Chapter: 32
She wasn’t there.
Maybe she had only stepped out for a moment. Or perhaps the room felt too cramped and stifling, and she’d gone out to get some fresh air.
He could have reasoned it out like that—but the instant the hollow air brushed against his skin, Claude’s heart sank heavily.
Jeanne was gone.
Claude burst outside. One of his subordinates who had shown him Jeanne’s room seemed to be saying something, but he couldn’t hear a word. As if in a trance, he wandered through the night searching for only one person.
Was it because he’d heard she was injured and couldn’t stop worrying?
Because Alexis had called her his woman, igniting jealousy?
Or because he felt guilty for having put her in danger through his own failure?
He wanted to see Jeanne.
To look at her face directly, to feel her warmth, to confirm she was alive—to reassure himself that she was his, not Alexis’s. That was why he’d run here without stopping. A communication orb wasn’t enough.
Where did she go? Why did she leave? Did she feel bad about resting alone and go to Laurent, insisting on doing something? But she was injured. Did we miss each other? Or did she go to meet someone else? At this hour? Why?
Questions spilled out uncontrollably until his thoughts became dizzy. Then he stopped.
Behind the lodgings, Jeanne was sitting alone on a small staircase, staring out at the black sea.
“Jeanne!”
Relief exploded out of him, along with everything he’d been holding back. Claude’s voice tore through the dark air, and Jeanne’s shoulders flinched.
“…Huh?”
She rose slowly.
“What is it?”
Was it because her name had been called so loudly? Because the voice sounded desperate? Or because she couldn’t believe the Claude standing before her?
Her full lips parted slightly, and even in the pitch-black night, her green eyes widened like glass marbles.
“Why are you here?”
Claude rushed over and stopped in front of her.
You’re injured—how could I possibly stay still? Just thinking that I almost lost you again makes me feel like I’m going insane!
He wanted to say it all, to pull her into his arms with all his strength.
She’d probably be startled and struggle. Even then, he doubted he could let go. Even now, the urge to cage her in his arms, to press his lips to her nape and feel her warmth, burned unbearably within him.
He wanted to carve it into his soul—Jeanne was alive. He hadn’t lost her meaninglessly like in his past life.
“Hey, why aren’t you answering? I asked how you’re here.”
But he couldn’t do anything.
In his previous life, it had been Alexis’s twisted possessiveness that ruined Jeanne.
If she—who remembered her past life—were to learn of Claude’s distorted desires, old wounds might be torn open and cause her pain.
“I’m supposed to just sit back and watch while chaos breaks out in my territory?”
He had to hide it. Perfectly.
“And it wasn’t just a Megalodon—they said it evolved. As the lord, of course I had to see it myself.”
“Well… that does make sense. But how did you get here so fast?”
“By trying my hardest. Giving it my all?”
“….”
Jeanne pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. She was probably cursing him internally—That’s not what I meant when I asked.
Even so, Claude didn’t mind.
Her emotions were written plainly on her face, and no matter what, it was him occupying that small head of hers.
Unlike in his past life.
“Why are you here? If you’re injured, you should be resting in your room.”
“It was just a scratch.”
“Then why did they say they needed to monitor you?”
“Doctors always exaggerate.”
You’re really going to pretend nothing’s wrong. I saw you grimace when you stood up.
“Exaggerated or not, go back inside. Otherwise, I’ll count it as disobeying orders.”
He wrapped his genuine concern in a joking tone. But unlike his light words, Jeanne lowered her head with a heavy expression.
“Jeanne?”
Did something happen?
As he watched her closely, her gaze drifted back to the pitch-black sea.
“I came out because I needed to sort out my thoughts.”
“What kind of thoughts?”
“…Everyone found out. That I’m the Goddess’s child.”
Whoooosh—black waves crashed in the distance.
“I knew that once I picked up a sword, it would come out eventually. It just happened sooner than I expected. But everyone’s reactions were different from what I imagined. So…”
She spoke calmly, then pressed her lips together before quietly confessing.
“It was… a little overwhelming.”
She stared at the sea in silence. She looked as though she were being slowly drawn into the jet-black abyss, and Claude grew anxious.
“What did you think they’d say?”
Don’t go there. Look at me—right here, not the past. He asked desperately.
Jeanne turned her head, but didn’t quite meet his eyes.
“That a commoner like me had gained power beyond my station.”
“….”
“That since I’m a child of the gods, I should survive on my own.”
“….”
“That since they can’t use divine power or aura, they’ll just stay shoved in a corner.”
“….”
“Something like… that.”
As if trying to mask her darkness, she raised the end of her sentence lightly.
But it didn’t work.
With every word, the furrow between Claude’s brows deepened.
Ah. So those were all things said to you.
Isolated. Losing your family. Fighting to forget the pain. Growing lonelier the higher you climbed. Running forward clinging only to loyalty—only to have the glory you earned torn away.
In the end, you crumbled into ash.
Claude was grateful it was night, and that the torches lighting the path were far away.
Otherwise, she would have seen his face twisted with crawling hatred, his fists clenched tight as he struggled to contain his rage.
“What pointless imagination.”
He forced himself to calm down and spoke as if unaffected.
“The Duke of Loren himself is a child of the Goddess. Who would dare spout nonsense like that?”
“…True. I guess I worried for nothing.”
Jeanne gave an awkward smile. She looked cleaner at a glance—but Claude could still see the wounds that remained.
What could erase those scars?
Should he drag every last bastard who insulted her here and throw them before monsters? You were chosen as the royal sword—survive if you can.
No one would survive. He would make sure of it.
He’d carve the fear she once felt into them until their final breath—then tear their bodies apart alive and burn them—
“They were all staring at me like I was fascinating. Some even seemed happy. One senior said he wished he could awaken aura too, and even grabbed my hand.”
No.
This kind of grim revenge wasn’t what she wanted.
If she truly desired it, she would’ve stayed behind and taken her vengeance herself instead of coming here.
“Yeah.”
Then what he could do was—
“I won’t let anyone say things like that.”
To give her certainty that this life would be different.
“That would be the same as insulting me.”
Even if only this much—he hoped it might comfort the life she once lived.
Before dawn broke, Claude led his knights to a nearby island. He suspected there were still many monsters left beyond the one that attacked Cassis.
As expected, evolved Megalodons were abundant in the area. With Claude at the forefront, the Knights of Loren hunted them down.
Their exploits spread across all of Cassis, making it livelier than it had been in a long time.
“I’ve lived a long life, but I’ve never seen anything like that! His Grace’s sword shone with red aura, and he just sliced through it like he was filleting a fish—and then the sea split apart!”
“Come on, no matter what, splitting the sea is a bit much, isn’t it?”
“What? Have you been living blind? The sea crackled open, and the Megalodons hiding deep beneath had their heads chopped clean off!”
When every sailor who joined the subjugation said the same thing, the people began praising Claude.
“He came all the way here himself and dealt with the remaining monsters!”
“Truly worthy of one chosen by the Goddess.”
“Oh, speaking of which.”
But Claude wasn’t the only one being talked about.
“I heard there’s another child of the Goddess in the Knights of Loren?”
“I overheard the knights saying that thanks to her filling the barrier stones with divine power, the damage didn’t get worse.”
“And not just that—apparently she took down dozens of Megalodons on her own?”
“Who is she, exactly?”
“Well…”
Yes. That person is right here.
Because of Claude’s order to rest, Jeanne stayed in her room until the sun was high overhead. Feeling stifled, she stepped out briefly for some air—only to witness firsthand how the rumors about her had spread throughout Cassis.
They say rumors grow legs…
Feigning ignorance as villagers talked about her, Jeanne stared blankly at the harbor and let out a hollow smile—when someone spoke to her from behind.
“Enjoying the privileges of a hero, Lady Leclerc?”
Viscount Raches approached with a kindly smile.
