ALL NOVEL Chapter 243
“Excuse me, it’s the rendezvous point!”
Defeating the Demon King and escaping the Demon King’s castle didn’t mean our journey was over.
The castle was collapsing, and many were trapped beneath it, but there were still plenty of Demon King’s troops left, which meant a lot of enemies we had to fight through.
“Hero party, over here!”
The Mage unit that had followed us was setting up a gate nearby and standing by. We dashed into the gate with all our might, leaving the pursuing remnants of the Demon King’s army behind.
“Oops.”
I tripped over my own foot and fell. I rolled onto the ground with Acella.
When I looked back, I saw the party members and the Mage unit entering through the gate one after another. As soon as the last member passed through, the magic was released, and a waiting knight swung a hammer with all his might, destroying the gate.
“Did we make it back?”
“Yeah, we’re back… huh.”
Acella murmured in disbelief as I held her. I was half stunned myself, but seeing the bright sun overhead made me realize it was all over.
“Phew. Your Majesty, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Lars, how about you?”
“I’m all good. Still, just in case, we should do a checkup…”
Acella wrapped her arms around my waist, intertwining her fingers together as if she would never let go again.
“Lars.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“There’s something I promised myself to do as soon as I made it back.”
“Can’t we talk about it once we stand up?”
“Just hear me out.”
Acella met my gaze directly. At that moment,
“Welcome back sincerely, Baine.”
A voice from above made us both look up.
Heike was bowing toward us, blocking the sunlight.
Only then did I gain the leisure to glance around. It was a familiar sight. The Imperial Family.
Heike, along with the waiting knights, were all staring at us.
We had returned to the Empire.
Thinking about it, the Imperial Knights must have had to guard us here just in case of any mishaps.
“Hmm.”
I turned to Acella.
“Shall we postpone it for later?”
Acella glared at Heike with a pout and shook off her attire.
*
The healer from the Inner Palace immediately surrounded the Hero party. I finally got to meet Chloe and the other doctors from the Moonlight Palace after a long time.
“G-G-Gothberg-sensei?! I heard Faust-sensei was coming!”
Chloe burst into tears upon seeing me, making it impossible to conduct a proper examination.
While I was receiving treatment, I examined Acella together with the doctors.
It felt natural since it was something I was most used to doing.
I also wanted to do it.
After finishing the initial treatment, I finally had a moment to talk with her alone.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry for not disclosing my identity earlier. I didn’t intend to keep it from you, but due to personal circumstances…”
“Yeah. You were beside me to protect me, right? I understand.”
Acella’s tone was gentle.
Hmm… it wasn’t my intention from the start, but well.
If she says she’s not angry, then it should be okay.
“You mentioned that you had something to say earlier.”
“Ah, yes.”
“May I ask you a few questions first?”
I sat across from her, and Acella looked slightly tense.
“I heard from the Demon King. That you can use the same magic as him.”
Acella bit her lip and averted her gaze.
“I thought you joined the party because of the succession ceremony. But it seems that wasn’t the case. What did you see that made you support yourself into such a dangerous situation?”
“Lars, I…”
Acella took my hand.
She slowly began to speak.
“…I wanted to see you.”
“…Please continue.”
“I didn’t want it to be casual. I… didn’t want you to look at me with fear.”
“Your Majesty can be a bit scary.”
“Really.”
Acella smacked my arm playfully, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Did you see everything?”
Acella nodded slowly.
So that’s how it was.
Now I understood why she had been acting that way all this time.
“Thank you.”
At my gratitude, Acella’s anxious expression disappeared in an instant.
She flashed a mild smile.
Where did that obstinate and arrogant princess go? It was quite a sight.
“Thanks to you, I was able to come this far.”
I said as I held her hand.
“I will make sure to pay you back.”
I lightly pressed my lips against the back of her hand to convey my intent.
Acella curled up her body as if she were pulling away, but her smile widened in response.
“Yeah. I’ll squeeze you until there’s nothing left. Be prepared.”
For some reason, it felt different from before, and I found myself looking forward to her words.
“If you want to fulfill what you mentioned, health is a must. I’m not your attending physician, but I do worry about your health.”
I displayed the results of Acella’s examination.
―――――――――――
· Name: Acella von Württemberg
· Health: 13 / 22
· Condition: Mana depletion, health decrease
· Injury: Undiagnosable
· Location: Heart
· Mood: Excitement
―――――――――――
“Your Majesty, your health has decreased significantly in a short amount of time. It may even not recover at this rate. Do you feel any pain in your heart?”
There was something wrong with Acella’s body.
If my A-rank diagnosis couldn’t detect it, it could be serious.
“Heart…”
The moment I mentioned it, I saw Acella hesitate; it seemed she had a hint of what it could be.
“There’s something, isn’t there? Please tell me.”
“…No. I’m fine.”
“Do you think such a lie will work on me?”
Acella swallowed hard, avoiding my gaze.
Was she reluctant to talk? Why? It should have been a natural decision to tell me, being a doctor, and get treated.
If it was something she couldn’t handle herself.
If Acella knew that, then it must have been self-inflicted.
In that moment, her gaze fell to her hair. Her eyes moved restlessly.
Silver hair, often considered a symbol of powerful witches.
Camilla also had silver hair, and now that I think about it, could Seymour’s white hair be more accurately described as silver?
‘It certainly has something to do with magic.’
Acella had been away from me for three years.
Of course, she was an exceptional being capable of wielding 8th-level magic, but it was also true that she lacked talent now.
To have developed her skills to the point of freely handling 7th-tier magic within just three years…
‘The last time I saw Seymour.’
Acella hadn’t mentioned any concerns about her magical abilities since then.
The conclusion was reached.
I grabbed Acella’s shoulders and asked,
“Your Majesty.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“What did you sacrifice as a price?”
Her face turned pale at my question.
I was sure of the answer.
“Did you age your heart every time you used a high-tier magic?”
“That’s…”
Acella clutched at my sleeve, looking as if she were a child who had made a mistake.
“…Lars, I’m s-sorry.”
From her reaction, I could predict enough.
It was quite shocking, but I took a deep breath and patted her back to calm her down. She was probably more anxious than I was right now.
She had overexerted herself for my sake.
I needed to take responsibility and fix this.
“It’s okay. We’ll find a way. Heart transplant surgery still requires more research and has a high level of difficulty, but I’m sure we’ll…”
“That’s not going to work.”
Acella shook her head.
“…What I did was more like renting talent to pay a price. Lars, do you know what the cost of talent is?”
“It’s a law of the world. Something that can’t be replaced by anything.”
The health I sacrificed in exchange for the arts of medicine and alchemy couldn’t be healed through logic. The cost can’t be offset unless one borrows the power of the mysteries.
Acella steeled herself and confessed to me.
“I sacrificed my lifespan.”
I was left speechless by her answer.
Acella, too, could only watch me apprehensively. For her to act so impulsively without considering the implications was indeed unlike her.
It probably meant that I was an exception. To the point where she couldn’t think rationally.
“Hmm.”
I knew what I had to do.
I immediately moved to the table and opened my item box.
“Lars, what are you doing?”
“Have you heard of an elixir?”
“Elixir… I’ve seen it in papers. It’s the legendary potion that alchemists have tried to create since ancient times, right? They say drinking it grants eternal life.”
“Yes. I’m going to make it now.”
I pulled out the ingredients from my item box.
“Blood of the Demon King, Dragon Scale of the Ancient Dragon, Branch of the World Tree.”
There was plenty of each ingredient. Even if I failed, I had about three chances left to try.
I drew the spell formation for [Alchemy]. The combination was, of course, for the elixir.
“Can you really make it?”
“By chance, it seems I can. Quite lucky, isn’t it?”
As I grinned and drew the formation, Acella grabbed my wrist.
“Wait. You really can create an elixir?”
“Well, you’ll know once you try it.”
“Hold on.”
Acella said seriously.
“Are you planning to make me drink that? I’ve heard that an elixir made by an alchemist is said to only exist once in a lifetime. Is that true?”
“Eh, that’s whatever.”
I shrugged.
“We won’t know until we try.”
“No.”
Acella grabbed my face with both hands.
“Lars, you’re sick too, aren’t you?”
Her voice had risen a bit.
“That’s your gathered ingredients, your one and only potion crafted from your mastery. No, it’s a mystery that hasn’t even been recorded as having appeared in history. It just doesn’t make sense for me to drink that.”
“It’s fine. I’m a doctor. I can manage my own body for a lifetime.”
“Is that really true?”
Acella’s sharp gaze pierced into me.
I lost the timing to answer her clearly.
“Is it really true?”
“…Well…”
The scene from the hidden ending flashed across my mind.
Me, having failed to create the elixir and giving up on everything, and Acella who empathized with me deciding to throw away the future together.
It’s true that there really aren’t any suitable substitutes. Can I really be sure that future won’t be recreated?
“Lars.”
Acella called me.
“Let’s not keep secrets from each other anymore.”
Acella conveyed such hope to me.
Her words might have been right.
“Do you have a secret you want to confess to me?”
“I do. I was interrupted earlier, but when I returned alive, I intended to go find you and tell you first.”
Acella spoke to me without a hint of hesitation.
“I love you. Marry me, Lars Gothberg.”