I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 517

The second floor of the banquet hall.

A situation room was set up here, overlooking the party hall.

Crossroad personnel who were difficult to deploy on the front lines, or non-combatants who needed to observe the situation, were watching the banquet hall from here.

And among them was Serenade, who was in charge of preparing the party.

“……”

Damian and Junior, standing on either side of Serenade, who was looking down at the banquet hall with a calm smile, were sweating profusely as they watched her.

Walking out to the center of the banquet hall now was Ash, and the enemy commander, Black Night.

The two of them stood in the center of the banquet hall, holding hands naturally, as if they were close dance partners, not enemies.

*Gulp.*

Damian and Junior swallowed hard.

Among the people on this front, there was no one who didn’t know the relationship between Ash and Serenade.

That’s why they were even more afraid to watch Serenade smiling calmly right now.

Even though it was an action during the operation, they couldn’t help but be aware of it…!

“I’m fine.”

As if she had noticed their concern, Serenade whispered with a faint smile.

“His Highness told me in advance. He said that he would be deliberately close to the enemy commander during this party, so I wouldn’t misunderstand.”

“Ah…!”

“It was discussed in advance!”

Damian and Junior breathed a sigh of relief.

How fortunate that it was discussed in advance. If not, the atmosphere in this situation room would have been so tense that it would have been hard to breathe…

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Did you think I would be jealous of something like this… Hehehehe.”

*Crack.*

Serenade’s other hand, which was covering her mouth as she laughed, tightly grabbed the table.

The documents on it crumpled. It was as if a blue chill was emanating from Serenade’s surroundings.

‘No, she is jealous….’

‘She’s holding a grudge with the force of bringing frost in the middle of summer….’

Damian and Junior couldn’t bring themselves to say it and just kept sweating profusely.

At that moment, Eliza, the maid-dressed guard standing behind Serenade, glared fiercely.

“That womanizer hasn’t changed his old habits…! Should we fix his habits this time, Master?”

“No, hold back, Eliza. Not yet, not yet…”

…‘Not yet’?

Although a terrifying conversation had just passed, Damian and Junior shook their heads and erased the memory. They didn’t hear it! They didn’t hear anything!

“…Because right now, I’m just His Highness’s former fiancée.”

Serenade whispered, looking at Ash with sad eyes.

“I’m used to waiting for him.”

“……”

Damian and Junior nodded to each other.

After all, no matter how you look at it, Ash seems like a bad man!

“U-Um, I’ll cheer for you, Serenade!”

“Please grab him tightly! And, um… please fix His Highness’s bad habits later!”

“Hehe. Thank you for your support, you two.”

Serenade smiled brightly and turned to look at them.

“By the way, aren’t you two thinking of going to the banquet hall? There’s still some time before the operation starts, and everyone is having a good time dancing. You two can go too.”

Damian scratched the back of his head and refused.

“Well… I’m not interested in that kind of thing.”

Damian couldn’t forget his friend, Ban, who he had been with since childhood and who had died two years ago. The very idea of dancing with someone was a burden.

“Hahaha, me neither…”

Junior refused with a bitter smile.

Aside from the issue of his scarred appearance, Junior had never felt romantic feelings for anyone. He still had no such thoughts.

At that moment, a voice came from behind the situation room.

“Don’t do that, both of you go!”

When they turned around, it was Lily.

Lily, who had left her child with a nanny and was working to manage the artifacts inside the banquet hall, approached in her wheelchair.

“Enjoy the party while you can dance. Is that a serious piece of advice?”

Lily, showing her legs that she couldn’t use, tapped them with her hand and gestured cheerfully outside.

“Do you have to dance only with a lover? You can have fun with friends who get along well. Even a friendship dance would be fun.”

“B-But…”

“Okay, just go quickly! We’ll protect this place in the meantime.”

At Lily’s urging, Damian and Junior looked at each other awkwardly.

They didn’t see each other as romantic interests at all, but they were colleagues who had become close friends over the past two years.

“Then, as Lily-nim said…”

“Shall we try a friendship dance?”

In their awkward and mismatched suits and dresses, Damian and Junior left the situation room together. Lily waved her hand, saying, “Have fun~.”

The waltz played by the orchestra began in earnest, and one by one, people in the center of the banquet hall held hands and danced.

Serenade watched Lily, who was staring intently at the scene, with a slightly worried look.

“…Are you okay, Lily-nim?”

“Huh? Of course. I’m fine.”

Lily smiled faintly, resting her chin on her hand.

“It’s just that, when I look back, I don’t have any memories of dancing with that man.”

“……”

“Not being able to use my legs, not having a party, being in the middle of a war, looking back, it all seems like excuses. There were so many more things I could have done if I had just made up my mind.”

Lily suddenly imagined.

Imagining holding hands with God Hand… Carlisle and dancing.

It didn’t have to be on the central stage of this beautiful banquet hall.

In a corner of the banquet hall where no one could see… no, not even in the banquet hall, but somewhere in the dark crevices of this world.

Imagining Carlisle, who was alive and breathing like a lie, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes… dancing.

“……”

Soon, Lily shook her head with a bitter smile. She erased the vain imagination from her mind.

The winter when that man was supposed to return had already passed, and even this winter that followed was coming to an end.

Now, reality was more important to her than imagination… the future where her son, Sid, would live was more important.

“Let’s make sure this operation succeeds.”

Lily, having composed herself, smiled brightly at Serenade.

“And after saving the world, please! Serenade-nim, please dance with His Highness often whenever you have time. Okay?”

“…Yes, I will.”

Serenade, who smiled back, reached out her hand. Lily quietly took her hand.

The party, seen through the windows of the situation room, was in full swing.

***

Nameless stood awkwardly in a corner of the banquet hall.

The heroes of Crossroad, with whom she had fought alongside, welcomed her, but the other members of the World Guardian Front were clearly wary of her.

Her position as a representative of the Lake Kingdom was truly ambiguous.

The Lake Kingdom was the main culprit that had caused the world’s destruction by spewing out monsters from under that lake.

Nameless was as noticeable as she was beautiful, and her origin and status were even more noticeable. It had also been a long time since she had been to a party with so many people.

Avoiding the burdensome gazes, she isolated herself in the corner of the banquet hall, and finally, in a place where no one was around, she was able to catch her breath.

Nameless, who was taking a long breath, soon noticed something was wrong.

“Ah.”

Her hair ornament had fallen off, and her hair, which she had barely managed to arrange, was tangled on the floor.

It was because her hair was too long. She had been growing it for the past five hundred years, so it was long enough to drag on the ground.

The hair ornament had fallen off because it couldn’t withstand the weight.

‘What should I do with this….’

It was at this moment that Nameless was at a loss.

“If you don’t mind, may I tie your hair for you?”

A voice she had heard before echoed from behind.

Surprised, Nameless turned around, and there stood a man dressed as a waiter.

A young man with messy, shaggy gray hair, wearing high-prescription glasses, and a unimpressive physique.

It was Aider, the lord’s aide.

“You are…”

Nameless tilted her head, recognizing him.

“When I visited the lord’s mansion last time, you tied my hair then too, didn’t you?”

“It is a natural thing for a servant here to do. If you allow me, I will tie your hair again this time.”

“Please do. I think I can trust you with it.”

Without hesitation, Nameless turned her back to Aider.

Aider, who carefully stood behind Nameless, gathered her disheveled hair with care and braided it with meticulous hands.

After finishing the last comb and reattaching the hair ornament, Aider stepped back.

“It’s done.”

“Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome. Then.”

Aider bowed and stepped back. And then he turned to leave.

Nameless called out without realizing it.

“Hey!”

“…Yes?”

Aider, who had turned around, smiled faintly.

“Is there anything else you need me to do?”

“……”

Nameless didn’t know why she had stopped this man.

She didn’t know the identity of the dull ache that was rising in her chest.

After burning her name and soul completely to save her country five hundred years ago, she had forgotten many things.

That’s why she didn’t know why her voice was trembling now.

She didn’t know, but she spoke.

“Dance.”

“…Yes?”

“Won’t you dance with me?”

In the center of the banquet hall, people were already dancing to the music.

Aider, who glanced at that side for a moment, burst into a hearty laugh and waved his hands.

“I am just a lowly… a mere lord’s aide. I am not qualified to dance with a princess…”

“I came here at the invitation of your lord, my superior. And I haven’t danced in the past five hundred years.”

Nameless felt her cheeks flush, but she decided to be stubborn.

“If you are the lord’s aide, wouldn’t you also have a duty to assist my dance?”

“……”

“I beg you.”

Nameless reached out her white hand to Aider.

“Don’t embarrass me any further, and dance with me.”

Aider stared blankly at Nameless for a long time.

And then, his trembling lips slowly formed an expression.

It was a blurry expression, hard to tell if he was smiling or crying.

“…It would be the honor of my life, Princess.”

Aider approached and held Nameless’s delicate hand, as if worried about damaging it.

And then he slowly bowed.

“May I have the honor of escorting you?”

“Gladly.”

Aider took Nameless’s hand and slowly led her to the center of the banquet hall.

The first song had just ended. The two of them naturally joined the flow of people who had stopped dancing.

The two stood facing each other, quietly looking into each other’s eyes—her turquoise eyes that seemed to hold a lake, and his gray eyes that seemed worn by time.

And then the next song began.

The two, with their bodies close together, slowly began to step to the music.

It was a very old dance, completely different from the modern ones.

***

Waltzes echoed in the banquet hall,

And people danced while holding each other.

“You asked me if I knew how to dance, but why are you so terrible!”

“Huh?! Even so, I was the party queen at the academy graduation party?!”

“You, a party queen? That’s absurd! The reason they made you a party queen was because you graduated early, so the seniors were considerate!”

“Why are you so stiff, old man?! Am I dancing with a person, or am I sparring with a wooden doll?”

Lucas and Evangeline, with their bodies close together, were yelling at each other,

“S-Stop sticking to me! This isn’t how you dance a waltz?!”

“I don’t want to? I won’t let go? Hehe, let’s dance all night long, sticking close together…!”

“Hiiiik!”

Kuilran and Yoon were sticking together intimately, exuding a hot aura,

“Waaaaaah!”

“I’ve never danced before!”

Damian and Junior, who had never learned social dancing, eventually gave up and just started spinning in place while holding each other’s arms.

‘It reminds me of the old days!’ Dusk Bringer, who was dancing with his knights in turn.

Kellybay and Verdandi, with their faces flushed as if they were drunk, were ignoring the waltz and dancing their own traditional dances while holding hands….

In addition, many other colleagues were dancing happily, or still nervously watching me, spinning around in the banquet hall.

《It’s a nice sight.》

Black Night, who was slowly dancing with me in the center of all these people, murmured.

《The world might end within a year, but everyone is hugging each other and dancing so happily.》

“That’s why they’re dancing more desperately.”

I replied, skillfully leading the dance.

“Because the world is about to end, they’re holding onto each other… confirming their warmth, confirming their lives.”

《I’m envious.》

Black Night twisted her blue lips bitterly.

《I, an undead, have neither warmth nor life.》

“I can give it to you.”

《What?》