Chapter 115

Chapter 115

...

Layla

After witnessing the memories of my previous lives, I could no longer pretend everything was normal.

The moment I learned that the people I had to save were Alexander... and our child... something inside me completely fell apart.

No matter how hard I tried to distract myself, I couldn't erase the image of Alexander lying pale and motionless inside his coffin. Neither could I forget the unbearable despair of dying alongside our unborn baby.

Those memories had hollowed me out until I no longer knew how to live as though nothing had happened.

With trembling hands and a heart that felt as though it had been crushed beyond repair, I opened the drawer beside the bed and took out the Rava Crystal. After threading it onto a simple cord, I slipped it around my neck and carefully hid it beneath my dress.

"Alexander..."

My eyes slowly wandered across the room.

This was where everything had begun.

This was the room where he had first dragged me inside and arrogantly declared that I belonged to him.

It was also where he had whispered shameless words into my ear, held me in his arms, and made me feel warmer than I had ever thought possible.

"I'm sorry..." The words barely escaped my lips. "But I can't watch you die."

"Not this time."

"I won't become the curse that destroys you."

"I'm sorry..."

No tears fell.

Somehow, the pain had gone far beyond tears.

If disappearing from Alexander's life was enough to save him, then I would gladly spend the rest of my life alone.

Even if that loneliness swallowed me whole... Even if I never smiled again... It would still be better than watching him sacrifice himself because of me one more time.

As long as I left... Everything would be alright.

That was what I kept telling myself.

Before dawn broke, while the palace was still wrapped in silence and before Laris had even awakened, I quietly changed into the plain dress Rina usually wore. I covered my hair with the same style of headscarf worn by the palace maids, making myself look no different from any ordinary servant.

From my previous life, I already knew that several wealthy merchant families and minor nobles would secretly flee Lunaris through the harbor before the war began, hoping to escape to lands that would never be touched by the coming battle.

I also knew that, with the Rava Crystal hidden beneath my clothes, even Alexander's elite wolves wouldn't be able to track my scent.

Just as Alexander had once told me, the crystal concealed my existence beneath the powerful magic left behind by the Dragon King, making it seem as though I had vanished from the world itself.

Everything unfolded exactly as I remembered.

By the time I arrived at the harbor, one of the wealthiest merchant families was already preparing to depart aboard their private ship.

Without drawing attention to myself, I slipped among the servants carrying heavy crates toward the vessel. Fortunately, that family had employed several humans rescued from the caves, so blending in among them was surprisingly easy.

Before long, the ropes were released.

The ship slowly pulled away from the harbor.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I stood quietly on the deck as the towering walls of Lunaris gradually disappeared into the distance.

My vision blurred.

At last, tears spilled silently down my cheeks.

I was leaving and this time... I would never return to Lunaris again.

I was leaving Alexander behind. I was leaving the man I loved before fate could force me to watch him die again.

The crushing weight inside my chest became too much to bear, and my knees suddenly gave out beneath me. I collapsed onto the wooden deck, struggling to breathe as grief threatened to tear me apart from the inside.

I knew Alexander would be furious when he discovered I had disappeared. But it didn't matter.

If I left before he loved me too deeply, he would eventually choose a true she-wolf as his Luna. He would have an heir without violating Lycan law, he would keep all of his strength, and he would never need to sacrifice his life to defeat the King of Darkness.

It was alright.

Everything would be alright.

It was far better for him to believe I was dead... Far better for him to forget I had ever existed... Than for me to stand helplessly and watch him die because of me once again.

"Hey!"

A woman's voice suddenly pulled me back to reality.

"Come give us a hand over here." I quickly looked up and realized the speaker was the head servant of the merchant family.

"Y-Yes." I hurried to my feet and lowered my head respectfully before walking toward her.

For a brief moment, I could feel her eyes studying me, but he soon lost interest. After all, there were already several human servants working for the family, so there was nothing unusual about my presence among them.

The ship continued sailing farther and farther from Lunaris, carried across unfamiliar seas by the steady wind.

And just like that...

I abandoned the destiny that had once seemed impossible to escape.

I simply couldn't endure that pain again.

If disappearing from Alexander's life could erase every tragedy waiting for us... Then I would disappear without ever looking back.

...

Alexander

"My King, the warriors of Fang Pack are prepared to submit themselves to your command."

The Alpha of Fang Pack knelt before me with his head lowered.

Ever since Layla and I had secured an alliance with the Kingdom of Varland Dawn, the rebellion that had once divided Lunaris had begun to crumble. One by one, the Alphas who had refused to acknowledge my rule returned to the kingdom and pledged their loyalty once more.

The Alpha of Fang Pack was one of them.

He had remained fiercely loyal to the previous king and had rejected my authority from the very beginning.

Now...

He knelt before me willingly.

With this final pledge of allegiance, my journey across every border of Lunaris had finally come to an end. Every fortress had been reinforced, every frontier strengthened by the armies of the Alphas who now stood beneath my banner.

The time had finally come.

Soon, I would personally lead Lunaris' elite warriors through the first gate of the Underworld in retaliation for their cowardly assault on the Northern Border.

"Baryon."

"Yes, My King."

"Send word to Varland Dawn."

I kept my eyes fixed on the eastern frontier as I spoke.

"Tell them I'm calling in the promise they made. The assault will begin next week, and I expect their army to arrive before then."

"At once, Your Majesty." Baryon bowed before immediately carrying out my order.

Before me stretched the endless forests of the eastern border, now crawling with countless lesser Titans.

They weren't a threat.

The soldiers stationed at this fortress could wipe them out without much difficulty.

I slowly closed my eyes.

Perhaps I really had gone mad.

For the first time in my life...

I found myself missing someone so intensely that even breathing felt strangely uncomfortable.

I wanted to return to Layla. I wanted to hold her in my arms. I wanted to see her smile at me again.

I still couldn't put this feeling into words.

It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, growing stronger with every passing day until it occupied every corner of my thoughts.

...

Several more days passed before the last remnants of Lunaris' fractured territories were finally reunited beneath my rule. A handful of rebels still remained, but with the loyalty of the Alphas now secured and the alliance with Varland Dawn firmly established, I no longer considered them a serious concern.

Everything was finally in place.

Soon...

The Underworld would fall.

A cold smile spread across my face as anticipation surged through my veins.

Let's see, then...

Which one of us is truly stronger?

Me...

Or that coward who calls himself the King of Darkness?

My blood burned with excitement... For years I had waited for the day I could face him with my own hands, and now that moment was finally within reach.

At last, the day I had been waiting for arrived.

My carriage crossed into Lunaris once more, and despite everything that still awaited me, only a single thought filled my mind.

I was finally going home.

I was finally going to see my Layla again.

I imagined wrapping my arms around her, watching the embarrassed smile that always appeared whenever I teased her, and for reasons I still couldn't understand, that simple thought brought me far more satisfaction than the victories I had won along the borders.

But the instant I crossed into Lunaris...

Something felt wrong.

I should have been able to sense Layla's presence the moment I set foot within my own kingdom.

Instead...

There was nothing.

An unfamiliar uneasiness gripped my chest so suddenly that my heartbeat skipped.

Without another thought, I stepped out of the royal carriage before it had even come to a complete stop and raced toward the palace at full speed.

The journey that normally felt insignificant suddenly seemed unbearably long.

By the time I reached my chambers, my breathing had already grown heavier.

"Layla..."

Silence answered me.

The room was empty.

I closed my eyes and sharpened my senses, reaching for the familiar scent that had become impossible for me to mistake.

Nothing.

Not even the faintest trace remained.

For the first time in a very long while... Something that felt dangerously close to panic clawed at my heart.

I turned to search her room instead, but before I could leave, something resting on the table caught my attention—a letter.

I recognized the handwriting immediately.

It was Layla's.

My fingers unfolded the paper in a single motion. Only two words were written there.

"I've left."

That was all.

Just two simple words that erased every warm memory we'd shared together, as though none of it had ever meant anything to her.

For the first time in my life, my hands began to tremble.

Rage and fear collided inside my chest until I could no longer tell them apart. My jaw tightened, and the letter crumpled in my grip before turning to dust beneath the strength of my fingers.

"Layla..." My voice came out frighteningly quiet. "How dare you leave me."

The violent urge to tear the entire palace apart surged through me, yet it still wasn't enough to drown out the unbearable pain tightening around my heart.

I didn't understand this feeling. I had never experienced anything like it before.

All I knew was that I wanted Layla back.

No matter how far she tried to run... I would find her.

Even if I had to search every corner of this world.

...