I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 41 - Day of Darkness ①
“I…”
Noah lowered his eyelashes as if searching for the right words, then looked at me.
His eyes were strong—I could feel his determination.
…Just as I thought, Noah has already made up his mind.
Since it was what I expected, I gave a small smile.
“Chalize, I cannot abandon this country.”
“…I see.”
“I can’t just watch this country slowly, quietly, and painfully fall apart and be destroyed.”
Noah spoke in a calm but firm voice. I nodded in response.
“You are second in line to the throne. You have the right to be king. Now that Aidan Lips is gone, the temple must be in chaos. …If you’re going to move, now is the time.”
After I said that, Noah went quiet for a while, but then he held my hand tightly.
It felt like he was clinging to me.
If he aims for the throne, he will start a revolution.
And revolutions are always close to death. There’s no guarantee of success—in fact, the chance of failure is much higher.
Even if it does succeed, history shows that what comes after is even harder.
Maybe he feels uncertain.
As I tilted my head and looked at him, Noah opened his mouth to speak—at the same time.
“If the revolution succeeds and I wear the crown…”
Noah paused, then continued in a clear voice.
“Chalize. When that time comes, I want you to be by my side. I want you to be the one standing next to me. That’s why—”
“Wait, Noah. That’s…”
I stopped him.
Did he really understand what he was saying?
(After the revolution, he will become king. And beside the future king…)
That’s not so different from a proposal.
Maybe he noticed my confusion.
Even though he looked like he was struggling, Noah held both my hands tightly. His hands were trembling.
“Noah…”
“I know you don’t see me that way. I’ve always known, Chalize. But I… I’ve always… felt that way about you.”
Even though it hurt him, Noah kept speaking.
I—I…
My mind went blank.
He said I didn’t look at him that way…
Of course not.
Because Noah is my brother.
He was my ally, my friend, and my partner in crime.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
He’s three years younger than me, a cute little boy.
That was my first impression when I met Noah.
Eventually, that turned into ‘a talented boy,’ then later into ‘a reliable ally.’
But I never had romantic feelings for him.
I only thought of Noah like family—
That’s what I thought, but I knew saying that now would be too cruel.
Now that I heard how he truly felt, I couldn’t say it so carelessly.
Even if our feelings are different, the fact that I care about him hasn’t changed.
I don’t want to hurt him for no reason.
“…Noah, I—”
Just as I said that—
We heard footsteps running from the other side of the door.
Whoever it was must have been in a hurry. Their shoes echoed loudly.
Right after Noah and I looked at each other—
The door was pounded loudly.
“Forgive the interruption! A group of magical beasts has appeared in the royal capital!! Please give us orders immediately!”
It sounded like one of Noah’s subordinates.
Both of us gasped at the same time.
(Why now, of all times…!!)
Because the purification activities had stopped, the number of monsters grew, and they started appearing more often.
And we had already heard of monsters attacking villages in groups.
Most of the temple’s priestesses were fake. They didn’t have real power.
While I was in a deathlike sleep, and while I was away in Utis, the number of monsters must have grown even more.
Now, people without holy power had no choice but to run away.
Only priestesses with holy power could fight the monsters.
Knights’ guns and swords weren’t enough to kill them. Worse, the more you cut them, the more their bl00d—the magical essence—spreads everywhere.
That magical essence spreads and causes secondary disasters, so there was really no good solution.
Noah frowned and allowed the person to enter.
A man I didn’t recognize came in.
Even though his face was stiff with fear, he gave his report clearly.
“Magical beasts have appeared at the royal capital’s city gates. We estimate their number to be over three thousand.”
“Three th—…”
Noah and I were speechless.
Up until now, even when monsters appeared, there were never more than fifty at a time.
But now—three thousand.
We could see the man was confused by the unheard-of situation.
In a painful voice, he begged Noah:
“The people of the capital have already left the city and are fleeing in all directions. The temple is empty and not working at all!! Please, Prince Noah, we need your command! Give us your orders!”
Retreat, or fight.
Now, we were being forced to choose between those two options.