CHAPTER 37.
“I Was Worried About You”
“Are you all right?”
It was Klaus who spoke first.
Those words alone made it sound like he was worried about me—but…
Klaus, heir to the Marquis of Winster
§ Alert Status §
Affinity: -470
My eyes were drawn to the affinity meter that had dropped sharply after he took the hit from my unexpected confession last time.
Of all times, it had to be just the two of us in this confined space. A situation ripe for even more affinity loss.
Below -500 means he starts feeling violent hatred toward me… right?
If that towering Klaus were to become violent in this cramped space?
That would be really bad.
Outside, maybe I’d stand a chance—but here, where I couldn’t use items or skills and had a lower level than him? No way I could win in a straight fight.
I’ll be out of here soon anyway. Better not provoke him in the meantime.
I thought that and subtly turned my head away. Klaus’s affinity dropped just from seeing my face.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine. What about you, Sir Klaus?”
Maybe avoiding eye contact worked—he didn’t lose any more affinity even though we were talking, and he used to dislike me just for breathing.
“I’m fine. But this is a problem, being trapped in a space like this…”
“It’s okay. Ancelot knows how to undo the restraints.”
Klaus muttered with obvious distaste,
“…You trust him?”
“Yeah, kind of.”
Silence fell between us.
I tried not to speak first.
But then, he spoke again.
“Why me?”
“Huh?”
“Why did you ask me to become your knight?”
Caught off guard, I lifted my head. I hadn’t expected him to bring that up.
His expression was stiff, a little conflicted.
“There are plenty of others you could’ve asked. Like… Prince Ancelot, whom you trust so much.”
He met my eyes as he said it.
Because you’re the quest target, that’s why.
But I couldn’t say that.
“Because you—”
I thought of the Klaus from Light of Glory and crafted my response to sound as sincere as possible.
“Because you’re a strong and upright knight. I thought you’d be a steadfast shield.”
“I see.”
Despite my forced praise, Klaus’s answer was curt to the point of awkwardness.
Silence returned.
Drip.
A drop of black liquid fell from above.
[SYSTEM] Spatial corrosion has begun.
Corrosion?
As I stared blankly at the black drop on my shoe—
“Huh?”
Hiss—
The spot where the drop hit began to burn away, leaving a hole.
Startled, I looked around.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Black droplets were beginning to fall sporadically all around us.
“This is—”
“Spatial corrosion,” Klaus said, pulling me close and raising his shield overhead to block the falling liquid.
“Spatial corrosion?”
“This phenomenon occurs when a subspace detects intruders and releases corrosion fluid to eliminate them. I heard about it when I was studying abroad in the Holy Kingdom.”
He watched the falling drops quietly and added,
“As long as we don’t get hit, we’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
But the droplets were increasing in number.
Is this really fine?
Worried, I turned to look at him—and my eyes widened.
“Sir Klaus!”
His shield was too small to cover us both completely, and his far shoulder was being drenched in the black liquid.
“Your shoulder—!”
“It’s… fine.”
He grit his teeth as he answered.
But clearly, it wasn’t fine. A painful-looking burn was spreading across his shoulder.
“It’s not fine!”
Panicking, I rushed in and wrapped my arms around him.
He flinched, trying to pull away.
[SYSTEM] ‘s Affinity -10 (Affinity: -480)
Just touching him was enough to lower his affinity.
He must hate this—being this close to me.
Still, I didn’t let go and shouted,
“Don’t move away!”
Flinch.
His body jerked again.
[SYSTEM] ‘s Affinity -10 (Affinity: -490)
At this rate, it would hit -500. But I had no choice.
If we didn’t stay pressed together like this, we couldn’t avoid the corrosive drops.
[SYSTEM] ‘s Affinity -10 (Affinity: -500)
[SYSTEM] ‘s affinity has fallen below -500. He now harbors violent hatred toward you.
The dreaded notification finally appeared.
Klaus, awkwardly holding me, suddenly grabbed my arms tightly.
His grip was so strong it stung.
This must be the most “controlled” expression of violence he could manage.
But instead of backing down, I demanded,
“Why did you do that?!”
“…”
“Why were you taking the hits alone?!”
This rigid knight, with his stoic personality and aversion to intimacy, must have realized that his shield couldn’t protect both of us.
He had two choices—expose me to the corrosion, or expose himself.
And he chose the latter.
Even though he didn’t like me.
The noble, steadfast image I remembered from the original Light of Glory overlapped with the man in front of me, and emotion welled up in my chest.
“…A dependable…”
He finally broke his silence and spoke slowly.
“You said I seemed like a dependable shield.”
“That’s not a reason for you to sacrifice yourself for me!”
“You are Her Highness, Princess of Azester.”
“What does being a princess matter in a life-or-death situation?!”
Klaus looked momentarily confused by my outburst.
“And I didn’t ask you to become my knight because I wanted your protection.”
“…”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“I didn’t want to hide behind you. I wanted to stand beside you and walk the same path.”
“…I see. I misunderstood. You didn’t want to be a protected lady—you wanted to be the one we served.”
As he murmured those words—
[SYSTEM] ‘s alert state has been lifted.
What? That worked? Now?!
I stared up at his face in disbelief.
[SYSTEM] ‘s Affinity +10 (Affinity: -490)
[SYSTEM] ‘s Affinity +10 (Affinity: -480)
[SYSTEM] ‘s Affinity +10 (Affinity: -470)
His stubborn personality showed in how slowly that affinity ticked upward.
Then—
Crackle…!
A sharp sound like metal splitting echoed.
“Damn it.”
Klaus gritted his teeth as his expression hardened.
His shield finally gave way under the corrosion and shattered.
CLANG!
At the same time, Klaus wrapped his body around me completely.
“Get down, Your Highness!”
“Sir Klaus! It’s dangerous!”
I tried to push him away, but he held me tightly, shielding me with all his strength.
“No! If you do this, you’ll be hit by the corrosion—!”
I pounded against him, nearly in tears, but his strong body didn’t budge.
“I’m… fine… urgh…”
The man who looked like he wouldn’t flinch even if pierced by a spear couldn’t even finish his sentence.
“You’re not fine! You’re hurt, I know it hurts!”
“…”
In the end, I burst into tears.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the corrosive liquid rained down—but Klaus never let me go.
Then—
The flow of air around us suddenly changed.
This feeling…
It was familiar.
Just like the day I awakened in place of Hezen.
The air swirled softly, surrounding Klaus, and then—
A radiant golden light flared from his body.
“Klaus…!”
[SYSTEM] is beginning to awaken!
His wounds vanished in an instant, and golden light burst from him, rising into the air.
The light took shape—becoming a massive golden shield that blocked the falling corrosion.
Klaus Winster, heir to the Marquis of Winster
The blue spear above his head shimmered and turned gold, just like mine.
Klaus Winster, Shield of Light
Klaus awakened?! In the original story, this happened way later!
I held my breath in shock.
Klaus, just as stunned, slowly released me and looked up at the shield in the sky.
“The Holy Veil… how…?”
The Holy Veil. The sacred golden shield formed by the holy power of the Shield of Light, one of the five heroes in Light of Glory.
Klaus stared up at it, stunned.
“Sir Klaus, are you all right?”
“Yes, all the wounds are gone. But Your Highness…”
He answered in a daze.
CRASH!
Suddenly, the black background surrounding us cracked with a deafening crash.
Moments later, it all came crumbling down, and light flooded the space.
[SYSTEM] The subspace has been destroyed.
“Haa…”
A sharp exhale made me whip my head around.
There stood Ancelot, holding the broken remnants of the restraints.
He stood rooted to the spot, eyes fixed on me.
BWWEEEET!
“Lady Luuuuuuiiiiibelle! I was so worried!!”
Fia flew into me and burst into sobbing chirps.
“I’m okay, Fia. I’m safe.”
That only made her cry harder.
I gently stroked her head feathers to calm her down, then turned to Ancelot.
He was still frozen in place, jaw clenched, staring at me.
“Thank you, Ancelot.”
I smiled brightly as I spoke.
He walked toward me with heavy, deliberate steps.
Seeing my torn and burned clothes, he frowned deeply, then removed his white overcoat and gently wrapped it around me.
Then, placing both hands on my shoulders, he bowed his head.
“Ancelot?”
“You… really… ha…”
His cold, bitter laugh tickled my ear.
And then, after a long pause, he whispered—soft, almost inaudible:
“I was worried about you.”
Strange, isn’t it?
His voice carried no trace of tears—dry and calm.
And yet, it sounded so heartbreakingly soaked in emotion.
