TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 106
The urgent sound of footsteps echoed through the air.
Amid heavy breathing and ignoring the stares of others around her, there was a woman running.
Silvery hair with a bluish hue.
The 3rd Princess of the Ephania Royal Family, known as the lineage of the White Dragon.
It was Sigrid Ephania.
She was holding back the tears welling up on her face.
The reason was simple.
She was about to reunite with the love she had been waiting for all this time.
‘Arthur, Arthur.’
Calling out the name she had kept in her heart, Sigrid ran.
The day she inherited her memories and opened her eyes.
At the promised location, it wasn’t just Mary who had desperately waited for Arthur—so had she.
Because Sigrid loved Arthur more than anyone.
But Arthur never appeared.
No matter how much she scoured the Empire, Arthur was nowhere to be found.
At that moment, she realized there was some unknown issue at play.
In her memories, Arthur was always a man charging forward.
And her role as his wife was to support him.
So Sigrid endured and encouraged Mary to rise to her feet.
If it were Arthur, surely he had his reasons.
Thus, she continued her duties, waiting eagerly for the day she would meet him again.
And today.
Finally, Arthur had appeared.
As expected, it was Arthur.
He came because she had been doing her best in her responsibilities.
It was when her heart fluttered as she passed through the empty arena passage.
A figure appeared before her eyes.
A robe pulled tightly over their head.
Golden hair spilling out from under it.
It was Arthur.
It had to be Arthur.
“Arthur!”
At the moment she called his name and ran toward him.
Thud!
Her steps came to an abrupt halt.
The hair was indeed golden.
But the face beneath the robe was not Arthur’s.
The face, delicate enough to be mistaken for that of a woman, was vastly different from Arthur’s, save for the shared blond hair.
While the physique was similar, it was undoubtedly a different person.
Sigrid’s expression hardened.
At the same time, a cold fury began to creep across her face.
How dare this person deceive her using Arthur’s name—she wanted to cut them down on the spot.
“You, who are you…?”
“Sigrid Ephania.”
At that moment, the stranger addressed her by name.
The voice was strangely androgynous, making it difficult to discern whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
“Arthur left a message for you.”
“A message from Arthur?”
Sigrid snapped back to her senses.
Of course, something had happened.
With that conclusion, Sigrid bit her lip, regaining her composure.
“There is someone moving besides the three of you who have inherited memories.”
At those words, Sigrid’s eyes slowly widened.
This wasn’t a baiting statement.
Only she, the other two, and Arthur knew about this fact.
“Wait, what do you mean? There’s someone else besides us?”
“Arthur himself isn’t certain. He said that this iteration has too many variables for him to judge recklessly.”
Sigrid fell deep into thought.
Because it was a suspicion she herself had been entertaining recently.
‘There was Ebelasque, and also Charlotte.’
Even for a butterfly effect, the scale was excessive.
“So Arthur is currently looking for that person. He told me to carefully observe those who react to my presence in his stead. That’s his message.”
Only then did Sigrid grasp Arthur’s intentions.
“…I have just one question. There’s something Arthur used to say to me when we were alone. Do you know what it is?”
Sigrid asked for final confirmation.
At her question, the fake Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly and replied.
“He said to tell you there’s no such thing.”
“Ha, haha.”
Sigrid suddenly let out a laugh.
“That’s right. There’s no way Arthur would share something he said to me alone with someone else.”
Sigrid became certain of Arthur’s existence.
“I understand what this is about.”
If Arthur was searching for someone, then it was her job to find them too.
“Still, is there anyone Arthur is paying particularly close attention to?”
As she asked the question, the first person that came to Sigrid’s mind was none other than Kraush.
She had just witnessed Kraush shatter the Aurora Stone.
Watching that, Sigrid couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
It was only natural—what she sensed from him was clearly at the entry level of a Master.
But with that level, while one might emit a strong light, shattering an Aurora Stone was impossible.
What she had felt at that moment was the power of a curse.
Realizing this, she made a guess.
That Kraush had consumed some form of curse through a skill and used it to perform a trick.
Upon realizing this, Sigrid felt conflicted.
‘Even for a butterfly effect, the timing was far too early.’
Though Kraush was exceptionally skilled in matters related to curses, it had always been for self-defense.
He had never been capable of such a feat.
Initially, Sigrid had fleetingly wondered if Kraush, like them, had inherited memories.
But even if that were the case, it made no sense for Kraush to reach the entry level of a Master in just a few years.
All he could have inherited were memories related to curses or warfare.
He had nothing to do with direct combat.
‘I know better than anyone where that man’s skills stand.’
He was inherently a half-penny.
No matter how hard he tried, his innate talent was far too lacking to overcome his limitations.
“Charlotte Balheim, you said.”
Sigrid’s gaze snapped sharply.
“Did Arthur really say that?”
“Yes.”
Charlotte Balheim, the unprecedented genius of Balheim.
The moment Sigrid heard that, it felt as if the chaotic puzzle pieces were finally falling into place.
Charlotte had been the one who, until the very end, never received a single skill from the gods.
The embodiment of human mythology itself.
Charlotte Balheim, who stood at the peak with nothing but a sword.
But what if, right before her death after defeating the Sword Master, she had been granted a skill?
The gods are most inclined to reach out to humans at the moment their lifespan comes to an end.
Arthur, too, said he acquired the Regression skill through such a process.
‘Then Charlotte might not be an exception.’
Considering how immensely talented Charlotte was, the gods would have been desperate to form a contract with her.
Of course, they would have made her some extraordinary offers.
If that’s the case, then the reason for Kraush’s growth also fits into place.
Even Charlotte, in the end, failed to prevent the apocalypse and died after her battle with the Sword Master.
In her death, she must have realized something.
Even the woman who proclaimed herself above all else couldn’t do it alone.
‘So that’s why she chose that man.’
From before, Charlotte had subtly looked after Kraush, who shared her bloodline.
On top of that, Charlotte knew well the utility of Kraush’s skill.
To face the apocalypse, a Curse Bearer was essential.
Just as Arthur chose three people for himself,
Charlotte might have chosen her brother.
That stubborn woman probably saw her brother as the only one she could accept as a companion.
‘Right, starting from her sudden arrival at the Academy, there have been many suspicious events coming out of Balheim lately.’
If those actions were part of Charlotte’s effort to nurture Kraush, everything made sense.
‘Besides, there’s what Charlotte said right before her death.’
Sigrid’s half-closed eyes widened slightly.
Just before Charlotte fought the Sword Master, Sigrid had a chance encounter and spoke with her.
It wasn’t a particularly meaningful conversation.
After all, Sigrid and Charlotte didn’t get along very well.
But there was one thing Charlotte let slip.
[I’ve finally found it. So tell my brother to come get me. I won’t let him live like that anymore.]
Sigrid didn’t know what she meant by that.
Charlotte killed the Sword Master and died from exhausting her strength.
But it seemed she had intended to pass something on to Kraush.
‘It might have been something akin to an elixir capable of extreme growth.’
An elixir that could turn Kraush’s half-penny life upside down in one go.
At the time, Charlotte might really have known about something like that.
If Kraush had taken such an elixir and received Charlotte’s know-how and teachings on top of it,
his current growth would certainly have been possible.
‘And the fact that she gave him Rain Thunder Prime, the sword she used, proves it.’
The sword hanging at Kraush’s waist was undoubtedly Rain Thunder Prime.
That sword was none other than the one Charlotte had used until the moment of her death in her previous life.
When word spread that a direct descendant of Balheim had gone to the Demonic Bastion City, Sigrid first thought it was Charlotte.
Then the name Kraush came up, and she was puzzled.
But it became clear that Charlotte herself must have informed Kraush and sent him there.
After all, only Charlotte would have known how to acquire Rain Thunder Prime.
‘Come to think of it, Charlotte doesn’t know about Arthur or our Regression.’
That might explain why her actions seemed so uninhibited.
To those like Sigrid, who had regressed with Arthur, her behavior was blatantly unusual.
Sigrid crossed her arms, emphasizing her ample chest, and scowled in disapproval.
‘And yet she acted so nonchalantly, as if meeting me for the first time?’
She hadn’t expected Charlotte to have such a sly side.
It seemed that dying alone had finally taught her something.
Sigrid’s eyes sharpened with a venomous gleam.
Then, a sudden thought struck her mind.
“…Then we just need to bring Kraush over to our camp.”
The Fake Arthur turned to look at Sigrid.
Meeting his gaze, Sigrid curved her eyes into crescent shapes.
“Arthur must be keeping an eye on him too. That Curse Bearer will undoubtedly be crucial later. And it’s obvious Charlotte thinks the same.”
She imagined the moment she would snatch Kraush away from Charlotte.
Charlotte Balheim, whose lofty pride as the Empire’s 3rd Princess was second to none.
Even Sigrid, with her inherited memories, couldn’t suppress the deep envy she felt toward Charlotte’s talent.
Now, imagining Charlotte’s devastated face as the brother she painstakingly nurtured was taken from her,
Sigrid felt a thrill she had never experienced before.
Her sadistic streak flared up as excitement coursed through her, and she licked her lips.
“I know that man better than anyone. Whether I liked it or not, I stuck with him until the end.”
Though they might have been adversaries in the past, they were now strangers who hadn’t seen each other’s faces even once.
Approaching him using her status as a princess wouldn’t be difficult.
“And I also know about the two women connected to him.”
The woman who had been the Flame Emperor’s servant.
The Saintess of the Holy Kingdom Freeman, Astria Stigma Freeman.
Whether those women would cross paths with Kraush again was uncertain, but if they did, it would work in her favor.
If she brought those women into her camp, Kraush would naturally follow.
“What do you think? Not a bad idea, right?”
“I’m simply delivering Arthur’s message.”
Sigrid frowned slightly at his noncommittal response.
“Then at least tell me where Arthur is. I’d like to meet him in person and ask.”
“He’ll reveal himself soon enough.”
“…Ha.”
Sigrid’s brows furrowed deeply.
She had the urge to crush the Fake Arthur on the spot, but she held herself back.
Arthur must have his reasons, after all.
She couldn’t ruin his grand plan.
“If Arthur hasn’t given any specific instructions, it means he’s leaving it up to my discretion. Fine. I’ll handle this my way.”
Tap!
At that moment, Sigrid heard the sound of footsteps.
When she turned toward the source, she saw a black-haired woman rushing toward them.
In her hand was a single spear, and her face bore shadows of sorrow unlike before.
But despite her expression, her voluptuous figure remained unchanged.
It was Mary Diana.
“Sigrid.”
Calling Sigrid’s name for the first time in a while, Mary’s trembling eyes shifted elsewhere.
“And…”
Just as Mary, with tear-filled eyes, was about to call for Arthur,
she saw the face beneath the robe and froze.
Then her face twisted in bewilderment.
“A-Arthur…”
“He is not here.”
When the Fake Arthur answered, Mary collapsed to the ground with a shattered expression.
“T-That can’t be.”
Tears streamed down her face in torrents.
The strong, resolute Mary once known as the Divine Spear was nowhere to be seen.
The past year.
Mary, who had been confined in a solitary cell where nothing could be seen, had only Arthur to cling to.
Even before, Mary’s focus had always been solely on Arthur, and her mental strength was already fragile.
To her, the past year’s imprisonment felt like a hellish existence where she had lost everything due to a single mistake.
Her mental endurance had been pushed to its very limits.
Were it not for her sheer determination to see Arthur again, she would have collapsed long ago.
Sigrid looked at her with disdain.
The Mary Diana who once stood proudly beside her as the Divine Spear was no more.
What remained now was nothing but a dog of the Royal Family, possessing only the Heavenly Martial Body.
Sigrid had no intention of sharing her bed with a dog.
Of course, as a dog, she could be fed and given affection.
After all, a hunting dog still had its role to fulfill.
‘Though it annoys me that Sizelry holds that leash.’
Wasn’t Mary still her subordinate?
“Don’t worry, Mary. You’ve been through so much, haven’t you? Lord Arthur will come soon, too.”
As always, Sigrid gave Mary a gentle smile.
“S-Sigrid, my lady.”
“We’ve done well so far, haven’t we? So let’s give our best to the task Lord Arthur entrusted to us.”
At those words, Mary barely managed to regain her composure.
“Y-Yes, you’re right. I, Mary Diana, am the spear of Lady Sigrid and Lord Arthur! I will do my utmost in my duties!”
“Yes, that’s the Mary I know.”
Seeing Sigrid’s smile, Mary, her tear-streaked face brightened, returned a radiant smile.
“Mary Diana, as a princess, I command you.”
Mary immediately knelt on one knee before her.
“In the Second Exam, you will face Kraush Balheim.”
Sigrid had a discerning eye for people.
Kraush, raised by Charlotte, had grown much stronger than expected.
Surely, he would face Mary in the Second Exam.
Unfortunately, the plan to highlight Mary as a redeemed royal murderer and create the image of a forgiving princess had failed.
All the attention had been taken by Kraush.
If Mary had focused solely on training to regain her past strength without imprisonment, she could have easily shattered the Aurora Stone.
But that was already in the past.
“Win. No, show him an overwhelming gap. Make him feel jealous of your martial prowess.”
After all, her opponent was none other than the Divine Spear, Mary Diana.
Even if her Aura output was lacking, her spear technique remained unmatched.
There was no way Mary could lose to some opportunist who had stumbled upon a bit of fortune.
“I accept the command of the 3rd Princess, Sigrid Ephania.”
Watching Mary regain her composure and return to her role as a knight, Sigrid smiled seductively.
All while envisioning Charlotte’s face, brimming with anticipation, after losing Kraush to her.
Caw—
At the same time, outside the window of the Arena.
None of them noticed the crow, its presence concealed, silently crying as it flew away.