What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 42
Clang! Clang! Thud, slice!
In the darkness, the moonlight reflected off the swords, and rain splattered. Occasionally, a liquid thicker than water splattered as well.
“Ugh…”
Ysaris covered her mouth with her hand, holding her breath. Knowing that her presence was of no help at the moment, she crouched down and watched the battle as if she were dead.
Her eyes, adjusted to the dark, could make out shapes to some extent, but she couldn’t follow the movements of a high-level knight’s sword. She could only recognize that Kazhan was not among those lying on the ground.
Two, four, seven, thirteen…
As more bodies fell, Ysaris noticed something strange.
No matter how many he killed, the number of enemies didn’t decrease.
“So many of them, endlessly.”
Kazhan’s words, spoken between rough breaths, were true. There were far too many enemies.
Ysaris frantically searched for an escape route, but they were surrounded on all sides.
An utterly hopeless situation.
“Ugh! …Empress.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Ysaris obediently responded to Kazhan, who had been pushed back and was now close to her again, covered in minor injuries.
As he was about to speak after felling another foe…
Clang, thud!
Two different sounds rang out simultaneously.
Kazhan blocked a sword.
Ysaris was hit by an arrow.
“Ahhh!”
Ysaris let out a belated scream as pain flared up from her shoulder. The impact of the arrow pushed her back two steps, and then something felt wrong.
There was no ground beneath her feet.
“Your Majes…!”
Under the moonlight, she saw his red eyes growing wider. She wanted to warn him about the weapons raining down on him, but no words came out.
Feeling the sensation of floating, her gaze lifted. She saw the dark trees, the pouring rain, and the sky full of storm clouds, one after another.
Ah, so this is how I die.
Ysaris closed her eyes to escape the feeling of rain hitting her face. As she faced death, even the pain in her shoulder felt surreal.
In the endlessly slow passage of time, she heard…
“Ysaa!!”
A voice crying out her cherished nickname…
And felt a body suddenly embrace her tightly.
* * *
<I’m sorry, Ysaa. I’ve been hiding an important secret from you.>
<What is it?>
<I can’t tell you right now. Can we meet here tomorrow night?>
<But you have a business trip early the day after tomorrow. Won’t you be too tired?>
<There’s something I must tell you before I go.>
<Alright, Cain. Then I’ll see you here tomorrow night.>
But Ysaris couldn’t make it to that place. At least, that’s how she remembered it.
After losing her memory of the day they made their vow due to an accident and recovering, what she faced was…
The cold, lifeless body of Cain Jenut.
* * *
“Gasp!”
Ysaris opened her eyes wide and jerked her upper body up. She tried to shake off the nightmare and get up, but something heavy was pressing down on her, making her attempt futile.
The pain throughout her body didn’t help either. Her right shoulder hurt so badly that she couldn’t suppress a groan.
“Ugh…”
What happened?
Frowning at the light rain tapping her face, Ysaris tried to make sense of the situation. The moment she thought it was difficult to discern objects in the dark, dawn began to break faintly.
Forest. Riverside. Ground.
And Kazhan.
“…!”
Ysaris covered her mouth with one hand to stifle the scream that was about to escape. The thing pressing down on her heavily was Kazhan.
And he was covered in blood.
“Your Majesty!”
It was only then that Ysaris recalled the moment before she lost consciousness. When she was hit by an arrow and fell off the cliff, Kazhan had embraced her. He had shielded her head in his arms, protecting her as they plummeted towards death, though the exact details of their fall remained hazy.
Kazhan seemed to be trying something with one hand, but the dull thud and his groan suggested he had failed. After that, she had been held by him as they collided with something repeatedly, and then she lost consciousness when they hit the water.
“Ugh…”
“Your Majesty, are you awake?”
Ysaris immediately responded to the faint groan. There were so many things she wanted to ask Kazhan.
Where are we? What happened to the pursuers? What is his condition?
But above all…
Why did you save me?
Why did you throw yourself off the cliff with me?
Why did you desperately protect me from death, getting injured in the process, and ultimately save me?
“Your Majesty?”
…But Kazhan did not answer.
His body, touching hers, was burning hot.
