Chapter 37: Isabella in Londinium

Most people on this land wanted the war to end.

But there were always some who didn’t want it to.

Maybe because they sought a ladder of promotion through war, or maybe because they aimed to profit from it. Maybe it was for revenge.

Or maybe they had simply gone mad.

The only ones who could track their movements were the upper echelons of the Fortress of Immortality.

But whatever the reason—

It all meant that this monster called war would never spare anyone.

Colonel Prittwitz stood in Ning Luo’s way. He had to protect Ning Luo—not just for the sake of ending the war, but also for the diplomatic ties between the Sacred Federation and the Empire of Albion, in both the war itself and the world after it ended.

What kind of world would it be, once the war was over?

As for what came next—

Ning Luo and Cinderella only needed to keep riding.

Gunfire rang out in the rainy night.

Even many years later—

Cinderella would never forget that rainy night: Ning Luo shielding her with his body, and the two of them falling from the horse together.

After that—

Ning Luo pulled Cinderella with him into a cave. He collapsed inside, panting heavily, and it was immediately obvious something was wrong. That was when Cinderella noticed the blood continuously flowing from Ning Luo’s abdomen.

“You’re hurt?”

“Don’t panic! Don’t panic…”

Even with a bullet wound, Ning Luo still tried to soothe Cinderella.

“Help me lie down and check the wound. Don’t try to remove the bullet—just stop the bleeding.”

“Okay!”

Cinderella gently supported Ning Luo, helped him lie flat on the ground, and unbuttoned his clothes. Ning Luo was even thinner than she had imagined—given the way he worked, it was impossible for him not to be.

He’d been shot in the abdomen. Fortunately, the bullet had hit closer to the sides rather than higher up, but blood was still flowing out steadily.

Cinderella immediately pulled out her emergency kit. After applying medicine as best she could, she quickly wrapped a tourniquet around the wound and pressed down with her hands to stop the bleeding.

Only after nearly three minutes did the bleeding finally slow.

What remained was to monitor him for a few hours to ensure there was no risk of internal bleeding.

Cinderella let out a small sigh of relief.

“It’s okay now.”

But—

This time, Ning Luo didn’t respond to her.

Exhausted from long days of strain and now wounded in the abdomen, he had fallen unconscious. That was enough to push his body to the brink.

Cinderella opened her mouth to speak—

But forced herself to stop. She had to stay calm.

First, she confirmed he was breathing properly and checked that his airway wasn’t blocked. The tongue could fall back and obstruct it. She checked for blood or other foreign matter in his mouth, then gently turned his head to the side. She raised his legs slightly, about thirty degrees, to help the blood return to the heart.

Then she took out the small knife she carried and cut off Ning Luo’s wet clothing to prevent his body temperature from dropping.

Next—

Cinderella lowered her head and looked at Ning Luo.

In the darkness, she couldn’t clearly see his face. She extended her slender fingers and slowly removed her own clothes. Her pale skin was exposed to the air. Carefully, she pressed her body against his.

Truthfully, Cinderella had once fantasized about a moment like this.

A princess and a prince, meeting in the midst of war.

It was impossible for Cinderella not to have developed special feelings for Ning Luo—especially in a war shaken by storms and chaos, when Ning Luo was her only support.

But this feeling was one Cinderella had to bury deep in her heart.

Ning Luo was the fiancé of the Princess of the Empire of Albion. She herself was the Princess of the Duchy of Dortmund. Their identities ensured there could never be a future between them.

If she had the choice—

Cinderella would rather be the one who got hurt, or even died.

That way, Ning Luo might show a bit more consideration toward the fragile Duchy of Dortmund—out of respect for her memory.

Her feelings weren’t pure. They were entangled with too many interests and calculations. One could only say that, in such a grand-scale war, within the magnitude of empires and civilizations, a young girl’s small love was insignificant against the current of the times.

At the very least, it allowed the Cinderella of today a brief moment of escape.

…

...

When Ning Luo awoke—

He could feel the softness and warmth in front of him, and the faint fragrance on Cinderella’s body.

It was still dark outside the cave.

Ning Luo had no idea how long he had been asleep.

Most of the time, Ning Luo tried to avoid getting too involved with Cinderella.

But the more he tried to avoid it—

The more entangled they became.

Ning Luo didn’t push her away. He simply placed his hand on her smooth, delicate shoulder, signaling that he was alright—at least for now.

When Cinderella realized he had woken up, she didn’t move either. Dawn hadn’t broken yet, and getting up would only make things awkward. Staying huddled together was warmer anyway.

A long time passed.

Finally, Ning Luo spoke.

“Sorry.”

“It’s me who should be sorry. You don’t owe me anything—in fact, I owe you. Leaving me at the Fortress of Immortality would have been the better choice.”

It might have seemed safer at the Fortress of Immortality, and dragging Cinderella along might have seemed like putting her through hardship.

But in the war plan Ning Luo had provided to General Carlwitz, staying in the Fortress was nothing short of a gamble with death. Even General Carlwitz couldn’t guarantee his own survival—let alone Cinderella’s.

Being at Ning Luo’s side was actually a bit safer. At the very least, even in defeat, they could return to Albion together.

Ning Luo reiterated once more to Cinderella:

“I told you—I’ll bring you back to Brittany.”

“Why?”

Cinderella wasn’t really asking “why.” She only wanted to hear the answer she desired.

But Ning Luo still didn’t respond to her question.

“I can swear it on the Covenant.”

“No.”

Cinderella gently shook her head and pressed herself a little closer to Ning Luo.

“The Covenant says one mustn’t swear an oath. To swear is to curse—a binding curse that cannot be undone and will follow one for life. So don’t swear, no matter what. If you say it, I’ll believe you.”

“I’ll handle the situation in Dortmund for you.”

Ning Luo said calmly.

It was neither a promise nor a vow—just a statement.

This time, Cinderella didn’t ask “why” again. She simply smiled lightly and nestled against Ning Luo’s chest.

“Alright.”

…

Ning Luo was no fool.

His relationship with Cinderella made it impossible for him to escape, and Ning Luo had never been one to run away. Once you started running, the past turned into monsters.

After the war ended—

Shouldering the responsibilities of the Empire of Albion, and on top of that, adding the Duchy of Dortmund… For Ning Luo, it was just a case of one more debt among many.

The more troublesome part would probably be explaining all this to Isabella.