We returned to His Highness’s room, and despite his plan going perfectly, His Highness looked quite conflicted about it all. Count Farlon as well had a look on his face like he wanted to say something, but he was quiet instead, even though I was sure he had noticed something.
This was yet another moment where I had to count my blessings for having such people in my life. But at the same time, I knew I couldn’t just rely on them all the time.
“Ark, you can head on home for today,” said His Highness, perfectly polite, while his eyes practically spat at me to get going already. It was yet another example of how different he and Balthazar were.
It raised the question: Just how delusional was that guy in thinking he could invade us? But he didn’t matter anymore.
“Thank you for your concern. I will take you up on your offer and bring my wife home to rest.”
“Um, Lord Ark, I’m fine.”
While I agreed with His Highness, Nia actually objected, though hesitantly. She was so brave. But, no, because of this, I couldn’t rely on her courage.
“Nia. His Highness and I always let our soldiers get as much rest as they need. If they didn’t, then they wouldn’t be able to fight at their fullest. Part of a fighter’s duty is to rest,” I said as gently, but still firmly, as possible.
What sort of expression was I making right now? I was trying to give her a kind look, but I wasn’t sure if I was able to manage it. There was no way I could stay calm when the person I loved was hurt, but I absolutely couldn’t let Nia see that. She hurt the most, after all.
“I understand. If you say so...”
Nia didn’t continue speaking after that. There was no logical way for her to object, after all. And plus, she couldn’t say any more than that in front of His Highness and Count Farlon. That was exactly why I wanted to get her home, quickly.
Nia had fought. Even if she hadn’t realized it herself, she’d always been fighting. And that fight had just now come to a definite end. Against her fully blood-related brother, at that. I knew it would happen, but the ending was brutal. And I didn’t mean the fact that his fate had been sealed—I had already known that would happen. I even knew that Nia would hurt from this. But even so, she did get hurt, and that was, of course, painful.
If this had been me getting physically injured, I could’ve taken it no problem. But I couldn’t handle Nia hurting emotionally. And if I felt like that, then just how bad was it for her? I didn’t know. And it was exactly because I didn’t know that I wanted to do all that I could. I was certain that I wasn’t worrying over nothing.
Nia swayed suddenly, and I rushed to support her.
“My apologies, Your Highness,” I said. “It seems she’s quite exhausted.”
“All right. Don’t worry about etiquette. Just get her home quickly.”
When I spoke again, His Highness responded immediately. Just what I expected from him, but...
“I’m sorry,” he said, in a murmur.
That was it. What was the difference between a devil who understood the hearts of humans and a devil with the heart of one? I didn’t know. And when I looked at His Highness, I was even less sure.
That was why I couldn’t resent him, even though I would probably feel a bit better if I did. This was the reason I bared my fangs; if I could do away with all this, in the way I knew how, then things would be better—for both His Highness and Nia. That was just about what I could do.
My body would heal. A bit of recklessness wouldn’t hurt me much, and it was unlikely I’d take a fatal hit. In some ways, the human body was a lot hardier than the human heart.
And that was why I smiled.
“What are you saying, Your Highness? There’s an even bigger job waiting for us from now on.”
I said it in a bright and intentionally lighthearted manner.
The real fight was now. From this point on, we would be taking down the Kingdom of Sylvario. It was a given that a lot of lives would be lost for that sake. It wasn’t something that we should welcome, of course, but it was a lot more preferable than letting Sylvario grow out of control, that was for sure.
And honestly, more than anything, conquering Sylvario would free Nia from whatever was holding her back. All it would take was some emotional damage, either large or small. Even if that was the case, I wanted to believe that freeing her would lead to a better future than she would have had otherwise, and I swore to myself, deep in my heart, that I would make that future happen.
“Well then. We’ll be leaving now,” I announced, before supporting Nia as we walked out of the room. I pretended I didn’t see the look on His Highness’s face.