Chapter 115: I’ll Be By Your Side
- Reira ☾⋆⁺₊✧ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
- Dec 10, 2025
- 9 min read
“…Can you tell me how much time I have left?”
[Even if it holds out, it will not last twenty nights.]
“...”
[It is fine. You know the answer.]
“What do you mean that I know the answer?”
Instead of answering, the monster pointed over Alicia’s shoulder with the tip of its nose.
In the direction it pointed, Cabelenus stood, gripping the hilt of a sword.
“Is the conversation over?”
“Well… the monster told me that you already know the answer.”
“Answer? What answer?”
“The way to heal my body.”
“...What?”
His ragged breath froze white in the bitter cold.
[Gave it to that one. The answer.]
“It said it gave it to you.”
“All I received from the monster was a book.”
“A book?”
“It’s a plant encyclopedia but…”
Cabelenus could no longer continue speaking.
All the ingredients of the soup said to have been made by Alicia’s mother were poisonous plants.
The moment that fact came to light, it was obvious that Alicia would be hurt.
“If you know something, please tell me.”
“If you hear it, you’ll be hurt.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“...”
“I… I want to live. I want to stay alive and be with you and Michael. If that’s what it takes, I don’t care if my whole body ends up in tatters.”
Gulp—.
Cabelenus’s Adam’s apple bobbed roughly.
“You…”
Once again, the woman tried to endure it despite her fear.
Even while trembling, she stubbornly grit her teeth and tried to overcome it.
That sight was unbearably pitiful.
But at the same time, it made his heart race.
Even knowing it was contradictory, he thought that behaviour was beautiful.
"…I’ll be by your side."
“...”
"Just as you chose to be hurt, choosing to stay by your side is my responsibility."
Once a decision was made, there was no hesitation.
Cabelenus strode forward.
Just as he knew she would be hurt, he also knew that Alicia would get through it. But he hoped she would be hurt even a little less.
He wished that his presence could be a comfort.
“You once said you wanted to eat your mother’s soup. In fact, at that time, Madame Morco could get the ingredients for it."
"But back then, Madame Morco definitely said she couldn’t get the ingredients…"
“She said that because she couldn’t tell the truth.”
Cabelenus gave a bitter smile.
“What is the truth?”
“All the ingredients she had gathered back then were poisonous plants.”
Cabelenus clenched his fist tightly.
The more he spoke, the more Alicia’s face twisted, and it pained him to see it. But he had no intention of looking away.
He couldn’t let her bear the pain alone.
To stay by her side also meant watching over everything.
“Do you also know what kind of poison they were?”
“They were all deadly poisons that took life without causing pain.”
“...”
Alicia’s face, which seemed as if it couldn’t grow any paler, turned stark white
Cabelenus supported Alicia’s staggering body.
The woman’s expression, dazed and unable to bring herself to close her mouth, pierced his chest like a sharp dagger.
He felt like he would go insane from how pitiable her trembling fingertips were.
“…It was a life where dying would have been better. So much so that I wouldn’t even be surprised if my mother had thought of killing me.”
“...”
"...But that’s not the end, is it?"
Alicia rubbed her eyes roughly.
“After all, they said there was definitely a way.”
“...”
"For now, I just want to think about that."
“Is that possible?”
"The dead cannot speak anyway. Trying to guess their intentions now only mixes in the biases of the living."
Even though the corners of her eyes were reddened, Alicia did not shed a tear.
She simply clenched her teeth and stared at the monster.
"Tell me. What is the answer you speak of?"
[Humans are weak. But persistent. That is the answer.]
“That’s the answer?”
[You are special. You can win.]
“...Don’t tell me you’re telling me to eat poison?”
[If you endure it, your vessel grows stronger.]
The monster nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“That’s absurd.”
Cabelenus shielded Alicia by pulling her behind him.
He had tried to stay quiet out of respect for Alicia’s wishes, but this was not the time for that.
Telling a woman who was already dying to take poison was nothing more than telling her to die.
“…If I take the poison as you say, will I live?”
“Alicia!”
Cabelenus raised his voice.
But Alicia could not give up.
She clung to life with such desperation.
[It is not a perfect method. It only delays time. Eventually, the limit will come.]
“…Is there no other way? I mean, a way to completely restore the vessel.”
[Once a vessel is broken, it cannot be restored.]
The monster’s eyes narrowed.
To its eyes, the broken vessel was clearly visible.
She was barely managing to hold on, but she wouldn’t be able to endure for long.
The larger the crack grew, the stronger the force that seeped through it became, and the faster the vessel itself broke.
[Do not exert yourself if you can avoid it. If you push yourself, even twenty nights will be too much.]
“…Is there really no way?”
[It was a problem that could not be fixed in the first place.]
The monster lowered its head, avoiding Alicia's gaze.
Like a sword that grew stronger when tempered, the vessel was the same.
Every living being had a desire to live, and when that survival instinct was stirred, they became correspondingly stronger.
But even that was no match for the power the woman held within her.
Even if the vessel could be strengthened to buy time, in the end, it would not be able to withstand the immense power.
“…You mean it’s useless?”
[Even if you had not used your power, your vessel would have broken.]
“What do you mean by that?”
[Your vessel is unusually small.]
The monster sniffed, taking in Alicia’s scent.
She carried the scent of a king, but it wasn’t exactly the same.
[It is different from the king we know. The scent is faint. Compared to the original king, the power is weak.]
Alicia followed the monster’s gaze and stared at her exposed wrist.
Her pale skin clearly revealed bluish veins.
“I inherited my power from my mother. And she, just like me, inherited her power from her mother.”
[...]
“The one you’re probably talking about wasn’t me, but my ancestor. That’s why the power is inevitably weak.”
[It is still strange.]
The monster shook its head.
“Strange?”
[Power is granted according to the size of the vessel. But for you, that is not the case. Your power and your vessel are of different sizes. There is a problem.]
"...."
Alicia didn’t know what expression to make, so she just lowered her head.
She had thought that meeting the monsters would solve everything, but it didn’t.
The problem still remained, and the situation hadn’t changed either.
“It’s okay.”
“...”
“It’s still too early to give up.”
The perceptive man, instead of saying anything else, simply held her hand firmly.
Only then did Alicia lift her head and grasp Cabelenus’s hand tightly.
“You’re right. It’s still too early to give up.”
Alicia forced a smile.
She hadn’t known before, but now she did.
As long as she stayed alive, the moment she would have her chance would come.
Knowing that, she couldn’t give up yet.
・・・・・
“Our representative seems to be unusually popular.”
“Even so, he’s nothing but a fraud.”
“But none of them considers that person a fraud, do they?”
Zerpheus rested his chin as he watched James parade through the crowd, receiving their fervent support.
He was said to be handsome, but from a distance, the man looked even more striking than expected.
With his silver hair fluttering as he smiled at the people, the man suited the title of God’s representative perfectly.
“Do you really intend to let that fraud into the castle?”
“Of course, we must let him in.”
“But…”
“Honestly, I believe a fraud is more trustworthy than a loyal temple dog.”
Zerpheus couldn’t take his eyes off James, who was calmly engaging with the people.
He had intended to evaluate whether the man was worth using, and at this point, he was more than adequate. Even if Zerpheus ended up discarding him later, he seemed useful for the time being.
“Don’t judge him too harshly. After all, with our current situation, we can’t deal with him anyway.”
“There is no one in this land who can defy Your Majesty’s orders.”
“Of course, if I were a proper emperor, no one would dare oppose me, but unfortunately, I’m not, am I? All anyone does is whisper that I’m not the true emperor.”
“Your Majesty.”
Pelsion hastily bowed his head.
“Even if I just turn my head a little, there are those with the makings of a legitimate emperor, so it only makes things worse.”
But Zerpheus merely nodded calmly.
Due to the rumours spread by the temple, his current standing wasn’t favourable.
“In the end, my position belongs to Cabelenus, so I don’t care about the harsh criticism aimed at me. But I still haven’t gotten my dog back, have I?”
“...”
“I have to hold out until I get my dog back.”
Zerpheus slowly rubbed the corner of his eye.
The stolen cheers didn’t bother him.
In the end, it wasn’t the swarming insects that mattered.
“Your Majesty, the High Priest requests a private audience.”
"To request a private audience so suddenly. That old man must be furious, absolutely livid."
At the long-awaited visitor, Zerpheus smiled warmly and turned around.
“He suspects that Your Majesty is the one who created the representative.”
“That’s part of it, and on top of that, the thorn in his side who ruined his plans has come all the way to the capital and is being praised. No wonder he’s seething with rage.”
“Then what should we do? Should we grant the High Priest a private audience?”
“Unfortunately, I already have a prior engagement with God’s representative.”
‘I wonder just how far the old fox’s patience will go.’
Zerpheus hummed a tune and folded his arms.
・・・・・
“To think you eliminated a witch. You’ve accomplished something remarkable.”
“No. I merely did what needed to be done.”
James forced a small smile, but his heart was racing faster than ever.
Getting close to the Emperor and sharing tea with him was an experience not easily had.
“The one called God’s representative is remarkably humble.”
“The title of ‘God’s representative’ is just what people call me; I am not really such an extraordinary person.”
"It’s quite an achievement. Very few people brazenly show their faces before the Emperor under a false identity."
Zerpheus leisurely lifted his teacup.
He had thought the swindler would immediately tuck his tail after the sudden attack, but surprisingly, he remained completely unfazed.
It seemed almost as if he had known everything from the very beginning.
"It appears Your Majesty considers me a fraud."
"Many call me incompetent, but I didn’t end up in this position for nothing."
"In that case, that is a relief."
“A relief?”
Zerpheus raised an eyebrow.
"If Your Majesty is not blind, then our conversation will proceed much more smoothly."
"So it appears you have another scheme.”
"There is no scheme to speak of. My purpose has been the same from the beginning."
“Revenge.”
James visibly showed his emotions and lowered his voice.
He was angry.
"Who are you trying to take revenge on?"
“The Grand Duke of Schwarhan.”
“The Grand Duke?”
"My lover died because of the Grand Duke of Schwarhan."
When lies and truth were cleverly mixed, it became difficult to discern the real intent.
James smoothly recited the story Fenrir had concocted, pressing a hand to his forehead.
Even though it was a fabricated story, speaking it aloud left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“To avenge a lover killed by the Grand Duke’s hand. Now that is a far more romantic motive than I expected.”
Zerpheus smiled, but in his mind, he quickly evaluated James’s story.
From the fact that he was a painter from Schwarhan to his recent stay at Schwarhan Castle, James’s account did not differ much from the investigation.
There was nothing in particular to take issue with.
“It was not out of romantic feeling that I went this far. My lover is dead, and I simply could not stand by while the Grand Duke sought his own happiness.”
“The Grand Duke’s happiness?”
Happiness was a word that should never be associated with Cabelenus.
Zerpheus took a sip of tea, pretending not to notice the twist in his gut.
"You may not be aware, but the Grand Duke has a woman, a red-haired temptress."
"I think I know who you mean."
“I want to kill her.”
James’s hand tightened.
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