TIRS 82

CHAPTER 82…………………….

. Because I Only Want to Be With YouThe original Maria was a saintess from a small kingdom.

While journeying with Hezen, he came close to death. At that moment, Maria awakened through her love for him, receiving the divine blessing of Luth, the power of light.

The new ability she awakened before Hezen’s death was the Tear of Life, said to revive even those at the brink of death.

“…But this… is how it’s playing out?”

From the moment I arrived in Luenhart and received the third scenario, I had already sensed that I was taking Hezen’s place.

“But even Maria’s awakening… I ended up replacing that too.”

It was baffling—almost absurd.

“Ah! A golden light is radiating from the saintess’s body…!”

“Is this not the divine aura of Luth himself?”

“The saintess has awakened the power of light…!”

I heard the priests who had followed Maria murmuring in awe.

“…This is… a good thing? It should be, right?”

Since I was still lying unconscious with my eyes closed, I couldn’t check whether Maria’s name window had changed above her head.

But the system messages that followed told me that Maria had awakened.

[SYSTEM] <Maria> sheds holy tears.  
[SYSTEM] <Maria>’s holy tears restore your vitality.  

“Ohh! Princess Luibel’s complexion has brightened!”

“My goodness! Her pulse has returned to normal!”

“What a miraculous power…!”

Even though my body was perfectly fine to begin with, they were ecstatic over my pulse returning and my face looking healthier.

[SYSTEM] Due to the effect of the Holy Tears, your [Comatose State] has been converted to [Sleep State].  

And with that message, I drifted off into slumber.

Ancelot rushed over when he heard that Luibel had collapsed.

Never in his long life had he felt such a sense of urgency.

The moment he saw her lying on the bed, pale but serene, he knew she wasn’t dead.

He also knew it wasn’t poison.

Like her, he was someone who existed outside the natural order of this world—and he could share Luibel’s system window.

But still, seeing her collapsed and motionless as if dead…

“……”

Ancelot bit down hard on the inside of his cheek and clenched his fists tightly.

An indescribable emotion surged up within him.

The way his heart had dropped earlier upon seeing her wouldn’t leave his chest.

Slowly, he closed and opened his eyes.

Long ago, he had felt this same emotion once before.

Sena.

When he had witnessed the death of the woman who said he was her entire world.

Back then too, his heart had dropped, and his chest had burned in pain.

At some point, Luibel had become just as important to him as Sena once was.

He could no longer deny it.

That he liked Luibel.

That he hated to see her hurt or in pain.

That even if it were all a lie, the sight of her pale face—like someone sick and dying—tormented him.

“If not with the princess, then with no one. Not her, nor anyone else, will ever matter to me.”

“…Why?”

“Because I…”

Ancelot recalled the words he had never been able to say to her.

Because I…

Luibel.

I only want to be with you.

No matter what kind of bond it is.

I only want it to be with you.

He had almost blurted out his true feelings, swept up by the mood.

The sudden attack of assassins had cut the conversation short—but perhaps it was for the best.

He still hadn’t sorted out his feelings for her.

It was an emotion he thought he had to hide and turn away from.

For Sena’s sake—the poor girl who had died because of him.

And yet, when he found Luibel lying pale and still as if dead, Ancelot regretted it.

Regretted not telling her that day…

Though her life was not in danger, she had indeed consumed some mysterious poison.

What if it hadn’t merely put her in a coma, but had been a true poison?

The thought alone chilled him to the bone.

He knew why she had taken such risks.

That damned quest.

The useless mission to uncover the truth behind the rumors surrounding him.

And the only reason Luibel had accepted that worthless quest was…

“It upsets me, you know. People talking about you like that when they don’t even know you.”

It was all because of him.

When she had said that, she had truly looked upset.

Her drooping eyes, lips pressed tight, and big eyes glistening as if she might cry had left Ancelot speechless.

What was his reputation worth, that she would be so upset over it?

He himself had never cared in the slightest.

It wasn’t hard to guess who had made her feel that way.

Arbella.

The woman who had been Ancelot Luenhart’s first love.

Because of her, Luibel had come to hate him.

He had already ignored Arbella once, but her continued meddling had been growing troublesome.

He had even considered simply killing her.

Sena had once told him: killing without reason is wrong.

So, to honor his promise to Sena, Ancelot had tried to refrain from killing unless in self-defense.

But Arbella had made tears well up in Luibel’s gentle eyes.

Wasn’t that reason enough to kill her?

Even if it meant breaking his promise to Sena…

In truth, Ancelot already knew.

He knew that the day Luibel had seen him with Arbella, she had locked herself in her room and cried until her eyes were red.

But he hadn’t been able to go to her and offer comfort.

Not only because consoling someone was foreign to him…

But also because, having just realized his feelings for her, he was afraid to approach.

Afraid that the moment he did, his feelings would spill out uncontrollably.

That he would tell her—“I think… I like you, Princess. Luibel, I like you.”

“But I don’t deserve to.”

So, Ancelot had avoided her.

He shouldn’t have.

If only he hadn’t avoided her.

If only he had realized earlier that she was taking on that absurd quest.

Then maybe he wouldn’t be looking at her now, pale and lifeless as if dead.

Slowly, he closed and opened his eyes again.

But still before him was the sight of Luibel, sleeping silently as if lifeless.

At that moment, Ancelot seemed to know exactly what he had to do.

And what he needed to tell her when she woke.

“……”

He silently watched her for a while, then turned away.

The Luenhart royal palace was thrown into chaos.

All because of Ancelot.

Normally indifferent to all the slanders and schemes aimed at him, Ancelot now lost control after seeing Luibel lying in bed.

The first thing he did was drag Crown Prince Enzer—who, despite his crimes, had been allowed to rest comfortably in his chambers instead of the dungeon—and throw him at the feet of the king and assembled ministers.

“Ancelot! Wh–what is the meaning of this insolence?!”

King Titalus, already troubled by relations with Azester due to the Luibel incident, shot to his feet in outrage.

“Insolence?”

Ancelot smirked as he echoed the king’s words.

“I haven’t even done anything truly insolent yet. You’ll hurt my feelings if you say that.”

He bared his lethal smile and revealed his power.

White orbs began to pop into existence around him.

“Wh-what is that…?!”

“Th-that’s… Prince Ancelot’s power!”

A noble who had once fought beside him in war cried out in terror.

“With th-that monstrous power… on the battlefield, he… he slaughtered—”

“Hey. You’re too loud.”

“Eek!”

At just those words, the noble snapped his mouth shut.

With a click of his tongue, Ancelot summoned the imprisoned members of the Dark Guild, bound by his invisible power, dangling them in the air.

With a jerk of his chin, he dropped them onto Enzer.

“Gah!”

“Ugh!”

Their screams and groans filled the chamber.

Thinking of Luibel lying pale and near death in her bed while Enzer enjoyed luxury in his chamber made rage boil in Ancelot’s chest.

Even if she wasn’t truly sick, and even if Enzer had nothing to do with her collapse.

She had wagered her very life for that quest.

So, for her sake, before she woke, it was his duty to finish what she had started.

The first step was to expose Enzer’s crimes.

“Even with the saintess’s testimony, you let a criminal live in comfort instead of prison?”

“Cr-criminal?! He hasn’t even stood trial yet, that’s too hasty—ARGH!”

KWA-BOOM!

With a deafening crash, one wall of the council chamber blew apart.

“Th-the wall… it’s been blasted open…!”

“Since you seem to enjoy spewing nonsense from that open mouth of yours, I thought I’d open the wall too. How’s that?”

Ancelot gestured to the gaping hole, smiling lightly.

King Titalus, horrified by the destruction of the council chamber, cried out.

“An-Ancelot, have you gone completely mad—ugh!”

KRA-KOOM!

This time, two more walls shattered, and part of the ceiling collapsed.

People scattered in panic to avoid the falling debris.

Amid the chaos, only Ancelot stood calm, twisting his lips into a mocking smile.

“Pity. Not nearly as amusing as your big mouth.”

Step. Step.

He walked over to the trembling Titalus, squatted down before him, and met his eyes with a bright smile.

“What are you waiting for? The trial’s about to begin.”