LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 84
Chapter 84
Shoo-shoo-shoong, boom!
Whoosh!
Outside, the sounds of a fierce battle were raging, but inside…
“Snap out of it, Kamon! Hey!”
Slap, slap!
Princess Francia, paying no heed to the situation outside, was frantically slapping Kamon, who still had her in his arms.
“…”
But Kamon Vade, already unconscious, showed no response to her actions.
“You’re not dead, right? Hey, you’re just trying to scare me, aren’t you? Don’t do this. Wake up! Kamon Vade, open your eyes!”
Whack, whack!
No matter how much she shouted or hit him, Kamon showed no signs of waking up, causing Princess Francia to finally look desperate.
“Please don’t do this. You can’t die like this.”
“…”
She had never liked him, not even once, and she never wanted to see his face. He was the very person who had attacked her in the past, causing her to relive her traumas.
She had tried everything to get rid of him from her sight.
But…
‘This isn’t how I wanted it to end.’
No matter the past, he had rushed to save her. It was not right to let someone who tried to save her die.
She never wanted him dead, only gone from her sight.
“Fuck, are you really dead? You’re not, right? You can’t be.”
Whack!
“Kamon Vade. Wake up! Open your eyes, please!”
As she shouted, even swearing, which she usually never did, Kamon let out a faint groan.
“Ughhh…”
The slight sound brought a dramatic change to Princess Francia’s tone.
“Kamon! Kamon Vade! You can’t die like this. Ha, haha.”
Princess Francia let out a hollow laugh, feeling a strange knot inside her loosen.
She then lightly hit Kamon’s chest.
Whack! Whack!
“Ha, really, why do you always… Never mind, you’re alive. That’s all that matters.”
Mumbling to herself, Princess Francia recalled the recent events.
The surge of tension and fear had caused her long-forgotten trauma to resurface, plunging her into a nightmare.
She had managed to recover quickly, but…
‘Maybe I showed another foolish side of myself.’
She might have shown a side of herself she never wanted anyone to see.
But…
‘Well, does it matter now?’
Looking at Kamon’s face, Princess Francia had that thought for a moment before shaking her head vigorously.
‘Why was I in his arms in the first place?’
She had countless questions she wanted to ask Kamon if he woke up.
Just then…
Creak!
“What is this place? A chapel?”
“Search the area. They might be hiding here. Also, find the princess and the student.”
“Call the third squad and the South Gate guards. Form a perimeter and don’t let anyone escape.”
Hearing the sound of the door opening and the conversation that followed, Princess Francia recognized them as academy guards.
“Here! We’re here!”
“That voice… Is it the Princess?!”
“Yes, it’s Francia. Hurry, help us. There’s an injured person here!”
Her urgent voice prompted a quick response from the guards.
“Quickly, call for the rescue team!”
“The princess is buried here! Get people over here now!”
“Injured person? Princess, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. But someone here is in critical condition. Please hurry!”
After responding, Princess Francia turned back to Kamon, slapping his cheek again.
Slap!
“Kamon, wake up. We can’t stay here like this.”
“Ugh…”
Kamon still only let out faint sounds, unable to regain full consciousness. Princess Francia spoke more firmly than ever.
“…You won’t die here. I won’t let that happen.”
* * *
“Ugh…”
I woke up with a feeling of my whole body being shattered.
“Oh? Kamon, are you okay?!”
“Get someone over here!”
A white ceiling, and familiar voices.
“Bren? Elliot?”
“Yes, Kamon. It’s us. Can you see us clearly? Can you hear us?”
“Yeah, I can hear and see you clearly.”
“Phew, thank goodness.”
At that moment.
Creak!
“Is he awake? Where is he?”
The door suddenly burst open, and another familiar voice was heard.
“Oh, Lady Cecilia. We were just…”
“Step aside for a moment.”
Pushing past Bren and Elliot, Lady Cecilia approached.
“Kamon, are you alright?”
“…”
I was momentarily at a loss for words at the sight of Lady Cecilia’s face so close to mine.
“Why aren’t you answering? Can’t you hear us? We need to get a doctor, or maybe a priest…”
As she rambled in a panic, Bren quickly waved his hand.
“No, Lady Cecilia. He can hear us. He just spoke to us.”
“This guy, pretending to be sick in front of the lady again? Hey, Kamon. Stop fooling around.”
Tap!
“Ouch!”
As Elliot lightly tapped my body, I felt immense pain and couldn’t help but scream.
Lady Cecilia glared at Elliot with anger.
“Are you crazy?!”
“Ah, no. I mean, I just…”
Elliot, who had never been scolded by Cecilia before, was thoroughly shocked.
“Apologize immediately. No, just leave. You don’t deserve to be here.”
“S-Sorry. Alright, I’ll go. I’ll leave now.”
“And you, too. Out.”
“Why me?”
“Just go!”
In a flash, Cecilia chased them out of the room and then collapsed into a chair, looking at me with concern.
“Kamon, are you really okay?”
“…”
After a brief silence, I nodded.
“Yes, I’m fine. But what exactly happened? What about the princess? The attackers?”
“After worrying everyone so much, the first thing you ask about is Princess Francia? How disappointing.”
“Well, it’s just…”
“Don’t worry, Kamon. Everything has been taken care of. The princess is safe, and although we couldn’t catch the culprits, the academy has been thoroughly searched and deemed secure.”
“I see. That’s a relief…”
At that moment.
Whack!
“Ouch! Why did you hit me?”
“Relief, my ass! You’re hurt, and you call that a relief?!”
“Well, I mean…”
“Quiet.”
Lady Cecilia cut me off firmly, glaring at me as she continued.
“Kamon, do you know how long you were unconscious?”
“What?”
“Three days, Kamon. Three days! You were out for that long. And you call that a relief?!”
“Three days? What about the election…?”
Realizing more time had passed than I thought, I straightened up and asked Lady Cecilia seriously.
“Lady Cecilia, what’s the status of the election?”
“…”
She stared at me for a moment before letting out a laugh and shaking her head.
“Is that what’s important right now?”
“Yes, it is important.”
“Haa, fine.”
With a deep sigh, Lady Cecilia began to explain the current situation.
“The election is in two days. Do you know what the current support rate is? Over 80% of the students support Princess Francia.”
“What? 80%?”
What? Why all of a sudden? Wasn’t it fifty-fifty?
“Yes, it’s true. Sympathy votes. Princess Francia faced an assassination threat at the academy. Who wouldn’t feel sorry for her? Sigh.”
Letting out another deep sigh, Lady Cecilia continued, poking me as she spoke.
“The problem is that the hero who saved that princess is surprisingly someone from my election team.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for? Kamon just did what he had to do.”
Muttering helplessly, Lady Cecilia rested her head on the bed and spoke softly.
“But do you know what’s even more absurd?”
“…?”
“I had an incredibly horrible thought. I thought it might have been better if Princess Francia had died. I must have gone crazy for a moment.”
As she spoke, she continued to look at me, revealing her inner thoughts.
“Isn’t it ridiculous? This is just a student council election, yet I wished for someone’s death because of it… Maybe it’s because I’ve been hanging out with you too much lately, Kamon.”
Her bitter smile and lighthearted joke snapped me to attention.
‘If we lose the election, all our efforts will be in vain.’
Why did I join Lady Cecilia’s side and do all this in the first place? It was to win the bet against Princess Francia and get the ring.
But now…
‘One incident turned everything around?’
Damn it, no way. I can’t accept this. If we lose here, I’ll be expelled from the academy!
No, I might even get killed before that!
“Lady Cecilia!”
“Yes?”
“It’s not over yet. We still have two days left. And we still have one last plan.”
“Oh, that? It’s already over.”
“What?”
“Who dared to open our family’s sacred ground without permission? What? An annual school trip?”
“Oh, that was leaked?”
I recalled the final card we had prepared. It was supposed to be a bombshell announcement at the last moment of the election campaign.
The plan was to declare that the ‘Vishran’ hot springs, the sacred ground of the Romanoff family and one of the continent’s top ten attractions, would be open for school trips.
‘Opening a place that only a select few can visit annually to the academy students?’
This was an incredibly bold strategy and the best and most effective promotional tactic that would make anyone drool.
“Yes, while Princess Francia was gaining sympathy votes, Claire and your friends announced it on their own. Without consulting me. It gave me a huge headache…”
“So how did it go?”
“The response wasn’t bad. But what’s the point? It barely managed to keep the support rate at 20%. I never imagined sympathy votes could be this overwhelming.”
“But still…”
“No. It’s over. There’s no way to win now, no matter what we do.”
Lifting her head from the bed, Lady Cecilia smiled a bit relieved and looked at me.
“Although we’re falling apart at the last minute because of you, Kamon… Honestly, I won’t blame you because it’s thanks to you that we’ve come this far.”
No, it’s not about blame. We can’t give up here!
My life depends on this!
“No, Lady Cecilia.”
“Eh?”
“We must not give up. We still have two days left. There must be a way…”
“Kamon.”
Lady Cecilia called my name softly, shaking her head.
“Stop it. The official campaign period is over. We can’t do anything in the remaining two days.”
“But.”
With a faint smile, she gently held my hand.
“You’ve worked hard, Kamon. Maybe you’re a really good person. No, you are a truly good person. It’s over now, so just rest. You need to recover first.”
Her words, spoken with a resigned look, made me shout out loudly.
“Who says it’s over?!”
“What?”
“I can’t lose. I won’t end it like this!”
“K-Kamon.”
What should I do? What can I do now?
Should I go to Princess Francia and ask to void the bet?
No, I could just say it’s a draw.
I saved your life, didn’t I? That should make us even, right?
‘No, that damned woman would never agree.’
She’d probably laugh and mock me instead.
‘Damn it, I can’t just give up and die here.’
Should I just steal it?
Yes, there’s no need to take the hard way. I could just sneak in and take the ring.
After all, I have the invisibility clip that Jamie gave me… Ah, damn it. I used it already.
In a short span of time, countless thoughts and worries swirled in my head.
Then, Lady Cecilia’s voice broke through again.
“Kamon, I’m okay. So…”
No, I’m not okay, you idiot!
Creak!
Suddenly, the door opened, and a large man entered the room.
“Kamon, are you awake?”
“Vice President Obern?”
“Oh, Lady Cecilia, you’re here too?”
Bowing respectfully to Lady Cecilia, Vice President Obern was met with her cold gaze.
“What are you doing here?”
“Uh, well…”
Momentarily faltering under Lady Cecilia’s icy tone, Vice President Obern soon spoke again.
“Princess Francia wishes to see Kamon.”
“What?”
At his words, Lady Cecilia’s eyebrows shot up sharply, and she shouted.
“Are you out of your mind? Asking someone who just woke up to come see her? Even if she’s a princess, that’s too much!”
“Well, that’s…”
“Oh, how frustrating. Senior, just say it clearly. Why are you so scared?!”
At that moment, a third voice cut in, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Rosen Ravenia?”
“Long time no see, Lady Cecilia. How have you been? Well, let’s skip the pleasantries. Hey, you’re okay now, right? Then come with us. The princess is calling for you.”
“What are you people…!”
Creak!
Lady Cecilia, unable to hold back any longer, stood up abruptly.
But I quickly reached out and stopped her.
“Wait a moment.”
“K-Kamon?”
“Did Princess Francia ask for me?”
“Yes, she asked for you to come to her as soon as you woke up. So we came to get you.”
Nodding with a smug look, Rosen Ravenia made my decision clear.
“Fine, let’s go.”
“Wait a minute? Kamon, what is…”
As Lady Cecilia called my name in a flustered tone, I responded with a faint smile.
“We have to see this through to the end.”
What else? I have to see this through to the end, no matter what.
My life depends on it!
______________
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