She was slashed diagonally from the shoulder. Fresh blood spurted out. She could see beneath her eyes as her body opened up like a flower. That sight slowly flowed on by.
Brunhild understood that she had died.
Brunhild’s body had received the favor of God—she couldn’t be killed by a human weapon. But if it was a weapon made with the Power of God, then she could be killed. The golden sword Kriemhild bore was exactly that. Its attributes were the same as the Thunder Brunhild threw. Wounds made with this would not regenerate.
Her eyeballs moved, looking down at her body. The wound was so deep, she wanted to laugh. She could see the thick blood vessels and organs of her body were cut in half. Her own body was crumbling, scattering red blood. It almost looked fake.
“Kriem…hild…”
The last thing Brunhild saw was her sister’s face, emotionless as she killed her.
<Brunhild…!>
The dragon beat the air with his wings. He rushed to Brunhild like a gale, taking her in his jaws before she could hit the floor. Still with the princess in his mouth, he faced Kriemhild, who had just finished swinging down her sword.
The dragon glared at Kriemhild, eyes burning with hatred.
Kriemhild raised her sword once more. It was a counterattacking stance. Bernstein judged that she was striking to kill. Just one step forward, and a blow from the holy sword would burn the dragon with its slash in passing.
But the dragon did not attack.
He prioritized saving Brunhild over his hate for Kriemhild.
Still with the princess in his jaws, he flew backward. Flapping his wings, he soared upward with a great gust of wind.
He broke through the stained glass behind him, meaning to escape from there.
Kriemhild immediately realized the dragon was trying to get away.
She plunged forward with her blade, but it was too late.
The dragon broke the prismatic glass and flew off into the night sky.
The holy sword stabbed through air, and rainbow rain sprinkled down.
No matter how she tried, her sword would not reach him now.
The dragon turned his back to Kriemhild and flew even higher and farther into the sky.
He just had to get away from the royal villa. Kriemhild would soon come after him.
With the princess in his mouth, the amber dragon flew rapidly through the sky. He escaped to the forest, far from the royal villa.
He leaned the princess against a great tree to have her rest.
<Brunhild! Hold on, Brunhild!> he called out to her, but there was no response.
This was the blunder of a lifetime. Despite being alert and aware of the attacker right in front of them, the amber dragon had been completely unable to move. Because he had the body of a dragon, he’d been afraid of the dragonslaying sword. Dragons, as creatures, were instinctively afraid of God’s Power—that held true even for Bernstein, who was not a pure dragon.
Brunhild’s wound was too deep—so deep, it was strange she was still faintly breathing. She could well die after one more blink.
The amber dragon felt such deep regret, he blurted out in a groan, <I can’t let this happen…>
For Brunhild to be slain by her sister—
Back in the basement, he had listened as Brunhild had spoken so happily of her sister.
Brunhild trying to cure the corrosion hadn’t been for her own sake, either. She had been trying to become queen herself to save her sister, since she had been able to see an ominous shadow ahead in the future where her sister became queen. That was why she’d had to cure the corrosion. Bernstein had watched as she’d shorted herself on sleep to research medicines.
For her to be killed by that sister, despite how everything had been for her and Brunhild’s love for her—
The amber dragon knew no greater sorrow.
But heedless of his feelings, the pulse of Brunhild’s life was getting weaker and weaker.
He wanted to grovel to God.
But in the nighttime forest, there was no God for him to cling to.
He wished he were a god himself. But Bernstein was just a dragon.
He had horns, he had wings, he had a tail, and he had fangs. That was all.
Even if he could fight, he couldn’t save a life.
He wished he could at least share with the princess the unnecessarily long lifespan peculiar to dragons.
That was when something Brunhild had said came to his mind. While they had been researching in the basement, he had heard her say, <There are many mysterious effects of dragon’s blood that are not yet understood.>
The dragon decided to make a gamble.
He scratched at his own throat with his long claws, and his blood spilled out. He poured it so it dripped over Brunhild’s wound.
Dragon’s blood was powerful vital energy. It could even grant life to one who was on the verge of death. But that was a bet with incredibly bad odds.
Dragon’s blood was also a powerful poison. If 10,000 people had it spilled on them, then 9,999 would die.
The amber dragon bet on the chance that the princess would survive.
He poured his blood into her—as if he were sharing his life.
Brunhild’s consciousness was in deep darkness.
It was cold, and it felt like her body was rapidly chilling.
She became frightened and ran through the darkness. But no matter how far she went, the darkness never cleared.
She finally gave up and collapsed. She thought she would just get colder and colder.
But that was when a light suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The light of the flame warmed Brunhild’s chilled body.
Feeling something warm on her eyelids, Brunhild opened her eyes.
The night had dawned and the sunlight was streaming in. What she’d felt on her eyelids was the warmth of the sun.
She wondered why she was alive. She remembered being cut down and dying.
The amber dragon was slumbering, nestled up to her. There was a scar on his neck.
She looked at her clothes. There was dried blood stuck on them. Her hair and skin were the same. From the color of it, it was clear it was not human blood.
That made Brunhild understand what had happened.
She stroked the head of the sleeping dragon.
<Thank you, my dragon…>
There was a pretty stream nearby, so Brunhild cleaned herself off there.
She returned to the base of the tree right as the amber dragon was opening his eyes.
<Thank your good fortune,> he said. <You won a gamble with poor odds.>
Brunhild shook her head. <I’ll thank not my fortune, but you.>
<I merely poured poison into you.>
This dialogue didn’t seem to have much point to Brunhild, so she approached the amber dragon and laid a kiss on his claws. That was her way of expressing the utmost respect she could.
The amber dragon said, not at all that displeased, <If you’re going to kiss me, I’d rather it be on the lips.>
<Don’t get carried away,> Brunhild chided the crude dragon.
The amber dragon asked, <Well then, what do we do now?>
<We can’t stay in the forest forever. We have to go back to town.>
<Then what do we do?>
<I…want to know why Kriemhild tried to kill me.>
<Give it up.> The amber dragon remembered the look on Kriemhild’s face when she had attacked the royal villa. He recalled her eyes had been dark and hollow. It had been uncanny. <You should avoid any more involvement with her.>
<My hunch is telling me the same. But that’s precisely why I think I must do something… I always did sense something dark in her becoming queen. If something terrible is happening to her, then I must do something right away.>
<I saved your life. So long as it’s clear Kriemhild is after your life, involving yourself with her is practically throwing it away again. Do you mean to put my devotion to waste?>
<Ah-ha-ha… You hit me where it hurts.> Brunhild smiled wryly. <As to that, all I can say is I’m sorry.>
The amber dragon sighed. It seemed he couldn’t change Brunhild’s mind when it came to her sister. <Then there’s nothing to be done. I will acquiesce to your desires and accompany you as your servant.>
<You’re still going to follow me? You’re the one with no reason to stay…>
<Without me, you’re sure to meet an untimely death.> The amber dragon spread his wings and flew into the air. <Let’s go get some clothes.>
Brunhild’s dress had been cut, and by transforming into a dragon, Bernstein had lost his clothing once more.