108 – You are Ian.
I think the sweating wasn’t due to Yergina, but rather an immune response.
The imperial priest who came running spoke.
— When mana exhaustion occurs along with mental and physical exhaustion, the body recovers, and this often happens.
The balance of the body and body is important.
You must rest your mind as much as you recover your mana or stamina.
While giving a long speech, the imperial priest exuded divine power.
‘…Oh.’
Now that I think about it, is this your first time experiencing true divine power?
At least it reminded me of Yulan, whom I met in class, but he was a Shame cultist.
Divine power was warm and strong at the same time, unlike magical power.
As if defying cause and effect, he began to treat his internal injuries.
The moment I thought that perhaps it was similar to the power Ian himself had.
— Then.
After finishing the treatment, the priest walked away.
Ian raised his upper body with a sigh.
I think it’s worth moving around a bit now.
“… Doesn’t their back hurt if they sleep like this?”
Danya and Lina were so tired that they were sleeping with their blankets soaked with saliva.
Well.
Both of them must have used up all their mana.
Because mana could not be recovered within Richard’s Danjeon.
Still, without saying it was difficult, both of them had a hard time.
Ian first lifted Danya and moved her.
— Hmm… It’s so big that I can’t eat it all…
Danya squeezed out the last of her magical energy to make snowdrop flowers bloom for her teacher.
“Yeongcha.”
Lina was concerned about other people’s body temperature and even attacking monsters in a cold space where she was not compatible, so it was strange that she did not get exhausted.
— Ugh. Please press a little harder, master…
‘… What are you dreaming about?’
Ian put Lina down next to Danya with a sigh.
After shaking her body for a while, she started to sleep happily.
“Phew.’
Looking at it like this, everyone has had a really hard time.
“Please take good care of the next scenarios as well.”
— Mmm. Yum. Drink it…
Instead of answering, Danya was wiggling her cherry-colored hair.
Ian chuckled and straightened their hair.
While I was sighing like that.
— Ttakak! Again!
Quite hurried footsteps were heard from afar.
He slowed down slightly in front of the treatment room.
Squeak.
The door was opened carefully.
The third princess, looking somewhat haggard, stuck her head out beyond her door.
“Princess?”
The princess stuck out her tongue shyly.
“I heard you came to your senses.”
Squeak.
The princess carefully opened the door and came in.
“I was planning on just checking your face secretly.”
Then she sat down on the bed.
The princess’s face was full of worry.
It looked quite fresh.
Asteria, the princess of rebellion.
Asteria is willing to do anything to sit on the throne.
Unlike her outward appearance, where she acts like a b*tch, her true self is infinitely cold, and her expression is like that.
Ian chuckled without realizing it.
“Why, why are you smiling! She was really worried about what would happen if you couldn’t come to your senses!”
“The princess seems to be in worse condition than I am.”
“Huh?”
Asteria blinked her eyes in the mirror held by Ian.
Asteria looked at her own eyes for a while.
Dense dark circles around the eyes.
It was a kind of guilt.
She tells her that everyone is a kind of chess piece.
If you want to sit on the throne, you have to use it and sometimes you have to boldly throw it away.
But Ian was different. His talents and unique humanity caught Asteria’s attention. She said that after he saved her life, Ian became her first ‘humanly curious person’.
It should have been so.
We had to send someone to the north.
I needed someone I could trust.
Ian naturally came to mind.
However, Northern Grand Duke Richard was more vicious and bold than Asteria thought.
Karen’s emergency report was filled with only things that shocked her.
Asteria immediately crossed over to the North with as much power as she could muster.
What caught her eye was Ian, who was sticking a sword into Richard’s heart.
She couldn’t help but worry about Ian, who fell like a doll whose strings had been cut, as if everything had been shot.
He should be happy that Richard collapsed, and he should be overjoyed, but for some reason, guilt and worry about Ian took priority.
The result was dark circles under her eyes.
“… This, this.”
Ian chuckled as he watched Asteria fidget, which was uncharacteristic of her.
Two sides of Asteria.
A somewhat sensational appearance of being actively flirtatious,
Both of the princesses of rebellion, who develop their strength with endless earnestness, are extremely firm and strong in different directions.
But seeing him look so down and tired, what can I say?
I thought it was ungodly cute.
“It looks like you had a hard time cleaning up after it.”
“Yeah, that’s right. It was hard because there was a lot to do!”
After saying that, the princess kept her mouth shut.
Her ears seemed a little red, but Ian thought it was because of the lighting.
There was silence for a moment.
The candles that softly light up the surroundings gently sway in the cold wind that comes through the windows.
Just when I thought this silence wouldn’t be so bad, Asteria’s mouth opened.
“You really did a great thing. You punished that Richard.”
Archduke Richard of the North died.
One of the key figures of Shaleam Bridge has collapsed.
It is clear that the brakes were put on their reckless expansion.
That’s not all.
One of the support bases of the second prince, who was ahead in the race for the throne by using Richard and the shale bridge hidden behind him, collapsed.
Befitting his grandeur as the Grand Duke of the North, he will bring about tremendous changes throughout the empire and even the continent.
“… Therefore, the main woman must say this to you.”
Asteria’s eyes like the night sky stared at her Ian.
“Thank you, Ian.”
Her soft hand held Ian’s hand.
“And.”
There is silence once again.
Heat flickered in Asteria’s eyes as the candle flame flickered.
“I was worried.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“…Yes?”
“I was worried. The area around my eyes. It became like this because I was worried about you.”
Ian was embarrassed.
The Asteria she knew was not the person to say such things. Why on earth does she think of people as chess pieces?
‘Is this a b*tch mode?’
But Asteria’s eyes were serious.
This is a serious princess mode.
At the same time, my cheeks were turning red.
As if he was embarrassed.
“I was worried. I thought for no reason something would go wrong for you because of me.”
Ian barely answered.
“… There’s no way I can do well.”
“But you said that a little evidence is enough. But why risk it…”
“Because I have to receive compensation. It was too much for a small amount of evidence. Can I now expect a bigger compensation?”
Ha.
The princess sighed and smiled.
“You really… Sometimes I see her as being greedier than her real wife.”
“I may be a bit greedy for material things.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m talking about greed for people.”
“Yes?”
“You pretend not to know and keep your distance.”
Ian felt unfair.
I don’t think that’s ever happened.
But without any excuses, the princess’s mouth softened.
“I’m anxious.”
Ian thought.
Perhaps her true self may be more creepy than Asteria in her b*tch state.
Her lustful eyes soon regained their color.
“I will do my best to compensate you.”
“Thank you.”
She added some explanations.
The number item is in the imperial warehouse, and we are talking about visiting the imperial palace together as soon as this place is sorted out.
Ian nodded at her because it was something he already knew.
The princess added her words.
“… Actually, as you said, I’m worried that that will be enough.”
Sigh.
She raised the corners of her mouth.
It was a laugh that was a mixture of both her sides, somewhat devilish and yet deadly.
“If it’s not enough, I’ll just give her her real wife.”
◆
The next day.
Ian, Lina, and Danya, who had recovered enough to move, were ready to return to Liechten.
The princess said she would clean up a little more before leaving.
In fact, quite a few nobles were involved in this incident.
There were some people who survived after Richard’s dantian broke, but there were many who did not.
Of course, the princess is not responsible for this situation.
“If she handles this, the North will soon become her base.”
As expected, she is the third princess who has a clear sense of political profit and loss.
She realized that Yergina, who had become the new Grand Duke of the North, also needed her help.
“Once again, you are always welcome.”
After greeting Yergina, a carriage gently comes and stops.
The carriage that the princess rode in when she came here.
She muttered as if she was disappointed that Danya got on first.
“Huh? The swing is gone. Hmph.”
…No. Why are you regretting that?
The princess approaches and laughs.
“I think I can slow down my acting now. Thanks to someone.”
“Yes?”
“She doesn’t feel good about you when she flirts with others, doesn’t she?”
“?”
Asteria smiled brightly as she looked at Ian in confusion and continued her words.
“Oh, I forgot to mention it. Looking back, you can feel it, but the current Liechten Academy, or more specifically the city of Liechten, is floating on quite thin ice.”
“A sheet of thin ice?”
The princess answered.
“Yes. First of all, Aria, the candidate for sainthood, is in quite a bad condition. Thanks to this, the conflict between the church and other forces is gradually coming to the surface.”
“Not only that, but the Raymond Upper Liechten branch. The place under Emilia’s jurisdiction is doing everything possible to expand its influence.”
“I’m just telling you to be aware. Don’t step forward for no reason. You don’t know how Shaleam Bridge will deal with you in the future, so you need to be more careful.”
Setting off her carriage, the princess added her words.
“Once she returns as the main wife, she will be able to exercise a more full-fledged influence.”
◆
The method of return was decided to be a portal.
The reason was simple: she never felt like taking the train across the northern mountains again.
The portal was faster and simpler.
The customs clearance office at the northern base we arrived at felt like a kind of terminal.
“Wow, there are so many people.”
“There are as many as ants.”
The magic engineering portal can only be used by wealthy merchants or nobles, but at the same time, it was possible because there was no suitable means of transportation from the north to the continent.
Perhaps because of this, the customs clearance office was full of various shops and foods.
Danya’s ears twitching here and there.
Every time I smelled something fragrant, my nose twitched.
Ian suddenly remembered Danya’s sleep talking and laughed.
“What should we eat?”
“Really?!”
“I’ll buy it. Lina, choose something too.”
— Jangle jangle.
Ian waved her own purse.
Part of the compensation received from the princess.
Of course, it is money that has to be shared with Lina and Danya, but you can receive it by deducting it at that time.
The two were excited and chose things to eat.
Danya had a long soft ice cream that reached up to her face.
“… Isn’t it cold?”
“Heh.”
Lina chose fruit covered in frozen sugar.
‘As expected of an insider.’
I enjoyed some leisure time at the customs clearance office.
The sound of people talking loudly.
Danya and Lina’s laughter.
A peaceful scene after a life-threatening struggle.
That in itself brought a smile to her face.
At that time. Suddenly.
In the distance, I saw a person walking unsteadily.
The coffee in his hand shakes uneasily, as if it might spill.
“Ah.”
He seemed sleepy and confused when he bumped into someone.
The coffee cup falls from his hand.
The dark brown liquid pouring out is particularly vivid.
— Cheolpuk.
Ian vaguely thought that the sound would come from coffee spilling.
But.
—……
Quiet.
The sound that should come next is not heard.
No.
It wasn’t just the sound that couldn’t be heard.
The entire platform is quiet.
“…?”
Ian slowly looked around.
Everyone stood still in that position.
Danya’s mouth is open as she tries to take a bite of ice cream.
Lina’s mouth cannot close as she smiles brightly, twisting her handkerchief.
The shape of each drop of coffee falling in the distance is clearly visible.
Time has stopped.
Except me.
The moment he realized, a drop of cold sweat ran down Ian’s back.
— Ttogak
The sound of shoes is heard.
Ian turned his head.
He doesn’t know if he turned his head or if his surroundings rotated. The background, which is so motionless, is foreign.
— Ttogak
The sound of shoes getting closer.
Who on earth is moving?
No matter how much I turn my head, I can’t see it because it’s covered in so many people.
— Ttogak
In an instant, a person appeared in front of us.
They are black shoes.
It is black hair.
And red eyes.
Ominous red eyes that seem to be made from blood.
As soon as I met those eyes.
— Sasasasasasak
I get goosebumps as if there are hundreds of spiders crawling all over my body.
“You must be Ian.”
No, he is you, and im mi