NOVEL NEXT Chapter 221
Chapter 221. Beggar Siblings – The Princess
A twenty-sided die. The god’s perfect polyhedron floated in the air, enveloping Leanne. The cheers from Rutina Plaza below faded, and a dark gloom swallowed him.
Text floated impassively in the darkness. Watching it in a daze, Leanne shivered with wretchedness.
[ Lena’s final job has been determined. ]
[ Thank you for playing “Raising Lena.” ]
[ Leriana de Isadora ]
[ Final Job: Princess ]
[ Marriage Partner: Vivian de Isadora ]
[ Leanne de Yeriel ]
[ Final Job: King ]
[ Marriage Partner: Xenia Yeriel ]
[ Beggar Siblings Ending: The Princess ]
[ Clear ]
– Leriana, born in Rutina Palace, had an unfortunate childhood. Taken by people, she was hidden in a vast field with Leanne. When she woke up, the field was filled with corpses. Following Leanne… (truncated) …she returned to become a princess. As the legitimate heir of the Yeriel royal family, she entered Rutina Palace but didn’t stay long. The following year, the Orun Kingdom invaded. To aid her troubled kingdom and brother, Leriana de Yeriel married Prince Vivian de Isadora of the Aisel Kingdom. The troops dispatched by the Aisel Kingdom played a decisive role in the truce between the Conrad Kingdom and the Orun Kingdom. Leriana de Isadora bore six children and was buried in the Isadora family cemetery. –
– Leanne, born in Rutina Palace… (truncated) …was recognized as the heir. He inherited the throne early but his glory didn’t last. Duke Algeo de Lognum, the second prince of the Orun Kingdom, crossed the border. The forces of Marquis Guidan, allied with him, quickly defeated Count Lopero’s newly appointed Western Marcher Lord of the Conrad Kingdom, placing the kingdom in peril. Despite Leading his army personally, Leanne’s troops, having lost many knights to Oriax, couldn’t maintain their lines against Duke Algeo’s dazzling “knight maneuver strategy.” With the help of the Iber Magic Tower, they barely slowed the advance, but the kingdom’s fall seemed imminent. However, retired knight Sir Bart achieved success by sacrificing his life to reach Lady Guidan, Leading to Marquis Guidan’s withdrawal from the front. Reinforcements from the Aisel Kingdom arrived, stalling the front and resulting in a truce between the two kingdoms. But it was a temporary peace. King Leanne de Yeriel fought an endless war against Duke Algeo de Lognum, passing away on the battlefield in the 37th year of his reign. His queen, Xenia Yeriel, bore no children. –
[ The Childhood Friend Scenario Ending has been changed. ]
+ Leah, born in Demos Village … (truncated) …became a priest at a young age. Refusing Veronian’s request, she traveled the continent as a missionary, eventually settling in Rutina Church and dedicating her life there. After her death, Leah was canonized as the eighth saint. +
+ Lev, born in Demos Village, had a happy childhood… (truncated) …fought against Oriax with Leanne, and was covered in blood and melted away. +
Leanne couldn’t bring himself to look at his sister’s picture. Aside from making her a princess, he hadn’t achieved a single thing.
To call this a clear… to call this my end…
The kingdom was in ruins.
Though he hadn’t seen it, he could imagine. The school he promised to build with Bishop Berg probably never even got established, and they barely survived by borrowing foreign power. No, even that was the price of sending his sister off in marriage.
Where did it go wrong? Leanne, holding his breath, soon recalled the culprit.
– “I won’t marry anyone. And I’ll never forgive the knight who killed you. I’ll get revenge and retrieve the necklace he took. So rest in peace, my love.”
Harriet Guidan.
That woman had messed things up. If not for her, Marquis Guidan, who disapproved of the twin princes of the Orun Kingdom, wouldn’t have cooperated with them.
This was the price of cheap sympathy. Despite being in a dire situation himself, he used his favor achievement to prevent Harriet from losing her mind, and now he was paying for it.
But there was something strange too.
No matter how much Harriet wanted revenge, she couldn’t decide major national matters like war. Something must have aligned interests…
‘Did Prince Algeo de Lognum want to wage war?’
It’s unlikely Harriet married him. But if that worthless scum dreamt of conquering the Conrad Kingdom, it made sense.
The princes, who should have been competing for the throne, flaunted their camaraderie by sharing sex slaves. Algeo de Lognum, who survived by hiding even in a breeding pen to avoid Lev, the apostle of Barbatos.
They pressured the Eastern Margrave, Marquis Guidan, to marry Harriet. Realizing the reason for their actions, Leanne gritted his teeth.
He couldn’t do anything as a mere sphere, but his heart was filled with rage.
Thinking they were incompatible, Leanne lifted his eyes. Despite everything… he wanted to see his sister.
She’s so pretty.
My beautiful sister.
In the photo that emerged, Leriana had become queen.
Wearing a tiara, she was captured from an overhead angle as she sat at a desk in her bedroom writing a letter that began with “To my beloved brother.” Straining to catch even a glimpse of the letter his sister was writing, Leanne shed tears.
‘Minseo. Just once, give me one more chance… If I could, just once more…’
Leanne dissipated. Like shedding a husk, Minseo shrugged off the remnants of Leanne and sighed. Though a mere sphere couldn’t show it, it was a sigh of relief with a faint smile.
Indeed, making Lena a princess was the right answer. He had stubbornly pursued it, but in the back of his mind, he worried he was just floundering. If this wasn’t the correct answer, he wouldn’t have been able to face the Leos.
Relieved, Minseo looked up at the photo. His sister had become a noble princess and married a prince. She became a queen, lacking nothing.
This was a happy ending.
Since his first childhood friend playthrough where he naively married Leah, it was the first time something felt this right. Though things had gone awry due to entanglements with Harriet Guidan, it was easily fixable.
Just leave Harriet alone. And in the next childhood friend playthrough, he planned to start a rebellion anyway.
That would negate the Orun Kingdom’s invasion. As Leanne wished, the Conrad Kingdom and his sister’s lives would be peaceful.
And it seems that there is some connection between the red gem and Oriax that keeps entangling with us, something that would undoubtedly be crucial in capturing Oriax.
It’s regrettable that I didn’t realize this sooner. But on the 18th run, all the hard work paid off. I managed to capture Oriax on my own, overcoming the final hurdle of the Beggar Siblings scenario.
So, Leanne, don’t worry.
I will never abandon you to tragedy.
After ensuring the happiness of not only Lena but all of you, I will return to Chaeha.
Within the next two runs, all scenarios will be cleared. If there are still any unsatisfactory aspects by then, I will go through the remaining three runs, one by one. Lena is my friend, lover, and sister in all but name.
As Minseo resolved himself, the ending texts and photos disappeared. In the ensuing silence, he waited, and the reward he needed dropped.
[ You have cleared Raising Lena. You can now choose the scenario you wish to play. ]
[ Leo, you served as the king and a great general of the Conrad Kingdom, protecting your homeland throughout your life. For your accomplishments, you are granted the {Tactics} ability. ]
[ Childhood Friend ]
[ Betrothed ]
[ Beggar Siblings – Cleared ]
When Minseo thought of ‘Childhood Friend,’ the shading of the option turned white. The inverted text that had been shining in the darkness turned black.
The blinking confirmation of his choice soon disappeared, covered by the scene falling from the sky. Minseo could finally enjoy the thrill of falling from the sky and the refreshing summer breeze.
And then he became Lev…
“Lev! Are you listening to me?”
[ Achievement: ‘19th Leo’ – The speed at which the player assimilates with Leo increases slightly. ]
[ 19/23 ]
Lev burst into tears in front of the girl who had just turned back after picking wild berries. There was no need for assimilation; he wasn’t Minseo anymore.
Memories flooded back. The nostalgia of roaming the mountains and fields with Leah, foraging for food, the urgency when he jumped into the stream to save her.
The foolishness of feeding water to the captured kokoren, causing it to swell like a balloon, and the panic that followed when the young girl cried out in surprise, and my own stupidity that caused the accident.
The clear memory of sitting beside her as she studied at the church, secretly hoping she wouldn’t truly become a priest, resentfully trying to distract her. Back then, I would ring the church bell, as if a fire had broken out.
“W-Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
Leah was at a loss, seeing Lev’s tears streaming down his face. His gaze held too much emotion.
“Leah. The truth is…”
Lev confessed everything.
At the foot of the mountain.
They quenched their thirst with the wild berries they had picked, and Lev’s story continued until the sun set.
Starting from the first run, I told her how I married you. In the second run, I became someone else in the northern Kingdom of Austin and met a woman named Lena Einarr, and we were engaged. I also mentioned that I had an adorable little sister who died from an illness.
I refrained from speaking from the fourth run onwards.
I couldn’t bear to tell you that you were captured by the princes of the Kingdom of Orun and became a concubine, so I only said that things went wrong when we went to Nevis.
I shared about the time I returned injured after being involved with a gang in Orville, and how I messed up and died in the Beggar Siblings run. Here, I had to lie.
Then, in our current run, Leo predicted that a priest would visit the village in the autumn. I told her that you followed the priest to the capital church, things went wrong, and you were expelled from the church. I revealed that we got married there.
“Lev, are you out of your mind?”
“I’m sorry, but… I even know about the mole you have.”
Leah turned beet red.
Lev told her that he met a Sword Master in the next engagement scenario. It was a bit early, but he stood up because it seemed Leah suspected he was peeking at her. He drew his sword and showed her an Aura Blade, leaving Leah speechless, her eyes wide in surprise.
“And then I became Leanne de Yeriel again. I was pretty good at swordsmanship and tried to gather information by joining the Rauno family…”
He met Marquis Benard Tatian, who wanted to kill his son.
Lev vaguely conveyed that the ending wasn’t good, saying only that he couldn’t find his lost sister.
“During that time, while wandering through our kingdom, I came to Demoss Village. My father was gone somewhere, and my mother had passed away. I’ll continue this later.”
In the next run, Leah caused trouble. She was quick to catch on and suspected the changed me. Minseo didn’t want to reveal all these truths.
Because at that time, I wasn’t myself. I was Minseo, yet also Lev. I had no memories of the past.
“When I’m flustered, my ears twitch, you know that, right? I didn’t know, but you told me by the Irotasi River.”
It was the run where Lev was killed by Sir Bart. Lev briefly mentioned it. It would take a year to recount all the stories he experienced.
The next was the broken engagement.
A nauseating run.
Lev apologized to Lena Einarr, saying only that their relationship fell apart after a fight. There was no need to detail their pathetic behavior.
He had to completely omit the story about a prostitute named Cassia, and in the next run, Leanne de Yeriel met Oriax.
He met him. Without describing it further, Lev shifted back to our story… damn, it was endless.
“At that time, my father believed in a god called Barbatos. Now he has converted, and Barbatos is gone. But back then, I…”
I became an apostle.
I went mad and killed.
The only way to soften this was to skip over the massacre in Nevis. While out of my mind, I went to the capital church looking for you… and confessed that Barbatos had transferred to you.
With an apology.
By now, Leah was accustomed to it, listening with her knees hugged, like hearing a legend from Brother Leslie. Occasionally, she added comments like, “It must have been tough” and “You worked hard.”
Then came the story of the engagement where Minseo lost his mind and left with Lena Einarr, seeking his own happiness.
The story of becoming a Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Belita and seeking a way to approach Bishop Berg through Count Gustav Peter came to an end. So did the story of the rebellion in the Kingdom of Orun that ended in failure.
“They’re saying you’ll be canonized as a saint if you graduate from the capital church.”
“Really? I’m quite impressive, aren’t I?”
By this point, Leah didn’t seem to believe him. She seemed to decide it was easier to believe that Lev’s sword had some sort of sparkling, magical function.
Nevertheless, Leah, who enjoyed listening to stories, quietly listened to Lev.
“I’m not lying. It’s true. In the next engagement scenario, I… or rather, Leo Dexter, became a Sword Master.”
“Who said otherwise?”
“…You don’t seem to believe me, but look at this. This is the necklace I got in the last Beggar Siblings run, and this is the mirror that belonged to my mother. It didn’t have any function until now, but now…”
[Achievement: Bound Items, 2/3]
[Sword – Indestructible.]
[Mirror – Connectable.]
[Necklace – A pretty necklace.]
Lev took out the mirror. Just as he was about to ‘connect’ it…
– Thud!
“Ah! You startled me!”
Kokoren fell onto the mirror.
Leah clapped her hands to call for good luck, looking at Kokoren who was rolling around with its cute eyes, then looked up.
“Oh no! Lev, the sun’s setting! Let’s go down quickly.”
Lev chuckled. Seeing Leah’s bright smile, he replied, “Yeah, let’s go down.”
Maybe it was better not to have said anything.
But having shared everything, he felt relieved. Thinking this, Lev descended the dusky mountain path. After parting with Leah, who shouted,
“Mother! Father!”
He entered the house, hugging his tattoo-less father, who said, “Why are you acting so spoiled today, all grown up?”
When his mother asked about the mirror he was supposed to give to Leah, he shyly said he hadn’t given it to her yet.
In the cozy home of the hunter’s family, warm conversations flowed through the night. Meanwhile, in the cramped house next door, Leah was groaning and suffering from nightmares.