"So, you really were a traitor after all."
Hero Eligion spoke with a sword in his hand, casting a freezing gaze forward.
His eyes were fixed on Holy Knight Kanaria, who was struggling to pick herself up. She was clearly still reeling from the impact of being blown back by the Hero moments ago.
"Well, Kanaria? I'm waiting to hear what kind of excuse you could possibly have for this."
"I have no excuse."
"Hmm. That isn't good enough. You served me with such devotion until now. I trusted you more than anyone. Yet here you are, turning your blade against me. There must be some extraordinary reason for your actions, or the math simply doesn't add up. Please, tell me why."
As he spoke, Hero Eligion began to close the distance between them.
"Kh—fufu, fufufufufufufu!"
In response, Holy Knight Kanaria let out a low, bubbling laugh.
A derisive smirk spread across her face as she looked up. "Highness, I have never felt a single shred of loyalty toward you in my life. If you truly believed otherwise, it only proves how masterfully I played my part!"
Hero Eligion knitted his brows, his face clouding with displeasure.
"Highness, since we’re being honest, allow me to share my true feelings! I have hated you—so, so, very, very, very, very much from the absolute bottom of my heart! Now, please be a good boy and die."
With that scream, Kanaria lunged.
However, Eligion parried her strike with a single, dismissive sweep of his blade.
"It seems I am a poor judge of character," he muttered.
"Yo. You really think you have the breathing room to be looking elsewhere?"
Warrior Golgano lunged at me, his weapon whistling through the air.
"Shouldn't you be helping her?" I asked, catching his blow with my sword.
From what I could see, the gap in power between Kanaria and the Hero was insurmountable. No matter how much effort she put in, she didn't stand a chance of defeating him alone.
However, if Golgano and Kanaria teamed up, their odds might improve slightly.
"No need for that," Golgano grunted, maintaining his relentless assault.
He sounded entirely confident that Kanaria could handle the Hero by herself. I felt a pang of doubt—what was he planning?
Well, it didn't matter. As long as I kept Golgano busy, Eligion would finish Kanaria off. Then, together, we could take down the warrior. That was our path to victory.
"So, you're telling me everything you did for me was a lie?"
"Yes, every bit of it."
Eligion and Kanaria continued their exchange of words and steel.
"Then why!? Why did you serve me for so long?"
"For the sake of today! To reach the moment where I could finally kill you! I endured and endured and endured and endured and endured... I suffered through serving you just for this!"
"Did you truly loathe me that much?"
"Ahaha! That’s right! I hate you so much it makes me sick!"
"But why? Why do you hate me this much!?"
"Ah—if you want to know that badly, then fine. I'll tell you."
Kanaria’s voice suddenly turned bone-chillingly cold.
"I am a survivor of Luna Village."
"Ah...?"
A hollow sound escaped Eligion’s throat.
Luna Village? I tilted my head, unfamiliar with the name.
"You're a clever one, Highness. I'm sure you understand now, don't you? Just why I hate you so much?"
"L-Lie... That's a lie! You're the second daughter of the House of Count Grisis!"
"No. To be precise, I am an illegitimate child. A bastard daughter born of an affair. Because of those circumstances, I was sent away as a child to live with parents in Luna Village. They were wonderful to me. Even now, I consider them my only true mother and father."
"B-But... you never said a word about this..."
"Of course I didn't. If I had, the entire plan would have been ruined."
"I-It’s not like that! I was just a child back then! I was being used—I didn't know anything!"
"Oh, I know you were just a tool, Highness. But that is a trivial detail. The fact remains that my family was slaughtered by your hand."
"No... No, that's not right..."
Something in Eligion snapped.
He looked completely broken. His will to fight evaporated instantly; he stopped swinging his sword and simply stood there, slumped and staring at the floor in a daze.
"Hey! Get it together or you'll be killed!" I yelled.
"Save your breath. He can't hear you anymore," Golgano said, a greasy smirk widening on his face.
This was bad. At this rate, it was only a matter of seconds before the Hero was dead. I had to do something!
"And so, Highness... please die quietly."
I heard the sharp shing of a blade cutting the air.
In the next heartbeat, blood sprayed high into the room.
With a heavy clatter, Eligion’s sword slipped from his fingers and hit the floor.
"I did it...! I did it, Golgano! I finally killed him! At last... at long last, he’s dead! Yes! I finally killed the Prince!"
"Calm down, Kanaria. Celebrate later. We still have to deal with this one."
The Hero was dead.
There was no coming back from this. It was impossible for me to take on both of them alone. If I stayed, I’d just end up being sealed away like in the previous timeline. I had to go first—
"Shit, he's going to do it!" Golgano shouted.
Before they could reach me, I drew my blade across my own throat.