Those were his last words. Behind Theodore’s back, blue blades fell. With a cold metallic sound, his back was stained red. Blood poured like a waterfall, soaking Kayla’s dress. Tears flowed from her eyes.

“Theo!”

Kayla screamed. Theodore breathed heavily and whispered with difficulty.

“Kayla, cough… please… I don’t want to lose you…”

Those words held her together as she was falling apart.

‘I can do this…’

Kayla suppressed the holy power with trembling fingertips. The faintly trembling light spread from her fingertips and began to envelop Theodore. Healing his wounds one by one, the rampaging holy power stopped. Theodore looked at her with blurry eyes and whispered.

“Kayla… you did it.”

“Theo…”

“Well done…”

Theodore gently caressed her cheek.

“Theo, I’m sorry…”

Just then, Frea’s voice was heard from afar.

“Kalek, finish it!”

At that moment, Kalek was approaching again with his sword raised. The attackers had completely surrounded the procession and were preparing for the final blow.

In the middle of the street, surrounded by Kalek and his subordinates, Theodore gripped his sword again.

‘Can I face all of them while protecting Kayla…’

For a moment, his eyes turned to her. The holy power seemed to be precariously controlled, but her gaze was far from peaceful. Anxiety, fear, and suppressed emotions were rising like flames. That’s when it happened.

“Your Highness the Grand Duke!”

A black wave broke through Kalek’s soldiers. It was the Black Knight Order. As soldiers in black armor formed ranks in unison and surrounded the street, Kalek’s warriors thrashed about as if in final desperation, but soon fell one by one.

“Don’t move another step! Drop your weap*ns!”

With Ian’s shout, the remaining warriors of Kalek finally put down their blood-stained swords and raised their hands. The street was stained with the smell of blood, but the end of the fight began to appear. However, in the center, Theodore and Kalek were still facing each other.

“As expected, you are my only worthy opponent, Theodore.”

Kalek’s crimson eyes gleamed coldly.

“Kalek, this fight must end now.”

Theodore’s sword pointed low and firmly.

“End? Don’t make me laugh! You have everything I lost. Land, power, and…”

His gaze turned to Kayla.

“Even love.”

Theodore’s gaze instantly froze with cruelty.

“I want to see how you crumble when I destroy what you cherish most with my own hands.”

Kalek lowered his body, gripping his sword.

“The moment you touch her, no one will be forgiven.”

At that moment, Kalek’s blue blade came flying like a whirlwind. The two men’s swords clashed violently. A collision as if the world would split, the air resonated each time sword met sword. Cracks formed on the ground, and crimson drops of blood fell upon them. But the tide of battle didn’t take long.

Theodore was precise and lethal. When Kalek knelt on one knee, spitting blood and gasping for breath, he too muttered as if squeezing out his last strength.

“One who has lost knows. How empty it feels when you crumble.”

“I will protect what’s mine without fail.”

As Theodore’s sword tip touched Kalek’s neck, he smiled one last time.

“So confident. She will eventually… become your weakness.”

Theodore’s sword sharply beheaded Kalek. Kalek’s massive body fell like an old tree. At that moment, hatred more viscous than the smell of blood that filled the street disappeared. But the peace didn’t last long.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess!”

With a scream-like shout, someone rushed through the crowd. Between disheveled hair, two eyes shone like madness.

“If it weren’t for you!”

It was Frea. She held a sharp dagger in her hand and rushed at Kayla, screaming as if talking to herself.

“Stop!”

Theodore threw himself in front to block her, and the blade grazed his arm. Red blood splattered for a moment. But he didn’t care.

“Theo…!”

At that moment, a man on horseback galloped through the street. Silver hair and a dignified appearance.

“Frea!”

It was Marquis Rosehill. Frea sprang up, but flinched for a moment when she saw her father’s eyes.

“… Father?”

“Why didn’t you return until things came to this…!”

His voice was mixed with anger and sadness.

“I waited for you. I believed you would repent your sins and sincerely apologize… Now what is all this, Frea…”

Frea still held her knife after hearing those words. But what welled in her eyes was not anger, but the resignation of someone who had fallen.

“… I just wanted to take back what was taken from me…”

A short metallic sound rang out as the knife fell to the ground. As Frea knelt down, silence descended upon the hushed street.

“I will share your sins, Frea… so let’s go back…”

The Marquis said quietly. Frea couldn’t answer and closed her eyes. After a moment, knights bound her and lifted her up, and Marquis Rosehill quietly followed.

“Too many people have bled…”

Theodore muttered in a low voice. Kayla blankly raised her head at his words and looked at the chaos in the street. The street was full of people injured by Kalek’s subordinates. Beside a carriage, among fallen soldiers and citizens, Kayla’s steps moved carefully. She knelt beside a soldier who was bleeding.

“I have to save them…”

A faint light bloomed from her fingertips. A very dim, but warm and quiet light. The holy power flickered precariously, and her breathing quickened, but Kayla didn’t withdraw her hand. The unstable but warm light began to wrap around the wounds of the bleeding soldier.

“Don’t overdo it, Kayla.”

Theodore approached with concern. She didn’t even raise her head, focusing only on the light at her fingertips.

“I’m just doing what I need to do right now.”

Theodore couldn’t say anything to her words. At this time, injured people began gathering around her one by one.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess… please save my child… sob…”

“My, my wife is over there…!”

When Theodore tried to stop people approaching her, Kayla shook her head slightly. Then she spoke to the people.

“Come this way. My power is weak, but I’ll help.”

She continued to release holy power, forcibly suppressing her rapidly rising breath. Theodore looked at her with concern, then seemed to make a decision and shouted to the knight order.

“Separate those with minor injuries from those with severe injuries and bring them here!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

At his words, Kayla raised her head and smiled slightly.

“Thank you, Theo. For believing in me…”

“… Tell me if it gets difficult. It’s better not to overdo it yet.”

The light in her eyes spread brightly, and gradually hope enveloped the street.

※※※

At that time, in the imperial palace audience chamber, the Emperor’s expression hardened instantly upon hearing the news.

“What happened! The defense line was breached…!”

The Emperor jumped up from his seat and shouted, and Evan continued his report, bowing his head.

“The exact damage has not yet been assessed. However, it seems more serious than expected.”

The Emperor slumped back down and exhaled a deep sigh.

“How did the defense line get breached…”

To the Emperor’s words, Evan calmly spoke, hiding his smile.

“Their forces seem to have been stronger than expected. Currently, Her Highness the Grand Duchess is treating the wounded.”

“That child…?”

“Yes, it’s truly fortunate.”

When the Emperor made a strange expression, Evan hastily said.

“It will be an opportunity for the people to praise Her Highness the Grand Duchess’s power. It will weaken the anti-imperial faction.”

“……”

The Emperor couldn’t say anything and blankly stared at the ceiling. What came to mind was Lea’s face from long ago. And now her daughter was protecting the Empire again with the light of holy power. In the Emperor’s eyes, the image of the Empress who had mourned her loss and Theodore’s figure overlapped.

13. Saintess

“Her Highness the Grand Duchess… she saved us.”

The trembling voice of a soldier lying on the ground, bleeding red blood, quietly spread. As if that word was a signal, exclamations and admiration burst from the crowd.

“A saintess…”

“A real saintess has appeared!”

Severed fingers regrew, and color returned to pale skin. People who witnessed this miracle fell to their knees crying, and some spontaneously offered prayers. Among them, however, Kayla was in a state of near unconsciousness, completely drained of strength. Theodore carefully embraced her as she slumped, almost to the point of losing consciousness. Her pale face and dim eyes whispered.

“I’m glad… I could be of some help.”

Theodore spoke with firm resolve at the corner of his mouth.

“You can stop now. You’ve done enough, Kayla.”

Holding her tightly, he felt the faint light of remaining holy power. But her breath was becoming increasingly shallow and faint. Theodore ordered the knights with determined eyes.

“Clear the streets and prepare a place where the injured can be treated.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Holding her as she closed her eyes and struggled to breathe, Theodore whispered softly.

“Let’s go back now, home.”

Kayla nodded slightly in his arms.

※※※

A few days later, a meeting was held in the imperial grand hall to conclude the war. Among the attendees were high-ranking nobles, central military ministers, and Evan, the imperial council representative. As soon as Theodore took his seat, he immediately got to the point.