Henry sat beside his injured older sister, holding her still-gripping hand, staring emptily into her mangled face. "None of this makes sense," he murmured, his voice too low to hear—not that anyone was listening. The room was almost lifeless, save for him and Viola, who for once actually looked like she was the one struggling.
"WHO DID THIS TO HER!"
The scream was internal, weak, inaudible—scared and lonely. No echo accompanied it. It never reached his lips.
Henry wanted to leave. He wanted to call the queen herself, the best mage in the kingdom. He wanted to do a lot of things that neither his stature nor his cowardice would let him do.
He had always viewed Viola as the go-getter of their twin pair, deluding himself that he never needed to grow up since Viola had more viciousness than anyone he had ever met. But now, staring at her broken body, the fear that gripped him wasn't just for her life.
It was for the heavens she carried. The burdens she shouldered alone. Could he really hold up all that his sister had always carried?
Even lying on the bed, her lips covered in maroon dried blood, even at her weakest, even at her most vulnerable, Viola was still a behemoth in his eyes—one he had never dared to reprimand. But now, something was rising deep inside him, and it came out in a low, raspy voice.
"Why did you come here? To your homeland? Anywhere else would have been better. Here, there is simply nothing I can do to help you… yet I want to. But I can't." His voice broke, crystalline tears streaming from his red-rimmed eyes. "Why did you come here?"
Viola was healing—slowly. The regeneration of a warrior of her stature was incredible. Most likely, she would wake in a few weeks. Maybe a month, if the damage was severe enough. But Henry didn't know that. He had never seen so much pain, so much helplessness on her mangled face.
"What about Irene?" he whispered. "I should call her to ta—"
He paused when he looked at Viola again. The strain on her face was visibly gone, replaced by a very subtle smile. Then her grip on his hand finally loosened.
He smiled back, his body relaxing as he slumped into the chair. "Maybe you'll be just fine. I'll keep you company in that case."
He sank deeper into the chair, the tension bleeding from his shoulders. Where did Elizabeth's son even get the idea for this contraption? He could fall asleep in its sweet embrace. "Vio, I know you will adore him. He looks just like Ars."
He looked at the open window, at the calm skies, his eyes settling on something much farther than he could reach right now.
Outside the room, a woman of medium build paced along the cathedral-like walls. Her puffy velvet dress, with its numerous light creases, blended finely with the granitic backdrop. Her luscious chestnut hair—flattened as best it could be without the existence of combs—flowed lightly as she moved.
The same guard who had called Henry approached her, breath heaving.
"Where is Sapphire?"
"I don't know, sis," the guard said, a silly smile forming on his lips.
Marie simply looked annoyed. "Chris, I told you not to call me that in this castle. There needs to be distance between a worker and his employer." She shook her head. "What do you mean you don't know? You can't tell me a single child ran away without anyone noticing."
"Everyone was distracted by the Duchess's appearance and her sorry state," Chris said. "It seems she took the opportunity to slip away."
"Do you at least know where she went?"
"Obviously to Prania. She likes going there nowadays."
"Is her business still doing okay?" Marie's brow furrowed. "She has been working oddly hard to set it up. I hope no unscrupulous merchant fools my foolish daughter."
"I doubt they'd try that. Anyway, how are the Duke and Duchess?"
"Viola seems bad—everybody knows that. But Henry is something else. I haven't seen him this sad since Aurelious, Tania, and Lucrid died."
Chris's face visibly darkened. "Are you suggesting the Duchess could die?"
"I don't know," Marie said, gripping her fist so tight her knuckles went white. "That's why I need Sapphire to call Irene. Maybe she can do something."
"I'll lead the knights to bring Madam Irene at once," Chris said, pulling his sister into a tight embrace. "Don't worry about the Duchess. As long as I'm here, I'll defend both yours and the Duke's status and possessions."
He released her and ran off, leaving Marie flabbergasted. She simply smiled at his kind, stupid gesture.
I can't imagine what it would be like if Chris turned up looking like Viola. She gripped the door lightly. Henry must be...
"I don't even know," she said out loud.
The carriage was sprinting wildly down the forest footpath, the crimson-eyed man driving the menacing horses fearlessly through the dense forest. Occasionally, leaves hit both of them, but only Sapphire seemed to be affected. The man was simply poker-faced.
"Hey! Are you crazy or what?"
"Maybe."
"I know you're angry about the whole blackmail thing, but I don't want to die early, so please slow down."
The rider simply flicked the reins, and the horses sped up, nearly making Sapphire fall off the wooden bench. She was only saved by whatever remained of the man's severed arm, flimsily held together by a makeshift bandage made of torn cloth.
"Does it hurt, you asshole?" Sapphire said, looking at his arm, remorse clearly written on her face.
"Sorry, miss. These horses are too wild. They misunderstand orders too often." He flicked the reins again—considerably harder—forcing the horses to slow down.
"Thanks."
The man grinned as he looked around the forest clearing they coincidentally found themselves at.
"Don't thank me yet." He maneuvered the carriage in the other direction, much to Sapphire's dismay. She looked at him with a suspicious expression.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sapphire gripped his stump, threatening to re-injure him.
"Clever girl," the man said. "Or maybe I should say clever demon." He flicked the reins one last time, causing the horses to grow wings and start taking off, jetting fast across the plains.
"Wait—these are Pegasus? You were planning this all along, weren't you? Stop it now, or your arm is losing much more blood than you can handle." Sapphire gripped his arm, causing his bleeding to resume. But only for a short while—before the bleeding stopped and a blue aura forced distance between her grip and his arm.
"What were you saying again, vile demon?" The man flicked the reins, and the horses sped up again, traveling past the forest at outrageous speeds. The only thing preventing Sapphire, the man, the horses, the carriage, and the reins from succumbing to inertia or collisions was the man's protective barrier.
"Why are you calling me a demon, and where are we going?" Sapphire said, letting go of his arm and closing her eyes, afraid of what would happen if she dared to look at the whooshing birds and bugs.
"You'll know soon enough."
They traveled for nearly three hours. It was evening before they finally stopped and the horses descended.
Sapphire looked around, surprise in her eyes as she saw the ending—the boundary between the human country and the boundless sky. She was simultaneously mesmerized and afraid. The clouds formed just beneath the floating continent, and massive vapor fumes rising into the skies formed spectacular rainbow shows that invaded her field of vision.
"Beautiful," she murmured.
Then the man yanked her from her seat by her neck and dragged her to the edge of the boundary, leaving her suspended by his good arm.
Sapphire had already stopped panicking. She had accepted her fate.
I can't believe after seeing something so majestic, I'm going to die again. I shouldn't have threatened him. She thought as her heart pounded like crazy, looking at the man with a semi-pleading, semi-confused look.
"Before you throw me," she said, her voice strained, "why do you keep calling me a demon?"
The man's rough gaze faltered a bit as he looked at her, remembering how many times she had begged him to stop.
Demons don't beg. They don't pretend to be weak. They despise humans. Why is this one so pitiful? Or am I wrong?
His grip on her neck tightened.
"Why do you keep using weird words like 'blackmail' and 'asshole'?"
Fuck. Why do I use Earth language so casually? But if it's just that, then I can use this to my advantage. Sapphire blurted out, "It's slang."
"Why do people say you changed so quickly—especially after nearly dying from a curse? Then there's your oddly advanced knowledge on living beings." His red eyes bore into her. "Are you sure you're not a witch?"
What do I do? I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. Then, like clockwork, she came up with something.
"It's a divine revelation," she said, praying in her mind. "It really is from the goddess herself—Hopelys."
The man looked at her, his grip faltering. Then he threw her to the side. Sapphire landed on the ground roughly, clutching her neck in pain and confusion, looking at the man with daggers and fear in her eyes.
"Hopelys only talks to Heroic-rank souls and above," the man said. "And you know how rare that is. If at the Awakening you get anything lower than Heroic, I will cut you down myself." He walked back to the carriage, beckoning her toward him.
Sapphire hurriedly walked toward him, her mind running like crazy.
The fuck? Only the queen is the last Heroic human alive. How the fuck am I going to magically be the second one? I'm fucked.
She sat on the seat beside him as the Pegasus flew into the air.
I just wanted a normal Isekai adventure. Fuck me!
The carriage flew in the opposite direction, leaving the floating continent behind.