R 03

Chapter 3

“Um… Since your clothes are still in that state, it would be better to cover yourself with the cloak for now.”

‘Oh, right!’

I was startled and quickly covered my chest with the cloak.

‘What an embarrassment…’

When I realized that he was looking at me as well, I was so embarrassed and mortified that I couldn’t raise my head.

“How are you feeling?”

His voice was incredibly sweet, gentle, and captivating.

“I-I think I’m okay.”

I felt my cheeks grow slightly warm. My voice naturally became quieter.

Then I suddenly remembered what the ruby-blond knight had said.

‘Come to think of it, he said I wouldn’t die, didn’t he? Could I be the woman who survives for three years?’

Maybe that was really the case.

If so, this wasn’t the time to just sit around.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

The moment I jumped out of bed, the ruby-blond knight grabbed my wrist.

His grip was incredibly strong.

For a moment, I had the distinct feeling that there was absolutely no way I could escape his grasp. Panic rising, I shouted,

“Let go!”

At the same time, I felt a chill run through me.

With that kind of strength, he could overpower me in an instant. I’d even dared to defy a knight—was I about to be killed on the spot?

But his reaction was completely different from what I’d expected. The knight immediately released my hand.

“……?”

Perhaps my scream had confused him, because his pupils trembled slightly. Looking at him gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.

But this wasn’t the time to think about that. I immediately threw open the door and ran outside.

The village hall was visible just over a hundred meters away.

As I sprinted toward it, the ruby-blond knight quickly caught up with me and began trying to stop me.

“I don’t think you should go to the hall.”

“What? You’re telling me to do nothing while my friends are being killed?”

“……”

“That’s definitely true, isn’t it?”

“…What is?”

“The one who survives for three years.”

“……!”

“You said it earlier, didn’t you? That I wouldn’t die.”

“……”

He continued to remain silent. I glared at the knight and asked again.

“Can the person who doesn’t die ever change to someone else?”

The ruby-blond man looked at me with unreadable eyes. Then he answered flatly.

“No. It doesn’t change to someone else.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Thank goodness. Thank goodness.

Even though my life would still have a time limit, it felt as though a ray of light had entered my heart.

“Then that means I’ll survive no matter what happens, right?”

“…Yes.”

Even though I’d deliberately added the condition ‘no matter what happens,’ the knight still answered in the affirmative.

Judging from his eyes and expression, he didn’t seem to be lying either.

‘Then…!’

I felt even braver.

‘If I won’t die no matter how stubbornly I resist, then what do I have to be afraid of?’

I immediately ran to the hall and threw the door open with all my strength.

Bang!

At the loud crash, everyone’s eyes in the hall turned toward me at once.

“……”

I was so shocked that I instinctively covered my gaping mouth with both hands.

The scene before me was horrifying.

Five knights holding swords dripping with streams of red blood.

Sir Scone stood in front of the knights with his arms crossed, apparently giving them orders.

But most shocking of all was the sight of my nineteen friends who had been born with the same emblem as me. It was difficult even to breathe.

Nine of them were already lying motionless on the floor.

I hurried over and tried to lift one of my fallen friends.

Her body had already begun to stiffen, there was no heartbeat, and sticky blood seeped from her wounds. It was a clear sign that her life had already ended.

“N-No… This can’t be…!”

A fierce anger surged through me.

“What are you doing?! Why are you killing innocent people like us?! Why? For what reason?!”

When I shouted angrily, the startled knights each took a step back. The friends who were still alive then gathered around me.

The ruby-blond knight soon entered the hall, surveyed the scene, and pressed a hand to his forehead as though he were exasperated.

“Phew. This is driving me crazy.”

All the knights turned their eyes toward the ruby-blond knight.

They stopped the hands holding their swords and hesitated, looking as though they were waiting only for his command.

I calmed my trembling body, shaken by anger and fear, and stood up. As I did, I adjusted the cloak that was slipping down.

“You’re the highest-ranking person here, right?”

He answered with an unwilling expression.

“…Yes.”

The ruby-blond knight had been kind to me from the beginning. Perhaps that meant he might listen to my request.

“Then please save everyone here. Please.”

The ruby-blond knight shook his head firmly, as though he didn’t even need to think about it.

“No.”

“……”

So it really was impossible? Did I have no choice but to give up on the lives of the others?

I hesitated for a moment before remembering what Mr. Goose had taught us.

According to him, the woman who survived would be tormented for three years. But the person who ultimately decided whether that woman lived or died was none other than King Lucleros.

In other words, whether she lived or died, she would have to do so beside Lucleros.

‘If I’m the one who survives, and if what he said about it never changing is true…’

Until I met Lucleros, I was someone who was supposed to remain alive.

‘Let’s bet everything on that.’

I gathered all my courage. Then, while glaring at the surrounding knights, I asked the ruby-blond knight,

“If you’re saying that I won’t die here and that the survivor can’t be replaced by someone else, then that means I have to go to His Majesty the King, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then if I die here, won’t all of you knights be in trouble?”

“……!”

He couldn’t hide his bewildered expression at my question.

“You die here? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of killing yourself?”

A chill ran down my spine. His expression and voice had become frighteningly cold when he quickly uttered the words ‘kill yourself.’

‘No, suicide…? I hadn’t even thought that far.’

I instinctively tensed and swallowed hard before forcing myself to continue.

“Of course I-I don’t want to do that. But if you kill my friends, I’ll kill myself too. Then won’t it be extremely awkward and troublesome for you to meet His Majesty the King? You might even get fired. Or, in the worst case, you could end up locked away somewhere like an underground prison.”

“……!”

The knights around us looked flustered and nervously watched his reaction. I also held my breath as I waited for his response.

The ruby-blond knight stared silently at me for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Hmm… You don’t want to do that?”

His gaze had become noticeably gentler.

‘Huh?’

My heart suddenly began pounding. At the same time, I felt a strange sensation I couldn’t explain.

“That will do. Take everyone to the capital.”

With that, the ruby-blond knight calmly ordered the other knights before walking out of the hall.

The remaining knights began sorting out the situation.

The friends who had survived began bursting into tears one after another.

“Phew.”

Only then was I able to breathe a sigh of relief. I rubbed my chest and looked toward the entrance through which he had left, suddenly feeling sorry.

‘The knight was probably just following the king’s orders.’

From the way things looked, he seemed to have agreed only because my threat had left him with no choice.

I was grateful to him afterward. He had listened to me.

I immediately followed him outside.

“Hey! Wait a moment!”

The ruby-blond knight turned his head.

There was an unmistakable look of fatigue and exhaustion on his face. Seeing it made me feel guilty again.

But I couldn’t help it. Several lives were at stake here.

“Um… So……”

Just as I hesitantly opened my mouth, I found myself looking directly into his deep, dark ruby-red eyes.

‘Uh…?’

My heart began pounding again. At the same time, an inexplicable warmth surged up from deep within me.

“Um… Thank you. By the way… my name is Ellie. What’s your name, Knight?”

His eyes widened slightly.

“……”

For an instant, it was as though all his fatigue had vanished. The corners of his mouth curved into a gentle smile. His expression was both charming and soft, and I felt myself melting beneath it.

The strange tingling sensation I felt was unfamiliar, but somehow pleasant, too.

‘What is this feeling?’

I was wondering inwardly when he told me his name.

“Lus. You can call me that, Ellie.”

The ruby-blond knight answered my question while calling me by my name. As expected, he was gentle.

“…Lus.”

“Yes. Just like that.”

The corners of his eyes curved like crescent moons.

“We’ll be leaving right away. Follow me.”

Lus turned around.

I stared blankly at his back for a moment before placing a hand over my heart.

‘Ah, maybe it’s because there have been so many surprises today? Why is my heart beating so fast?’