CHAPTER 504: IF STORY - THE INITIAL DRAFT (12)

0% - Crunch...!

“...Khak.”

Held down by her subordinates, Serena gritted her teeth and stomped on Frey’s head as he lay sprawled on the ground.

“Please, calm down!!”

“Let go of me. I’m going to kill this vermin today.”

“You can’t!! You know very well what will happen if you do!!”

Despite her subordinates’ desperate attempts to restrain her, Serena’s gaze remained resolute.

“I’ll take full responsibility. You only need to testify that I killed him.”

“My Lady!!”

“In fact, this isn’t the first time I’ve tried to kill him.”

Looking coldly down at Frey, who lay coughing up blood, she continued.

“I’ve poisoned him dozens of times, cursed him, and attempted assassination more times than I can count.”

“Ugh...”

“But that disgusting wretch just keeps clinging to life with that roach-like persistence.”

“...”

“While completely oblivious to how much of a blight he is on this world, the pathetic fool.”

As Frey gasped weakly, Serena’s voice was thick with venom.

Eventually, his body slumped as he lost consciousness.

- Crack...!

“So, I have no choice but to finish this before it’s too late.”

Serena pressed her boot into his head once more.

- Crrrrrk...

“I’m warning you. Step back, all of you.”

As a terrifying aura radiated from her, the subordinates restraining her reluctantly backed away.

“The poison and curses I placed on you should have taken effect by now.”

With everyone retreating, she grabbed Frey’s limp head and forced it back, whispering coldly.

“But seeing you still walking around so fine... I see, you really did sell your soul to the devil.”

“...”

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

A sharp blade sprang from the edge of her fan.

“No matter how resilient you are, if your throat is pierced right here, you’ll die for sure.”

Murmuring those final words, Serena aimed the blade at Frey’s pale neck, ready to drive it through.

“Go to hell, Frey—“

- Rustle...

“Hm?”

She suddenly sensed a presence behind her.

“I told you not to approach me...”

Her voice was laced with venom as she turned, exuding a killing intent.

“...Ah?”

Her eyes widened.

“...”

“Princess?”

For some reason, Clana had appeared, walking toward her with a stiff expression.

“Princess, how did you even—“

“You don’t need to know that.”

Serena’s subordinates, who had moved to intercept her, halted at Clana’s firm tone.

“Serena, this is enough. Step back now.”

“But...”

“Please.”

At Clana’s request, Serena fell silent, her expression conflicted.

“...I will personally interrogate him.”

- Schring...

At those words, Serena begrudgingly withdrew her blade and lowered her head.

“My apologies.”

With that, she turned and quietly exited the interrogation room.

“But seriously... how did the Princess get in here?”

“Did she come with the Archmages?”

“Idiot, they were right next to us just now.”

“T-Then how did she...?”

As Serena’s subordinates discussed Clana’s sudden appearance in hushed voices, they too slowly left the room one by one.

“...”

Silence filled the interrogation chamber.

“Hmm.”

“...Frey.”

Breaking the quiet, Clana took out a potion and gently poured it into Frey’s mouth.

“Cough, cough...”

After a few minutes, as Frey regained consciousness with a dry cough, his gaze landed on Clana.

“...So in the end, am I getting assaulted again today?”

For a brief moment, his eyes showed a flicker of confusion, but soon, his lips curled into a playful smirk as he teased her.

.

.

.

.

.

“You defiled the pure princess, so in the end, you’re the real traitor.”

“It was that pure princess who gave me such an order, though...”

“...Let’s just agree it was consensual.”

It was a joke they often exchanged, but unlike Frey, Clana’s expression was unusually dark.

“You really do whatever you please.”

“Enough of that. Explain everything to me.”

Seeing her demeanor, Frey realized the situation was serious and wiped the smile from his face.

“...How did you even get here?”

“I used teleportation.”

“You can already cast teleportation magic on your own?”

Frey’s eyes widened at Clana’s words.

“But how did you even know this place—“

- Rustle...

“...Ah.”

A worn diary slipped out from Clana’s arms, leaving Frey staring in stunned silence.

“I swear I put it in my drawer...”

“I found it fluttering on your desk all by itself.”

“Ugh.”

As Frey groaned softly, Clana, who had been kneeling beside him, gently placed his head onto her lap and continued.

“There’s no use hiding it. I’ve already read most of it.”

“...”

“And I even compared it with the original beside it.”

“...!”

“You changed quite a lot, didn’t you?”

Frey and Clana’s gazes locked in quiet tension.

“You stopped my rampage. Thanks to you, I didn’t become the emotionless tyrant written in this diary.”

“No, you were never that kind of person—“

“You prevented the Empire’s defeat, stopped a humiliating treaty, and even saved a princess who was destined to die without knowing the truth.”

“Clana—“

“And beyond that, the number of times you turned despair into hope in this diary... I can’t even count them all.”

With that, Clana softly asked,

“So please, answer me.”

“...”

“You’ve rewritten this diary over and over again.”

Her voice trembled as she asked,

“Can you change the final story in this diary too?”

“What?”

Frey, confused, reached out to the diary.

“...Hah.”

After scanning the last page, he let out a deep sigh and replied,

“I’m sorry, Princess. But this is the change.”

“...”

“You must have seen the original. You know how horrific and cruel the original ending was...”

“Then, this is your final plan?”

Clana swallowed dryly and closed her eyes tightly.

“As written in this diary... Are you truly choosing to disappear, bearing all the hatred and disgrace upon yourself?”

“Princess.”

Frey gently grasped her hand, his voice weak as he whispered.

“On a hill in my hometown, around this time of year, beautiful moonflowers bloom.”

“What are you talking about?”

“And on the other side of the hill, radiant sunflowers rise to meet the sun.”

A strange glimmer flickered in Frey’s eyes as he looked at her.

“As a child, I played there with a childhood friend until late at night. We made vows to each other under the moonlit sky, and I still haven’t forgotten them.”

“...”

“And on that very hill, kneeling before my liege I once swore my loyalty. I haven’t forgotten that, either.”

Finishing his words, Frey smiled faintly.

“If people like you can survive—if you can carry on in my place—that is enough for me.”

His face now pale, Frey slowly closed his eyes and murmured,

“By the way... am I resting on Princess’s lap right now? My goodness, this feels like a dream...”

“...Your heart is too cold.”

Clana turned away from him, struggling to hold back her tears, placing her hand over his chest.

“I can suppress the cold with my Solar Mana. So please—“

“Don’t.”

Frey gently removed her hand.

“I accepted this curse on purpose.”

“Purposefully...?”

“I need it to fight the Demon King on equal footing. Before, I didn’t understand that, which is why I lost so terribly.”

“The Demon King...”

At the mention of that name, Clana clenched her teeth.

“Now that I think about it, today was the day the Demon King declared war. Good thing I received the curse in advance.”

“...Enough.”

“Hmm?”

“Enough already!”

Suddenly, she grabbed Frey’s collar and shouted in anger.

“PLEASE, JUST STOP!!”

“Stop what—“

“Stop doing this to yourself...”

Tears spilled from her eyes, falling onto Frey’s chest.

“Why... why have you let yourself get to this point?”

“I’ve been drinking Serena’s poison and bearing her curses since I was a child. Though lately, they seem to be spreading more—“

“You could have just pretended to be affected!!”

“It’s harder than you think to deceive her. The only foolproof method was to actually endure them...”

“And what about you!?”

Clana’s sobs filled the room.

Avoiding her gaze, Frey spoke in a quiet voice.

“I was going to disappear anyway... So none of this really matters—“

“Don’t say that!”

“...Princess, it’s time for you to leave.”

Despite her cries, Frey gently patted Clana’s back as she buried her face in his chest.

“For a while, we must be apart. My servants and I will go to the frontier, while you must remain in the palace.”

“I refuse!!”

“This isn’t the time for tantrums.”

As Clana shook her head violently, refusing to let go, Frey sighed.

“People are coming. If you delay any longer, they’ll see you like this.”

“...I’ll change it.”

Then, lifting her head with a determined voice, Clana declared,

“Just like you rewrote the diary and saved me, I’ll change the last page of the diary too.”

“...”

“So wait for me. Don’t die.”

Tears still streaming down her face, she forced herself to put on a composed expression.

“This is an order.”

Frey, who had been gently wiping her tears away, hesitated for a moment—then finally let out a small, bitter smile.

“...Understood.”

He nodded and embraced her.

“You promise?”

“You’re always so kind, Princess.”

That was their last conversation of the year.

.

.

.

.

.

“...Should we storm in now? No, but still—she’s the Princess.”

“...”

As Clana stepped out of the interrogation room, her gaze fell upon Serena, who was anxiously pacing outside.

“Ah, Princess!”

A moment later, Serena stopped in front of her, looking startled.

“You’re safe! Thank goodness...”

“...”

“You were taking so long that I thought I should check—“

“Let’s leave this unpleasant place first.”

“Ah, yes.”

Walking alongside Clana, Serena watched as she quietly lifted her head to the sky.

“The sun is already up...”

Just as Clana murmured in a sleepy voice, the sun had begun to rise.

“Princess, let’s forget about all the unpleasant events that happened today.”

Noticing the darkness lingering in Clana’s expression as she gazed at the morning sun, Serena lowered her voice to console her.

“The Empire has won, and there will be no more trials ahead.”

“...”

“The fool who was rotting away at the Empire has been exiled to the frontier, the nobles are all cooperative, and the forces of evil have been uprooted.”

Her tone grew firmer, filled with conviction.

“From now on, for both the Empire and Princess, there will be only glory—“

- Cooo!!

“Hm?”

Out of nowhere, an owl swooped down toward her.

“An urgent message...? But, there shouldn’t be anything—“

Serena took the letter from the owl’s beak, confusion evident on her face.

“...!?!?”

Then, her expression turned to shock, and she took a staggering step back.

“The Demon King...? A declaration of war...?”

“...Serena, I’m sorry, but—“

Clana’s lips quivered as she spoke, tight with tension.

“T-This can’t be true... There must be some mistake—“

“This is just the beginning.”

The torn final page of the old diary in her hands fluttered away in the wind.