Chapter 7 The Price of Betrayal 3
Chapter 7: {The Price of Betrayal} 3
{The Price of Betrayal}
"AAAAAAH! Ugh!"
Iris let out a scream, feeling nausea rise in her throat.
Disgust at what she had done overwhelmed her.
"Ugh—UWEHHH!"
In the end, Iris forgot all dignity as a princess and vomited.
The bloodstains he had left behind still soaked the floor.
The traces were from the blood he had spilled when she stabbed him with her sword.
Ji-hu...
After that, Iris couldn't remember what she had done.
When she came to her senses, she realized she was already inside a government office in a nearby city.
Why am I here?
Still disoriented, Iris belatedly recognized her surroundings.
It was a place she remembered.
Before setting out to slay the Demon King, she had spoken with Yu Ji-hu here.
[Iris, only the Demon King remains now.]
[Yes.]
[Finally... the end is near.]
The memory of his face, bright with anticipation, made her chest tighten painfully.
Still not fully coherent, Iris felt momentarily confused by her emotions—until the memories she didn't want to recall resurfaced.
Ah... I stabbed him with my sword.
The moment she remembered piercing Ji-hu with her blade, a deep anguish surged within her.
Self-loathing and revulsion welled up again, but she had already emptied her stomach—only dry heaves remained.
"Ugh—UGH!"
Trembling in agony, tears streamed down Iris' face as she thought:
I want to see him.
She wanted to see Yu Ji-hu again.
She wanted to meet him, even just once, to apologize.
She didn't want to be remembered as the woman who had stabbed him with a sword.
But how?
He had returned to Earth.
The only way back to Earth was after defeating the Demon King—a method only he had known.
Originally, she would have followed him there. But because she had doubted and betrayed him, everything had fallen apart.
"Ji-hu..."
Lost in despair, drowning in regret, she whispered his name.
Then—
"Your Highness, how long do you intend to keep crying?"
The door opened, and someone stepped inside.
A beautiful woman with long, cascading red hair—the mage Scarlet.
"...What do you want?"
Iris didn't even look at her, her voice lifeless.
"I asked how long you plan to keep weeping."
Scarlet's accusatory tone made anger flare in Iris.
"You speak so easily. Why? Was it that simple for you to forget him? Ha! After blasting him with your magic like that."
The words spilled out before she could stop them, and even Iris was shocked at her own venom.
What am I saying?
Scarlet had been her comrade.
No—not just Scarlet. Mine and Yenia too. They had been like sisters. Before the Oracle had come, they had even shared dreams of what life might be like if they all went to Earth with Ji-hu.
"Right now—"
Scarlet's face twisted, fury flashing across her beautiful features.
"—you're the one who stabbed him first. Do you really have the right to say that?"
"What?"
Iris' anger faltered as the memory of her own sword piercing Ji-hu resurfaced.
She had no right to blame anyone. Realizing she was just lashing out, she bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, Scarlet. I'm... not in my right mind. I have no right to accuse anyone... Hic!"
As she spoke, tears fell again. Scarlet watched her with a pained expression—she, too, was suffering under the weight of guilt and regret for attacking Ji-hu.
"Princess Iris... We've all committed an unforgivable sin against him."
"I know. If I could die before him to atone, I would. How could I have... stabbed him like that?"
Even now, Iris couldn't believe what she had done.
It was too late for regrets, but she couldn't stop wondering—why hadn't she trusted him?
"But it's already too late. He's gone back to Earth. We can't even apologize to him now."
As Iris despaired, Scarlet spoke again.
"There's still a way."
"A way? What do you mean?"
"A way to reach Earth—where he lives. Mine and Yenia already know. At the very least, we can meet him again and apologize."
Iris' mind went blank except for one thought.
I can see him again!
She could see his face again. She could apologize.
If she could just tell him she was sorry for doubting him, Iris felt she could die in peace.
Looking at Scarlet's face, she realized—the mage felt the same. She, too, was prepared to face death if it meant she could apologize to him.
"How? How can we see him again?"
With newfound purpose, Iris stood. Scarlet's expression darkened slightly.
"The preparations are already complete. But we'll need another month."
"A month..."
A month, and she could see him.
Scarlet said everything was ready, but just to be sure, Iris asked again.
"Nothing else needs to be done in that time?"
"...No. With the blood he left behind at the scene, we can track him no matter where he is."
"...I see."
Iris' hands trembled again.
The blood he had left behind—it was the blood he had spilled when she stabbed him.
Just hearing about it made his wounded figure flash before her eyes. She couldn't stay composed.
But I can see him again.
Hope blossomed.
She could apologize.
...But that hope didn't absolve her guilt. She realized it immediately.
[Why? Iris, why couldn't you trust me?]
In her dreams, Ji-hu wept bloody tears, resentful.
Seeing him—bleeding from his mouth, her sword still lodged in his body—Iris could only shake uncontrollably.
"N-No! This isn't what I wanted! Hic! Ji-hu, please forgive me! I was wrong! I—I didn't trust you! Sob!"
In the dream, she fell to her knees, begging for forgiveness. But Ji-hu didn't forgive her.
[I can't! Iris! I curse you for betraying me! I hate you!]
"AAAAAAH!!!"
Iris woke with a scream, realizing she had dozed off.
"A nightmare..."
Drenched in cold sweat, she understood.
Until she saw him again, she would never escape this hell.
A month... a month...
When Scarlet first mentioned it, a month had seemed like nothing—just a wait until she could see him again. Now, it felt unbearably long.
"Hic! How can I be forgiven? How... how...?"
A desperate craving took root in her heart—not just to apologize, but to be forgiven.
After returning to the imperial palace, even before her father, the Emperor, she rambled incoherently. The maids forcibly escorted her to her chambers, where she muttered like a madwoman.
"I don't deserve rest. Ji-hu... Ji-hu..."
She skipped meals, thinking only of him—reliving their memories before screaming in horror at the moment of her betrayal.
Every thought of him led back to that terrible instant when her sword had pierced him.
She wanted forgiveness so badly—but it felt impossible.
"AAAAH! No! No! Ji-hu, Ji-hu... Sob!"
Like a madwoman, she buried her face in her desk, weeping over and over.
The only hope left to her was the chance to see him again.
Meanwhile, rumors spread through the palace—that the princess, unable to bear the guilt of betraying the Hero under a false Oracle, was losing her mind.
All of this... was the price of betraying Yu Ji-hu.