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Chapter 10
“Lots of people decide to marry after going through a war. Some even retire.”
“I know. But you’re different. You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you? Right?”
That was the real reason Terik had come to visit House Alfred.
Among everyone present when Adora announced her intention to marry, Terik had been the most shocked.
They had never seriously discussed marriage before.
When they were younger, they might have joked about such things, but after learning about her family history, he had never brought the subject up again.
And now she was suddenly talking about getting married?
Terik wasn’t upset that she hadn’t told him first.
Rather, he was worried.
Her sudden decision felt like it was hiding some unspoken reason—something so serious that she couldn’t even confide in him, despite all the years they had spent together as comrades and friends.
What kind of pain was she carrying now?
In Adora’s amber eyes, he could see his own face, filled with concern.
She remembered how he had hesitated to speak while seeing her off when she left the knight order.
A small smile formed inside her heart.
His intuition really is sharp.
“It’s just… this war was long and exhausting. Everyone was excited about returning home to their families or loved ones. But I couldn’t do that. I lost my entire family when I was young, remember? And I don’t have anyone I’d call a lover. So I started thinking that maybe I wanted someone like that. Someone who could comfort me when things are hard, share happy moments with me, and welcome me home when I return.”
That wasn’t a lie.
When Adora first began considering marriage, those thoughts had indeed crossed her mind.
Though they weren’t the fundamental reason.
Still, they were part of it.
Terik’s expression darkened considerably.
Apparently she had brought up a painful subject.
Just as Adora was about to steer the conversation elsewhere, Terik spoke first.
“If you’re okay with it… I could be that person.”
“What?”
Then she burst out laughing.
“Hahaha!”
She laughed as if she’d just heard an excellent joke.
Anyone from the knight order who constantly struggled to make the rarely smiling Adora laugh would have stared in disbelief.
But Terik wasn’t laughing.
His stiff expression showed only seriousness.
Adora gradually stopped laughing and looked at him again.
The corners of her lips still carried traces of amusement.
“Thank you, Terik.”
“I mean it. If you’re willing, I’ll send a formal proposal the moment I get home.”
“Yeah, I know. That really makes me happy.”
Adora Alfred hadn’t lived her life in vain.
She had comrades who came all this way because they worried about her.
She had a friend willing to marry her for her sake.
Just knowing she had such a friend made her genuinely happy.
Especially because she knew he was sincere.
“I really have a wonderful friend.”
“Adora.”
“Yes, Terik. Once I decide on someone, you’ll be the first person I tell.”
“…”
Terik said nothing more.
He realized she had drawn a line.
It wasn’t that she doubted his sincerity.
She simply didn’t want him to actually do it.
Most noble marriages were made for the benefit of their families, but Adora wanted Terik to marry someone he truly loved.
Not the affection of friendship.
Real romantic love.
If she married him, she thought it would probably be enjoyable.
They shared interests.
They had grown up together.
There were many things they understood about each other.
They would probably spend the rest of their lives supporting one another and growing old together.
That wouldn’t be so bad.
But…
Adora simply smiled.
“Don’t worry too much about Prince Lionel. It’s not a big deal.”
The Fourth Prince’s proposal had certainly been sudden and shocking.
But it hadn’t felt forceful or coercive.
Nor did she think he would make things difficult if she refused.
She wanted to treat the proposal as a minor incident.
The sort of thing she’d look back on one day and laugh about.
“Honestly, shouldn’t His Highness be the worried one?”
If she rejected him, wouldn’t that be unpleasant from his perspective?
He was still royalty, after all.
A prince.
“I care more about you than I do about the prince.”
“That’s not something a man wearing a knight’s uniform should say.”
Adora glanced up and down at him.
A man who had sworn lifelong loyalty and sacrifice to the kingdom really shouldn’t be saying things like that.
Apparently realizing the same thing, Terik awkwardly added,
“Keep it a secret.”
“I will.”
Not wanting to interfere with her precious friend’s future, Adora graciously agreed.
Seeing the mischievous smile on her face, Terik swallowed a bitter laugh.
He knew she was joking around to spare him embarrassment after effectively rejecting his proposal.
“Still, I meant what I said.”
It was a rather embarrassing thing to admit, but Terik spoke honestly.
He had never viewed Adora romantically.
Not even once.
Yet if she truly needed him, he could have married her.
That was how important she was to him.
Terik first met Adora on the day they entered the royal training program as trainee knights.
Seeing the unusually small and slight child among the recruits had shocked him.
Even as a child, he had known about the tragedy of House Alfred.
But there was a difference between hearing about misfortune and witnessing its effects firsthand.
Meeting Adora made him understand that.
Her hair was cut short, unfeminine by society’s standards.
She wore clothes more suited to boys.
Her face lacked even the slightest trace of a smile.
The innocent child she had once been was gone.
In her place stood a stranger.
As though happiness itself had been ripped from her life.
At only fourteen years old, she looked more mature than most adults.
At that moment, Terik finally understood just how devastating the tragedy that had destroyed House Alfred truly was.
As a female trainee knight, Adora attracted attention everywhere she went.
Most people viewed her with hostility.
Terik was the opposite.
The shock he felt as a child gradually became interest, and before long their paths became intertwined.
Adora wasn’t particularly warm or friendly.
But unlike people who only talked a good game, she inspired trust even in silence.
That suited Terik perfectly.
For years, he watched her.
They suffered together.
Worked hard together.
Created memories together.
Over time, he came to genuinely trust and care for her.
“I don’t want you to keep walking difficult roads.”
Terik understood exactly what this war had meant to her.
The story she had once told him in a hushed voice filled him with sadness.
Not just because of the story itself, but because he knew the person named Adora.
He remembered how she was always chasing something.
Like forcing a dying candle to burn even brighter, she seemed determined to consume every last part of herself.
Thinking of that made his heart ache.
“I want you to be happy now.”
And because she had already lost someone precious, she feared placing her happiness in another person.
Terik didn’t want her to remain alone forever.
More than anyone, he wished for someone who could stand beside her.
Someone with whom she could share joy and sorrow alike.
As her comrade and friend, if this sudden marriage could truly make her happy, he would celebrate it wholeheartedly.
If it truly brought her happiness.
“I really hope that’s what happens, Adora.”
“Yeah.”
Adora understood his feelings all too well.
* * *
In eyes brighter than blazing flames, a man was reflected.
The man who had plunged six years of war into chaos.
The greatest nuisance of this entire conflict.
The man standing protectively in front of an old man lying on the ground.
Adora had never forgotten that face.
Not for a single day.
More than ten years had passed since that hellish day.
During all that time, she had expected him to come looking for her at least once.
To correct the mistake he had made when he failed to notice a child hidden inside a decorative cabinet.
She thought he would eventually come to kill her.
But he had let her live.
Perhaps because the survivor was merely a girl.
Perhaps because he never imagined that girl would one day pick up a sword and seek revenge.
That had been his greatest mistake.
And today, she would make him realize it.
Adora gripped her sword tightly and charged.
Steel collided with steel.
The clash of blades echoed loudly across the battlefield.
Both were already exhausted from previous battles.
At this point, victory would belong to whoever’s will broke first.
Then Adora saw it.
An opening in his side.
She didn’t hesitate.
She swung her sword behind her back, blocking his incoming blade.
Then she spun and drove her sword into his exposed flank.
Unable to defend against the sudden strike, the man’s sword lost its balance and grazed the side of her face.
His gaze slowly lowered toward his wound.
When Adora withdrew her sword, blood immediately poured out.
The man staggered, clutching his side.
Then he dropped to one knee, using his sword to support himself.
Breathing heavily, Adora approached him.
“Do you remember me?”
The man weakly lifted his head and looked at her.
For a brief moment his eyes rested on her face.
Then he lowered them.
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
“My mother died by your hand. Perhaps my father did too. My little brother. The retainers I treasured. Perhaps all of them died because of you. And you still don’t remember?”
“Do you personally remember every person you’ve killed?”
His voice was calm.
“This is war. In war, one does whatever is necessary to win. Surely you’ve killed many people yourself to reach this point.”
Adora clenched her teeth.
“Shut up!”
She swung her sword.
The blade sliced across his neck.
Flesh tore.
Blood sprayed.
At the same moment, her own sword shattered.
The weapon that had accompanied her through countless battles had long since reached its limit.
Broken fragments scattered across the ground.
Only half a blade remained in her hand.
The headless body collapsed.
The man’s severed head rolled across the ground and struck her foot.
Slowly, Adora bent down and grabbed it by the hair.
Blood dripped from the ragged stump of the neck.
The moment she had dreamed of every day was finally in her hands.
At last.
Her revenge was complete.
Closing her eyes, Adora took a deep breath.
The saliva in her mouth tasted sweet.
For the first time in ages, her exhausted body felt light.
The blood staining her hands had never felt so intoxicating.
At last, she could comfort the spirits of those who had died unjustly at his hands.
Adora savored the joy of revenge.
And then she despaired.
This was the revenge I wanted so desperately…
Yet all that’s left is emptiness.
Now that her revenge was complete, she had nothing left.
When she returned to camp, her body collapsed as though demanding compensation for all her years of struggle.
For several days her stomach had felt unsettled.
She often vomited after eating.
But that day the pain was particularly severe.
Late that night, while suffering from agonizing stomach cramps, Adora finally rose from her bed—
And vomited blood.
To be continued…
