She didn’t pull away from Calix until the coolness of his icy cheek gradually gave way to warmth. 

For a moment, the soft breath that passed between their lips brushed against her nose. 

“…Ciela.” 

Ciela slowly lifted her eyelids to meet his. His once clouded red eyes, shrouded in shadow, now shone with clarity. 

‘He’s back.’ 

Only then did she take a deep breath, the tightness in her chest loosening painfully. As the sound of her exhalation reached him, she felt him flinch, the tremor reverberating through the palm of her hand. 

“I’m sorry. I hurt your neck…”

Ciela, unable to meet his gaze as if she were the guilty one, pulled him down.

Chastely.

After a brief kiss, she stepped back.

“C-Ciela?”

“If you’ve come to your senses now, that’s enough.”

Ciela smiled softly at him, who stared at her with eyes wide open like a rabbit.

“Come quickly.”

She rubbed her thumb gently under his eyes, where it seemed tears might fall at the slightest touch.

What was the point of looking guilty? The real culprit who created this situation was someone else. She turned her head and looked at Lilia.

Lilia, who had been watching her, was now shaking violently, her face contorted in fear.

“My power is not something a mere human can resist or undo… How could a mere human… How could a mere human…”

Of course, Lilia had not fully adapted to the human body she inhabited and was still unable to use her true power to the full.

But the opponent was only human.

A species so insignificant that a single gesture could accidentally kill them, a foolish race inferior to insects.

“…How could a mere human…”

It was impossible for this man to resist the brainwashing. It was an event that could never, ever happen.A blue vein appeared on her forehead. The turbulent flow of magical energy violently clashed with the binding restraints Patrick had created.

“Ugh.”

Fighting the destructive magic, Patrick gritted his teeth. Frowning, he shouted at Ciela.

“It looks like the situation is getting unfavourable, so you’re trying to escape regardless of the damage to the human body! Quick, stab him with the weapon!”

Ciela transformed the weapon she was holding back into a dagger. The brainwashed butler charged aggressively, but Calix easily stopped him.

“Go ahead.”

“Yes.”

The mere fact that he was behind her made her steps feel lighter. Ciela grabbed the hilt of the sword and moved quickly towards Lilia.

As the distance between them closed, Lilia was unable to break free of her bonds. Blue flames shot through her distorted eyes.

Would she really be defeated like this?

‘I fail again?’

The lifted sword pierced Lilia’s chest. The corrupted fairy that shared her body screamed in pain.

With a final scream that seemed to tear her apart, the corrupted fairy crumbled to dust.

Through their joined bodies, their emotions were transmitted to each other. Resentment, grief, injustice, anger… The dark emotions mixed in her white right eye and blue left eye were directed at Ciela.

“I can’t be the only one to suffer like this.”

Lilia’s voice broke in two. Although only one person was speaking, Ciela could hear two vicious laughs in her ears, causing her to frown.

As soon as the sword was drawn, Lilia’s body collapsed helplessly. The weapon, which was supposed to be effective only against the corrupted fairy, seemed to have no effect on Lilia, who seemed perfectly fine.

‘It is over.’

The moment the tension eased, her body went limp, like a tattered rag. She struggled to stand on shaky legs, Calix supporting her from the side.

“Ah. Thank you.”

She thought she hadn’t shown him much… But Ciela looked up at him and smiled softly. Perhaps because the tension had eased, fatigue began to set in, but as there was something she had to say, she suppressed her sleepiness and replied.

“The curse has been broken.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes.”

It was said that returning the corrupted fairy to the embrace of nature would break the curse. Now there would be no more fear or anxiety. 

She needed to explain that – but the overwhelming sleepiness made it impossible to hold on any longer. As her strength ebbed, she instinctively leaned into him. 

Before she could realise that something was wrong, darkness completely consumed her vision.

***

As she slowly regained consciousness, Ciela opened her eyes.

Everything around her was so dark that she couldn’t see a thing. For a moment she wondered if her eyes were still closed.

‘Where is this?’

It seemed as if she had fallen asleep without realising it, as sleep suddenly overcame her. Then, when she opened her eyes, this was the situation she found herself in.

‘Is this a dream?’

Ciela slapped her cheek hard. If it was a dream, there should have been no pain, but both her cheeks tingled.

‘Why does it hurt?’

Frowning, she considered the worst-case scenario. She thought back to the situation before she lost consciousness, keeping in mind the possibility that this wasn’t a dream but reality.

“I can’t be the only one to suffer like this.”

Remembering the look of resentment and the voice that split in two, Ciela squeezed her eyebrows together.

The only clue she had was the last thing she heard as she stabbed Lilia.

‘But Patricksaid that if you kill the corrupted fairy, the power completely disappears. So why am I in a place like this?’

As she pondered the suspicious detail, about to remove her hand from her forehead, Ciela suddenly raised her head. A desperate voice called out to her.

“Ciela, where are you?”

“Calix?”

“Come this way.”

Though all she could see was darkness, his voice came clearly from ahead.

Just as Ciela was about to take a step forward.

“If you go that way, you’ll never wake up again, Ciela.”

A mature woman’s voice whispered in her ear.

“!”

Quickly turning around, Ciela saw someone – or rather a fairy – clearly for the first time in that place.

“That voice is fake. It’s the power of a human and a corrupted fairy fused together so that the last curse could not be undone.”

With her white hair braided and draped over her right shoulder, the fairy’s eyes widened into a soft, round shape as they met Ciela’s.

“Who are you?”

“Freesia. That’s my name.”

Ciela’s eyes widened at the familiar name.

“It seems you know who I am after all.”

“Yes. I’ve heard your name from Her Majesty, the Empress.”

“Her Majesty… You must mean Grace.”

A feeling of longing spread across Freesia’s grey eyes. She seemed to be remembering someone dear to her, someone she hadn’t seen in a long time. Watching her, Ciela parted her lips to speak.

“It seems you were not summoned here by Her Majesty.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“I have come to fulfil a wish from a timeline that has been erased.”

“A wish from a timeline that has been erased…?”

Unable to understand what she meant, Ciela scowled. Freesia smiled gently, as if it was natural.

“Since we don’t have much time, shall we talk as we walk?”

She pointed in the opposite direction of where Ciela had intended to go and asked kindly.

‘Can I really trust this woman in front of me?’

Her lingering suspicion held her back, gripping her ankles. But as she faced Freesia, whose warmth seemed to embrace her, an inexplicable sense of comfort began to seep into her heart.

“Come this way.”

In the end, Ciela followed Freesia into the abyss-like darkness.

“Where do I start the story?”

“…”

“As I mentioned before, the time of this world was once erased. That means we have returned from the past.”

In the palm of Freesia’s hand, a soft light took the shape of an hourglass. But instead of the sand falling down, the separated grains rose up – only to come to an abrupt halt. 

It was as if the world had actually rewound to the past, and Ciela held her breath. 

“Back then, it took much longer to stop the corrupted kin – the ones you call demons – from running rampant in human bodies.” 

By the time Patrick realized he had fallen, the smell of fallen fairies had already spread through the human settlements.

“By the time we tried to contain the situation, many humans had been brainwashed into willingly putting themselves in harm’s way to protect the demons. As a result, some fairies, mistaking them for enemies, would strike them down – only to fall into corruption themselves. It was a nightmare, a relentless cycle of horror reminiscent of the past war with humanity. As the world spiralled further into an irreversible state, we made a desperate decision – to forcibly turn back the tide of time. However, wielding powers that could drastically alter the world was strictly forbidden by the laws that governed them. Reversing time itself affected countless lives, making the burden even greater. Even if one were to exploit the one loophole, there was no way of knowing what price one might have to pay”

“The only loophole?”

“The use of power to grant a human’s wish.”

The price to be paid could be dealt with later. First, they needed to find a human to make the wish and turn back time.

“I gave blessing to a few people who seemed suitable. At first they all insisted on wishing to turn back time, but once the blessings were given, they all wished for something else.”

“….”

“That’s what happens with sudden opportunities.”

Freesia’s voice sounded rather bitter.

“Using the Blessings required an immense amount of strength, and over time the strain became apparent. When we began to question whether we should abandon the world altogether, we encountered a human. The brainwashed humans typically clung to the corrupted fairies, separating from them only for basic necessities such as food and sleep. When I first saw him wandering around the Arcel mansion, he seemed no different from the others under the spell. But unlike the others, he continued to wander if the corrupted fairies weren’t around. As I watched him, I noticed something unusual – he wasn’t following them aimlessly. He was searching for something else. That’s when I realised his brainwashing was unstable.”