“How to Choose?”
‘If I choose the one on the left, the one on the right will immediately “purify” herself into a pile of ash.’
‘If I choose the one on the right, the one on the left will slice me into more than 1,000 pieces, ensuring every piece is uniform and neat.’
This was a dead end.
Lynn’s brain raced, searching for a way out.
He looked at their faces, seeing that same shared madness in their eyes — a madness called “possession.”
He knew that any logic or reason would be nonsense in front of them.
To survive, he couldn’t reason with them.
He had to talk about “feelings.”
He had to talk about the kind of “feelings” they cared about most, no matter how twisted they were.
Lilith’s small hand quietly tightened from behind.
Her icy fingertips pressed against his heart through his clothes.
It was as if she were reminding him that there was a third option — an option that led to an even deeper hell.
Lynn took a deep breath, the air thick with the scent of death, which jolted his spirit.
He didn’t retreat. Instead, he took a step forward.
With that single step, he broke free from Lilith’s grasp and fully exposed himself to the center of the pressure emanating from Vivian and Alicia.
Both women’s gazes sharpened simultaneously.
“Before answering that, I want to ask you both a question first,” Lynn began.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear, carrying far across the silent ruins.
His expression was calm, unlike a prey pushed into a corner.
He even wore a faint, weary, and sorrowful smile.
“Your Highness Vivian, Your Highness Alicia. You… used to be friends, right?”
The question was like a stone thrown into a pool of stagnant water.
Vivian’s hand on her sword tightened.
The smile on Alicia’s face also stiffened slightly.
“Friends?”
What a distant word.
Back at the Theological Seminary, they truly were the Empire’s most dazzling duo.
One was the Spear of the Empire, and the other was the God’s Representative.
They attended classes together, trained together, and even appeared side-by-side at the Royal Capital’s Ball, stunning the entire noble circle.
Everyone believed they would become the Empire’s strongest pillars in the future.
“Until…”
Their gazes fell upon Lynn at the same time.
It was this man.
His appearance had changed everything.
Lynn didn’t give them much time for reminiscence.
He continued speaking.
“I saw it myself. In the Academy library, you used to sit together and discuss Ancient Elven poetry. I still remember last year’s Harvest Festival, where you stood together, receiving the cheers of the people.”
“Back then, things were so good between you.”
Lynn’s voice carried a sense of genuine regret.
A flicker of hesitation appeared in Vivian’s eyes.
She didn’t remember any elven poetry, but she did remember a time when she and Alicia were rivals who respected each other.
Alicia’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
The fervor in her eyes was covered by a layer of complex emotions. She viewed everything in the world as filth, but only Vivian was once considered worthy to stand by her side and bask in God’s grace.
Lynn keenly captured their shift. He knew the fish had bitten the hook.
He raised his hand, the one wrapped in a handkerchief.
The cloth, already stained red with blood, was particularly striking against the gray ruins.
“This small injury is nothing,” he said, his tone heavy with sorrow.
“The little blood I’ve spilled isn’t important, either. What truly pains me is this moment. Seeing you two, for my sake, standing here in opposition. Seeing you turn your former friendship into these ruins beneath your feet.”
He looked around at the crumbling walls and broken remains.
“None of this… should have happened. If my existence is destined to make the Empire’s strongest Knight and the holiest Saintess turn against each other — if it’s destined to tear your friendship apart…”
Lynn’s voice trailed off.
He lowered his head, his shoulders slumping slightly like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
“Then how can I choose?”
He looked up, his eyes reddening, his voice carrying a raspy sob.
“Do I choose you, Your Highness Vivian? And then watch as Her Highness Alicia is abandoned by God, falling into a pit of agony? Or do I choose you, Your Highness Alicia? And personally shatter Your Highness Vivian’s honor as a Knight, forcing her to carry the shame of failing to protect me? Tell me! How am I supposed to choose?!”
His questioning was like a heavy hammer striking the hearts of the two women.
They were both stunned.
They had never considered this perspective.
They only thought of possession, of having him all to themselves.
Yet they forgot that this man… he was actually thinking of them?
He didn’t want to hurt either of them?
“Choosing either side is an act of cruelty toward the other. Choosing either side would be the most wicked curse upon my own soul. And even more so… a profanation of the precious friendship you once shared!”
Lynn’s voice suddenly rose, carrying a sense of tragic determination.
“Therefore, I refuse to choose. I cannot be so selfish that I destroy you both for the sake of where I belong. If someone must bear this pain, let it be me. I… choose no one.”
As his words fell, the entire world went silent.
Vivian looked at him, a storm gathering in her ice-blue eyes.
She wanted to argue, to say, ‘I don’t care,’ or ‘I’d cast everything aside just to have you.’
But as the words reached her lips, she couldn’t say them.
Because of Lynn’s eyes.
Those eyes were too clean, so clean that her own filthy desire for possession had nowhere to hide.
He said he didn’t want to hurt her.
He said he didn’t want to shatter her honor as a Knight.
This man… this fragile yet incredibly gentle man…
**[Vivian Augustus Blackening Value: 105%]**
Alicia also looked at him.
The smile on her face had vanished, replaced by an expression that mixed pity, obsession, and ecstasy.
‘O God. Do You see? This is the Holy Son You have bestowed upon me.’
‘He is so pure, so kind. He would rather bear the pain himself than tarnish the bonds between others. His soul is the most perfect Sacrificial Offering in this world!’
‘His refusal to choose isn’t a lack of love, but a Great Love! He loves the people of this world, so he does not wish to see conflict.’
‘This is a test from God. God is telling me that to have him, I cannot use crude plunder. I must use a more devout, purer love to guide him, to influence him.’
**[Alicia Clemens Blackening Value: 101%]**
The Blackening Value did not drop.
However, the violent aura that had threatened to incinerate everything calmed down strangely.
In its place were two even deeper, more paranoid, and more irredeemable forms of possessiveness.
They no longer viewed each other as enemies that had to be eliminated immediately.
Instead, they saw one another as… competitors in a contest of “love.”
“Brother is so gentle, isn’t he?”
Lilith’s voice drifted from behind Lynn like a ghost.
At some point, she had walked up to his side again and gently took his arm.
She tilted her small face up to look at Lynn, her ink-black pupils sparkling with a smile that saw through everything.
This single sentence completely broke the deadlock.
Vivian and Alicia’s gazes sharpened once more.
“Since you are unable to choose,” Vivian said as she sheathed her sword, her voice returning to the cold hardness of a Knight Commander, “then until the threat is neutralized, your safety will be the joint responsibility of the Imperial Family and the Church.”
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