“They helped me when I was injured. They are benefactors.”
There was a scoff at the mention of ‘benefactors.’
“So, are you defying the King’s orders?”
He commanded the soldiers again. Rieta once again ordered them to stop.
“Princess Rieta!”
Unable to contain himself, Taylor pointed his blade at her.
She was a princess, but in reality, she was just a slave to be sold at the highest price. She had no authority or power to interfere in such matters.
Taylor twisted his mouth.
“They are soldiers who have sworn their loyalty, Princess. Don’t get in the way and step aside!”
While Taylor was shouting, Rieta briefly glanced at the soldiers. The sight of their human forms, filled with sadness and helplessness, continued to bother her.
“Step back,” She said in a soft voice.
The surroundings began to stir. Some soldiers even put down their swords and looked silently at Rieta.
“Damn it! What are you doing?!”
Taylor shouted fiercely and swung his sharp blade again.
“Didn’t I tell you to tie them up immediately? The King is waiting! Kill anyone who gets in the way! Yes! Kill them!”
Taylor’s fierce eyes turned to Rieta. To his honest hostility, Rieta also opened her eyes wide without any fear.
“Princess!”
At the moment when Taylor rushed forward threateningly—
“Ah!”
His body, frozen in place with his blade held high
“…!”
He looked down at his own body.
The soldier to whom he had given the order to kill the child earlier was now breathing heavily.
A sword was deeply embedded near Taylor’s waist.
“You, you…!”
A bewildered Taylor glared at the soldier who had stabbed him.
“I, I didn’t want this. I, I—!”
The soldier poured out the words in his heart.
“I didn’t sign up to be a soldier to do things like this!”
At the end of his cry, he let out a scream and pulled out the sword that had been thrust into Taylor.
Flesh and blood splattered in all directions as he fell with a thud.
It was a gruesome sight, with his neck twisting as he fell.
No one dared to approach him, his menacing posture that exuded a sense of terror.
With trembling red fingertips, Taylor, who was on the verge of death, slowly reached out his arm somewhere.
It seemed as if he was pleading for help, but unfortunately, no one was there to take his hand.
After a while, his movements came to a stop.
“Uh, uuhh…”
The soldier who had killed Taylor knelt down and began to shed tears in that spot.
The surroundings fell silent as he pounded the ground with his fist, seemingly filled with deep remorse.
“Shit! Damn it!”
Curses mixed with tears.
He was blaming himself for stopping Taylor too late.
If only he had acted a little faster.
Before the poor villager died.
Before the kind old soldier who cared for his comrades died.
Even sooner than that…
But the fear always held him, leaving no room for other thoughts.
He, too, had the power to change the situation.
But he realized it too late, and the overwhelming sadness overflowed.
The soldier struck the ground once more with his already battered fist.
Thud.
But before it could hit the hard ground, a small hand grabbed him.
The soldier lifted his head.
The Princess had come down and was holding his hand.
The soldier slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Come to think of it, a long time ago…
There had been so many people who had waited for the Princess to return.
Most of them had died by now.
The memory of them calling the princess the ‘Hope’ of the Kingdom of Liz flashed through his mind.
“Why…”
The soldier opened his mouth.
Even though he was too overwhelmed to move properly due to his tears.
“Why! Why!”
Words mixed with resentment came out of him.
“Why are you only here now!”
“…Sorry.”
He grabbed Rieta’s shoulders.
“There were people waiting! People who called you their hope!”
They had never hesitated to stand up against the King’s wrongdoings.
“And they died waiting for you! Almost all of them!”
His chin trembled once more.
A mix of fear, regret, and anger.
“I…”
The soldier cried out loud.
“I killed them. I—!”
The soldier’s body collapsed as he remembered the innocent people who had fallen by his hands.
“…”
He remained crumpled on the hard ground, crying like that for quite a while.
Rieta couldn’t even offer comforting words to him. She simply placed her hand on his back and stayed with him.
Soon, others who shared the same pain began to shed quiet tears as well.
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