100. Beggar Siblings - Final Chapter
"Princess. Don’t worry. The prince will be fine."
“...”
Princess Lena was restless, unable to sleep, pacing back and forth in her room, concerned about the prince heading towards the royal castle with the knights.
“You saw the knights who set aout with the prince earlier, didn’t you? They will protect him well. Besides, there are more knights who departed in advance.”
“But... why did my brother insist on going himself? Couldn't he have entrusted this to the knights?”
“That is...”
Jenia Zachary was at a loss for words.
She didn’t know why the prince insisted on going personally either. Despite the knights' dissuasion, Prince Leo didn’t budge.
He insisted that he had to go himself.
It seed he was overwheld with emotions. When the mont for revenge arrived, he seed to have lost his composure.
‘Still, he’s young.’
The prince, who appeared to have experienced many hardships, was gentle, generous to his subordinates, yet had a certain dryness to him.
As if the vigor of youth had been worn smooth.
When such a prince beca stubborn, the knights had no choice. There was also the reason that the royal guards of the palace would be confused if they saw the prince...
“The prince must have been in a hurry. It’s been over ten years since he returned, right? Please understand him.”
“...”
“When you wake up, the prince will have prepared to welco you to the castle. I assure you, this is not a fight we will lose.”
Jenia smiled to console her, but Lena gave a bitter smile.
- Just wait.
In the end, I couldn’t be of any help to my brother.
As always, there was nothing I could do, and my brother would inevitably succeed. We had one day left before he would return a huge burden to the house.
And the person guarding that burden was none other than...
“Jenia.”
“Yes, Princess?”
“Didn't you want to go too? You stayed because of , right? The other knights were all excited...”
Lena recalled Bart humming happily. Bart and his companions, living together in this hideout, had been smiling broadly for days.
“Why are you all so happy?” ─ When she asked, they replied it was because they were about to face a glorious mont.
So Jenia missed that mont because of .
“I am your guard, Princess. That is my duty, and I’m happy to protect you.”
Jenia Zachary, who longed for adventure, gently deflected the princess’s question.
It was a pity not to participate in a historic mont. It would be a lie to say it wasn’t. However, the prince earnestly asked her to protect the princess, and it was an important task.
Whether her answer provided comfort or not, Lena’s sullen face softened as she spoke.
“...Alright then. I’ll go to sleep now.”
“Yes, Princess. See you tomorrow.”
Lena returned to her room to sleep, and Jenia spent ti near the lobby fireplace.
A historic night was passing.
Watching the crackling fire, she thought, ‘This isn’t so bad.’
On the contrary, not knowing the situation made it even more exciting. It was a thrill made possible because an overwhelming victory was anticipated.
But then,
- Clang! Clang! Clang!
The campfire wavered ominously.
The acrid smoke seed lost and entangled in confusion, and suddenly, there was the sound of a bell breaking through the night.
It was the bell of the Lutetia Church.
“What is it?”
Jenia gripped her sword's scabbard and held her breath. She stood still, focusing on the sound.
‘Did it succeed? But why is the church...?’
It was ti for the operation to be over.
If things went as planned, Duke Tertan and Prince Eric de Yriel would no longer be alive.
Was that bell the sound of announcing the return of the rightful successor? Was it a salute announcing that the world had changed before dawn?
‘This wasn’t in the plan?’
The prince, who hated ceremonial pomp, wouldn’t do sothing so loud. A chilling sense of foreboding ran down her spine.
“Jenia. What’s going on?”
“Princess, you’re not sleeping...”
The princess, startled by the bell, ca down with disheveled hair.
“Why is the bell ringing?”
“...I don’t know either.”
“Could sothing have happened?”
“No, it can’t be...”
At that mont, sothing flashed in Jenia’s mind.
- “If anything happens, just run.”
It was the prince's repeated advice.
He had emphasized it endlessly. Whatever happens, if anything suspicious arises, run without looking back, thinking you’re already dead.
Jenia felt a chill in her bones.
Was this what Prince Leo was referring to? Did he foresee sothing going wrong?
She was in a daze, fiddling with her left wrist, unable to make a move.
Should she follow the prince's advice?
Should she run away with the princess now?
But... how could she? Just because she heard a bell, should she run away aimlessly?
Caught between foreboding and the prince's advice, Jenia hesitated, unable to make a decision.
“Jenia. What’s wrong? Did sothing happen?”
“Ah, no. Don’t worry, Princess. It’s probably nothing.”
“...Your face says otherwise. Tell the truth. Sothing happened, didn’t it?”
“...”
“Jenia! Get a grip.”
“Yes? Yes, Princess.”
Lena felt her heart clench, but she pretended to remain calm.
Seeing Jenia’s face, she knew sothing was wrong. Sothing must have happened to her brother.
Suppressing her anxiety, she issued her first 'order,' snapping at her bewildered bodyguard.
"Tell what you know. What’s going on? Why are you hesitating?"
Lena’s commanding gaze was imbued with authority. It was as if her true nature erged, with her round forehead imposing and her delicate lips exuding arrogance.
Her face, illuminated by the fire, was not just beautiful. It bore the regal dignity of royalty, coldly pressing down on the knight before her.
“Th-that is...”
As the fire flickered slightly, her face returned to looking young and innocent, but Jenia felt a sharp pressure.
“In truth, the prince told ...”
Although she thought she shouldn’t say it, she reluctantly began to explain her predicant. Her golden eyes still focused on Jenia.
Those eyes that shone brightly.
Looking into the eyes that symbolized the imperial family of Arcaea, she felt she was a lowly subject, and Lena was her ruler. It was a stark reminder.
“...He said that if anything seed amiss, to just run away with you? That makes no sense!”
The princess's face turned aghast. She reverted to her usual cute self.
Surprised by the contrast, Jenia didn’t feel ashad of unconsciously kneeling.
It was only natural to kneel before soone she served.
Despite her poor upbringing, she was of royal blood. If she had never shown this side, Jenia might have been disappointed.
“Jenia.”
“Yes. Please give your command.”
“Could you go outside and see what’s going on? Please, let finish.”
Lena silenced Jenia, who was about to argue that the prince had ordered her not to leave the princess’s side, and continued speaking.
“I’m not asking you to do anything drastic, just to check things out. Since you said the bell we’re hearing is from the church, couldn’t you just quickly check there?”
Although her voice lost its confidence and it could hardly be called an order, Jenia felt a bit relieved.
Following the prince’s incomprehensible order had been a heavy burden for her.
If the knights, having succeeded in their mission, returned jubilantly only to find that their guard had run off with the princess, how absurd would that be?
However, the princess's command lightened her burden.
A knight left judgnt to their liege and sought honor by obeying orders. Conversely, a knight's master commanded to achieve their desires and bore the responsibility for the outcos.
And Jenia was a knight.
“Understood. I will go out briefly. Please stay in your room, Princess.”
“Okay. Don’t worry.”
Leaving the princess behind, Jenia stepped outside.
She recalled the princess’s dignity, thinking she was rely pretty and cute. It was a good decision to follow Prince Leo.
Closing the door, she thought, ‘Our kingdom has a bright future.’ She needed to assess the situation and decide whether to flee... What was that?
Sothing was floating above the palace.
Eyes filled with rotten blood.
As Jenia made eye contact with it, a cow's hoofmark was etched on her face. She drew her sword and ran towards the palace instead of the churChapter Her face oozed thick pus as she ran frantically.
And Lena,
“Why is she so late?”
She waited endlessly.
She waited alone in her room, but her bodyguard never returned.
*
“Jenia! Why are you here!”
Leo scread. Jenia Zachary, who was supposed to protect Lena, was running towards him.
She wasn’t the only one. A young man holding a chair, an old man repeatedly swinging a cane and collapsing, a woman wielding a kitchen knife...
Even civilians, their faces marked with hoof prints, had gone mad. They were those who had locked eyes with Oriax.
“Jenia! Jenia! Stop! Go back!”
Leo grabbed her. He shook her shoulders and slapped her face.
Please, snap out of it... Please.
“Prince! Let go! I have to take down those...!”
Jenia shoved Leo aside and threw herself at the twelve monsters.
“Ah... Ahh... Aaaah!”
Left behind, Leo let out an unidentifiable wail.
Lena! My sister!
- Thud!
Soone hit and passed the crouching and screaming Leo, but he didn’t look back.
Where is Lena? Where is she?
He looked around, wondering if she was trailing behind Jenia, unable to keep up. But she was nowhere to be seen.
Using {Tracking}, he found his sister still in the direction of the southern hideout. She seed safe... but there was no ti to feel relieved.
Lena was alone now.
The realization that no one was protecting her tore at Leo’s heart.
If I die, Lena...
He got up and ran. Any thoughts of not going to her or planning with Bart were gone.
Lena must not be left alone.
His sister, whose beauty had blossod. She would be a dazzling lady when she ca of age next month.
And their hideout... was in an alley. It was a place frequented by thugs, located where they set up an information shop to avoid rival families.
Thugs passed through countless tis a day.
[ Debuff: Orias's Footprint - Provocation, Unable to Flee. November 29, 16:52:43. ]
Leo's body began to decay. The further he moved from the palace gate, the more his flesh fell off.
Behind him were monsters, ahead was the curse blocking him.
“Lenaaa!”
But the pain of his decaying body was nothing compared to the thought of his sister's dire future. He even forgot about Oriax's curious gaze.
Please, at least my sister...
He ran wildly, then,
‘Wait, wait, wait, wait.’
He ca to an abrupt halt.
No. I wasn’t thinking straight. Lena isn’t alone. Bart and his companions, Hazen and the knights. Those who ran to the duke’s house. Even if I die, Lena...
Then, Leo’s eyes widened in horror.
“Ugh... Ugh...! Ugh!”
Hazen was running towards him from afar.
All the knights of the second division, who had headed to Duke Tertan’s house, were running back with marks on their faces.
‘B-Bart isn’t there. Bart isn’t there.’
Among those rushing towards him, Bart was absent... and he wasn’t detected by {Tracking}.
So Bart...
Leo urgently grabbed Hazen.
“P-Prince? Let go...”
“Hazen! Get a grip! Where’s Bart? Wh-what happened to him?”
“Bart is dead. The duke...”
Before Hazen could finish, he threw Leo off, and Leo’s nose fell off.
Left alone, Leo laughed. The people running past him were frantic, but he just laughed.
“Haha... Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha! This is a dream. It’s a dream. It makes no sense. Hahahahaha!”
Denying reality, he moved towards the hideout. His rotting legs flailed about, but he hurried.
Finally, when his legs rotted away and he could no longer walk, he crawled, then rolled when his arms gave out.
Eventually, Leo died. Far from his destination, rotting beyond recognition as a prince.
‘Le... na... my sister...’
Above the pool of blood, a ssage appeared. It stoically declared the final act.
[ Leo has died. ]
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