There was relief in knowing there could be no pain more distant than love, nor closer than hatred. Zephion’s hand showed not even a trace of mercy. Reina squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t even imagine what dying would feel like.

And yet… she felt nothing.

‘Is this how it’s supposed to feel…?’

Was death really something that came without pain, without shock? In a way, she thought it was fortunate… that death was far less than she had imagined. Her eyelids trembled. What would she see when she opened her eyes…? At the very least, she prayed it would not be Kaelid.

To die and still not escape that man… would have been horrifying.

Carefully, she opened her eyes. What she had seen before closing them remained unchanged. Reina blinked slowly. People were staring at her. Only then did everything begin to filter into her mind.

She hadn’t died.

When she turned her gaze slightly, she saw the sword held frozen in place. A chill brushed close to her neck. Beside her came the sound of ragged breathing… it was Zephion’s.

“Don’t hesitate.”

Reina spoke calmly. Why was he hesitating…? Surely nothing remained in her but resentment and hatred. Perhaps it was the years they had shared that stayed his blade. She leaned her head forward a little more. She felt the touch of something cold against her skin.

Then came a faint, sharp sting… a trickle of hot blood slid down.

“You want to kill me.”

She had thought she would feel relieved to die by Zephion’s hand. Who would have expected him to waver? A laugh slipped from her lips. Everything was unfolding exactly as she had planned. That alone was enough to satisfy her.

Had she not already achieved what she had devoted her entire life to? She had stripped the Berend family of everything, watched Kaelid wear a wretched expression and witnessed his execution. That alone made life worth it.

‘To be loved by Zephion… that hadn’t been part of the plan.’

And yet, for a moment, she had been happy. Thanks to Zephion, she had experienced things she never thought possible: being loved, loving in return and even having a child. That was enough.

Reina let out a short sigh.

Was he planning to go on like this…? Zephion had only one choice left. To kill her.

From within the crowd, someone shouted:

“Kill her!”

The words spread like wildfire.

“Kill her!”

The cries to kill grew louder and louder. The people longed for the downfall of Berend.

In truth, the fact that she was the daughter of Count Helfried didn’t matter much. After all, she had lived for a very long time as the daughter of the Marquis of Berend. In their eyes, she would appear as nothing more than one of Berend’s last remnants.

“Kill her!”

Now everyone was shouting in unison. The sound grew so deafening it numbed her ears. Reina clasped her hands tightly together. If Zephion couldn’t bring himself to kill her now, that too would become a problem. He would be branded with the disgrace of having spared a woman of Berend.

“…I’m glad… to die by your sword.”

Reina spoke calmly. Perhaps her voice was drowned beneath the shouts for death, but she hoped it reached him.

At the very moment she threw herself with all her strength toward the blade, a large hand seized her waist with a sharp pull. A stinging pain grazed her neck. She heard the grinding of Zephion’s teeth.

The man who had lowered his sword pressed firmly against her wounded throat. Between his strong fingers, a stream of blood flowed.

Startled by his sudden action, the cries for her death ceased.

“Take this woman… and confine her again.”

At his rough voice, Reina let out a faint groan.

***

“You’ve done something foolish.”

Upon hearing the princess’s words, Zephion lowered his head in acknowledgement. He didn’t need to be told — he already knew that he had acted foolishly. He should have killed Reina there and then. Was she not of the Berend house? So many people who had helped the princess must have hated the Berends, and yet, in front of them all, he had failed to draw his sword.

He should have eradicated the Berends completely in that moment, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to cut off her head.

‘Why…’

In that instant, he asked himself the same question dozens of times. She was the woman who had deceived him. And yet… did he still love her? The realisation that his heart had not entirely let her go made him feel even worse.

“She is of the Berend house.”

“I know.”

“And still… you cannot kill her, is that it?”

The woman let out a faint laugh. It was as if she could see straight through his heart.

“I will kill her.”

“And yet, you didn’t.”

“There’s still a little more information to be extracted.”

It was a feeble excuse. The war was already over; there was no information left to take. The princess must have known that too, yet she merely tilted her head slightly without a word.

“That woman bore my brother’s child.”

At those words, his fist clenched tight.

“I know.”

“She’s nothing more than a corrupt woman.”

“Reina Berend was originally the daughter of Count Helfried.”

He had brought up something from long ago. At that, the woman gave a faint laugh.

“Do you think I wouldn’t know that?”

“……”

“The fact remains that she grew up like a sister to Kaelid Berend.”

Above all others, Zephion understood the nature of Kaelid and Reina’s relationship better than anyone. After all, he had looked after them for ten years. But could they truly be considered siblings? There was much he wanted to say, but he remained silent. Any word from him would make it sound like he was defending her.

“You must at least have a plan for what you intend to do.”

With a sigh, the princess brushed her hair back.

“I will kill her.”

“And if something like this happens again?”

“It won’t happen again.”

He had to kill her. He steeled his resolve once more, but was afraid that he might hesitate at the last moment. Zephion clenched his teeth tightly.

Had he really been reduced to this after only a few short months, after that brief illusion of being loved? It had lasted no longer than a single season — a fleeting span of time — so why did it unravel him so completely?

The princess rested her chin in her hand and let out a brief sigh.

“If it were only Reina Berend…”

She spoke hesitantly.

“If it were only her, perhaps she could have been allowed to live.”

Unable to guess what she meant, he looked at the woman. During the war, Berend had been both the emperor’s greatest ally and his most formidable enemy. Was she pitying Reina now?

As Zephion stood silently, his face rigid, the woman lifted the corner of her lips in a faint smile.

“But she’s already given birth to Berend’s heir.”

“……”

“As long as that child exists, there’s no way to undo it.”

Then… did she mean that if not for that child—if not for Aaron—Reina might have been allowed to live? His mind grew tangled.

‘Why am I even considering sparing her…’

He felt pathetic. Reina was the worst kind of human. Yes, thanks to her sparing his life and raising him, he had been able to take his revenge like this. But he couldn’t believe she had planned for even this. She wouldn’t have risked her own life to set such a plan in motion.

Under the guise of spoils of war, she had shown him cheap pity, deceived him with sweet words of love, and tried to break Zephion down.

She may not have instigated the war, but whatever the reason, the fact remained: the Marquisate of Berend to which Reina belonged had opposed him.

“Why did she have the child…”

It was the princess’s murmur. She hadn’t spoken it as if expecting an answer.

“She must have known it would bind her.”

“…Why?”

Zephion cautiously opened his mouth. At that, the woman gazed at him quietly, then let out a faint laugh.

“The child’s name was Aaron, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Aaron. Hearing that name, Reina’s words returned to him—that in her final moments, she had claimed the child was Zephion’s. He had told himself it was a lie, and yet… he couldn’t help but think of it.

The thought that, perhaps, Aaron truly was his child left him reeling.