The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 86

“The wall?”

Veronica asked cautiously. The soldier standing in front of her room nodded curtly.

“The Deputy Commander is calling for you.”

“For what purpose?”

“You’ll find out when you get there.”

At first, she thought her actions had already been discovered. But the Deputy Commander? That was unexpected. Perhaps she could use this to throw off anyone coming after her.

“…Lead the way.”

Imagining the Pope, who by now would have realized something was wrong, Veronica gave her consent. Although she had invoked the Pope’s name to demand secrecy from the elderly priest, she knew that under interrogation, he would surely reveal both the content of the message and who had instructed him to send it.

Fortunately, Philip’s matter seemed urgent. The soldier moved quickly, arranging a carriage in front of the Holy See. One of Philip’s men and an apprentice knight rode with Veronica, while other knights and soldiers followed on horseback.

The gentle jostling of the carriage felt eerily similar to her anxious, pounding heart. Veronica stared tensely out the window.

“Weapons must already be in short supply,” she murmured absentmindedly, watching a military procession pass by. As she spoke, she noticed the mismatched armor and weapons of the soldiers, lacking any sense of uniformity.

“They’re a citizen militia,” Philip’s subordinate explained matter-of-factly. “Every male aged 18 to 65 has been conscripted to defend the walls and barricades starting today. With the Bahamut’s eyes gone, assimilation is no longer a concern.”

Veronica couldn’t tear her gaze away from the long line of civilians. Every male aged 18 to 65. Kart’s population was a million. Even accounting for those lost in the landslide and excluding women, children, and the elderly, that still left a substantial number.

“Then the knights can finally get a break from overwork,” she muttered to herself, not expecting a reply. Her words were swallowed by the sound of the carriage wheels. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t thinking of Leon. Truthfully, she was worried about him.

He had looked so exhausted before he left.

“Don’t abandon me.”

The sensation of his hand slipping between her fingers came to mind, and she clenched her fist tightly. Despite having no right, he had been jealous of Oscar. Since his return, he had been so kind it was almost confusing. It couldn’t be genuine. No, it mustn’t be. If death was inevitable, sincerity would only hurt them both.

So she had tried to push him away. Repeating to herself, like a mantra, that she wouldn’t be fooled.

She didn’t want to be hurt anymore. She had barely come to terms with things and didn’t want to long for life needlessly.

Tap, tap. Suddenly, tears fell onto her pale hands. Veronica widened her eyes in surprise, not understanding why she was crying. Her body trembled uncontrollably, as if exposed to the cold. The knights sharing the carriage looked at her, startled.

“It’s just… dogs wandering around without owners outside,” she muttered absently, meeting their gazes briefly before turning back to the window.

It was a flimsy excuse. Outside, a few scrawny stray dogs aimlessly weaved through the soldiers. Tears continued to fall endlessly, like someone mourning an event they couldn’t remember.

“We’ve arrived.”

The carriage stopped, breaking the awkward atmosphere. The soldier escorting her got out first, and the apprentice knight helped her down.

“This way.”

Wiping her eyes, Veronica followed, threading through the chaotic crowd. With each step, her unease grew. Why? Why was she so afraid?

The soldier stopped in front of a grimy tent, lifted the flap, and gestured for her to enter.

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

Veronica hesitated before forcing herself to step inside.

She froze. Her heart plummeted to the floor.

Drip, drip. Time seemed to stop as blood droplets fell through the air, landing on the ground. Drip, drip. Her lifeless eyes followed the trail upward. Blood-soaked sheets. A man lying motionless, like a corpse.

“No… no.”

This wasn’t real. It was a dream. A hallucination. A lie. Veronica took a step back, then another, before turning to leave. But before she could escape, Philip entered the tent, blocking her path.

“Ah, just in time,” he said, his cold gaze falling on Veronica, who looked as if she had seen death itself. He spoke again. “Veronica. That is your name, isn’t it?”

She didn’t answer, but silence often spoke volumes. Philip seemed to take it as confirmation and continued without waiting.

“He’s calmed down for now, but earlier, when he was writhing in pain, he kept calling your name. Please stay with him until the end. Thanks to Sir Berg, there won’t be any battles for now.”

“…I don’t understand what you mean.”

It was all she could manage to say. Philip sighed and averted his gaze before answering after a long pause.

“He relied too much on the power of Apocalypse. That’s all there is to it.”

“……”

“Even if you’re unwilling, I must ask this of you. Whether you know it or not, Sir Berg’s deployments today, yesterday, and even while his injuries remained unhealed, were all for your sake. The holy sword the Pope originally intended to send to the battlefield was you.”

Her head was spinning. She couldn’t grasp a single thing he was saying. Veronica could only shake her head in denial.

“There’s no way he would die so easily.”

It made no sense. He was Leon Berg. The knight of God who had saved her from the ashes of Beyern. The Red Knight who had roamed the continent, slaughtering Bahamut. How could someone like him die, consumed by the holy sword?

“Of course, it’s possible his internal injuries could heal. But even for him, it’s unlikely his holy power is limitless enough to perform such miracles three times.”

Three times? Veronica furrowed her brows and looked up at him. Philip, perhaps noticing her unspoken demand for an explanation, stopped mid-step and began recounting the past, one event at a time.

“The day he saved you from the fire during the extermination campaign, the day he thought you were dead and lost control, and today. Looking back, every one of Sir Berg’s rampages was connected to you.”

From the moment he began speaking, her thoughts blurred, words cutting in and out. The sound of dripping blood was deafening. Suddenly, she remembered the bird that had hit the window and fallen. Had it survived?

***

The fall of a bird is shocking because it has wings.

When a being meant to fly is cruelly grounded, humans feel an unfathomable despair.

Open your eyes. Please, return to the sky.

The Leon Veronica knew was someone who didn’t belong in a sickbed. He seemed like he could sit up at any moment, flash his roguish grin, and say it was all a joke. He’d tease her just like he had that one time, saying it was worth it to see her startled. But all of that was only her imagination. No matter how long she waited, he didn’t move a single finger.

Her gaze traveled naturally to his long fingers. Scars from burns marked the backs of his hands and arms, and a scorched handkerchief lay at the edge of the table.

Why hadn’t she noticed until now? Everything had been so clear, yet she’d overlooked it all. As her questions dissolved, they were replaced by a profound doubt that sank deep into her soul.

“Why…?”

Why had he gone to such lengths for her?

Veronica stared at his faintly rising chest before raising her gaze further. His sharply defined eyes were hidden beneath a black cloth. They said his dilated pupils were so sensitive to light they had to be covered. Beneath his prominent nose, his slightly parted lips exhaled ragged breaths.

The air reeked of blood. He might finally die. A man she didn’t even like. A man she’d resolved to hate. And yet…

Her eyes burned with heat. She clenched her teeth to hold back the tears, swallowing hard and forcing herself to look up at the ceiling. That’s when a voice whispered:

“Why are you holding back so much? Just let it out.”

Veronica suddenly realized she had forgotten how to cry. Her chains had been broken long ago, on a winter day that now felt distant. The act of holding back had faded from her memory. He had been the one to free her.

At that moment, as if her realization had unlocked something, tears began to fall onto the sheets. They poured freely, unstoppable.

She reached for a cloth to wipe her face, but her hand faltered when she noticed something familiar among the belongings on the table beside his sword belt. A crumpled piece of parchment—one of the items he had carried in his armor. As if drawn by fate, her hand moved on its own. She unfolded the paper and recognized the handwriting instantly.

[To Leon Berg, whom I do not cherish.]

Thump, thump. Her heart pounded as if to tear her soul apart.

“I’m sorry.”

“For not saving you.”

The apology written in the letter overlapped with the one she’d heard from him.

“I regretted it, too late. I realized far too late that there were things I needed to say.”

“I missed you.”

“Yeah, I wanted to see you.”

She remembered his embarrassed confession, spoken as he tousled his hair.

A confession. Yes, it was a confession.

“I know it’s shameless. I know we can’t go back to the way things were.”

“Just let me stay by your side.”

“I won’t even ask you to like me again. You can hate me as much as you want. As long as this is over, that’s enough for me. Just until then, let me stay.”

“I won’t even ask you to like me again. I wouldn’t mind if you hated me madly instead. Hit me every time painful memories come up, hurt me the way I hurt you—do whatever you want. Just until all this is over.”

Love doesn’t exist only in the words “I like you.” Perhaps he’d been saying he loved her all along. That he’d regretted losing her, that he’d hurt when he thought she was dead.

“A liar to the end…”

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair at all. Her stifled sobs burst out uncontrollably. Her vision blurred until she couldn’t see anything.

She wanted to destroy him. To shatter him and hold the pieces close to her chest. But now that she held them, the feelings overflowed, unstoppable. I like you, I like you, I like you. Every action of yours spoke of love.

God, I won’t ask for anything more. Just grant me one wish. Please, save your son.