Saving The Abandoned Empress

193 “Humiliation”

Back To The Present~

Blood continued to drip down on the white snow from Eleanora’s chest, as Cathain continued to walk with her in his arms.

His body wasn’t able to hold back the both mental and physical exhaustion as he kept recalling the past life.

He needed to rest and concentrate to stabilise his mana powers, but he didn’t had that much time.

Eleanora’s mana was becoming more weaker as time passed by and she was barely conscious.

“Hah... I knew you would come this way, Your Majesty,”

Cathain, whose vision was almost blurry paused on his steps and become horrified as he heard Mendel’s voice.

He gripped Eleanora more tightly in his embrace as he saw the huge Rua’s army troop infront of him.

‘I-I can’t win...’

.....

“You are really impressive for making it all this way, even after suffering such great injuries...”

Mendel spoke as he observed Cathain, Who had injuries all over his body and full of blood.

“Oh? The crown princess is dead?! What a pity...”

“...What do you want?... For letting her go?”

Cathain asked in a low voice as he sensed there is no way out this time.

For the first time in his life, he felt himself helpless and pray to the god for a way.

‘I don’t have a problem with dying... But Elee,’

‘I can’t even save her now... Is this the end for us?’

He hugged her more tightly as he glanced at her pale face, Eleanora was panting hard to breathe as she shaked her head lightly.

“R-Run... You, must...survive”

Eleanora tried her best to talk as she tried to fight against the poison, which spread in her body from the sword.

The sword contained the same poison, which shot the crown prince 4 years ago was also used in the arrow.

The poison made it unable for her to heal herself, but she continued to try, as she didn’t liked seeing him becoming weak and helpless like this.

“What do i want? Let’s see what’s bigger to you, your Majesty... Your love or pride!”

Mendel spoke as he laughed with the other knights to mock the emperor.

“Just say what do you want?!”

Cathain asked again as time was running out.

Eleanora didn’t lost much blood as he didn’t removed the sword from her chest yet. But that doesn’t mean that she is safe.

“On your knees, Your Majesty... Kneel and bow to me!!”

Cathain’s red eyes widened as he heard Mendel’s words. All his life, he has only bow down to Eleanora and no one else.

He sensed Eleanora’s panic feeling and looked at her thinking, it was the last time he was probably seeing her and kissed her forehead lightly.

“I hope, i won’t be a emperor in my next life and we won’t remember any hardship from the past. Just feel the love and get attracted to each other.. Live normally.”

“Am sorry for being a incompetent... For failing to protect you, Am sorry, my empress...”

Eleanora’s heart ached as she saw his painful red eyes, for the first time- she regreted.

‘Why did i denied his changes till now?’

‘I kept rejecting him, blaming him for the past which isn’t related to him but he never got angry at me for blaming him.’

‘On the other hand, he tried to understand what i was feeling, he respected my wishes... Didn’t gave up on me, even now.’

‘You would be saved if you had just leave me be, why are you making me feel regret now?’

‘Regret... That why i didn’t embraced your changes and the current you, when i had the chance?’

‘When i also know that i shouldn’t think like this?’

“Let’s meet each other next time with no sad memories...”

Cathain whispered to Eleanora as he kneeled down in front of Mendel, with her on his embrace.

“Hahhaaa!!! The great Cathain De Valerian Valentino!! He is kneeling down in-front of me!!!”

“Save her now...please, you can have the empire and my life...”

It crushed Cathain’s pride completely, never once he thought that he will have this day.

But he doesn’t regret it... As long as she can be saved.

Cathain bow down his head more lower and Eleanora’s lifeless blue eyes widened with shock.

‘NO- HOW CAN HE BOW DOWN TO THAT BASTARD?!’

Eleanora become more agitated and Cathain felt her life force draining out more.

“...Hah, why should i save her?! If it wasn’t for her, then i would have already won this war!”

Mendel scoffed at Cathain, whose red eyes widened with horror and had almost admitted defeat.

“...!!!!”

“WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT, MENDEL?!”

Even the enemy troops felt sorry for the emperor, who was desperate to save the crown princess; but Mendel looked at him with no mercy.

“It’s over now, Your Majesty;”

“I WANT YOU BOTH DEATH!”

“It’s time to end our conflict and Kingdom Rua to become Empire Rua once again!”

Eleanora wasn’t afraid of dying again now, but her heart died when she saw him like that.

‘Why do you love me so much... Don’t do this... Am afraid that i can’t ignore my feelings anymore because of this, but again... It’s too late,’

Cathain clenched his fist as Mendel laughed seeing the emperor kneeling down and begging to him for saving her.

“Everyone, On my command!”

All the knights of Rua army troops pulled the trigger of their riffles as they pointed at Cathain and Eleanora.

“Am sorry, My empress...”

Cathain spoke and closed his eyes tightly as he heard the gun shot being fired, his breathing stopped and turned his body to become a human shield for Eleanora.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

But unexpectedly, none of the bullets hit him and Cathain opened his eyes with surprise to see a blue magic shield around themselves.

“DARE TO HURT OUR EMPEROR AND FUTURE EMPRESS?!”

Alexander, who created a magic barrier around Cathain spoke as he rushed to them with his horse.

Before the enemy could get over their panic after seeing Alexander or run, A snowstorm started suddenly which buried half of their troops under the heavy snow.

Cedrick led the imperial army from behind as he surrounded the enemy troops, with no way out.

Mendel panicked as he realised that now it was him, who got trapped.

But that wasn’t the end, soon another army of armed troops marched towards Rua’s soldiers.

“It’s- IT’S THE ARENDELL ARMY!”

The enemies troops was shocked as Arendell never participates in any battle to maintain the peace and holiness of their kingdom for thousand years.

But now, their crown prince, Dominic De Caisson Arendell broke that rule apart by joining hands with the Empire.

“Elee!!!”

Jennifer, who came with Dion rushed to the injured Eleanora and Cathain.

She called her by the nickname in panic, that she had used before, while staying with Eleanora as the priestess.

“Am leaving her on your care, Your Majesty...”

Alexander coldly spoke to Cathain, who was in a shock too.

.....

Cathain never thought that he had so many people supporting him from behind, who had always protected him from the shadows.

His grip on his sword tightened as his gaze fall on the dying Eleanora, before he turned his killing intent towards Mendel.

“EVERYONE, ATTACK!!”

“FOR OUR EMPIRE AND HONOUR!!”

As soon as Alexander finished speaking, Cedrick also lead the army from behind.

The imperial army’s blood was boiling with anger, because of the humiliation the Rua’s people made them feel.

The scene of their emperor kneeling on the ground, with their injured empress.

Their heart ached as it filled with uncontrollable rage to defeat the enemy.

To win back their honour and make them pay the price for hurting their future empress.

For taking back the honour their emperor lost.

Mendel gritted his teeth as he found it unbelievable and kept on blocking Alexander’s powerful killing moves.

‘No... Someone has bebetrayed me... They wouldn’t know our exact position...’

‘WHO WAS IT?!’

Then his eyes fall on Zachary, who was just standing still with his man’s.

He wasn’t fighting and the imperial soldiers wasn’t attacking them either.

‘ZACHARY?!’

“YOU BASTARD!! HOW DARE YOU TO BETRAY ME?!”

Mendel managed to curse at Zachary as he found himself being unable to win against Alexander, who wasn’t giving him a single chance to strike.

“Your grace... The king-”

“He is no longer our king. How can he be a king when he doesn’t even cared for his people’s live?”

Zachary replied to his subordinates question coldly as he watched his own older brother getting closer to death.

He recalled the young Mendel, who had given the young Zachary, his own food to eat; when Zachary was starving.

He betrayed that same brother cruelly, to save the remaining people.

Their supplies was caught off by the empire, people in the kingdom is starving, people living with fear everyday.

And the king’s obession to defeat the empire made thousand elite soldiers lose their lives.

Zachary had no choice but to accept the offer, which was given to him by the empire.

They will release the imprisoned soldiers and help them to recover, as long as he helps them.

Seeing the current Mendel, who was nothing like the warm older brother he remembered to be... His heart ached.

‘Even if the food you gave me because you had suspicions about poison in that... I ate it, because it was you, who gave it to me, when i was starving for days, Brother.’

‘I helped you to become the king as you wished, because i considered you as my brother; where i was just another worthless life to you...’

‘But i can’t risk our people’s live for you anymore, I hope you can forgive me; Brother-‘

SLASH!!

Zachary’s closed eyes widened as something wet was splashed on his face and something dropped infront of his foot.

He blinked his eyes a few times to see Mendel’s body standing infront of him, before it dropped on the ground; headless.

He touched the blood on his face as his gaze looked down to find Mendel’s head infront of his foot.

Zachary sallowed his saliva with pain as a single tear drop left his eyes, a twitch appear on his face and he kneeled down.

His trembling hands touched Mendel’s eyelids, which one was not blind and widened.

He felt like Medel was glaring at him, blaming him.

With a clench on his heart, he closed Mendel’s eyelids.

‘I hope for you to be a great man in your next life, Brother...’

“SURRENDER EVERYONE! HIS HIGHNESS IS DEAD!!!”

Zachary announced with a cold deep voice, which made the pain inside of his heart clearly visible to everyone.

He dropped his sword as he kneeled down, and the other knights followed him to surrender.

“I, as the last descendant of the Royal family, proclaim myself as the next King and hereby admit defeat to the empire...”