Until The Real One Shows Up

“By any chance, Wilhelm.”

The night before, Anastasia, leaning on Wilhelm’s chest, asked in a quiet voice.

“I’m just asking, just in case…”

“Why are you so hesitant?”

Wilhelm asked with a curious voice and then playfully imitated Anastasia’s voice.

“How much do you love me?”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you curious about this?”

“Oh my gosh.”

As if Anastasia couldn’t stop Wilhelm’s prank, she slapped his bare chest lightly. Wilhelm smiled and hugged Anastasia from behind.

“What, are you really not curious? Am I the only one who wonders about this?”

“What kind of answer do you want me to be curious about?”

“I won’t answer until you ask.”

Then Wilhelm kissed Anastasia’s shoulders. Anastasia smiled and twisted her waist at the tickling, quirky sensation.

“Ah… I think you’re impatient to answer while saying that?”

“Yes, so ask me quickly.”

Wilhelm now hugged Anastasia’s waist tightly from behind and whispered.

“Well?”

“… How much do you love me?”

“Enough to give up my life.”

“…”

It may be a satisfactory answer for some, but it was not for Anastasia. 

Anastasia’s expression quickly hardened. Wilhelm, who noticed it, asked.

“You don’t seem so happy.”

“I hope you don’t.”

“What does that mean?”

“If you have to choose between me and yourself, I’m telling you to choose yourself.”

Anastasia replied, slightly narrowing her brows.

“No matter how much you love me.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Will.”

“Asha.”

Wilhelm said to her in a sigh.

“That decision has already been made. At the moment I realized that I loved you.”

“… Will.”

“I like you more than I do myself.”

It was an emotional word to hear, but the following words made Anastasia want to cry.

“So if that moment comes, I’m willing to.”

“……”

Why did he feel the same way she did?

She would give up her happiness in this life for him. She remembered herself right after the return, which she had made up her mind. 

Her mind became uncomfortable as if someone was poking at it with an awl. Anastasia eventually didn’t open her mouth further. 

Wilhelm, who was looking at Anastasia, asked quietly.

“What was the question you were really curious about?”

“… Lady Hazel.”

Anastasia asked in an uncomfortable voice.

“The devil won’t be summoned, will he?”

“Instead, we will try to prevent such a situation as much as possible in the temple.”

Wilhelm continued in a strange voice.

“As long as we are human beings, there is no guarantee of no mistakes. So I can’t say there’s no chance of that happening.”

“…”

“So we plan to have a large number of troops and holy knights stationed near the execution site tomorrow. I’ll be fully prepared, so don’t worry too much.”

“… Is that so?”

“Yes, and if that happens, the odds will be slim, but if that happens…”

If it comes?

Anastasia looked at Wilhelm with a nervous look on her face.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you and this empire.”

“What do you mean…”

“As you may know, there is a holy sword given to the first Emperor by the Goddess Rosenia.”

Wilhelm continued to speak in a soft voice, as if telling an old story.

“It is a treasured sword of the imperial family with the divine power of the Goddess. Only her descendants, who have inherited the blood of the Goddess, can defeat the demons with that sword.”

“… Will.”

“I’ll fight.”

Wilhelm whispered, kissing Anastasia’s forehead.

“And I will protect it.”

~~~~

The execution ground became a mess in an instant.

In the end, as feared, the devil appeared as a demon dragon.

All the people of the Empire gathered at the execution ground were shocked and confused.

“Your Majesty, evacuate now!”

At Madame Rochester’s urgent cry, Anastasia frowned and looked at Wilhelm. He smiled resolutely and nodded his head.

“Come on, Asha.”

“… Will.”

Anastasia called him with a burning sensation in her throat.

Wilhelm hugged Anastasia tightly without losing his smile until the end. In his arms, Anastasia shed tears without stopping.

“It won’t take long. I’ll be going soon.”

“… There are also paladins here.”

Anastasia asked with difficulty opening her lips.

“With me… Can’t we go together?”

She knew now that these words were too cowardly for the Empress to utter.

Nevertheless, her memories before her return, her last moments with him, haunted her over and over again.

‘I’ll be back soon. Until then, eat well and stay healthy. Understand?’

He left those words and returned dead.

In the last moments of her life, how much she regretted letting him go.

If their story ends like this… she’d rather hold him and beg him to become a coward.

So let’s spend the rest of the moment together.

Anastasia bit her lip strong enough to pierce the skin, making a painful voice.

“I know. I can’t do this right now… I know I have to let you go…”

She was afraid she was going crazy. Of course, he will come back with an easy win.

But anyway, what if on the off chance he loses? And what if he comes back to her dead again?

What if, after all, in this life as well, she is left alone, regretting spending her whole life that way, and living as if she had died?

“I am so afraid that this will be our last…”

Anastasia strained her eyes to hold back her tears, but her quivering eyelashes let out beads of tears without stopping.

It seemed crazy. She came back to save him, but she was afraid she’d lose this person again… At that time, she really thought she couldn’t stand it.

“I will definitely come back.”

Holding Anastasia with more strength in his arms, Wilhelm made a firm promise.

“I will definitely come back. So there’s no need to be afraid. It’s dangerous here, so you just have to wait and avoid this for a while.”

“Will…”

“But if… If the…”

He spoke in a low voice after a very brief silence.

“Even if I can’t keep my promise, just keep this in mind. There’s nothing wrong with you in this situation, and that I love you really, really, so much.”

“Ah…”

From that answer, she realized that he had already made up his mind. Shaking her eyelashes and closing her eyes, Anastasia gripped her heart as if it was about to tear her apart and spoke her words hard.

“I love you, Will. Me too… I really, truly love you…”

She couldn’t continue with the next word. 

Anastasia bit her lip and swallowed her cry as their eyes parted, as she let him go.

Mrs. Rochester and her maids hurriedly took her away from the execution site, but Anastasia’s eyes followed Wilhelm’s footsteps for a long time.

Hopefully, this would not be their last.

~~~~

The army that had been stationed in advance evacuated all the people gathered at the execution site, and all that was left was the priests and paladins of the Great Temple, and Wilhelm and his guards.

The priests of the Great Temple attacked with Holy Power and the Paladins and Wilhelm with the Holy Sword, but the opponent was the Demon Dragon, the incarnation of the devil.

Only divine power can oppose the power of darkness, and it was very difficult to overcome the overwhelming difference in power, no matter how large the Imperial Army was.

Eventually, the imperial army’s stamina began to gradually decline, and Wilhelm felt a sense of crisis.

‘At this rate, I really can’t keep my promise with Asha…’

Horror rushed over him in an instant, and goosebumps engulfed his entire body. Anastasia’s face, who was crying because she was afraid of losing him, was so nice in his eyes…

‘Anastasia.’

He didn’t even want to imagine how sad her pretty face would be if he didn’t keep his promise.

Also, the country that our ancestors built and protected against the evil forces could not be taken away so easily. Even in death, he would not be able to face them.

Wilhelm, who was far away from this, lowered the holy sword to the floor and searched for a way.

‘There must be weaknesses.’

Every demon dragon must have one weakness. It was written in history books and in the Bible.

The problem was that they didn’t know where that weakness was.

Wilhelm looked carefully at the demon dragon, who easily blocked the offensive of the Paladins and Priests.

[Hahaha, these little puppies are the successors of Rosenia. Rosenberg is now mine!]

It was then. Intoxicated with victory, fire spewed from the demon dragon’s mouth in all directions, and his concentration was interrupted.

Without hesitation, Wilhelm dug into the gap and attacked it.

[Scared me!]

Surprised by the unexpected attack, the Demon Dragon quickly avoided Wilhelm’s attack and reflexively covered his forehead. Wilhelm, who turned around and landed, was sure of it.

‘There. That’s the weak point.’

To be precise, the magic stone embedded in his forehead seemed to be his weakness. Wilhelm approached High Priest Antero, informed him of this, and gave instructions.

“Everyone, focus on the Demon Dragon’s eyes. As soon as its vision is impaired, we will attack the forehead immediately.”

Antero used his divine power to deliver Wilhelm’s instructions to the other priests and paladins.

Hearing Wilhelm’s command through telepathy, which is only available to those born with divine power, they immediately launched a general offensive towards the Demon Dragon’s eyes.

However, the demon dragon, who quickly realized that the imperial army was trying to block his sight, protected his eyes by attacking and defending.

Nevertheless, as all the troops attacked the eyes to death, he gradually lost his composure and eventually stumbled.

‘Now.’

Wilhelm, who discovered an opening caused by the demon dragon’s recoil, threw the holy sword he was holding without hesitation and stabbed it in the demon dragon’s left eye.

[Ah!]

The demon dragon covered his left eye at the attack of the divine power transmitted from the holy sword, complaining of pain and roaring.

At that moment, Wilhelm jumped on the demon dragon’s body without hesitation and reached the dragon’s neck in an instant.

It wouldn’t be strange if he fell in an instant due to the demon dragon’s chaotic movements, but Wilhelm grabbed the dragon’s hide and balanced himself.

At the same time, the paladins and priests, who were waiting from below, focused an attack towards the remaining right eye.

While the demon dragon staggered again and screamed, Wilhelm quickly climbed up near the demon dragon’s face and pulled out the holy sword that was stuck in his left eye.

[Aaaaaah!]

A foul-smelling dark red blood spurted from the spot where the sword was pulled from, and the demon dragon’s rioting movements intensified due to the intensified pain.

Wilhelm, who grabbed the holy sword, staggered as if he was about to fall, and eventually stumbled on his foot and fell off.

At that moment.

Wilhelm, who inserted the holy sword shallowly into the demon dragon’s outer skin, used its elasticity to reach the demon dragon’s forehead at once.

And before the bewildered Demon Dragon hurriedly blocked his forehead, Wilhelm inserted the Holy Sword into the magic stone on his forehead as fast as he could.

“Now, everyone attack the forehead!”

The holy attacks of the paladins and priests flew into the spot where Wilhelm’s holy sword was inserted.

In the end, the Demon Dragon made a more violent sound than ever and shook his body furiously.

Then, at one point, a strong white light enveloped the demon dragon’s body, creating a strong vibration.

“Your Majesty!”

“Stay away, Your Majesty!”

The Imperial Army looked for Wilhelm in astonishment, but he too was swept away by a strong white light and disappeared long after.