[Your smile in that moment was deeply engraved upon the Aslan King’s heart.] [But after recovering from your beauty, all he felt was an immense sense of defeat and dejection.] [Though he sat upon one of the mightiest nations in this world, without a doubt, he had lost—lost to a Sarkaz girl.] [Your smile from the heart was truly beautiful, carrying the unique elegance of a Victorian noble maiden, yet also gentle, free-spirited, and filled with genuine affection for the one you yearned for.] [But the Aslan King understood that this smile did not belong to him.
So he had lost.
Completely and utterly lost…] [In the end, the Aslan King left utterly despondent.
That retreating figure resembled a lion defeated in a pack struggle—wretched, powerless, dejected.] [Seeing this, you said nothing more.
You merely watched his departure.
Then, bathed in the starlight that filtered through the glass at night, you quietly spent your final night in Victoria.] [The next day, just as per your deal with the Aslan King, before the final judge could pronounce your guilt, before the astonished eyes of the gathered judges and people from all walks of society, you drank the concentrated Originium solution in one draught.] [The searing, viscous liquid slid down your throat into your body.
The agitated Originium particles rapidly began to erode your organs and body.] [You could vividly feel the Originium crystals spreading through your throat and stomach.
With all your strength, you guided these particles to diffuse elsewhere to prevent your body from instantly crystallizing, thereby prolonging your final moments of life.] [But this also consumed your mental strength enormously.
In the end, you collapsed onto the ground.
Just before you blacked out, drenched in cold sweat, you caught sight of Henry’s figure.
He was watching you with the same complex expression as when he had departed the previous night.
Then your vision fell into darkness.] [When you awoke again, you discovered that your throat had already begun faintly crystallizing.
Your stomach and the surrounding area had become a heavily crystallized disaster zone.
Other internal organs also showed faint signs of incipient crystallization.] [Even though, deep within your bloodline, the Draco lineage resisted the Originium erosion, death was already closing in on you.] [However, it was not without any good news.
At the very least, the Aslan King had indeed kept his promise.
Overcoming all dissenting opinions, he had exiled you from Victorian soil.
And as he expelled your unconscious body, he left upon you a sum of money sufficient to support your journey to Kazdel.] [Though…
this funding had not originally been part of your agreement.] [But when you opened the coin purse and found within it a slip of paper, reading: ‘This is the best help a friend can give’—] [You felt a sense of release.] [Then, after silently thanking him in your heart, you set out from Victoria’s border onto the road to Kazdel.] [Along the way, it could be said that as the severity of your infection deepened, your Originium Arts grew continuously stronger as well.] [Your perception of Theresa became countless times clearer than before.
At first, you could only faintly sense Theresa’s existence.
But now, you could precisely pinpoint the region Theresa was in.
And because you had frequently transported supplies to Theresa and the others in the past, you also knew the location of their base of operations.] [However, at the same time, because the severity of your body’s infection was worsening, you also had to set aside more time to rest, plan your route to avoid further contact with Originium, and employ the most primitive method of bloodletting to gamble on suppressing the rampant growth of Originium crystals within you.] [This greatly slowed your journey.
Furthermore, because of the Kazdel civil war, no caravans were willing to travel to Kazdel this time.
With insufficient funds, you could only purchase a scrawny pack-beast and struggle arduously onward.] [Much of the time, to carry your supplies across the wastelands, you even had to lead the beast on foot, trudging forward yourself.] [Meanwhile, along the way, because you frequently passed through chaotic regions, you were also forced to fight off refugees and bandits while tormented by Oripathy.] [All of this greatly hindered your efficiency in reaching Kazdel.] [What should have been a two-month journey stretched to nearly half a year.] [And just as you were about to approach the border of Kazdel, the war against Kazdel that the Aslan King had once warned you of broke out.] [You continued your journey arduously through war-torn Kazdel.] [But you could clearly feel the anchor’s position constantly shifting.
This evidently meant Theresa was continuously changing combat zones, yet you could not predict her next move.
Thus, the distance between you and Theresa grew ever greater.] [The closest you ever came was thwarted by the coalition forces positioned between you, preventing you from crossing the final mountain range to see Theresa.] [Faintly, you had begun to feel weariness and helplessness.] [It was not that you wished to give up—rather, the deepening infection and your gradually crystallizing body brought you ever closer to the scythe of Death.] [And after rushing through war-torn Kazdel for half a year, you finally no longer had the strength to continue searching for Theresa.
Left with no choice, you stopped, finding a slightly less chaotic place to halt your steps.] [By now, your body could no longer support your advance.
Your stomach had fully crystallized, almost entirely losing its original function, rooted in your abdomen like a massive, bloated chunk of Originium.] [The areas near your original stomach had also crystallized to varying degrees, affecting your bodily functions and basic capabilities.] [You began to grow frail, forced to rely on nutrient injections and small amounts of liquid food to sustain your body’s internal nutritional needs.] [Thus, you could only choose to halt your steps.
In a small town within Kazdel, you once again began operating the various industries you were most skilled in.
Though the lack of initial capital and connections prevented your enterprises from growing to the scale they had once achieved in Victoria, you still accumulated considerable foundations through your experience and wisdom, and did your utmost to aid Theresa in her campaigns.] [A year later, the capital of Kazdel was breached.
Then, the Six Heroes of Kazdel, among the coalition forces, led the Sarkaz in slaying the one named Kal’tsit, ultimately driving out the coalition and ending the years of chaos that had plagued Kazdel since the loss of the previous Sarkaz King.] [At this moment, peace came to Kazdel.] [You also realized that this was your final chance to meet Theresa.
Thus, without hesitation, you packed up all your assets and belongings, and with the reluctant gazes and assistance of the town’s Sarkaz, arrived at the already-destroyed capital of Kazdel.] [Here, from afar, you saw Theresa upon a high platform, clad in plain robes, bathed in sunlight, radiant in her glory amidst the fervent support and cheers of the Sarkaz.] [And behind her stood the handsome Theresis in armor, guarding her rear.
Having grown through war and hardship, he now resembled a knight protecting a princess, not a trace remaining of the cowardly boy who once needed his sister’s protection.] [Watching them, your heart suddenly eased.
The worry that had hung in your heart for so many years finally settled.] [They had succeeded.
Your efforts had not been in vain.
Perhaps very soon, Theresa would return to find you—or perhaps she wouldn’t…] [But at least, you had succeeded in seeing Theresa one last time, and you had witnessed what she had become after fully maturing.] [You couldn’t help but wonder—had you not lost your trust in others as a child, had you not lost all your family…
would you not have hidden yourself in the shadows?
Would you not have gradually forgotten your original self?] [Perhaps so…
But now, speaking of such things was meaningless.] [You were about to die.] [In the final moments of your life, you still wished to bring a conclusion between yourself and Theresa.] [To let that game, which had continued for over a decade, reach its final punctuation today—at the last juncture of your life.] [You had already found your answer.
And at the end, you hoped to die by the hand of Theresa—the one who had allowed you to glimpse another version of yourself, who had allowed you to find that answer—rather than by the hand of the Originium that had destroyed everything all those years ago.] [Thus, at the very end, using the identity of a benefactor, you mobilized your Originium Arts and finally bypassed layers of guards and blockades to appear before Theresa, who had just finished her speech.]