Second chance. Same love. A different kind of goodbye.
Crown Prince Alvis Verdian watched the woman he loved walk toward her death—sealed behind an iron grate while the palace burned around them, powerless to save Sierra, the commoner-born Royal Knight who had sworn to protect him. He never told her how he felt. He never got the chance.
Then he opens his eyes to morning light and a wound that shouldn't exist, and realizes: he has been given his life back. Years before the coup that will be kno
Second Silence - Feelings Turned Into a Blade—The Resolve to Abandon One's Country, and a Reunion Through the Bars
The heavy clang of an iron grate dropping echoed through the hidden passage in the east wing of the royal palace.
Alvis Verdian fixed his gaze on Sierra Vardan, standing beyond the bars, as if burning her image through the lattice and into his memory. Her chestnut hair tied back short, her amber eyes glistening with unshed tears. In this second life, he had finally confessed his feelings. She was crying. A tear caught the starlight reflecting off the cold iron of the grate and, for just a moment, bent it.
*This time, I will protect her.*
His resolve settled quietly within him.
But then—
*Shhk.*
Behind him—the sound of air being split.
Alvis twisted on instinct. Sharp pain lanced through his left shoulder. The crimson formal wear of the crown prince tore, and blood seeped through. He spun around. There stood a tall man with short-cropped black hair. Gray eyes that betrayed not a flicker of emotion. Leonhardt Rosenheit, commander of the royal knights.
In his right hand, a drawn blade. Along its edge, a single thread of Alvis's blood crawled downward.
"The area around Your Highness has become somewhat... cluttered. It requires tidying."
Leonhardt's voice was mocking, and bitterly cold.
"Leonhardt... you. Why are you here?"
Alvis endured the pain in his left shoulder and met the man's eyes without flinching. His heart pounded violently against the inside of his ribs. The despair of that night in his previous life—the coup, the moment he lost Sierra—came surging back, raw and vivid.
*Even then, I could do nothing.*
*I couldn't protect her.*
*But this time is different.*
He drew his sword. A heavy blade, meant for real combat. The same weight he had gripped in his previous life.
"Your Highness—do you intend to fight with that wound?"
Leonhardt's mouth twisted, just slightly.
"Yes. And to stop you, one arm is more than enough."
A cold killing intent filled the space between them. The stone walls of the hidden passage seemed to press the tension inward, falling utterly still.
"Your Highness... please, run...!"
From beyond the grate, Sierra's trembling voice reached him. She clung to the bars, crying out with everything she had.
"It's all right, Sierra. Stay there and wait for me."
Alvis turned to her for just an instant, offering a gentle smile.
*I won't leave you alone.*
*I won't let you go through that again.*
"...Must you flaunt it, Your Highness?"
Leonhardt's voice dropped even lower. He raised his blade.
"I am the son of the Minister of Military Affairs. Anyone who disturbs the order of the royal palace—whoever they may be—I will remove."
"Then I'm your opponent. Come at me."
*Clang!!*
Their blades clashed, scattering sparks into the darkness.
Alvis caught Leonhardt's strike and pushed back. Blood flowed from the wound in his shoulder, and strength would not gather in his arm. But he gritted his teeth and did not yield a single step.
*He's serious.*
*He means to kill me.*
Leonhardt's sword was heavy and sharp. The blade of a man he had trained beside since childhood. In every strike, Alvis felt the lingering traces of their former trust. But now that blade bore down on him with unmistakable killing intent.
"Why go this far to protect that woman?"
Leonhardt asked between blows.
"As if you could understand."
Alvis parried and launched a counter.
"No, I don't understand. I cannot comprehend it. She's nothing but a commoner woman."
"Shut your mouth...!"
Alvis's blade grazed Leonhardt's cheek. A thin line of blood welled on his pale skin.
"...I see. So that's how much she means to you."
Leonhardt did not bother to wipe the blood from his cheek. He spoke quietly.
Something in that voice struck Alvis with an indescribable sense of wrongness.
*What is he thinking?*
*Is he truly just trying to kill me?*
He steadied his breathing and reset his stance. From deep in the passage came the growl of beasts. Shadow wolves. The familiar beasts of the Corpse Ring—they were closing in.
*No time.*
*I have to end this now.*
Alvis touched the wall of the hidden passage. There, he had secretly rigged several traps in this second life. Quietly, he triggered one.
*Rrrmble...*
Deep in the passage, heavy stone ground against stone. An iron grate descended from the ceiling—a trap to cut off the pursuing Corpse Ring and their shadow wolves.
"...Hoh. Thoroughly prepared, Your Highness."
Leonhardt's eyes widened, just slightly.
"I will not repeat that day. Never again. I have prepared everything for that."
In Alvis's mind rose the images: the seizing of the Seven Pillars Council, the framework of proxy rule, the sworn pledges of support from the great nobles. The foundations of governance he had built up over this second life surfaced one after another.
*The country will be fine now.*
*Even if I'm gone, the nation will not stop.*
*That is why I will throw away my life and my country both—to protect her.*
His resolve did not waver.
From deep in the passage came the furious shouts of the Corpse Ring and the distant howls of shadow wolves. The traps caught them one after another. But Leonhardt, paying the chaos no mind at all, came at Alvis.
"Your Highness. Do you know why that woman was targeted by the Corpse Ring?"
Leonhardt's voice slipped between the sounds of clashing steel and reached Alvis's ears.
"...What?"
Alvis's movement stopped for an instant.
"That woman was targeted by name. Why do you think that is?"
Leonhardt continued calmly, sword still raised.
"Because that woman became Your Highness's shield. Because she tried to protect you—because she became the one existence capable of protecting you—she became something that must be erased."
The words hit Alvis like a blow to the skull.
*Sierra was targeted because...*
*Because of me...?*
*Because I loved her...?*
A flashback surged through him—that night of the coup in his previous life. Sierra pushing him into the hidden passage, lowering the grate. She had been smiling. Crying, and smiling. And then she had whispered just one thing: *"I have always adored you."*
*She died for me.*
*I as good as killed her.*
The hand holding his sword trembled. His vision blurred with tears.
"Finally understand?"
Leonhardt spoke quietly.
"Your love kills that woman. You are the cause of her death."
"...No."
Alvis denied it in a voice wrung from his throat.
"No... I only wanted to protect her... that's all..."
"Then why do you stay by her side?"
Leonhardt's voice pierced him, cold and sharp.
"You? Protect her? Don't make me laugh. You are doing nothing but exposing her to danger. Your very existence kills her."
The words drove deep into the bottom of Alvis's heart.
*He's right. As long as I am beside her, she will die again.*
*As long as I love her, she will die again.*
Deep despair spread through him. The strength began to drain from the hand that held his sword.
But—
"...Even so. I will protect her."
Alvis lifted his head.
Tears stood in his eyes, but behind them burned a fierce light of will.
"You're right. My love puts her in danger. My existence causes her pain. Even so—I cannot let her go. If the choice is losing her, then I will throw away this life, this country, everything—and live with her."
His voice was quiet, but strong.
"If you call that a mistake, then so be it. But I will not carry that regret again. I will not let her die alone."
Alvis reset his stance.
"...I see. So that is your answer."
Leonhardt watched him for a while.
Then, slowly, he lowered his sword.
"...Perhaps I was testing you."
His voice dropped, just slightly. It was his habit when speaking his true mind.
"...What?"
Alvis's voice was one of bewilderment.
"How seriously you intended to protect that woman. I wanted to know. ...Whether you would choose her, even at the cost of abandoning your country."
Leonhardt sheathed his blade.
"Your resolve was genuine. ...I acknowledge it."
He turned his back.
"Leonhardt... you can't mean..."
Alvis called after his retreating figure, unable to believe it.
"I act for my own purposes. I did not help you. ...Do not misunderstand."
Leonhardt spoke without turning around.
"Protect that woman. Even if it costs you your life."
With those words left behind, he vanished into the darkness.
Alvis was left alone in the passage.
The wound in his shoulder throbbed dully. The blood would not stop.
*Leonhardt... what are you, really...*
He could not gauge the man's true intent.
But right now, there was something more important.
"Your Highness...!"
Sierra's voice came from beyond the grate.
Alvis ran to the bars.
"Sierra... are you all right?"
He gazed at her face through the lattice.
"Your Highness... you're hurt... there's so much blood..."
Sierra's voice trembled with tears. She reached through the gap in the bars toward his wounded shoulder.
"It's fine. Just a graze."
Alvis smiled.
"That's a lie... there's so much blood..."
She gripped the bars and broke down sobbing.
"Sierra. ...Don't cry. I don't want to see your crying face."
Alvis reached through the bars and took her hand.
Her hand was cold, and trembling.
"Your Highness... I... was I... was I of any use to you...?"
Sierra asked through her tears.
"Yes. You have always protected me. ...In my previous life, and now."
Alvis gripped her hand tightly in return.
"Previous life...?"
Sierra lifted her tear-streaked face.
Alvis's words caught in his throat for a moment.
*I must not say it.*
*That I am living a second life—I must not tell anyone.*
He told himself so, deep in his heart.
"...Forgive me. Forget it. That was just me talking to myself."
He forced a smile.
"Your Highness...?"
Sierra stared at his face, puzzled.
"Sierra. ...There is something I want to tell you."
Still holding her hand, Alvis spoke quietly.
"I love you. In my previous life, and now—I have always loved only you."
His voice was trembling.
"If it is to protect you, I am prepared to throw away this country, the title of crown prince, everything. ...So please, stay by my side. I don't want to lose you again."
It was less a confession than a plea.
It was the cry of his soul, one he could not fulfill in his previous life.
"Your Highness..."
Large tears spilled from Sierra's eyes.
"I... I have adored you too. For so long, so very long..."
Her voice shook.
"But I am a commoner... I am not worthy of you, Your Highness... I have no right to be by your side..."
"Rights have nothing to do with it. I love you because you are you. The one and only woman named Sierra Vardan."
Alvis cut off her words.
"Status, lineage—none of it matters. You are the only one I want. ...Sierra. Will you come with me? Somewhere far away. Let us live quietly, just the two of us."
Sierra gazed at him, her face a mess of tears.
"Your Highness... I..."
She tried to continue.
And then—
"Both of you, that will be quite enough."
A composed voice, yet one that carried clearly, rang through the passage.
He turned. Standing there with a lamp in hand was Marguerite Noule, the head lady-in-waiting, her gray-tinged hair gathered at the back. Her deep green eyes rested quietly on the two of them.
"Marguerite... why are you here?"
Alvis's voice rose in surprise.
"Lord Alvis. The palace is in a terrible state. Remnants of the Corpse Ring are still lurking within. I am sorry to interrupt your tryst, but please, put your safety first."
Marguerite spoke in a calm tone, yet with a strength that brooked no argument.
"There is a safe place beyond the hidden passage. I will guide you. Now, quickly."
She raised her lamp toward the far side of the grate—toward where Sierra stood.
Still holding Sierra's hand, Alvis looked at Marguerite.
*How much does she know?*
*No—now is not the time for that.*
He gave a small nod.
"Understood. Sierra, let's go."
Alvis raised the grate.
Sierra wiped her tears and gave a small nod.
"...Yes."
She squeezed his hand tightly i
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