The battlefield had become incredibly confusing.
Which was impressive.
Most battlefields only managed to become violent.
This one had somehow achieved confusion.
Ayine was currently running for her life.
Cyrinne's head was missing.
A giant spider-deer monster was trying to freeze everything in sight.
And Noctellis Ellengarde was still attempting to murder the wrong person.
Jemina arrived just in time to witness all of it.
She stopped.
For a brief moment, everything seemed to slow.
Noctellis stood amidst the destruction like a heroic painting brought to life.
His dark military coat shifted in the wind. Silver steel gleamed in his hand. His expression remained cold, composed, and impossibly handsome.
Terrifying.
Competent.
Ridiculously competent.
Jemina stared.
Her heart betrayed her immediately.
Oh no.
He was still handsome.
Worse.
He somehow looked even better than before.
Several months apart, and he had become more attractive.
What kind of nonsense was that?
Then she noticed what he was carrying.
Cyrinne's head.
The romantic feelings died instantly.
"YOU DECAPITATED CYRINNE!"
Without hesitation, Jemina sent a telepathic command through her bond with the mudwolves.
Retrieve the head. Immediately.
Noctellis looked toward her.
At that exact moment, three mudwolves erupted from underground.
One slammed into his side.
Another bit down on the sleeve of his coat.
The third snatched Cyrinne's head directly from his hand.
Then all three vanished underground before anyone could react.
Under normal circumstances, that should never have worked.
But somehow, in the exact moment he looked at his wife, it did.
The Hero of the Empire stood perfectly still.
Several seconds later, a triumphant howl echoed from beneath the earth.
The mudwolves were celebrating.
Jemina placed a hand over her chest.
Good boys.
"Jemina!" Ayine cried.
Her voice sounded hoarse.
Only then did Jemina properly take in the scene around her.
Ayine looked exhausted enough to collapse.
Cyrinne's enormous wolf body still stood without a head. Her silver fur was matted with dirt and blood, and several wounds marked her hide.
The battle needed to stop.
Immediately.
Jemina reached through her bond with another familiar.
The spider-deer monster lifted its crystal antlers.
The earth groaned.
An enormous wall of ice erupted upward.
The battlefield disappeared beneath crystal and frost.
Frozen mountains surged from the ground, sealing Jemina and Noctellis inside a massive prison of ice.
Silence settled.
Outside the enclosure, the mudwolves triumphantly returned Cyrinne's head.
She shifted back into her human form, calmly accepted her severed head, and placed it back onto her neck as though reconnecting a misplaced accessory.
Ayine approached cautiously.
"What should we do?"
Cyrinne flexed her neck.
A faint crack echoed.
Then she shrugged.
"As we have been doing until now."
"What does that mean?"
"We let Jemina do whatever she wants."
Ayine stared.
"...That doesn't sound reassuring."
"It never is."
Inside the ice prison, neither spoke at first.
Jemina met Noctellis's gaze directly.
Noctellis studied her in return.
Different.
That was his first thought.
She looked almost feral.
Her hair was tangled and clearly hadn't seen a comb in quite some time.
Her skin was smudged with dirt.
Her nails were jagged and uneven.
Several holes decorated her clothing.
No trace remained of the meticulously dressed duchess who had once wandered the halls of his castle.
And strangely enough, she seemed quieter than before.
"You abandoned your duties as Duchess Ellengarde," he finally said. "You used unauthorized teleportation magic. And you did all of it for this kind of life."
It wasn't a question.
Merely an observation.
A report.
A conclusion.
Of course.
That was the first thing he chose to say.
Entirely predictable.
Jemina knew better than anyone how her husband had been shaped.
Duty first.
Everything else is second.
"I suppose my actions have a corresponding punishment."
"It remains to be discussed once we return home."
Jemina tilted her head.
"You seem very confident that you can simply take me back."
"Instead of discussing my confidence, perhaps we should discuss yours."
His gaze sharpened.
"You seem convinced the monster tamer outside can protect you."
Monster tamer?
Jemina blinked.
Outside was Cyrinne.
Outside was Ayine.
Then she remembered Ayine arriving atop a gigantic monster earlier.
Realization struck.
It took every ounce of self-control not to laugh.
Noctellis thought Ayine was the monster tamer.
That misunderstanding explained an alarming number of things.
Jemina folded her arms.
"And what will you do to this monster tamer?"
His answer came immediately.
"If she controls monsters, she cannot be allowed to live."
Jemina stared.
"...You'll kill her?"
"Immediately."
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
As casually as discussing tomorrow's weather.
Something inside her sank.
Months.
Months away from the Empire.
Months spent building a home.
Months spent creating something beautiful.
And hearing that answer felt like being dragged backward through time.
"She's a good person."
"That is not relevant."
"She has done nothing wrong."
"Her existence is wrong."
Jemina laughed softly.
There was no humor in the sound.
Everything was always irrelevant.
Feelings.
People.
Lives.
Whenever duty appeared, everything else ceased to matter.
The same as before.
The same endless cycle.
Noctellis took a step forward.
"Move aside."
"No."
The answer came instantly.
His expression hardened.
"You are interfering with imperial affairs."
"The Empire doesn't matter here!" Jemina snapped. "This is the Null Forest!"
For the first time, she truly looked at him.
Not as her husband.
Not as her goal.
Not as the man she had once desperately wanted to tame.
Just Noctellis.
A man carrying burdens heavier than anyone should bear.
She had spent so much effort trying to make him love her.
More effort than she had ever invested in anything.
Harder than becoming a duchess.
Harder than earning respect.
Harder than any ambition she had ever pursued.
The irony was almost amusing.
Before marrying him, she had never worked particularly hard for anything.
The title of duchess had simply fallen into her lap.
She had never become the perfect noblewoman.
Never become what society expected.
Then the goddess had given her another chance.
A chance to accomplish something through effort.
She had thrown herself toward that goal with everything she had.
Then Lucas happened.
Rosaline happened.
Raisa happened.
The rabbits happened.
The mudwolves happened.
The lamias happened.
Cyrinne happened.
The village happened.
And somewhere along the way, her goal changed.
She no longer wanted victory.
She no longer wanted possession.
She wanted peace.
A home.
A family.
A life.
Eventually, she realized something important.
It was unfair.
Unfair to force love.
Unfair to steal freedom.
Unfair to bind another person against their will.
She didn't want that anymore.
Not truly.
Then Noctellis spoke.
"If necessary, I will destroy this entire settlement."
Silence.
The world stopped.
Time itself seemed to freeze.
And in that stillness, Jemina heard a voice she had almost forgotten.
"Jemina, this is the moment you have been preparing for."
The goddess.
Jemina groaned immediately.
"It isn't right for me to force him to love me."
"If you don't, he will destroy everything you have come to treasure. You can save everyone you care about by claiming ownership of his heart."
"I can just order him not to attack us."
"And what will become of him?"
Jemina blinked.
The goddess continued.
"You would strip away everything that has shaped him into who he is. Have you considered the consequences of such a command?"
"Aaaagh! Why is this so complicated? I just want him to stop hurting us!"
"From his perspective, you are a threat to humanity. He was created and conditioned to eliminate anything that threatens humanity. Remove that purpose carelessly, and he may become a hollow shell."
Jemina froze.
"That can happen?"
"Yes."
"...Can you give me a moment to think?"
"How long do you need?"
"Several hours."
"One minute."
"No!"
"Hurry up."
"Oh, come on!"
"Goodbye."
"WAIT!"
The goddess vanished.
Jemina was forced to make a quick decision. A decision she is sure she will likely regret later on.
Inside the ice prison, she closed her eyes and reached inward.
The threads appeared.
Countless invisible connections stretching into the distance.
Far stronger than before.
Far thicker.
Far brighter.
Months of growth.
Months of trust.
Months spent building bonds with creatures others called monsters.
The network spread across the battlefield.
Across the forest.
Across every familiar she had ever touched.
Power surged through those connections.
The threads reached toward Noctellis.
His eyes widened.
Genuine surprise appeared on his face.
The chimera within him recognized them immediately.
Recognized her.
He finally figured out that she is the one who can tame monsters.
"It's you."
The word escaped instinctively.
Too late.
The threads wrapped around him.
His sword trembled.
The chimera resisted.
His will resisted.
Every instinct screamed at him to fight.
To reject.
To break free.
Resist.
Resist.
Resist.
Then he looked at her.
Standing there covered in dirt.
Covered in leaves.
Hair completely disheveled.
Exactly as ridiculous as ever.
And smiling sadly.
"Would you really kill me?"
The words struck deeper than any blade.
For a single moment, Noctellis Ellengarde lost his composure.
And a single moment was enough.
The threads tightened.
The chimera surrendered.
The bond formed.
Silence consumed everything.
Noctellis froze.
Jemina stepped forward.
Her golden eyes softened.
Then she raised a hand and gently touched his cheek.
For a brief moment, she hesitated.
Everything she had learned.
Everything she believed.
Everything she had promised herself.
It all felt strangely heavy.
But beyond the ice wall were the people she loved.
Lucas.
Rosaline.
Milena.
Raisa.
Ayine.
Cyrinne.
The rabbits.
The mudwolves.
Her home.
And standing before her was the one person who would eventually destroy it all.
Unless she stopped him now.
Jemina closed her eyes.
Then gave her command.
"Noctellis Ellengarde, I order you to love me."