Overpowered Archmage Doesn't Hide His Talent C.180:

Chapter 180 The promise that must be kept. By all means.

Every moment was like a nightmare of being trapped in a swamp.

It was a dream of being tormented by a vampire. It was a dream of seeing the royal figures fall.

And in that dream, I was as weak as a leaf blown by the wind.

Princess Aurora had a time when she vowed her goals countless times.

During the eight years she had to spend underground, she gritted her teeth and swore to be reborn.

A determination to not be looked down by anyone.

A goal to stand tall as a princess. Countless things she learned to achieve her plans….

She yearned for a ray of light so desperately that she wanted to become a brighter sun than the one above the ground.

But in the end, she failed.

“Ugh….”

Suddenly, she felt a terrible headache.

Reflexively, she wrapped her head with her hands and opened her eyes.

The crimson barrier was visible again.

The royal figures, including the court mage, were lying on the floor, unable to breathe, and blood was everywhere.

“Ah….”

She sighed.

After checking all the scenes, she realized that everything was not just a nightmare.

She remembered everything she had gone through, and she recognized that it was reality.

“Your Highness.”

“…!”

Then, a voice that was unbelievably cold called her.

Aurora, who was lying miserably on the floor, quickly lifted her head.

The one who saved her was standing upright.

“Flan….”

His black bangs were neat without a trace of disorder, and his red eyes stared at her. His gaze was calm, as if nothing was wrong with this situation.

Finally, he broke the silence.

“This is how it ended up.”

“…Yeah.”

Aurora lowered her head weakly.

“I also know that it’s my fault.”

She let out a sigh that was close to a groan. Her body and mind were both in a terrible state.

“It’s my fault…. My fault….”

Aurora kept mumbling something, but there was not much that was easy to understand.

The princess looked like she was out of her mind.

It was only natural.

Or maybe, she really was out of her mind.

What distinguished Aurora from ordinary humans was none other than ‘future foresight’. But she couldn’t use her ability at all on Reheln Hill, so she must have felt helpless.

But not only was her mind exhausted, she also suffered a huge injury to her body.

It was because of Dusk’s ‘synchronization’.

And the last thing was the surrounding scenery.

As if to fit the expression ‘land of destruction’, this place was a graveyard of corpses.

Wasn’t Aurora the one who caused all this?

She was the cause and the one who had to take responsibility.

It wasn’t that her enemies had died in vain. None of the people who died here had been loyal to Aurora.

Wherever she looked, there was only something that would strike a fatal blow to her mind, and knowing that well, Flan looked at the princess silently for a while.

“Ahhh….”

Aurora slammed her head on the floor. She didn’t even have the slightest strength to lift her head.

She didn’t know what to do, and even if she realized what to do, she didn’t know if she could do it. She was crushed by a sense of powerlessness and lost all her motivation.

She was just endlessly hopeless.

Was it reckless to release the barrier?

No, going back further. Was it foolish to bet with Flan in the first place?

If she hadn’t been greedy, or if she had been a little more careful, the situation wouldn’t have gotten this bad.

“I won’t deny it. It’s all my fault….”

Admitting her mistake quickly was the only thing Aurora could do.

“I should have died with them. That would have been better….”

Aurora muttered faintly.

Tears that had gathered in her eyes finally fell and hung on her chin.

“That’s not possible.”

But Flan denied her words.

He looked at Aurora with a calm expression.

“Didn’t you admit that it was your fault?”

“…”

“There is a responsibility that follows. And it’s not your life.”

Aurora, who had been listening quietly, felt frustrated. She didn’t intend to evade responsibility. She just didn’t know what to do.

Aurora barely murmured.

“Then, what should I do….”

“Do you remember?”

Flan just asked a simple thing.

Looking up at him as if seeking an answer, the man calmly uttered the next words.

“You just have to fulfill your promise. No….”

Flan shook his head.

“You will fulfill it. Definitely.”

“Promise…. Butterfly?”

“Yes.”

“You’re still talking about the bet in this situation….”

“It’s because of the bet that this situation happened.”

Flan cut off Aurora’s words firmly.

“I saved you to see the end of the bet. If it wasn’t for that….”

“…”

“Do you understand the meaning?”

Aurora seemed to understand Flan’s words and not at the same time. But Flan took a few steps toward Aurora, who was lying down.

Aurora was still lying down miserably.

It was funny to think about it. She was a princess, but she was lying down without any dignity, and Flan was standing proudly.

He stopped when he reached Aurora’s side.

“Your Highness.”

The next moment, he knelt down on one knee.

“…”

Aurora cautiously lifted her head. She met the eyes of Flan, who was looking at her.

“I will protect you. As long as this promise exists.”

Flan was looking at her with a very serious expression, and he was also speaking.

“So, all you have to do is say that you will keep the promise, Your Highness. Just one word.”

She looked so weak and miserable in his jewel-like red eyes.

She was a wretched mongrel who could hardly associate herself with the word princess.

“That’s enough.”

“…!”

Aurora was shocked.

He was looking at her without any contempt.

He didn’t care about her appearance, and he was only talking about the ‘promise’.

He made her understand that with his tone and gaze alone.

How could he, in this situation?

“What will you do?”

That short question made Aurora dumbfounded.

“…”

Aurora couldn’t give any answer. But Flan turned his back as if he didn’t need to hear it.

Whooosh─

The crimson barrier was dissolved at that moment.

The unpleasant scene disappeared and the dawn light poured from the sky.

The brilliant sunlight shone on Aurora and Flan as if caressing them.

“…”

Aurora still couldn’t say anything.

But soon she began to nod blankly.

Once, twice, and then the movement became faster.

Later, she finally moved her lips. 𝚏𝚛ee𝐰𝗲𝚋n𝐨𝘃𝗲l.𝐜𝐨m

“…I will keep it.”

Flan nodded his head without looking back. Aurora stared at his departure blankly.

Flan moved away gracefully and began to clean up the remains of the vampires.

Crushed organs, blood, and flesh… They were nothing but disgusting and horrible elements.

Flan didn’t look dirty at all.

Rather, he looked like a jewel that shone more brightly because of the surroundings.

Aurora thought as she looked at his back.

Was he that big?

She couldn’t tell when she looked down, but now she could see his solidity when she looked up.

Then, several people appeared through the broken barrier.

“Your Highness!”

“Are you, are you all right!”

The royal figures who arrived immediately supported Aurora.

She felt a strong sense of exhaustion.

As the tension was released, her body became cold and her pulse weakened.

As she looked at Flan’s receding figure blankly.

Aurora’s vision went dark.

?

She didn’t know how long it had been since she opened her eyes.

All she could see at first was the familiar ceiling of the palace, and the warmth of the bed that wrapped her gently.

Aurora regained consciousness, but she blinked her eyes for a while.

The first thoughts that came to her mind were obvious ones.

How much time had passed? What should she do from now on? How did the matter end?

The old bureaucrat’s voice, who knocked on the door carefully, woke up Aurora who was immersed in her thoughts.

“Your Highness, may I report to you?”

Aurora rang the bell on the bedside with her slender hand. It meant that it was okay to report from outside the door.

But before that, she had something to ask. Aurora moved her steps to the door and asked.

“Hey, how long have I been asleep?”

“Yes? It’s been about a week.”

“A week…”

That was it.

As she repeated the word ‘a week’ in her mind, a thunderous word struck Aurora.

“The matter in Reheln was settled safely. Your Highness, you can rest assured.”

Relief.

Relief.

As she chewed on the word, a sudden uneasy thought came to Aurora’s mind.

If the matter was settled normally, she shouldn’t be in such a peaceful place.

She had a dreadful thought that made her sweat.

“Your Highness, you don’t know how many prayers were made outside… I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Flan.”

Aurora barely muttered his name.

She opened the door with a bang and asked.

“What happened to Flan?”

Aurora was extremely anxious.

For a brief moment, she hoped that the worst case scenario she had in mind didn’t happen.

The old bureaucrat who met Aurora’s urgent gaze swallowed his dry saliva. And the next moment, Aurora’s hope was cruelly shattered.

“I did everything according to what you signed before.”

It was a shock that hit me like a hammer.

“You wrote down the tasks you wanted to perform in detail when you lost contact at Reheln Hill, right?”

“That, that was…”

“Yes. I completed them all without fail. First, I canceled the construction of the magic tower, and I put a lot of pressure on the magic department. All thanks to your Majesty’s firm and decisive actions…”

“Firm and decisive? What are you talking about…!”

Aurora shouted as if she was kicking.

The bureaucrat was flustered and only stuttered.

“Withdraw! Withdraw everything!”

The bureaucrat nodded reflexively at Aurora’s order, but he didn’t seem to understand anything.

Aurora left the bureaucrat behind and ran out of the corridor.

A week.

That period felt too long now. So she was endlessly anxious, anxious, and anxious again.

“The promise, the promise…”

The princess ran out of the palace with all her strength.

She had to keep her promise with Flan.

By all means.

“Huff, huff…!”

She was already out of breath from her chin.