The horse that had brushed past Gwenael turned around skillfully. Once again, the riders exchanged glances. Gwenael, standing on the other side in silver armor, seemed to be mocking Liam.

‘You can’t have her.’

Liam shuddered needlessly at the illusion uttered by the gaze his eyes met.

Gwenael tightly gripped the wooden lance with the same hand that had caressed Valentine’s cheek just before.

At that, sparks flew in Liam’s eyes.

In the brief moment when they charged again, dust rose fiercely.

‘Why.’

Along with the question, kaboom! A loud noise rang out. The two lances clashed, slightly missing each other. His wrist tingled from the intense collision.

Liam pulled the reins again. The horse that had run to the edge of the arena came to a stop. As it slowly turned around, the silver armor visible in the distance under the brilliant sunlight flashed.

A smile that shone a little whiter than that brilliant armor flickered before his eyes.

Valentine smiling at Gwenael. Her eyes had curved lovingly. It was as if her long-lost innocence was emitting a brilliant light.

What Liam could never have…

─So.

Then there was a voice that suddenly rose in his chest.

─Are you going to let her be taken like this?

It was as if someone was reading Liam’s twisted insides perfectly. As if a demon with pitch-black gloom was pushing sweet words into his ear, tempting Liam.

Startled, Liam raised his head sharply. All he could see through the helmet that obscured his vision was the blue sky. In the high, deep blue sky without a single cloud, only the bright red sun blazed.

Then the voice was heard again.

─Hurt, destroy.

Red eyes flashed in his chest. A low voice echoed in his ears.

Liam rolled his trembling eyes. Far away, a white handkerchief fluttered at the tip of the brown lance.

The one she always used to tie for Astaire.

Then too, just like now, he could only watch from afar. All he could do was watch endlessly and feel heartache. So there was an image that remained engraved in his heart.

With sorrowful eyes, even as she tied the handkerchief to the tip of Astaire’s lance, her toes were always pointed towards Cassian.

As if she would run to him whenever Cassian called her name. As if she would embrace the nape of the master she had chosen with her heart and soul, whisper his name, and depart on an eternal journey.

‘……’

He knew.

From the moment she left the beautiful Blumir, Liam’s place never existed in the first place. Even though he didn’t stop her from choosing Cassian, even though he rather pushed her back, this fact particularly saddened Liam.

Through the narrow gap of the helmet, the letter B was clearly visible. And so his heart wavered.

The long-hidden desire, finally taking concrete form, blossomed into a question.

Why, exactly.

─Why can’t she be his?

‘Liam.’

He recalled the gaze that looked up at him in childhood. The ecstatic past when she would call his name in a delicate voice and gently kiss his cheek─ oh, that light.

‘Brother.’

The illusion, turned back, smiled. On that birthday in childhood, the moment she greeted Liam, lightly lifting the hem of her bright pink dress. He clearly remembered even the golden hair she had styled to look mature, the amethyst tiara adorning her head, and even the temperature of her fingertips as they caressed his cheek.

That day was the day when he first knew love was still etched in his heart. Like a bruise, it had only grown larger with each passing year.

─Trample, snatch. Make her yours.

The black voice echoed in his ears again. Liam gripped the lance tightly. Once, he gritted his teeth.

In his dazed mind, he saw Gwenael’s eyes, half-hidden by the helmet. Gwenael had captured her in those eyes. With those hands, he had touched her cheek, with those lips, he had murmured her name.

─Your actions are justified.

The incessant voice touched the darkness hidden in the deepest part of his heart. For a moment, an uncontrollable feeling surged.

‘How dare you!’

Liam’s eyes flashed red.

If it’s a sin to love one who shouldn’t be loved…

He would gladly bear that sin and fall into hell.

For his rose that had yet to bloom.

“Hah!”

A shout burst out like a scream. The horse running at full speed tore through the rough resistance of the wind. His wrist bent. The wooden lance vibrated, aiming for a gap in the armor.

Soon, a scream rang out. The world was dyed in a dizzying red.

* * *

It was an unfortunate accident that often happens in jousts.

The nobles watching the joust all said the same about today’s incident. Since joust is a game with many injuries to begin with, even if a king of a country dies, it’s not easy to assign blame.

Moreover, even though the injured person was a relative of the imperial family, he was, at best, a nobleman. Although it was said that Gwenael de la Glastia fortunately survived, his injuries were severe, it was just a rumor circulating among the nobles who loved gossip.

“Did you find out?”

Lucifer nodded lightly at Valentine’s question.

“I’m sure I gave the suggestion to kill, but I hear Gwenael was injured in an unfortunate place.”

Valentine tilted her head at that ambiguous answer. Where did Liam stab?

“What do you mean by an unfortunate place?”

“They say he won’t be able to perform as a man anymore.”

“Pfft!”

As soon as the words fell, Valentine burst into intense laughter.

It’s funny, really funny. She couldn’t bear the current situation without laughing.

“Ah, ah…”

She was out of breath. After laughing for a long time, Valentine wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. She remembered Gwenael’s sticky gaze that had been looking at her.

That gaze was quite different from Astaire’s, who was quite mad. Gwenael’s insane gaze was like that of a snake. It seemed to enjoy biting the person in front of him desperately, watching them slowly die from the poison.

“Sometimes, people crazy with jealousy really do insane things, you know?”

Lucifer added a suggestion on top of the already provoking situation. She thought he would take Gwenael’s life right there, using the legal joust as an excuse, with his eyes rolled back.

It seems he showed final mercy, despite killing without hesitation, blinded by jealousy. No, come to think of it, isn’t this a crueler punishment?

“Even though he… cared so much for his blood relative. Count Glastia must be thrilled.”

Valentine burst into laughter again as she thought of Count Glastia. Ah, Liam had done a more excellent job than expected.

“Are you satisfied with this?”

“Of course not.”

Lucifer rolled his red eyes at Valentine’s reply. He seemed to be asking, ‘Then?’

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

Gwenael was the bait at the end of the fishing rod. Count Glastia, whose son has been attacked, won’t be able to stay still now.

That was her target from the beginning. Not a small fry like Gwenael.

“Wouldn’t it be fair for Count Glastia’s corpse to be eaten by eagles too?”

Valentine was not unaware of how her lonely, abandoned body had rotted. Even now, she could vividly feel the sensation of maggots crawling on her body.

Now then.

All that’s left is for the one who truly committed the sin to die.

* * *

“Blumir!”

Count Glastia, who had come to the imperial palace ignoring the imperial order to exercise self-restraint, grabbed Liam’s collar. Count Glastia, with his eyes rolled back, seemed to see nothing.

The nobles gathered in one place frowned as they stared at Count Glastia, who had lost his dignity.

“Let go.”

In a way, he had caused a proper accident. Although he had done something he shouldn’t have done. At this moment, Liam was incredibly cold.

Count Glastia was foaming at the mouth. His hand, which had lost all reason, desperately shook the collar it had grabbed.

“You… half-breed trash! How dare you do this to my son!”

Despite being unreasonably treated, the knight before him remained firm. Liam, who had lightly caught Count Glastia’s wrist, sighed.

To be honest, even Liam himself couldn’t clearly perceive it. What had happened during the joust.

He still wasn’t fully conscious. It felt like someone’s voice was echoing in his ears. That low and gloomy cry that had tempted him.

When the emotion that had covered his eyes and blocked his ears receded like the tide, Gwenael was lying on the ground covered in blood. The smell of blood stung his nose.

Hot air filled his lungs. He heard people’s screams. Gwenael, shaking all over with his eyes rolled back, was carried away on a stretcher.

No one told Liam what had happened to Gwenael. They just murmured that it was an unfortunate accident during the joust.

Somewhat late, until Amaryllis called for Liam.

* * *