Chapter 732
Doo-woong—! Dong-dong! Du-dung—!

A thunderous drumbeat echoed from the emperor’s camp.

Berrick, who had been glaring at Jaret with tears streaming down his face, finally relaxed his guard and glanced behind him.

Jaret did the same. He sheathed his sword, lowering his stance. It was a recall order—an indication that the situation was worsening, prompting a temporary ceasefire from their side. His gaze shifted to Helna, who lay collapsed on the ground, looking up at him.

“Helna, was it?”

“…Yes.”

“Consider yourself lucky.”

Swish.

Jaret fully sheathed his sword. Berrick, too, visibly relaxed, dropping his blade to the ground. He then knelt down, bowing his head, motionless for a long while.

The royal guards, seeing him silently weep, were at a loss, standing watch over their comrade’s back.

‘Damn it.’

Of all places, why did he have to run into his sister here? If it had been in the enemy’s capital, it wouldn’t feel this hopeless. But here, in front of the emperor himself, blocking the path and threatening to kill a Bariel soldier… Berrick instinctively knew there was no way out.

Still, maybe… just maybe…

“Berrick. Get up.”

“Senior.”

He knew it in his head. He knew all too well that he couldn’t be with his sister. That, like that stormy night, he couldn’t save her. No, that he mustn’t save her.

But his body refused to obey. Even knowing that sparing his sister would cause everything around him to collapse, it was not easy.

Tap, tap, tap!

Jaret’s eyes scanned the soldiers rushing out from the camp. Brown hair tied hastily whipped in the wind. It was Eirin.

“Is everyone unharmed?”

“Eirin?”

“Berrick, stand up. The Bariel soldiers are watching.”

Eirin whispered cautiously through clenched teeth. At the same time, she checked Helna and the others’ conditions before drawing a dagger. Berrick tried to block her, but it was futile. There was no malice in Eirin’s presence.

Slash!

“Ugh!”

Eirin made shallow cuts on Helna’s arms and legs as she explained.

“The emperor’s strict order was to save the people of Bariel. Berrick, if this woman truly is your sister, then she is also one of Bariel’s people. She may have abandoned her name and started anew, but that’s not the point. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I don’t… I don’t understand.”

Helna silently watched Eirin’s blade trace her skin. More than inflicting wounds, it seemed as if something was being severed.

Satisfied, Eirin gripped Helna’s shoulder firmly and pulled her up—not with gentle care, but with a firm, unyielding hold.

Crack.

“Everyone has heard the emperor’s command. We cannot let Berrick’s personal feelings interfere. So, we will buy some time with a ruse. This woman was deceived by the puppet magic devised by King Toorun and committed an act of insubordination—”

Helna’s eyes widened slightly. …Berrick, you truly are deeply loved.

“The palace guards saw through the puppet magic and broke its hold, saving all the Bariel people. That will be the official story. However!”

Eirin’s grip on Helna’s shoulder tightened. There was a condition.

“Your sister’s crime will not be forgiven. She must pay for it within two days. If you, Berrick, cannot accept this… then there must be another way.”

Run away with Helna. If lucky, they’d live in hiding forever; if not, the palace’s pursuit squad would kill them.

A crossroads. The emperor’s last kindness was to give Berrick a chance to choose his fate.

Berrick looked at Eirin with trembling eyes. Her gaze was warm yet unwavering.

“It’s alright, Berrick. You are one chosen by the gods, sacrificed for Bariel. Whichever path you take, blessings will surely follow.”

“I… I’m not. Ian is the one chosen by the gods.”

“You did the right thing following Sir Ian, so you are that kind of person too.”

Is it easy to face death? To descend into the unfamiliar temple below and fight monsters for life and death—is that a privilege granted to all? Many are strong like Berrick, many stand for their beliefs. But few are both.

“Choose.”

Then Eirin lightly struck the back of Helna’s neck, knocking her unconscious. If she babbled nonsense, it would ruin the precious chance the emperor had painstakingly granted.

Now, only Berrick’s choice remained.

“……”

Berrick looked around. The dead Bariel people with eyes open. The enemies watching from above. Eirin, Jaret, the palace guards—all waiting for his decision.

He roughly wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

No crying. That’s not how he solves things. If possible, he wanted to save his sister and protect those around him. But if that was impossible, he had to choose one—without hesitation, just one.

He clenched his jaw, recalling Ian and the others who had gone up to Toorun’s capital. The metallic taste of blood lingered faintly, but he didn’t notice.

‘…Past and future.’

Helna was the past, and everything Berrick saw was the future. He had seen the future at the Masantar temple, and he knew how brilliant and magnificent the path ahead was. He wiped away the rising tears again.

‘What have I been living for?’

To meet my sisters? No. He had believed them dead. Then?

…To become stronger.

‘What was I trying to become strong for?’

He remembered the day he first met Ian. The day he went to the desert and fought the Chenryo tribe. The day he sparred with Xiaosi to join the palace guards.

The times when the princes rebelled, and when he faced Rutherford. In every moment, he fought to win. But for what?

‘Ah.’

Right. To protect those precious to me. To prevent the past of losing my sisters from repeating… To protect the happiness of the ‘now.’

Whoosh—

After a long while, as the wind shifted, Berrick finally spoke, as if resolved.

“…Let’s go back.”

To the camp—

To where he belonged.

*    *    *

Splash!

Cold water was poured over Helna’s face. Gasping for breath, she regained consciousness, first noticing the dark interior. She couldn’t immediately make out objects or shapes.

“Sis, are you awake?”

“…Berrick?”

“I was coming and going. Wanted to let you sleep longer, but there’s no time.”

Berrick sat close by, perched on a small chair, elbows resting on his knees. Helna noticed the torment etched on his face—and that the shackles binding her limbs were quite tight.

“Berrick. Please loosen these.”

“Sis. What about Media?”

“…Media?”

“Yeah. She was captured with you.”

Berrick’s calm question made Helna’s heart drop. Like a shameful secret buried deep inside struggling to break free, an unpleasant sensation stirred within her. Berrick raised his eyebrows expectantly, and Helna bit her lower lip.

“Sis?”

“I don’t know. I lost her while being sold off. If she’s alive, I’ll meet her someday. Just like I met you now.”

Helna skirted the question, changing the subject.

Berrick sighed deeply, staring at the shackles binding her. He wanted to free her, but couldn’t. That would go against his resolve.

“Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Selling people.”

Helna stopped struggling and looked at Berrick coldly.

“Ridiculous.”

A clear sneer. She let out a low laugh and added,

“You think life’s easy just because you’re eating well and treated nicely in the palace? Why did I start selling people? Because there was no other way!”

Bang!

Her raised voice drew attention outside the tent. Worried comrades had gathered.

“Do you know what I went through after being dragged away? I wondered why people only prey on the weak. Why can’t they help? But once you get a little smarter, you realize it’s the easiest way to survive. Desperate people will fall for even the slightest scratch on their side. Oh! There’s one thing I’m grateful for Bariel.”

Helna’s voice cracked with bitter rage. At first glance, it seemed like she was blaming Berrick—but she wasn’t.

She was scolding herself. Anger at not being able to truly rejoice deep in her heart upon seeing Berrick again after so long. Shame that she couldn’t sit down with her younger brother and quietly share the story of their past lives. And yet, beneath it all, an unrelenting desire to survive kept clawing its way up.

All these feelings tangled together, exposing the raw, hidden depths of herself she had long tried to ignore. It was so humiliating she felt she might scream if she didn’t let it out.

“Bariel, humans are the easiest to fool,” she muttered bitterly.

“Please, stop it, noona,” Berrick pleaded.

“Berrick, just once—please spare me. Isn’t it too pitiful for me to die like this? You seem to hold an important position now, don’t you?”

Tears streamed down Berrick’s face as he whispered. The more Helna spoke, the more the sister he remembered seemed to fade away.

“Why have you changed so much, noona?”

“People change, Berrick. You’ve changed too, haven’t you? You used to be no match for a few thugs when you were younger, but now you’re stronger. Back then, you wouldn’t have been so torn up over this.”

Of course, back then he would have promised to save her, to give up everything for her. But not now. Just as Helna had changed, so had Berrick. There were too many precious things in his life now.

“Berrick, help me. Save me.”

Though he couldn’t save her then, he could now, couldn’t he? Helna’s whisper brushed against Berrick’s heart like a devil’s temptation.

Sensing his hesitation, Helna sighed deeply and said, “If you had been as strong then as you are now, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

At her words, Berrick stopped crying and lowered his head. Wait… that sounded familiar. When he looked up, Helna’s eyes sparkled with hopeful expectation.

“Noona.”

“Yes, Berrick. My little brother.”

“The me back then is why I am who I am now.”

“……”

“I—I was so sorry to you and the sisters and mom. That’s why I wanted to be strong. So I’d never lose someone precious again.”

Berrick thought of Ian.

If you had been stronger, if you had done better, none of this would have happened, right? Wasn’t that the same dark whisper Crony had breathed into Ian?

He shook his head without realizing it. No. That wasn’t true. If he accepted that, then Ian would be defined the same way: a powerless emperor who was defeated because of his own mistakes.

“That’s why it’s come to this. I’ve grown strong, and now there are so many precious people by my side.”

“I—I, Berrick, I—”

“You’re precious too, noona. But… are you precious to me?”

If I’m precious to you, could you really ask me to save you, to give up everything so boldly? Truly? Tears welled up again in Berrick’s eyes—tears of the last lingering regret.

“……”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. Sorry I couldn’t protect you that day. And—”

He wanted to hear her say it was okay. That it wasn’t his fault. That they could just let fate flow past them, encouraging each other.

Helna could feel that part of Berrick’s heart was coming to terms with it. Growing desperate, she twisted her body and shouted,

“No! Berrick, you can’t just abandon me like this! We’re bound by blood!”

Click. Click.

Suddenly, Berrick recalled Jarrett’s words. If, when he found out it was Helna, he had willingly brought her before the emperor, things might have been different.

What if Helna had told him to protect what was precious to him, even if it meant killing her? Would his heart have cooled like this? Would he have looked at her with such growing coldness then?

“I’m sorry, noona. I—”

Berrick took a deep breath. The sounds outside had quieted. Everyone was waiting for his decision.

“I want to stay here. There are people I want to be with.”