crown [C. TARTAGLIA]

epilogue

"ironic, isn't it?" you grabbed the dagger that was pinned on the small box, gripping the handle stained with the blood that belonged to none other than your parents.

"my duty was to protect you, to put my life on the line for you." you pointed the sharp end of the blade in front of him the same way he pointed the gun to you. "who knew you were the murderer i've been chasing for all along?"

childe didn't reply, he didn't move from his position either even after you taunted him with your weapon.

"you, the man who was always sent by the tsaritsa to eliminate people who got in her way.  i knew my father was affiliated with the palace but for it to turn out like this?" you laughed sarcastically. "it's too cruel, wouldn't you say?"

you didn't know why he wasn't moving either. he still had that emotionless look on his face the very moment he stepped in and pointed the gun at you, you waited for him to move but nothing happened.

"you're giving me the silent treatment now, are you?" in a flash, you ran towards the man to kick the gun he had. he was able to dodge this and jumped back, avoiding your kick.

"ah, the prince moves." you pat the dirt that got to your knee after using it as a landing spot after your attack. "tell me, just how long were you planning on fooling me?"

again, no reply.

you clicked your tongue, telling yourself that enough was enough. "you're thinking how much of a fool i am to trust you, aren't i?"

you walked towards the man as you chuckled, his eyes were pinned to your figure the whole time.

then, you ran towards him again and tried to use your boots once more to attack him. he shields your kick with his right arm, making him vulnerable to the other side.

"i know all your moves by now, prince." you swung your fist towards his head where just in time he managed to dodge the last second.

"damn it." you once again tried to attack him, but all he did was to dodge and never do anything else.

could you have gotten soft over the past couple of months? should you have trained enough, now you were weaker than you thought? no, you knew this wasn't the case.

"you're hesitating." childe finally speaks as he grabbed your wrist, stopping you.

"hesitating? what, because of you?" you scoffed. "you're funny."

"[Y/N]–"

"you already know why i'm here, tartaglia." you picked the dagger back up that you had dropped moments ago from when you tried to attack the prince. "the killer is right in front of me, after all."

you wanted to shake off the lump forming in your throat that made it hard for you to speak. you kept it all in, making sure everything was under control. you didn't want to let him know how this was driving you insane, how you wanted him to tell you it was all a misunderstanding.

but it wasn't, it was clear that childe had the same intention you did as well.

you went after him as you swung the sharp edge of the blade to his direction, he managed to dodge everything successfully.

what the prince didn't know was that all this was just a distraction. while he was so focused on your attacks from above you quickly grabbed the gun from his hand, tossing it to the other side of the room.

he watches it as the gun flies from his grip with you smirking as you approached him slowly.

"now, why don't we have a spar like usual?" you offered. "only this time, our lives will be on the line."