“What?”

At the voice filled with irritation, I asked quietly,

“Why—am I not allowed to see it?”

“……”

At my repeated question, my father fell silent.

His pale lips trembled, as if barely containing his anger.

And suddenly, I wondered.

Why had he hidden this—something that was clearly meant for me?

Why had he never told me what my mother wanted to say?

Why had he kept me trapped as a child endlessly craving love?

Why had he made me utterly alone in this world?

“Why… this…”

I tried to speak again, but my breath caught, and the words wouldn’t form.

My mind was in chaos.

I didn’t even know what to question, or how.

Still, I stepped toward him.

I placed a hand against his chest.

But my strength gave out, and my hand slid down weakly.

At the same time, he took a step back.

A deliberate act of rejection.

“Why…”

My legs gave way.

I sank to the ground and lifted my head.

Clutching the magic stone tightly to my chest, I stammered,

“I-It was left for me. Mother… she left it for me! Not for you!”

“So?”

My tear-streaked face, my trembling voice—none of it reached him.

It never had.

I knew that.

And yet—

“Do you even have the right to see that?”

Why did it still hurt?

Even now?

My father looked at me the same way he had from the very moment I was born—unchanged.

What was most absurd of all was that I could see myself reflected in those violet eyes I had inherited from him.

“Who do you think you are, calling her your mother?”

“……”

Those words struck deep—too straight, too sharp.

Looking down at me, he spat out his cruelty.

“No one ever wanted you. Not me, not Hermes, not Ripe.”

…No.

That’s not true.

Mother said she wanted me.

She said I made her happy—that because of me, she came to love everything in this world.

That feeling was real.

I had been loved.

That was the one truth no one could take from me.

“Why do you… hate me so much?”

The words slipped out, trembling.

Mother had asked you to love me in her place.

You promised you would.

You even said you would swear a vow.

I wanted to beg him to stop hating me.

To love me.

Even just a little.

Even just a fraction of the attention he gave my sister.

I wanted someone—anyone—to hold me.

To comfort me now, when I was broken, betrayed, and hurting.

“Do you really need me to say it out loud?”

But my father only let out a disbelieving laugh.

As if it were obvious.

Yes.

I knew.

Mother died because of me.

That alone.

But still, shouldn’t that have made him love me more? Cherish me more?

Isn’t that what a parent is supposed to do?

“Remember the moment you were born. I never forgot.”

The scent of blood—still vivid whenever I closed my eyes.

The midwife dying.

My father raising a sword against me.

Blanche stepping in to stop him.

I remembered everything.

“I… you didn’t even think of me as human. You said it was because of that. Because of that, Ripe died. That thing, that thing, that thing—”

At my muttering, his brow twitched.

I lifted my head sharply, my voice shaking.

“Y-You tried to k*ll me. Me—who could do nothing but cry. You didn’t hesitate. And yet—you’re the one who brought me into this world!”

“I…”

Until now, he had only listened.

But at last, his lips parted—cold and merciless.

“Not once have I ever thought of you as my daughter.”

Something beneath me collapsed.

A wall I could never break stood clearly before my eyes.

“You were nothing more than the monster that took away the woman I loved.”

Because he spoke so calmly, it felt even more real.

The emotions I could no longer hold back surged violently.

I clenched my fists, my whole body trembling.

“…Then why am I here?”

My eyes, burning red, glared up at him.

“Why am I the Psyche of the Silcania family—and not Hermes Silcania?”

There was no need to look far into the past.

If I hadn’t become Psyche at that time none of this would have happened.

He would have tried to drag me back no matter what.

But it would have taken time before my turn came again.

In that time, I could have married someone else.

Bound by a vow to another, he wouldn’t have been able to k*ll me.

He would have had to find another way.

Not this.

His lips curved, cold and sharp.

“A monster’s partner is, of course, another monster.”

“……”

I had no words left.

My lips trembled helplessly.

“When I look at you, even the memory of Ripe… begins to twist into something monstrous.”

I could only stare at him, stunned.

And then, Teslai’s words echoed in my mind.

“Even so, you are still only human, standing on the brink of transcendence. If you try to turn back time, you will pay the ultimate price.”

Was this it?

Was this what Teslai meant?

Then must I spend my entire life yearning for something I can never have?

‘Look at me. Don’t hate me. Love me…’

“Roland Silcania.”

Our eyes met.

Slowly, everything that had built up over time spilled out.

“You say I’m a monster? Then I’ll live up to your expectations. From now on… you will never be able to use magic again.”

What would become of the head of a mage family once stripped of magic?

His status, his authority, his position as master of the tower—he would lose everything.

“No one will look at you anymore. Just like me, you’ll be loved by no one. The people who once admired you will see you as nothing more than an insect. Those who used to fawn over you will treat you exactly the way you treated me. And that is how you will pay for everything you’ve done.”

At my curse, my father did not even blink.

But—

“Hermes Silcania will be the same.”

At the mention of her name, his voice sharpened.

“What did you say?”

“Hermes Silcania will come to loathe you just the same.”

My bloodshot eyes burned as I screamed at him.

“Hold onto that precious Hermes Silcania of yours—and go walk through the hell I lived in! Rot slowly in your so-called paradise!”

Leaving behind a curse filled with everything I had, I turned away.

My father didn’t try to stop me.

The summer wind brushed cold against my skin, tossing my hair.

Standing alone in the garden, I tilted my head back and looked up at the sky.

The faint moonlight bathed the world.

Where should I go now?

The thought made me laugh.

If I didn’t laugh, I felt like I would break under the emptiness.

I was completely alone in this world.

Alone—like that solitary moon lighting the night.

Just as D’hiver said,

I had nowhere to go.

Except his side.

Whether I liked it or not.

And only now did I realize it.

How absurd.

“…Teslai.”

I looked down at the sword.

Even knowing it wouldn’t answer, I muttered anyway.

“What should I do?”

Only my hollow voice echoed back through the garden.

I sank to the ground.

What was I supposed to do?

There was nothing I could understand anymore.

I simply stared at the lifeless sword—until—

“Violette.”

D’hiver appeared suddenly, pulling me into his arms from behind without leaving a single gap between us.

The warmth of someone familiar—the presence I had once relied on—for some reason, it no longer felt comforting.

What had he thought, seeing me standing there like a broken doll?

In the end, he only let out a quiet sigh.

“I don’t understand why you keep reopening your own wounds.”

“…I don’t know either.”

I murmured, turning my head to look at him.

Those red eyes I once thought so gentle were fixed on me.

“Just live like they don’t exist. Like you always have. You managed it for seven years.”

His hand gripped my shoulder.

Maybe it was because of the cold night air, but his touch felt unbearably warm.

My trembling lips finally moved.

“D’hiver.”

“Yeah?”

“Why does my father… treat me like that? Why does he hate me so much… like he can’t stand not hating me?”

Clutching the fabric of his clothes, I asked desperately.

“Why… why does he cherish my sister so much, while I… I…? What did I ever do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. But do you really think there has to be a special reason?”

He asked it back so simply.

I covered my mouth and shook my head.

“I hate them. I hate both of them so much I can’t stand it…”

“And so you want them to be unhappy?”

I nodded.

Tears I could no longer hold back slipped down my cheeks.

“If that’s what you want, I can grant you a small revenge.”

Murmuring that, D’hiver pressed a kiss to the back of my neck as if by habit.

His hands moved over me with practiced ease.

I bit my lip.

The only place I could exist—by his side.

The one place I never wanted to return to.

“Let’s go back.”

And just like that, he held out his hand to me.

When I didn’t answer, he pulled me closer, more firmly this time.

His lips brushed along the nape of my neck as he whispered,

“It’s alright if you wander for now. It’s fine. Just remember—when you turn back, I’ll be here.”

I blinked.

Another tear traced down my cheek.

I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.

All I could think about was what awaited at the end of this twisted relationship, and when I would finally be able to let go of this foolish attachment for good.