The time of falling felt long. Perhaps it was just that a fleeting moment felt stretched out.

On the morning Rohana sent Kaiden to the imperial palace, she carefully revisited the ancient text Isla had handed her.

“If an Arin becomes the incarnation of a monster, they gain immense power, but responsibility follows. Especially weap＊ns like swords or bows imbued with the essence of the monster are said to possess the strength to slay even non-human entities.”

The white feather bracelet of a bl＊＊d-stained caladrius fluttered in the wind, wrapped around her slender wrist.

“It really worked.”

Rohana thought as she watched the red feathers fall one by one from the bracelet, carried by the wind over the cliff.

It had been a long life.

While others lived just one life, she had lived two, thanks to Lazar.

If she thought about it that way, maybe what she was doing to him wasn’t right.

But there was no choice. Someone ‘needed’ to be brought back, and for other plans to succeed, they had to be ‘killed.’

Leaving herself out of the fight while treating others like chess pieces—it wasn’t right.

Rohana had never belonged to this world. Though she was of the Arin, it wasn’t because of her heritage that she could wield the power of monsters; perhaps it was because she wasn’t truly of this world that she could do so. No one knew the answer. Even Lazar said she was an anomaly outside his calculations.

And so, she had no choice but to attempt this. Whether with Jody, Aurelia, or when Lazar nearly sacrificed Heath, Rohana realized: Lazar didn’t need to exist in this world either.

If the simple method written in the ancient text worked, she alone could deal with Lazar. It was impossible for Heath, Bardi, or even Kaiden.

It was something only she could do.

Even as she wrapped the feathers around her wrist and met Lazar at this mysterious place, she felt uneasy.

Perhaps she was acting exactly as Lazar had predicted. He always looked further ahead—maybe even this was part of his plan.

But still, she had to try.

A cold wind brushed her cheeks sharply, and for some reason, a tear that had pooled in her eye scattered into the air, drifting over the cliff.

“It’s done now.”

She knew. This time, Kaiden would win. They would create a different story from the original. Who knows? In some other universe, maybe this is the ‘original.’

“Such idle thoughts.”

Shouldn’t she be thinking of something more productive, moments before death? She pondered this as she experienced what felt like an eternity in a single instant.

It had been a life to be grateful for.

Kaiden Phillip Delcliff.

That short year with him had been beautiful. He was the only one who had never betrayed her in two lifetimes.

“If only I had trusted him more from the start.”

No matter how many times she’d been deceived, she should have tried again. For too long, she hadn’t trusted him. She pretended not to give him her heart until the end.

In truth, she’d already lost her heart to him long ago, even as they shared their bodies, pretending all the way to the end.

She had never told him, knowing he couldn’t ask and dared not speak of love. She’d acted indifferent, even showing off to him as she sent him away, feigning anger. Perhaps, until the very last moment, she had been trying to run from him.

Now, she thought that Kaiden had known this and had sent her ahead, thinking that maybe, after everything was over, after a long time had passed, she would finally start to trust him.

She hadn’t been honest.

“Will he resent me?”

She wondered what expression he would make when he found out she’d done this instead of staying by Heath’s side with the Nopthal army.

That thought made her chest ache, as if she were feeling pain for the first time.

“Don’t hold onto it for too long.”

Don’t hold onto it. That was all Rohana wanted now. Keeping a lost one in your heart is a painful thing.

It wasn’t exactly the same, but having always been left alone, she knew this very well. So, she hoped that he wouldn’t hold onto it for too long.

Just then, the air brushing against her cheeks turned even colder. And between the shards of icy wind, she saw an oddly opaque emerald hue.

Shiiiiiik.

As she turned her head, she saw Lazar quickly dissolving into the air. He wore an expression that seemed confused, sorrowful, yet strangely as if he had expected all of this.

His red eyes gazed at her and slowly blinked once.

“Let them live their lives now.”

In a fraction of a second, Lazar fell first. His body touched the emerald-colored lake, and he slowly, yet so naturally, disappeared. What had he been thinking at that moment? Rohana had no way of knowing. His body seemed to vanish, though at the same time, it looked as if he were simply sinking into the water like any ordinary person. It was a strange feeling, a mix of disappearing and merely falling into ordinary water.

“I should have told him I loved him, at least once.”

And with that, Rohana quietly closed her eyes.

“It’s okay.”

She steeled herself. Surprisingly, she felt at peace.

“It’s not the first time, after all.”

Her long lashes trembled, and a final tear fell.

***

How much time had passed?

“Let’s stop now.”

They all changed so easily, didn’t they? A voice from a long-faded memory, one she had once staked her life on, echoed in her mind. Then, the scene in her memory quickly shifted.

On a summer day, just before autumn, the crown prince returned from a northern expedition with a woman in a blue dress.

“Say hello.”

Bardi’s clear blue eyes, free of any worry, came to mind.

“This is Aurelia.”

It had been so easy.

So this time, she had vowed not to let it be.

“I needed you.”

A peculiar boy’s voice. Now, she knew it had been Lazar’s voice all along.

“I had to bring you.”

Beneath the jet-black hair, red eyes gleamed.

‘How could everyone only try to use me like that? Maybe that was what I thought when I saw Kaiden’s contract.’

But it was different. In that moment when the chandelier fell, the look in his eyes—the one who had such a vivid, intense gaze in every moment—was different.

A straight, high nose and a face like a sculpture. Dark shadows fell on his face along the strong lines, contrasting with the bright light. His dark eyes contrasted with his radiant silver hair.

‘I knew from then. He had ‘recognized’ me in an oddly familiar way.’

Countless days flashed by like a lantern before death, and Rohana felt at peace, as she had when she died in her previous life.

“I will let you go.”

He had stopped her in the garden of his residence and said that.

“But… please let me be the one to send you off.”

‘Only now do I realize that from the very beginning, without even thinking of holding me back, he was considering everything with me in mind.’

“I should’ve said something.”

Tears welled up. Her entire body felt strangely warm.

“I should’ve said something.”

‘I should have uttered those words, at least once. I should have spent more time with him, even just one day sooner.’

‘I shouldn’t have worried about pretexts or anything else. I should have just followed my heart.’

And then it happened.

Flash!

Her eyes opened.

The surroundings were silent. Strangely, there was no sound at all.

Silk curtains draped down, nearly touching the marble floor. A bluish dawn light seeped in through the tall windows.

‘It felt just like that time. This was the Hanover Ducal residence. It was Rohana Hanover’s room, where I had lived for a long time after being reincarnated.’

She blinked slowly, wondering if this was a dream before death.

A splitting headache washed over her. It was just like before. A strange thing.

“If I were dead, I wouldn’t feel like I’ve come back to life…”

Even reincarnation was, in a way, a form of revival, so she made a silly joke to herself and closed her eyes again.

This time, she felt like she’d truly find peace when she opened her eyes again.

“Are you at peace?”

Then, a voice echoed in her mind.

“Truly?”

It was as if someone had caught her avoiding the regrets that she had been desperately trying to ignore. As her true feelings surfaced, her heart ached.

“No.”

‘No, I wanted to live. I wanted to return and tell him this.’

“You must be glad I’ve come to you like this without you needing to find me.”

He would smile that characteristic relaxed smile of his.

“We’ve saved some time.”

A small laugh escaped her.

Just a moment ago, she had been so cold, trapped in shards of ice. But now, she was enveloped in warmth that spread throughout her body.

In that moment, her consciousness returned to the point where she had fallen from the cliff into the emerald lake.

“Rohana!”

Kaiden’s voice, like something from a dream, echoed. He was with the Caladrius. It was just like when they fell from the cliff at Shatonwell. He was riding atop the Caladrius.

Then, his long, large hand reached out and pulled her up.

Droplets of water, colder than ice, splashed up. Any more contact, and her whole body would have disappeared.

“It’s alright now.”

A soothing voice.

“It’s alright now.”

A warm body heat enveloped her.

For a vision in the moment of death, it was too sweet. Perhaps as a consequence, the splitting headache returned. And then, it happened.

Whoosh!

Bright light flooded in.

When she opened her eyes again, she could tell. She could feel the warmth of blankets right next to her. If she turned her head slightly to the left, she could see the curtains she’d looked at for years.

“Ah…”

Through the slightly open door, the bustling sounds of people reached her ears. It wasn’t the sound of battle. It sounded more like an ordinary day.

Or perhaps a bit noisier than usual.

She slowly tried to move her body. Her fingers and toes felt stiff, as if frozen, and didn’t move easily. But she tried again.

This time, she turned her head to the right. There was no one there, but she could tell someone had been there.

The familiar scent of a snowstorm lingered.

He had been here until just moments ago.

She quietly blinked her eyes. And then, with a soft click, the door opened.

The scent of the snowstorm grew stronger.

She smiled faintly. She didn’t know if he could see her smile. But in that moment, the scent of the snowstorm intensified.

“Still summer, isn’t it?”

It was strange.

And then, she reached out her hand. With each finger that touched him, she felt reassured.

‘It’s too much.;

She thought to herself. Kaiden’s excited voice rang in her ears. The surroundings grew lively again.

‘It’s almost too much of a happy ending.’

She smiled as she thought that. Yet, at the same time, she knew.

‘Things wouldn’t be simple in the future, just as they hadn’t been so far. But still, I smiled brightly. Now, it didn’t matter. Even if I got hurt again, no matter what happened, it was okay.’

Now, everything was okay.