Hadjar flinched. He hadn’t been ready for this question. He couldn’t tell her the truth. Elaine would never believe him. Damn it, even now he wasn’t sure that she completely believed in the existence of the cursed mine.
“The odds of us surviving together seemed higher to me at the time.”
The lie wouldn’t have been enough to fool anyone, but Elaine wasn’t thinking straight at that moment.
“Is that all you feel, mighty General?” Only poison and pity could be heard in the Princess’ voice. “Is that all that remains of the hero? Anguish and weakness?”
What others might’ve called weakness, Hadjar called freedom — the ability to live as he saw fit, to go wherever he liked, to see everything that the world had to offer, the chance to finally be himself. That was his fondest wish.
“Yes,” Hadja
