Chapter 252
As if proving they had transcended the limits of the human body, vivid sword aura erupted in blinding flashes and thunderous explosions, and the two fighters blinked in and out of sight as if teleporting.
My eyes simply couldn’t track their movements, so at some point I just watched, trusting that it would work out somehow.
“The Pope spoke the truth.”
Suddenly, Lionel spoke.
“…What?”
“The way I brought you here was wrong. Anyone could see it was close to coercion. It’s true that I refused your wish to return to the monastery and assigned people to watch your every move. I was afraid that if I took my eyes off you for even a moment, you’d run away.”
Well… that was, in fact… true.
Looking back now, I considered it a blessing in disguise, but at the time, I think I was genuinely frightened and anxious.
Because my plan to hide somewhere safe, beyond the eyes and reach of Crown Prince Axion, who would drive me to my death had been ruined.
“I don’t think I ever properly apologized to you for any of that.”
Turning slightly toward me, he bowed his head deeply.
“I’m sorry.”
Flustered, I blinked rapidly.
“L-Lionel…”
“There have been many times I acted selfishly like this and put you in danger. Across the many lifetimes you don’t remember, you endured me time and again and forgave me. Yet instead of learning from my mistakes, I repeated them.”
There were plenty of other people around.
Dantère, Ardin, Vivian and even the Luanax knights who served Lionel.
Yet Lionel didn’t care. He bowed his head in apology as if only the two of us existed in this place.
“I was a coward. The moment I first saw you, my heart was already gone. I wanted to invent any excuse I could to keep you by my side. I should have been honest about my feelings, but instead I dangled every condition I could think of, convincing you that choosing me was the best option.”
I wanted to say something, anything, but countless words tangled together in my head, refusing to form a single coherent sentence.
“As the Pope said, it was the same method I’ve always employed. I should never have dared use it on you.”
…Yes. I knew that too.
After our engagement, Lionel hadn’t hidden what he did from me, and I couldn’t help but notice that the way he expanded his influence bore some resemblance to what I’d experienced myself.
But…
I had never once felt wronged by that fact.
The reason was simple.
He never voiced his feelings for me, yet his earlobes kept flushing red.
He tried so hard to spend time with me, and whenever we were together, he couldn’t take his eyes off me.
Being at his side, I think I thought at least once a day: ‘This man must like me.’
Even though the circumstances made no logical sense, watching him broadcast it with his entire being, too obvious to dismiss as mere delusion, made my heart flutter more times than I could count.
In a situation where I couldn’t contact my family, I found comfort in him as a steadfast protector by my side.
Having lived through countless lives as a regressor, he rarely made mistakes anymore. With the depth of all that experience, he drew people in and won their favor with ease.
And yet, this same Lionel who was in front of me, alone, could hide nothing, stumbling over himself, flustered, completely at a loss.
So how could I possibly misunderstand him? How could I hold it against him?
“Thank you for apologizing, Lionel.”
I gently cupped his cheeks in both hands and met his gaze.
The man who had been so composed in the face of making an enemy of the entire Order couldn’t easily meet my eyes now, lowering his gaze stained with guilt.
“But let me make one thing clear. The Pope did not speak the truth.”
I know.
I am certain.
Whether Lionel ran from me, threatened and confined me, or simply passed me by as if I were a stranger.
I could read his feelings for me far better than he could himself. And so my choice was always him.
“I belong to myself, and my heart belongs to me. Not even my family can dictate it, so what power do you have to force it?”
A smile spread across my face.
“So they are wrong.”
The moment I said that, a roar of cheers erupted.
I turned to see Halid with his knee planted on the Commander’s breastplate, sword blade pressed to his throat.
Erica
It’s quite clear that the pope is here becayse of crown Prince axion. She should make it clear. I KNOW he sent you here, and the MOMENT I leave with you, you’ll hand me over as a slave. So you AND him go go to hell. If what you are saying is true and god gave me these powers, then he also gave me the CHOICE to choose what to do with them. They have absolutely no right to come and decide for me! Tell them! Don’t just hide behind the men! Tell them you KNOW that they are working with evil, and that god would be ashamed to have them as followers!