How was she supposed to face Zephion now? No—would he even still follow her like he used to? Her heart was in turmoil.

When morning came and Reina stepped out of the room, clutching her torn clothes, Zephion was nowhere to be seen. She returned to her room, washed up, and fell into a deep sleep, as if she had passed out.

Should she just hole up in her room? Or should she go and find him first?

She agonized over it endlessly, and before she could even think to hide the confusion on her face, she found herself standing blankly in the hallway.

A long time passed—long enough for her hand gripping the cane to go numb—before Zephion finally appeared.

Their eyes met. The first to look away was Reina.

“……”

As she bit her lip hard and lowered her head, she heard the sound of him slowly approaching.

“Reina.”

His voice—low and quiet—sounded both familiar and unfamiliar at once.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fin—ah.”

Would it have been easier if he had just smiled brightly, pretending nothing had happened?

Her grip on the cane tightened, her knuckles turning white. She could feel his gaze fixed on her. Unlike usual, the silence between them was unbearably awkward.

Everything had been perfect—until Kaelid ruined it all. The pain of knowing things could never go back to how they were made her stomach twist.

A firm hand took Reina’s cane from her and instead held onto his arm. She slowly began to walk, following Zephion’s silent steps.

“Is your wound… okay?”

“It tore open where it was stitched, but they sewed it back up. Don’t worry.”

His voice was calm as he replied, and he led her into a nearby lounge. After helping her onto the sofa, he sat beside her naturally—just as he always used to.

Then, again as he always had, he gently lifted her leg and placed it on his lap, carefully pulling up the hem of her skirt.

She knew this was something he’d always done. But this time—why did it feel so different?

Maybe it was because of what had happened that night. Maybe it was because Zephion had seen her at her most vulnerable.

“P-Pi… Pi.”

Reina called out to him in a trembling voice, clutching her skirt tightly.

His golden eyes had darkened. The boy stared at her with a hardened expression and clenched his teeth.

“Why is it okay for him—but not for me?”

“What… what are you saying?”

She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her head throbbed painfully.

Pretending not to understand what Zephion meant, Reina tried to pull her leg away—but her ankle was firmly held. And with a leg that couldn’t move properly to begin with, even struggling was impossible.

“Let me go…”

Her voice trembled with a hint of a sob.

Fear and confusion swirled within her. The boy she knew as Zephion—he was gone. That realization weighed heavily on her chest.

She hadn’t exactly showered him with love, hadn’t always kept him close… And she knew—knew that one day, he might come to hate her.

But still, at some point, she had truly begun to care for him.

Even if he didn’t know how to express emotions outside of s*x, even if everything about him was clumsy and uncertain—

A surge of emotion rose in her throat, making her eyes burn. Tears pooled along her lashes before sliding silently down her cheeks.

With a pained expression, Zephion lowered his head and leaned closer.

“…Why are you crying?”

His calloused palm gently cupped her cheek.

She could feel his breath, warm and close.

“Pi… Pi.”

Reina shut her trembling eyes tight.

His hand was damp with her tears.

“Reina.”

The low whisper sent a chill through her. Hearing it with her eyes closed, it was unmistakably a man’s voice.

When she slowly pried open her heavy lids, golden eyes filled her entire view—he was that close. The realization that she could feel his breath made fear surge inside her.

As Reina lightly pushed against Zephion’s chest and turned her head, lips brushed her cheek.

“Ah—!”

A sharp gasp slipped out. He pressed a deep kiss to her tear-drenched cheek, then slowly drew back. She couldn’t move; if she met his gaze now, she felt she might end up kissing him herself. Her shoulders shrank.

She had no idea what to do if Zephion came any nearer. To her, he was still only a child—she had never once thought of him as a man. Wasn’t he still a boy?

Reina grasped the hand cupping her face, trying to pull it away…but when she saw the look on his face, raw and wounded, no words would come.

“Reina, just… don’t push me away.”

The boy who spoke lowered his head. Zephion buried his face in the folds of her skirt, rubbing his cheek against the smooth fabric.

“I won’t ask for anything more, so please—just don’t say you hate me.”

The hand that slipped from her cheek stroked the slender curve of her ankle, tickling softly.

“Pi Pi.”

Reina hesitated, then ran her fingers gently through his black hair. Beneath his loose shirt, she caught sight of a bandaged shoulder. Zephion let out a trembling breath.

His long fingers trailed up her calf and onto her thigh. The moment she considered saying no, his hand rested on the large scar, as if to emphasise the mark he had left there. He had brushed that spot with his touch many times before, yet it had never felt so tingling and chilling.

“I want to be an adult.”

As if the manlike expression he’d worn moments ago had been a lie, Zephion mumbled like a sulking child, rubbing his face against her skirt. After a deep breath, he looked up at Reina, his fingertips still tracing the wound.

“If it were me, I’d cherish you, Reina.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’d never treat you the way that man did.”

“Pi Pi…”

“When I’m grown…”

His golden eyes reflected only her.

“Anywhere is fine—let’s leave.”

She stroked his dark hair again and again. The look on his face as he waited for her answer was painfully earnest.

“You want to leave?”

She asked instead. Zephion’s eyes widened. As he straightened up, he must have moved his injured shoulder, because a flicker of pain crossed his face.

“Will you leave, Reina?”

“I’m only asking—do you want to leave?”

He nodded fiercely.

“Anywhere, as long as it’s not here.”

Reina let out a bitter smile. Truthfully, she felt the same—anywhere would be better, as long as it wasn’t Berend.

“I may not be an adult yet, but I can work. I studied hard—I can do anything.”

Worried she might cut him off, Zephion rushed his words.

“I don’t know if we can live the same way we do now, but I’ll take care of you, Reina. I said I’d take responsibility when I’m grown, didn’t I? I really, truly will cherish you.”

“I didn’t say I’d leave.”

At that, his face showed open disappointment, and he clenched his teeth.

“If I’m with you, anywhere is fine. And you too…”

He hesitated, unsure if he should say more, then whispered in a rough voice—

“You want to escape too… don’t you?”

Instead of replying, Reina simply looked at him.

She had lived nearly her whole life here, always thinking of this place as a kind of hell. She used to think she could never escape, but now, wasn’t she clinging to this hell only because she was desperate to burn it to the ground?

Reina gently caressed the boy’s cheek. She couldn’t give him an answer just yet.

Instead, she slowly brushed her hand over Zephion’s forehead, then rose to her feet in silence.

“Reina!”

As she left the lounge with her cane, a voice shouted her name from behind—almost like a cry of desperation. But Reina walked away with a hardened expression, not looking back.