it because we were pressed so close?
My eyes unwittingly drifted to her compressed breasts, and I squeezed mine shut.
Somehow, her figure felt even more mature than in my past life.
“No, Veil.”
The princess chuckled softly at my words.
Burying her cheek against my collarbone, she murmured.
“I’m fine with it right now….”
With my eyes closed, I couldn’t catch her murmur clearly.
But the steady resonance of our heartbeats alone let me feel her comfort.
“…”
「Your Highness Irina, Sir Veil!! Are you alright!!」
A voice came from above.
「If you can hear us, say something!!」
Even the other Knights of Verdant.
They were searching for us atop the debris.
“Looks like everyone’s safe.”
I murmured with my eyes closed.
“Yeah… thank goodness.”
Irina let out a relieved breath too.
I felt the princess’s body heat and curves enveloping me.
Perhaps because of that comfort.
I decided to rest just a little.
“Then, I’ll rest easy for a bit….”
Just a little.
“Yeah….”
When I said no more, Irina lifted her head slightly.
Then cautiously asked.
“Veil, are you asleep…?”
Her emerald eyes gleamed in the darkness.
When I gave no reply, she laid her cheek against my chest.
“You’re still breathing….”
Confirming I’d merely fallen asleep, she relaxed.
A faint smile curved her lips.
“You’re sleeping. Good.”
After saying that, Irina closed her eyes gently.
She anticipated the emperor’s praise and her knights’ elevated status upon returning to the surface.
“If we get rescued like this, everything will be resolved.”
But…
The princess’s eyes flashed like a wild beast’s.
As if the current situation mattered far more.
“But right now… I want to stay like this longer.”
Irina observed my body with shy eyes.
Then, those eyes swiftly turned greedy.
“This is…”
The leopard-print tie inside my torn jacket.
The princess knew exactly who that pattern represented.
She lifted her head bit by bit.
Seemingly displeased, she stared intently at the sleeping man’s face.
“…”
The fortune teller’s words suddenly flashed in the princess’s mind.
The lion and the leopard.
And one man who matched perfectly with everyone.
Irina shook her head to dispel the memory.
Peering through her disheveled hair at the man below.
“I was the one preparing first, and you dare….”
The man she’d discovered before anyone else.
Now, the princess was closer to him than anyone.
Perhaps because of that.
The heart of the twenty-year-old woman began to race.
“Whether lion or leopard, I don’t care….”
Her body heat rose hotter, warming the chilled man.
As if awakening to instincts she hadn’t known.
“Veil, you’re mine.”
Empowered by that feeling, the princess half-lidded her eyes seductively.
Sweeping her tousled hair aside, she brought her face close.
“In this life….”
The princess’s soft lips approached.
Unlike her hesitation at the villa.
“I won’t let you go.”
Irina pressed herself to the lips of her chosen man.
She drank in his breath freely, imprinting her scent deep within him.
“Never.”
The more she left, the more new sensations awakened in the princess.
Guilt surged—had she always been this lewd?
But the princess erased that thought instantly.
“Haa….”
Instead, as a woman, she marked the man she desired to her heart’s content.
Deeply enough for white threads to stretch between them.
The deeper her instincts grew, the tighter she unconsciously clenched her thighs.
They strained taut, flesh peeking through her torn tights.
“Hnng….”
The more their saliva mingled, the more her body heated.
“So hot….”
That was how sweet a man’s body could be.
It instinctively moved even a woman who’d lived nobly her whole life.