NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 36.2
The promise to protect him.
She had betrayed that vow.
Even amidst the hardships of their journey, even as he endured their scorn and contempt, Hyun Woo had given everything to ensure they could fulfill their mission.
But what had she done?
What had he promised back then, standing in that market with such arrogant confidence on his face?
“Aaaaah… AAAAAHHH!”
Evangeline’s self-loathing and despair returned like blades piercing her soul. Clutching a dagger, she moved to cut her ears, only for Lorellia to grab her arm in shock.
“What are you doing?!”
“Let go, LET ME GO! Let me go!!”
She had promised him.
That she, who was blessed with strength, would protect him, who lacked divine blessings.
That she, who was strong, would shield him, who was weak.
But how had things turned out?
Hadn’t it been her, of all people, who hurt him the most? Who pushed him into suffering?
The arrogance of relying on him, the belief that everything would be fine because it was Hyun Woo, had driven him into despair.
What right did she have to call herself a noble elf? What right did she have to call herself a member of the Hero’s Party?
Consumed by an unbearable sense of self-hatred, Evangeline sobbed and screamed.
“Aaaah! Let me go! Let me go! Hyun Woo… hic… I’m sorry… sob… I’m so sorry… sob… Please… please let me go…”
As crystalline tears fell, she shoved Lorellia aside and once again severed her regenerated ears, which had been healed by Veronica’s magic.
Lorellia, watching the bloodied ears fall, was stunned into silence before letting out a heavy sigh.
She had heard of Evangeline’s deteriorating condition after the Demon King was defeated, but she hadn’t imagined it was this severe.
“Hyun Woo… Who is that?”
“A human man who called himself the Sage.”
“A Sage? A human daring to call himself wise?”
“There’s a report on him here…”
Lorellia sneered as she skimmed through her subordinate’s report.
A human who had not been officially recognized as a member of the Hero’s Party and had received no blessings.
A man of extraordinary abilities who had supported the party and earned the respect of many races during their journey to defeat the Demon King.
His reputation was good, but calling him a Sage seemed a stretch.
“Well, fine. If Evangeline mentioned the Sage when discussing the plague, it must mean he knows something.”
“That’s correct.”
“Good. At least we have a lead. Let’s go meet him.”
Lorellia glanced at Evangeline, who sat slumped in a corner. The once-proud elf was now a broken shell of her former self.
It seemed clear that she had fallen for this human Sage and been discarded.
Clicking her tongue at Evangeline’s pitiful state, Lorellia left the tent, muttering to herself.
“…Tsk tsk. Reduced to nothing more than a lovesick girl.”
Confident that she would never fall to such depths, Lorellia departed. Left behind, Evangeline ignored the blood dripping from her mutilated ears and murmured.
“Hyun Woo… Hyun Woo…”
“Eva. Are you okay?”
“…Yes. I’m fine.”
Evangeline snapped out of her daze at Leventia’s call. She glanced at the corpse of the monster lying nearby, then slung her bow over her back before asking,
“Is it over?”
“Yes… it’s over.”
Evangeline glanced disinterestedly at the relic Leventia held up before turning away.
Ever since the Demon King’s defeat, Evangeline had dedicated herself to one thing and one thing only: slaying monsters.
Because Hyun Woo had spoken of it before he left.
For years, she had killed monsters and lived in isolation, haunted by his memory. But now, she had come to this place for one simple reason.
The plague Hyun Woo had warned of had begun.
And if Hyun Woo knew about it, he would surely try to stop it.
The thought of being even a small help to him was enough to drive Evangeline forward.
“With this… the Church will send their people to the Elves Forest, right?”
“Yes… they will.”
Under the Pope’s orders, the Church’s healers and priests would work to suppress the plague’s spread.
Hyun Woo had once declared that he would stop the plague.
He had never failed to keep his promises.
Yes, he would stop the plague spreading through the Elves Forest.
Even if it had started in her clan, the Wing of Light.
Even if he harbored resentment toward her, he would still act.
Because that was the kind of man Hyun Woo was.
And so, she had to help him in any way she could.
Just as he had selflessly helped them without expecting anything in return, she had to repay him.
To fulfill, even partially, the promise she had broken.
“…Do you think this will ease his burden, even a little?”
Though she had become a hero by slaying the Demon King, Evangeline did not consider herself one.
The true hero, she believed, was the one who had worked tirelessly in the shadows, unrecognized.
Doing this, acting for his sake, was the only way she could alleviate even a fraction of her self-loathing.
“…Maybe,” Leventia muttered softly.
Evangeline smiled faintly.
Though she hadn’t asked for Hyun Woo’s permission, just the act of helping him, even from afar, gave her the feeling that she was drawing closer to him.
It was enough.