99 – One Was Missing
＜Previous Story＞
Askal, who was thought to have left to defeat a dragon.
Suddenly, he returns from a lunar extreme, giving back Serena the earring and confessing his feelings.
Serena, begrudgingly believing, yet accepts and is content. Happy, indeed.
Thus, the two of them ride the golden Pegasus, departing to the Wind Wall plain.
＜Current Story＞
“Hey, are you really Askal?”
Serena, sitting behind on the Pegasus, tightly grasped Askal’s waist.
It felt warm.
Despite not wanting to doubt, a part of her heart can’t help but be filled with uncertainty.
Why did Askal return to the extremes?
Perhaps this is all not just a dream.
“Try biting me. I am undoubtedly Askal.”
Serena bit Askal’s neck.
There was a tooth mark left.
“This tastes like Askal.”
Serena’s verdict, this man is the real Askal.
A broad smile emerged on Serena’s face, then fondly surveying Askal, who was gripping the rein.
‘Mine.’
Askal’s black uniform.
Askal’s black hair.
Askal’s body odor.
‘Huh?’
Serena felt something was a bit strange.
She didn’t initially realize as it was night, but now, she thinks she could see from up close.
Upon closer inspection, the uniform was astonishingly dirty; there were even parts of it that looked torn like rags.
And his hair, it has grown unusually long.
‘Does human hair grow this fast?’
Askal is hiding something from her.
She felt like a detective.
Serena touched Askal’s jaw with her hand.
“……?”
“It’s stubbly. Your beard grows this much in a day.”
“I’ve been stressed lately, leading to the beard growth.”
“Hmmm…”
My instinct is speaking.
This person is undoubtedly Ascal.
But there’s something suspicious.
What in the world could it be?
“Are you keeping something hidden from me?”
“So you’ve finally figured it out.”
Ascal scratched his head.
“Yes, I have been…”
“Scared all this time, really. Unable to confide in anyone and spending sleepless nights worrying. That’s why you look like a mess.”
“Huh?”
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Serena looked at Ascal with sympathetic eyes.
Regardless if he’s known as the empire’s dormant dragon or a hero, in the end he’s still human. He’s bound to feel overwhelmed.
Being a princess herself, she understood.
“It’s okay now, Ascal. Yes. I’ll be with you.”
Pat, pat.
Serena patted Ascal’s shoulder.
“I’m your lover now.”
“…..Thank you for understanding. As expected Serena, you’re quick-witted.”
Ascal sighed in relief.
‘Phew, thought I’d been caught.’
In the end, Serena hadn’t realized.
The truth that he came from the future.
＜Story from the future＞
It had been a week-long struggle.
Even for a mortally wounded dragon, the adversary was not an easy one. If he hadn’t seen the dragon’s attack pattern in his dreams beforehand, he might have failed to subdue it. ‘How many times did I shout to dodge its breath?’ The raid was successful. Despite being battered and bruised, there were no casualties. Unluckily, the airship they rode in was burned by the dragon’s breath, so they decided to either walk or ride horses towards the Empire. Their steps were confident. It was like the return journey of a victorious general who defeated a dragon—returning to the empire. The lands of the Empire could be seen in the distance. Finally, he could retire. He could retire… Suddenly—! “Why is the aqueduct on fire?” Ascal wondered. Why is our home burning? Didn’t we defeat the dragon that breathes fire? Could there have been two dragons? “A civil war has broken out! Princess Serena Barba started a rebellion!” Ascal collapsed at the messenger’s words. To use a metaphor, it’s as if confident of a perfect score, a student came back home only to find his house was burning. Or during a rush to an enemy camp, a nuclear bomb dropped at his camp while he was away. And that nuke was fired by his allies. On the brink of destroying the enemy’s headquarters, suddenly, a surrender vote comes from his allies, excluding him, leading to a forced defeat.
“Even if reversed, a shooting star is a shooting star, I’ll show you something, ah, if the house is on fire, you can’t get married…”
“Get it together, Ascal! Ascal!”
Loud shouting.
Buildings in flames.
Voices of people calling him.
Fainting from mental stress and accumulated fatigue.
Ascal realized.
It wasn’t only Yulia who had the potential to be a tyrant.
Yulia and Serena were the same type of stand.
If Yulia could become a tyrant, so could Serena.
‘Serena is a tyrant… How could we have known…’
It often happens.
Everything seems to be going well, but a single overlooked detail can ruin everything.
That’s right.
After defeating the final boss, the real final boss shows up.
Serena Barba, the second princess.
Staging a revolt.
When Ascal woke up, everything was over.
Of course, no matter how long Serena and her supporters had prepared, they couldn’t overpower the asymmetric forces that had caught the dragon.
But the fact that a civil war has occurred means that the situation is no longer about winning or losing.
“The nation’s credit rating has plummeted!”
“The cultural assets of the empire has been destroyed!”
“The White Tower broke the alliance, saying they can’t trust a country that can’t govern its own house!”
National power was significantly reduced.
It was an emergency situation. Retirement promises aside, Ascal ended up dealing with tenfold his usual workload. Naturally, sleep and his bed were off the table for the foreseeable future. ‘What am I even looking at?’ He marveled at the pristine white pages contaminating the room with their sheer volume, all work waiting to be completed by him. Of course, his responsibilities were not confined to paperwork. As a diplomat, Ascal had to traverse dozens of countries to restore the empire’s reputation, console people as a hero…
“Ascal, there’s somewhere we need to go.”
“Fglemblhztnk?”
“…… Let’s start by getting your speech back.”
Yulia looked at Ascal, seemingly half-dead, with a hint of sorrow. Still, this could provide a brief reprieve. Yulia, with Ascal tucked under her arm like a doll, headed out. Since Ascal originally started the day in the palace, the journey to their destination didn’t take long. They arrived at the underground dungeon – a place he had seen in his dreams. ‘Sushia was imprisoned there, back then,’ Ascal remembered while being moved like a puppet.
“Follow me, there’s someone who wishes to see you one final time.”
Yulia guided him to the remotest corner of the underground dungeon. Ascal wasn’t able to form a single thought, he simply followed Yulia, glad for a momentary escape from his intense workload. The empire’s dungeon held the ringleaders of the recent rebellion.
“Cursed princess! Your fate will be the same in the end!”
“Do you think you’re exceptional?”
“There’s a lot of talk about the traitors.”
Prisoners gripping the bars as if they’d been treated unfairly.
Their faces, as they hurled curses, were familiar to Ascaldo.
Famous knights, nobles with a reputation.
All were supporters of the second princess, Pada.
As I ventured deeper, the major players began to appear.
For example, Rosa, who used to be Serena’s close aide.
“What an honor to have the noble warrior and the third princess herself visit the dungeon,”
Julia said to Rosa.
“He worked for a long time as a maid while hiding his identity. Investigation found he was connected to the doppelganger who assassinated Duke Senestia.”
“Oh… everyone’s gone. I’m the only one left.”
“Rosa is the one who instigated Serena Barba’s rebellion. In some ways, he is the most guilty.”
Rosa laughed coldly.
“Usually, if you fail it’s treason, if you succeed it’s a revolution, isn’t it? Well, since I failed, there’s nothing to say.”
Julia frowned.
“There seems to be no sign of regret. Do you feel no guilt?”
“Hmm. I do feel a little sorry for the lady.”
Rosa, who had clenched her mouth shut, said nothing more afterward.
Then there was a sound of coughing.
It was coming from the cell next to Rosa’s.
The person inside it was probably…
“Don’t come.”
A voice strangled by a cold.
“Her Royal Highness Princess Serena.”
The underground dungeon was damp, and meals were less than satisfactory. Naturally, Serena’s current state was not to be spoken of.
“Cough, I fear being seen in this state. If you come, I’ll bite my tongue.”
“Do you know? In reality, biting your tongue won’t kill you.”
“Really? Then I’ll smash my head against the wall.”
“That’s dangerous. I won’t go.”
A snickering laugh could be heard from Serena.
“Is my state amusing to you?”