At words colder than the snowstorm itself, Giselle shuddered.

“You lunatic. Worse than a demon. Filthy, wretched bastard…!”

“I’ll endure every curse you throw. So, Giselle.”

‘Raise the barrier.’

He seized her wrist and pulled, forcing her to look at Luise. His gesture was harsh and impatient.

Giselle knew from experience that, once he had made up his mind, no amount of persuasion or pleading would change it. At last, she turned her eyes away from his icy gaze.

“Fine then. Die, if that’s what you want.”

The High Priestess spat her resentment, then clutched the worn scripture tight.

Her lips, which had moments ago poured out curses, now shaped the long prayer written in its pages.

Slowly, but unmistakably, a translucent dome began to form around the suffering Luise.

Shed, watching the barrier take shape, poured his aura into the dragon’s heart.

At once, the heart fused with his power, blazing with blue light and radiating violent energy.

It was raw—an attempt without practice.

The method inscribed in the Desidera Scripture might well have flaws.
He might fail to save her.

The weight of uncertainty and fear made his head throb as though it would split apart.

But there was no other way.

He knew it would not be easy.
But he had to do it.
He had to succeed.

And at last, Giselle completed the barrier around Luise.

It was small, cramped, hastily wrought—the holy power she had left after battle was too meager to make it larger.

But it was enough. Enough for Shed to step inside, to reach her.

He did not hesitate. He walked forward.

Then, from behind him, a sharp voice pierced into his back as he passed through the barrier.

“Shed. You’ll owe me this debt for the rest of your life…!”

Only moments ago, Giselle had cursed him to die. Yet now, her words carried the weight of a promise toward the future.

Shed glanced back briefly.

“…Thank you, Giselle.”

Busy as he was, he still spared her those words.

If not for her, he would never have had the chance to even attempt this.

Giselle’s lips trembled at his gratitude.

Perhaps it was the first time she had ever heard it.

To hear such a heartfelt word of thanks from his lips—

“If I die, half of the Lester estate will go to you.”

The wealth of House Lester would more than repay his debt.

And the other half…

For the briefest instant, the image of a bold yet endearing little girl flitted through his mind.

At that will-like declaration, Giselle’s eyes quivered.

“You…!”

But Shed had already turned his gaze back to the barrier.

Within the translucent dome, black magic writhed in frenzy.

After all the curses he had endured, that shadow no longer frightened him. No—now it almost felt welcome.

Without hesitation, he stepped inside.

‘Yes, Luise. I’m coming to you now. Even if it costs me my final breath.’

At last, he surrendered himself wholly into her dark embrace.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

『 The Lord created mankind upon Paradise.
Yet the demon cast its black shadow over Eden.
Thus man came to know sorrow and rage, fear and hatred. 』

The first time I read that passage, I could not understand it.

“Papa, if God is all-powerful, why do demons exist?”

“So that we may know sorrow and anger, and through them learn the worth of joy and love. That too may be the will of God.”

In those days, when he knew nothing of black magic, my father spoke in a gentle voice.

That even Paradise bore its shadows.
That everything had its reason.

But does a demon have a reason to be born, too?

Even if its only purpose is to show love what hatred is?

I still don’t know. No matter how much I think, I…

“…Luise…!”

Is there any meaning in my becoming a demon?

In her blurred consciousness, only that unanswered question lingered.

And at the end of that dim, tangled thought, a voice reached her:

A voice that shook her very soul awake.

“Luise…!”

Luise opened her eyes at the sound of the call.

Light seeped in through the darkness. The first thing she saw beneath that light was—

“Shed…”

It was the face she had longed to see all this time.

She met his gaze, but he lowered his head to hide his crumbling expression.

Warmth spread through her from his clasped hand. Along with the returning sensation in her fingertips, she could feel his hand trembling faintly.

One by one, her surroundings sharpened into focus. Memories that had been blurred and faded returned: the battle with Gelevan, the blazing flames, Faradel collapsing and Shed’s return. And then…

“…What happened?”

Her recollection was hazy. No matter how she searched her mind, she could not grasp what had taken place.

“…I thought I’d failed.”

His trembling voice brushed against her ear. Never before had he spoken with such weakness.

‘Failed?’

“I thought I… had killed you.”

His grip around her hand tightened, fierce and unyielding.

Luise could not understand what he was saying.

“For three months, it was hell…”

“Three months…?”

Shed’s eyes drifted toward the window.

Outside, white buds had sprouted from the branches. And his hair—once dyed a steady brown—had faded over the long months, returning to its original blond.

Her eyelids lifted fully in disbelief.

It was impossible.

This meant that, when she opened her eyes, three months had already passed since the dragon had fallen in Prunig.

On that day, when the beast had crashed to the ground, Shed had tried to purify her. When the purification ended and the barrier dissolved, they both collapsed into unconsciousness.

Shed had only awoken after half a month.

But Luise had not.

“There’s no trace of black magic. But I can’t sense your holy power anymore either.”

“Then… does that mean I’ve lost even my holy power?”

“Yes. Since your holy power was destroyed through black magic, it was inevitable.”

She had a body that breathed, but nothing more.

There were no visible wounds and no clear cause, yet she would not wake.

Shed was consumed by dread.

“I’ve kept you alive with holy power, but if it goes on like this…”

Even Giselle and the priests started to doubt.

With each passing sunrise and sunset, their hope withered further.

For him, every day was terrifying. The mere thought of tomorrow frightened him.

What if her quiet breathing stopped?

What if her soul slipped away entirely?

He lay awake for nights on end, too afraid to close his eyes. Even when exhaustion finally overcame him, nightmares tore him awake again.

“Luise, please…”

Seated beside her, he read and reread the latter half of the Desidera Scripture until he knew it by heart.

Had the method been wrong?
Had he made a mistake?
Had he overlooked something?
Was his aura not enough?

Endlessly, he blamed himself, desperate to find some way to wake her.

And so three excruciating months dragged past.

“Thank you, Luise… for living.”

Shed pressed his forehead to the back of her hand, whispering like a prayer.

Again, words of gratitude for her life filled the air around her.

Luise could hardly believe it.

‘He purified me…?’

She lifted her hand weakly and looked at it.

Her body was so drained she could hardly sit upright. She could not even sense whether the black magic had truly vanished.

Was it truly over? Had she really been freed from that curse…?

Turning her head, her eyes fell upon a dagger resting on the nightstand. A silver blade engraved with the crest of Ideana.

With a trembling hand, she picked it up, a weapon so familiar.

“Luise…!”

Before Shed could stop her, she drew the blade from its sheath and pressed the edge into her own palm.

A thin line of crimson split across her skin.

“What are you doing…!”

Shed grabbed her hand in alarm and tore the dagger from her grasp.

Luise only stared, dazed, at the blood seeping from her palm.

A small wound like that should have healed on its own—but it did not.

No matter how long she stared, the skin did not knit. Instead, only thin beads of blood welled and fell.

Between her frail fingers, early spring sunlight streamed through.

“…It’s true.”

Luise let out a soft laugh, as if she could hardly believe it herself.

“It’s true, Shed.”

Then, like a child boasting about a marvellous discovery, she held up her wounded hand for him to see.

He looked down at his thin, wounded hand, his face contorting before he slowly closed his eyes and nodded quietly.

“Yes. It’s over now.”

He gently took her hand, ready to heal the wound.

At that moment, Luise, who had been leaning back on the pillows, suddenly sat up and threw her arms around him.

The abruptness of it made his vision go dark and his head spin, but none of that mattered.

Startled, he steadied her in his arms as she clung tightly to his neck.

Her breaths came quickly, thick with joy.

The seemingly endless punishment was finally over.

The curse that had bound her all her life was gone.

Now I…

Her body trembled as she clung to him. The smile on her lips quickly melted into tears that rolled hot down her cheeks.

She was happy, yet the tears would not stop.

Luise pressed her forehead against his shoulder and wept.

“Shed, I… I want to live.”

Her fingers were clenched in his collar and she was trembling.

For the first time, she wanted to live.

When she was cursed with immortality, she lived only because she could not die; she waited longingly for death to come. But now, cowardly though it was, life was what she craved most.

The smell of spring earth at her nose, Shed’s warmth seeping into her, the feel of the blanket against her knees and the sharp sting in her palm were all precious to her.

And so, she wanted to hold onto this life a little longer.

Then Shed’s arms enfolded her, steady at her waist and cradling her head with tender care.

“Yes. Let’s live.”

His voice whispered in her ear.

Even if death cast its shadow over them, they would live together in this paradise.

At his words, Luise nodded like a child.

The warm spring sunlight, a welcome change after winter, spread gently across their shoulders.

She thought that, at last, she might just be beginning to understand what her father had once told her.

Perhaps life becomes precious because death exists.