CHAPTER 500: IF STORY - THE INITIAL DRAFT (8)

0% - Step, step...

“...”

A deep silence filled the space between Frey and Clana as they walked down the corridor side by side.

“...Princess.”

“Be quiet.”

It wasn’t a natural silence.

Every time Frey tried to speak, Clana would shut him down, leaving him no choice but to remain silent.

“There are people right ahead of us.”

“...”

Frey, who had been sweating nervously, followed Clana’s gaze as she subtly pointed with her slender fingers toward the maids passing by.

Realizing he couldn’t argue, he simply nodded in acknowledgment.

- Swish, swish...

And so, after several more minutes of what felt like a game of hide-and-seek, moving stealthily through the palace—

“We’re here.”

“This place is...”

Before them stood a worn-out wooden door.

“What are you waiting for? Step inside already.”

“...”

“Various enchantments have been placed on this room. Once we’re inside, no one will be able to find us for a while.”

This was Clana’s old chamber, where she had spent years of her life locked away.

“Are you saying... you don’t care what I do to you once we’re inside?”

“...Ha.”

Frey, who had hesitated for a moment, lowered his voice and asked.

But Clana simply scoffed, stepping into the room first.

“Just get inside already.”

“This is getting ridiculous...”

“Don’t worry—I’ll be giving you plenty of opportunities for treason in the future.”

Hearing her cryptic words, Frey scratched his head before reluctantly following after her.

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“So, what exactly did you call me here for?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Seated across from each other at a rickety wooden desk, Clana and Frey spoke simultaneously.

“I know who you really are.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Despite Clana’s unwavering certainty, Frey remained calm, his expression composed.

“For someone claiming ignorance... you’ve been sweating this entire time.”

“...That’s just because I’m not feeling well.”

But when Clana’s sharp observation struck him like a blade, Frey quickly tried to divert the conversation.

“Besides, shouldn’t you be more concerned about your own situation? If anyone were to see us like this, you’d be in just as much trouble—“

“I’m not afraid of that anymore.”

Their eyes met, and for the first time, Frey saw something unshakable in Clana’s gaze.

“...Isn’t that right, Hero?”

“...”

And with those words—

The one thing Frey had hoped she wouldn’t say—

A heavy silence settled between them.

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“...Do you have any proof?”

Breaking the long silence, Frey tapped his fingers on the desk and posed his question.

“You’re not denying it, which means it’s true.”

“But I haven’t admitted to it either.”

His expression remained unreadable, his composure unshaken.

“Fine, then. Let me tell you why you’re the Hero.”

Determined to break that poker face, Clana straightened her posture and locked eyes with him.

“The day we first met, you healed the wounds on my body throughout the night.”

“...”

“And for an entire year, that healing never stopped.”

A crack finally appeared in Frey’s calm facade.

“You tried to make it seem like you were touching me for other reasons, but in reality, you never once laid a hand on me improperly.”

“...”

“And the time I embraced you while unclothed... you froze for a full minute before carefully placing me back on the bed with extreme courtesy.”

“...Even though the drug was strong enough to knock out an elephant.”

Clana pressed forward with her accusations, and Frey muttered to himself with an incredulous expression.

“But that wasn’t the only strange thing.”

Having gained complete certainty, Clana’s voice became more assertive.

“I was always treated with the highest luxury. Lavish meals, exquisite clothing, and a team of devoted maids.”

“...I simply wanted to play with a doll.”

“Being a doll for a fool I didn’t love would’ve been a hundred, no, a thousand times better than my previous situations.”

By now, Frey’s excuses barely reached her ears.

“And that’s not all. Every single one of your so-called evil deeds... had a purpose.”

“...”

At this moment, all that mattered to Clana was the truth that lay just a single step away.

“The merchant guilds you forcibly took over and restructured? With your downfall just now, they’ll regain their management rights. Within a few years, they’ll be at the core of the Empire’s economy.”

“What an interesting coincidence.”

“And the lands you seized from the nobles? They’ve now reverted to the Empire. For some reason, anonymous contracts have already been arranged for those vast territories. And within a few years, orphanages and schools will be built there, won’t they?”

“I have no knowledge of that.”

“And the servants in your mansion—all of them are commoners. Every single one of them has a tragic past or was a homeless orphan. And every single one of them was hired by you.”

“Because people like that are easier to control.”

The more relentless Clana’s accusations became, the weaker Frey’s voice grew.

“In the end, all of this is just circumstantial speculation, nothing more than coincidences without evidence.”

Realizing he was cornered, Frey raised his voice in a desperate attempt to turn the tide.

“I have no time to waste on this—“

“Then what about the Hero’s Armament and the Stone of Domination that came out of your bag? Are those also coincidences and delusions?”

“...What?”

At Clana’s decisive statement, Frey’s eyes widened in shock, his voice catching in his throat.

“And...”

It was the first real opening she had seen in him.

- Grab!

“Ugh!?”

Clana didn’t miss it.

“What... what are you doing?!”

In an instant, she lunged at him, tackling him to the ground.

As she yanked at his outer garment, Frey shouted in panic.

“L-let go of me—“

“As I thought...”

But it was already too late.

“I knew it.”

Clana’s hands trembled as she pulled off his coat, her expression turning pale.

“Frey, you...”

Her gaze fell upon the bandages tightly wrapped around his torso.

- Drip...

Even at a glance, it was clear that his back had been brutally torn apart.

Even now, blood seeped through the bindings.

“...”

“You really were the Hero...”

Clana, staring down at Frey as he lay there with his eyes closed in thought, finally spoke the undeniable truth in a hushed voice.

- Grab!

“Ah—!?”

In an instant, her balance was lost, and she toppled backward onto the floor.

“Frey...?”

“...What you see is not always the whole truth, Princess.”

Frey, now pinning her beneath him, stared down at her with cold, piercing eyes.

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“...Kuh.”

“Did you enjoy uncovering my secret?”

Frey’s hand wrapped around Clana’s neck, her soft whimper echoing through the room.

“But you should have known when to stop.”

Ignoring her entirely, he quietly tightened his grip.

“Did it never occur to you that I had a dark and sinister reason for hiding the fact that I’m the Hero?”

“Ugh...”

“Or did you ever suspect that this was all just an elaborate act to deceive you?”

At his sharp, relentless questioning, Clana could only tremble, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes.

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? This place is heavily enchanted—no one will come here.”

“...”

“Even if I were to defile you and kill you right here, there would be no one to save you.”

His cold voice hung in the air as he watched her.

“So, what will you do in this situation?”

“...Haa, haa...”

As he loosened his grip slightly, Clana let out a shaky breath, then slowly reached out to him.

“...?”

Frey tensed, ready to tighten his hold again—

- Slide...

But all she did was gently caress his cheek.

“If that is your will...”

For what felt like an eternity—

“Then I will accept being defiled by you and embrace my death.”

Clana’s calm voice broke the silence as she stared at him.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have spent my entire life as a puppet, already defiled and broken.”

“That’s not necessarily—“

“In that kind of life, I wouldn’t have even had the freedom to choose death.”

She silenced his protest, pressing a finger to his lips.

“Did you know?”

She smiled faintly.

“I spent my life as a bird in a cage, never once knowing happiness.”

Then, in a whisper—

“...But when I was your bird, locked in your cage, I wasn’t unhappy.”

At those words, Frey’s eyes wavered.

Seeing his reaction, she slowly wrapped her arms around him and murmured softly—

“...No, I was happy.”

And then—

“Mmph?!”

She kissed him.

“...”

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

As she pulled back, a thin, glistening thread of desire stretched between their lips before breaking.

“This makes it official.”

“...What?”

“Whatever happens now, you’re guilty of treason.”

Clana whispered, closing her eyes.

“So go ahead—defile me and kill me as you intended.”

“...”

“I’ll allow it—just for you.”

As if inviting him, she tilted her head back, exposing her pale, delicate neck.

“...What’s the matter?”

After a moment, she peeked open one eye and asked.

“Didn’t you say you would defile me?”

Then, silence.

“...Haa.”

In the midst of that silence, Frey sighed deeply, covering his face with his hand.

“Kania, help me out here.”

Looking down at Clana—who was still awkwardly tilting her neck, waiting—he muttered in resignation.

- Shhhhhh...

At that moment—

“...I was wondering when you’d finally ask.”

A dark mist began to quietly coil around them.

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A few minutes later.

“The spell has been successfully completed.”

“...I see.”

“She will likely forget everything that happened today.”

Frey, who had been sitting beside Clana’s unconscious body, let out a breath of relief at Kania’s words.

“I never expected her to know this much.”

“You let your guard down too much, this is so unlike you, Young Master.”

Agreeing with her assessment, Frey nodded before silently extending a hand toward Clana’s sleeping form.

“Forgive my rudeness.”

With a bittersweet smile, he gently stroked her hair.

“You and I should never have ended up like this.”

“...”

“As before, it should be enough for you to simply use me.”

As he spoke, his fingers absently brushed against the Oath Ring on his hand.

“There is no need for us to be equals or to give and take from each other.”

- Shhhhhh...

A soft glow emitted from his ring, its light enveloping Clana.

“In this cycle, all you need to do is receive from me, nothing more.”

Even after countless cycles, the vow he once made remained intact.

The conditions and promises that Clana had once set had long been erased.

All that remained... was the duty Frey had to fulfill.

“...Let’s go, Kania.”

“Where to? I have already put the guards to sleep.”

After reaffirming the Oath, Frey turned toward the door and began walking away.

“...To see the moonlight flowers.”

“Don’t you ever get tired of that? Why, of all days...?”

“I need to neutralize Serena’s poison. I can’t afford to die before I turn twenty.”

“...Haa.”

As soon as they left the room, their voices faded, and only a quiet echo lingered in the empty corridor.

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“...So that’s how it is.”

How much time had passed?

“I still don’t understand everything... but today, there is something I’ve become certain of.”

Clana’s eyes snapped open as she sat up, placing a hand over her chest and murmuring to herself.

“The Hero... is Frey.”

Perhaps because she had not lost herself in a rampage this time.

“The Hero saved me, the Empire... and his fiancée’s fate.”

Unlike before, her body now pulsed with the true power of the Sun, allowing no corruption or curse to taint her.

“And...”

Lowering her head, she quietly flushed.

“...I think I love Frey.”

As the sky welcomed the evening, even the setting sun seemed to blush softly along with her.