That split-second decision was something I second-guessed even then. I still wasn't completely certain I'd chosen correctly, though I'd braced myself.
Epsilon, who'd been talking to Cynthia, turned to me. "What were you doing up there? We couldn't hear you."
Of course, he hadn't heard me. I hated being the center of attention. I could only hope the king wasn't making an issue out of it. I glanced upward and saw Xerta managing the situation smoothly.
Still… Leyla's face looked troubled. I had a feeling she'd demand an explanation once I came down.
"I just helped Lady Cynthia temporarily. You looked like you were panicking earlier," I replied curtly.
Cynthia smiled beside me. "After causing such a scene, I take it you've accepted my offer from the theater, haven't you?"
Epsilon's face twisted in confusion. Apparently, this woman hadn't told the man standing next to her that she'd tried to recruit me as her knight.
"I never said I accepted."
"Still trying to play hard to get after all this? I just don't understand you, Keith."
"What are you talking about, Lady?" Epsilon asked.
"He declared himself my knight just now—in front of the king and queen." She shot me a sidelong glance. "Naturally, from now on, you'll serve as my knight, right?"
"You recruited him as your knight? Why? Am I not enough?" Epsilon's shocked expression was almost comical.
"I didn't say I accepted," I said quickly.
"Hehh… very well then. But just in case—" Cynthia handed me a brooch, engraved with a strange symbol. "This is the crest of House Hemser."
"With this, you are considered part of my family. If you rub it, it will glow and point toward where I am."
I rubbed it. Nothing happened.
"There's no reaction," I said with a crooked smile.
"That's strange… Did you try channeling a bit of your mana into it?"
As I thought—she really didn't know. In the novel, she only discovered the truth about my lack of mana when she asked Epsilon to check it. Not even a Great Magician could detect it on his own.
That was when she learned of Keith's fatal flaw—and wove it into her twisted plans.
"I don't have any," I said.
Both Cynthia and Epsilon froze.
"I have no mana. I was born this way."
Better she heard it from me than from someone else. Maybe this would finally stop her from trying to recruit me over and over.
"No mana?" Epsilon asked, incredulous. "Do you mean you have absolutely no control over it?"
I saw the familiar glow ignite in his eyes; he had activated his magic sight.
"…He really doesn't have any mana, Lady Cynthia."
That should be enough to make her give up.
But then, why did she look excited?
I could see the subtle tremble in her breath. Her eyes glinted with something unnerving.
"Without mana… and yet you're that strong."
How did she even know how strong I was?
Oh, right—I nearly forgot. In the novel, she had spies planted around Xerta's estate. This obsessive stalker of a woman must've learned about my duel with Xerta from them.
That duel had ended in a draw, a fact that must've shocked every servant and guard watching. A mere man able to match Xerta von Helming?
'To me, it was still a loss.'
"You're a gem. Do you think a gem has to shine to be valuable?" Cynthia said softly.
She's praising me again. This is backfiring. She wants me even more now…
I glanced at Epsilon. His lips were slightly downturned. Was he upset that the woman he cared for was praising someone else?
Don't worry—I have no intention of falling for her.
"Keith!"
A voice I knew well. Leyla. She must have come down the stairs.
Xerta no longer had his arm around her waist. Instead, he stood nearby, arms crossed, looking at me like I was a bug under his boot.
Do I look like I've joined the villain faction now? Sigh… What is even happening.
"Can we talk? Just the two of us?" Leyla's voice trembled. She sounded truly hurt.
No matter what happened, there was no reason to refuse her.
"Is that necessary? Who said you could speak with my knight?" Cynthia cut in sharply.
Could this snake woman please not interfere?
I finally turned to Leyla—after avoiding her gaze for so long.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Her face changed. Tears were pooling in her eyes. Was I too cold? But this was her type, wasn't it? The cool, aloof kind like the man standing beside her.
"I want to talk too, Keith!" Xerta added.
'Why is this guy butting in too? Where is the story going now?'
But I had no right to complain—I was the one who looked like I'd switched sides.
Wait. If I'd changed factions, then I wouldn't be part of the post-wedding arc—the Northern Territory arc.
Hold on—doesn't that mean they'll get closer?
Or will the opposite happen? Let me think.
In the novel The Way to Save Her, after Leyla and Xerta's wedding, they lived in the Northern Territory; a cold, harsh land. That's where Leyla awakened her sacred power and freed Sera from the eternal curse placed by the necromancer at the border.
The one who defeated the necromancer's summoned monster was Xerta, but it was Leyla and Keith who killed the necromancer himself.
Keith was badly injured while protecting Leyla and had to rest. That's when Xerta started to grow closer to her—not because Keith was absent, but because he protected her.
If I stay away… will they grow even closer? Or will Leyla die instead?
Is it too late for me to return to Leyla's side?
"What, are you mute now?" Xerta snapped.
I was deep in thought—frustrated—and this idiot thought now was the time for sarcasm?
"Let's talk, Leyla," I said finally.
Cynthia frowned. Xerta looked oddly pleased.
But Leyla grabbed my hand and pulled me away, leaving Xerta behind. Did she really want to speak with me alone?
Is it okay to leave Xerta alone with Cynthia? I glanced back.
Cynthia wasn't even looking at Xerta. Is she mad at him?
We arrived at the outer balcony. Beneath the night sky, we stood facing one another once again.
"What were you doing up there, Keith? Please explain. Why did you become Cynthia's knight? You're my knight!"
Leyla finally broke down in tears. Honestly, I didn't even know how I felt anymore. I didn't want to see her cry—but she looked devastated. Broken. She was still hoping for an explanation, even though I stared at her with a blank face.
"Leyla… What do you think of me?"
"Huh… What?"
"That night, when I told you I loved you… What did you think of me then?" I asked softly.
"Why are you asking that instead of answering my question? I don't understand you, Keith! Lately… I just don't understand you!"
Of course you don't. Not anymore. I've remembered my first life. How could I possibly understand myself either?
Even the fact that you didn't bother to consider my feelings—it shattered me.
You never loved me. Not even a little.
People say love destroys you. I never understood that before—I was just a teenager who knew how to study. But now… now I understand.
"Let's end this."
"W-What? What do you mean, Keith? I don't understand. Please explain—"
"I've stopped. I've ended my feelings for you. I'm done."
Leyla's tears poured freely now. "But you're my personal guard—my knight. You're like a brother to me!"
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS SUDDENLY?!" she screamed, her voice cracking.
"I've given up, Leyla. I hope you'll be happy. Go find another knight. One who's more loyal… and who doesn't bring feelings into the job."
My face was blank. Resigned. I didn't even cry. I felt nothing.
"You betrayed your knight's oath for this? You broke the promise we made as kids—"
Smack!
She slapped me.
My cheek burned where her hand struck. Then she turned and ran, leaving me alone on the balcony, still processing what had just happened.
It was the first time I'd ever seen her that angry. In the novel, she only got that mad while fighting for Keith in court after his brutal death. Now… she was that angry because of me.
I stepped toward the edge of the balcony, gazing at the night sky. The pain wasn't just in my cheek—it was in my heart.
"Damn it."
Crash—
A wooden chair tumbled to the floor behind me.
Startled, I spun around to see a young man—disheveled dirty-blond hair, formal clothes with yellow and white accents, kneeling and holding his knee. His eyes were green, like seaweed.
"Uh… sorry to interrupt your lover's quarrel," he said. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop…"
Who the hell is this guy? Is he an important character?
"Well… it wasn't exactly a lover's quarrel," I muttered.
"But… you're not planning to jump off, are you?" he asked innocently.
I looked down. "No, I'm not jumping. I don't want to die—and I hate pain."
"Mm… well, you probably wouldn't die anyway."
He said it like someone who'd tried it before.
"I once fell and broke a few ribs… and dislocated my pelvis a little."
Ouch. So he really had tried it before.
"May I ask your name?" I asked, unsure.
"Nicholas."
What…?
"Nicholas Eldoria."
The king's illegitimate son…?!?!