“Does anyone really need a reason to protect the person they love?”
For several seconds, Valeriam said nothing.
The dark energy surrounding her fingers continued to twist and writhe, but something changed in her expression. The curiosity with which she had been watching me slowly faded.
In its place came excitement.
Not the condescending smile she had worn through most of the battle. This one was more open.
More alive.
As though, after awakening in an age that had done nothing but disappoint her, she had finally found something worthy of her attention.
“Love...” she repeated calmly, savoring the word. “Such a simple answer for such an obstinate will.”
Her gaze shifted from me to Morgause, who was still lying among the rubble.
“I have shown you the distance between us. I have pushed your body to its limit and proven that rising one more time will not change the outcome. And yet it is neither hatred, revenge, nor pride that keeps you standing.”
I tightened both hands around my staff to remain upright.
“I already answered you.”
Valeriam let out a low laugh.
“Yes. And for the first time since I awakened, someone from this age has given me an answer that does not disappoint me.”
The pressure surrounding her began to rise.
Behind her, the stones shifted.
Morgause pushed the rubble aside and managed to pull herself up.
Her breathing was heavy. Dark blood stained one side of her body, and one of her arms barely responded, but she still forced herself to her feet.
Valeriam watched her approach without interfering.
Morgause reached me and took her place at my side.
Her shoulder brushed against mine.
I glanced at her.
“Hi.”
“No.”
I blinked.
“No what?”
“Do not turn this into one of your fantasies.”
“I haven’t even said anything.”
“I know you.”
A smile started creeping onto my face.
Morgause noticed immediately.
“Nellie.”
“My face doesn’t count as dialogue.”
“In your case, it says far too much.”
Valeriam watched us as though our little exchange had only confirmed something for her.
“Extraordinary. You can barely remain standing, and yet neither of you intends to retreat.”
Morgause raised her right hand.
Flames slowly returned around her fingers.
“You talk too much.”
Valeriam lifted one eyebrow.
“And you continue issuing commands as though the world were still obligated to obey you.”
“I don’t need the world to obey me.”
The flames grew.
“Only you.”
Oh.
Even half dead, she was incredible.
I gathered what little mana I had left and raised my staff.
For once, I wasn’t chasing Morgause down a hallway, trying to convince her to go on a date with me, or breaking into her bedroom with another romantic strategy that probably deserved some form of restraining order.
We were about to fight together.
It wasn’t exactly how I had imagined our first great moment as a couple.
My fantasies usually involved less blood.
And dresses.
There were definitely dresses.
Valeriam stepped toward us.
“Then come.”
Her smile widened.
“Show me whether this bond you value so deeply is worthy of surviving a Goddess.”
The air changed.
There was no explosion.
No surge of mana.
I didn’t even hear footsteps.
I simply felt that something new had entered the gorge.
Morgause felt it too.
Her gaze immediately shifted to a point behind Valeriam.
Valeriam stopped smiling.
“What...?”
Someone was standing there.
A moment earlier, the space had been empty.
Now a figure stood only a few steps behind her.
They were dressed entirely in black.
A gothic-style jacket fit their figure with immaculate elegance, tailored closely around the waist before extending slightly behind them. Fine dark embroidery ran along the lapels and cuffs, visible only when the firelight caught it. Beneath it was a high-collared shirt, perfectly fastened, with a delicate silver chain crossing the chest as part of the ensemble.
Dark trousers.
High boots.
Not a single piece of armor.
No visible weapon.
Dark hair framed a serene face—far too serene for someone who had just appeared in the middle of a gorge that had been turned into a battlefield.
I couldn’t identify their race.
I couldn’t sense their mana properly either.
That unsettled me even more.
Valeriam had filled the entire place with her presence from the moment she descended from the sky.
This person was the exact opposite.
It was like staring at a void that had decided to dress elegantly.
Valeriam turned.
For the first time, surprise appeared completely unguarded on her face.
“Who are you?”
The figure inclined their head with impeccable courtesy.
“I beg your pardon for this interruption, Lady Valeriam.”
I blinked.
Their voice was calm.
Elegant.
Reverential to an almost absurd degree considering they were speaking to someone capable of destroying mountains.
Valeriam narrowed her eyes.
“You know my name.”
“It would have been an unforgivable failure on my part not to.”
“Then tell me yours.”
The figure lifted their head slightly.
“I am afraid I cannot grant that request.”
Valeriam’s expression hardened.
“How insolent.”
“I assure you, no disrespect is intended.”
“Then step aside.”
“Regrettably, I cannot comply with that request either.”
Valeriam took half a step forward.
“And you intend to stop me?”
“I intend, with your permission, to bring this matter to a close before it causes any further inconvenience.”
I nearly opened my mouth.
Inconvenience?
Valeriam seemed to have roughly the same reaction, though hers was considerably less amused.
“Inconvenience?”
“Indeed.”
The stranger took a single step.
I didn’t see the strike.
I didn’t see a stance.
I didn’t even perceive the movement.
I only heard a dry impact.
Valeriam froze.
Her eyes widened.
The energy surrounding her vanished all at once.
Then her legs gave way.
The stranger caught her before she hit the ground.
I kept my staff raised.
Morgause still had flames surrounding one hand.
Neither of us moved.
Blazer had been left broken.
I had pushed my body close to destruction.
Morgause had been forced to fight Valeriam while barely able to stay upright.
And this person had just knocked her unconscious with a single blow.
The stranger carefully adjusted Valeriam over one shoulder.
Then they turned toward us.
One hand came to their chest.
And they bowed.
Perfectly.
“Please accept my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused.”
I stared at them.
Then at the ruined gorge.
Then back at them.
“Inconvenience?”
Morgause gave me a look.
I ignored it.
“She tried to kill us.”
The stranger inclined their head.
“I am fully aware of that, Miss Nellie. That is precisely why I believe a formal apology is appropriate.”
I went still.
“You know my name.”
“Of course.”
That stopped being funny rather quickly.
Morgause moved half a step in front of me.
Small.
Almost imperceptible.
But she did it.
“You know who I am as well.”
The figure turned toward her and bowed their head with even greater respect.
“It would be impossible not to recognize Your Majesty.”
Morgause’s eyes narrowed.
“Then introduce yourself.”
“I am afraid that, with all due respect, it is not yet my place to reveal that information.”
“I did not ask you to decide whether it was your place.”
Direct.
Cold.
A queen.
The stranger never lost their composure.
“I understand your position perfectly, Your Majesty. And I ask that you do not interpret my refusal as discourtesy. Circumstances require me to withhold certain information until the appropriate time.”
“I dislike riddles.”
“A perfectly reasonable position.”
That seemed to annoy Morgause even more.
I had to keep myself from smiling.
The stranger adjusted Valeriam slightly on their shoulder.
“For the time being, please allow me to take responsibility for Lady Valeriam. I shall endeavor to ensure that she does not trouble you in this manner again.”
“In this manner?” I repeated. “She almost killed us.”
“I deeply regret that.”
“She destroyed half the mountain.”
“I regret that as well.”
“Blazer looks like he tried to kiss a moving carriage.”
Morgause closed her eyes.
“Nellie.”
“I’m only trying to establish what level of ‘inconvenience’ we’re discussing here.”
For the first time, I thought I saw the faintest curve at the stranger’s lips.
It vanished so quickly I wasn’t sure it had been there at all.
“Your assessment is entirely understandable.”
Morgause did not share my curiosity.
“What is your relationship with Valeriam?”
The stranger remained silent for a moment.
“A legitimate question.”
We waited.
“And, I am afraid, another that must remain unanswered for now.”
Morgause took a step forward.
“I am beginning to tire of that phrase.”
“I understand.”
“It does not seem like you do.”
“I assure you, I do.”
I almost admired this person’s nerve.
Morgause could reduce buildings to ash, and the stranger still answered her as though they were politely resolving an administrative dispute.
At last, they bowed again.
“I do not wish to prolong this interruption. Once more, please accept my apologies for Lady Valeriam’s conduct and for any harm resulting from it.”
“‘Any harm,’” I muttered.
Morgause lightly struck my arm with the back of her hand.
“Ow.”
The stranger continued as though nothing had happened.
“I am certain our paths will cross again under more favorable circumstances.”
Morgause kept her eyes fixed on them.
“This is not over.”
“I would expect nothing less, Your Majesty.”
The space around the stranger began to distort.
Not like my Instant Movement.
There was no folding.
I felt no clear spatial rupture.
Their silhouette simply began to disappear.
Before vanishing completely, they inclined their head one final time.
“Until then, I wish you both a swift recovery.”
And they were gone.
Valeriam disappeared with them.
Silence returned to the gorge.
For real this time.
No explosions.
No impacts.
No mountains trying to disintegrate around us.
Only the wind passing through the shattered rock and the quiet crackle of small fires burning themselves out between the craters.
I remained standing for several seconds.
Then my legs decided they had contributed enough.
“Ah.”
Morgause caught me before I reached the ground.
One arm wrapped around my waist.
I looked up at her.
“That was very romantic.”
“You are unbearable.”
“You could say you were happy to catch me.”
“I could also let go.”
“And ruin our intimate moment?”
Morgause gave me a flat look.
“I am seriously reconsidering saving you.”
“That still implies you wanted to save me.”
“Nellie.”
“Right. I’ll be quiet.”
Morgause helped me sit on a relatively intact rock.
She remained standing.
For approximately three seconds.
Then her knee trembled.
I looked at her.
She looked at me.
“No.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to.”
I shifted slightly to one side.
“There’s room.”
Morgause exhaled slowly and eventually sat beside me.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
After all that noise, the silence felt strange.
I could hear our breathing.
Morgause’s was still far too fast.
Mine wasn’t much better.
I looked at the broken chain still hanging from her wrist.
Then at her injuries.
Then at her face.
She was still here.
She was actually still here.
“I thought you were dead.”
Morgause didn’t answer immediately.
Her gaze remained on the mountains.
“I know.”
“Valeriam said she killed you.”
“Valeriam says far too many things.”
“She sounded pretty convinced.”
Morgause tilted her head slightly.
“She did try.”
That wiped the last trace of a smile from my face.
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters.”
“I’m here.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“Nellie.”
The way she said my name stopped me.
It wasn’t a reprimand.
She sounded tired.
“I’m here,” she repeated more softly.
I closed my mouth.
Then looked down at my hands.
“When I had that vision... I saw you chained up. I didn’t know if you were hurt. I didn’t know when it was happening. Then Valeriam told me she had killed you, and for a moment...”
My throat tightened.
I didn’t finish.
Morgause turned toward me.
“But you came anyway.”
I looked at her.
“Of course I came.”
“It could have been a trap.”
“It was.”
“You could have died.”
“I almost did.”
Her eyes hardened.
“That isn’t funny.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
Morgause fell silent.
Then she looked down at the chain around her wrist.
“When I managed to free myself, I barely knew where I was. The Rupture had altered the routes, and I could no longer sense the direction of the castle clearly.”
Her hand slowly tightened.
“Then I felt the spirit.”
My hand instinctively moved toward where I had stored it.
“It was weak,” Morgause continued, “but I could still follow the connection. Enough to know you were very far away.”
She paused.
“And that something was wrong.”
I watched her.
Morgause noticed my expression almost immediately.
“Don’t make that face.”
“What face?”
“The one you make when you’re about to turn anything I say into a romantic declaration.”
“I don’t need to turn this into anything. It’s doing a very good job on its own.”
“Nellie.”
“Please continue.”
She looked away.
Her cheeks had become slightly redder.
I could blame the fire.
I wasn’t going to.
“When I felt the connection... I didn’t think about the castle.”
My smile disappeared.
Morgause continued before I could react.
“I didn’t think about my soldiers. Or the state of my territory. I didn’t even think about who had taken me or what might be waiting for me when I reached this place.”
The fingers of her free hand tightened against the stone.
“I only thought that you were here.”
I said nothing.
For the first time in a very long time, my mind was completely blank.
Normally, I had at least half a dozen things ready to say to Morgause.
Three romantic.
Two that probably shouldn’t be spoken in public.
And one so shameless that even I would probably admit I deserved to be set on fire afterward.
This time, nothing came.
Morgause kept looking ahead.
“Do not misunderstand my words.”
There it was.
“I haven’t even said anything.”
“I know you.”
“That keeps sounding more romantic every time you say it.”
“I am trying to speak seriously with you.”
I shut up.
Actually shut up.
Morgause took a moment before continuing.
“I don’t know what to do with you.”
My heart immediately began behaving in a very unprofessional manner.
“Dating me would be a reasonable start.”
Morgause closed her eyes.
“And there goes the moment.”
“Sorry. Reflex.”
“You have far too many reflexes like that.”
“I developed them specifically for you.”
She looked at me.
I raised both hands.
“Right. Serious now.”
I took a slow breath.
“I meant what I said too.”
Morgause frowned slightly.
“About what?”
She knew exactly what.
But I was going to say it anyway.
“What I said to Valeriam.”
Her expression shifted just slightly.
“Ah.”
“The part about loving you.”
Her cheeks immediately turned red.
Morgause looked away.
“You did not need to repeat it.”
“Yes, I did.”
“No.”
“I wanted you to hear it when neither of us was trying to stop a Goddess from killing us.”
“A surprisingly specific situation.”
“My life has become pretty strange.”
That earned something from her that was almost a laugh.
Almost.
I looked at her.
“Morgause.”
This time, my tone made her face me again.
“I know I say a lot of stupid things.”
“That is indisputable.”
“Thank you for the support.”
“Continue.”
“I know I’ve turned practically every interaction we have into an attempt to win you over. I’ve broken into your castle, your bedroom, and possibly a couple of places you still don’t know I visited.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What places?”
“We’re opening up emotionally. Let’s not ruin this with a criminal investigation.”
“Nellie.”
“Later.”
She didn’t look satisfied.
I continued before she could interrogate me.
“But underneath all the jokes, all the attempts, all the indecent things I should probably stop saying in front of your subordinates—”
“Definitely.”
“—I’ve always meant it.”
Morgause remained still.
“You aren’t some passing obsession. You aren’t just the Demon Queen I was supposedly meant to defeat and decided to chase because I thought you were attractive.”
I paused.
“Although I definitely thought you were very attractive.”
“Nellie.”
“Contextual information.”
She sighed.
This time, I didn’t stop.
“When I say I want to be with you, I mean it. When I say I want to see you again tomorrow, the day after that, and every day you’ll let me keep showing up in your life, I mean that too. And when I say I want to marry you—”
Morgause opened her mouth.
I raised a hand.
“Yes, I know. Too soon.”
She closed it again.
“But I mean that too.”
We fell silent.
Morgause held my gaze for so long that I started feeling more nervous than I had during my fight with Valeriam.
Finally, she spoke.
“I know.”
Two words.
Nothing more.
My heart forgot how to function.
“You know?”
“Do not make me repeat myself.”
“But that means you’ve been thinking about—”
“Nellie.”
“Right.”
I shut up.
Five seconds passed.
Maybe six.
A personal record.
“So—”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”
Morgause looked at me.
“Yes, I do.”
“That also implies you know me pretty well.”
“I am beginning to regret it.”
But there was a smile on her lips.
Tiny.
Almost nonexistent.
I saw it anyway.
Of course I did.
Then her expression became serious again.
“I have to go back.”
The words erased my own smile.
“To the castle.”
“First.” She looked toward the east. “I don’t know how many of my people are still missing. I don’t know what happened after I was displaced or what condition my territory is in. Valeriam cannot be ignored after what happened here either.”
I nodded.
“And now we have the apologetic gothic butler.”
Morgause looked at me.
“You don’t know whether that was a butler.”
“They had butler energy.”
“That means nothing.”
“It means something to me.”
“That is precisely the problem.”
I smiled weakly.
Then I looked toward where I had left the others.
“I have things to deal with too. Blazer needs treatment. The other three Heroes are still missing. Caelum is probably going to develop an academic obsession with everything that just happened.”
“Then deal with it.”
I looked at her.
“Was that an order?”
“It was a suggestion.”
“With the Demon Queen voice.”
“That is my normal voice.”
“Exactly.”
Morgause gave my arm a small smack.
I immediately regretted existing.
“Ow!”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I thought you were a Heroine.”
“A Heroine with approximately every bone currently upset with her.”
“Dramatic.”
“I got hit by a Goddess.”
“So did I.”
“Competitive.”
Morgause shook her head.
But she smiled again.
Then she tried to stand.
It took considerably more effort than she probably wanted to admit.
I stood too and offered her a hand.
Her eyes dropped to it.
Then to me.
“Don’t.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“You’re smiling.”
“My face has a mind of its own.”
“Convenient.”
She accepted my hand.
Only to stand.
That was all.
Absolutely.
Once she was upright, she didn’t let go immediately.
Neither did I.
Our fingers remained together for a few seconds.
Not many.
Enough.
Morgause was the first to pull away.
Naturally.
“I have to go.”
“Yeah.”
I hated how heavy that word felt.
Morgause took one step.
Then another.
And before I could think too much about it, I spoke.
“Morgause.”
She stopped.
“What?”
I swallowed.
It was ridiculous.
I had fought monsters.
I had been burned to death.
I had fought a Goddess.
And somehow, this question made me nervous.
“Will I see you again?”
Morgause didn’t answer immediately.
She remained with her back to me while the wind gently lifted her red hair.
Then she looked over her shoulder.
Our eyes met.
“Nellie.”
“Yeah?”
A small curve appeared on her lips.
“You already know where to find me.”
And then she walked away.
I remained there watching her.
Red hair moving in the wind.
The broken chain still hanging from her wrist.
Wounded.
Exhausted.
With an entire kingdom waiting for her.
But alive.
And for the first time since I had started trying to conquer the Demon Queen’s heart...
that hadn’t sounded like a warning.
It had sounded like an invitation.