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126th Chapter

Reiner and I exchanged glances.

I wondered when it began. Reiner and I could read each other just through our eyes. It suddenly struck me how psychologically close I felt to Reiner.

“I always follow your orders. Please, speak.”

Reiner held my hand tightly, bowing his head and bringing his face closer. My reflection entirely filled his golden eyes.

Now that I think about it, in moments of crisis, I often found stability in Reiner’s gaze.

Reiner possessed an unwavering spirit, like bamboo that bends with the wind but does not break. Being with him felt like doing what was right, no matter the circumstance.

‘A compass that never veers left or right.’

Reiner’s eyes contained nothing but justice and integrity. He was my most trustworthy companion and guide.

As I felt my tumultuous heart slowly calm in his gaze, I spoke.

“The bomb. The time for the bomb to detonate… has been moved up by 20 minutes.”

“…I see.”

Reiner, who had momentarily gone stiff, glanced at me and nodded calmly. He must have been surprised, yet it seemed he quickly regained his composure upon realizing I was shaken.

“Additionally, I confirmed the location of the second bomb. Inside the carriage of His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince. It’s 20 minutes from now.”

Reiner’s eyes widened. His expression briefly showed disbelief, likely because he couldn’t have imagined the terrorists would dare to act like this.

I held his gaze steadily.

“Together, we cannot handle both bombs. I will take care of the one in the square, while Sir Einhardt will take care of the one in the carriage.”

The carriage was in a confined area, and its location was well-defined, making it easier to deal with. I planned to leave the relatively easier task of the carriage bomb to Reiner while I tackled the one in the square.

‘As a Sword Master, I’m better suited for this… But more than that, I don’t want Reiner to feel guilty for failing to save anyone.’

Honestly, I wasn’t entirely confident I could find the square’s bomb alone in 30 minutes. But abandoning the square wasn’t an option; I couldn’t leave Reiner and search for the square’s bomb together, so we had to split up.

‘Is this truly the best choice?’

Even after making my decision, I couldn’t feel assured. This frustration with myself was irritating, but with so many lives hanging in the balance, I had to be careful.

Was I hesitating, holding Reiner’s hand tightly without saying a word?

Thud.

Reiner, who had firmly held my hand, bent forward and pressed our foreheads together.

Through our foreheads, warmth spread like rays, and I automatically let out a sigh of relief.

My wildly racing heart began to find its anchor, and for a different reason, it started to speed up again. Looking up at Reiner made my heart swell unexpectedly as he finally parted his soft lips.

“I had hoped you would make only safe choices… It’s miserable that we are forced into this situation where you must make another optimal decision. If only I were strong enough that you wouldn’t have to involve yourself.”

His voice was soft and sweet, yet it seemed to be bubbling underneath with emotion. As I tightly shut my eyes, Reiner continued.

“This is indeed the best choice. Your decisions are always right. So, don’t hesitate, go. You can do this.”

Had he truly seen into my heart? Reiner whispered the words I needed to hear.

There was none of the sweet tenderness of lovers, nor the soft flattery of admiration—just an unwavering tone filled with sincerity and resolve.

That truly gave me the strength to act.

“……Thank you, Reiner. I will definitely succeed…”

I slightly pulled my forehead away and lifted my heels. Since Reiner was already bowing down, I quickly caught sight of his silver hair fluttering gently.

I placed a brief kiss upon his forehead, hidden under his bangs. In that moment, Reiner’s energy shifted wildly.

“Reiner, make sure to succeed and return with a bright smile. We promised to go see the lake together.”

I lowered my heels again and looked up at Reiner, smiling mischievously. I felt like my usual confident self, wearing a proud expression.

Reiner’s sweet, honey-like eyes, which had been fixed on me, suddenly appeared hazy, like water mixed with something.

His cheeks flushed brightly, as if he had absorbed the color of a blooming rose, and Reiner’s typically calm eyes ignited fiercely like a flame meeting firewood.

For some reason, I felt a burning heat on my skin where his gaze pierced, making me flinch slightly.

Reiner’s grip tightened. It wasn’t painful, but it felt like he was trying to fuse our hands together, and the heat radiating from him formed a hot current between us.

Looking at me with intense warmth, Reiner moved his lips.

“…Mir. Ka…shmir…”

Ding—

The bell rang, chiming every ten minutes from one hour before the ceremonial procession began to heighten the anticipation.

“…Ha.”

With a hollow laugh, Reiner glared at the bell, letting out a deep sigh as he stepped back.

“Let’s talk about this after everything is over. We need to move quickly now.”

I nodded in agreement. Yet, my mind was a bit muddled.

‘He was definitely about to call my name.’

Reiner had been avoiding confronting the fact that the mercenary Mir was also Kashmir.

Since he didn’t want to face it, I merely waited patiently, treating it like an unspoken rule. He would bring it up when he was ready.

And just moments ago, it seemed like Reiner was about to call my name “Kashmir.”

‘Will he formally address me once this is all over?’

I took a short sigh to clear my thoughts and exchanged looks with Reiner. Through our silent eye contact, I felt that he wanted to convey many things to me.

“Then, we shall meet again once everything is over.”

I loosened the grip of our intertwined hands, and Reiner did the same.

As his large, rough hand slipped away, tickling in between my fingers, when his hand finally fully released its hold, we both turned our backs and began running in opposite directions.

‘I’m in pursuit.’

I cleared my mind of the fluffy clouds floating around and refocused my senses. Thankfully, I had already caught onto a lead, so it didn’t take long to adjust my direction again.

I poured all my concentration into the unpleasant energy drifting in the air, running at the maximum speed I could muster without harnessing mana.

‘Running while infusing mana would be faster… But charging at that speed could easily attract attention. I need to be cautious about how aware the enemy is.’

Even though just running could make me noticeable, it would be less than using mana.

Until now, I hadn’t dared to run at all, being overly cautious about attracting even a hint of suspicion. But as the situation intensified, almost a degree of risk was unavoidable.

As I moved swiftly toward the energy signal I sensed, I was suddenly interrupted by a booming magical voice erupting from the central plaza.

[Ah, greetings, citizens of the capital! Are you all enjoying the festival?]

For a moment, I lost my concentration.

‘Damn it!’

I clenched my teeth. In a scenario where I was focusing intensely, that amplified booming voice felt like a thunderclap and the magical energy thickened the air around, even disrupting the dark magic energy.

‘I had completely forgotten about this event.’

I held my head in frustration, realizing I had lost track of time.

In front of the national foundation day parade, an event was happening in the central plaza accompanied by mages. It was meant to entertain the crowds waiting for the parade, but to me, it felt like a guillotine execution party.

I couldn’t shake the ridiculous thought that the whole universe was interfering with me, trying to concentrate again like grasping grains of sand trickling from my fingers at the beach.

[Ah, so you’re all waiting for the procession? So am I! The procession is surely the highlight of the foundation day festival! Everyone! Oh! Waiting! Waiting…]

‘Damn it! Please shut up!’

I shot a deadly glare at the host on stage, whose comically cheerful voice shattered the concentration I was trying so hard to maintain. The host paused momentarily, perhaps sensing my barely controlled rage, but quickly rallied back with a grin.

The host was a slim, weaselly man with a twitchy mustache, and I genuinely wished to hurl his loudspeaker into pieces that could travel to the mountains behind the empire and personally claw his mustache off to feed him to the mice.

‘Phew… calm down. That person is just doing their job. I can manage despite the distractions.’

I suppressed the rage permeating my body and tried to regain control over my mind. Repeating to myself that I could do it, I aimed to refocus when I heard.

[To stave off the boredom of waiting, we have prepared a little spectacle! Mages, come forth!]

It felt like the world had truly abandoned me.

As the host winked and gestured, colorful figures in elaborate robes began climbing onto four stages positioned at the corners of the central plaza.

[For those who find it boring! We have prepared wonderous magic!]

‘Oh, please…’

I squeezed my eyes shut. It was already difficult to read my surroundings, and adding the new magical energies made focusing on my task a hundred times harder.

‘Are those guys a bunch of traitorous ruffians?’

I could genuinely believe they were hired to obstruct me.

[Alright! Now, let’s begin the showtime!]

With the host’s lively voice, dazzling magic began to unfold from all sides.

They must have put quite an effort into preparing this, as various vibrant fireworks shot into the sky. The mages dancing rhythmically cast spells, making the children laugh.

It was plain to see that their spells consumed vast amounts of mana, evident by the beads of sweat forming on their foreheads, yet they still wore proud smiles.

Cheers erupted from the crowd, mingled with the soothing sounds of laughter. It created an intoxicating atmosphere like blissful chocolate mixed with sweetness.

Thanks to this, searching for dark magic energy in this place became as difficult as finding grains of sand in a desert.

‘Oh… do they want to go head-to-head with the fireworks?’

Regaining my composure in this situation was proving impossible. I almost lost my senses, my hand reaching for the hilt of my sword.

“Hey, you little…!”

Thud.

My hand, which had been halfway out withdrawing the sword, halted due to the touch on my shoulder. Lost in this overwhelming moment, I hadn’t felt the presence approaching.

I quickly regained my senses and focused on the hand resting on my shoulder.

Then, the wintry scent that pricked my nostrils.

It was definitely spring, but around this person, winter reigned. Even in spring, summer, or autumn, the moment I got closer, winter would keenly approach, stabbing through me.

With my expression completely stiff, I drew my sword fully, invisible to the eyes of the one who touched me. I rotated my body, ready.

This spot was slightly secluded; it was fortunate. There was no reason to show a sword pointed at someone’s neck.

I kicked the person who had placed their hand on my shoulder and pushed them against the wall, smiling eerily.

Layering the unmelting heart with northern snowflakes on my skin and drawing out darkness from a black void, I adorned it with cracked, sparkling amethyst.

“What the hell are you, bastard?”

Zigmund. Zigmund Hyde.

 

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