The glowing system window displayed its message like a dream.
'Can I 'choose' the ending of the story?'
It was an opportunity I had never thought of before, and I had never considered it among the possibilities. I had assumed that if the numbers were full, I would naturally go back regardless of my will. But being able to choose meant that I could decide where I wanted to stay in the future.
Okay. Where I will stay.
By Kyle's side, which has now become my home.
"…."
My heart started to beat so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. I subconsciously reached for the system window. However, I couldn't press it quickly. When I faced the button that said [Sync], I suddenly thought about my body in the real world.
'Am I going to die?'
In other words, if my soul remains here, in the real world, I will become a dead person because of this choice. After isolating myself from my uncle, I was no different from an unrelated person, so no one would look for me anyway.
Suddenly, my past life passed by like a fleeting image. Looking back, there weren't only bad people in my life. There were definitely times when someone helped me, and conversely, there were times when I helped others. I just didn't have anyone to get deeply involved with and share my feelings with.
My gaze naturally turned to Sen. Belial followed, and James and the other knights stood a little awkwardly next to him. And then to Kyle, who had been looking at me since the last time I entered the room, let alone Belial.
We made eye contact for a short time. My index finger, which had floated awkwardly, still did not touch the system window.
It was Kyle who opened his mouth first.
"Shu."
He strode up and hugged me. I forgot about the situation, opened my mouth, and shouted at Kyle.
"…Your Highness!"
However, for some reason, the attention was focused for a while and then quickly dispersed. It was as if to say, 'this happened once or twice.'
"Let's start with treatment."
I glanced towards Sen and Belial. Belial sat up with his upper body, hugging Sen's waist and burying his head in her shoulder. He seemed to be muttering silently, but it was so low that I couldn't hear it well, and his throat was hoarse from being locked for a long time. However, when I saw Sen's face smiling brightly even though tears were streaming down, it didn't seem to be a bad thing.
Kyle gently wrapped his hands around my shoulders so that they wouldn't bump into me, and left the room for the drawing room. It was the place where we used to have secret meetings instead of formal ones. Then I found out later. Originally, there was no such thing as a first aid kit here, but at some point, Kyle had brought it for me.
He put me down on the sofa and took out the first aid kit as he was used to. By that time, the effect of 'pine nuts and painkillers and persimmons' had worn off, and the pain was pouring in.
"Ugh…."
As I gritted my teeth and moaned lowly, Kyle quickly pulled out the disinfectant and bandage.
"Bitter, oh no…."
It hurt. And it hurt ignorantly. Perhaps thinking that healing the wound was the priority, Kyle wiped the blood without mercy, and even more mercilessly disinfected it. Thanks to this, I was able to wrap the bandage on my shoulders, hands, and legs without any discomfort.
"I think you have a sense of shame, Your Highness."
"If it's my feelings, it's my love for you."
"…He leaves me speechless."
As I tucked my pouting mouth and touched the carefully tied knot, he sorted out the first aid kit. I rolled my eyes and snatched his wrist.
"Uh-huh, stop moving. You need to treat your wounds too; just put it in somewhere."
"It's something that needs to be dealt with…."
"It's not too late to treat it."
I opened the first aid kit and began to take care of his wounds. From shallow scars on the neck to long wounds on the lower back. I also carefully applied ointment to the traces of magic that scratched his thighs. When I bandaged the medicine to soak in well, Kyle became as much a mummy as I was.
We looked at each other and laughed. It must have been a smile of relief that they survived safely, rather than being ridiculous about each other's appearance.
"It felt good that Sen looked happy." I leaned back on the sofa and muttered as if it were flowing. "Of course, it should be, but I didn't enjoy it. I suffered for a long time, and I lost a lot of things."
Even when we first met, she was a bright person. However, it was just a face that could be used to describe a strong face. However, her face I saw a while ago was so bright and beautiful that it couldn't be compared to the face I had at that time. If you were to shape the word happiness, it would look just like that.
"So do you." Kyle said one beat late. I tilted my head to look at him.
"Yes?"
"You are also the person I want to be happy with."
It was a very everyday tone. At first glance, a voice that sounds calm and casual. However, just hearing those heartfelt words gently tickled my heart.
"…."
Suddenly, I was choked and couldn't answer right away. A person who wants to be happy. It was clear that anyone had ever told me that before, even if I didn't bother to think about it. It was loved a lot. It was a love that was so undeserved that it felt heavy, but I never wanted to let go of its weight.
I rolled my eyes around, and after coughing a few times, I finally got a word.
"Your Highness is like that to me." With greater sincerity than ever before.
"Yes." Kyle smiled lowly and lowered his head. Their lips interlocked softly. I closed my eyes. Only his presence was clearly felt in the whole world.
Time flew by.
Belial's rehabilitation treatment went smoothly under Sen's leadership. At first, he collapsed like a newborn deer, but in just a week he was able to walk on the wall, so it was obvious how hard she must have been. Of course, Belial seemed to be having a hard time too.
"Your Highness Belial! Just eat a little more. Aicham. I must have eaten twice as much as His Highness Shu."
"…Do you know. Doesn't that side eat a lot in the first place?"
"So you don't want to eat it?"
"…."
"Oh, try it. Oh."
"…Oh."
Today, Belial, who couldn't overcome Sen's resolute and clear eyes, opened his mouth. I stopped to chew on a sandwich full of fresh tomatoes and lettuce, so I didn't want to chew on it.
'Is this how you felt?'
Somehow, I remembered the time when I had just started dating Kyle, when Blake's servants avoided looking at me whenever they saw me. …There was a good reason for that. In particular, considering Kyle's external image, it is even more strange that he does not feel a sense of discord.
Okay. I understand. Shut up, you know. This is a pretty eye-draining and creepy act. Well, it still feels good to look happy.
"Oh, that's right. Can you just give me one document on the way? I put it on my desk."
"Yes. What's right?"
Before I knew it, Sen, who was putting away the bowl and water cup, turned to me and said. I nodded, then walked out the door with the documents she had asked for.
"Hello, Ms. Shu…."
"Hello, Ms. Shu…."
"Good lunch…"
The servants I met in the hallway were all exhausted. How much they were abused, beyond their faces being pale, they didn't even feel alive. The answer to why they are all like this is simple. Even if you win, war is still war. The walls were broken, trees fell, and a lot of blood was lost. In the game, if you just win, you don't have to think about the future, but in reality, that's not the case at all.
Everyone in Blake was going through a harsher season than ever. In particular, James, who is a mole who doesn't know if he is alive or dead, is the best.
"…."
I looked at James' face and reflexively confirmed his lifespan.
[This is a person who cannot be viewed!]
If you put them alive, you won't die from overwork, right? …Oh, it can't be.
"Oh."
James, who was stumbling towards me, bumped into my shoulder. He was pushed away by me, not me. A person with such undulating muscles…
"Are you okay?"
"It's okay."
I don't. I don't think it's okay.
However, whether I looked at him worriedly or not, James walked like a mountain invoice.
'Sooner or later, I should bring you a few items that are good for your energy.'
After passing through the hallway, I stood in front of a familiar door. It was as quiet as if a mouse was dead, but it was clear who was inside.
"I'm going in."
With two knocks, without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the doorknob and turned it. A bright light poured in from a large window to the south. And there was a person sitting with his back to the light. The only one I don't have to wait for. Kyle Blake.
"Shu."
He took off his glasses and stood up. I smiled cheerfully and stretched out my arm to him. Kyle hugged me and smiled at me.
"What if I fall?"
"Your Highness will accept it, what."
"That's right."
As if he would never let go, the arm that hugged me tightly tightened. I also pulled his neck tighter and laughed.
A system window floated in the air. It was a window with the words [Payment completed] next to the system's emoji that looked somewhat sullen and sorry.
[Current Miracle Points: 100%]
Okay. The time has finally come to make a choice. What kind of life will be my real reality?
Just in time, the time for 'calling' was up, and a bright light enveloped my body. Kyle loosened his arms and folded his hands into a concave shape. I landed there familiarly and looked up at him as a hamster. Our eyes met, and we were a little silent.
Then he slowly opened his mouth. Just like a person who has been holding on to these words for a very long time. Also, like a person who practiced.
"It's time for you to end this uncomfortable life too." Even though he pretended to be dumbfounded.
"It's going to be fine, Shu. Wherever we are."
Be careful.
"The fact that I love you doesn't change."
Affectionately.