"Found you."
Finally, he had found him.
Leovald embraced the man who had finally fallen into his arms. As their bodies pressed so closely together that their breathing mingled, the clothes they wore seemed almost meaningless — he could feel every part of the other with vivid clarity.
The black hair spilling over his shoulder, the tightening abdomen heaving with ragged breaths, even the delicate trembling of muscles twitching from exhaustion — all of it was unbearably precious.
Somewhere in the distance, the collapsed earth shifted, signalling that his target of revenge was still alive.
But what did it matter?
That wasn't important right now.
He trapped Isaac in his arms and inhaled the lingering scent that hung in the air. Only then could he finally breathe properly.
As his hand traced down the sharply protruding bones of Isaac's back, he realized how thin he had become. A sense of unease quickly settled in Leovald's chest as he carefully examined Isaac.
The shadowed corners of his eyes were crusted with dried tears, his neck was a mess of blotchy bruises, and rough shackles had stripped the skin from his ankles until it was raw and thin.
The euphoria of having everything he ever wanted vanished in an instant.
He realized it then.
Just a single day.
Losing sight of him for just one day had led to this.
***
It was Leonardo!
An indescribable surge of emotions roared within my chest — relief, joy, elation, and worry exploded together like fireworks.
If simply seeing one person within my sight could tell I had finally found the place I was meant to be — if being near that person made me think of it as home — then…
Wouldn't that be the closest thing to the home I had dreamed of all this life?
A place where no one could hurt me, where I felt truly welcomed, where I could understand who I really am.
If the situation allowed it, I was so overwhelmed with desire that I would have crushed him in my arms and never let him go.
"Leo."
Forgetting everything around me, I called his name simply out of joy and relief — but Leonardo seemed distracted, his mind elsewhere.
As if afraid he might hurt me, he gently brushed his hand over my cheek, then swept his thumb along the corner of my eye.
"…Did you cry?"
Warmth lingered over the stiff tracks left by dried tears.
Right after Orlie's dismemberment show, I'd thrown up several times, and some tears had come out then, just from the body's natural reaction. Also, when Godric had squeezed my throat to deliberately cause me pain.
But none of that mattered right now.
I hurriedly bombarded him with questions.
'You're not hurt, are you? Did the others come too? How did you even know I was here?'
「Isaac.」
He carefully stroked my back and pleaded.
「Right now… let me worry about you.」
As if he were begging for an impossible wish.
As if, just for this moment, he had become the lowest, humblest person here.
It was nothing like the times I used to tease him, calling him a farmhand or a brute as a joke.
Leonardo's kindness had always come from a generosity he chose to offer. And true generosity didn't come from those beneath you — it came when someone strong and upright bent down to offer it.
But right now…
「Please.」
As if I were holding his very life in my hands.
Wasn't that absurd? Leonardo was the one who could bring down mountains, cut through steel, and slice through the hide of monstrous beasts.
I opened my mouth, about to say something vague, when a rumble shook the ground behind us — the pile of rubble was shifting. Of course a heap of dirt and sand wouldn't be enough to stop Godric.
And the underground tunnels were still full of those who were under Godric's control.
"…First, we need to get out of here! Sir Orlie, can you move?"
Somewhere in the collapsed cave, I heard Orlie call back that he could. Leonardo simply nodded and stomped down hard on the ground.
Launching upward from the ruined tunnel into the open air, a cold wind slammed into us. The snowy mountains of Vernis looked exactly the same — as if the six days I had been gone hadn't changed a thing.
The ruins of an ancient dynasty, still clinging to the Vernis Mountains.
And not far from there, the expedition forces had set up an outpost, retreating from the ruins' dangers.
"Rockslide! Everyone, evacuate!"
"No, it's an ambush! Summon the knights immediately — the outpost where His Majesty is stationed!"
The deafening roar from the collapsing underground tunnels had spread through the entire outpost, sending the nobles into a panic as they scrambled to gather the knights.
Meanwhile, down below, a hand suddenly burst forth from the rubble — a pale, white arm streaked with bulging veins. Godric, his once-bright blonde hair now darkened, emerged from the debris without so much as a scratch.
Through the lingering clouds of dust, the shadow of the king shimmered ominously, his red eyes glowing.
[Sub-writer 1: Well, maybe it's for the best.]
[Sub-writer 1: After all, the one you're so fond of is right here — no need to make things more complicated.]
I knew exactly what he meant.
[Sub-writer 1: How many times do you think he'll die in this chapter?]
Godric didn't even bother fixing his disheveled clothes as he raised his voice.
"A wicked being has infiltrated us! Where are the knights!"
His cry rang out loud and clear, like that of a general commanding the battlefield, shaking the entire outpost. Almost immediately, shouts echoed from every direction in response.
"A wicked being is trying to assassinate His Majesty! Everyone, stay alert!"
"Isn't that… the second son of Count Ertinez!"
I wondered how this scene must look through the nobles' eyes.
The second young lord of the House of Ertinez, who had broken away from the group to chase after something, had now suddenly burst alone into the outpost — and was pointing a sword at the king.
To anyone watching, it would seem obvious: he was possessed.
And it wasn't just the loyalists who reacted to Godric's words.
The existence of those "possessed" beings had ruled over their fear for the past ten years; the crowd instinctively and almost immediately responded with hostility and wariness.
Drawing their dragonbone swords.
Shrring!
The sound of blades being unsheathed scattered cold, steely light into the air. Leonardo staggered, as if gripped by a severe headache — yet even so, he stood firm, shielding me without retreating.
'What about the field army?'
The answer that came back to my urgent question was not what I expected.
「I left them in the rear. It's been less than a day since they were rescued — if they came, they'd only get in the way. I left Raul in command.」
'A day?'
All that long, endless time I spent in Kargasthol — and it had only been a day?
While I was still reeling from that, things got even worse: the king's royal guards began gathering around us, closing in.
And all the hostility was directed at Leonardo alone.
But.
'This trick again?'
Hadn't Godric pulled the same stunt back in El Dante? Pinning the blame of possession on Count Ertinez, isolating him, sowing distrust among the people.
It was Godric's typical strategy. The very method by which they spread distrust and division among people.
'You think I'm going to fall for the same trick twice?'
If it's about who shouts louder, I won't lose either.
"The young lord of Ertinez is here to tell you the truth!" I cried out.
You think you're the only one who can spread fear?
I quickly took stock of my own appearance. Covered in dirt, grimy, shackled, with sunken, sleepless eyes — anyone could see I looked like someone who had been imprisoned.
And in this arena, who was I to them?
A leading candidate for victory in this year's leap-year campaign.
A newly risen noble basking in the king's favour.
There's no way someone like that should look like a war prisoner.
The nobles, who had been focused only on Leonardo, finally noticed me — and confusion began to ripple through their ranks.
I clung to Leonardo, shouting desperately.
"If the young lord hadn't come for me when he did, I would have…!"
A witness — someone who had seen something they shouldn't have — about to be permanently silenced.
A fitting role, isn't it?
If six full days had passed here like they had for me in Kargasthol, people might have questioned why Godric hadn't already killed me. But if it had only been a single day, the story made perfect sense.
The anti-Godric nobles began to murmur as if a realization was dawning on them. The self-proclaimed neutral ones were visibly confused, and those already broken by Godric's submission stayed silent.
It didn't matter.
There was more than enough evidence to prove the truth.
The fact that Godric's forces surrounded us also meant this place was filled with ways to prove he was controlling them.
'Leo.'
Even before I finished calling his name, Leonardo had already swung his sword, slicing cleanly through the neck of a royal guard who had been creeping up behind me.
The guard, caught mid-attack, collapsed in the very stance he'd taken to strike — almost as if he hadn't even realized he'd been hit.
Ash scattered in the air.
Unlike the heavy snow falling thick and fast, the ash rose weightlessly, floating and dissolving into nothing.
Not some holy water that could easily be faked or swapped — but the clearest, most undeniable proof of something inhuman.
"Look closely," I cried, "at who your real enemy is."
Even as my final words rang out, Godric stood unmoving, staring straight at us.
His red eyes shimmered with an unnatural gleam. And the closer the situation drew to its breaking point, the thicker, more suffocating his smile became.
"You know it's useless," he said.
['Sub-writer 1' activates
However, his attempt is interrupted midway.
['Main Author' rejects the scenario revision.]
'Butier…!'
Though I couldn't see him, it seemed the main author had followed Leonardo here as well.
Even if they ended up blocking each other and both lost their writing rights like back in El Dante, it wouldn't particularly put us at a disadvantage this time.
I could see a chance to win.
Godric, still wearing an indifferent expression, glanced around before slowly turning his gaze back to us.
"So, you've chosen the harder path after all."
His tone was like that of a parent chiding a foolish child.
"In that case, you'll have to pay the price for your recklessness."
Godric gracefully drew his dragonbone sword from his waist.
No, it was more fitting to call it Dragon's Tooth since it wasn't made from bone, but from the sharpened teeth of a beast.
He muttered, almost casually.
"Once you've done it, why not do it again?"
Leonardo gripped his sword tightly as he stared at the killer.
After a long wait, at last.