The beginning of the end came abruptly. I prepared the army and shored the defense at Fort Horns, and took measures against the invasion by the Kingdom of Valhalla, as it happened in the plot of the game. But, the story had ultimately changed.
All because I fell in love with Eugenie.
“Urgent news!” a knight in tattered armour cried as he burst into the office. “A large number of Valhalla troops have appeared in front of Fort Horns and fighting’s already broken out!”
“What did you say?!” I cried as I looked up from my desk.
It was night time. The paperwork I and Randolph had been trying to complete was forgotten as the soldier gave his full report: about an hour ago, an army of about two-to-three-thousand soldiers suddenly appeared in front of the Fort Horns and raised the Valhallan flag.
“What of the fortress!?” I cried. “Has it fallen!?”
“The-They… they’ve brought a fire dragon, to melt the snow and burn down the fortress at the same time!” he cried.
“A fire dragon?!” Randolph cried.
I am surprised as my brother, startled looks on both our faces.
“Is it the fire dragon that lives at the Burning Peak?” I asked. “No one should have been able to get close to it…”
“We were helping to fortify Fort Horns, so we were unable to spot their movements!”
I punched a wall. It was all going so wrong… I thought it would be best to reinforce Fort Horns, but now this! It would have better if our forces hadn’t been so concentrated there!
The main means of air superiority in this world, flying dragons, do not have nearly as much destructive power, and could only really use hit-and-run tactics. It was different altogether with flame dragons.
Compared to modern military technology, they were like flying tanks equipped with heavy artillery. Despite superior agility, offensive, and durability, however, they were difficult to tame, all but impossible for the average man. They only inhabited the Burning Peak, an active volcano at the northernmost part of Valhalla, and all humans trying to approach it either died from the heat or were turned to charred corpses.
But now the soldiers of Valhalla were using them as weapons.
“I couldn’t fight any longer…” the messenger said. “The commander ordered me to inform you, the Marquis! By now, the commander and my friends…”
“I understand the situation,” Randolph said. “You’ve done good work, you may rest now!”
“Ha…” the messengers sighed.
“Inform everyone in the castle, all will prepare for battle!” Randolph cried. “Fort Horns has fallen, Castle Stanley is next!”
The castle went into a frenzy, but some doubted that Fort Horns had fallen. In spite of the attack by enemy forces, they believed it wouldn’t yield so easily. In response to their suspicions, I said, “Big Brother! Let me go check Fort Horns!”
“What are you saying, Rosalind?!” Randolph cried. “To run right into danger…!”
“Rose Village is just past Fort Horns!”
“Ah…! I see…” Randolph’s expression changed, he thought for a moment. “… Rosalind, I need to speak with you. It’ll be about ten minutes. Let’s go to my room.”
“Understood,” I said.
We went to Randolph’s room. The world outside the window was eerily calm and quiet, but the sky above Fort Horns was burning red even in the dark of night—and heading to the direction of Rose Village.
I screamed and banged at the window like a caged animal. “Randolph, the fortress! Rose Village!”
“… Ah,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time now before Rose Village is overrun.”
I screamed.
In the game, there is a bad end where you die in a village caught in the conflict, if you did not raise any flags with anyone in the game. Was this because of my changing fate? I blocked the flags of Genie and the capture characters, so did I set her on the route to the bad end?!
Would she die soon?!”
“Genie is… Genie is…!”
I feel sick and exhausted. What did I do? Did I prevent my ruin? Could I live my life in safety? I don’t care about that anymore! That Eugenie is more alive is far more important!
Even if I love her, if she’s happy, everything would be all right. I finally realized, she’s more important than me, her life was many times more valuable than mine. I would despise a world without Eugenie. I wouldn’t want to exist in it for even a moment…!
Suddenly, my brother came to my side and put a hand on my shoulder. “Rosalind…”
“Big Brother…” I whispered
“Listen to me, Rosalind,” Randolph said. “You will arm yourself, put on a disguise yourself, and head to Rose Village.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“The messenger said he was attacked by the Valhalla army about an hour ago. If you head to Rose Village now, you may still get there in time. Find Eugenie then escape from Arch with her.”
“What? But-Bu-But that means…!”
I want to see if Genie’s alright. But I never once dreamed of leaving Randolph behind, of leaving Arch. Once I found Genie, I intended to bring her back to the castle.
“If you go to the Oaks region in the southwest, you may be able to avoid the fighting for the time being,” Randolph said. “The Count there and our family are on good terms, you will be able to hide there.”
“Yes!” I cried. “And we may be able to ask for reinforcements, as well!”
“Yes… but Rosalin, don’t lose heart if things don’t go well. As Fort Horns has fallen, there is a chance that Count Oaks would be reluctant to send his own troops. But regardless of what happens, Rosalind, forget about me and live happily with Eugenie!”
“What are you saying, Randolph?!” I cried.
“You’ve done so much for our family,” Randolph said. “You’ve put aside your own happiness, dedicated your entire life for House Stanley. Don’t throw away the happiness you’ve finally found.”
“Big Brother…”
“I told you before, Rosalin,” Randolph said. “I know that you and Glenn won’t be happy. So, as your brother, I’m praying for your happiness. I leave the rest to you. And before you try to stop me: what if I went to Fort Horns instead, and I suddenly went missing? imagine such a scenario.”
“Big Brother… Randolph…” I said, “then that… this is…”
He nodded. “This is our last goodbye.”
“Ah…”
I feel a sharp pain shooting into my chest. Randolph has thought so much about my happiness, gone so far above and beyond because he wants his sister to be happy more than anything else. If he were acting as the Marquis of Stanley, this would be absolute insanity, he should have shot down the plan in its tracks…
… but Randolph chose to be my brother before the Marquis.
“Come on, Roslyn, go!” Randolph said. “You can’t afford to stand around here and cry! Rose Village could be burning as we speak!”
“… Yes, Big Brother!” I cried.
“You’re strong, no average man can defeat you,” Randolph said. “Farewell, my beloved sister! Forge a path to your own destiny!”
I held back my tears and said goodbye to Randolph.
Twelve years after I reincarnated in this world, my brother was closer to me than anyone else, understood me better than anyone. Even with the five-year gap, I felt like I was losing someone who’d been there for me my entire life.
However, now is not the time for tears, I hold them back as I say goodbye to my present life.
As I left the manor, I felt pain like my body was being torn in half. However, it wasn’t enough to make me give up. Even if I had lost my brother, I could keep on living if I had Eugenie.
“Goodbye, Big Brother.”
I gathered the bare minimum of equipment and weapons, mounted my favorite horse Neptune and rode for Rose Village, my tears falling like the snow.