Your Lover in the Next Life
The lady I served—the duke's daughter of the empire's greatest swordsmanship family, the Saint Ducal House. Ariel von Saint.
From childhood, she had shown prodigious talent with the sword, graduating at the top of her class from the Imperial Academy thanks to her extraordinary gifts. Yet her actions once they became known to the world delivered a tremendous shock to everyone.
The infamous villainess, so consumed by jealousy that she tried to poison Emilia—the woman also hailed as the Saintess.
That incident marked the turning point. Crown Prince Cedric, her fiancé, publicly announced their broken engagement.
After his own graduation from the academy, Cedric began openly condemning Ariel, and the people of the world were horrified to learn the full extent of her monstrous deeds.
There were fierce demands for the duke's daughter's punishment, but even so, she was a duke's daughter of the empire. What's more, as the leader of an imperial knight order with a record of distinguished service, sending her straight to the gallows wasn't so simple.
....But.
"....C-Cedric....."
"Emilia, don't cry... Emilia..."
Emilia, called the Saintess, with her pink hair and priceless sapphire necklace, clung to Cedric—now her fiancé—and let tears well in her eyes.
"I'm scared.... Cedric, the thought that I might die at any moment... that I might never see you again... it's too much...."
"....."
Gritting his teeth, the crown prince soothed his bride-to-be, whose wedding was just around the corner.
It was all because of that duke's daughter.
How had Ariel von Saint changed so much, and when had it started? Cedric had always known her cold tone, the way she spat words like curses at others. But he'd believed her heart was warm inside.
Yet the reports reaching him were nothing but shocks.
"....I'll deploy the knights."
"......"
"Emilia, for your sake... I would do anything."
".....Let me go."
Shoulder-length black hair, piercing blue eyes. Ariel von Saint—the so-called villainess of the century—was struggling feebly against the knight carrying her wounded body on his back.
"....I said, let me go."
"......"
I ignored Ariel's words completely.
She was already so drained that if I released her, she'd collapse to the ground. She had no choice but to follow my lead.
The duke's daughter seemed to know it too, for she soon gave up and entrusted her body to me.
"....I want it to end."
I couldn't see her expression.
But Ariel was trembling slightly, as if disillusioned by this situation.
"....I only worked so hard for the sake of my fiancé. And yet..."
"......"
Her cold skin and breath brushed against me.
Ariel let out a hollow, mocking laugh and tried to push me away.
"....You should run too."
"......"
"Stay with me, and you'll surely meet your end. Do you plan to end up branded a traitor on the gallows?"
"....No."
"......"
The duke's daughter's eyes widened in surprise.
Over the years we'd spent together as her guard and her lady, he'd never once defied her orders.
He was comfortable to talk to sometimes, gave her a sense of solace. That's why she'd trusted him with her protection.
"Please survive, my lady."
Ariel slowly looked at her guard, Leon.
Hers had been a life of nothing but abandonment.
As a child, her father had wielded her like a tool to make her the imperial family's fiancée. As a fiancée, she'd lived as the crown prince's shadow, a mere cog in the machine.
Once useless, discarded like a broken part.
The world hated her, and she'd hated the world in return.
Yet...
She was nothing but a worthless trinket now, with nothing left to offer this knight, no further use for him.
....You're the only one who won't abandon me.
Carried in his arms, the duke's daughter wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned into me.
*
"....Don't."
"....."
"...Leon."
We'd secured an escape route, but there weren't many left to hold the line to the end.
Knowing that, Leon had volunteered to stay with the rearguard.
"Even if it means dying here, I'll die with you."
Ariel's condition was visibly dire at a glance. Cold sweat poured from her body; without proper healing from a priest, she could die from blood loss.
".....Ugh...."
Ariel struggled to pry open the firmly locked carriage door, staggering as she gripped her sword.
The moment she moved, blood began flowing from her wounded shoulder.
".....Ah-"
A cry of pain escaped her lips before she could stop it.
Her body shuddered violently as she desperately tried to push the door open.
"...My lady."
Leon gazed at her with a somber smile, as if accepting it all.
That smile sent quiet ripples through her heart.
"I liked you."
"S-Stop..."
"I knew I shouldn't feel that way, but I really did like you."
No.
This wasn't right.
If he said it now, she would crumble helplessly.
....Losing this man too—it terrified her beyond measure.
Neigh-!!
As the coachman whipped the horses, the duke's daughter cried out in a frantic voice.
"...St-Stop the carriage...!!"
She'd been raised never to let emotions overwhelm her, yet tears streamed endlessly, choking her breath.
"Stop it... sob... no more, don't take any more from me..."
She prayed.
Please, don't take this shining soul from me.
"....Ah, aaah....!!!"
The carriage didn't stop, only accelerating onward.
The passing forest scenery gradually faded to grayscale.
"Your Majesty. Forgive me, but... are you all right?"
"......"
Ariel, lost in thought, slowly raised her head and nodded at the sudden words from her guard captain.
The rebellion had succeeded spectacularly.
By exposing the fabricated scandals of the royalist faction to the press and swaying public opinion, the noble faction had seized the moment for revenge, purging the royalists entirely and reclaiming the throne.
".....Hoo."
Ariel von Saint leaned her throbbing head against her throne.
It had been four years since she'd ascended to the imperial throne.
For some, the highest, most exalted seat in the world was an object of envy.
But not for her.
....It was profoundly lonely.
She'd never wanted to be empress.
Hers had been a life molded as a fiancée, supporting the crown prince from the shadows.
[Why do you protect me so fiercely?]
[.....]
But in her mind...
[Because I like you.]
[.....]
[....If I said that, it'd make me a failure as a knight, huh? Haha...]
One man's voice lingered, buzzing endlessly in her ears.
"....."
She wondered if she'd gone mad.
Just one guard knight who'd died protecting her.
....He should have been a fleeting connection.
Yet thanks to the man rooted deep in her heart, she felt no desire for love, no interest in her imperial duties.
It had been quite some time since she'd resolved to end it all.
The empire was stable now; she had no lingering attachment to life.
If any regret remained...
....Just one.
To see Leon again, even once.
'....If there's a next life...'
Ariel slowly lifted her teacup.
Her body twitched faintly against the throne before she silently collapsed to the cold marble floor of the audience chamber.
'I want to live solely as your lover.'