No Regression for the Victor - Chapter 42

At that, the couple shouted sharply, refusing to accept reality.

“No, no, that can’t be… After all the loyalty we’ve shown until now… Hiic…”

“How could His Majesty… how could he abandon us…? We were born and raised in Obern…”

“There must be some other plan…”

The couple clung to the communicator, trying over and over, but with not even a hint of a signal or a reaction to magic.

Only after another thirty minutes passed, and the couple finally sat down in stunned despair, did the reality set in. By then, the purple smoke was spreading further, swallowing up more of the domain.

Hyun alone calmly gazed out the window, and suddenly, a beloved face came to mind.

He had sent a letter two weeks ago, so it should be arriving at the palace right about now. By the time Misha thought of him while reading that letter, he would probably no longer be of this world.

Compared to the time when he’d almost died in a sudden accident, he had unexpectedly managed to extend his life a little. In that brief period, meeting someone he could rely on, however briefly, was a stroke of luck he hadn’t expected.

‘I should have told him thank you more.’

Why had it always been so hard to simply express his gratitude? Instead of just apologizing for always being a burden, he could have just said thank you. Now, Hyun regretted it. It was too late, even though it wouldn’t have made a difference either way.

If he left behind one last letter, could it reach Misha, even after he’d been torn apart by monsters?

Thinking such an impossible thought, Hyun gave a self-mocking smile and looked out the window again. Beyond the deepening purple mist, sudden bursts of white smoke were rising.

“What… What is that?”

Following Hyun, the caretaker, having noticed the white smoke, pressed close to the window with a faint hope. Knowing exactly what it was, Hyun felt his heart sink.

“Could it be… maybe the subjugation force has arrived…?”

“That must be it, right? There’s no way His Majesty would abandon us…”

“……”

Hyun bit his lip, then explained.

“…That’s a rescue signal set off by civilians.”

Setting off a beacon in this situation was no different from telling the monsters where they were.

Still, Hyun knew better than anyone who those people hoped would receive their desperate plea—a signal unknown to those from Osbrandt.

The fallen king of Transis, Isaac Thion Transis. Difficult and arrogant to the core, nearly a match for the Crown Prince of Osbrandt, but more sincere than anyone else when it came to gathering his people and rebuilding the Kingdom of Transis.

The people of Quillan, keenly aware the Osbrandt Empire would never leave them alone, still saw the deposed Duke of Transis as their spiritual leader.

“No, no… There’s no way His Majesty would really…”

Even as the purple mist crept wider and wider, more white smoke signals began to rise in various places. Witnessing those desperate cries for help—risking their lives to reach their fallen king as their last hope—Hyun couldn’t bear to watch any longer and turned away.

Their king was no longer here. The one wearing his shell was not Isaac, but someone else. Hyun had been forced into this world by Isaac, without his consent, and he owed Isaac nothing.

Hyun no longer wanted to live so fiercely. In the end, all that awaited was betrayal from those he had struggled so desperately to be loved by. He had no intention of stumbling back onto the battlefield, tattered and defenseless.

Every expectation brings with it the risk of betrayal. That truth would be the same for those people as it was for him.

…But unconsciously, Hyun began to search through Isaac’s memories for a way out.

Wasn’t there any method? If there was a way to make monsters rampage and amplify their power, surely there had to be a way to do the opposite.