The battlefield was quiet now.
The fires had been put out, the defeated knights taken into custody. The rebellion had ended in failure, and yet—Marianne stood alone,looking at the sky.
Aldric's words kept rolling in her mind
A part of her wanted to look away.
But she couldn't.
Because this wasn't supposed to happen.
She should have been angry at him.
But instead, all she felt was pain.
Fiona, who decided to follow her, standing beside Marianne, quietly observed. She didn't say anything, but she could see the tension in Marianne's hands, the way her fingers curled into fists.
"So you just followed me here,huh?", asked Marianne with tired expression.
"…You knew him well, didn't you?" Fiona finally asked.
Marianne didn't answer at first.
Then, she closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath.
"I did," she murmured. "Once."
And as she spoke, the past rushed back to her.
Marianne and Aldric met as children. They were kids who lost their parents because of war. Because they were the orphans, nobody cared about them,neither of the citizens would fed them.
Marianne had been the daughter of a fallen Senior knight. After her father was passed away from war, she left with nothing but a sword too heavy for her hands. Her home was destroyed, and she had nowhere to go. Only the sword left by her father remains,which was the only thing that she keep the most.
Aldric was way worst than Marianne back then. He did not even know his parents. He also had been a street rat, who lives and scavenged all he needed from the street.
Because of the harsh life of the street and scum district, he was way wiser and smarter than any other kids in his age. He would always getting into fights and always too stubborn to lose.
They spent their entire life in the street, starving to death, and had to endure pain and suffering. And yet—somehow, both of them had managed to survived.
When the royal knights came to recruit, they were among the first kids who directly joined the recruitment. By the time of the recruitment , Marianne was already 15, and Aldric was 16 years old.
The harsh life they faced before really forge their skills and survival ability, That was the reason why among the peoples who joined the trial after the Knight's recruitment, Both of them managed to passed the trials swiftly.
With both of them successfully joined the Knights Order, they started their new life as a newly recruited knights,and swear their loyalty to the kingdom.
The fate was really Made them met again in the same team, a small team consist of 20 knights under a senior knight's command.
Slowly, Marianne and Aldric began to knew each other. They had trained side by side—sparred together, bled together, cried and laughed together. They also met and befriends with many outstanding recruits, and Jeannie Leonhartt was there too.
With everyday training, they made the knight commander, Alfonso Bareno,the same knight commander nowadays, impressed with their coordinated teamwork.Together, they became the unbeatable duo among all participants.
After 5 years of duty as a regular knight, they also made several outstanding achievements.
Because of the amazing performance, and recognitions from another senior knights and the commander, Alfonso himself, 5 knights, included Marianne,Aldric, Jeannie, and 2 other knights, got promoted earlier to the senior knight.
In Vernetia, once the regular knights being promoted, they would met the king in person.
It was King Aldebrand III ,who met with the five of them and gave them their new senior knight's badge.
Starting from that time, there were five new senior knight in the Kingdom of Vernetia.
For Marianne and Aldric themselves, standing together in shining armor, they had sworn to each other:
"We fight for the kingdom. No matter what happens, we Will stand together."
But that promise… had shattered.
5 more years had been passed.
The kingdom they knew had been changing.
The more adult they became, the more they realized that Vernetia had been rotten.
Corruption in the court, nobles using their power for selfish gains. The knights were supposed to uphold justice, but the more they fought, the more they realized—
Justice was no longer clear.
Marianne had clung to her ideals.
She still believed in the kingdom.
She still believed that they could fix things from within.
But Aldric—
He had grown tired of waiting.
The day he came to her, his eyes were hard, colder than she had ever seen them.
"They won't change," he had said. "You know it too, Marianne. They never will. Even the King himself could not do anything about them."
"…What are you saying?"
Aldric had gripped his sword.
"I'm saying that we have to force it. The nobles will never step down peacefully. We have to cut them down ourselves."
Marianne's stomach had twisted.
"Akdric,that's not our duty."
"Then what is?! Standing by while they crush the people under their boots? Protecting this broken system until our last breath?!"
"That's not what we do, Aldric!"
"Then what do we do, Marianne?!"
His voice had cracked.
She had never seen him look so desperate before.
But she had stood firm.
"…I'm not betraying the kingdom."
Aldric had stared at her with cold expression.
"So you think that i am the one who betray the kingdom?"
"I never said that,Aldric. We are knights. Our duty is to protect this kingdom and Its peoples. if you take a wrong actions, too many peoples will die."
It was a moment of silence between them, until Aldric finally sighed heavy.
"You're too naive, Marianne. Soon you will realize that i was right, and you will regret everything you said today."
Without anymore words, Aldric walked away without looking at her.
And in that moment, she had known.
The boy she had spent 10 years together with,the knight she had trusted with her life, was already gone.
Marianne opened her eyes, the weight of the past settling on her chest like an iron chain.
She always thought about Aldric. Looking at him tonight, he was still the same as the boy she had once called her one closest friend.
Her hands clenched.
"…I should have stopped him earlier," she whispered.
Fiona glanced at her, sensing the pain in her voice.
"You still care about him," she noted.
Marianne let out a harsh laugh.
"Of course, I do."
She looked away.
"And that's what makes it hurt for me."
Fiona, despite her usual sarcasm and playful attitude as an Archdemon, didn't mock Marianne.
She didn't offer empty words.
Instead, she simply said one thing.
"…You did what you thought was right."
Marianne's shoulders tensed.
"And what if I was wrong?"
Fiona sighed.
"Then you'll figure it out. That's what being human means."
For a moment, Marianne simply stared at her.
Then, to Fiona's surprise—Marianne let out a small, tired chuckle.
"…Since when were you so wise like this?"
Fiona smirked. "I'm full of surprises, you know?"
A pause.
Then—
"…Thank you, Jeannie, or whoever you are."
Fiona blinked.
It was quiet, soft—barely above a whisper.
But it was genuine.
And for the first time since the battle ended—Marianne looked lighter.
The rebellion had been stopped.
Aldric had fallen.
But the scars of battle remained.
As Fiona and Marianne stood together, watching the morning sun rise over the battlefield, they both knew—
This wasn't the end.
It was only the beginning.