Birthday (6)
“Haugh…!!”
Ashu gasped and opened his eyes.
“You’re awake, you little punk.”
Byrn spoke, panting wearily.
“Where… is this?”
“A forest for now. Couldn’t exactly go back to the mansion looking like this.”
“Ideal… what about Ideal?”
“…”
Byrn clamped his mouth shut.
Ashu’s bloodshot red eyes bulged as he spat blood and yelled.
“Answer me right now!!”
“She stayed behind at the mansion for our sake.”
“…What?”
“Said she’d handle the duke alone and asked me to take care of you.”
“That damn….”
It was absurd. Taking on the duke solo was suicide.
“…I have to go help her.”
He couldn’t lose Ideal. Better he died instead. She was the first precious person in his life, the one who’d taught him the meaning of living.
Ashu tried to leap up but groaned and pitched forward.
“Hey!!”
“Ugh!”
Byrn barely caught him as he fell.
The cloth wrapped around his thigh was soaked red.
“…No, I can’t. I can’t.”
“You go like that, you’ll die like a dog.”
It didn’t matter why his father wanted him dead so badly—whether it was for devouring his mother or shaming the Kan Hart name all this time. He’d always known his father hated him.
But Ideal was different. She was kind. Clumsy and a bit dim at times, sure, but her warmth had melted his frozen heart.
…That’s why I have to go.
He had to beg his father to spare her life, even if it meant his own death. She was too kind to die in a place like this.
“…Byrn, I’m begging you. Please take me back.”
Ashu dropped to his knees, pleading desperately.
Byrn scratched his head furiously and sighed.
“One side begging to be saved, the other to be killed.”
After agonizing over it, Byrn scowled irritably.
“I’ll chalk this debt up to the ducal house, so remember it, punk.”
“Thanks….”
Byrn and Ashu leaned on each other’s shoulders, limping out of the forest.
“Slippery as an eel!!”
The duke swung his sword wildly. The gusts whipped up like a typhoon, making his legs wobble just from proximity.
Whoosh—!!
I bent backward at the waist, dodging the blade by a hair. One hit would be fatal. My hand still tingled from blocking the first strike.
Graaah!!
The tree behind me shredded into powder like it’d been through a blender.
…This guy’s insane.
This wasn’t human—it was a walking siege engine. How the hell do you beat this?!
“Die!!”
A devastating overhead slash crushed the air.
“Ugh!!”
Boom!!
I twisted aside, and the ground quaked like lightning had struck.
This isn’t a person!!
Could I even survive…? If not for Ideal’s freakish physique, I’d be dead already.
That escort knight was nothing compared to this.
I’d thought I could hold my own. With Ideal’s body and my past-life experience, I figured I had a shot.
“Urgh…!”
A destructive horizontal sweep tore through the empty air. Cold sweat poured from the shockwave alone.
Hope my disciple made it out okay.
I couldn’t hold out much longer.
…Hate to say it, but I gotta run.
No chance in a straight fight. It wasn’t impossible, but I’d lose a limb at best.
If I’d known, I should’ve swiped some items even if it meant screwing over the protagonist’s party later!!
What good was that if I died now?!
“What’re you thinking!!”
“You monster…!!”
The ground cracked with every step he took. Coiling like a spring, the duke launched skyward like a mortar, then slammed down.
Bam!!
The massive impact flung my body airborne against my will.
Th-this…!!
Bad. Really bad. His blue eyes slithered over me like a tongue. A massive fist rocketed toward my solar plexus.
“S-skill activate!!”
Defend against all attacks once per day.
Boom!!
An invisible barrier blocked the duke’s fist.
“Pulling some strange trick, eh.”
“I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve…!!”
His eyes widened in surprise. Perfect—now or never. I drew back my arm like a bowstring. My sword shot toward him like a bullet.
Rat-tat-tat!!
The honed blade unleashed a barrage like machine-gun fire at his torso. That hulking frame wouldn’t be bisected even halfway. With Ideal’s delicate body, thrusting was my best bet.
Cannon blasts echoed nonstop. Dust billowed from the relentless combo.
“Hoo, haa….”
The flurry finally stopped. I stepped back, resetting my stance.
Exhausting as hell!!
Still, that should’ve wounded him badly. Time to bolt. He wouldn’t chase if hurt too much—not even for Ashu.
“Hahaha!! As expected of the vanguard from the empire’s eastern front!!”
“Gahk!!”
A pot-lid hand burst from the dust and clamped my throat.
What strength…!!
My adult woman’s body lifted like a glass. I pounded his forearm, but couldn’t even scratch it.
“But that’s as far as you go.”
“Gurghk!!”
My throat crushed, vomit rising. Thick veins bulged, squeezing my carotid.
…Can’t let it end like this.
Vision blurring. My flailing legs went limp.
“Kill you, and Ashu Kan Hart despairs.”
“Why… exactly….”
I clung to fading consciousness, gripping his huge hand, forcing out words.
“Why do you… hate Ashu… so much….”
My arms trembled.
“Did you ever… try getting close to him? Ever… show him any care?”
Maybe it was buried emotion. A muddy grudge from his past life onward, festering deep underground.
“If you’d understood him even a little… loved him once….”
“Shut up.”
Crunch.
His bloodshot eyes glared with hatred. My throat constricted harder.
“What do you know, yapping like that? Ashu Kan Hart is the stain I must erase from my life. Not content with devouring my beloved wife, he brings ruin to the family with his savage temper.”
The duke spat, his loathing clinging to my skin like slime.
“You mad bastard…. Doesn’t mean you kill your own son….”
Crunch.
Like a noose twisting prayer beads, breath cut off.
…Not like this.
Possession: Consumes the player's life force to possess the original Ideal's soul!
Didn’t wanna use this even if I died.
No clue what “life force” meant exactly—lifespan? Body condition? Whatever, better than dying. A 30% drop wouldn’t kill me outright.
How’d I end up going this far for Ashu?
P.S.: Wishing you reach that happy ending in the end.
The note in the status window’s corner caught my eye.
…No idea if this leads to a happy ending. But I knew the duke’s madness wasn’t right.
“…You’ve lost.”
Ideal might not measure up fully, but she’d be better than me at least.
The duke scoffed at my words, his face saying what can trash like you do?
Fine, laugh it up while you can.
“Trait… activate….”
As I spoke, my vision flipped white. My mind sank into abyssal depths.
“…Dead, huh.”
Baldamir muttered at Ideal’s limp form. Annoying opponent—the few who’d lasted this long against him could be counted on one hand.
He released his grip, and her body crumpled to the ground.
The duke turned with a blank face.
They couldn’t have gone far.
The prince spotting them changed nothing. Byrn was shunned even in the imperial family for those odd eyes.
But I never imagined he’d show up here.
No invite sent to Byrn. Plan was to quietly off Ashu Kan Hart, then kill Ideal and pin the blame on her. Dead men tell no tales.
…Things got messy.
No big deal. Just a reordered sequence—plan intact.
As the duke stepped toward Ashu’s escape route, cold sweat traced his spine from nape to tailbone. Hackles rose, chills crawling up his back.
“Hm, ah.”
A familiar voice from behind.
He whirled into stance.
“…Ideal?”
The slender body, those beautiful curves, staggered upright. Leaning on her embedded sword like a cane, her frame creaked unnaturally.
…No, not Ideal.
The aura was different. Sweat beaded on his muttonchops. Full of openings, yet instinct screamed not to rush in.
Like a marionette with cut strings, Ideal slowly found balance. Her perpetually narrowed eyes gradually opened.
The duke couldn’t help swallowing hard at the sight.
Something that should never have awakened… had.