As soon as Stella disappeared from sight, Gopher moved.

Usually, he hung it in the bedroom just to appease Stella.

“Well, I suppose there’s no harm in humoring a dead person’s tantrum.”

He tossed the bundle of feathers directly into the fireplace. The flames quickly devoured the fragile, useless object.

***

Even after Stella’s warning, Gopher hadn’t changed much. Since he couldn’t pinpoint the problem, resolving it was out of the question. He simply waited, hoping time would make things better.

However, he could sense in various ways that he had changed.

A servant found Gopher in the study and spoke.

“This is Tobias Filbert’s crossbow, as you instructed.”

Did I issue such an order? Searching his memory, he vaguely recalled it. He nodded.

“Thank you, Doyle.”

The servant’s expression as he handed over the crossbow was peculiar. That look again. Stifling a laugh, Gopher asked.

“Do I seem strange to you?”

The servant hesitated, unsure whether to speak candidly or maintain decorum. His conflicted face was answer enough. Not one to torment his subordinates, Gopher spoke again.

“You can go.”

After the servant left the study, Gopher touched his face. Though not unkempt, thanks to the attendants, his cheeks felt dry and rough, and his mouth was set in a rigid line.

“Maybe it’s because I’m not smiling.”

He had always lifted the corners of his mouth, but now, as if the muscles had vanished, he couldn’t figure out how to do it. He felt like he had turned into Bleria.

“Perhaps the rumors about being cursed by a ghost are true.”

Dismissing the idle thought, Gopher sat on the sofa and fiddled with the crossbow. Before long, he remembered why he had ordered Tobias’ crossbow in the first place.

He picked up the crossbow and placed his finger on the trigger. He wasn’t sure about the recoil, but pulling the trigger didn’t seem complicated since it wasn’t a repeating crossbow.

Gopher placed his left hand before the bolt tip and pulled the trigger. Thunk! The arrow shot out fiercely, leaving a sharp pain in its wake before lodging into the wall.

“Easy enough.”

Even Bleria’s strength could manage to fire it once. Which made it all the more peculiar.

“Why didn’t she shoot me?”

She had only aimed it at him before throwing it away and vanishing. She was angry enough to cry and hurl cutting words, yet she couldn’t pull the trigger. Was it because of her feelings for him? If so—

“Why did she refuse my help?”

Because she was that angry? Because her pride was hurt? Bleria wasn’t the type to let stubbornness cost her. She hadn’t grown up in an environment where such traits could flourish. Yet she—

“Why did she jump off the cliff?”

There had been other ways. She could have escaped alive, yet she didn’t.

“Does she hide things from those she doesn’t trust? I suppose I’ll have to keep an eye on that.”

Because she didn’t trust me?

Suddenly, a sharp ringing assaulted his ears. The sound, starting thin and piercing, rose endlessly in pitch. Then, like a crowd murmuring, the sound melded into an indistinct and jumbled cacophony of voices.

What the—?

Gopher tried to stand, clutching his ears, but his vision swam, and his legs gave out beneath him. A wave of nausea surged, his empty stomach heaving violently.

Standing still, he only rolled his eyes, scanning the study. His heightened senses picked up on something unusual. Mana churned wildly within him, and an unfamiliar scent faintly permeated the air. The source of the smell was the fireplace.

An enchanted herb—likely Dreamer’s Bloom, judging by the high probability.

I need to put out the fire.

Should I call for a servant? No, I can’t be sure whoever comes will be on my side. I’ll have to handle this myself.

Dragging his unwilling legs, he grabbed a vase. Dumping out the flowers, he turned, only for the murmuring to coalesce into sharp, distinct words that pierced his ears.

“Don’t abandon me.”

“You’re not precious enough for me to give up my entire life.”

“I want you to love me.”

“But that’s not love.”

The closer he got to the fireplace, the heavier his legs felt, and his breathing grew more labored.

“I don’t need your help, not as Bleria.”

“Now that I think about it, that imposter relied on you quite. Didn’t she jump after speaking with you? Maybe you pulled the trigger yourself.”

“Even if I die because of it.”

At last, he reached the fireplace and raised the vase to douse the flames.

“Don’t do it, Gopher.”

An impossible voice rang out. His eyes, fixed on the fire, wavered. Slowly, Gopher turned his head.

“The fire’s too strong. If you pour water on it, the steam will burn you.”

The calm words resonated against the crackling of the flames. Snow-white hair. A dress is as white as her hair. The woman, as expressionless as ever, looked at Gopher.

The moment their eyes met, with someone he thought he’d never see again, the vase slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.

Crash. The vase broke into pieces with a resounding noise.

Gopher’s gaze remained fixed in place, unmoving. His lips parted as he murmured a name, almost like a groan.

“…Bleria.”

He couldn’t tell if the pounding in his chest was because of the wound on his left hand, the spell of the hallucinogenic flower, or something else entirely.

What he could discern was that the emotion welling up inside him was unmistakably close to joy.

After coming to terms with Bleria Heaven’s death, he would occasionally wonder.

If he had revealed everything without hiding anything.

If he hadn’t chosen to break the engagement despite Stella’s warnings.

If he had taken her hand and run together instead of urging her to flee. If he had forcibly dragged her into the carriage, even if it angered her.

Would things have turned out differently? Would Bleria Heaven still be alive?

Even though what had happened could not be undone, and no amount of speculation would bring back the dead, he had repeatedly entertained such futile thoughts. He didn’t understand why he kept revisiting these meaningless questions.

But the moment he saw Bleria’s eyes again, the moment he witnessed the impossible vision, a brutal realization pierced his chest.

“I… missed you.”

Regret, after all, is rooted in desire.

Gopher wished for Bleria to be alive. To look her in the eyes and speak to her again. Because he, Gopher Allnight, loved Bleria Heaven…

Even as he tried to swallow the emotion clogging his throat, Adam’s apple bobbed helplessly. The hallucination echoed once more.

“Perhaps it was you who should have pulled the trigger.”

If you were that angry, if you were in that much pain, you should have killed me rather than ending your own life. Then, neither of us would have ended up like this.

Gopher laughed. He wasn’t sure if his face looked the same as usual, but the vision before him remained unaffected. That was all that mattered. He spoke.

“Do whatever you wish.”

Bleria raised the crossbow. The sharp steel tip was aimed at Gopher. The white figure aiming the crossbow looked almost like a snow goddess.

Gopher didn’t avert his gaze for even a moment. He heard what sounded like blood vessels bursting in his heated eyes. Finally, as her slender finger moved to pull the trigger—

Thunk!

The last thing Gopher saw before losing consciousness was a blackness filling his vision.

****

Eos Liche had been accepted as a member of the Heaven family. Her sole goal had been to bring down Bleria Heaven, and she had fully expected to be exposed as a fraud and executed along the way, making this an unforeseen outcome.

However, once inside the mansion, the members of the Heaven family were far from the grandeur they displayed at the celebratory banquet. They were utterly desolate.

The duke wept every night, wailing apologies while calling out for Bleria. Eos couldn’t tell if those apologies were meant for the real one or the imposter.

Damian Heaven clung to coffee with his haggard face, but that seemed to be due to the other family members, so Eos ignored it.

Harriet Heaven lost her once-cheerful smile and moved only for the sake of the child in her womb. Even the household staff were in complete disarray, leaving Eos feeling guilty as though she had ruined everything.

“If this was going to happen, why did they bring me into the Heaven family?”

They didn’t believe she was the real Bleria, but they accepted her despite their shock from losing the second Bleria. Why?

But that question only applied to emotional matters. Logistically, everything progressed without a hitch. Damian quickly registered Eos in the family records and even processed her engagement papers with Gopher Allnight.

And today, early in the morning, he summoned Eos to his office and said this:

“The wedding can’t be handled with paperwork alone, so we should start preparing for the ceremony. A tailor will arrive in the afternoon, so don’t wander off and wait here.”

Why were they rushing the wedding so much? What on earth was this man thinking?

Eos felt uneasy but could only nod in response.

“Yes, my lord.”

Even though they had brought her into the family, Damian hadn’t met her gaze once. After finishing his instructions, he acted as if Eos didn’t exist. She tactfully headed for the door.

Just as she was about to leave the office, there was a knock, and the butler entered. Passing by Eos, he bowed slightly in greeting. In his hands was a tray.