Vera hopped off the boulder, landing right next to him. Her clothes were a bit tattered, and some of the luster in her eyes had faded.
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as her lips twisted into a smile.
"A-Ashley? You’re back...? Your arm!"
Ash looked up at her face, studying her silver eyes. His expression was flat as he thought to himself:
’I wonder how much she truly knows...’
"I am..." Ash looked at the wound, then glanced up at the true culprit. "Your brother did this to me."
A glass lie that Ash from a week ago would never had told.
Vera stepped back, stammering:
"Cross?! T-that bastard!"
"No need to get so worked up... I gave him the same treatment. Look, see for yourself."
Ash pointed up toward the top of the temple’s stairs.
Vera followed his gaze. After squinting for a bit, a look of consternation crossed her face.
She’d finally noticed Cross watching them.
Vera was silent for a few moments, not looking away from her brother — from damnation.
Ash smiled lightly. He put on a mask of amicability as he said:
"Come here, Vera. I want to know something."
Even after being called by her name, the princess didn’t even blush.
"Y-yeah. Okay..."
Keeping her eyes trained on Cross, she followed what he said, marching over and sitting against the boulder, shoulder to shoulder with him.
Ash glanced toward the wolf who’d jumped down and sat nearby, intently watching him.
"Do you remember what I promised to Demitra...?"
Finally, Vera broke from her stupor, and her bashfulness slightly returned.
"Ah— yeah. That you’d save me."
Ash nodded.
"Vera, you never asked to be saved... I’m not going to force my ideals upon you. Instead, please answer me this: What do you want?"
Vera’s gaze fell from Cross, finding Ash.
"Huh...?"
"What I’m asking is your path of destruction... I see what it would do to others, but what about you? Do you wish to be caught up in the destruction?"
Vera’s already strained look took on a solemn undertone.
"I... have never really thought about what comes after. I guess I never really saw myself surviving, much less succeeding."
Ash stared into her eyes, his tail flicking lightly inside of the rock both their backs rested against.
"Well, now that I’ve put the idea in your head... do you want to be saved?"
Vera wryly chuckled.
"To be honest... I have little idea what that even means. How could anyone save me?"
"The meaning is something you create, not me. With that in mind, tell me... what is your true desire?"
Vera blankly looked at him for a moment.
"Is that not obvious...? I want to return to the past and be stripped of this curse."
Ash lightly shook his head.
"One can only be saved in the present and future, not the past. Again... what is your true desire?"
In his own words, Ash caught a glimpse of the meaning behind what Cross had said to him about today blending into tomorrow. But that glimpse quickly faded into something invisible.
Vera looked back at Cross.
"For it to be over. My revenge, suffering, torment, everything."
Ash shook his head.
"How morbid. Such a pretty girl like you saying such things is quite jarring."
"P-pretty girl?"
Ash watched as her soot-covered cheeks flushed red.
’Still getting flustered by such meaningless words...?’
He didn’t exactly understand the sentiment himself, but...
’It seems you’re unaware of your true desire for salvation.’
However, that was a desire Ash wouldn’t dare assume to have wholly grasped.
Ash smiled again, then said:
"Vera, would you humor me for a moment?"
The princess brought her hand to her cheek and shied away.
"Uh, oh, y-yes."
It was clear there were some wild fantasies going on in her head.
"Just listen..."
Vera nodded. Then his gaze settled upon the wolf.
"You as well. I’ll give you both the opportunity to understand me."
Ash looked back toward Cross while resting his head against the boulder.
"Trust is proof of weakness...
An uncommitted promise of need that the untempered cling to.
It is the quiet confession that one’s own strength is insufficient — that survival, happiness, or purpose must be placed within another’s hands. People dress that dependence in prettier words. They call it loyalty, faith, companionship... love.
But a gilded chain remains a chain.
To trust someone is to grant them power over you without demanding proof that they deserve it. It is to bare your throat and believe they will resist the urge to cut it. Perhaps they will. Perhaps they will even protect it for a time. Yet the possibility of betrayal never disappears. It merely waits beneath the surface, concealed by familiarity and comfort.
And comfort dulls the instincts.
That is why betrayal wounds so deeply. It is not simply the pain of another person turning against you. It is the collapse of the illusion you willingly built around them.
The betrayed curse the hand that struck them, yet rarely question why they placed the weapon within its reach.
People speak as though trust were some sacred virtue. As though offering another person the means to destroy you were evidence of courage. But courage is facing danger while recognizing it for what it is.
Trust demands the opposite.
It asks you to close your eyes and pretend the danger no longer exists.
Perhaps that is why people cherish it so dearly."
Ash let his smile fade in its entirety.
"Then again, the truth is exhausting. It’s much simpler and easier to accept what others say and want.
To doubt every smile, question every promise, and prepare for every betrayal is a lonely way to live. Most people lack the will to endure it. So they surrender their caution piece by piece, seeking relief in the belief that someone else will remain constant. That is the pitiful idea your brother clings to...
But nothing remains constant.
Desire changes, fear changes, circumstances change. Even the most devoted person can become a stranger when pressed hard enough.
Promises do not truly bind people; they merely describe what someone intends to do before the world gives them a reason to reconsider.
And intentions are fragile things.
Only the prideful like me are arrogant enough to truly keep their promises...
No one betrays another without justification in their own mind, whether it be greed, desperation, love, or survival.
There will always be some reason persuasive enough to make yesterday’s oath feel insignificant. The betrayer may regret it. They may weep while driving the blade into your back.
But tears won’t rewind a wound. Once blood is spilled, it’s spilled."
Ash shook his head slightly.
"So, why trust at all...?
People would rather gamble their lives on another person’s character than accept that no one can be relied upon absolutely. They mistake mutual need for devotion and repeated convenience for loyalty. Then, when the arrangement ends, they mourn as though something eternal was stolen from them.
But it was never eternal.
It was merely useful."
Ash took a deep breath before continuing:
"Trust is belief in the carefully constructed image that behaves as one expects, desires what they desire, and remains unchanged no matter what the world demands.
In that sense, trust is merely arrogance. Arrogance far beyond my own.
For it is the assumption that we understand another human being well enough to predict which part of them will prevail when every part is tested.
I make no such assumption.
I can play with a team. I can fight with another. I’ve even learned to depend on their abilities. Cooperate when my interests align."
Ash’s head rolled to the side.
"I can even value their presence."
The princess didn’t even blush upon hearing those words, even if they were clearly directed toward her.
Ash shook his head, then looked back toward the temple.
"But trust them?
No.
I would rather be proven overly cautious than dismiss betrayal’s possibility and die surprised. If someone remains beside me, they will not do so because I trusted them.
They will do so because, despite being given every opportunity to leave, betray, or abandon me, they continually choose not to.
And even then...
I keep my eyes open."
Demitra glanced back and sneered when he finished, scrutinizing his slack form and studying his stilled hand. Seeing no movement, the wolf muttered:
"So... you are aware of your arrogance."
On the othr hand, the princess stared at him blankly for a long time taking in Ash’s trust manifesto. It seemed she was perhaps able to comprehend it but not understand or accept it.
And that was okay.
That wasn’t what Ash’s intent was in spilling his bleeding heart.
Vera finally replied:
"Are you saying I shouldn’t trust you?"
Ash looked away from Cross, his eyes finding hers.
"I’ll leave you to your own conclusions."
Vera gulped, her eyes closing for a few seconds. When they opened, she asked:
"Be honest... Are you speaking to me, or yourself? Trying to convince yourself of your words’ authenticity through my reaction? You want me to refute your words to prove them true?"
"Nothing of the sort. As I said, I was merely telling you my stance on life. Think of it as compensation. Or rather... words meant to give your heart solace."
"H-how would they...?"
"Because, knowing I never trusted you, you no longer feel the obligation to trust me."
Vera opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. A soft glisten appeared on her cheek.
Ash raised his hand, angling it toward her face. The sudden movement caused Demitra to spring into action.
Vera shivered.
"Huh, Demi—?!"
Winter screamed just before she caught Ash’s hand in her jaw.
"What are you doing, Ash?! Get your hand away from her!"
"Hey, hey, I was just going to brush away her tears."
’[Focus].’
A searing pain took Ash.
His tail, which was inside the boulder, was torn from his body.
Next to him, Vera’s eyes widened.
She coughed once, spitting blood onto Demitra.
Then, she slumped forward, revealing the severed tip of Ash’s tail alongside a gaping hole in her back.
[You have slain Vera Frichella]
[Unique Kill Bonus]
[+416 EXP]
[Condition to reach level 5 has not been met!]
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter