TIRS 48

CHAPTER 48. 

After Everything Is Over

As dawn broke through the cold early morning air, the surroundings brightened.

When I returned to the place where the tent had been, I found Klaus lying on the cold dirt ground.

“Sir Klaus!”

I immediately ran to him and shook his body.

Fortunately, Klaus slowly lifted his eyelids with a faint groan.

“Your Highness…? How did this happen…?”

He propped himself up, looking around with a confused expression.

“It’s okay now, Sir Klaus. The fog has cleared.”

Only then did Klaus, realizing the situation, lower his head with a troubled look.

“…I am sorry. I swore to protect Your Highness, yet I failed to fulfill my duty properly.”

Klaus did not remember being teleported here by the system, and instead recalled collapsing while fighting the fog.

Thanks to that, I didn’t need to make any excuses while explaining the situation.

But the real problem was different.

Pia still couldn’t wake up.

Because Pia fainted, the system also shut down — no system alert messages, no skill window, no inventory.

Of course, I couldn’t check the quest progress either.

The second quest in the Dreamlike Forest was to clear the forest fog.

And judging by the original story, the remaining third quest was probably to recruit Illey as a companion.

The fog hadn’t been completely cleared yet.

“When Pia wakes and the system comes back online, then I’ll find Illey again, persuade her, clear the fog, and recruit her.”

While making my plan, Klaus spoke to me.

“You worked too hard all night. I’ll take care of Your Highness’s pet; please go inside and rest.”

“But you didn’t get proper rest either.”

“I couldn’t protect Your Highness, so please allow me to serve you in this way.”

Klaus said in a sorrowful voice. It was the kind of voice that made me feel I shouldn’t push myself any further.

“Alright. Don’t overdo it either.”

I handed Pia over to Klaus and glanced at Anselot.

He was standing absentmindedly, but when our eyes met, he smiled as usual. However…

‘Something’s different.’

At first glance, he seemed the same, but Anselot had been subtly different since a little while ago.

Under the dawn breaking sky, I recalled the conversation we had while walking here.

“Why are you like that?”

“…?”

“You’ve been spacing out alone for a while.”

When I asked about his distant expression, Anselot paused briefly, then gave a faint smile and answered:

“Just… I remembered something I had forgotten.”

That was all he said.

I was curious what he had forgotten and why he suddenly recalled it.

‘Come to think of it, Anselot, you’ve been like that from the beginning.’

Thinking back, Anselot was always a man full of secrets.

I don’t know much about him.

Why he became a bug.

How he knew so much about the system and players.

Why half of the Radiant Dragon’s heart was in his hands.

What his goal was in wanting to destroy the Radiant Dragon.

Who he had waited for so long that he spoke of waiting with such a lonely voice.

And…

‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t go. From now on, let’s be together.’

‘I’ll never… lose you again…’

Who was he so sorry to? What was he so sorry about?

Who was the one he wanted to be with in the black fog, never wanting to lose again?

Why did a man who seemed fearless in the world cry so sadly?

When I remembered Anselot crying in the arms of a dark figure, I felt strange.

His silent tears were so heartfelt.

Anselot had attacked me to protect the one he met in the black fog.

It wasn’t his fault.

It was all because of the forest’s illusion.

But why did that fact make me feel so hurt?

He had tried to kill me the first time we met.

Why was this feeling of sorrow so overwhelming now, when it hadn’t been then?

When Anselot came to his senses after being bewitched by Illey’s fog,

The first thing he saw was the beautiful face of Ruivel, crying and hitting him.

Ruivel was crying loudly and beating him relentlessly while sitting on top of him, but Anselot just thought, “So our princess has such a wild side.”

Honestly, it hurt a little.

To be frank, maybe it hurt more than just a little.

No matter how strong Anselot was, and no matter how delicate Ruivel looked like a fairy, she was a Swordmaster who had manifested sword energy.

Her body was tougher than normal, and her fists were strong enough to hurt even Anselot’s sturdy body.

But Anselot didn’t think much about her hitting him.

He thought that since he was knocked out by the fog and helpless, the kind princess was hitting him to wake him up and protect him.

This was a thought only possible because he didn’t know it was Ruivel who had pushed him down.

What was more on his mind was different.

“…”

Anselot frowned, recalling vaguely what I had seen in the fog.

‘Unpleasant.’

The fog was said to probe the weaknesses inside a person.

The fog had shown me ‘her.’

So was ‘she’ my weakness?

When that thought came to him, Anselot suddenly burst out laughing.

“Yeah, you were my weakness.”

He admitted it willingly.

He almost embraced the illusion and found peace.

Just imagining the deeper emptiness that would flood in after the illusion disappeared made him feel endlessly down.

If it hadn’t been for Ruivel calling him, he might have kept surrendering himself to that illusion.

Anselot’s thoughts slowly turned to Ruivel.

Since returning to the tent, Ruivel had looked gloomy.

Even after a good sleep, she seemed down.

Anselot thought maybe it was because the precious bird she cared for was hurt.

“Prince Anselot.”

Klaus called out to Anselot.

“I want to talk with you for a moment.”

Anselot looked back at Klaus with a scowl.

“Talk? You and me?”

“What did you do to Lady Ruivel while I was unconscious?”

“What?”

“Don’t try to deny it. What did you do to make Her Highness so upset?”

“…?”

“Don’t you remember at all?”

Anselot, silently staring at Klaus, raised one eyebrow.

“Don’t remember? What do you mean?”

“…You really don’t remember.”

Then, Klaus told him what he had done, which Anselot didn’t remember.

Anselot’s expression hardened as he listened.

‘You attacked Her Highness.’

Ruivel, who had gone out for a walk just after waking up, still hadn’t returned.

‘Her pupils were blackened by the black fog. It seemed she didn’t recognize Her Highness at all.’

Anselot searched the forest for Ruivel.

‘I can’t remember what happened after I collapsed. Do you really not remember anything?’

After a long search, Anselot found Ruivel sitting by a stream beyond some bushes.

He stopped running and caught his breath while looking at her.

There were still faint scars on her cheek.

So the wounds on our princess’s delicate face… were caused by me.

I, who attacked her.

Blinded by the illusion, not even recognizing her.

Anselot bit his lower lip.

‘Don’t you remember?’

No wonder he was examining me like that, asking this.

He was the one who attacked her, her knight, and her bird.

Anselot took big strides and approached her.

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice him coming and he grabbed her wrist.

“Anse…lot…?”

Ruivel turned just as he spoke.

“I…”

Anselot cut her off and asked.

“Did I attack you?”

“What?”

“Did I attack the princess?”

Ruivel’s eyes widened.

“How do you even…”

“Why didn’t you say anything? Were you planning to keep quiet?”

Anselot asked harshly, like someone angry.

Ruivel hesitated and answered timidly.

“You weren’t doing it on purpose. What’s the point in blaming you? Besides, I got to hit you quite a bit.”

“…”

Anselot’s face twisted strangely at her answer.

“Anselot? Are you mad?”

“…”

It was a face I’d never seen before despite being close for a while.

“…I’m sorry.”

After a long moment, he apologized.

“I promised to protect you but failed and hurt you.”

“No, it’s not your fault…”

Ruivel thought his faults were separate from her feelings of hurt.

“The quest to fight the forest fog was assigned to me from the start.”

“But you brought the princess into it.”

Still, Anselot didn’t seem to think so. He looked at Ruivel with a dark expression.

“So the responsibility is all mine.”

Then he said,

It was his fault for making her a player and dragging her into all this.

“It’s not always like that. If you hadn’t helped, I would have….”

“No.”

Anselot cut her off firmly.

“It’s all my fault. So…”

His grip on Ruivel’s wrist tightened.

“After everything is over, just blame me, Your Highness.”

A lonely smile appeared on Anselot’s face as he whispered this.

Everything.

Meaning, after I stabbed the sword into the Radiant Dragon’s chest, ripped out its heart, and after everything that follows.

At that time, make sure to blame me, Ruivel.