Chapter 296
Though made naïve and innocent from her lost memories, the woman had been treated with all the gentleness Izar could muster.
But that, too, had been no different from another form of deception.
Izar had wanted to treat Freesia that way before she broke, before she was in pain.
To save her from cruel beatings, to erase any scars before they could form, to go through a proper wedding night and present her with a gift without shame…
‘Freesia, I…’
He had wanted to live with her as lovers.
If only his eighteen-year-old self had swallowed his pride and gone to find the fifteen-year-old shepherd girl… things might have turned out differently.
So, after death, he dared to shout out his regret and resentment to the divine.
〈If you’re truly a god, you should’ve taken it from me and given it to her.〉
Wasn’t Izar the only one who had taken from her?
Why had God assigned her the duty of saving the imperial grandson, only to grant her a mere one year in return?
[…Then, Izar. I shall make one promise.]
Hearing the cry of a soul weeping in bitter regret, God quietly whispered back.
It was a final vow, made to one who had inherited the duty of defeating monsters for generations and protected the Empire to the very end.
[If the man who meets Freesia anew… changes.]
If, with the same desperation as one trying to gather the blood she had spilled onto the earth, he tried to undo the mistakes of that time.
Even a god, so weakened that he could no longer intervene in the mortal realm, would then squeeze out his last remaining strength. The promise would be fulfilled when Izar reached the sanctuary.
[If Freesia succeeds in her mission, the imperial grandson will take her to the sanctuary. And by then… you should be able to hear My voice again.]
So, after many years had passed, Izar had kept his side of the bargain.
“Haa…!”
Izar, now, blinked with bloodied eyes, groaning in pain.
The hand that swung his sword felt as heavy as it did the first time he’d ever picked up a weapon.
He and his knights fought desperately, but so did Canopus and his forces. Not to mention the massive monsters swarming in from every direction…
It was a situation not so different from the day he had died.
‘No… many things are different.’
Izar thought of his daughter, who by now must have been brought to a safe place. Though she had been soaked in adult blood and weeping, this time he had saved his child.
Just this once, he had protected her, and when Freesia opened her eyes, he wanted to tell her that.
And in the instant he crossed swords with Canopus, Izar suddenly smiled, clenching his teeth against a flash of realization.
“Ha… haha…!”
He burst out laughing, as though every part of him was waking in pure white joy. Joy pushed to the extreme borders on madness. How could he possibly suppress a laugh in such a moment?
This was the very moment the deal with God had been fulfilled.
He had once despised Freesia, calling her a stain on his life. A bastard bride who sullied the lineage of a noble house. He had wanted no trace of her left behind, so much so that he had tampered with the marriage contract.
What had given him the arrogance to be that cruel?
‘Adamant, then hear my wish now—’
In exchange for offering up his supernatural ability, he wished only this.
That his woman might live a long and beautiful life.
A starry night in spring, the scent of fragrant flowers, a stream that whispered softly as it flowed.
A clear summer, a bountiful autumn, and a gentle winter where snow fell quietly.
From now on, Freesia would be able to greet all those seasons.
Just then, a monster summoned by Canopus bit into his shoulder. The pain was dizzying, and blood pooled in his mouth, but even then, he refused to fall.
“Ghh…!”
“Ha! What’s this?”
Canopus barked a mocking laugh at Izar.
He’d noticed the other man’s slowing reflexes against the monsters. At first, he wasn’t sure, but as Izar kept fending them off with growing difficulty while closing the distance, his doubt turned to certainty.
‘He can’t use his power!’
As the thought struck, the inferiority he had long buried began to raise its head.
He had trained his whole life, yet in raw combat, he could never defeat his older half-brother.
‘Then…’
Canopus picked up the severed arm of a monster lying on the ground, and raised it to his mouth.
Izar was stunned by the sight of him swallowing the filthy blood without hesitation. Then, disgust overwhelmed him.
‘That bastard really has gone insane.’
That bloodthirsty madness just to do anything to win… It was horrifying.
‘He figured out that my power’s stopped working.’
But even without supernatural power, he was still Izar.
Until the end of this life, he would stubbornly fulfill his duty as Duke Arcturus.
‘Still, a powerless me… will become a stain on my own house.’
But in exchange… his love would live.
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