The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 46

White Wood Duke.

Laxid Anavesia.

The execution she declared.

I had long known that the Empire had a system for executing those imbued with mysteries.

There had been an incident in the Empire’s distant past where someone with a mysterious power went berserk, causing casualties on a city-wide scale.

Because of that, the Empire strictly managed mysteries.

But even so, I didn’t expect her to so abruptly declare an execution.

‘She didn’t even mention the death penalty to Lucas.’

Yet with me, it’s the first thing she brings up.

“…Am I going to be executed?”

When I asked boldly, White Wood Duke’s attendant standing beside her raised an eyebrow.

The attendant’s gaze was sharp, scolding.

It seemed my lack of courtesy and blunt question had offended them.

But considering I might be executed any moment, manners seemed pointless.

White Wood Duke smiled faintly.

Her smile, for no reason at all, sent a wave of unease through me.

“Of course, even under the Empire’s criminal law, there are exceptions.”

In every world, there are those who stand above the law.

And in the Blazing Butterfly arc, White Wood Duke was one of them.

A living testament to the Empire’s history.

Before her eyes, countless laws had vanished and reappeared time and again.

At this point, laws held little significance for her.

“Like me, for instance.”

Those imbued with mysteries.

White Wood Duke was among them.

Her mystery: White Wood.

Once, it was the largest, most vibrant tree in the world.

But when the Archdemon intervened, the tree was destroyed and reborn as the mysterious White Wood.

The woman standing before me had single-handedly stopped this White Wood.

White Wood had posed a threat to the very survival of the Empire and countless kingdoms.

The one who stopped it, White Wood Duke, was one of the world’s most renowned heroes.

“The Hero’s Special Law.”

I had expected her to bring it up.

“It applies to those who did not willingly absorb a mystery but gained it while opposing one.”

White Wood Duke placed both hands on her hips.

“And it’s also a law I enacted myself.”

White Wood Duke was a hero.

And as a hero, she fulfilled her role exceptionally.

She had personally proposed this law to encourage the emergence of future heroes who would stand against injustice.

The Hero’s Special Law.

This law takes precedence over most others, except for a few clauses closely tied to the Imperial family.

It reflects the Empire’s high regard for her.

“The birth of heroes must be encouraged. The world is always battling the great Archdemon. It would be a national tragedy if envy or jealousy caused a hero to fall.”

As she explained the law’s purpose, she stepped toward me.

“So, boy.”

White Wood Duke’s lips curled into an eerie smile.

Her transparent eyes glimmered as she stared right through me.

“Are you a hero? Or a criminal condemned to death?”

Will I be a hero under the Hero’s Special Law?

Or a criminal executed under the Empire’s laws?

She forced me to make a choice.

My lips remained silent.

I knew exactly what answer White Wood Duke wanted from me.

“I am too insignificant to call myself a hero.”

To be precise, I have only been pretending to be a hero.

This world is a realization of the Blazing Butterfly arc, a story I’ve played countless times.

I have no grand ideals here.

I’m simply scrambling for my life because, if this world is destroyed, I’ll die with it.

The countless bad endings embedded in this world lead to its collapse.

If I want to survive, I have no choice but to act.

The real hero, Lucas, is dead.

That leaves me, who stands in his place, as nothing more than a fake hero.

“I lack the resolve to truly embody heroism, yet the world is too chaotic for me to stand by without purpose.”

The Empire is currently fracturing under a fierce succession battle.

The First Prince’s faction and the Third Princess’s faction.

Their ruthless rivalry has drenched the Empire in blood.

But the Empire must not collapse.

It bears the burden of solving colossal problems, including the Demonic Palace.

If the Empire falls, the world will rapidly spiral into ruin.

“More importantly, I know that heroes are not made by their own will.”

Lucas walked a heroic path.

Never once did he exalt himself in pursuit of becoming a hero.

Instead, countless others witnessed his heroic deeds, admired him, revered him, and chose to walk alongside him.

To me, that is what a hero truly is.

A fabricated hero is nothing more than a paper doll.

“That is why I cannot yet call myself a hero.”

A hero must be called such by others.

Claiming the title for oneself is meaningless.

“Pfft.”

White Wood Duke, reflecting on my words, suddenly began to laugh.

Her attendant quietly stifled a sigh at the sight.

“Hahahahahahaha!”

White Wood Duke covered her mouth, bursting into a boisterous, hearty laugh befitting a hero.

After a long while, she finally looked back down at me.

“Interesting. That word—‘yet.’”

She had keenly picked out the key point in what I said.

Her face lit up with a wide smile.

“Boy, you’re right. A hero is not something one declares oneself to be. It’s a position that, before you know it, emerges naturally as people speak of you.”

It seemed she found my response to her liking.

“It’s as if you looked straight into my thoughts and said exactly what I wanted to hear.”

Her perceptiveness was sharp.

“Then, am I to be executed now?”

When I asked again, she snorted dismissively.

“Boy, the Hero’s Special Law applies to you. Even if you are merely a would-be hero.”

She had already investigated everything I had done.

The mysterious force known as the Steel Empress, which had seized control of the Great Forest of Spirits.

To stop it, I had thrown myself into the fight.

At least, that’s how the reports described it.

“Above all, regardless of your intent, you have not used the mystery you possess for corrupt purposes.”

This referred to my confrontation with the Apostle and the Forest Keeper in the Gray Forest.

All the deeds I had painstakingly accumulated had led me to this moment.

None of it had been in vain.

The scenario is the force that drives a story.

When the story follows the scenario, the outcomes naturally align.

“So, boy, you will not be executed.”

I had been tense because things seemed to be diverging slightly from the original scenario.

Thankfully, my life was spared.

“And, boy, there is one more peculiar clause in the Hero’s Special Law. It’s the reason I came here today.”

My fists clenched tightly.

At last, the moment had arrived.

This was what I had worked so hard to capture White Wood Duke’s attention for.

“It’s a law I personally created to encourage heroes and aspiring heroes.”

It felt as though a radiant white tree had blossomed behind White Wood Duke.

The tree seemed to glow with a halo of light.

White Wood Duke smiled, her gaze toward the young aspiring hero softened with a touch of kindness.

“Boy, speak your desire.”

The Hero’s Special Law.

Within it lies a declaration that as long as White Wood Duke lives, she will personally grant a reward.

To me, someone qualified under this law, she offered the chance to state my wish.

A hero with authority rivaling that of the emperor himself.

Her offer to grant a wish encompassed nearly anything one could imagine.

Swallowing hard, I lifted my head.

“I…”

Then, I told her what I needed most.

* * *

After White Wood Duke left with a faint laugh, I too exited the hospital room.

Maybe it was thanks to resting well during my recovery period, but my body seemed to have regained some strength.

As I walked, I passed by several other hospital rooms.

Then, suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.

One of the rooms bore a name I recognized.

Nikita Cynthia.

The room was silent.

Was she asleep?

‘No, that wouldn’t be like her.’

I raised my hand and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock-

The sound echoed twice, but there was no response.

“Nikita, senior.”

I quietly called her name, and from inside, I sensed movement.

“…Junior?”

Thankfully, she recognized it was me and responded.

I slowly opened the door and saw Nikita sitting on the edge of the bed.

She stared blankly at me for a moment, then flinched and hastily hid whatever she had been holding.

It was a letter, but I pretended not to notice.

“How are you feeling?”

Nikita had collapsed due to malnutrition and overwork.

When I asked about her condition, she flinched again and forced a smile.

“Fine.”

My eyes drifted to a sandwich sitting on the drawer beside her bed.

The sandwich had a single bite taken out of it.

This was the result of all her effort.

Even though she couldn’t eat a thing.

She had tried to take at least one bite, likely out of consideration for what I had brought her.

That realization made my heart ache even more.

“You’re not fine at all.”

I quietly gathered up the sandwich.

The summer heat meant it would spoil quickly if left out like this.

Even as I moved, Nikita’s face remained blank.

It was as though she had just heard some devastating news.

“Senior?”

“Ah, yeah…”

Her response to my call was weak and listless.

She stumbled as she tried to rise from the bed.

When I hurried to support her, she waved me off.

“I’m fine. Really, I’m fine, Junior.”

“But—”

“Junior, I have a favor to ask.”

Nikita spoke, her face trembling.

“I want to be alone right now. Could you leave me be for a while? You’re kind, so I’m sure you’ll listen to me.”

I didn’t press further.

Instead, I slowly turned and left the room.

“Yes, please take care of yourself.”

Even as I left, I burned the image of her face into my mind.

The faint spark of anger flickering in Nikita’s eyes.

I had seen it clearly.

The letter she had tried to hide.

It wasn’t hard to guess what it contained.

The letter must have delivered the news that Nia Cynthia, from the Marquisate of Cynthia, had been assassinated.

And that news had ignited anger and a thirst for vengeance deep within her.

The flames spread.

Unlike with Isabel, these flames would not be extinguished until their purpose was fulfilled.

Act 3, Scene 6.

The Dragon Girl of Calamity.

The curtain had risen.