Chapter 1 TIKR Vol. 1 Prologue

Prologue – The Day a Star Was Lost

A tempest raged. The wind and rain hammered against the window, roaring as if to fuel the anxiety in the air.

“In the name of Eilfina S. Eldstrom, I hereby command.”

Eldstrom Imperial Castle. The very heart of the nation, home to the noble bloodline. And in one of its rooms, the master of that room, a young woman, gently placed her hand on the shoulder of the young man kneeling before her.

It was a scene from a ritual, however informal, between a royal and her knight.

“As of this moment, I relieve you of your duties as an Imperial Knight. You have my gratitude for your long and loyal service.”

As she spoke, her hand lifted from his shoulder.

The young man looked up, and the young woman, Eilfina, suddenly dropped her formal demeanor.

“You are a free man now. No longer an Imperial Knight, bearer of the title ‘Empire’s Strongest.’ You’re just a civilian, with no connection to the troubles of our nation. …Are you still going?”

She looked at him with sincere sorrow, the corners of her eyebrows drawn down. In that moment, the vast difference in their stations seemed to vanish.

“I can hide you. Your face isn’t widely known, even as an Imperial Knight. You don’t have to leave the country. You could just disappear into the city below the castle…”

“I can’t. To do so would only put you in danger, Your Highness.”

Even now, muffled by the din of the storm, the sharp, frantic echo of boot steps reverberated through the castle halls. It was the sound of a persistent search, and the young man knew he was the one they were hunting.

“Your Highness. You must turn me over to the guards. There is still time.”

“Are you being serious? …Of course you are. Fine. Say one more word on that topic and I will be angry.”

She already looks angry, he thought. But he held his tongue in the face of Eilfina’s intensity.

“You know exactly what they’ll do to you if you’re caught! So stop this foolishness. Don’t you dare try to turn yourself in. If you do… I’ll follow you right after.”

“F-Fina!”

As the name escaped his lips, the Imperial Princess’s face softened into a smile.

“You should have called me that from the beginning. There’s no one else here. ‘Your Highness’… how long are you going to keep being so stiff and formal?”

“…You’re telling me to live?”

“I am. I won’t permit you to die a pointless death. I need you to take responsibility, Arl.”

“Responsibility?” The word seemed to come from nowhere. As Arl looked on in confusion, a hint of a smug smile played on Eilfina’s lips.

“The responsibility for saving me,” she declared. “You are my one true ally. My savior. The Third Princess’s most trusted blade. I can’t just let you die. From now on, the hope of our eventual reunion will be what sustains me. The hope that you are alive, somewhere far from here, but still under the same sky.”

“That’s… quite a heavy burden, isn’t it?”

“Just don’t forget, you’re the one who made me this way.”

Faced with such a proud declaration, Arl could only offer a vague, troubled smile in return.

With little choice, he stood, turned his back to Eilfina, and unlatched the large window, throwing it open.

Raindrops instantly lashed the room, bursting in as if a dam had broken.

I’m soaking her room, he thought, a pang of guilt striking him.

“Hey! Don’t you forget!” Eilfina shouted, her voice straining to be heard over the tempest. “Everything you’ve done for me, and for this country… I am truly grateful for it all!”

“It was my honor. I’m glad I had the chance to serve you.”

“…Hey, Arl. Have you ever once considered the feelings of the one being saved? To be helped over and over, to be made completely and utterly dependent on someone… and then one day, to just be abandoned, as if you’ll be fine on your own now.”

Arl paused, his hand on the window frame. He looked back.

Eilfina was struggling to hold something back, the corners of her eyes and her lips trembling faintly.

“It’s… it’s incredibly painful, you know?”

“…I see.”

“Knowing you, I’m sure I’m not the only one. You’ve probably saved so many people, haven’t you? I’m warning you… if you keep making girls fall for you like this and then just disappear without taking responsibility…”

For just an instant, her expression crumpled in anguish. But she quickly turned her face away, pretending to look at nothing in particular, as if to say, You saw nothing. She forced a cheerful tone, painting a ridiculous picture.

“One of these days, a whole crowd of them might just show up on your doorstep! ‘Please, let us repay our debt to you!’ or something. What will you do then? What if every last one of them is a cute girl, exactly your type?”

“Heh. That sounds like a dream come true.”

Arl, for his part, meant it sincerely and thought he was just playing along with her joke.

“…Honestly. Clueless men are the absolute worst.”

But Eilfina herself was glaring at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

She’s about to explode. Hastily, he gripped the window ledge. What an anticlimactic way to go, he thought to himself.

“Well… stay safe. And—thank you, Fina.”

With those words as his only farewell, Arl leaped from the window and vanished into the stormy night.

Eilfina could only stare, dumbfounded, at the empty space where he had been.

“…He just… left. Just like that.”

I can’t believe he thanked me. Did he really think I was just giving him a pep talk for his journey? What is wrong with him? He left without a trace of reluctance. Unbelievable.

She let out a long, heavy sigh.

That man… he didn’t understand what I was trying to say. Not even at the very end.

“I was trying my hardest to make you stay, you… you idiot.”

Her quiet, tearful whisper was swallowed by the storm, reaching no one.