When My Enemies Began to Regret

Fanora spoke in a harsh tone, showing off the power of the holy relic. “It’s not just now. From now on, don’t go to the battlefield again. I’ll be your sparring partner for the rest of your life. I’ll take responsibility for changing your future with my own hands!”

But what good are all these threats? Tightening his collar was meaningless as he had Ganimede. The man before her could disappear to a faraway place out of her reach at any time if he wanted to. Fanora also knew that, so she made a sad face.

“Live with me… Let’s live together, Carl.”

Carl looked at her with startled eyes, then folded his palm over her hand, which was holding the hem of his clothes. He brushed Fanora’s knuckles and seemed to be lost in brief thoughts.

“Lady Fanora, do you know?”

After finishing his thought, Carl immediately put a mixed smile on his lips. He quietly lowered his gaze and made eye contact with Fanora.

“Your behavior now… is really violent and unacceptable.”

“…”

“Threatening to kill someone if I don’t run away with you. Just hearing that is terrifying.”

Fanora thought she had offended him, so she apologized and tried to let go of Carl’s clothes.

“Carl?”

However, even though she relaxed her hand, her hand was still in the same place. This was because Carl held her hand tightly and brought it to the place closest to his own heart.

“I must be out of my mind to be happy after hearing threats like this.”

His heartbeat could be felt through her fingertips. Fanora raised her head to the beat of his fast beat. Then she saw his smiling face.

“I have something to apologize for. I’m sorry I’ve been lying to you until now.”

“Lying…?”

“Actually, I was planning on joining the running away from the beginning.”

He showed the bag he brought, saying he didn’t intend to protect Kasius in the first place. Contrary to expectations, his backpack was full of groceries for long-distance travel.

“Why did you tell such a lie?”

“I was anxious.”

“Anxious?”

“Is the reason you save me because I’m precious? Or is it because you know that I’m going to die in the future and that you can’t just turn away.”

“…”

“If it was the latter, Lady Fanora might regret abandoning the kingdom for someone who isn’t that important. Therefore…”

“Therefore?”

“I made a fuss. I think I will feel at ease when I hear Lady Fanora say that I’m more important than Kasius…”

Carl, who was continuing his explanation, looked embarrassed to the point that his neck turned bright red.  “Well, I shouldn’t have done this! I caused you so much concern.”

“You know I had a hard time because of you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Fanora, who found out the whole story, scolded him with unfocused eyes and blamed herself for not noticing it sooner.

In a way, he was speaking the truth now.

While it’s said that the nature of good and evil in people isn’t clearly black and white, Carl, in particular, was a person whose moral boundaries were especially ambiguous.

“I promise you, Lady Fanora. I will never do anything dangerous again.”

“…!”

“The meaning of my birth was created through my sister-in-law, and the reason I want to live is because you’re born. So, let’s live together.”

Carl, who said that, fixed his backpack and asked Fanora if she brought a watch. 

Fanora nodded and took out the watch in her pocket.

“Oh gosh, Lady Fanora, do you know how much time has passed since I arrived?”

“The appointment was 4 o’clock, and it’s 4:05 now. It’s only been five minutes.”

“Thank god.”

As soon as Carl found out the time, he began to rush her. “Anyway, this is not the time for this. Let’s hurry and run away, Lady Fanora. Let’s leave the capital as quickly as possible.”

Fanora made a questionable face as she walked in the direction in which the horses were tied. “I’ve been thinking it’s weird since yesterday, but what’s going on?”

“That’s…”

He followed behind Fanora and opened his mouth. “It’s a bit complicated, so I’ll explain it on the way…”

But at that moment, Carl suddenly stopped walking and turned his eyes to somewhere on the hill with a nervous look. “…Didn’t you hear something like the sound of horse’s hooves just now?”

And as soon as Carl finished speaking, the atmosphere changed. An arrow shot by someone flew in the direction of the quiet forest. As soon as he noticed that the bowstring had been pulled, he and Fanora quickly retreated, and the arrow ended up piercing one of the horses behind them instead.

Fanora had been taught by Carl about weapons. So, she was able to figure out what kind of weapon the opponent had. It was a longbow that could even pierce chainmail.  

Carl and Fanora looked at the direction the arrow came from with surprised faces. Then, a blurry shape began to appear beyond the shadow of the forest. A person with a huge physique riding a dark brown warhorse… As guessed, the figure had a longbow in their hand.

Fanora couldn’t recognize the opponent for a while because she couldn’t see their face as they were covered in the shade of the tree.

Carl was convinced of his opponent’s identity just by the fact that they were holding a longbow. To be able to shoot a Kasius-style longbow, known for its immense draw weight, using only upper body strength without properly planting your feet was remarkable. Moreover, with this level of archery skills, there was only one person he could think of.  

“It’s only been five minutes. How come she’s already here!”

Soon, the image of the shooter pulling the long palace was revealed under the moonlight. Braided her without any mess, firmly closed lips, and even red color symbolizes the family lineage. It was Kimen Andras, Marchioness of Andras.

“…

” The Marchioness glared at her younger brother’s face and sighed deeply. After that, she spoke her first words with her nose wrinkled. “Not 5 minutes, but 20 minutes.”

“What did you say?”

“Because it wasn’t you the one I was after from the beginning.”

“!”

Carl opened his eyes wide when he heard that. Fanora was also surprised. She had been the one who was being followed all this time.

“How could you…”

“…Carl, you’re so naive for someone with eyes that distinguish the truth.”

“?!”

“If you have that kind of talent, you won’t have to doubt others. But I wasn’t born with that talent, so I’m always full of doubt.”

Marchioness Andras threw her longbow to the ground. She changed her weapon to the spear fixed on her back.

“Was the reason you were reluctant to go to war because of her?”

“…”

“But I couldn’t believe you were even thinking about running away together.”

Then, the sharp point of the cavalry spear pointed at them.

There was a reason why she came alone without calling the military, even though she knew their plans clearly. The Marchioness gritted her teeth with the spear firmly held in one hand. She looked angry, which was rare for someone with a static personality.

“How dare you, born as Andras, dare to desert! If this fact were to leak out, what kind of insult would our family suffer!”

While she was running wild, Fanora faltered and moved to where the horse was. But soon Carl stopped her action.

“If she catches the sigh of it now, she will definitely kill the remaining horse.”

He thought running away from the moment his sister discovered the meeting place was wrong.

Of all the horses Fanora had brought up the hill, only one remained, and it was an ordinary breed horse. On the other hand, the horse ridden by his sister was a well-trained military horse of Kasius. To make matters worse, the rider was Marchioness Andras herself.  

“We’re in big trouble. It seems like we will definitely get caught…”

As they talked in whispers, Marchioness Andras took a deep breath. Then she shouted with blood vessels popping up from her neck. “Do you think I’ve been watching you all this time just to see you like this?!”

“…”

“I’ve known for a long time that you had the heirloom. But I didn’t bother to take it away. I don’t know anything else, but I thought you would put your family and kingdom first!”

“Wait a minute. What are you saying now….”

The Marchioness’s indignant voice resonated through the cold air of dawn. Carl thought about his sister’s words and began to furrow his eyebrows. “You knew about Ganimede?”

“So far, it was only a doubt, but Aloken’s death made me certain.”

“…Then why didn’t you retrieve it as soon as you knew?”

“Are you going to make me say it twice?”

A dark brown warhorse perched in the grassland purred and made a rough noise. The breath of the horse condensed into the cold early morning air, creating a hazy trail.

“I trusted you.”

After a brief pause, Marchioness Andras continued in a mixed tone shortly afterward.

“I trusted your sense of responsibility and just let you keep the holy relic.”

“What responsibility?”

“Of course, our fa—”

“Did you leave Ganimede with me because you thought I would use it to protect our family or Kasius?”

The longer the conversation got, the rougher Carl’s tone began to get. As she was one step ahead of Ganimede’s whereabouts, he had a vague idea why she had left it alone.

“If you leave it like this, your younger brother will spend his life on your behalf!”

Before meeting Fanora, Carl was a typical maniac of fighting. In other words, he was a person without greed for property or power. So, in the name of revenge on his family, he hid Ganimede. Still, he didn’t actually do anything grand with that holy relic. At most, he only used it occasionally or when his life was in danger.

The marchioness knew this, so she had maintained an attentive attitude until now. She predicted that Carl, who had no particular desire, would one day be active in war. Even after learning that he had killed the duke using the holy relic, she thought for a while the reason was for the sake of their family or the kingdom.

“…”

But one day, there was something more important than war for that younger brother. He even decided to run away because of that love.

Marchioness Andras opened her mouth with a lamentable face. “I gave you, who were born useless, a chance to be active. In the end, you pay me back with betrayal.”

“Kimen!”

Carl became angry as he realized that she saw his life as nothing more than a tool for war.

It was that moment.

“!”

In the dim light of dawn, a sudden, intense fire broke out. Marchioness Kimen Andras struck something flying from the side with her spear blade. Her expression hardened at the unexpected attack, but true to her nature, she reacted quickly.

To do such a thing when they were in the middle of a conversation… She clicked her tongue and lifted her head.

It was none other than Fanora who carried out the surprise attack.