Chapter 39
39
‘I won’t die easily!’
Maria struggled to escape Allan's grasp. But he dragged her roughly, pushing her towards the cliff, and she clung to Allan's collar.
"You're going to die anyway, don't waste your energy."
He smiled vilely and pushed Maria. But he didn't seem to know how desperate a person facing death could be, what kind of superhuman strength they could muster.
‘If I’m going to die, you’re coming with me!’
Maria desperately clung to Allan. Thankfully, he was wearing a fancy, ornate outfit, giving her plenty to grab onto.
"Ah! You fucking tenacious bitch!"
Even a nobleman who had been acting cultured and relaxed couldn't help but panic in a desperate situation. But she didn't know how long she could withstand his strength. She was no match for him physically. Even in the midst of all this, Maria was worried about Gunter. She knew too well how painful it was for the body to inhale a lot of smoke.
"Ugh... Ah!"
Just as Allan pushed Maria away with all his might, as if tearing a lump off his body, the smoke cleared and Gunter's axe came flying. Thwack—! Allan's head fell off, and the recoil caused Maria's body, which had been holding onto him, to fall off the cliff.
"Maria!"
He couldn't grasp the reality of the sight of Maria falling, flailing her arms. Before he could make any judgment, Gunter threw himself off the cliff after Maria.
"Great King!"
Solskjaer finished off the mercenaries and ran to the cliff. But he saw Gunter throwing himself off the cliff right after Maria fell.
Maria thought she would die without even screaming if she fell off the cliff. But everything felt slow, as if the clock that moved the world had broken. The sight of Gunter following her, throwing himself after her with a deathly look on his face, was so vivid that it broke her heart.
‘You shouldn’t have. I was destined to die anyway, why did you have to…?’
Reckless man. No, you ignorant human. A stupid man full of bluff, mistaking himself for a hero. Maria burst into tears. But then a miracle happened. Gunter's hand caught the lace collar around Maria's neck.
"Gasp!"
Instantly, her breath caught in her throat, and it felt like the weight of her body was pouring downwards. The moment she wondered how he had caught her collar in mid-air, she saw Solskjaer on the cliff above, throwing a rope and holding on with all his might. It was the same situation as when Gunter had thrown a rope to save her when she had tried to die before. A wave of relief washed over Maria's heart, and tears streamed down her face.
"Don't worry. I'm holding onto your soul too. I'll never let you go."
Maria laughed in spite of herself while crying. He wasn't a god, so how could he hold onto her soul? She knew his desperation, even though he was saying ridiculous things. Suddenly, she remembered what a seventeen-year-old boy had said a long time ago.
[I want to have you.]
[Do you like me?]
[I don't know what 'like' is. I just want to have you.]
The boy, his face red, grumbling, had come to find her, never forgetting her. But she, not knowing that, resented him, was wary of him, and tried to use him. Why do people only realize things when they are cornered?
‘I remember you now.’
Just then, zzzzzzz! The lace collar that Gunter was holding onto began to tear.
"!"
Gunter struggled to grab her properly. But he couldn't move easily because the force supporting him from above wasn't enough. Zzzzzzz—the lace was almost completely torn and on the verge of falling off.
"Don't worry. I won't let you go."
Maria nodded her head vigorously, crying. For a moment, she felt the urge to call out his name. She felt like she could say it now.
Maria opened her mouth with difficulty. But the lace collar that Gunter was holding onto tore completely, and the two people's fates were completely separated.
"!"
Unlike Gunter, who was startled, Maria seemed calm, as if she had prepared herself to some extent.
‘Let me go. You have to live.’
"Maria!"
Maria smiled brightly at Gunter, who was calling her name, and shouted.
"Gunter Paisley!"
"!"
Before Maria faded into the distance, her face told him. That she had finally remembered everything. Why the woman facing death smiled so beautifully.
"Ah... No! Maria!"
Gunter screamed and flailed his arms. He struggled to follow her somehow, but the rope was being pulled upwards.
"Let go! You bastards!"
He flailed his arms like a child and called out to Maria. He wept, wishing that she would reach him again.
Laurent scoffed when she heard the maid's words. She wanted to pour cold water on Nancy and Henry's delusions.
‘It's ridiculous how she imitates her master. Stupid bitch.’
Nancy, as if she were Maria, imitated her dresses, makeup, jewelry, and even her way of speaking when she was Empress. As if doing so would erase her lowly origins. Besides, her brother Allan would soon bring news that the Empress had died. Selling the Empress, my ass. That woman was so cunning, in fact, when Allan asked if he could take Maria's assets, she said yes, but she expected it would be impossible. Such secret assets must be locked. Any clause would be unfavorable to Henry and favorable to Maria. As if Pope Liberio would have given her the assets without considering that.
‘Foolish things. Still, since the Empress died, I don't have to repay the 10 million Gold.’
Gunter would never know who killed Maria. So it was his responsibility for not taking care of the hostage.
‘Nancy, do you think Henry loves you? That person is a royal to the bone. I can, but you can never.’
[Laurent, trust me. I'm just being nice to Nancy because she said Maria hid assets. I won't keep such a lowly thing by my side. I only have you, Laurent.]
‘Of course. I trust Your Majesty. Of course, not my head.’
She was going to pretend not to know because she felt sorry for Nancy's efforts, but Nancy would only come to her senses after being abandoned by Henry like Maria. Just then, Henry appeared in Laurent's bedroom.
"Laurent."
"Did you sleep with Nancy?"
"Of course not."
At Henry's words, Laurent smiled contentedly and took off her silk gown. Soon, her curvy naked body dazzled his eyes. Laurent climbed onto the bed, twisted her body as if to seduce him, and then crawled towards him on her stomach, moaning lewdly.
"Your Majesty, is it hiding in those pants?"
Her finger pointed to Henry's bulging crotch.
"Huh?"
"A terrifying beast."
At Laurent's coquetry, Henry smiled slyly as he took off his pants.
"Want me to show you the beast?"
As expected, Laurent was a woman who could excite a man with her words.
The Royal Palace lobby was bustling. When Solskjaer appeared carrying the unconscious Gunter, the courtiers stirred greatly. Among them, Nora and Ero followed behind them with pale faces.
"Nora, I can't see Maria."
Ero, who was very frightened, looked at Nora and sobbed. They had clearly gone to rescue the kidnapped Maria, but even Gunter was being carried back. Something must have gone terribly wrong. Besides, Solskjaer's expression also looked very gloomy. More than half of the soldiers had returned, indicating that the battle was more intense than expected.
"I don't know, I don't know, what should I do."
When Ero finally burst into tears, Nora patted her on the shoulder.
Gunter wandered in his dreams, his mind confused.
‘There are many things in books that we don't know. And if you read a lot of books, you become smarter.’
Maria sat next to Gunter and turned the pages of the book for him. A fragrant floral scent wafted from the stray hairs that had fallen onto her white neck. Why did a flower scent come from a person? It should be the normal foul smell of sweat and rotting corpses... In many ways, Maria was a new world to him.
‘Let’s live together.’
‘Gunter, I can’t live with you.’
‘You even marked me as yours on my back.’
Then you have to take responsibility. The picture Maria drew on his back was not just engraved on his skin, but also embedded in his heart, no, his soul.
‘I will soon become the Empress of Lastonia.’
‘Empress?’
He realized that he had to become Emperor to have Maria, and at the same time, a fiery ambition bloomed in his heart. Still, he was so angry at the reality that he had to lose her to someone else that he bit her wrist without realizing it.
‘Ouch! What are you doing, Gunter?’
Maria frowned, looking at her wrist, which was red from the bite marks. But why did that girl look sacred even when she was annoyed?
‘It’s a promise.’
‘A promise?’
‘A promise that I will definitely make you mine.’
‘Gunter, there are impossible things in the world. I will have a Royal Wedding with His Imperial Majesty, have children, and live happily.’
‘It doesn’t matter how many children you have. I only need Maria.’
He deliberately acted like a moronic idiot who couldn't understand. He himself knew better than anyone else that there was a realistic difference in status and an impossible relationship. A mercenary from a slave background, there was no lower to go, but he was an ignorant being with no heaven to fear.
But giving up on Maria like this brought such pain that it felt like his life would end, and his heart ached. So he went to Pope Liberio and asked him bluntly. If the Pope, whom the people of the world followed, had not gone on a pilgrimage, he would never have met him in his life, but fate had bound him to him with a strong connection. He had recklessly saved him from an attack by pagans, and that connection had brought him this far.
‘Old man, I like Maria.’
‘Hahaha, everyone likes Maria. Because she’s a lovely child.’
Liberio's ambiguous smile made him feel suffocated, as if his lungs were filled with smoke. He wondered if he would tell him the answer if he told him his story. Wasn't the Pope an existence who knew everything?
‘Your name was Gunter, wasn’t it?’
‘Maria gave me that name.’
‘Do you like Maria?’
‘I don’t know what ‘like’ is.’
‘You think of her as soon as you open your eyes, and your heart beats when you think of her. You smile weakly, too.’
‘Uh… that’s right.’
He remembered Liberio laughing for a long time at his words. In fact, he didn't really know the feeling of liking someone. He had lived without the luxury of even having such feelings. He didn't have the ability to define such things accurately. He was greedy, so the most important thing was that he had to have her unconditionally.
‘Go to Helland in the north. Go there and make a living.’
He believed he had done everything to get Maria, but he lost her as soon as he got her.