The Birth of Jeanne's Other Side / The Horizontal Flying Princess's Curse / Betrayal

[This was a betrayal that had been planned for a long time.]

[It was just that this betrayal was so thorough, so decisive.]

[After the great defeat at Orleans, the despicable actions of the English began to spread in corners you didn't know about.]

[After you left, the Burgundians, allied with them, constantly put pressure on Domremy Village, and the accompanying plunder became increasingly severe.]

[Not everyone could be farsighted.]

[To protect the entire village, without your knowledge, all the villagers unanimously agreed to the "salvation" plan of luring Jeanne back.]

[In the eyes of these villagers, being able to exchange Jeanne alone for the long-term peace of Domremy Village was simply too good to pass up.]

Every day, people would pray in the church of Domremy Village.

They would clasp their hands together, praying for Jeanne's name, hoping for her early return.

Everything looked incredibly devout, as if they were the very followers of this saint.

But—

If you got close to them and carefully listened to what they said after praying, you would immediately feel a chill run down your spine.

"Since she's a saint—"

"Sacrificing herself a little won't be that bad, will it?"

"Anyway, the angels will come and save her!"

"Isn't she the one watched over by the Lord?!"

The villagers' so-called anticipation was just hoping that Jeanne would quickly return to Domremy Village because of the deceptive letter, and then sacrifice herself for the village where she was born.

From this perspective—

At this moment, every prayer permeating the air of the village was actually the whisper of the devil.

The vile villagers had already mentally nailed Jeanne to the cross of sacrifice.

Even though she had once saved this village.

[This was a deception.]

[The moment you and Jeanne stepped into the village, you were directly surrounded by the Burgundians lying in ambush here.]

[You didn't even have time to turn into a dragon—because you never thought that the villagers' betrayal would be so direct.]

[You and Jeanne were captured.]

[You were locked in the same prison cell.]

[And Prelati disappeared during this process.]

Moonlit night.

Everything happened so quickly that it was almost like a dream.

But the prison bars standing before him clearly told Pierre one thing:

This was all real.

The villagers had directly made the decision to betray the adopted siblings just for a moment of peace in Domremy Village.

The boy sighed.

He reached out and touched the bars in front of him.

Sure enough—

There was extremely powerful magic on them.

If he didn't undo it, he wouldn't be able to take Jeanne out of here even if he turned into a dragon.

But this wasn't something incomprehensible either.

After all, in the eyes of the English, Jeanne was a saint who had met with angels. If they didn't use this level of magic for a strong barrier, she might escape on the very night she was captured.

But the problem was—

Jeanne wasn't a real saint.

Such magic for Jeanne...

No, it should be for both of them, was a chasm they couldn't cross at all.

What should they do now?

"Brother..." Jeanne's voice pulled Pierre back from his thoughts.

Coming back to his senses, he found his adopted sister curled up in the corner of the cell, shivering.

She hugged her legs, rested her head on her knees, and looked very scared.

This scene broke the heart of Pierre, her brother.

He temporarily gave up on dealing with the prison magic and quickly sat down beside his sister.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked as gently as possible:

"Jeanne, what's wrong?"

"..."

"I'm sorry," Jeanne said, her voice trembling slightly, filled with apology.

"I shouldn't have said I wanted to come back... now I've caused Brother and me to be captured here together."

"I was so stupid, really."

"..."

[You realized that Jeanne felt betrayed.]

[But the kind-hearted girl didn't think of blaming the villagers of Domremy Village at first.]

[Instead, she felt that her eagerness to return to the village had burdened you.]

[You realized that this was definitely not a reasonable thought.]

"No, Jeanne," Pierre hugged his adopted sister, stroking her head with a slight tremble.

"This isn't your fault," he reassured her gently.

"You're just too kind... kind to the point of wanting to come back quickly when you knew the village was in trouble," he added, his gaze loving.

"You shouldn't apologize to me for something like this," he said firmly.

"Jeanne, there's nothing wrong with your kindness—the only ones at fault are those bastards who took advantage of it!" he declared, his voice filled with emotion.

Hearing this, Jeanne could no longer hold back her tears.

She hugged her brother, buried her head in his arms, and cried out loud.

"Waaaaahhhhh... why did it turn out like this!" The girl's voice was full of pain.

It was the unspoken sorrow of a kind person being betrayed—this was the first time she had truly felt such a thing.

So, even after trying so hard to do so many things for others... in the end, she would still be betrayed so decisively like this.

"France like this... should just be destroyed," another voice, one she hadn't heard herself make, echoed in Jeanne's heart.

[You didn't realize the other voice that was born in Jeanne's heart.]

[It shouldn't have existed, but because of this heartbreaking betrayal, it defied the common sense of the world and appeared in this world.]

[You didn't know all of this.]

[You just wanted to comfort your adopted sister.]

[But Jeanne still cried for a long time, until she finally fell asleep leaning against the wall late at night.]

Moonlight shone into the prison from the high window, falling in front of Pierre.

In the pure white light, a voice kept echoing in his mind.

He had to get out.

He absolutely had to get out.

The boy only had this one thought in his mind.

However—

Reality would not change because of personal wishes.

He couldn't do such a thing.

He wanted to call out the Dragon's Face, but found that the other party hadn't responded because they were afraid of him turning into a dragon.

But this wasn't a reason to give up.

The boy tried again and again.

Even though the results weren't ideal, he absolutely couldn't give up.

He had to get his adopted sister out of here no matter what!

Just at this moment—

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the hallway outside.

A figure slowly approached the prison cell where the siblings were from the other end of the hallway.

She got closer and closer, finally stopping directly in front of Pierre, who was trying to break through the barrier.

"So, you got caught, how pathetic," the person who came was none other than Prelati, who had disappeared not long ago.

"..." Pierre looked at the purple-haired girl in front of him, his expression a bit complicated for a moment.

But in the end, he smiled and said,

"So you're okay... that's really great," he said, a hint of relief in his voice.

"It's been so long since I saw you," he added, his gaze gentle.

"I thought you had already been killed by those Burgundians," he admitted, his brow furrowed slightly.

"..." Hearing this, Prelati paused.

She clearly hadn't expected Pierre's first words upon meeting her to be expressing relief that she was alive and had appeared here.

"Are you worried about me?" she asked, her violet eyes looking at him with curiosity.

"...If you say it's worry, then it can be considered worry," Pierre replied, neither arrogant nor humble.

"After all, in a way, you did fulfill your promise and told me information about that magician, didn't you?" he added, his gaze steady.

"..." Prelati turned her face away and muttered softly.

"You siblings are really the same... so kind that it makes you seem a bit foolish," she said under her breath.

"But there's nothing wrong with kindness itself," Pierre looked directly at Prelati. "Isn't that right?" he asked, his gaze firm.

"..." Seemingly unable to refute Pierre's words, Prelati was silent for a while before speaking again.

"So, can your kindness get you out of here?" she asked, her violet eyes looking at him intently.

"Not now, of course," Pierre took a deep breath and continued to work on the magic on the bars in front of him—although the progress so far was still zero.

"But I won't give up... never," he declared, his gaze resolute.

[Your words seemed to touch Prelati.]

[A hint of complex emotion appeared in her purple eyes—a reaction that hadn't been there before.]

[Perhaps it was regret for your magical talent not being displayed, or perhaps it was resentment at your disappointing lack of ambition.]

[In any case, her thoughts changed at this moment in a way you hadn't anticipated.]

[And this directly affected her subsequent actions.]

"Say, Pierre, aren't you curious about how I got here?" Prelati asked, her violet eyes looking at him intently.

"Curious," Pierre's hand touched the prison bar, a warm feeling traveling up his arm.

"But that doesn't mean anything... I just want to know how to get out of here," he said, his gaze firm.

"What if I said I could help you out?" Prelati crossed her arms over her chest and replied.

"..." Pierre didn't answer her directly, but instead looked up at the purple-haired girl in front of him.

There was indeed a hint of suspicion in his eyes, but even more so, hope for Prelati who had spoken such words.

"Don't look at me with those eyes," Prelati said, looking slightly displeased. "It makes me very uncomfortable," she added, her violet eyes looking away.

"And I can indeed do such a thing," she affirmed.

"However—" Prelati reached out her hand and pointed at Pierre in front of her.

"I will only save you," she declared, her violet eyes looking at him intently.

"As for your sister—"

"I have no interest in her... so I don't plan to save her," she concluded, her tone cold.

"..." Almost without any hesitation, Pierre sighed, then replied directly.

"Then I'll pass... thank you for your kindness, Prelati," he said gently, shaking his head.

The purple-haired girl instantly understood the meaning of Pierre's words—if it was just to save him alone and abandon his adopted sister Jeanne, he would rather not be saved at all.

"You idiot!" Prelati's eyes widened a bit, looking somewhat exasperated.

"The ones who captured you are those vicious Burgundians," she exclaimed, her voice sharp.

"If you continue to stay here, you will definitely die here!" she warned, her violet eyes looking at him with concern.

"Of course, I know that," Pierre continued to analyze the magic on the bars in front of him, his tone quite serious.

"It's precisely because I know that this will be the outcome in the future that I want to save my sister... she absolutely shouldn't die in a place like this, this isn't the life she deserves," he said firmly, his gaze resolute.

"Pierre, you fool!" Prelati burst out, "Then should your life be like this?!" she demanded, her violet eyes looking at him with anger.

"Is all of this really worth it for a younger sister who doesn't even know her own limitations?!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with disbelief.

"..." Pierre turned his head and saw Jeanne, who had cried herself to sleep.

She was wrapped in the coat he had just taken off, as delicate as a porcelain doll.

His expression softened a bit, then he turned back as if making a decision, looking at Prelati who was already stomping her feet in frustration.

"Yeah... is all of this really worth it?" he murmured, his gaze gentle.

"I've thought about this question countless times in the past... is it really worth giving up so many things for Jeanne?" he continued, his brow furrowed in thought.

"And I've figured it out now—"

"If this world didn't have Jeanne, it would have no meaning for me," he declared, his gaze resolute.

"My existence is to ensure her existence," he added, his voice filled with emotion.

"So—"

"I will never abandon her... never," he concluded, his gaze firm.

"She is my saint in this life," he declared, his voice filled with conviction.

"..." Prelati's face began to twist.

It was the anger and frustration of seeing her ideas rejected by Pierre so decisively.

"A saint, huh!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with sarcasm.

"Fine! Since you think your younger sister is a saint... then she definitely has to experience everything that all saints need to go through, right?!" she continued, her violet eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

"Pierre... you just wait, your younger sister will soon become a true saint!" she declared, her voice sharp.

"And you, after this, will also become a true magician!" she added, her violet eyes looking at him with a hint of madness.

"I, Prelati, always keep my word!" With these words, the purple-haired girl strode away.

She completely disappeared down the hallway, as if she had never been there.

A vicious curse spread in the night.

It was the madness from Prelati—she absolutely had to destroy Jeanne!

[After that, Prelati never appeared before you again.]

[She disappeared from this world as if she had vanished with the viciousness of that day.]

[And you also weren't able to break through the prison's blockade on you and Jeanne.]

[You and Jeanne were locked up here for more than a month.]

[She spent her eighteenth birthday in prison.]

[King Charles VII, upon learning of your capture, made multiple requests for ransom—he even offered to cede an entire city for it.]

[But the English refused his request without hesitation.]

[They continued to detain you and Jeanne, citing that God's will should also descend upon England.]

[Another year passed.]

[You, burying yourself in hard work, finally broke through the magical shackles of the prison.]

[But all of this had become meaningless at this moment.]

[Because the English announced a decision that very night.]

They—

Were going to put Jeanne on public trial!