Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Bluddied (4)
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It was a battle no one else knew about.
Who could have known?
That the captain of the Crimson Blood Cult's Fifth Division had personally come, biting down on one of his own kin along the way.
That this man had come to meet a certain woman in a place his footsteps would never normally reach.
Shwaaa...
Droplets fell.
A downpour from the sky.
But the droplets weren't clear; they were tinged red.
Bluddied's magic—Blood Mist—had collapsed, and blood droplets were raining down.
The drops, a mix of blood and water, soaked the ground.
The earth was shattered to pieces.
Craters scarred the area in every direction, proof that the Fifth Division captain had poured everything he had into the fight.
But this wasn't solely Bluddied's doing.
A little distance away from Bluddied.
The woman who had fought the Fifth Division captain.
It had only been possible because Third Imperial Princess Adelheit von Baldrion had joined her magic to the effort.
And now, she lay collapsed on the ground.
"Cough."
She spat out a small amount of blood.
The falling droplets soaked her dying body.
It was over. Adelheit knew it well.
There was probably no way she would survive.
The thought of dying here alone like this brought a touch of sorrow.
But what could be done?
She had come all the way here specifically to settle things with Bluddied.
To kill the hated enemy who had stolen her face.
If the price was her own life... Adelheit thought that was fine.
Though the Empire might get a bit noisy in her absence.
'Maybe I should have said something beforehand.'
No, it wouldn't have mattered.
The current Empire was full of people too busy saving themselves to care.
Telling them the princess was going off to fight the Fifth Division captain would only cause more chaos.
So it was right not to say anything.
Ah.
Still, maybe she should have told one person.
Dull blonde hair and dead gray eyes.
A man whose heart bore wounds as deep as Adelheit's own.
To him, at least... maybe it would have been okay to tell.
"Haa—"
She closed her eyes, then opened them.
Sensation was fading from her extremities.
Soon, Adelheit would die.
But that was fine.
She had killed one of the Crimson Blood Cult captains, said to be humanity's greatest threat.
That was achievement enough.
She could die satisfied.
Thud—
"...?"
Adelheit's eyes flew wide open.
Footsteps?
Why would footsteps echo in a place like this?
This battle had been fought deliberately where no human feet would tread.
Thud—thud—
And they were familiar footsteps.
The steps of a man she had long been conscious of, always aware of.
Soon.
In the drizzling rain.
A man's face appeared above her own.
"I didn't expect you to show up here."
"..."
The man.
Kline Leonhart looked down at Adelheit without a word.
As if he didn't know what to say.
Or as if there was nothing to say.
"How did you... end up here? Cough. I didn't tell a soul."
"Whenever Your Highness suddenly disappears, it's usually something related to the Fifth Division captain. I figured it was the same this time, so I came looking."
"Heh... You fool. I never knew you had such delicacy in you."
"..."
Still no reaction to her joke.
What a bore.
Adelheit drew in a long breath and let it out.
And suddenly realized.
'Ah.'
I'm not wearing my mask right now.
So he can see my ugly face, too.
She glanced at Kline's expression.
Her vision was already too blurred to see clearly, but he didn't seem bothered.
Good. That was enough relief.
She didn't want to say goodbye to the man she admired while showing him her flawed self.
"...Why would you do something so reckless?"
Kline sighed.
He seemed regretful.
Rare for him.
This man who rarely showed emotion—what had come over him?
"No matter how much of a threat the Fifth Division captain is to humanity, there's no need for Your Highness to sacrifice yourself. You could have done it with others."
"You fool... Even on the verge of parting, you say something so boring."
"If you leave, what will become of the rest of humanity? Who will lead the Empire?"
"There's... your brother for that. Sadly, my sister is dead. But... your brother could. Cough."
"I don't understand. ...I thought you were someone who wouldn't do something so foolish."
Indeed.
As Adelheit had said, the Second Imperial Princess was dead.
In the north, Prion.
Killed by a Crimson Blood Cult captain who commanded magic beasts.
The one uniting the remnants of humanity was the First Imperial Prince.
The Emperor was gradually losing his sharpness.
There was no one to rely on but the First Prince.
Thus, the Third Imperial Princess had shared her brother's burden.
But now, that ended today.
Humanity had eliminated one of its most fearsome enemies.
At the cost of its most precious star.
Shwaaa—
The rain pattered lightly on Adelheit's face.
On the ugly face scarred from childhood.
"I was young back then."
She reminisced about the past.
That time.
The girl of fourteen, called the Empire's most cherished flower.
"Born a princess, yet I hated living as one. ...A foolish girl. Compared to my brother and sister, my duties were few, and my privileges greater than anyone's."
A foolish child who, ignorant of that, always complained and grew bored.
That was how Adelheit remembered her younger self.
Looking back now, it was shameful.
She knew well how immature that girl had been.
Yes, if she'd grown up unchanged, she might have realized it eventually.
And matured into a woman who comported herself well as royalty.
But that chance never came.
"And Bluddied, that woman, made me realize it. How foolish I'd been. How pointless those childish conflicts were."
"..."
"I only learned when I was pushed to the cliff's edge. That I could easily bear my duties. That I was just a child who hated them for no reason."
Yes, that realization wasn't one Adelheit had come to on her own.
Bluddied had forced it upon her.
The price was Adelheit's face.
"So I took revenge. For presuming to teach me what I could have learned myself. For taking something irreplaceable as payment."
Kline couldn't speak.
This was a scar long etched in Adelheit's heart.
Even those who pitied her and begged her to forgive herself—she never listened.
Who could dare interfere in such an old wound?
...Kline knew it better than anyone.
So he listened silently, without retort.
"Cough."
It was the end.
To Kline, Adelheit would breathe her last soon.
Fighting and winning alone against the Fifth Division captain was a miracle in itself.
It was a wonder she'd lasted this long.
"..."
Adelheit's eyes turned forward.
Her blurred vision.
In it, she saw steely gray eyes staring at her.
"...Sir... Kline."
The dying woman's final words.
They held a power even Kline couldn't brush aside.
"Yes."
Kline knelt and answered.
Adelheit spoke haltingly.
"Do you... find me beautiful?"
A statement that made no sense without context.
But Kline knew.
The mask she'd worn since fourteen, hiding her face her whole life.
Adelheit's mask was shattered, revealing her bare face.
What to say about it?
Kline hesitated to speak.
Saying she was beautiful would be polite, fitting the mood.
But he couldn't utter it.
It would be a lie.
He didn't feel that way.
He hated deceiving himself or lying to the dying.
Seeing his momentary hesitation, Adelheit smiled softly and chided him.
"Heh... I figured as much."
This man would hate himself forever.
For the mistakes of his youth—no, things that weren't even his fault compared to Adelheit's.
He'd endlessly compare himself to others, envy, resent, and blame.
That saddened her.
So she wanted to ease his heart, at least.
To tell him to live more for himself.
But...
"You fool..."
With those words, Adelheit breathed her last.
Shwaaa...
The rain drizzled, pattering on her face.
For some reason, Kline reached out and covered Adelheit's face.
Plip...
Rain bounced off his hand.
But that was enough.
No one would see Adelheit's face now.
It wouldn't be dirtied by raindrops anymore.
"..."
Kline thought he wasn't crying.
Of course not. Childish emotions like tears had dried up long ago.
He'd abandoned them in his little sister's sparring matches as a child.
So his blurred vision was just coincidence.
Thinking that, Kline stood.
Thud—thud—
He left the battlefield toward the Empire.
But for some reason, another thought crossed Kline's mind.
A proposal a certain woman had once made him.
—Why don't you join the Crimson Blood Cult? I could even make you a captain.
The woman who called herself Yoru.
Her words echoed inexplicably in his ears.
Kline walked silently toward the Empire.
This was before Kline had joined the Crimson Blood Cult.
I slashed at my hand with my sword and spun around.
Grabbing the startled Adelheit by the waist, I leaped back with her.
"Kyaa—"
Adelheit let out a girlish scream as she fell into my arms.
I carried her to the rear and set her down.
"H-How... are you here...?"
Adelheit looked up at me with flustered eyes.
I didn't answer and advanced forward.
There.
Bluddied floated in the air, her red eyes gleaming.
"Oh? You've come, little one."
Bluddied didn't seem particularly surprised.
Like watching an ant wriggle to escape a human shoe.
She looked down at me from the absolute superior's vantage.
"Here to die? I went out of my way not to touch you. Even tried to let you live, but you come seeking death. How foolish."
"Sorry, but my life is on the line anyway. To take you down."
The overwhelming pressure.
Killing intent materialized, pricking my skin.
Bluddied, captain of the Crimson Blood Cult's Fifth Division.
Indeed, tremendous power.
An opponent so strong I wondered if I could win.
But I didn't tremble.
A man keeps his word once given.
No point shaking now that I'd come this far.
"So arrogant. Don't you know your place? Can't you feel the gap?"
"No. I feel it fine."
"Then why? Keep talking big, and you might not die pretty."
"I told you. My life is on the line to kill you."
"..."
A crack appeared on Bluddied's face.
Probably annoyed that someone so much weaker than her was mouthing off.
"Hoo—"
I exhaled, gathering my strength.
"Well... playing with you a bit isn't out of the question. Isn't that right, little one?"
"Do as you like. The price might be your life."
"Cheeky. Ah, yes. Princess? Absolutely no magic, okay? Do that, and I take your life instead of your face."
Bluddied's gaze flicked to Adelheit behind me.
Seemed she was wary of magic coordination.
Why, though?
Even combining our strengths, we couldn't beat Bluddied.
For now, I shelved the question.
I gripped my sword.
"Then... shall we play?"
Azure Dragon Soaring Sword (Second Form)
Dragon Tail Falling Flash
As Bluddied scattered blood droplets into the air—
'Coming.'
I infused aura into my sword and swung instantly.
Kagak!
The blood droplets clashed with the blade, making an unpleasant noise.
Swinging felt heavy.
Mere droplets, yet like striking rock—burdensome to move against.
But it was fine.
Dragon Tail Falling Flash was a form I'd practiced countless times.
No way mere weight like this would stop my hand—!
Clang!
I deflected the droplets and reset my stance.
A brief exchange.
Mere amusement for Bluddied.
But I'd expended much effort defending, so I caught my breath.
"Not bad at blocking. Hehe. You've got some skill."
Bluddied curled her lips and scattered more blood droplets.
More than before.
Double—no, triple the amount.
Spread wider.
Intending to widen the attack area.
"Try blocking this too? You staked your life, so you will, right? Fail, and... who knows what happens to the princess behind you?"
The droplets expanded their domain.
And when they stood rigid like needles—
Azure Dragon Soaring Sword (First Form)
Coiling Dragon Flow Wall
My body spun a full circle, like a dragon taking flight, with a resonant sound.
Kwarak!
Blood droplets scattered every which way.
As I'd felt against monsters, Bluddied's droplets weren't simple magic.
Crystals of potent mana, hard to sever even with aura.
Forcing them aside while spinning tore at my body too.
Droplets bounced off aura, slicing clothes and skin.
But I ignored it, focusing on defense.
By the time I'd deflected them all, Bluddied was cackling.
"Ahaha. Impressive. Perfect entertainment. To block my 'Red Needle' so well. Good job."
"Thanks."
"But... is it really okay? Blood's already dripping from your body? And it's not from my droplets, right?"
As she said, my body was already wounded.
After just two exchanges.
But I was still fine.
As I steadied my breath and stance, someone suddenly smacked my back from behind.
"Wh-Why did you come...?! What if something happens to you here!"
What a nuisance.
I needed to focus on the fight, but her nagging distracted me.
"I came to save you, Princess. Why make such a fuss?"
"Are you kidding?! Do you know why I came all the way here alone! To keep others safe!"
Ah.
So that's why she came here.
As expected, Bluddied had made some separate offer.
"...This isn't right. It's better if only I sacrifice myself. I don't want you hurt too..."
Even as she said it, Adelheit lacked conviction.
Somehow, she didn't fully believe in her own actions.
Pushed by duty, yet embracing it willingly.
A contradictory resolve had brought her here.
"Surprising. I didn't think you'd practice noblesse oblige."
"...It's... because of you!"
"Pardon?"
Why blame me all of a sudden?
As I blinked at her, Adelheit muttered, cheeks flushing.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"You keep doing un-noble things despite being a noble! Showing me that, and look what happened to me!"
"Hmm..."
Honestly, caught off guard, I had nothing to say.
But Adelheit seemed utterly sincere.
As if I'd truly influenced her.
So, what to do?
Well, the answer was obvious.
"Then I'll take responsibility."
"Yes, take resp—wait? Responsibility?"
"You said you came here because of me."
I gripped my sword and stepped forward.
Positioning myself between Adelheit and Bluddied, who watched our exchange with amusement.
"So I'll save you."
A princess captured by a witch.
Maybe it'd be fun to play the knight come to rescue her.