Lize’s chamber was serene. The moonlight filtered through the translucent window and illuminated her neatly arranged bed.

It was the same as usual except for Lize, who had fallen to the floor like a rag.

“…Mother.”

No voice answered. Raytan slowly bent his body. He could feel his hands trembling as he reached out to the person in front of him.

“Ray… tan.”

Lize raised her head to look at her son, Raytan’s hand automatically stopped.

Despite dying, she was smiling. It was the first genuine smile Raytan had ever seen on her face. He had never seen that kind of earnest joy from her.

Today was the first time.

And it was also going to be the last.

“Get… me up…”

Raytan then carefully supported his mother and guided her to sit on the floor with her back leaning against the bed.

“Now everything… is over.”

“…”

“All that is left is… your part.”

“I… understand.”

“The Emperor will soon die. Keep that in mind… And before Bern takes over the throne…”

“Of course, I know it well.”

Raytan’s expression subtly darkened. She’s dying, and the only thing she dreams of is still revenge.

He couldn’t detect any other emotion from her. There was no regret, no sorrow, no anguish for life. And… not even any spare feelings for her son.

However, Raytan wasn’t sure either. Maybe it’s normal for her to react like this. His mother has lived her entire life just for this moment.

“In the past, I… constantly thought about it: ‘It wouldn’t be strange if I die right away at this time, but why is this body able to endure so persistently?’” Lize said with a small smile. “There was only one answer.”

“…What is it? The answer.”

“It is God’s… will. You gave me strength… to take this revenge. The strength to endure everything even with a defective body.”

Raytan kept silent.

“The moment I saw you… I knew. Everything has been decided from the start. Everything is God’s—”

Instead of continuing her sentence, Lize heavily exhaled. Red blood gushed out from her mouth with a dry cough.

Like Baron Eind, General Hayden, and many others, Lize’s blood smelled like theirs and felt lukewarm as it wet Raytan’s face.

“K-Keukh-…”

Lize grabbed her chest and panted. Her intestines burned, and the blood all over her body boiled. She felt choked as the unbearable pain kept increasing. Be that as it may, even this was a blessing for Lize now. Finally, everything was truly over for her.

“…Mother.”

Lize’s face, which kept looking at her son, was filled with pain. Witnessing that, Raytan endlessly tried to call her.

“Mother! Mother!”

“Raytan.”

Her cold hands caressed Raytan’s face.

Those weak hands quickly pulled the hem of Raytan’s shirt, and his black shirt slightly ripped with the sound of her grunt and the buttons rolling on the floor. Lize’s gaze was on his left shoulder, and she drew a subtle arc on her mouth.

“Ray… tan.”

Lize put her forehead on Raytan’s left shoulder and let out a hard breath.

“I’m listening, please speak,” Raytan answered with a dark face.

He waited for Lize to say something. He waited for her to talk to him as a person and not as a tool.

As a mother talks to her son.

“Always… remember in your head that I was dragged away and ravaged by those who persecuted us.”

“…”

“And… Now, I…”

That pair of emerald irises were sparkling brilliantly.

It wasn’t because of the moonlight that shone through the window or because of her regrets about life— It was just madness.

“Poison… No matter how many times I drank and let it enter my stomach, I didn’t die… And it was for this moment…”

Lize’s hand slid powerlessly, and her head bowed down. When Raytan was about to grab her shoulders with his trembling hands, more red blood gushed out from her mouth and stained the floor.

Lize squeezed Raytan’s wrist with the last bit of strength she had left.

“Don’t…”

Lize barely raised her head again and looked up at her son’s face. Her complexion was already turning pale white as if she was about to stop breathing anytime soon, but she continued to speak until the end.

“Disappoint… me.”

Sharp claws dug into Raytan’s wrist.

“Even if I die… I will still watch everything.”

And that was the end.

She drooped in Raytan’s arms and didn’t move anymore. Her hand, which was holding his wrist tightly, fell to the floor helplessly. Blood oozed out of the nail marks, and soon it started dripping on the floor.

Raytan held his mother in his arms and stood up while carrying her.

A body as light as a feather, with only bones and skins left, lay on the bed. Raytan tucked the blanket over her body, which could no longer feel the cold, and then wiped the blood from her lips.

Lize looked like she was asleep.

“…Mother,” Raytan said in a low, subdued voice.

“Now… Please rest in peace.”

She wouldn’t be in pain now. The poison she had been taking for decades would not hurt her again, nor would she suffer from those horrendous nightmares. Lize would be able to sleep comfortably as long as her son follows her will. Raytan knew it all too well.

“…Goodbye.”

After saying those words, he rose from the bed.

“Prince…”

When Raytan opened the bedroom door and came out, Marie, who had stood guard outside, looked at him.

“The Lady…?”

Raytan had his face the same as usual, but his voice trembled slightly.

“She’s gone.”

Marie bowed her head slightly. Then, as if paying a last tribute to her master, she stared at the closed door.

“You have to make sure you clean everything up. Do you know what I mean?”

“…Yes. I have already disposed of all the poison Lady Lize took. In addition…” Marie lowered her voice,” As I was told, I made the other maids see Lady Yerena visiting.”

“And?”

“I told them to prepare food with the medicinal liquor Lady Yerena brought. They will come soon. Also, I got a physician to prove Lize had been poisoned by the medicine. Of course, there is no evidence that what Lady Yerena gave was poison, but…”

“Tell them to bring animals. If they feed that medicine to an animal, that alone will be the evidence that it was poison.”

“…I understand,” Marie nodded.

Raytan turned and looked at the quiet bedroom for a moment. Then he started walking away with a stone-cold face. Everything was over, but it was also time for everything to begin.

When morning comes, Marie will inform the people of Lize’s death. The ailing Emperor could not pay attention to his dearest concubine’s death. However, rumors about Yerena unfairly murdering Lize will soon circulate in the castle.

That would be a good reason.

This was why Lize had endured excruciating pain all this time.

And him, for that reason…

‘Don’t disappoint me.’

“I won’t,” Raytan muttered to himself.

“Because I was born… only for this…”

Don’t disappoint me

Don’t disappoint me

Lize’s will rang in his ears like a curse.

Raytan closed his eyes tightly then slowly left his mother’s bedroom.

***

The bedroom was cold like its owner’s body.

“…”

Eton, who stood in front of the window, quietly stepped toward Lize. Sitting on the bed, he looked down at the soulless figure. She was much leaner than the last time he saw her. There was also an intense poison odor, but it wasn’t only because Lize had just drunk Yerena’s poison.

‘This is… poison, right? One to destroy your mind and your body too.’

Lize was dying anyway. Eton was already aware of it back then: there was no possibility other than death for her. It was a miracle that she endured until now with such a body. He reached out his hand and gently touched Lize’s forehead. However, the protection he left behind did not appear like before.

‘God’s protection will last forever in yours and my blood. Always remember that, Syarhwina.’

Lize, who said it was God who saved her, was right. The reason she didn’t die was purely due because of Eton’s protection, passed down from generation to generation. Although only a trace remained, the protection was strong enough to extend her life.

But it could not stop this kind of conclusion.

“…Poor thing,” Eton bit his dry lips while wiping Lize’s motionless cheek.

An indescribable emotion arose in him. Is it because of seeing his descendant becoming a corpse? Or is it because Lize looks so much like Syarhwina? Or both?… He couldn’t be sure.

‘Did you want revenge back then? For all those with blonde hair and blue eyes. Did you want to kill them all?’

Recalling Belkiel’s words, Eton coldly made a scornful chuckle.

“…Right. I wanted revenge,” he muttered to himself. “I was planning to kill them all. Everyone. And it’s my fault that you were able to survive for such a long time.”

‘What are you trying to do?’

But what he actually wanted to do was…

And what he really wanted to see was…

‘From here to there, from this place to that place, from there and eventually back to this place… It was just that kind of life.’

Lize’s blank stare flittered through his mind.

“…You eventually came back to this place and ended your life.”

‘What does it matter where I come from? Where I want to be? It’s not something I can choose anyway.’

“Different from others, you chose to do this,” Eton laughed bitterly.

There was nothing else he could say. He couldn’t express his sorrow for his descendants, nor could he comfort her miserable life. It was because he was the one who started it all.

“Still, you won’t have any more nightmares from now on.”

Her mother’s whole body burned by fire, a hideous monster whose identity is unknown, and the man she loved with his head crushed… those images will never show up again.

Lize finally could feel comfortable only after death.

Eton’s hand moved again to Lize’s forehead. Immediately, a red aura emerged and entered her forehead as if the mist was seeping into it.

It was God’s blessing.

A wish for her peace.

He knew that it would be futile to leave such blessings for the dead. Furthermore, his power was getting weaker at this time.

Nevertheless, this was the only thing he could do.

Eton removed his hand slowly. Lize’s words back then suddenly ran through his mind.

‘Who are you? What kind of nightmare is this?’

‘…You’re dreaming. When you wake up when you open your eyes again, you won’t remember anything.’

“It’s like back then. It was all just a nightmare. And when you wake up, it’ll be a nightmare you won’t remember anything about.”

Her life was a nightmare itself. As her life is over, her nightmare is over too.

“When you open your eyes, those you love will welcome you and will be with you forever.”

He looked at her with pitiful eyes.

“…Now, your nightmare is finally over, Lize,” Eton said his final goodbye in a cracked voice.