The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped

104 – 104. Tyranny and Famine (1)

How on earth does Ludmila know the whereabouts of the wedding ring?

It was only entrusted to my father for a moment….

Could it be that she thinks I prepared the wedding ring to propose?

Ludmila, who had fallen into the embodiment of jealousy, displayed an expression brimming with anticipation. In that moment, Edanant processed countless thoughts, calculating what Ludmila desired.

Hmm.

So it is indeed the wedding ring.

She had been eagerly awaiting a proposal, but due to a misunderstanding that he had eloped with Jeblinne, the current situation had unfolded.

It was a dramatic turn of events.

Misunderstandings piled up until a catastrophe occurred.

Edanant stood rigid, holding the ring box.

Ludmila’s obsession and desire for the wedding ring were painfully obvious. If he didn’t present the ring along with his confession, it felt as though he would be killed by the red dragon, just as he had boasted.

“…Lu, Ludmila.”

“Cough, cough.”

He took a step forward.

At that moment, Ludmila reflexively removed her gloves and subtly extended her left hand.

It was a gesture asking him to put the wedding ring on her finger.

A reddish hue spread across the face of the white-haired witch, once filled with hatred and jealousy.

“What I mean is, you may not believe me now… I’m sorry for always being slow to act. I should have given Ludmila the wedding ring much earlier.”

“…….”

The ruins lay in disarray, as if turned upside down by a barrage of shells.

Smoke thickly obscured the view.

Flames roared, exhaling intense heat.

It was the worst place imaginable, where not a hint of romance could be found. Yet, despite this, Ludmila slowly approached, listening intently to Edanant’s confession.

“Ludmila. I’m truly sorry.”

“…Ah, that’s enough if you understand.”

Her anger gradually subsided.

The flames of tyranny that had been voraciously consuming everything around them lost their strength.

The fire would soon extinguish.

The flames, having lost their power, could only be extinguished in the end.

—It’s a lie! It’s a wicked scheme to escape the immediate crisis!

Kill him.

Kill him at once.

Feeling a sense of crisis in the slowly rising reason of Ludmila, the Tyrant shouted in an agitated voice.

It heightened the anger.

It incited distrust while simultaneously urging for murder.

For Ludmila, Edanant was both an object of affection and an object of hatred. Therefore, the red dragon, seeking complete resurrection, aimed to have Ludmila kill Edanant, the greatest obstacle.

“Am I… really your first love? All this time, you’ve shown such skill with other women… I thought you were a man with plenty of romantic experience.”

“As I just said, I swear on the sanctity of the Earth Mother that it is the truth. You are the first person I have ever liked this much, Ludmila.”

Had it been the usual Ludmila, she would not have been swayed by the lie of “I swear on the sanctity of the Earth Mother.”

But currently, Ludmila was in an unstable state, eroded by the Tyrant’s divinity.

She lacked the reason to discern the truth.

Thus, like a country girl, she could not help but be taken in by Edanant’s skilled confession.

—Ugh! This isn’t working at all… What kind of mental strength is this!

Ludmila’s mental fortitude was strong enough to withstand even the erosion of the Tyrant. If it hadn’t been for the numerous misunderstandings triggered by Edanant, the Tyrant’s malice would never have seized her reason.

Though it urged for murder, it failed.

Even after inciting anger and hatred, it was instead repelled.

Truly unfortunate, Ludmila was among the strongest, known as the mightiest of the red dragon’s heirs. Thus, a reversal was born, where the malice of innocence was helplessly suppressed within the vessel containing divinity.

“I love you, Ludmila.”

“Ugh…!”

As Edanant stepped forward, closing the distance, he finally reached right beside Ludmila.

He took out a wedding ring from its box.

Faced with the brilliantly shining wedding ring, Ludmila unconsciously swallowed hard.

At last.

Finally, this moment—

The ring, crafted from silver, slipped onto her slender and soft ring finger. It was the moment she became Edanant’s true fiancée.

“Shut your mouth!”

As the overwhelming emotion and exhilaration drove away the Tyrant’s malice,

a sharp scream from a girl rang out.

It was Jebeline.

Dressed in pure white robes, the girl interjected with an agitated response.

“How dare you take the wedding ring… by using violence? Are you still the protector of the Baltaria Empire after doing that?”

“Anyone who hears this might misunderstand. It is a trophy rightfully obtained.”

The saint condemns the one-sided violence unfolding before her eyes.

The princess claims the wedding ring as a ‘justly earned trophy.’

My heart feels truly petty.

The white dragon and the red dragon clashed once more over the wedding ring.

Catfight.

No,

The protagonist, caught in a dragon fight, stood frozen, still holding the wedding ring.

With immense effort, Ludmila finally regained her composure, exuding a dark aura once again. At the same time, the blue eyes of Jebeline, who had been glaring at her rival, shone ominously.

It’s dangerous.

If left unchecked, an irreversible situation would unfold.

My instincts, honed from multiple experiences witnessing the fights between Ludmila and Jebeline, screamed of extreme peril. Edanant stretched out his hands to intervene in the ‘clash of misfortune.’

“I-I’ll give you the wedding ring later… Just bear with me for now. I promise I’ll do anything you want.”

“…….”

He pleaded with a desperate voice.

At that, surprise flickered across Jebeline’s harshly transformed face.

“Really? You’ll do anything… You’re promising that?”

“I swear by the goddess of the earth.”

“Don’t think you can brush this off with such nonsense. You don’t even believe in the earth goddess.”

“…Fine. I swear by the name of the Hoenberk family.”

Unlike the naïve Ludmila, Jebeline was sharp and quick-witted. And she knew Edanant better than anyone else.

Indeed, she was the heroine he had longed for over the past three years.

Such trivial words wouldn’t suffice.

With Jebeline’s cutting response, Edanant let out a sigh as if declaring his surrender.

“To say you’ll grant anything the First Saint demands! What on earth does that mean?”

“Ludmila has already received her wedding ring. Just show a little leniency this once.”

At Edanant’s plea for leniency, Ludmila narrowed her eyes in dissatisfaction. But soon, upon confirming the evidence of her engagement adorning her left ring finger, she momentarily stepped back.

She had received the wedding ring she had so longed for.

She had even received a heartfelt proposal from Edanant.

Now, the First Saint would be nothing more than an obstacle, not a rival. She would be getting married to Edanant next spring.

Spoils (Wedding Ring)

Confident in her victory through the spoils (the wedding ring) and the declaration of surrender (the proposal), Ludmila cast a faint smirk at Jeblinne. In response, Jeblinne ground her teeth.

“Now, let’s return to the Empire.”

Edanant stretched out his hands, grasping the claws of Ludmila and Jeblinne, who had been growling at each other.

“Her Highness Elizabeth must be worried.”

“…That’s true.”

They had flown at full speed to the Marquisate of Hoenberk without any word. Ludmila bowed her head deeply, recalling her younger sister, who must be anxiously waiting due to her reckless rampage.

It felt as if she had been used for something.

One could say she had lost her reason in an instant.

Had she been her usual self, even upon hearing the news that Edanant had run away with the First Saint, she would have at least maintained a modicum of rationality. But for some reason, ever since experiencing the unexpected at the alliance meeting’s banquet, she had become impulsive, unable to suppress a moment of rage.

The monstrous form reflected in the mirror.

Surely, it was related to that.

‘Could it be that the Red Dragon, the guardian dragon of the Baltaria Empire, was the calamity of tyranny? If so…’

Edanant, who had been gazing at Ludmila with a worried look, then turned to Jeblinne.

The Red Dragon was the calamity of tyranny.

If that was the case, then the White Dragon of the Gael Empire must also be related to the calamity of innocence.

Reading the hidden meaning in her gaze, Jeblinne nodded with a bitter smile. It seemed she had realized the underlying truth upon witnessing Ludmila’s rampage before her eyes.

‘The White Dragon of the Gael Empire must be the calamity of famine.’

The calamities of tyranny and famine, which Mother Earth Gael had turned into puppets, were revealed to be the Red Dragon of the Empire and the White Dragon of the Gael Empire.

Was it merely a coincidence?

No,

It couldn’t possibly be.

The fate that began with meeting Jeblinne and then Ludmila was certainly not a matter of chance.

— Calamities are bound to attract each other. They will meet soon. Perhaps they have already met.

She recalled the oracle delivered by the calamity of war that had descended upon the cursed land of war.

Had they already met?

Indeed, it was as the calamity god of war had said.

She had met Jeblinne on the battlefield of the Third Racial War, the starting point of the grand finale. And after meeting Ludmila, following the escape of the saint party, another grand finale had begun.

‘But back then, Jeblinne couldn’t have been the saint blessed by the White Dragon… Could it be that she was destined to be chosen as a saint in the future, and that was why we met?’

What good would it do to ponder now?

Speculation was merely speculation.

Eda Nante smiled awkwardly as she took in the sight of Ludmila and Jeblinne.