TIRS 56

CHAPTER 56…..

. When This Journey Ends

“Then why didn’t you tell anyone? If you revealed that the king’s children were sending assassins—!”

“It’s not worth wasting the effort.”

Anselot answered calmly.

“The king sides with his children anyway, and no one would believe me.”

His composed reaction left me unable to press further, so I offered comfort instead.

“Oh… that must have been hard.”

“Not really. Even if the rumors spread, the king knows exactly what his brats have been up to. That’s why he doesn’t interfere with whatever I do in the palace.”

Anselot replied indifferently, then looked at me.

“But more importantly…”

The corners of his eyes twitched slightly as he studied my face.

Frowning, he took out a handkerchief and wiped my cheek.

“Ah. It’s not coming off clean.”

He grumbled in annoyance.

It must have been a splash of blood from earlier.

“What should we do? Our princess’s pretty face has gotten dirty.”

“…”

I stared at him quietly.

Then, before I realized it, I blurted out:

“Do you normally say things like that so easily?”

“?”

“Calling someone pretty—don’t you think you say it too easily?”

When he blinked at the sudden question, I avoided his gaze and added in a small voice:

“…We’re nothing to each other.”

Anselot tilted his head, puzzled.

“Do you have to be ‘something’ to someone to say that?”

“Did you say it that easily to her too?”

He froze.

He didn’t answer right away, as if my question had made him think.

I had asked impulsively—annoyed at the way his playful words always stirred my heart.

Once I’d said it, I wondered if I’d made a mistake. But—

“…Come to think of it,” he said after a short pause,

“I never once said it to her.”

Anselot murmured the words quietly, then looked at me with a faint smile.

“So don’t be jealous, Princess.”

For a moment, I felt like he’d seen straight through me, and my face flushed.

“Jealous?!”

“Weren’t you?”

“No!”

“We weren’t close enough for you to be jealous.”

“I said it’s not jealousy!”

…Okay, maybe I did compare myself to her a little.

And maybe that comparison had made me feel a little hurt.

But that wasn’t jealousy!

Jealousy would imply there was something significant between me and him—when there wasn’t.

“Why would I be jealous over you?”

“That’s kind of disappointing. Can’t you be a little jealous?”

“You—!”

Just as I was about to tell him to stop talking nonsense—

Shff.

Anselot smiled at me.

A beautiful smile.

A ridiculously beautiful smile.

So the words that were about to burst out of me got swallowed—then tumbled out belatedly.

“…Stop. Talking. Nonsense!”

The delayed words came out awkwardly.

Anselot burst into cheerful laughter.

I glared at him, a little resentfully.

“I’ve been thinking for a while—you seem to enjoy teasing me more than anything in the world.”

“Wow. How did you know?”

“…”

I bit back my irritation, and he chuckled again.

“I’m kidding.”

Then he added, just to be infuriating:

“It’s not the most fun thing in the world—only the second.”

“Then what’s the first?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“The first is… hmm.”

He glanced at me, eyes curling happily.

“It’s a secret.”

“You sure have a lot of secrets.”

I pouted.

Then I remembered how he had dodged my questions before.

‘…Why do you want to kill the Dragon of Light?’

‘Hm. Secret.’

“Hey, Anselot. That time you said you had to kill the Dragon… was that because of her too?”

I hesitated before asking.

Anselot made an “oh” sound.

“Are you obsessed with me?”

He smiled mischievously.

“How did you know my type is a woman who’s obsessed with me?”

I’d finally worked up the courage to ask, only for him to turn it into a joke again. My eyes narrowed.

But then—

“Hmm.”

His smile faded slightly.

“If it’s just between you and me—half yes, half no.”

“…?”

I blinked.

“At first… yes. I vowed to rip out Helheim’s heart because of her. But as the years passed, I… forgot everything.”

“…”

“At some point, I couldn’t remember anything at all. Not her face, not her name, not even the end…”

“…”

“I lost her completely.”

“Oh…”

Hearing his answer, I didn’t know what to say, so I just made a useless noise.

“So in the end, I was left with only the goal of killing Helheim—without remembering why.”

Anselot slowly lifted his gaze toward the dark night sky. His voice was almost a murmur.

“But recently… I found what I’d lost.”

“In the mist?”

“As expected, my princess is smart.”

He nodded with a smile.

Since he so often teased me, even this sounded more like mockery than praise.

“Strangely, her face is still blurry, though.”

Was it a connection from so long ago that the memory had faded?

“But now, my resolve to kill Helheim is even stronger.”

“…I see.”

I gave a short reply and nodded.

Then I stood beside him, looking in the same direction.

The night was dark, and faint sounds of music and lights drifted from afar.

Inside the palace, preparations for the festival were in full swing—yet here, with him, it was quiet.

“Thank you. For telling me.”

He just gave a brief smile instead of answering.

It was the first time Anselot, who always drew invisible lines and kept his secrets, had shared a piece of himself with me.

I felt as if we’d grown closer.

Maybe I was intoxicated by the mood.

Maybe that was why I wanted to step further past that invisible line.

“Hey, Anselot. When this journey is over…”

My voice sounded especially soft in the warm night air.

“After we defeat Helheim and finish the scenario… will you still be by my side then?”

He froze.

A fine crack spread across the calm smile on his face.

He looked startled, as if he hadn’t expected the question.

At the same time, the warmth in the night air between us vanished.

“…”

His lips parted slightly… then closed again.

Maybe it would’ve been better if he’d just joked like usual—‘Why? You want me to stay?’

Seeing his reaction, my own smile faded.

Noticing my change, Anselot quickly caught my arm.

“Wait, Princess—”

“It’s fine. That was answer enough.”

I forced a smile and pulled my arm from his grasp.

“…”

He didn’t even offer a token denial.

Biting my lower lip, I gave him a polite “good night” and turned away first.

As soon as I did, a hollow wind brushed over my chest.

Strange… why did it sting so much?

Maybe I’d been expecting something without realizing it.

Maybe I’d been relying on him without realizing it.

The next morning at breakfast—

The only sounds were the soft clinking of tableware.

“Prin—”

Anselot had just opened his mouth when—

“Ah, that was a good meal.”

I set down my utensils with a clack, smiled brightly, and stood.

Piya and Illay trotted after me as I left for my room.

Pyu-reet?

—Lady Lulu, did you have a fight with Anselot?

Piya asked.

“What are you talking about? Why would I fight with Anselot?”

Pyu-reeet…

—But, Lady Lulu, you haven’t even looked his way all morning…

“Me?”

Pyu!

—Yes! You!

…Did I?

I tilted my head.

Well, I didn’t really want to look at his face.

Not when that image from yesterday—his expression cracking when he couldn’t answer—was still fresh.

If he was making that same face now… then I—

My chest tightened.

Why am I feeling like this?

I shook my head to clear away the thoughts.

“Lulu.”

Illay tugged at my sleeve.

“Are you in a bad mood?”

“No, not really.”

Feeling guilty for making the sweet girl worry, I was about to apologize—

When she tilted her head again and asked innocently:

“Is it because of Anselot?”

“It’s not—”

“Should I get rid of him?”

“What?!”

I jumped, raising my voice.

But Illay just stared at me with that same innocent face, clearly unaware she’d just said something terrifying.

“If you’re in a bad mood, you can’t just go around getting rid of people, Illay.”

I knelt to meet her eyes and spoke gently.

Before she met me, she’d had no interaction with others—so her sense of morals might be… unusual.

“Why?”

She blinked as if she truly didn’t know.

How do you even answer when someone asks why you can’t just ‘get rid’ of people?

I was flustered, but tried to explain patiently.

“Think about it, Illay. What would happen if you got rid of people just because you were upset?”

“Hmm…”

She thought for a moment, then her face lit up.

“I’d feel better!”

She smiled brightly.

“…”

I was speechless.

But she leaned forward expectantly, as if waiting for praise—tilting her head slightly in that familiar signal that meant she wanted me to pat her.