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The day the name of Ruelberta disappeared from the Meikhael Empire.

In the snow-covered plains, heavily armed Imperial soldiers stood.

Tristan, the head of the Ruelberta family, was killed by the hero Peter.

The military strength of the Ruelberta family was also thoroughly crushed by the hero’s comrades.

They had finally emerged victorious in the battle against the Ruelberta family, which had once swallowed the Empire.

But the soldiers could no longer advance.

Their opponent was just one defeated soldier.

Yet, all the soldiers who had charged forward earlier had become casualties.

In this unexpected struggle, they had lost half of their battalion.

Eventually, they maintained their distance, unable to easily approach.

Then, Cooper, a companion of the hero, arrived with reinforcements.

Cooper, renowned for his divine archery, received the soldiers’ salutes.

“Report the situation.”

“Th-that is…”

Cooper, with eyes as sharp as a hawk’s, scanned the vast snowy plains.

What caught his eye were the countless bodies of Imperial soldiers lying in the snow.

And amidst those bodies, he spotted a figure standing.

“…Did everyone who approached die?”

“Yes…”

“It’s hard to believe that’s a wounded person…”

At Cooper’s words, the battalion leader bowed his head in shame.

The Empire’s proud assault battalion was on the brink of annihilation by just one person.

“Huh… That guy…”

Cooper, who had been intently observing the enemy, couldn’t help but marvel.

The figure was familiar to him.

“Could it be… Ruelberta’s mad dog? Surviving even after being hit by my poison arrow a few days ago.”

“She’s a complete monster… Cooper. How about we just retreat? If we leave her like this, she’ll freeze to death in the blizzard. Further combat is meaningless, so it’s better to withdraw…”

“No.”

Cooper flatly refused the battalion leader’s suggestion.

“We must retrieve Tristan’s body. We need to behead him and display it as a warning.”

“But…”

“I’ll show you how it’s done.”

Cooper drew his bow.

Unlike a regular bow, it was much larger, exuding a threatening presence.

“The opponent is no different from a stationary target.”

Cooper lightly pulled the bowstring.

It was a bow that only someone with monstrous strength like Cooper could draw.

With a sound that seemed to cut through the wind, the arrow in his hand disappeared as if by magic.

By the time the soldiers noticed, the arrow had already struck the distant enemy.

Yet, the enemy didn’t even flinch.

“She’s not immortal either. All of you, shoot your arrows.”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers hurriedly drew their bows.

Cooper shot another arrow into the air.

The arrow that left his hand traversed the snowy plains.

A much longer and sharper arrow than usual pierced Helga’s shoulder.

But Helga didn’t move from her spot.

She had to protect the body of the man in her arms.

“Count… I’m sorry for being late… My legs aren’t what they used to be… Hehe…”

Helga smiled faintly as she spoke.

Her legs were in a pitiful state, with bones exposed.

She knew she could never rise again.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

“I’ve said this much, so you should scold me… Right? Count…”

No answer came.

Another arrow pierced Helga’s back.

But Helga paid no heed and caressed the face of the man in her arms.

“Were you in a lot of pain…? Did you suffer greatly…? Don’t worry, I’m here now.”

The arrows began to rain down.

The arrows persistently flew towards Tristan’s body.

But not a single arrow could reach his body.

Because Helga’s body shielded him.

“I wanted to see your face one last time… If only I could see that cold gaze once more…”

Helga’s hand fumbled over Tristan’s face.

She felt his eyes, nose, and mouth.

The poison spreading through her body had taken even the sight of her remaining eye.

Not only that, but her bodily sensations were fading.

There wasn’t much time left.

Helga embraced Tristan’s body.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you in this life…”

An arrow pierced Helga’s back.

Blood poured from her mouth, possibly having pierced her lungs.

Yet, Helga didn’t stop speaking.

“Cough… But in hell, I will protect you, Count…”

Another arrow struck her back.

“Please don’t reject my feelings then…”

Helga barely managed to kiss Tristan’s lips.

It was as if a long-cherished wish had been fulfilled, but unfortunately, she felt nothing.

The poison had already taken away the sensation in her lips.

The thought was so sorrowful that Helga began to cry.

“Sob… Otherwise, Count… Brother, you’d be so lonely… So… Sob… Pitiful, aren’t you…”

Countless arrows pierced her body, but none hurt as much as the tears she shed now.

“So, can I stay by your side until the very end…?”

Helga endured the barrage of arrows with her entire body.

Until her life faded away.

This was the end of Helga as I had seen in the original story.

*

And now…

“Um… Count…?”

“Speak.”

Helga spoke to me, looking quite embarrassed.

“You don’t have to do this… I won’t resist you, Count…”

On a bed prepared in a corner of the workshop.

Helga’s limbs were bound in chains.

“Hah…! Did you like this kind of play?! From now on, I’ll be tied up in your bedroom every night!”

Judging by her words, she was still quite lively.

I took out a small round container from my pocket.

Helga’s eyes widened as she recognized it.

“Huh?!”

It was the ointment I had given her before.

Recognizing it, Helga blushed, perhaps recalling that time.

“Not again, while I’m in this unresisting state…!”

Twisting her legs, Helga seemed at a loss.

Ignoring her, I handed the ointment to Albert.

“Look at this.”

“Hmm? Ointment?”

Albert examined the ointment and soon marveled at it.

“Wow… Where did you get this? It’s as effective as recovery magic.”

“…It’s an imported ointment. Quite expensive.”

“Indeed… The world is vast. To think such a thing existed…”

Fortunately, Albert accepted my excuse. It was quite a convenient lie.

“But why are you showing this to me? And why is the bodyguard tied up like that?”

“There’s something I want you to see now.”

“Hmm?”

I slowly approached the bound Helga.

Helga, Tristan’s loyal subordinate, who stayed with him until the very end.

Although she was a villainous Tristan’s subordinate, the end she showed in the original story left a strong impression on me.

Since then, I had been thinking.

Although the same events as the original wouldn’t repeat, I wanted to repay the loyalty Helga had shown.

“Helga.”

“Yes, yes…?”

I placed my hand on Helga’s left cheek.

My hand, moving over her soft cheek, soon reached her left eye.

“…Wait a minute! You’re not thinking of…?!”

“Stay still.”

Helga tried to grab my hand but couldn’t due to her restraints.

I removed the eyepatch covering her left eye.

“…!”

As soon as the eyepatch was removed, Helga turned her head away.

To hide her biggest wound.

To conceal her only weakness.

“Helga. Turn your head straight.”

“I can’t… Count. I can’t show you this…”

“You are mine. If I want to see what’s mine, are you going to stop me?”

“But… This is uglier than the wounds on my legs… I don’t want you to see my ugly eye…”

As she spoke, tears welled up in Helga’s eyes.

For her, the wound on her eye was a bigger complex than her legs.

She wanted to hide it at all costs, but I wouldn’t allow it.

“Don’t be insolent. Are you daring to call what’s mine ugly?”

“That’s not it…”

“Nothing I possess is ugly.”

“…!”

“So, Helga. Show me your eye.”

Helga’s lips were tightly sealed, as if she was about to cry.

Finally, her lips parted.

“Alright… If you say so, Count…”

Helga finally turned her head.

I could see the eye she had hidden so carefully with the eyepatch.

A lightless pupil was there.

“Don’t stare so intently… It’s embarrassing, so please look quickly…”

Helga’s left eye, lost due to a magical outburst in her childhood.

The aftermath still caused her left eye to surge with internal magic.

She usually suppressed it with the eyepatch, but during battles, the magic would leak out unknowingly.

I gazed at the eye, scarred over and over, and spoke to Albert.

“Albert, can you heal this eye with the magic formula you created?”

“What…?”

Using magic formulas for healing wasn’t surprising.

Activating a magic formula on a wound was one of the most common methods.

Moreover, it was something even a craftsman could do without much difficulty, not just a healer.

It was just a matter of applying the formula from an object to a human body.

However, Albert seemed to hesitate for a moment, perhaps due to past events.

But it didn’t last long.

Albert eventually began examining Helga’s left eye.

“Hmm… A wound caused by magic. Stabilizing the magic isn’t impossible… But even with treatment, her vision won’t recover. It’s been neglected for too long.”

That was inevitable.

The ointment I created was an item that could rapidly heal wounds.

It was so effective that even severed wounds could regenerate if treated quickly.

But Helga’s wound was too old to heal.

Having lost her vision long ago, her eye, injured and healed multiple times, would never regain its light, even with my ointment.

So, I had one possibility in mind.

A method beyond just magic formulas.

Perhaps the only method, which I now voiced.

“Then, is transplantation possible along with the magic formula?”

“Transplantation? If we transplant, her vision could return.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But it’s easier said than done. There’s no donor available. And finding a donor would be blatantly illegal. I don’t know what you’re thinking, Count, but if it’s unethical, I refuse.”

“Don’t worry. The donor is right here.”

“There’s a donor willing to give their eye…? Here? No… Wait…”

Finally understanding my words, Albert was shocked.

“Count, you can’t be serious?!”

I spoke to him in a calm tone.

“Transplant my eye to her.”

 

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