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He had to grab his trembling knees to prop up his injured body, and his occasional coughs of blood caused him to wobble unsteadily. His wretched state shook Carolyn up, triggering her deepest memories.

It was in a dark castle. A young man challenged her time and time again, hoping to convince her to work with him to fulfill his vision, only to fall in defeat time and time again.

“We were also like that back then. I challenged you again and again, only to be easily beaten every single time. It feels like I never stood a chance against you.”

“…Why bother when you know it’s in vain?”

“I know I can’t defeat you in terms of strength, but it’s not in vain. I’m determined to win this battle today and get to your side, no matter how long it takes. I have never given up in the past, and it’ll be the same this time. I’ll approach you until you allow me to stand by your side,” Paul said as he stood up with clenched jaws.

Carolyn trembled. She slowly raised her hand as tears glistened in her golden eyes.

“This isn’t good. Paul can’t last much longer,” Roel murmured anxiously.

However, Astrid continued calmly staring at Carolyn before suddenly remarking, “This should be the last time.”

“Ah?”

Roel was confused by the remark.

Just then, Carolyn’s hand suddenly trembled, causing the mana she had already gathered to dissipate with the wind. Paul capitalized on this opportunity to charge forward with all his might.

Boom!

There was an explosion, and smoke gushed into the air. Paul’s white armor shattered, and he sustained many injuries too. But his suffering paid off this time around, as he finally succeeded in closing the distance between them.

Time stopped as their eyes met, as the two who had sworn to never turn their back on each other reunited after a thousand years. The man wrapped Carolyn in his arms before they collapsed to the ground together.

…

132 times.

That was the number of times Paul had challenged Carolyn, as well as the reason Astrid was confident that this was the last time.

A thousand years ago, in a dark castle, the man named Charles Ackermann fell in love with a woman who hated him to the core. He had initially approached her to seek her aid in attaining the crown, but a single glance was all it took for him to fall for her.

It was on a starless night that Carolyn first impassively appeared before him. She wore a black dress reminiscent of a graceful butterfly under the moonlight, and her golden eyes reflected the only light in the castle.

That light sparked a raging flame in Charles’ heart, fueling his decades of determination. To get closer to her, he desperately studied and trained to amass strength.

But as he gained a deeper understanding of their clans’ histories, as well as humankind’s plight and the Twilight Sages Assembly, he found another dream surfacing in his heart—he wished to bring back the golden days of humankind.

It was such an ambitious dream that many would have scoffed at its impracticality. However, he didn’t give up on it and continued working toward it.

In the day, he dragged his body covered in injuries around and studied hard. At night, he rushed to the dark castle to fulfill their ‘date’. Most people would have thought that he was living his life in agony, but he thought that he was living quite a fulfilling life.

Nobles who noticed his potential began gathering around him, to the point where he didn’t need her help to win the throne anymore. Even so, he continued to work hard for his ambitious dream and his love that only deepened with time.

It was around then that he learned about the final plan formulated by the Ardes hundreds of years ago. He further built upon that in hopes of shattering the Sword of Damocles that had been floating above humankind for thousands of years.

And this only made him desire her more.

But the feud of blood between their clans was an obstacle that couldn’t be overcome. He vividly felt that each time he was beaten to the ground.

Nevertheless, he didn’t give up. It only made him more determined. His efforts paid off, as the bottomless hatred she harbored for the Ackermanns was finally quelled after 132 vicious battles, creating hope for a joint future between them.

The number Astrid had mentioned reminded Roel about the story between Charles and Carolyn, and he widened his eyes in realization. “I see. Is that the reason you said it’s the last time?”

He felt sentimental looking at the two people collapsed on the ground.

Carolyn might be obstinate and pragmatic, but there were people whom she cared about too. She wasn’t truly cold-hearted.

Astrid nodded and replied, “Charles might have broken his promise, but the decades of feelings they share wouldn’t fade that easily. Someone as strong-willed as Carolyn doesn’t fall in love easily, but they fall in deep when they do. She would have killed Paul right away if she truly hated Charles.”

“I see… but do they really have to do it 132 times?” Roel asked with twitching cheeks as he looked at Paul’s bloodied body.

Much to his surprise, Astrid vehemently nodded and said, “Of course! Charles broke his promise! I wouldn’t have let him off if he doesn’t show that bit of sincerity, let alone Carolyn!”

“I see…”

Roel was left even more curious about Charles and Carolyn’s relationship, but before he could enquire deeper into it, Antonio suddenly returned with the unconscious Alicia. He quickly rushed forward to check on her.

The two of them had expended so much mana in their final clash that neither of them had the strength to manifest their ancient gods anymore. Grandar and the others disappeared shortly after the clash, and Edavia was no exception.

The problem was that Edavia was escaping with Alicia then.

Upon learning about the situation, Antonio, who had encountered the two of them earlier and knew the direction they had headed in, volunteered to look for Alicia. After spending some time searching the vicinity, he finally found her and brought her over.

Roel quickly inspected Alicia’s condition, and he was relieved to see that her body was fine and her jolted soul had mostly settled down.

In contrast, Antonio was much more worried about Roel, as he was in a far worse condition.

“Roel, do you want to take a rest?”

“Not now. I don’t think I can get up anytime soon if I rest now,” Roel replied with a bitter smile. He looked at the two elders before him and grimly asked, “Ancestor Astrid, Principal Antonio, may I ask a question?”

“What is it?”

“What’s the exact details of the Ascarts’ final plan a thousand years ago?”