-Clang!!
Eugene Schneider's greatsword, which had been so badly cracked, finally shattered like glass.
“-Kuuuuk! Cool!”
dump!!
He coughed up a huge amount of blood and fell to his knees, his face pale and his eyes empty of gunfire.
“Eugene! Yujin!!”
Dadadadadadadada!!!
Marianne was also lost in thought.
Because my adopted son, who was more precious than my life, was coughing up blood and collapsing.
So she ran to Eugene Schneider, crying almost like she was crazy.
Crash!!
In front of Marianne's eyes, Eugene Schneider collapsed as if in a faint.
**********
[No, I'm not worried,,,]
It was a voice that clearly showed signs of illness.
But somehow, there was a firm belief in that voice.
What a strong voice.
“This Adrian knows...”
Whose voice was it? It was Adrian von Bayern, holding his sleeping newborn, Victoria, in his arms.
"I know that the Duke will fill the void I leave with even greater love. That's why I can close my eyes in peace..."
Adrian was brought to the brink of death.
To her husband, Konstantin von Bayern, who is worried about her, Adrian is rather reassuring and comforting him.
Adrian, a female swordsman who devoted herself solely to the path of the sword without any thoughts of marriage in order to become a swordsman.
Her innocent heart was opened by the honest man Constantine.
Although the two people did not seem to be a good match in the eyes of the world, they not only pursued a life together for each other, but also stayed together for over 10 years.
So, I thought that there would be a flowery path ahead for the two of them without any worries.
“I should have stopped you... I should have listened to the wizard's warning back then...”
But misfortune struck.
Years have passed and there are no signs of pregnancy,
So the two of them tried to find out the reason behind it.
Then, he met a wizard, and the reason for his infertility was that Adrian was under a powerful curse.
The wizard later said that although the curse placed on Adrian could be lifted, the aftereffects would remain, and if she were to become pregnant and give birth at her age, it could cause serious problems for the mother.
“There you go again... Don’t say that, Duke... I’ve achieved my dream...”
After hearing the wizard's warning, Constantine decided to give up on his dream of having a child.
And because his will was so strong, Adrian initially said he would follow Constantine's words.
But as she gradually broke free from the curse according to the wizard's words, Adrian's wish to be born as a woman and become a mother became more and more earnest.
That was the very reason why she gave up her dream of becoming a sword master.
Adrian, who lost her father at an early age and wanted to become a strong warrior to protect her mother,
Because of that background, on the other hand, what touched her heart as much as swordsmanship was the sight of her mother pouring all her love into her.
Adrian herself, like her mother, hopes to live a life where she can bring a motherly smile to someone.
“Look, Duke... how beautiful you are. I gave birth to you. You are a beautiful life born from love between you and the Duke.”
Blink...!
Eventually, after persuading Constantine, Adrian became pregnant.
After that, I was able to hold such a beautiful daughter in my arms.
A happiness that cannot be exchanged for anything,
But the more Adrian's stomach grew, the more he sensed his fate.
As the wizard had warned, she was becoming increasingly weaker.
Still, such a situation could not make Adrian bend.
As time passed, what filled her heart was not the fear of dying, but the anticipation of meeting her blood relatives.
So, even though she was having trouble breathing, Adrian was happy to feel the warmth of her newborn baby, Victoria.
"Yes, ma'am. She's so beautiful. Our child, born with all my heart and soul, is the most beautiful in the world."
Adrian, happily holding Victoria, was so beautiful in Constantine's eyes.
So I feel a desperate sense of helplessness.
He became a sword master revered by the empire and a crusader looked up to by the Goddess of Light, but he lacked the power to protect his wife's beauty.
Although it broke my heart, I kept in step with Adrian, who was naive and grateful for this moment, forgetting the shadow of death.
“There’s only one thing that bothers me...”
At that moment, Adrian, who was smiling at Victoria, spoke softly.
“What is it, Madam? Tell me anything.”
Perhaps Adrian's reaction was the most welcome one for Constantine.
Because he doesn't want his beloved wife to leave him alone and worry about everything.
Swish...!
Then Adrian looked at Constantine intently.
“I’m worried that the Duke will leave the place I left without filling it.”
What Adrian was worried about was Constantine, an honest and simple man.
In her view, Constantine would not take another wife after she passed away.
“Why should you worry about such things, my lady? It is nothing to worry about, my love.”
Kkoo-kkoo...!
Constantine held Adrian's hand tightly, feeling as if his heart was about to break.
A wife who is truly worried about those who will be left behind after she dies.
And those worries are so real that they break my heart.
That must be why I felt like my wife had been worrying about this for a really long time, a really long time.
"You must take another good woman as your wife, Duke. The life of a Duke carries with it many responsibilities."
Adrian, who has done her best to support Constantine as a duchess, wants to fulfill her duty until the end.
The Duke of Bavaria, who entered the Goat Hand, is a Crusader, a key figure within the Holy See. If he is unstable, the country will be in turmoil and chaos.
So Adrian wants to make sure that the honest man Constantine will not grow old alone.
“I also hope that our Victoria grows up feeling the maternal love of someone, even if it isn’t me.”
Then, she carefully revealed her regrets that she had been unable to express for fear of her husband worrying and feeling hurt.
I wish I could feel the happiness of raising this beautiful and precious child just as much as I felt the happiness of giving birth to her.
But I think it will have to be left as a regret.
Adrian's heart just wanted to be filled in some other way.
"Okay. I will. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. So don't worry at all."
Adrian's smile was filled with deep regret and bitterness.
It was a sight that even Constantine, with his strong will, could not help but break.
Konstantin pressed his cheek against his wife Adrian's pale hand and made his pledge with a desperate look.
Blink...!
She's trustworthy. Her innocence resonated with me, so I gave up my career as a prosecutor and chose marriage.
The choice was right, and Konstantin's innocence would make Adrian and her daughter Victoria happy. With that conviction, Adrian once again smiled like a simple wildflower.
Choooo...!
Adrian's white hand fell in an instant, and like that, Adrian breathed his last.
“Madam! Buiiiin!!!”
The cries of the Imperial Swordmaster Crusader Constantine, which echoed in the place where she had left, were truly heartbreaking.
"It seems our daughter has a boy, ma'am. Isn't that truly wonderful?"
Blink...!
But Constantine's smile, as he looked at the small portrait of Adrian on his desk, still full of longing, was also filled with happiness.
Today, the image of my wife kept lingering in my mind, but since Victoria seemed to have grown up well, I was able to face my wife with confidence.
“Father, are you ready?”
As Constantine was enjoying his free time before leaving for his evening work, his beloved daughter Victoria came into his private tent.
The two men each took care of their respective subordinates during this time, and before doing so, they gathered at the fountain on the wall and had a routine meeting.
But since her father seemed to be coming out later than usual, Victoria came to see him herself.
“Oh! I’m sorry, my daughter! I’ve been delayed by some unexpected circumstances.”
Constantine welcomed his daughter with a warm, yet awkward welcome.
It's a serious situation where the fate of the empire is at stake, a confrontation with the Demon King's army, but Constantine personally can't help but smile.
This is because these past few days have been the closest bond between mother and daughter since Victoria and I wandered the continent together as children.
"No, Father. Actually, I was just waiting, but something came up that required me to go out. I received word that Tyranos had appeared in a nearby territory."
But Victoria, the blunt daughter, started talking about work.
However, it had to be that way because Tyranos, which had been quiet for two months, appeared in the rear of the camp where the Imperial Army and the Knights Templar were stationed.
“Really? Have you confirmed the size of the guys?”
"There seem to be about thirty of them. I believe it would be most effective for our Imperial Knights to suppress them."
“Hmm... What a coincidence that the battle with the Demon King’s army is in a lull for a moment...”
The Imperial Army is already struggling with the confrontation with the Demon King's army, and if the Knights Templar expand their front line any further, there is a high possibility that the Council of Elders, which the Emperor has put to sleep, will tackle them again.
So Victoria leads the elite soldiers of the Imperial Knights to suppress them.
“Be careful, baby.”
As Victoria was about to report the situation and leave for her maternity leave, Constantine warned her in a gentle voice to be careful.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve called you ‘Aga,’ Father.”
Blink...!
Victoria smiled like a little girl at her father's affectionate title.
"Yes, I'd like to call you by that title more often from now on. Just like we did when we spent so much time together."
As time passed and Victoria grew older, perhaps his wife Adrian, who had left him first, was worried about the strained relationship between father and daughter, and so she relaxed it. Now that she was on his mind, Constantine promised that he, too, would change.
“It’s time.”
But, something that would ruin the happy time that Constantine and his wife had finally found after much difficulty drew its sword.
“Sister, I will save you from this hellish life.”
Antoine is a narcissistic sociopath obsessed with Adrian.
While the ominous atmosphere was being created between Constantine and Antoine,
‘Eugene’s penis condition hasn’t improved at all.’
The kind mother Marianne was worried about her adopted son's well-being.