A Knight Who Protects His Enemies

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“Ah… Aaa!!”

That was the moment Vivian let out the scream she had been holding back.

The maids and guards following her blocked Vivian from approaching Kyle.

But Vivian paid them no heed, shouting at Kyle, who was on the brink of death.

“No!! Wake up, wake up, Kyle!!”

Tears, which she thought had dried up, filled her eyes and blurred her vision.

Finally shaking off the maids and guards, Vivian hurried to Kyle’s side.

That spot was the only place with no one tending to Kyle.

Vivian grasped his face from above, pleading with him.

“Do you think I’m going to let you die here? Do you think I’ll allow you to run away like this!!”

Tears dripped onto his face.

Vivian gritted her teeth and held down his trembling face.

“Where do you think you’re going without my permission…? Who do you think you are to leave!! You’re my prisoner, don’t you forget it!!”

Her anger soon turned into a plea.

“No, Kyle… Please… Please… No, you can’t, Kyle…”

Kyle didn’t reply.

He coughed and spat out blood.

“Please… Please… I’ll grant your wish… Please come back… No, hang in there, Kyle… Please…”

Once again, her plea turned quickly into hatred.

“Is it because you feel like you can get up… Is it because you’re scared of losing to Rondore? You have to see it through to the end, don’t you!!”

Pippin and the maids pulled her away from Kyle again.

Shouting in frustration, she was finally torn away from Kyle.

Vivian couldn’t understand.

It was hers, yet everyone stopped her from going to him.

Even if she could realize she was being unreasonable, that tiny sense didn’t come back.

“Lady Vivian!”

At that moment, a familiar voice called out to her.

Balron, Willas, Martin.

Kyle’s closest friends.

Vivian had met them often, and even though she didn’t express it, she thought of them as friends in a way.

“Lady Vivian, calm down.”

Willas urged her to cool down.

“… Calm down. You need to calm down for Kyle to survive.”

Survive? Why would that horrifying word even come up?

He was alive just now. Why had he suddenly come so close to death?

Why does it seem like he’s trying to leave?

Vivian took deep breaths to collect her thoughts.

…Right, it wasn’t him.

Kyle wasn’t trying to leave.

Kyle had chosen to stay by her side despite having the chance.

This wasn’t about Kyle trying to leave; it was Count Korod tearing him away.

Vivian quickly grasped the reason behind this aggressive plan.

Kyle was being a nuisance to him, trying to target her.

With all sorts of excuses added, they’d try to hide this fact, but Vivian knew it was the truth.

Vivian gritted her teeth.

If it weren’t for Count Korod, her future with Kyle wouldn’t be obstructed.

Kyle would want to be by her side for life, and Vivian wanted him by her side for life too.

So it wasn’t Kyle’s fault.

It was Count Korod’s.

“Krellyn…!”

Vivian called out to the surgeon Krellyn again.

“… Yes!”

Krellyn answered vigorously, hiding his agitation.

“Count Korod… can no longer be your backing.”

Vivian conveyed this fact in a grim tone.

The atmosphere in the room froze.

Those who hadn’t known of Krellyn’s betrayal looked around nervously, and those who had were astonished by her boldness.

Vivian said without noticing a hint of caution at all.

“If Kyle dies… I’ll have you executed for conspiring with Count Korod.”

“Lady Vivian, please!”

“But if you save him…!”

Vivian bowed her head and promised.

“… I’ll make all of that disappear. I’ll quietly send you back to your hometown.”

“…”

“The choice is yours.”

Krellyn, who had been frozen, took no time to decide.

He stood up and shouted to the maids.

“Why hasn’t the hot water I asked for come yet?!”

Balron and Willas lightly placed their hands on Vivian’s shoulders.

“… Do you believe in Kyle?”

Balron asked.

“He will get up. Trust… just give us a moment.”

But even while delivering those words, there was deep suspicion in Balron’s tone.

Knowing that was the best option, Vivian could only nod her head.

With tear stains still visible, Vivian went about her tasks.

Looking down at the Order of the Eight Knights strewn about like trash, she asked.

“… Was their identity confirmed?”

Willas, who idolized the Order of the Eight Knights, answered in shock.

“… Yes. They’re all correct.”

Vivian clenched her teeth and said.

“Hand them over to the butcher. Let’s throw these corpses to the dogs.”

The spy Nesto, trembling, tried to advise Vivian.

“Lady Vivian… These are the Order of the Eight Knights. No matter what crimes they committed…”

“They entered my courtyard and killed my guest? Are you kidding me?”

“… The Delum Kingdom will stir up a storm. They’ll find out the bodies of the Eight Knights became dog food. That’ll potentially increase our enemies…”

While Nesto pretended to worry for her, Vivian suppressed her irritation and replied.

“Even if they increase, I don’t care.”

“…”

“Throw them to the dogs. If anyone challenges this decision even once, throw them to the dogs too.”

Soldiers from the 4th Knight Order came out and dragged the corpses away.

The blue cloaks soaked in blood were tattered, and armor fell apart in the processes of being dragged.

The miserable end of the Order of the Eight Knights.

As the state of the Eight Knights was checked here and there, whispers spread about Kyle, who had fought them all alone.

She knew that because of this incident, Kyle’s name would soon be well known.

The undefeated knight Jade Allen’s eldest son, Kyle Allen.

There were murmurs about him slaying a dragon, but this news was something they couldn’t hide.

The man who had killed all of the Order of the Eight Knights in a one-against-many battle.

But whatever title he was given, Vivian didn’t care.

If Kyle was no longer by her side, everything else was meaningless.

Immediately afterward, she gathered the entire knight order.

Baelor, Toros, Morgain, Burgor were all gathered.

“… Prepare the soldiers.”

She didn’t finish by saying to prepare for war.

It felt too emotional to make a decision just yet.

But if Kyle died, who knew?

Vivian clearly felt that she could make that choice.

Sometimes, she amazed herself.

At just 13 years old, she would gag at the smell of blood, but now she was preparing to wage war herself.

…Suddenly, Vivian thought.

Her witch mentor, Elena, had said she would kill one person for her.

She recalled Elena’s words to carefully decide on that target.

Perhaps that target was already determined.

Once she finished her tasks, Kyle’s surgery was also completed.

Unlike earlier, there were no more spasms in his body, and traces of stitches marked him like ragged cloth.

A haggard Krellyn candidly answered.

“… I did my best. But still, prepare yourself—”

“-Silence.”

Vivian closed her eyes tightly, cutting him off.

She was not ready to hear about preparing herself.

“Just… please leave.”

Krellyn nodded.

“… Don’t forget to keep the fire going. His body shouldn’t lose warmth.”

He left the room.

As the noisy room emptied, Vivian was left alone with Kyle.

-Drip… Drip…

Once again, tears fell.

She quietly held Kyle’s hand.

“… Just hang in there a little longer, Kyle.”

He let out a faint breath.

It was the weakest sound she had ever heard from him.

He had never been this weak before, and it felt completely alien to her.

He looked like a flame that could be extinguished at any moment, and she felt he couldn’t be let go.

Vivian felt a whirlwind of emotions toward Kyle.

The hatred she felt—he was the son of her enemy and the cause of all this pain.

The mutual hatred that had ignited during their battles.

Yet, the camaraderie born from being together.

As her body grew, the lust she had felt for him.

And all these feelings tangled together, blossoming into…

“…”

It was not love. It couldn’t be love.

That line was something she could not cross.

Vivian felt a storm of conflicting emotions and gently caressed Kyle.

She softly stroked the strong knight who had always protected her.

His body was so cold.

If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t have noticed.

But Vivian knew better than anyone.

Kyle, who had lived in the cold northern regions, inherently had a lot of warmth.

It was rare for his body temperature to drop so low.

-Swoosh… Swoosh…

Vivian’s worries didn’t last long.

As if it were the most natural thing to do, she began to slowly strip off her clothes.

Leaving only her underwear, she slowly crawled into his bed.

She covered his body with her own warmth.

As their bodies made contact, she felt the coldness.

But even against that chill, Vivian held onto Kyle tightly.

“… Wake up, Kyle.”

As long as he woke up, they wouldn’t have to be separated again.

“We… can’t get separated.”

She felt as if she had returned to being that powerless girl of 13 when she first met Kyle.

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