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Chapter 21
Seraphine looked up in surprise at Metatron’s unexpected remark.
“Icarus was human. No matter how advanced medicine becomes, humans barely live a hundred years.”
“What if I told you I saw that slave recently?”
“…Don’t joke.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
A flicker of hope mixed with fear of disappointment—Seraphine’s expression, painted by those two emotions, was nothing short of pitiable. Metatron frowned when he saw it.
“That slave is one thing, but you, Princess, still can’t let him go.”
“He was the only one on my side.”
That, at least, was the unvarnished truth.
“He was the most undeserved person I could ever have.”
As a princess of the realm, Seraphine had many things at her disposal.
But compared to her older and younger sisters, she was the unloved one, never emotionally fulfilled.
“Is that why you refused the king’s final request?”
“How do you know about that…?”
“I found out—by chance.”
Time had passed, and there were no such things as perfect secrets.
Seraphine gave a small nod.
The king had chosen Icarus as the material for the kingdom’s final weapon.
Because he had abilities beyond that of ordinary humans, the king believed he would make the ultimate weapon.
But to become a weapon meant that his soul would be sealed—essentially, it was a death sentence.
At the time, Seraphine had already become disillusioned with the endless war. But more than anything, she couldn’t bring herself to touch Icarus.
So she had no choice but to refuse her father’s plea.
‘If I had made Icarus into a weapon back then, maybe I could’ve seen him again like Metatron. But even if I went back in time, I wouldn’t want to do that.’
“You destroyed your fiancé, yet you let the slave go. Touching.”
Metatron sneered at Seraphine, who was clearly still filled with longing.
In the past, Seraphine had been forced into an arranged engagement like one would sell off a random item. As a powerless princess, it was inevitable.
Metatron, the chosen fiancé, had a flashy exterior and unmatched skill with the spear.
But if asked whether he had a decent personality? Not even close.
He treated Seraphine without respect, addressing her informally and shamelessly flirting with the youngest princess despite their engagement.
Whether it was her or her current body, why did she always end up entangled with the worst kind of man?
“Icarus was a knight.”
Metatron’s expression twisted in displeasure at her answer, and he spun his cross-shaped spear with a flourish.
It was as if he were shouting, “I’m a great knight too.” Seraphine’s gaze turned icy cold.
“Metatron, get out of that body.”
“Why should I? Of all humans, this one has the most usable body—I can’t give it up so easily.”
Light flared from Metatron’s original form, the spear, and disappeared as it was absorbed into the hand.
He had chosen to coexist within Erez’s body.
Unless the host was exceptionally strong, his pride would never have allowed it—Erez must have impressed him. Or maybe he was simply doing it to spite Seraphine.
“So now that your body has changed, you can’t use commands like you used to, huh? At this rate, I could probably kill you with a flick of my wrist.”
Metatron had always wanted to kill Seraphine.
And it was understandable.
She had turned him into a weapon without his consent. Of course, he bore a grudge.
Before, Seraphine had been able to control him with command spells, but it seemed he now believed that constraint no longer applied.
Seraphine, feeling the anger radiating off him, replied flatly.
“You don’t need to bother. This body won’t last more than a few years. Maybe even a few days.”
“What?”
“I’m a human with wings. My magical energy is leaking entirely through them.”
“…”
“No matter how good I am at managing magic, it’s like trying to stop a collapsing dam with my hands—I can’t prevent the inevitable.”
Metatron looked visibly shocked.
He had thought he’d be pleased to hear she was dying, but his reaction betrayed him.
“Why are you saying that so casually? You’ve been brought back to life—and you have no regrets?”
“To say I have none would be a lie. Who really wants to die? But even if I didn’t want to…”
“…”
“…Would saying I want to live change anything?”
She didn’t want to waste the life she’d been given.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to live by begging magical power from a cheating fiancé either.
She wanted to treasure the short life she had left—because death always came from the most unexpected directions.
“You and I were never supposed to exist in this world anyway. So how can I be greedy and say I want more time?”
“And yet you say that after turning me into this? You really have a knack for making someone feel miserable.”
“…”
“Fine. It’d be a waste to let you die like this. I’ll keep watching you.”
With that, Metatron seemed to hand over control of the body back to Erez, who collapsed.
Seraphine hurriedly caught him.
“Brother, are you okay?”
Erez slowly opened and then closed his eyes, still dazed.
Smack.
Without hesitation, Seraphine slapped him on the cheek.
The physical jolt seemed to snap him out of it, and his eyes gradually regained focus.
“…Seraphine?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
Touching his cheek, Erez looked puzzled—as if unsure what had happened.
It seemed the slap had hurt quite a bit.
“I… couldn’t control my strength.”
Before Erez could clearly regain his senses and ask why she’d slapped him, Seraphine brushed it off nonchalantly.
Erez, bewildered, looked around.
Then, seeing that the cross-spear was gone from where it had been, he bolted upright.
“Where’s the cross-spear?”
“Well…”
As her voice trailed off, Seraphine could feel his suspicion growing.
If she dodged the question, he’d only keep doubting her. She had to tell the truth.
“It looks like the spear chose you. I saw it being absorbed into your body.”
For a moment, Erez looked like he’d just heard a ridiculous joke.
He had assumed it was just a powerful weapon—he never imagined it could have a will of its own.
But as Seraphine met his eyes seriously, his expression began to harden.
Realizing how grave the situation was, Erez’s face turned pale.
“By the way… what were you doing here at this hour, Brother? Were you maybe sneaking a peek at the cross-spear…?”
Erez quickly covered her mouth.
Seraphine realized he probably wanted to pass out from shame right then and there.
‘This is my chance.’
Thanks to Metatron’s sudden move, she now had something to hold over Erez.
Seraphine gently pushed his hand away from her mouth.
“Brother, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
Erez nodded obediently, like a baby chick who had just seen its mother for the first time.
Normally, he’d insist he’d take care of it himself.
But he was so shaken that he’d probably jump upside down on command right now.
The next day.
A rumor spread that the cross-spear had been stolen.
Everyone had expected chaos to break out in the family, but surprisingly, the reaction was mild.
The Madam, suspecting Seraphine’s involvement, gave only a lukewarm response.
Thanks to that, the matter quietly faded away.
But Erez’s condition was far from quiet.
“What? He suddenly went to the training grounds and started sparring so intensely he almost hurt the other knights?”
Calling it ‘training’ was generous—it was closer to rampaging.
Realizing it had to be Metatron, not Erez, Seraphine sighed.
‘Obviously. Metatron’s probably causing trouble, unable to control all that overflowing power.’
It was a good thing she’d checked on Erez early, just in case.
Before word of this reached the rest of the family, Seraphine hurried to the training grounds.
And then—
Boom!
A loud crashing sound rang out clearly, even from a distance.
Just standing in front of the training grounds gave Seraphine a headache.
“All of you are weaklings. Next! Don’t rest—come at me!”
Before she could even fully enter, a knight collapsed at Erez’s feet.
Seraphine glanced around the devastated training grounds.
Erez with a vicious grin that was more demonic than refreshing, groaning knights strewn about, and slightly shattered structures—it was all crystal clear.
“Everyone, take a break outside.”
Despite her order, the knights looked nervously at Erez.
“Hurry.”
“Tsk.”
When Seraphine pushed them, Metatron—momentarily giving up control—clicked his tongue.
Realizing this was permission, the knights fled in a flash.
In the blink of an eye, only Seraphine and Metatron remained in the training grounds.
