Grant me Your Grace Chapter 78

It took less than an hour for the Moon Lions to occupy the imperial palace of the Baran Kingdom.

 

Their movements were so fast the eye could barely follow, and blood soaked the ground before the pain of their strikes could even be registered.

 

Dahlia’s soldiers were already severely exhausted from their earlier clash with the rebels, but the overwhelming force of the Moon Lions was simply on a level they could never hope to withstand.

 

Dahlia’s eyes trembled in disbelief as she watched the battlefield become devastated in an instant. 

 

Standing in the midst of the horrific battlefield, Hissin’s appearance was distinctly different from the man she remembered.

 

Amidst the cacophony of terrible screams and the stench of blood, Hissin alone was serene. 

 

It was as if he existed in a different world altogether.

 

No one could recklessly approach him. 

 

A single step towards him resulted in a gruesome slaughter by the Moon Lions. 

 

Without even a moment to savor victory, the soldiers who were suddenly attacked by the Moon Lions fell helplessly.

 

Dahlia’s eyes filled with the bloody despair of the soldiers who had been fighting for her.

 

“Stop it…. Stop it!!”

 

Dahlia’s heart-wrenching cry echoed across the devastated land.

 

At that moment, the Moon Lions, who seemed intent on killing every last remaining soldier, halted all at once. 

 

They stood motionless, like dolls whose springs had wound down completely.

 

Miftah, who had nearly had his throat pierced by a Moon Lion, swallowed dryly with ragged breaths, and Osahar, suppressing a groan, struggled to free himself from the grip of a Moon Lion.

 

All the Moon Lions stood frozen as if time had stopped, yet none dared to attempt a counterattack. 

 

No, to be precise, they were in no condition to retaliate.

 

The imperial soldiers who had been fiercely battling the rebels had long since lost their heads. 

 

Even Mudhat’s remaining guards and Hayad’s soldiers, who had somehow survived, had the ligaments in their ankles severed, making escape impossible.

 

From mouths that had been cheering with the joy of victory now poured the moans of despair, and the Baran flag, which had been fluttering high in the sky, was torn to shreds, its original form unrecognizable.

 

Princess Dahlia, taking in the horrific hellscape unfolding before her eyes, looked at Hissin again. His face remained as serene as if he were alone on a remote island.

 

As if this bloody carnage were an everyday occurrence.

 

As if the groans of despair were sweet to his ears.

 

Is that what a devil living in hell truly looks like? 

 

Even seeing it with her own eyes, Dahlia couldn’t believe it and shook her head faintly.

 

“You… how could you do this… Why…!”

 

Welled-up tears soaked her cheeks and dripped steadily from her chin. Her hands trembled with rage, gripping her bow, but she had no arrows left, and her body, completely overtaken by red spots, couldn’t even hold the slender bow.

 

Hissin began to step closer to Dahlia, one step at a time. 

 

His ivory armor, shining brightly under the moonlight, made a strange, clattering sound with each step he took.

 

“Where do you think you’re going…!”

 

Miftah grabbed Hissin’s leg. Briefly held by the ankle, Hissin looked down at him with indifferent eyes.

 

Even with a Moon Lion’s sword pressed against his neck, Miftah was desperately trying to stop him.

 

Had a sense of camaraderie formed between them in that short time?

 

‘How dare you, approach my Dahlia?’

 

The moment the red eyes gleamed ominously, Hissin, who had taken the sword from the Moon Lion in the blink of an eye, plunged it into the left hand of Miftah, who was grasping his ankle.

 

“Ahhh!”

 

With a sickening crunch of bone, Miftah screamed as the sword pinned him to the ground. 

 

As much as he wanted to kill him right then and there, he was sparing Miftah’s life solely because of the credit he had earned for aiding Dahlia.

 

“Don’t do anything foolish and stay quiet. I have no desire to forcibly take the life the Princess spared.”

 

“You… you son of a bitch…!”

 

At Hissin’s coolly uttered words, Miftah gasped for breath, his bloodshot eyes bulging.

 

“Did I not tell you?”

 

Seeing this, Hissin smoothly curved his lips into a sorrowful smile.

 

“Those who know their place avoid calamity.”

 

As Hissin gripped the sword’s hilt and twisted, the green eyes, which had been glinting with venomous malice like a snake’s, rolled back as if they would turn over.

 

I thought he was just spouting words about revering the gods.

 

‘How dare he be so insolent… He meant not to act out in front of a predator.’

 

Miftah’s trembling hand released Hissin’s ankle. 

 

Leaving Miftah, who was no longer a viable opponent, behind, Hissin turned back toward Dahlia.

 

In the meantime, Dahlia, exhausted from the red spots, was leaning against the imperial palace wall, gasping with weak breath.

 

Nevertheless, her hazel eyes directed at Hissin were filled with nothing but resentment.

 

“All of it… It was all your plan.”

 

The rims of Dahlia’s eyes grew red and wet.

 

“The divine gift, the miracle, the demon’s sacrifice… all of it. Isn’t that right?”

 

The voice, laced with deep-seated resentment, struggled even with short sentences, breaking off repeatedly. 

 

Hissin, who had kindly waited for her question, knelt on one knee and pulled her half-collapsed body into an embrace.

 

“Ugh…! Let me go!”

 

Her waist, wrapped in his solid arm, bent pliantly. 

 

Dahlia struck down with her fist with all her might, pushing Hissin away, but failed to leave even a scratch on his sturdy ivory armor.

 

Moreover, her body, tormented by excruciating pain, even at this moment, as the spots subsided from the contact with Hissin, craved his body even more.

 

He watched for a moment as Dahlia struggled even to push him away.

 

Hissin lowered his gaze to look at her red neck. 

 

Whether someone with a slashed throat had been lucky enough to be revived by her blood, the long horizontal red line was vividly crimson.

 

Hissin turned his head and pressed his lips against it.

 

“Let go, stop! Ugh…!”

 

Knowing her resistance was futile, Dahlia still struggled with all her strength. She slapped Hissin’s cheek and grabbed his hair, pulling it, but the lips on her nape showed no intention of parting easily.

 

Finally, Hissin only withdrew his lips after the red spots covering Dahlia’s neck had disappeared.

 

Slap!

 

Dahlia, who had half escaped from Hissin’s embrace, struck his cheek. Instantly, the Moon Lions scattered around clattered and moved, but then, at the mental command sent by Hissin, they hardened back into stone.

 

Though barely able to hold herself upright, Dahlia glared at Hissin with a steadfast gaze, as if she wanted to kill him.

 

“Was this your plan all along? You deceived me, pretending to be pitiful before me just to destroy the Baran Kingdom, recklessly spouting nonsense about divine goodness and human goodness!”

 

Princess Dahlia Baran’s voice, filled with indignation, resonated miserably through the empty air. 

 

Hissin let out a short, derisive laugh as he contemplated the echo laden with despair.

 

“Had I stepped in from the beginning, nothing would have remained by your side, Baran Dahlia.”

 

A rough voice pressed down heavily upon Dahlia. 

 

Hissin, his crimson eyes cast downward, stared at her with a direct, unwavering gaze.

 

“I would have killed every last thing that belongs to this land without exception.”

 

An unfamiliar voice, an unfamiliar gaze. 

 

Dahlia felt her breath grow tight, suffocated by all these unfamiliar things that seemed to grip her heart.

 

“Leaving only you behind.”

 

Because that unfamiliar voice held a resentment whose end was impossible to gauge. Because that unfamiliar gaze still held a deep desire that yearned for her.

 

“Your people are safe.”

 

Forcing two opposing lights that could never mix into his crimson eyes, Hissin tenderly enveloped her red hands, which couldn’t even register a stinging sensation.

 

“I have repaid the ‘favor of that day,’ with interest, so do not ask anything more of me. If things go wrong, I might just kill them all and leave.”

 

“The favor of that day… What do you mean…”

 

Just as Dahlia was about to question his meaningful words,

 

“My lord, we have captured the Emperor.”

 

A familiar voice sounded in her ear, and Dahlia flinched, raising her head. The one approaching, cutting across the cold moonlight, was none other than Hovan.

 

Behind him, Emperor Khankundra was being dragged along, held captive by the Moon Lions. 

 

Chancellor Mindhu, other high-ranking officials, members of the imperial family, and nobles—every single one of them.

 

“High Priest Hovan, you…!”

 

When Hovan, who had met Dahlia’s gaze, gave a slight nod while looking directly at her. 

 

Then, as if to ensure Dahlia would not dare even think of protesting, he showed her the slumped-over Bertha.

 

“Bertha!!”

 

“Do not worry. She has merely fallen asleep for a moment.”

 

Hovan’s voice, always calm, had never felt as chilling as it did today. 

 

The moment she met his amber eyes, glowing yellow under the moonlight, Dahlia realized that Hovan was not on her side either.

 

And that he was a spy who had entered Baran for this very day.