Volume 5, Chapter 48 – Andrea Fred Alvier (Part 2)

Cutting a small piece of bacon from her own plate, Andrea placed it on Yisi’s plate. Since Andrea ate very little to begin with, Yisi did not stand on ceremony and ate it in one bite, then said in a very calm tone.

“Speaking of which, it seems I haven’t held a proper wedding for you yet, Andrea. Do you want a white wedding dress? Or the traditional black of the Blood Clan? When I passed by the dress shop in town, I made a special inquiry. They said you have to go to the city to try on wedding dresses. Although you’re still small now, Andrea, as long as we pay for a custom one, there should be no problem. You in a wedding dress would surely be so cute that it would be worth me boasting about everywhere.”

Andrea quickly shook her head.

“No, no, it would look better on you, Lady Yisi. There must be a wedding dress in the city that suits you. It wouldn’t be good to let your nutrition suffer by wasting money casually.”

“As long as we both work, we’ll be able to save enough money soon.”

“No!” Andrea crossed her hands into an ‘X’ shape, then blinked, as if she had remembered something, a look of confusion on her face. “Um, Lady Yisi, when I went to the backyard to collect eggs just now, I found that the chickens and the cow were gone…”

“Didn’t I just say? I sold them.”

“Eh? Sold them? Why? Didn’t we just buy the cow the day before yesterday? You said it could both provide milk and plow the fields, and we spent a lot of money to buy it.”

As if considering whether to tell Andrea, Yisi tapped her fingers lightly on the table, a thoughtful expression on her face.

After two years of being together, Andrea knew that this was a sign that Yisi was thinking about how to lie. She stood up, walked to Yisi’s side, and then, while she wasn’t paying attention, sat astride Yisi’s lap, face-to-face. She wrapped her arms around Yisi’s neck, their noses touching, her golden eyes looking directly into Yisi’s blue ones.

“No lying, okay?”

Their lips pressed together in a deep kiss that was not so much lewd as it was full of affection.

The temperature of her breath rose considerably, and Andrea’s chest heaved unsteadily. Although she released Yisi, her gaze did not move away from her.

“Otherwise, I’ll have to punish you, Lady Yisi.”

“If what just happened was a punishment, then I’ll be lying nonstop.”

“You’re too cunning!”

“It’s because you’re too cute, Andrea.” After speaking, Yisi’s gaze moved to the ceiling. In as calm a tone as possible, she said, “Um, Andrea, actually, it’s not just the livestock. I’m going to sell the house too…”

“The house? Why?” The moment the words left her mouth, Andrea froze. Then she bit her lip lightly and slowly nodded, her face ashen.

This was a tacit understanding the two had developed over a long time. Selling the house did not mean they were out of money, but that they had to move to a safer place.

Otherwise, the flames of war would soon reach here. If they didn’t want to be slaughtered by those undisciplined soldiers, they had to move to another part of the Blood Clan’s territory. In two years, the two of them had already moved more than five times.

“…Can we leave a little later? I want to say goodbye to the children in the city.”

“Mm. I’ve already found a buyer for the house. From the information I gathered in town, the rebel army will be here in a week at most, so we have to leave by tomorrow night at the latest.”

Andrea immediately got off of Yisi and turned to start packing. In just one hour, she had prepared everything she could take with her. This was not a sign of her capability, but because she had moved so often, she already knew what was needed and what was not. The things that had to be taken when moving, she habitually kept them together, so packing was very straightforward.

Andrea clapped her hands, feigning a relaxed attitude. “Mm, this should be fine. I’m going to the city now. I’ll be back before dark. Lunch… ah, I’ll make it now. You can just heat it up at noon, Lady Yisi.”

After speaking, Andrea hurried toward the stove. Yisi reached out and stopped her.

“You don’t need to prepare lunch. I’ll go to the city with you.”

“But you’re already having a baby, Lady Yisi…”

“Just how frail am I in your eyes, Andrea? Don’t worry, at least for now, I’m fine.” Yisi patted her chest.

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…

After preparing the things they needed to take with them, Andrea locked the door and stared blankly up at the simple, single-story cottage, which had no redeeming features.

Although they had only lived here for less than two months, this was the place where the crystal of their love had been born. If she could, Andrea would have wished to live here forever. No one liked a life of constantly moving, and this was especially true for her.

Yisi patted the dejected Andrea. “Don’t just stand there in a daze. Let’s hurry to the city.”

“I’m sorry, Lady Yisi.” She should have let Yisi live a stable life at a time like this, but instead, she had to be displaced. It was likely that not just today, but in the future, they would have to continue moving constantly.

If only there were no rebel army.

“What are you sorry for? If we delay any longer, we won’t be able to make it back before dark.”

“Mm. But you have to ride in the carriage, Lady Yisi. I’ll be fine even if I walk to the city.” At the very least, I have to let Yisi live a little better.

Yisi frowned. “Huh? Why do I have to ride in a carriage while you have to walk? What kind of abuse is that? If you’re going to walk, then I’ll walk with you.”

“But it will cost extra copper coins if we both ride in the carriage.”

“I—can’t—hear—you.”

“Mmm…”

In the end, Andrea compromised and decided that they would ride the carriage together.

It was a long way from the cottage to the carriage rental place in town. Normally, the two of them could pass the time by watching the flourishing wheat fields on both sides of the road and interacting in a way that would make passersby jealous. But today was very different.

There were many more people on the road, carrying large and small bundles, their faces haggard. Most of them were from the Blood Clan. Since Yisi and Andrea were both vampires and could easily be exposed in the human world because of their wings, and since Yisi didn’t want Andrea to break her wings and Andrea didn’t want Yisi to break hers for her sake, the two had been living in the Astrid Territory, the last pure land of the Blood Clan. It was quite normal that most of the passersby were from the Blood Clan.

With no mood for her usual lovey-dovey interactions with Yisi, Andrea looked worriedly at the people walking in the opposite direction. “These people…”

“They are all refugees. We need to hurry up too.”

“Can’t they continue to live here?” She herself was moving to avoid being identified by the rebels, but these ordinary Blood Clan members didn’t need to worry.

“The rumor is that those rebels rape, pillage, and plunder, and do all sorts of evil. Plus, there are people from the Empire among them. They use captured prisoners for experiments, so everyone is very afraid of them.”

“How could this be…”

In the past when they moved, Yisi had always reacted quickly, so this was the first time Andrea had seen a large number of refugees. She subconsciously stopped in her tracks.

Looking ahead, the line of refugees seemed almost endless.

Almost everyone had a worried expression on their face. The faint cries of children could be heard mixed in with the crowd. Some people, having been on the run for a long time, had almost no money and were begging on the side of the road in ragged clothes, hoping that a kind person would give them some money or food.

Will Yisi and I join such refugees in the future? It wasn’t a matter of “in the future,” but “already,” wasn’t it? The only difference was between being dignified and undignified.

“What’s wrong?” Yisi looked back at the stationary Andrea.

Andrea shook her head. “N-No… it’s nothing.”

…

Soon, the two of them reached the small town.

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“The carriages are all sold out? There’s not a single one left? We’ll pay double the price! No, even a carriage without sideboards is fine.”

The shopkeeper’s answer made Andrea’s voice rise a notch, but the shopkeeper, who was packing up his things, just turned around helplessly. “There’s nothing I can do, miss. I’ve already sold everything I can’t take with me. The horses, the carriages, all of them have been bought. Seeing that a war is coming these past few days, all the slightly wealthier people in town have come to me to buy carriages to escape. Please go home, miss. I should be leaving too.”

After speaking, the shopkeeper closed the shop door, sat directly on the only carriage parked outside, and hurriedly left the town.

“Should we just walk to the city?” Yisi asked tentatively, but Andrea was silent.

If it weren’t for the rebel army, she wouldn’t be unable to rent a carriage. Or rather, there would be no need to move at all. She could live with Yisi anywhere in the Blood Clan she wanted. She had thought that leaving the Royal Castle with Yisi would allow her to get away from her troubles, but this was the result.

She was much more selfish than she had imagined.

Suddenly, Andrea felt a sharp pain on her face. Someone had thrown something at her.

—A dirty little child. The thing he had thrown was a stone.

“Damn noble!” The boy shouted as he continued to throw stones at Andrea. Andrea subconsciously raised her hands to block, but before that, Yisi lifted the child by the collar of his clothes.

“Are you looking to die?”

“A-A noble is hitting someone! Mama… Mama!” he began to cry.

A middle-aged woman quickly ran in front of Yisi and bowed her head sycophantically. “I’m so sorry, my noble lady. My child doesn’t know any better. He must have seen your and this lady’s wings and mistaken you for those damned rebel nobles from the south. Please, my ladies, let my child go… Th-This is a gold coin to compensate you.”

Extremely anxiously, the middle-aged woman knelt on the ground and held out a dirty, sweat-stained gold coin to Andrea.

Ignoring the woman, Yisi let go of the child and, grabbing Andrea’s arm, left. It was only after they had walked a sufficient distance that she finally stopped and, to cheer Andrea up, pinched her cheek.

“Alright, don’t think about those miscellaneous things anymore. If there are no carriages, we’ll just walk to the city.”

“…” Andrea was silent, not answering.

Yisi asked again. “Andrea?”

“…It’s enough, Lady Yisi.”

I know. This is a dream.

Even if it was made to look like reality, even if she had spent two years in the dream, a dream was still a dream.

She had known from the beginning that this was just a beautiful illusion. If it were reality, it would have been much more cruel than what she had just seen. She had had many opportunities to realize it over the past two years, but she had always deliberately avoided it, indulging in happiness. Today, the time had come when she had to face it.

And it was precisely because this was a dream that she could be thankful that she might still have a chance to change.

If life after running away would be like this, then what was the point of running away? Having no fixed home, living in poverty—she could accept all of that. But to have others implicated—not just these refugees, not just the people displaced by the war, but even Yisi, who had left with her—even the most selfish person would not want to see the person who had always helped them suffer along with them.

At first, she had held out hope, thinking that as long as she didn’t pay attention to the cruel things, she could live in the dream forever. But now it seemed that she was not that heartless of a person.

She was really too weak. But she was also so thankful for it.

Not making a choice, just accepting the outcome, blindly running away—this had always been her way. Because at most, she herself would suffer some losses, which was not unacceptable. But, only now should she not choose to run away. She had understood this long ago, but was unwilling to accept it, because once she started to think about it, she would subconsciously wonder, what had happened to those who had supported her in the past?

Where was everyone from the orphanage now? What had happened to Boris?

Not to mention that life after running away was not the least bit easy. If she had to keep running and hiding like this, it would have been better to face the rebel army from the beginning. Even if she were to be smashed to pieces, at least she wouldn’t feel regret in the future. To put it another way, if in reality, she or Yisi really had a crystal of love, would she feel that a life of wandering was good?

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It was not satisfying. It was far too unsatisfying.

Biting her lip hard, Andrea looked up. Besides the timidity and resignation in her golden eyes, there was also a hidden trace of determination.

“Lady Yisi… let the dream end.”

This time it was Yisi who was silent. Andrea revealed a wan smile.

“You really are a gentle person, Lady Yisi. Reality should be much more cruel than this, yet you only let me see these things—I don’t need them anymore. Although it’s very sudden… no, this day should have come long ago. I should say goodbye to the me of the past.” Andrea bowed. “Thank you, Lady Yisi.”

“…Really?”

“If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I would have continued to run away forever. An ordinary person can choose to run away, but only I cannot. I am the one who inherited the Alvier bloodline… My weakness will bring more people sadness.”

“But you’re not suited to be a queen. You’ll just go back to the way you were when you return to the castle.”

Andrea shook her head. “There are things you choose to do, and things you must do even if you don’t choose them. If this war started because of me, then I have the responsibility to end it. As for those nobles…” Andrea took a deep breath, much of the sadness on her face disappearing. “My mother could do it, so I definitely can too. And, I just need to end the war. After the war is over, I’ll step down, and just like what happened in this dream, I’ll go and live an ordinary life with you, Lady Yisi.”

At this, Andrea gave a wry smile. “But I don’t think Miss Camilla and the others, who didn’t appear in the dream, will agree to it.”

“But with the current situation in the Royal Castle, even if you go out, nothing will change.”

“No. I have a way to change it. I have something that only I can do.”

She’s a lot like Pepe. The current Andrea might really be able to do it.

If she could, she didn’t want to see Andrea change. She was fine just the way she was, that innocent and kind Andrea who made one’s heart ache. But this was not allowed. As a queen, Andrea had to grow up, otherwise she would continue to suffer.

Yisi couldn’t help but ask, “Are you really sure?”

“Yes.” Andrea nodded vigorously, then beckoned to Yisi, making a whispering gesture. “Lastly, I have one wish. Will you hear it, Lady Yisi?”

Complying with Andrea’s thought, Yisi bent down, waiting for her to tell her the answer. But what answered her was just a kiss that was as light as a touch.

“I love you.”

Crack.

The entire world began to collapse. First was the scenery in the distance, then the people around them, and finally Yisi and Andrea. As if glass were being shattered, everything turned into fragments and vanished with a roar.

◇

Suddenly opening her eyes, Andrea woke from the dream.

A familiar ceiling. A magnificent and ancient castle.

She wiped the corners of her moist eyes and got up from the bed. Yisi and a burly man with two horns on his head were standing in the room.

So it was a dream…

Although she had known the result all along, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.

No, I can’t waste time here.

Beating Yisi to it, Andrea spoke while rubbing her drowsy head. “Lady Yisi, is this… a fallen angel?”

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“Yes. The dream you just had was his ability.”

“Is that so… How many days have passed since I fell asleep?”

“Less than half a day.”

Although she had guessed it wouldn’t be long, Andrea was still surprised. To show two years in just half a day was definitely an extraordinary ability.

“What are you going to do next, Andrea?”

“I’m going to the Lost Lands.”

“You already know…? I understand. Let’s go now.”

Andrea’s clothes had not been taken off, so there was no need to change. Yisi walked in front of her, preparing to teleport her. On the other side, Rahab asked in an exceptionally aggrieved voice, “C-Can I go now?”

Yisi waved her hand. “As you wish.”

◇

With the help of teleportation magic, the two of them arrived at the Lost Lands. Just like last time, it was deathly silent. The barren plain was covered by dense clouds. Although the view was open, not a single living thing could be seen.

The undead were hidden in the illusion.

“Don’t go too far from me.”

Yisi habitually walked in front of Andrea, but Andrea shook her head. “Lady Yisi, leave it to me.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Andrea stepped into the illusion’s domain. Unlike last time, what appeared before their eyes this time was directly the army of over a hundred thousand soldiers. Time seemed to have frozen at the moment they had left. The tenth Count Hillary, at the head of the army, had his eyes glowing red.

For the long-lived undead, the process from when she left to when she returned was probably equivalent to just a few minutes.

“Foolish imposter!” His hoarse voice was full of anger. Count Hillary was the first to swing his longsword at Andrea.

“Insolent!”

Without fear—or perhaps it was suppressed—Andrea met his swing head-on with her staff. At the same time, she spread the wings at her waist to their maximum and declared in a dignified, unquestionable voice, “I am the King of the Blood Clan, the one who inherited the name of Alvier, Alvier VII, Andrea Fred Alvier! I now command you to fight for me!”

“Foolish!”

Count Hillary withdrew his longsword and changed his chop to a horizontal swing, heading straight for Andrea’s neck. But Andrea had already struck his longsword down with a second-tier magic, [Spear of Darkness]. Then, with Andrea as the center, a layer of purple light appeared in everyone’s vision.

[Blessing of Blood]. The magic that only the royal family could use.

While Count Hillary was stunned, Andrea smashed the tip of her staff into his neck. With a crack, she knocked him down, then stepped on his chest. “Assist me, defeat the rebels, and I will forgive your sin of betraying my mother.”

“…You… cannot… lift… the curse…”

“The only ones who can forgive you are me, and yourselves. To hope for forgiveness without doing anything, even a god would not forgive you. Answer me! Will you follow me and leave this place, beat back the rebels, and reclaim your honor as nobles, or will you continue to hole up in this Land of Betrayal? I will only give you one chance!”

No one answered.

But the silence only lasted for less than half a minute. With Andrea as the center, one by one, the undead soldiers knelt on one knee. Amidst the clanging of armor, they lowered their heads and performed the rite of a subordinate to Andrea.

They all pledged their loyalty to her.