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The news of the complete destruction of the Order of the Eight Knights spread throughout the kingdom like wildfire.

Families, including the royal family, sent letters to Vivian to confirm the truth, but Vivian didn’t respond to anything.

She was too preoccupied.

Kyle had been on the brink of death for ten days now.

With each passing day, he looked more haggard, and the light of death grew clearer on his face.

And Vivian’s heart, watching him, was slowly dying as well.

Clinging to the slender thread of hope, Vivian tried to hold onto her sanity, but with every time Kyle coughed and spewed out even the finest oat porridge, that thread grew thinner.

“Cough…! Hagh!”

– Thud…

As she force-fed Kyle, Vivian helplessly set down the spoon.

In front of the dying Kyle, Vivian couldn’t do anything.

How long had it been since she felt this powerless?

Having already shed so many tears, she was numb to Kyle’s condition.

She should have gotten used to it by now, but this surreal scene was impossible to adapt to.

It would be easy to believe that the last ten days were all a dream.

She couldn’t believe the once strong Kyle had collapsed.

It felt like he would wake up at any moment and glare at her with that hateful look.

Yet, the truth was being revealed by the situation right before her eyes.

The maids and his comrades standing behind her could only watch in silence.

Though they didn’t speak, everyone already knew.

Kyle was dying.

It was an undeniable truth.

But unlike everyone else, Vivian held a strange belief.

Perhaps it was a defense mechanism.

Kyle would wake up.

She knew it for sure.

Her reason for that belief was simple.

Kyle had said so.

He promised he wouldn’t leave her.

He chose not to leave her.

Even though he had the chance, he decided to stay by her side.

Vivian believed those words.

Wasn’t Kyle always the one to keep his promises?

He had never disappointed her once.

Even when he scolded her, fought with her, or hurt her, he always stood by her side.

So she believed him again this time.

Despite the hardships, they were bound together in a way that they couldn’t be apart.

Silently, she took Kyle’s cold hand in hers.

It felt like ice now.

Even holding that hand, which felt deathly alive, Vivian believed in the underlying vitality.

Scholar Krellyn had always advised to be prepared for anything.

He said it wouldn’t be odd to meet death at any moment.

But Vivian had made no preparations at all.

After all, Kyle would come back.

She quietly placed her cheek against his rough, long fingers.

With her eyes gently closed, she whispered, “…I’m waiting.”

It was something everyone in the room could hear, but Vivian didn’t care.

“…I believe.”

She forcibly pushed aside negative thoughts.

If it was Kyle, he would surely overcome this challenge.

The Kyle she had known since she was thirteen had always done so.

He had always overcome adversities like a miracle.

Vivian slowly leaned down and whispered in Kyle’s ear.

“…So I will keep fighting.”

Kyle did not respond.

“…But it’s getting tough, so come back now.”

Meanwhile, while believing in Kyle, she felt an overwhelming loneliness.

Why did she feel lonely among so many people?

Though there were many enemies, she had also expanded her allies.

It was only after her brief reflection ended that she realized.

Loneliness didn’t vanish just because there were many people around.

Having people around didn’t mean she wouldn’t feel lonely.

She needed to exist in their hearts.

Only with those who genuinely cared about her by her side could she not feel alone.

Vivian was just now coming to understand that.

Only Kyle embraced her existence.

Only Kyle genuinely worried for her well-being.

The others saw her as the head of the Rondore family, the lord of Roktana, or a means to lead her to a better life, but only Kyle saw her as Vivian Rondore.

No matter how much they fought and quarreled, that was the truth.

Yet such a being was gradually fading away.

The one person who kept her from feeling lonely was slipping away.

Vivian couldn’t accept that fact at all.

So she could only believe in Kyle.

****

Vivian drew her horse towards the fields of Roktana.

Under the wide temporary tent stood guests.

The envoy dispatched by the royal family and Count Korod, who orchestrated all of this.

Upon seeing the emblem of the Korod family, Vivian gritted her teeth, but she knew it wasn’t the time to act on her emotions.

Following the guide, she entered the temporary tent and glared at Count Korod, who was seated.

Count Korod didn’t meet her gaze, and the envoy cleared his throat awkwardly between them.

“…I am Limble, here to mediate on behalf of the Delum Royal Family. Duke, please take a seat.”

As Vivian sat down, she didn’t take her eyes off Count Korod.

She couldn’t look away.

She was hoping for an opportunity.

Just one justification for Count Korod to make an attack.

Just as Count Korod had intended to invade her lands steadily, Vivian was ready to ignite this flame as well.

Limble started the conversation after conveying the lengthy royal family’s message wishing for peace between the two families.

“…First, I find it regrettable that such an incident occurred in your territory, Duke Rondore. The Delum Royal Family will not hold you responsible for the current condition of the guest, Kyle Allen, and we promise deep assistance in the ensuing conflict with the Allen family.”

“…”

“…But for now, let’s put this issue aside and confirm one fact. The Order of the Eight Knights is truly…?”

“Dead.”

Vivian spat coldly.

Count Korod’s gaze fell further to the ground.

He must have thought he could easily kill Kyle and leave.

Vivian pushed down the rising heat in her chest as she thought.

He was probably treating it lightly, like killing a chicken in a barn. What angered her the most was how lightly he had thought of him.

However, that plan had fallen apart, and Count Korod’s strongest force fell with him.

That alone was a consolation in this trash reality.

“…I see. I understand it may be unpleasant from your perspective, Vivian, but I must ask for the delivery of the corpses.”

“There are none.”

“Please don’t be so stubborn—”

“-They were all given to the dogs. If you want to cut open a dog’s belly, I can provide that. Though I’m sure they’ve already been scattered across the dog kennels.”

“…Huh?”

Even splashing cold water wouldn’t have made the atmosphere so quiet.

Count Korod’s eyes widened in disbelief at Vivian, who had been looking down at the ground the whole time, and Limble couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

The soldiers surrounding the temporary tent exchanged glances, but only the soldiers of the Rondore family shut their eyes tightly.

No one wanted to believe that the Order of the Eight Knights had become dog food.

They possessed a certain dignity by nature.

Anyone from the Delum Kingdom had once dreamed of such a position.

Vivian, too, had heard many tales about the Eight Knights as a child.

But Vivian’s actions crumbled that dignity all at once.

The structure of the Eight Knights would probably never return again.

Those who had been defeated by an 18-year-old named Kyle Allen became a laughingstock.

With that stigma, the Order of the Eight Knights was completely buried.

Limble seemed eager to interrogate Vivian, but the cold and resolute gaze of Vivian was proof that she was not lying.

Limble finally wrote something on the paper with trembling hands.

And that was the end of the story about the Eight Knights.

It was the moment they disappeared into the shadows of history.

Clearly flustered, Limble turned to Count Korod.

“C-Count Korod, I now have a question for you. Why did you do it?”

The Count took a small sip of water laid out before him and answered.

“…It was out of resentment towards the Allen family.”

Vivian clenched her fists at the forthrightly lying Count Korod.

Her eyes were bloodshot.

It wasn’t the Allen family that was the issue; it was an attack directed at Vivian herself.

It was because Kyle, who protected her, annoyed him.

Thinking that Kyle had once again sacrificed himself for her, Vivian even felt a deep guilt.

But Count Korod shamelessly continued.

“Jade Allen has fallen, and they have no strength left. Is there any reason we shouldn’t do this? The Allen family was our enemies! Just because the royal family sought peace with the East family, it doesn’t mean our anger fades away!”

“Still, he was a guest of the Rondore family. The Korod family has no justification for this…”

“Justification, what’s that?”

Count Korod snorted as he looked up at Vivian.

“…The one who hated Kyle Allen the most was you, Duke Rondore. Who was it that threw the son of the Allen family into the Punishment Unit after welcoming him as a guest? Who tormented him so he couldn’t even return home?”

“You treated him inhumanely, and now you’re feeling insulted because you got a little blood on your hands? I’ve only bled on my hands for you; you wanted this too, didn’t you? On the contrary…! It’s more insulting to have turned Kyle Allen into dog food!”

– Bang!

Vivian’s heart raced with furious anger.

Finally, she couldn’t hold it in and slammed her hand on the table.

If only those words were a complete lie, she wouldn’t have been this angry.

However, knowing that part of his words was true made it an even sharper arrow of pain.

“…”

Vivian bit her lip and trembled.

That’s right.

It was she who had put Kyle into the Punishment Unit, and it was she who had prevented him from returning home.

But wanting him dead was never her intention.

Count Korod could never know all that had happened between them.

There were memories built by unspoken words and hardships they had gone through together.

It wasn’t a relationship that could simply be summarized with the term “resentment.”

She had a close, complex, and deep relationship with Kyle, one that others had no right to interfere with.

But the outsider, having seen just one side, made a judgment and reached a conclusion.

Who the hell decided that?

Who claimed they wanted this?

“…You should have only apologized to me here.”

Vivian whispered in a low voice.

At that moment, the wind blew, and her red hair fluttered.

– Rattle!

Vivian stood up from her seat.

She splashed the water prepared for her onto Count Korod.

– Splash!

And then she declared.

“It’s war. Until one side crumbles.”

Count Korod stayed seated, dumbfounded and dripping wet, while Limble tried to catch up with Vivian as she left, but she didn’t listen at all.

****

Late at night.

After declaring war on the Korod family, Vivian wasn’t busy with any work but sat by Kyle’s side.

The soldiers who had escorted Vivian to the meeting spread the rumors that the castle was abuzz with war talk even at this late hour, but Vivian gave no orders to her retainers.

In the first place, she didn’t truly intend to go to war.

She still hadn’t unified the knight orders, and an uncontrolled knight order couldn’t go to war.

What she could truly rely on was only the former Punishment Unit, the 4th Knight Order.

She didn’t know the intentions of the other knight orders yet.

Ah, she knew the 1st Knight Order well enough.

They had also been on the hit list for a long time, so she couldn’t possibly lead them into battle.

Still, why had she declared war?

Vivian already had a means to end the war.

While quietly holding Kyle’s hand, she detected a whiff of smoke.

“…Looks like you’ve chosen someone to kill.”

Elena remarked.

Vivian nodded.

But that wasn’t what she was focused on right now.

“…Master, please help me.”

“With what?”

“…”

Vivian silently held onto Kyle’s hand.

She still believed in Kyle, but she wanted to help make it easier for him to return.

She was tired of waiting. It was her limit.

Elena exhaled a puff of smoke and asked.

“…Why should I?”

“…”

“Vivian, you must know that Kyle Allen has already killed two witches. They were my friends too. But why, should I help save Kyle?”

“If it weren’t for me, more than just your two friends would have died. Who stopped the Ras cult?”

“I don’t know unless I experience it. The Ras cult might have been the better future.”

Elena clicked her tongue lightly.

“Vivian, give up now. There’s no reason for Kyle to live anymore.”

Despite her swollen gums from clenching her teeth too often, Vivian bit down again and muttered.

“…Master.”

“Kyle doesn’t need to be with you on your journey. Didn’t you forget? You wanted your family to rise again. You wanted to survive until you became an adult. Isn’t it time to leave Kyle behind?”

With the expectations she had for Elena, Vivian couldn’t refute.

She clearly understood that Elena had the upper hand at the moment.

Elena continued.

“You seem to have forgotten this, but Kyle’s father killed your family. Plus, you’re a witch, and Kyle Allen is a Witch Hunter. Isn’t it right to keep someone you want to survive away from a dangerous enemy? From what I see, the biggest threat to your survival is Kyle Allen. It would be best to eliminate him when the chance arises. That’s my advice as your master.”

Vivian ignored all of those words and looked up at Elena.

The full moon shone brightly behind Elena, casting a silver glow and making it hard to see the witch.

In that moment, Elena felt like a deity to Vivian.

With the dazzling moonlight, a tear slipped down Vivian’s cheek.

She silently disregarded her master’s sincere advice and made a promise.

“…I’ll make sure the Ras cult doesn’t set foot in the territory.”

At that moment, even Elena perked up her ears.

“I’ll drive them away so the witches can live peacefully.”

“…”

“And I’ll also make sure Kyle can’t set foot in the territory. I promise, Master. Roktana will become a land for witches.”

“You can do that? The Ras cult?”

“…Only for Kyle… I mean, only for Kyle…”p>

Elena continued to smoke for quite a while.

Vivian had proposed everything she could, waiting for a result.

“…It’s going to hurt.”

Finally, after a long sigh, Elena spoke.

“This spell shares the pain of the subject.”

“I’m ready.”

Vivian replied without hesitation.

Elena whispered the spell to Vivian under the moonlight, and Vivian memorized every word of it.

Only after Elena had vanished did Vivian start her own spell.

Vivian undressed and laid beside Kyle again.

She covered his cold body, as cold as the northern chill, with warmth from the south.

Then she licked his neck.

She swallowed his bitter blood that flowed from the wounds.

Next, Vivian bit her own tongue to draw blood.

And without hesitation, she kissed Kyle and let her blood flow over his neck.

Powerlessly, Vivian held Kyle tightly.

Then, carefully, she whispered the spells she learned from Elena into his ear.

It was then that she felt the wave of pain skimming through her body.

She felt the suffering Kyle would feel.

For a lifetime, he had taken her pain upon himself.

Now, Vivian had to take responsibility for that suffering.

She realized her reason for surviving was Kyle.

“…Was it this painful?”

While whispering the spells, Vivian asked Kyle.

Her body trembled with pain.

She was slowly feeling how hard he had worked.

Emotion surged within her, and she cried more tears.

At that moment, although she knew she had lost the bet, it was something she didn’t think about.

What would it mean if the person she bet on were gone?

Vivian didn’t stop the spell even amid the suffering.

The more she endured, the more she thought Kyle would return, and it became easier.

Rather, it was the pain she felt in her chest that hurt more.

What she wished for was merely for that pain in her heart not to pass on to Kyle.

Vivian kept whispering the spells into Kyle’s ear.

To save the son of the man who killed her family, she writhed in endless pain.

As a witch, she gave her life force to save a Witch Hunter.

We are one.

Vivian thought.

Somehow, it had become this way.

They were partners who couldn’t exist without each other.

Kyle must surely know that fact, too.

 

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