Jill plunged the tip of her sword at Gerald, but he deflected it. That was just what she expected from her former fiancé, the self-proclaimed guardian of the royal capital.
His obsidian eyes glowed slightly behind his glasses, and the black spear in his hand flared with magic power. In a fight against the Sacred Spear of the Goddess, which was said to have been passed down in the Kratos royal family, Jill’s weapon would not stand a chance in head-to-head combat.
But Jill’s years of training had been unique. She was the god of war’s daughter who had charged onto many a battlefield for this man.
Don’t underestimate me!
Jill focused her magic on one point, flicking the prince’s spear away. Gerald clicked his tongue and took a step back, and in that interval, she ran through the cleared path, climbed up the tallest wall of the rampart, and looked down.
Below Jill was darkness. It was a cliff, and she couldn’t see the bottom. But she knew there ought to be an expansive forest packed with fir trees. It was also heavily snowing… If she were lucky, she might be able to survive the fall. Even if she were to survive it, she might still freeze to death, but even so…
“Jill! What are you…?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, Your Highness. You didn’t leave me…”
Having the chance at life, at least, was infinitely preferable to staying here.
“…I’m leaving you.”
And so, in the high-heeled combat boots Jill had always worn to enhance her femininity, the style and quality she had been required to maintain as Gerald’s fiancée, she dove off the rampart.
“Fire your arrows! Don’t let her get away! What happened to the guns?!”
A storm of arrows came raining down.
An arrow grazed Jill’s shoulder. She could tell it had been poisoned. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sensation of numbness in her fingertips, but she smiled. From the top of the rampart, bullets shot out from the muzzles of several guns. Jill repelled them all with the little magic she had left.
One thing was thrown from overhead, however, that broke through her wall of magic.
A black spear—the Sacred Spear of the Goddess. Gerald must have thrown it. Jill had no time to feel sad—she grabbed the spear, stopping it just before it pierced her chest. She smiled fearlessly.
I’m not going to be beaten by the likes of you.
Jill could smell her palms burning with magic. A blast swept across the area. The freezing wind, her magic, and her tears all vanished.
I’m not going to be beaten. I’m not going to be beaten. It’s not going to end like this.
Jill clenched her teeth and tried to focus on what was in front of her, but she could tell her vision was blurring. Magic is known to be the spark of life, but that very spark was slowly dimming and fading from her.
Her strength slowly left her hands, and the point of the black spear inched towards her heart.
If only I’d never become that man’s fiancée… she wished.
Oh no. This is my life flashing before my eyes. This isn’t good…
But Jill couldn’t stop it.
If he had never proposed to her at that party when she was ten years old, Jill might have fought on the battlefield in her homeland, but she probably wouldn’t have been on the front lines. She might have fallen in love with a simple but kind and strong man and been able to experience life as a normal girl.
And she would have eaten lots of her favorite sweets and foods—well, that part might be a stretch. But on that day, at that point in time, if Jill hadn’t accepted Gerald’s proposal, her life would have been different.
I don’t want my love to end in failure, though…
✦ ✦ ✦
🗡🗡🗡
NEXT time. If only there was a next time… Things won’t end with me being used.
✦ ✦ ✦
🗡🗡🗡
“…JILL, what’s wrong? Jill?”
“Huh?”
Jill’s eyes snapped open. She blinked. There was no pitch-black sky, no white snow painted in blood. This scene was the total opposite.
“What is it? Are you nervous?”
“Even our Jill is losing her nerve! It is her first time at the royal capital, attending such a lively party… Even I feel a bit dazzled! It’s like I’m living in a dream.”
“It is Prince Gerald’s fifteenth birthday celebration, after all. Plus, everyone’s saying that he’s going to choose a fiancée at this party! The king’s probably putting a lot of effort into it.”
Jill listened in amazement to the conversation raining down from overhead.
…It’s Mom and Dad. They should be long dead… Why are they here?
But Jill’s mother grabbed her hand with a little too much force for her to think this was all a dream.
“Maybe you’ll get picked, hm, Jill?”
“Huh…? F-For…what?” Jill stammered.
“To be Prince Gerald’s fiancée, silly! You may be lousy at embroidery, music, and cooking, but you are beautiful. And you still have more of an appetite for food than you have charm, but you’re a nice, dependable girl.”
Her parents laughed, undoubtedly joking.
That’s right, they had laughed… Jill remembered.
“Well, let’s go.”
They moved forward and a pair of doors that almost reached the ceiling opened. A voice announced the arrival of Marquess and Marchioness Cervel and their daughter. Then, they were all led into…
…No way.
Several chandeliers hung from a vaulted ceiling; their twinkling lights reflected against a marble dance floor. Crisscrossing stairs to the second floor were covered in bright red velvet. An orchestra was playing up-tempo music. Silver tableware lined a stark white tablecloth, and colorful ripe fruit sat in bowls. Ladies looked like flowers, dancing around in dresses so brightly colored it rendered the lit candles in golden candelabras around them meaningless.
I’ve seen this magical scene before… It can’t be.
Jill suddenly noticed a window off to the side. The meticulously polished glass reflected her appearance like a mirror.
Her appearance was one of a girl wearing a peach-colored dress, her blonde hair tied up with a large floral ornament. Her violet eyes were opened wide in perfect circles. She must have been around ten years old.
No, she was ten years old. This was when she was still just a normal girl.
“His Highness Prince Gerald der Kratos enters!”
Jill vividly remembered the scene—fanfare accompanying Gerald as he descended from the inner chamber with dignified steps.
She had stared at Gerald with intense concentration, the first real prince she had ever seen in her life…until his eyes had met hers from behind his glasses. But that had been Jill from the past—when she had been just ten years old.
Jill suddenly jumped in shock.
Their eyes had met once again.
The Kratos castle clock tower, which had signaled the midnight hour just a short while before, chimed again.