Translator: Yui
Editor: Nila

The two-day long massacre ended so quickly that I wondered if it had ever started at all.

 

Now, the loud and boisterous rejoicing of the crowd, growing in intensity, felt somewhat empty.

 

Between all the flowers, handkerchiefs, confetti, crosses, flags, and other objects being thrown into the arena, one silver-haired knight, lying in the middle of the flat ground and breathing hard, slowly raised his body.

 

His chest heaved as he plunged his sword into the dirt and leaned on it. The healers came out and hurried to reach him.

 

“Izek! Izek! Izek!”

 

“I love you! I love you, Sir knight!”

 

“The best knight in the North! The best knight in the North!”

 

The crowd’s excitement grew as mine withered. I fell back into my seat with a thud, sighing. The solemn and dull feeling in my chest came back.

 

Even if things had changed from what I knew of the original novel, it still ended exactly the same as it had been written.

 

The world’s main character, Izek van Omerta, won the Gladiatorial Match once again.

 

The cheers grew even louder. Yes, that’s how it should be.

 

“Ruby, I thought you’d be happier.”

 

Are you telling me to control my expression? I clenched my jaw, trying my hardest not to say something damning, but when I turned my head and glared at the person sitting next to me, that shameless man looked so irritatingly calm, that I couldn’t help but scoff.

 

“Should I be dancing with joy right now?”

 

“… I just thought you’d be in a hurry to meet him.”

 

“I never could have imagined what type of surprises would come out, but it’s obvious that he would have won either way, right? I don’t know who came up with the idea of bringing Cardinal Richie, but you certainly know how to make one enjoy the festival. Why didn’t you bring more?”

 

“There aren’t many cardinals who killed themselves,” Cesare smirked and leaned closer. “We were all worried about what type of entertainment would be appropriate to replace the Ice Dragon that mysteriously disappeared, since we were all expecting him.”

 

I gazed at him for a long time after that dig, trying to figure out what he meant by that. How much did he know? What was he trying to tell me? Should I just laugh?

 

He made me nervous, but I still gave him a soft smile. “You must be really happy to see your gift to him be dealt with so swiftly. Everyone would think you’re his wife, not me.”

 

The staring competition between me and Cesare continued on for a while as the whistling and cheering grew more unruly.

 

The Northerners’ patriotism must be at an all-time high. I could feel their shouts reverberating in my bones and I turned away from Cesare, watching as Izek was surrounded by healers and kneeling in front of the balcony where the King of Britannia was seated.

 

I was curious about what kind of faces they were all making. Izek, King Feanol, Duke Omerta and Ellenia too. They’d be bursting with pride, wouldn’t they? I should have been sitting right next to them.

 

“Ruby… You don’t have to worry about a single thing.”

 

My eyebrows twitched. What kind of random line was this? This jerk seemed to be very determined to capture my attention today.

 

you

 

talking about your husband. He will… Don’t worry, I won’t

 

eyes, the color of shimmering sapphires, glistened

 

so speechless that I almost

 

such a thing? What was he thinking? I already knew that Cesare was a man with no common sense and was cruel and had no consideration for anyone but

 

happened yesterday, that he was mentioning it right here with everyone from Romagna around us, that he was looking at me as if

 

seeing things? Was he trying to reassure me?

 

even more ridiculous was the fact that he did not seem to be joking at all. It was clear in his eyes, he was telling me the truth. He wanted to protect me from my husband’s anger. The anger he’d feel

 

really couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that he was telling me this. That he was acting like he had done nothing wrong. As if it was me that had kissed him. As if it was me that was in

 

public at all? Was he not aware of the gravity of the situation? Was he not aware of what he did yesterday,

 

must be a hallucination. Someone must have casted a spell. I was so overwhelmed

 

own, destroyed all of my dreams, my safe haven, crushed it into the dirt and stomped all over it, but he was telling me that he would protect me? And then

 

back the tears that were about to fall. I wanted to look away,

 

heard the sound of

 

on a pure white stallion, the

 

to his victory, and at the end of it was a wreath of flowers, woven with golden roses and dazzling gemstones. It

 

abruptly and suddenly, all of the cheering stopped and

 

armor, sitting on his magnificent horse and I admired his blood-stained face,

 

an

 

My heart hurt.

 

making such a

 

you look so tired? What’s so

 

Did you find out?

 

now, right? All day? Maybe

 

so pretty anymore, do

 

witch in the place of someone you thought was a princess? Do you want to kill me? Do you just want to end it

 

you. I deserve it. So you have

 

smile. Weak and trembling and with my heart bleeding for all to see, but I still gave him the sweetest smile I

 

he had done during that first week that we met. I thought I was hallucinating, that I had finally lost my mind, because he did none of

 

sweet smile

 

have been deluding myself, I wasn’t in the right state of mind after all, but the wreath

 

and picked it up. The golden roses and

 

of him sheathing his

 

my head and I couldn’t answer a single one of

 

I raised my head to look at him, confused and scared and wondering if this was a dream I’d soon wake up from,

 

broke to pieces. I realized it, then. I

 

right in front of me. The thing I had been too scared to even dream of, the thing I thought I would never experience in my entire life, my

 

about, they write stories and books and create fairytales and folklore, all in the hope of

 

I love him.

 

It was so clichéd.

 

still look at me like that, even when he knew what I did? How could he still see me as his perfect princess? How could he not hate me? How could he not be disgusted by me? How could he do that

 

loved me

 

didn’t I realize it before? And why was my vision blurring? How dare he make me cry in front

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