“I asked you where you’re going.”

As no answers were coming from her mouth, Raytan repeated the question.

“I— I…”

“You?”

‘Where are you going?’

‘B- Brother… I… ‘

‘You?’

It was the same conversation they’d had in the past.

Sezh trembled as it felt like her heart would burst. She was afraid. Extremely afraid.

Then, now she will be—

However, at that moment…

Crack. CRASH!

…The windows shattered.

At the end of the hallway, they could hear the sound of breaking glass. The sharp fragments blew along with the strong wind.

Sezh’s hands shuddered. She felt dizzy, and her whole body felt hot.

‘What just happened?’

Before she could even think of an answer to her question, Raytan grabbed her arm.

Raytan, who embraced her in his arms, was drenched in blood. He then wrapped her in a cloak.

“Keep your guard around the palace. Check what’s going on.”

“Yes,” an armed man replied after Raytan gave his command in a low voice.

“Don’t let anyone approach.”

“Understood.”

Sezh’s blue eyes overflowed with confusion.

It seemed… that Raytan didn’t intend to kill her. It was not like in the past. Of course, it could just be her foolish hope. Nonetheless, other things were happening the same as Sezh remembered.

“….”

Raytan didn’t say anything. He just looked down at Sezh with a helpless expression on his face.

He touched Sezh’s cheeks then held them with his large hands.

Sezh flinched. Raytan didn’t cut her throat as he did back then, nor did he stab her as he did to Lillian earlier.

He just wiped away the blood on a wound caused by a broken piece of glass.

“Sezh,” Raytan called her name in a low voice,

“You’re going to leave, aren’t you…? Leave the Imperial Palace?”

Sezh was aware of her trembling gaze drenched in fear. It wasn’t because she was surprised by his sudden touch. It was because of the expression he showed.

‘Damn blonde hair and blue eyes. It’s not just you, Sezh. I’m going to kill all the blondes with blue eyes.’

Raytan had a different face from back then. One not colored with fuming anger. For some reason… he looked sorrowful and dejected…

“Now, are you… afraid of me too?”

Sezh was still staring at Raytan without answering anything.

Resembling the shade of his eyes, Raytan was covered in red blood and exuded a bloody smell. He did exactly what the legend told everyone: he crushed everything.

“…Yes,” she answered in a small voice.

Her voice was as small as a mosquito, but deep despair dawned in Raytan’s eyes.

It was understandable.

There were many reasons for her to be afraid in this situation. She witnessed everything Raytan has done with her own two eyes.

Nervous, Raytan bit his bottom lip.

“…”

Sezh gasped for breath, stricken by fear after once again glimpsing Lillian’s lifeless body.

‘These bug-like things, in the end, are all the same!’

Lilian’s scream rang through her ears.

‘Die! Just kill yourself together with that cursed kid!’

And…

‘Because it’s unpleasant to live and breathe in the same place as you. Dirty. You two are contaminations. Damn filthy things!’

Also, Bern’s voice:

‘It’s a fault that worthless and annoying things are getting caught in our eyes, and it’s also a fault that you are stuck in the Imperial Palace without dying or leaving.’

‘Leave us alone! We’re not going to ask you to treat us like a prince and princess, so just let us live and breathe! Why can’t you do that?’

‘When I sit on the throne, the first thing I’ll do is chop off both of your heads.‘

After that, Raytan’s scar that she saw years ago came to her mind. The scar on his abdomen. They say Bern was the one who shot Raytan himself when he was practicing with a bow.

“Brother is… scary.”

Sezh’s lips kept trembling.

“However…”

Even if they had planned all these things, even if there are still more things she doesn’t know…

“I understand it…”

Sezh… understood it.

…Because she has also faced persecution all her life.

“I…” Raytan started.

‘Kill them all. All the people with blonde hair and blue eyes.’

“Won’t kill you…”

‘Don’t let me down.’

“To you, I will… never…”

‘Never.’

I’ve granted your wish, Mother. So I, too, at least once….

Once… Just once… he wanted to do something his way…

“No matter what happens, I won’t kill you,” Raytan said vigorously, ignoring Lize’s words that incessantly lingered in his ears like a curse.

At Raytan’s unexpected remark, Sezh only stared at him without even remembering to breathe.

“You said you’re going to leave because no one needs you here.”

“That, that….”

“I seriously asked you… So, if you become the person I need here, will you still leave? You said that there is no such person, right?”

Sezh paused.

“I need you.”

His voice was low but also firm in tone.

“I will be your reason. So…”

“Brother…?”

“Don’t leave, Sezh.”

“….”

“Stay by my side.”

What did she hear just now? Puzzlement was written all over her face.

“Answer me.”

The hand that caressed her cheek tightened. Raytan was cupping her face so tightly that Sezh couldn’t even look anywhere else.

It was ironic.

The words he spoke, why did it sound more like a plea…

Sezh didn’t understand

“Hurry.”

Numerous memories flashed through her mind: Right after her return when Raytan coldly pushed her away at their first meeting; When they fought together in the library; The day he was treated harshly by Yulia because of her; The dazzling scenery they saw together during the founding celebration; His warm hands holding her during the debutante ball; His kind voice calling out her name softly…

“Sezh,” Soaked in blood, Raytan called out her name, the sound urging. But she could alternately hear his gentle and pleading voice.

Sezh then… slowly nodded her head.

“Okay.”

“…”

“I won’t… leave. I’ll be by your side.”

Now, Sezh’s heart was pounding wildly. Has she made the right choice? Or perhaps she just did something stupid?

Someday, this moment… Will she terribly regret this? Regardless, it was already too late for her to turn around.

Raytan held her tightly in his arms without leaving even a single inch of a gap. It seemed like if he didn’t do that, Sezh would disappear right away.

The lukewarm blood from his shirt printed onto her white face. However, Sezh remained motionless and only buried her face in his chest. She could hear his heart beating wildly.

Soaking up the moment, Sezh closed her eyes tightly.

***

The hill was so barren that day.

Eton climbed up the tree and stared at the Imperial Palace from a distance. The chilly wind brought the strong, bloody smell.

“Eton.”

Eton looked back at the familiar voice. It was Belkiel.

“You knew that this would happen, right?”

Eton nodded moderately.

“Why didn’t you stop it?”

“Are you going to get angry? Didn’t you say that you don’t care about humans at all? No matter if they kill each other or save each other?”

“I would have been like that if it was anything else, but not this time. You are involved in this human matter.”

Eton said nothing.

“What is the reason? The reason why you didn’t stop it even though you already guessed everything.”

“…I have no reason to stop it.”

“So you just came back here to see this? Hey, Eton!”

“I’ve told you. I came back here only to check.”

“What?”

“I also already said that it was too late to turn things around. I meant it.”

“What are you talking about now?!”

“It took a very, very long time for her to prepare this. To the point of giving up her own life.”

“Are you talking about that child’s mother?”

“Correct. My only descendant who survived. So how can I dare to stop it?”

“…”

“Since they came out into this world, I’ve never done anything for them. Not even a little thing,” Eton scoffed, ridiculing himself.

“I don’t want to stop it. I want to leave it alone by itself. I want to see what my descendant’s choice was. Like what I do all this time, I only want to watch and check: What my child’s end is like and…”

“And?”

“I’m curious… Maybe everything will be the same as it was in the past.”

Belkiel chewed his lip.

‘So what will you accomplish with that? Eventually, you will lose all your power and disappear. Whatever their end, what does that have to do with you? How does it help you?’

Belkiel just buried those questions inside his head.

“Give me snow, Belkiel,” Eton said with a faint smile.

“You can do it. I know you can control water.”

“Why should I, you stupid bastard?”

“Tell me. Can you do that? For me. Please.”

“… Damn it.”

Belkiel spat out a swear word and stretched out his hand. Not long after, from the dark night sky, where not even a single cloud was present, light snow started to fall.

It was Eton’s wish.

Snow covered the bloody smell and all the corpses.

It was the first snow of the year.

“Thank you, Belkiel.”

His crimson eyes fixated on the distant Palace again. Eyes full of remorse, Eton watched over the Imperial Palace that night. The heavy snow started to pile up before long, and Eton didn’t move a single step until dawn.