My liege

Dame Nora craned her neck, exposing her sweaty, bloodstained flesh as an offering to the hungry monsters.

The Soldier ants' glowing orbs seemed to darken with greed and their mouths salivated at the sight of delicious prey. Their large, black mandibles hypnotically moved, clasping and unclasping, as if to taste the air that she breathed.

"DAME!!!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Kaede yelled from afar, trying to wake Nora out of her suicidal reverie.

But the light in the Dame's eyes had already been extinguished.

She could no longer hear anything aside from her slowing heartbeat that she wished would cease. Her hand reached for the monster's razor-sharp mandibles, willing them to take her life.

'Come. End me.'

Time seemed to slow as her dark eyes watched the monster open its disgusting mouth, its saliva dangling from the sides like crystals on a chandelier.

'Sh*t! she's gone mad!'

Noticing that the dame ignored his cry, Kaede immediately teleported to her location.

<Skill: Teleport lvl.1 is activated.>

<Skill: Teleport lvl.1 is activated.>

<Skill: Teleport lvl.1 is activated.>

<Skill: Teleport lvl.1 is activated.>

As soon as he entered the five-meter radius centered on Nora, Kaede stretched his left hand. He controlled the black sword that lay beside the dame with his skill.

<Skill: Psychokinesis lvl.2 is activated.>

The sword levitated off the ground and stabbed the soldier ant that reached for Nora.

The black sword pierced the soldier's head, entering from the left eye socket and leaving from the right.

"KIEEEEEHHHH!!" the ant reared as its compound eyes bled.

Finally, Kaede teleported next to Nora.

With a levitating sword to his left and a spinning spear on his right, Kaede stood before the Dame, towering over her as he defended against the hungry monsters.

His gallant figure… his wide reassuring back…made Nora feel strange.

The prince had changed.

He was no longer the weak, adorable boy that needed Nora's protection. As she came to realize that the prince was different from her brother, Nora's mind seemed to clear.

The fog that clouded her judgment slowly lifted as the prince's manly silhouette separated from her brother's.

'That's right… this prince isn't Arthur…' she dazedly thought.

"Dame. Stand up and fight." Kaede said firmly.

But Nora remained motionless.

She might have accepted that Kaede was not her brother, but the fact she was now alone in this world remained.

'Tsk.' Mikael internally clicked his tongue.

He knew how the dame felt.

After all, he was the same.

Being left alone was worse than dying. Even more so when you are part of the reason why your family died. For years, Mikael struggled with the knowledge that his mother died pitifully to raise him. One might say that it is stupid to waste their sacrifice by living like trash but when one is in that situation, giving up on life seemed like salvation… -- At least that's how he felt when he was still alive.

But now he knew better.

The afterlife isn't all rainbows and flowers. There were no clouds with silver linings nor white doves flying in paradise. There were no reunions with the dead. Only harsh judgments, skeleton crews, and an impatient god.

"Do you seriously think that Arthur will be happy to see you like this, Dame?" Kaede spat with a voice full of mockery.

"How would the prince know how Arthur would feel? you don't know my brother." Dame Nora murmured, "He was such a delicate child. He couldn't live without me so I'm sure he'd be happy if I went to his side."

"Hah! Who are you kidding, Dame? Isn't it the other way around?" Kaede scoffed, remembering the contents of Arthur's request.

< Arthur says that Nora can't live without him and now plans to die! >

He found it funny how the siblings seemed to think the other would be helpless in their absence when they are, in fact, mutually dependent on each other.

Kaede's pale green eye glanced at the Dame.

'I thought Nora looked too composed for someone who lost her family… turns out she was just barely holding on.' Mikael thought, 'Well, she must have been emotionally weaker than her brother.'

"Trust me on this, Dame. Your brother… He wants you to live well."

As she listened to his confident tone, Dame Nora found his words to be strangely convincing. As if he had become her brother's messenger from the underworld.

'Haah… What nonsense am I thinking? There's no way for the dead to communicate with the living.' Nora admonished herself.

Her dark eyes swept the ant queen's chamber.

The other members had also managed to overcome the dragon's mana and were now engaged in battle. Flashes of tier-1 mana circles went off in several directions while Sir Finn barked orders as he drew his own spells.

Everywhere her eyes landed, the members' expressions oozed with vitality and purpose—to escape from this hell hole alive.

A sense of alienation swallowed the Dame.

"Prince… I want to die… I have no more reason to live. I wanted to become your knight but how could I when I couldn't even protect the person who mattered most to me? No one needs such a useless knight."

Nora pleaded with him to let her die peacefully, but Mikael would never let her.

'No way! Your life is worth more than 50 Karma points! Your sis-con brother would never pay me if I let you die. Do you understand?!'

Yet contrary to his insensitive thoughts, Mikael spoke words that struck the Dame's heartstrings.

"No. I need you, Dame." He said with a soft voice, "Right now, I need you to help me protect my people."

Nora unknowingly raised her head and was met with an angelic smile. A bright yellow light flashed at Kaede's background, casting a halo to his silhouette as he handed the kneeling Nora the black sword.

The Dame's heart pounded.

This was a scene she had fantasized countless times—to be knighted by a person she wholeheartedly respected, and she never thought that that person would be the kingdom's third prince.

Nora's eyes glimmered with pride.

'Ah… Arthur. I think I've found the liege that I would dedicate my life to… so, could you wait for me a little longer, brother?'

The corners of her lips curved, and she smiled at Kaede with such reverence. It was the first genuine smile she had shown since they first met, and it was beautiful.

Ping!

<System Notification: Player Mikael has received 50 Karma points from spirit Arthur.>

--Chapter end--