Swear Fealty To Me, My Subjects!

Chapter 49: Goodbye, My Love

"Thea Constance…"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I think I'm having difficulty breathing…"

"That's right, Your Majesty."

"Am I imagining things? This thing that's extending from my chest… is your sword?"

"That's right, Your Majesty."

"…Why?"

"I don't expect your forgiveness, Your Majesty, but I love you."

"I was reborn… more than 900 times and defeated countless enemies. Finally, I'm about to succeed with this final step... but you're stabbing me to death?! Tell me... is this how you love me?!"

"That's right."

"…Why?!"

"I can't watch you sacrifice yourself to save us."

"And that's why you're killing me?"

"You'll be reborn again."

"…"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. You still have a chance. Everything here will be destroyed. However, you will head to the next world. When you get there, you will meet another me. All I want to tell you is that no matter how many times you experience life and death, my love for you will never change."

"Constance, you've disappointed me completely…"

"You have the right to be angry, Your Majesty."

"Even you are so stupid…"

"I won't refute you."

"I'm finally seeing it clearly… all of you Imperial Guards… are traitors!"

"Goodbye, Rayne, my love…"

…

Rayne had a dream. In the dream, he saw his past self.

He died time and again and was resurrected time and again.

He was enraged, broke down, went crazy, despaired, finally compromised and lost his feelings.

All his joys and sorrows lost their meaning after a long time, until… he arrived at the end of that world that made his heart ache physically and literally.

Then, Rayne woke up.

He felt as though he was lying on a pillow with an exquisite texture.

It should be someone's thigh.

Furthermore, judging from its flexibility and size… it did not belong to Constance.

Thereafter, Rayne vaguely heard the conversation between Constance and Hela.

Hela said, "This sword is really interesting. It doesn't absorb elements or react with magic.

Furthermore, its power can only be released in your hands. Thea, do you know the origin of this thing?"

Constance replied, "I don't know."

"For real?"

"Yes."

"However, His Highness Rayne should know this sword very well. After all, this sword was specially prepared for you. I finally understand. The reason why Prince Rayne wanted to hunt the ancient dragon was not because of the evil dragon's orders or to bribe me. It was because I had just taken away your only golden weapon at that time…"

"No…"

"Mmm?"

"My relationship with His Highness isn't that good. He won't give me such a precious gift. He was probably just loaning me his sword temporarily so that I could help him destroy the ancient dragon."

Hela sounded jealous. "Thea, are you showing off to me?"

Constance: "I'm not."

"Say, the two of you are cold and violent towards one another everyday. Even if you meet ten times, you might not be able to say anything. However, you dote on one another the moment something happens… are you guys just flirting?"

"Hela…"

"Fufu… did I say something wrong?"

"Why are you suddenly so concerned about His Highness Rayne?"

"Cough, cough... O-Of course, it's because I took his money, so I have to show more concern for my boss… ah, His Highness is awake."

Hela lowered her head and looked at Rayne who was resting on her thighs, greeting with a smile, "Did you sleep well, Your Highness?"

"It was alright…"

Rayne caught sight of the nameless golden sword beside him.

Rayne asked in confusion, "Constance, why don't you put away the sword?"

Constance replied calmly, "This belongs to you, Your Highness."

"N-No,"

Rayne thanked Hela before getting up and handing the golden sword to Constance.

"Keep it well. This is a weapon exclusive to you. You're the only one suitable for it."

"Your Highness…"

Constance's gaze was complicated. If this was truly a sword given to her by Rayne, it meant that… as Hela had said, Rayne had left the capital, barged into Leta and risked his life to challenge the ancient dragon.

Everything he did was to obtain this weapon for her.

Constance said softly, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Rayne nodded and did not mind. "Right, there's one more thing. At that time, its creator did not have time to give this sword a name. This divine weapon is worthy of a meaningful real name. Just give it a name."

Constance asked, "Any name?"

Rayne replied, "Yes."

"In that case…"

Constance wiped the blade of the golden sword gently.

Without the need for Constance to say anything, the golden sword sensed its master's thoughts and a single word appeared on its blade.

After countless years, this legacy of the original gods finally obtained its true name.

[Rayne]

…

Author's Note:

To clarify, this book does not revolve around a game world. What I wanted to express with the New One-handed Sword 01 previously was that there was a race that created the world. Before they left, they left behind an incomplete design without even deciding on a name. It was treated as a sacred item by the ancient dragons and they thought that New One-handed Sword 01 was some sacred true name or whatnot.

Translator's Note:

There was some backlash because New One-handed Sword 01 in Chinese sounded like the name of a random item in a game and the readers thought that the author was going to deviate from the genre. In essence, it was meant to be that way because it was supposed to come off as a pun but clearly it was misunderstood, hence the need for him to clarify. Cheers!