The Youngest Son of the Northern Grand Duke Wants to Break Off the Engagement-Chapter 95

The Knight of True Flame covered his wounds with fire to suppress the bleeding.
Fortunately, since his whole body had been protected by armor and flames, the wounds hadn't penetrated deeply.
However, in this condition, he couldn't face both opponents at once.
'Am I still wandering, after all?'
The Knight of True Flame became dimly aware of a chill and looked out at Alter.
Taking advantage of his weakened state, Alter was spreading a dense coldness.
Moreover, since the chill was focused on him alone, he couldn't help but feel even more pressure.
'Is it because he's your fiancé, that you're determined to protect him?'
The Knight of True Flame gazed out through his helmet with eyes full of emptiness.
Originally, he should have been the one standing in that place.
But instead, all he had done was run away, never revealing his true feelings to her.
His final destination was becoming a subordinate of the dragon, and acting as one of its vassals, committing only wickedness.
'A good stance. You need to be at least that strong if you're going to take her away.'
The Knight of True Flame summoned fire again, renewing his resolve.
He had already abandoned his life as a human, and only a future of being executed as a monster remained.
But he couldn't allow it to end in vain—he would see it through in his own way.
'I, too, have grown stronger with the dragon's magic power—how could I possibly denounce it as cowardice?'
The Knight of True Flame let out a mirthless laugh and made eye contact with Brillie.
He had only received power from Benelrode the Incandescent, yet was still fighting on par with those two.
Considering that Brillie had done nothing but utilize a single dagger, he wondered if perhaps she was even more justified.
'This cold is making the dragon's magic power tremble. Which means...'
The Knight of True Flame suddenly realized that the youngest son of the grand duke's family was hiding a secret.
Even the holy relic couldn't shake the dragon's magic power.
Yet just by his fire coming into contact with Alter's cold, an anomaly had occurred—naturally, suspicion arose.
'Did you, too, acquire the dragon's magic power? Alter Radiant.'
For the first time since becoming a vassal of the dragon, the Knight of True Flame felt a sense of crisis.
If the fight continued like this, he felt as if his life could be snuffed out in an instant.
Perhaps this was the moment he had secretly longed for all along.
'You will be praised as heroes. I, on the other hand, have become someone to be eradicated...'
They stood on opposing sides, their goals at odds.
Those two sought to protect their family's honor and the Agnes Empire, while he would bring everything to ruin.
So he accepted the dragon's magic power without hesitation and did nothing but oppress humans.
'I cannot die here. There is something I must do.'
Perhaps no one would ever understand.
He too had made his decision while being swept up in blind emotion.
But if the goal was simply to stand at the apex, wasn't there no more effective way than this?
'No matter where I am or what I do, as long as my will is achieved, isn't that enough?'
The Knight of True Flame unleashed a fierce blaze, spreading it everywhere.
Seeing this, the soldiers fled in fear, and even Brillie could not bring herself to approach.
Even so, Alter did not withdraw his cold — instead, he tried to drive back the flames with it.
'It seems I'll have to end things here today. We'll surely meet again before the subjugation of the dragon.'
The Knight of True Flame produced a pair of flaming wings and swiftly soared upwards.
Alter immediately redirected his cold, but was unable to match his speed.
Brillie erased the flames blocking her view in one go, then immediately condensed magic power into her blade.
"... I'll end this with my own hands."
There was a murderous intent in Brillie's gaze.
She was so deeply disappointed, she could not tolerate it at all.
If she didn't deal with him now, she would definitely regret it later.
'Someone like you must disappear. For the sake of my fiancé, if nothing else.'
Consumed by rage, Brillie unleashed a sword strike.
The chill emanating from the dagger had, at some point, harmonized with her own magic power.
Thus, the trajectory of her sword was subdued, scattering a quiet hue as it fell.
'A sword energy strike, is it.'
Sensing a powerful presence of magic power, the Knight of True Flame hastily tried to dodge.
But it was already too late; now he needed to defend himself.
"Hup!"
The Knight of True Flame canceled out the sword energy with fire, but recognized a distinct change.
The chill embedded in the sword energy was eating away at his flames.
If this continued, that chill would even extinguish his wings.
"Brillie... so, after all, you..."
With great effort, the Knight of True Flame distorted the shape of the sword energy, then crashed down toward the ground.
Had it not been for the cold, he might have managed to neutralize the attack somehow.
Perhaps he had underestimated Brillie far too much.
"Haa... ha..."
Brillie watched the Knight of True Flame and slowly lowered her sword.
He had used flames to reduce the destructive power of her sword attack, so he wouldn't die as he was.
If he showed himself again next time, she would make sure to cut him down.
"Brillie, are you alright?"
"... Could you come here for a moment?"
Brillie, her shoulders drooping, muttered softly.
Upon hearing this, Alter hurriedly approached and faced her.
"I can't lean on anyone but you."
Brillie dropped her sword and bent over.
Alter gently supported her, holding her up.
"It's so hard today."
"It was a powerful foe. And very dangerous, too."
"It's thanks to you that I wasn't hurt, Alter. You really did protect me, didn't you?"
"That was the dagger..."
"Shh."
Brillie answered firmly, her gaze relaxing.
Alter seemed to hesitate for a moment, then closed his mouth.
"That was the birthday present you gave me. Did you know it would turn out like this?"
"Uh... probably not?"
"Even if I didn't have the dagger... you would have protected me, right?"
"Yes. I promised you, after all."
When Brillie was attacked, Alter had immediately manipulated the cold.
However, the dagger had reacted first, and as a result, Brillie managed to counterattack.
Because of this, the Knight of True Flame was wounded and forced to flee in a hurry.
"... You know about our commander, don't you?"
"Yes. Isn't he the next Sword Saint?"
"I think he's the Knight of True Flame."
"......"
Alter fell silent, glancing sideways at Brillie.
Brillie hung her head, wrapped in a gloomy air.
He had always been someone she respected and trusted, so now she must have been seized by bitter betrayal.
"He was an excellent knight. I never thought he'd end up like that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. At first, I just thought their sword techniques were similar, but I wasn't wrong. That man... is Lang Couster."
Brillie no longer wished to defend the next Sword Saint.
He had sided with the dragons and monsters, threatened the Agnes Empire, and even taken the lives of Eastern Army soldiers.
Thus, his crimes must be accused and he needed to be executed decisively.
"Will you tell the others as well?"
"I'm not sure. Would they even believe me?"
"It's not that I suspect you, Brillie, but there's no proof yet. For now, wouldn't it be better to keep it secret?"
Of course, Alter shared a similar view to Brillie.
But as he hadn't seen his face, and only had a feeling to go on, it would be impossible to convince their allies.
Therefore, until the facts became clear, they had to treat him as a monster.
"It's not all that important, is it? No matter who the enemy is, we still have to kill them, right?"
"... Brillie, if you're hesitating, it's best not to fight the Knight of True Flame. You could end up hurt."
Keeping his personal feelings out of it, Alter gave her a sober warning.
For now, she might be able to attack the Knight of True Flame, but in a critical moment, she might waver.
If that created an opening, it would only put Brillie's life at even greater risk.
"I appreciate your concern, but that won't happen. I have to kill him with my own hands."
"I worry that you might be caught up in obsession. If your emotions lead you..."
"Isn't there someone I should be obsessed about instead?"
Hearing those words, Alter couldn't help but flinch.
Brillie, leaning on Alter, slowly raised her left hand.
She traced his cheek, then her hand settled on his white hair.
"There's nothing more important to me than you. I promised to protect you—how could I do anything else? So I hope you'll trust me."
Brillie was still tied to the Knight of True Flame in some way, but she hadn't turned away from her feelings for Alter.
If she acted recklessly, insisting on killing the Knight of True Flame, Alter would end up alone.
She'd nearly lost him several times already—how could she repeat the same mistake again?
"... I trust you. I was just thinking about how you felt, Brillie."
"I understand. I won't just ignore your words, either. It's not as if you're wrong, after all."
At last, Brillie withdrew her hand and met Alter's eyes.
They were familiar eyes she had faced countless times, but in this moment, it felt as if they saw right into her heart.
So she found it impossible to lie to him now.
'Pull yourself together. You have to think of Alter first. Compared to that, the Knight of True Flame is...'
* * *
Benelrode the Incandescent gazed upon the disastrous outcome, swept by lamentation.
The monsters that had surrounded the front lines had been reduced to less than half in the blink of an eye.
Four out of five vassals had fallen, and even the mighty Knight of True Flame returned wounded.
Despite toppling a fortress and pressing hard upon the enemy, how had they been pushed onto the defensive?
"... Pathetic fools. Even when I grant you power, you're utterly useless."
Benelrode the Incandescent looked around at his vassals, but could not sharply reprimand them.
Another dragon like himself had intervened; against a dragon, even a vassal would be hard-pressed to compete.
In the end, considering their limitations, he would need to respond in kind.
"From now on, I shall take the field myself."
Benelrode the Incandescent tore apart a hazy curtain and revealed his own form.
First appeared his vicious, grotesque eyes, followed by reddish scales.
Enormous horns shot up towards the sky, and fanglike teeth above and below seemed ready to rend anything asunder.
However, he had not formed a pair of wings, making him seem somewhat incomplete.
"Tiksa. So, you're determined to fight me yourself in the end!"
Benelrode the Incandescent began to float his giant body and started to chase after the lingering coldness.
Losing his left wing made real flight impossible, but he could partially reproduce it with magic.
No matter how much he'd fallen before humans, the dragon's transcendence would never disappear.
"Are you playing the fool? Do you think you could ever defeat me?"
Now that Tiksa the Frostbane had joined the fray, there could be no further hesitation.
Whatever his intentions, collaborating with the humans made him an enemy.
Thus, even if they were of the same race, not a shred of mercy would be shown.
"I'll destroy you, and then trample the humans as well!"