Chapter 114 · A Precious Person (3)

Basileo sharpened his senses at the faint but approaching sound of footsteps.

With his eyes covered, he had grown even more sensitive to sound.

He could not tell whether it was day or night. His head spun, and his whole body had no strength. Chills and pain made him tremble. His mana was depleted, and he had lost too much blood, so it was only natural.

‘Will I be able to leave this place only by dying here?’

To have the freedom he had barely obtained snatched away so meaninglessly.

He had never expected to suffer a mana rampage. He had been using magic all this time, so there was no reason for one. It was probably either a curse or a drug. If it had been a curse, he would surely have known, so it was more likely a drug.

‘And the one who did that is probably…’

The Dinitas commander had said this while locking him up here. That because of it, the Veritas commander’s life was in danger.

A hollow laugh escaped him. With the mana rampage distorted into an attack, and a man of the Veritas commander’s caliber dying because of him, the truth was obvious.

Everything was the scheme of that vile-looking Dinitas commander with the large scar on his jaw.

He could not understand why a man who was at least the commander of a knight order would think of destroying the most important asset of his own country in such a way.

‘Santra really is a mess.’

He had to inform his father. That Veritas and Dinitas were not cooperating at all.

If they attacked Santra now, it seemed possible to make them destroy themselves through internal conflict without Kalisa even having to exert much effort.

But he could not even report. There was a window in this tower, so Mito could come find him, but his eyes were currently covered and his hands and feet tightly bound. There was no way he could write a letter. Moreover, the barrier magic had now been reinforced, so even if his limbs were freed, escape would be difficult.

‘Then what becomes of my fate?’

The future was as dark as his cloth-covered vision.

He had barely survived the emergency of the mana rampage, but now he had been charged with attempting to harm the princess of an enemy nation and its knight commander.

‘It seems they intend to torture and kill me. If that is the case, perhaps it would have been better to die then.’

Just as he had resigned himself to death, the girl who had saved him came to mind.

His consciousness had been blurry, so the memory was faint, but he had clearly seen the tears scattering from her beautiful emerald eyes.

It was the first time he had seen Anastasia cry. She was a child who always smiled brightly before him and quickly recovered her spirits even when something bad happened…

His chest ached and tingled.

Anastasia was still far too young. Her divine power was insufficient to withstand a mana rampage. And yet she had risked her life and run to him.

Suddenly he thought of his mother. His mother, who had died engulfed in an explosion while shielding him.

His mother had at least been family, but that child was nothing to him—so why had she gone that far for him?

Anastasia was a child he simply could not understand. She was more astonishing than anything he had ever seen.

A child so clever and brave, yet so frail and wounded that she made one want to protect her. The only light in this hellish place.

If he was to die like this…

‘Just once… I want to see her just once more.’

He wanted to take in once more her snow-white face like her eyes, her reddish cheeks, her transparent eyes, and her fluffy white hair. He wanted to hear her call him “Leo” once more in that clear, ringing voice.

Outside, he heard the voices of the royal guards.

“Is someone coming? I hear footsteps on the stairs.”

“Has the Dinitas commander arrived already? He said he would conduct the interrogation…”

So that man was coming. The Dinitas commander. He had instantly become the person Basileo hated most in his heart.

Thinking that because of that man Anastasia had nearly died at his hands once again made his stomach churn.

‘Even if I die, I will never give that man the answer he wants.’

The moment he resolved that—

“Sir Ellenoa?”

Following the guards’ puzzled voices, a dull thud rang out.

“Ugh!”

“Kraaah!”

Thud, thud!

Heavy sounds followed. What on earth was happening? The Dinitas commander would never attack his own knights.

As countless thoughts raced through his tense mind, he heard the sound of a heavy iron door opening with a clank.

“Leo!”

“?”

Basileo doubted his ears. It was Anastasia’s voice. He could not understand how she had come here or why. In any case, it was too late to get him out.

“…Asha?”

“Wait a moment.”

She hurriedly removed the cloth covering his eyes. He wanted to open his eyes and look at her, but he could not open them right away for fear the light would hurt them after so long in darkness.

Then Anastasia pulled him into a tight embrace.

“!!”

Blood rushed to Basileo’s face. He was already dizzy, and now the world seemed to spin.

“A-Asha.”

He wanted to embrace her trembling body in return, but his hands and feet were bound, so he could not.

“I’m sorry…”

She murmured softly. He could not understand.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“…Because Leo was used because of me.”

“So their goal really was to kill you?”

When he furrowed his face, Anastasia nodded weakly. A flame of anger blazed in his heart. To do such a thing to kill this small child—he could never forgive it.

Anastasia pulled back slightly and touched his forehead.

“But Leo, you look really unwell. Your body is so cold. You look like you need care, but you’re just sitting here!”

“I’m… fine.”

In truth, he was not fine at all, but just having her worry about him lifted his spirits strangely. Then he suddenly became anxious and asked urgently.

“Why did you come here? If the king finds out you came…”

Anastasia’s face darkened. Filled with fear, she chose her words for a long while. As if she were about to speak of something terribly frightening.

At last she swallowed hard and opened her mouth.

“Papa… Sir Parsiel is in critical condition.”

“…”

He thought he knew what Anastasia was going to say. His heart pounded.

“He is someone Leo has no reason to save, but still, still…”

Tears rolled down her eyes with a plop.

“Still, he is my… precious person…”

“…”

In the end, she had admitted it. That she regarded that man as precious.

“I know I’m contradicting myself. I know it must seem strange to say I hate him so much and then come here like this. B-but…”

Tears streamed endlessly down Anastasia’s cheeks.

“I can’t just let him die like this…”

Her desperation made his own heart ache as if it were being squeezed. Seeing Anastasia cry was truly painful. It felt as if something terrible that should never happen in this world was happening.

“D-do you perhaps know a curse like this? A curse that causes a rejection reaction to divine power.”

She asked in a trembling voice.

“…”

He had to answer.

In his mind, the contents of the letter his father had sent were dancing.

Especially Santra’s holy knight commander—the fate of this war depends on how quickly that man is brought down.

If he simply said he did not know, that man would meet his end exactly as his father wished. Before the war even began.

If there was one person he should not save, it would be him.

Anastasia probably knew as well. What this request meant. She was now asking him to save her enemy. To grant this request would be something for which he could never face his mother even in death, and something he could never do before the countless people of Kalisa.

But he had no choice but to answer honestly.

“…I know it.”

Because thanks to Anastasia, he too had saved his life.

After she collapsed, that man had taken in his rampaging mana and neutralized it with divine power, saving his life.

That man had no reason whatsoever to save him. But because Anastasia had asked him to, he had saved him. So he too had to repay that debt.

“Really? You really know?”

Anastasia’s pupils shook violently.

“I saw it in a history book about curses when I was in Kalisa. It is a very difficult curse. Unless cast directly, it must be applied through a medium over several days to take effect.”

He hesitated, then added.

“The method to break it… my father would know. I only know that such a curse exists.”

Even as he spoke, he doubted whether this would be of any help. To learn the method from his father would require enormous negotiation. Even if he helped, it was uncertain whether it could be achieved.

But Anastasia did not seem disappointed.

“It’s all right. That’s enough.”

She sprang up and, with a face still covered in tears, smiled brightly.

“Thank you so much, Leo. For letting me save Papa… the Commander.”

He gazed at her without a word. Joy and sorrow surged up at the same time.

It was a cruel fate. Being saved, saving, and being saved again… The threads of the three of them were now so badly tangled that it was hard to see the end.

Suddenly, an ominous premonition that he and she would ultimately part passed through him.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Princess!”

Ark and Rizen, who had been watching the situation outside the tower, called out the moment they saw me.

“It seems no one has noticed yet.”

Rizen whispered in a small voice.

“But it’s only a matter of time before we’re caught. How did it go?”

“Is there a way?”

Freesia and Mila also asked worriedly.

“First, there is someone I need to negotiate with.”

“Who? His Majesty the King?”

“No.”

I turned my head toward the temple.

“The High Priest.”

◇ ◆ ◇

When I barged straight into his office, Belus looked taken aback.

“Princess Anastasia, what is the matter? If you had sent word, I would have come to…”

“I know a way to save Sir Parsiel.”

At my words, his slightly drooping eyes went wide.

“What?”

“But you must cooperate with me, High Priest.”

“Of course I will cooperate.”

He answered in surprise.

I stared intently at the kindly-looking man. No matter how much the world praised him, I could not trust him—not when he was the one who had tested the waters with me in a past life. I could not recklessly use him without knowing what calculations were running beneath that gentle face.

‘If this man were truly only good, he could not have won the king’s trust.’

The current king is counted among the most devout of all Santra’s kings. Belus must have played a large part in cultivating that deep faith.

He surely possesses tremendous insight and intuition, and knows how to subtly manipulate the king. So this time, I had to use him.

I spoke calmly.

“Even if it means giving up Kalisa?”