The Man’s 101st Bad Ending

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The Dead Dragon was a being from legends.

An ancient dragon that appeared long ago and tried to steal the moon, the legendary dragon most feared by the empire, but I couldn’t understand why Arwen was talking about it.

Even if it existed in the past, it was a being from legends that had not been seen for a thousand years.

Wasn’t the mainstream atmosphere now that it was just fiction?

Even after regressing many times, I had never heard that the Dead Dragon actually existed, so I looked at Arwen with a puzzled expression.

What did the Crown Prince’s blurred mind have to do with that?

“You seem to know about the Dead Dragon. Then the story might be a bit easier. Although they seem completely unrelated, I actually think the connection between the two is quite deep.”

“…When you say there’s a deep connection, do you mean the Crown Prince is related to the Dead Dragon?”

“As I said earlier, this is a speculation I’m trying to make based on my investigation. It may not be accurate, and it could be a completely absurd story different from reality. But… I think the possibility is very high.”

Arwen, who paused for a moment, then placed a piece of paper on the table.

Glancing through it, it seemed to contain the contents she had investigated.

What stood out was the content of a mural located in a southern temple, and as I slowly examined it, Arwen continued.

“The moon of the empire is unique. The full moon that rises once a month in other places sometimes rises twice a month in the empire. The Full Moon Festival is held to coincide with that period.”

“Since the empire was born with the blessing of the moon. I’ve never thought it was strange.”

“…In the past, when the Dead Dragon tried to steal the moon, there was a time when Eden, the god of the moon, tricked the Dead Dragon into stealing darkness instead. As a result, one new moon disappeared, and a full moon took its place. You probably know about that.”

The legend of the Dead Dragon was a story that had spread quite widely like a fairy tale.

Even young children must have heard it at least once, so I had no choice but to know the legend in detail as well.

As I listened to Arwen’s story and thought of the Full Moon Festival, I looked at the contents of the mural again.

It was quite interesting.

It was a mural depicting the legend of the Dead Dragon as it was, but there was a different story than the one in the legend.

“…Resentment?”

“The Dead Dragon is dead, but it hasn’t completely disappeared. The resentment held by the Dead Dragon ultimately grows stronger according to its own will to survive.”

“Are you saying that now that it’s dead, the remaining resentment has grown even stronger?”

“Perhaps to an uncontrollable extent, I think now is the time when it has grown the most.”

Arwen’s words sounded like the Crown Prince was being swayed by resentment.

However, the bloodline of the imperial family was not something that would be swayed by mere curses.

The bloodline of the moon wasn’t there for nothing.

It was so pure and clean that it could purify ordinary curses just by breathing.

Even if it was the resentment of the Dead Dragon, wouldn’t the probability of him enduring it himself be higher?

Arwen also nodded at my question.

But it seemed she had already thought about it, as she soon pointed to another part of the mural and opened her mouth.

“Bear the shadow as you go, but never be swayed by the abyss.”

“Is that an interpretation of the text written on the mural?”

“I think it’s about resentment. The picture before this text is about the Dead Dragon dying. Perhaps it means that even if you come into contact with resentment, don’t be swayed by the madness that resentment harbors…”

If you think about it simply, you could think of it that way.

But why was the Crown Prince, who had nothing to do with the Dead Dragon’s resentment, exposed to it?

Arwen provided an answer to the question I had this time.

“Kaitel’s goal is quite different from the current emperor. Unlike trying to maintain an appropriate balance between the nobles and the imperial family as it is now, he is trying to concentrate power in the imperial family.”

“Is that why he created Icarus? To build his own organization.”

“Icarus has existed for a long time. Kaitel just distorted its purpose. He probably tried to build his own power using Icarus. And up to that point, it was probably his own pure will.”

Arwen let out a small sigh and then held her forehead as if her head hurt.

To summarize the story so far, it was like this: The Crown Prince was being swayed by resentment.

And that resentment, combined with the will the Crown Prince had, was causing things that didn’t need to happen.

Then the things that would happen later meant that the Crown Prince’s mind was being devoured by resentment.

But was that really the case? No, I remembered the look in the Crown Prince’s eyes.

Those eyes that were colder than anything else, showing nothing but reason and no emotion.

There were such reasons, but it was a story that was not convincing in many ways.

If he was being swayed by resentment, at least the saint would have noticed it first.

If it was her, who had been directly granted holy power by God, she would have realized that a special energy was entangled with the Crown Prince.

I knew she had met him recently, but if she still hadn’t noticed it…

Wouldn’t it be more correct to think that the Crown Prince didn’t have such resentment?

So when I mentioned the saint, Arwen said she had also considered that possibility.

Then what about the connection between the Crown Prince and resentment? When I asked, Arwen frowned as if she had a headache and answered.

“…Maybe it’s not resentment. It’s not that Kaitel’s actions are being consumed by resentment, but he might be trying to use resentment.”

After a brief pause, Arwen, who had her eyes tightly closed, added.

“For the resurrection of the Dead Dragon.”

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The Dead Dragon was an existence that stood at the opposite end of the empire.

Since it was a being that originally tried to steal the moon, it could be said that it was an existence the empire could never accept.

Especially since the imperial family had even tried to erase the name of the Dead Dragon from history, it was safe to say it was a complete enemy.

‘…That’s why it’s even stranger.’

Arwen, now alone in the space, narrowed her eyes and gazed into the void.

Everything else was speculation.

Even if there was data, it was ultimately speculation based on that data, so it could be wrong in any way.

So she said she had excluded it, but there was still one ‘fact’ that remained, wasn’t there?

The Crown Prince was trying to use the existence of the Dead Dragon.

The Crown Prince’s secret that she had accidentally learned before leaving Icarus.

It was the reason she had been pursued until now, and also the reason she had almost died.

What would have happened if a person named Robert Taylor had not appeared in that situation?

She probably would have died.

Those assassins, who were now corpses, would have killed her and buried her somewhere no one would know.

No matter how many times she thought about it, it was a chilling memory, but on the other hand, she also had doubts.

How did Robert Taylor find out about that attack?

“It must have been top secret.”

There was no way the Crown Prince would have leaked that assassination to anyone else.

Even if he was a duke, it was something he couldn’t have known, so how did he, who had been practically abandoned by his family, find out about this?

And wasn’t he quite different from the person she had known before?

When she first saw him, she doubted he was a different person.

The Robert Taylor she had known from investigating before could be said to be a gentle person in many ways.

He could be called the epitome of a good person.

He sympathized with the death of mere beasts and was known for taking special care of those around him.

Despite receiving various ‘punishments’ in the family, his nature did not change easily.

Although he was on the verge of falling into a twisted path a few times, it was only for a moment, and Arwen knew well that some of the rumors that had spread widely were quite exaggerated.

He was known to be weak despite being rogue-like, but Robert Taylor was just a good person.

The only problem was that he had such a gentle personality that he was used by others many times.

So even when meeting the current Robert, she could only doubt if he was the same person.

How could a person change so much?

As if he had been hiding his true nature, unlike when she had seen him before, his empty eyes bothered her.

It could have been an act. Wasn’t he preparing to completely change his behavior when the time came?

The ability to kill four assassins alone was not something that could be built overnight.

For Robert, who had never held a sword since birth, to possess such martial arts… just how much training did he have to go through?

If he had really been secretly preparing everything, it was truly amazing.

Wasn’t it as if he had even predicted this entire situation?

He had prevented his own assassination and even prepared to go south in advance.

-The resurrection of the Dead Dragon.

-We can’t know for sure right now. I’ll have to go to the south and investigate a bit more, but the Temple of the Moon is a place only the saint can enter.

-Then I’ll go and find out. I’ll be going to the south in the winter.

To think he had a friendship with the saint. Last time, he was also with Grand Duchess Igrit of the North.

But even so, the rumors about him were still going in a negative direction.

With the background of the North Grand Duchess, the saint, and the Taylors.

What was he aiming for?

After striking down the Crown Prince’s neck, what on earth was Robert Taylor thinking?

If Robert Taylor was also the same kind as the Crown Prince, Arwen was willing to stop him even at the cost of her life.

If she thought he would also cause bloodshed like Kaitel, she would have stopped him the moment he declared he would kill the Crown Prince again.

That’s why she asked the reason. What was the reason for wanting to kill the Crown Prince?

She thought it was a simple rebellion for power, but the answer that came back was unexpected.

-…Too many people have died.

For a moment, Arwen’s expression became strange as she recalled his blurred eyes.

His eyes were calm even when he killed the assassins, even when he said he would kill the Crown Prince.

They didn’t waver at all, as if they were engraved there like a doll, empty eyes.

But it was different when he said that.

They wavered with countless emotions.

As if they would crumble at any moment, as if they would shatter right away, she couldn’t answer to that expression.

Sorrow, hatred, regret, lingering attachment.

Unable to find the words to describe the other emotions, she ended up telling him what she knew instead of answering…

The moment she saw those eyes, she had no choice but to believe him.

As far as she knew, the only person who had died by Robert’s side was his mother, but the feelings he held were genuine.

What kind of wind would the words she had uttered today bring?

Robert likened the Crown Prince to a tiger.

Then he said he was someone who knew how to tighten the tiger’s throat.

What did he know to say that?

As if he knew everything about her, as if he had known her for quite a long time.

Arwen, who barely got down from the chair with a groan, moved her steps towards the window.

The sky that should have been her last time.

But she was saved and survived like this. What would this salvation mean to her?

Arwen just blankly gazed at the sky.

The wind blew.

As winter approached, the wind flowing from the north grew stronger.

That cold wind, so cool and chilly that all the warmth she had felt for a moment disappeared.

After facing that wind for a while, she eventually closed and locked the window.

“Kaitel. Robert.”

She didn’t know what kind of ill fate existed between the two.

But what was strange was that the two were aiming for each other’s throats.

Arwen, who laughed softly, stared into the darkness.

Perhaps the reason Robert was starting to move now was also because of that.

Because he realized that Kaitel was trying to kill him someday, he was also trying to take the initiative.

But how did he know that?

When she found out that the Crown Prince was trying to use the existence of the Dead Dragon, there was one thing she had been ordered to do at that time.

To find out everything about Robert from the Taylor family.

What she knew about him now was also from that investigation, so through that investigation, she realized that the Crown Prince’s interest was in Robert Taylor.

And that he would kill him someday.

What on earth did Robert Taylor have?

Arwen pondered for a moment, then shook her head as if she didn’t know.

It was something she didn’t need to know. As Robert said, she just needed to focus on tightening the Crown Prince’s throat.

The breath she let out again was heavy.

“…Only the time of eons can endure the coming dawn.”

Recalling the last line of the mural, she gazed into the void like that.

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