Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 5

As the snow began to melt in Avril Castle, chilling news arrived.

The Astin Kingdom had declared war on the central Bellita Kingdom. The Astin Kingdom had always coveted the warm and prosperous central lands.

Dehor, upon hearing the news of the war, summoned his family, along with Leo and Noel Dexter, and got straight to the point.

"War has broken out. The Holy Kingdom of Jerome has declared that they will not intervene in this conflict, so our castle must send troops."

Avril Castle was closer to the Holy Kingdom of Jerome than to the Bellita Kingdom. Had the Holy Kingdom intervened, Avril Castle would have kept its troops for defense, but the situation had taken an unfavorable turn.

Dehor's tone was tinged with lament.

"We could live just fine without this war... I can't understand what the nobles are thinking."

A silence fell at the mention of drafting troops. Some of the soldiers from Avril Castle and some of the Ainar tribe warriors would head to the battlefield.

But the real issue wasn't the draft itself. Joining the war was a matter of honor for the warriors.

"Lena... must go to war."

If a great warrior's child was a warrior, they had to replace their parent in times of war, according to the customs of the Ainar tribe. It was a dishonor for a great warrior to go to war while their warrior child stayed behind.

Lena nodded, fully aware of this.

"I understand. It's actually a good opportunity. Earning military achievements in the war will help me get knighted."

She was eager, but Dehor couldn't help feeling uneasy.

His daughter, who had just become a warrior, was going to the battlefield.

He didn't show it, but he regretted taking Lena hunting for those few months. He wished he had kept her from it.

The gathered family members returned to their daily lives, each bearing a heavy heart. There was still time before the departure.

Leo recalled the {Hunting} event. If Lena had been injured by the Noguhwa, she might have been excused from the war.

But even if he had known about the war, challenging the Noguhwa wasn't feasible. The two of them couldn't have defeated it.

'Another {event} where Lena leaves...'

Previously, there was an event where Lena left to become a priest. Now, she was heading to the battlefield. Given that Lena Ainar dreamed of becoming a knight, this was almost inevitable.

Leo couldn't stop her from leaving.

Unlike Lena from Demos Village, who chose not to leave because she didn't want to part from him, this time, she was being forcibly conscripted, and she had no intention of refusing.

After much contemplation, Leo went to see Noel. His father was reading a book in his usual rocking chair.

"Father, I want to go to war too."

Leo, not being a soldier or a tribe warrior, had no obligation to join the war, unlike Lena.

Soldiers' families were exempt from conscription because some of the castle's soldiers were already going to war. Noel Dexter, though a retired knight affiliated with the castle, meant the Dexter family was fully exempt.

However, Leo could volunteer at any time, and he intended to follow Lena.

Noel slammed his book shut.

"No. If you go now, you'll surely die. Absolutely not."

In Noel's eyes, his son's swordsmanship was poor. For some reason, Leo had started focusing on finding and attacking weak points with a short-sighted view, failing to predict his opponent's movements.

His reckless sword swings lacked stability. If he went to war, even if he managed to defeat a few enemies by chance, he would eventually die.

Despite his father's resolute refusal, Leo knelt.

"Father, please. I have to go."

"No means no!"

"Not everyone who goes to war dies."

"You don't know war!"

Noel was well-acquainted with the chaos of the battlefield. His foolish son didn't understand that in war, swords came at you from all directions without warning. While mounted soldiers had some advantage, infantry needed a defensive sword style.

"If you keep talking about going, I'll break your legs. You'll never go!"

Leo was driven out of the room by Noel's roar.

In the end, his father's vehement opposition prevented him from joining the war.

He tried to volunteer in secret, but Noel, as a knight affiliated with the castle, found out and beat him severely. The threat to break his legs wasn't empty; Leo limped for days.

The departure day approached. Everyone tried to act as if it was no big deal, laughing and chatting, but a subtle melancholy lingered in their words.

In the clearing where weeds had started to sprout, Leo approached Lena and handed her a wooden sword.

Lena was leaving tomorrow.

"Let's have a match."

Lena, who had been silently practicing her swordsmanship in preparation for her departure, smiled at his challenge, dropped her real sword, and picked up the wooden one.

"You'd better be careful. I'm in top shape."

Lena raised her wooden sword.

In the tense standoff, Leo lightly moved his sword tip to bait Lena, but her sword followed his, indicating she was ready for a counterattack.

Unable to withstand the pressure, Leo made the first move.

As expected, she deftly deflected his sword. The wooden swords clashed, producing a rough scratching sound.

Lena swung her sword overhead, and Leo stepped forward, striking her wrist with the hilt of his sword. His wooden sword naturally aimed at her chest, but she dodged, trying to kick his stomach.

Not so fast!

Leo sidestepped her kick and brought his sword down with full force.

- Thwack!

The wooden swords clashed powerfully, and they locked in a brief power struggle. Lena's eyes gleamed behind her sword.

She extended her bent knee, pushed Leo back forcefully, and praised him.

"Wow. You've improved a lot."

"I haven't just been playing around."

They smiled at each other before clashing again.

However, after a short bout of swordplay, Leo lost his balance. Lena didn't miss the opportunity and swept his ankle.

He toppled over.

As Leo quickly tried to get up, he felt something dull against his neck. Lena pressed the wooden sword against his neck and said,

"Leo, your peculiar swordsmanship still has a long way to go before it's perfected."

The duel ended anticlimactically.

Even though he lost, Leo, driven by rising frustration, sprang up and grabbed Lena by the waist, toppling her over.

The two of them let go of their swords and rolled around the clearing.

Silent struggles and exchanges of power ensued, but in the end, Leo overpowered Lena with his strength and pinned her down.

"Hey! Leo! This is cheating!"

"I know!!"

Leo shouted angrily into her face.

Lena, pinned beneath him, looked up at Leo, then chuckled and raised her hand to touch his cheek.

"You idiot... I'll come back alive, so don't do anything stupid and wait quietly."

Lena wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him in, and kissed him. Leo didn't avoid it.

Lena was leaving tomorrow, and I couldn't follow her because my swordsmanship was lacking. Though I felt tears welling up from my sense of inadequacy, I held them back, not wanting to appear as if I was mourning a warrior heading to battle.

The two of them lay there for a while, embracing in the clearing, and shared a drink of beer.

Lena pushed Leo away.

The next day, when he woke up in bed, Lena was not in the room.

He gathered his scattered clothes and went downstairs to find her already fully armed and eating breakfast.

Dehor, who was eating breakfast nearby, saw him and shouted cheerfully. His awkward exclamation, meant to hide his sadness, was filled with concern and love.

"You two unmarried rascals are causing quite a commotion. Do you both want your legs broken? Hahaha!"

"Oh, come on. Why would you break the legs of someone heading to battle? That's too much."

Lena glared at him, and an embarrassed Leo sat next to her, eating silently. Even after finishing breakfast, she didn't leave his side.

After the meal, the whole family came out to see her off. In the village clearing, warriors and soldiers were gathering, forming ranks for the march.

Lena hugged her family.

"Daughter, please be careful."

"Come back after killing them all. Haha... ha."

Leo and Lena hugged each other tightly one last time.

Even though they had embraced so tightly last night, he didn't want to let go. He missed her even though she was right in front of him. He wanted to keep holding her, but Lena squirmed, signaling him to let go.

The hug ended.

"Have a safe trip. Don't get hurt."

"Don't worry! I'll come back as a knight."

She left boldly.

At Avril Castle, drums were beaten vigorously for the departing soldiers, and the Ainar tribe sounded their horns long and loud.

The booming drumbeats and the sound of horns, as if urging them to come back alive, echoed until the soldiers disappeared over the hill.

Leo couldn't leave the castle gates for a long time.

After that, he practiced swordsmanship tirelessly. His goal was to improve his skills enough to be recognized by his father and join the battle to follow Lena.

Leo didn't rest until spring passed and summer arrived.

During one hot summer day, as he was sweating as usual, simple letters appeared before his eyes.

[Lena has died.]

The letters dryly announced Lena's death.

The sword fell to the ground, but he couldn't hear the sound. The surroundings faded away and turned black.

[Thank you for playing 'Raising Lena.']

[Lena Ainar]

[Final Occupation: Warrior of the Ainar Tribe]

[Engaged to: Leo Dexter]

[Leo Dexter]

[Final Occupation: Knight]

[Marital Status: Unmarried]

[Engagement Ending: Honorable Death]

- Lena Ainar, born in Avril Castle, had a happy childhood. Her father, the great warrior of the Ainar tribe... (omitted)... Lena, who participated in the war, achieved great feats but was killed by Katrina, a knight of the 2nd Order of the Kingdom of Bellita. -

- Leo Dexter, born in the capital city of Varnaul, had a happy childhood but lost his mother early. Together with his father, a knight of the 1st Order of the Kingdom of Astin... (omitted)... He lived as a knight guarding Avril Castle and died early without ever marrying. -

As before, letters appeared in the darkness.

Scenes of Lena fighting bravely on the battlefield also appeared as faded illustrations.

She had said she would return as a knight but never made it back.

In reality, she was a bit young to go to war.

But using age as an excuse was shameful for a warrior, and Lena, who was more of a warrior than anyone else, wouldn't have regretted it even in her final moments.

Leo couldn't bear the shame of not being by her side.

I should have at least been with her. Did the Leo left in that world after the scenario ended also die early, unable to bear the shame?

Leo couldn't stand the ending of Lena gradually disappearing. He twisted with shame and guilt until he disappeared along with Lena's image.

Minseo's consciousness surfaced.

Thinking of his girlfriend Chaeha and his parents twisted his stomach, but having experienced this before, it wasn't as excruciating as the first time.

Hope emerged.

'I learned some swordsmanship. Next time, it will be better.'

This gave Minseo some comfort.

Just as the hunting skills he learned in the first scenario hadn't disappeared, the swordsmanship remained in his mind. Even if this endless loop continued, he felt hopeful that he could eventually end it.

'If it comes to it, I'll use my strength to massacre everything and drag myself to the ending.'

It was the most popular route among men when playing games.

Despite having a normal route, making the character incredibly strong and killing everything in sight was a path often taken.

It wasn't for nothing that the phrase 'kill them all, it's an assassination' existed. He harbored the idea of a massacre route in his heart and waited.

[You have failed to clear 'Raising Lena.']

[Leo, you became a knight and guarded Avril Castle your entire life. Some of Leo's {swordsmanship} abilities are inherited due to your accomplishments.]

[A new start begins.]

The exact content Minseo wanted appeared. And as always, the intro video announcing the new beginning unfolded before his eyes...

'Ah... really. It's another one.'

This time, the intro video sped across a vast plain toward a grand city. Passing through the huge gates, a magnificent castle came into view in the distance.

Although he wished it would go straight to the castle, the perspective changed direction midway, passing through a bustling market and stopping in a dark and dirty alley.

There was a shabby beggar sibling.