He winced slightly, as though it hurt. After carefully examining his wound, I walked toward the assassin writhing on the ground. I grabbed his hair hard enough to pull it out and yanked him up.

“Aaagh!”

He let out a cry.

“What do you think you’re doing.”

Noticing the official’s hand groping at his chest, I stomped on it with my shoe.

“Aaaargh!”

I pressed down with every ounce of strength, as though to break the bones, and the official screamed.

Because of me…… no, because of you, you miserable wretch, Achilles got hurt!

I felt terrible for Achilles, who had protected me.

Time passed, and people began to gather. Achilles kept trying to stop me from gripping the assassin by the hair.

“Don’t go near that man. Please, Miss!”

I looked at him with a surge of emotion and shouted.

“Worry about yourself! Your wound is serious! We need to get a healer here now.”

Just then, the regular administrative officials who had seen me and the two men went pale and froze. When they stood there dithering, I glared and gave the order.

“This person at my feet is an assassin. Call the guards immediately, notify your superiors, and bring a healer.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Now! Right now!”

“Yes, yes! Understood!”

The bewildered officials came to their senses and scattered in all directions. Several of the stronger men grabbed the assassin’s arms and bound him tightly so he couldn’t escape.

I had been stamping on the assassin’s fingers as though to break them, but I ran to Achilles and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Each time I did, Achilles’s eyelids twitched.

“I’m sorry. Because of me.”

The apology came out naturally, and Achilles shook his head. He looked exhausted, but his eyes still held their usual resolve.

“It’s only natural. You have nothing to worry about, Miss.”

“Does that make any sense? No one should die in my place. Anyone. How am I supposed to live on alone?”

“…… If I die, you cannot live alone?”

I paused at his question.

“I don’t only mean you, Sir Achilles. Everyone else too……”

I let the rest trail off. Thinking of the others, David was actually the first to come to mind.

What if David died saving me?

Just the thought made everything go dark before my eyes.

It was an entirely different feeling from imagining the same with Achilles. I felt like I might bring up everything inside me.

I thumped my chest to settle myself.

Ahem!

In the distance, guards came running in tight formation. Among them were David and Andre. The report had apparently reached David with remarkable speed.

I stared at David running toward me with his eyes fixed on mine, and my expression was strange even to myself.

Only a few days ago, unable to resist the pull of desire, I had slept in the same bed as him. Neither of us yet knew how to face the other. David’s heart must be in turmoil too.

David, dressed in a calm brown suit, came running like lightning and checked me over. I spoke in a subdued voice.

“I’m not the one who’s hurt. You already know that from the report.”

“…… Why. Why on earth!”

He couldn’t contain his grief and it came out as a cry. Deep lines crossed David’s face. He spoke in a pained voice.

“I’m sorry. It’s all because of me. I was the one who put you in charge of the officials’ training……”

David was beside himself with guilt. I tapped the ground with my shoe, pretending to be unaffected.

Tap, tap!

“I gave him this. That bastard!”

I pointed at the Military Division official, and David turned eyes full of killing intent on the guards and gave the order.

“Take him and interrogate him.”

“……”

“I want to kill him right now, but tearing off his flesh piece by piece would be more painful.”

The official’s bloodless face trembled violently. Being an assassin, he seemed to feel the full weight of David’s enormous killing intent.

The assassin was dragged away screaming.

David pressed a hand to his head and ordered the healer waiting behind him.

“Treat him quickly.”

Achilles’s breathing had grown more ragged. He submitted quietly to the healers’ hands.

David couldn’t take his eyes off me. Those blue eyes were so full of grief that I almost moved to comfort him.

“I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

I simply nodded at David’s words.

He raked his hair into disarray for a long moment. The fine black strands stuck out in every direction.

“I will find whoever is behind this and eliminate them.”

His voice was slightly different from usual, from how hard he was clenching his teeth. It was easy to tell how furious he was.

Once the situation was somewhat under control, he left the rest to Andre and spoke to me.

“I have something to give you. Come with me.”

Something to give me? What?

I followed David with a puzzled expression. My legs felt unusually heavy.

David’s back looked completely drained of energy. That hollow feeling reached me too.

It’s not your fault.

How could David have known an assassin had been planted among the new officials? Even I had thought Michael was a sincere and passionate official.

But David was blaming himself far too harshly. I reached a hand toward him, then carefully lowered it. Direct contact was still too much.

David headed to the museum. Stepping inside, fresh, cool air wrapped around my entire body. This place was always so quiet and peaceful. As though the commotion outside were a lie.

The curator, who had been so ingratiating with me, went rigid the moment David walked in. Not a trace of his usual ease remained.

“You, you’ve arrived.”

He seemed completely unable to move in David’s presence.

The curator vanished at a gesture from David, and the space fell silent.

Quick steps. A resolute back.

I thought I understood why David had come to the museum. He intended to give me the soul sword.

Just as I expected, David walked into the inner room and looked at the grey soul sword gleaming brilliantly under the yellow light.

I held my breath quietly. My throat felt tight and blocked.

David stepped over the red rope and gently stroked the white glass case. The sight of it looked like something from an art film.

“It’s yours now.”

David’s deep voice resonated through the museum. He slowly removed the white glass and lifted the large soul sword with one hand. The soul sword boasted a long, sleek blade.

I placed both hands over my pounding chest. Tension seized my entire body.

Should I just tell him the truth right now? But would David be able to understand?

I was drowning in a swamp of thoughts when David held the soul sword out to me. I looked up carefully at his face.

Furrowed brows, eyes full of anger, a twisted mouth.

This was never the face I wanted to see on him.

I…… want to break your curse. I want you to have an ordinary love. I only want you to be happy.

Then David’s dry lips moved. An unusually sorrowful breath came out with the words.

“I’m ready to die by your hand now.”

What? Die? You dying?

That was a terrible thing that shouldn’t appear even in nightmares.

In that moment, I realized David had not been asleep that night.

The bridge of my nose tingled. Before I knew it, tears were running down my cold cheeks.

I couldn’t understand how he could know that and still stay still. David’s depth of feeling was beyond my comprehension.

I took the sword and held back my tears, barely managing to open my mouth.

“I’m trying to save you.”

Save.

I will be piercing his chest with a sword, but it was unmistakably an act of saving him.

I wanted David to be free of the spirit of desire and live as an ordinary person. A prince freed from his curse would surely reclaim freedom and happiness, like a bluebird taking flight.

Perhaps I had ruined the novel entirely. David could have received Moz’s pure and wholehearted love and been far happier than he was now.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a moment to repent.

Seducing him out of curiosity. Kissing him without feeling. Surrendering to the pleasure the spirit of desire so loved, while stumbling around drunk. All of it.

My mistake. My arrogance.

David stared steadily at me as I trembled and cried. There was clearly some emotion in those blue eyes, but my vision was too blurred to make it out.

What would he think of me, crying while holding the sword he had given me?

I blinked repeatedly, my chest heaving.

These wretched tears. I hadn’t even managed to break David’s curse yet. What right did I have to cry here, of all places.

Then David slowly came toward me. His heavy footsteps made me flinch and step back.