Gopher quietly stroked the unmoving back.

Gopher disliked warmth—the sunlight, a fireplace, freshly brewed tea, or a roaring blaze. But today, this cooling body was the thing he hated most.

He embraced the cooling body as if holding on to the dissipating warmth, pressing his forehead against the coarse fur.

So, this is what it means to die. Something by my side has died again.

Everything. Every single thing.

“I’m sorry.”

His hands trembled.

I’m sorry.

***

After Eos was recognized as a member of Heaven, invitations poured in from all corners, but only two messages truly mattered to her.

One was an order from Mixel Luke, and the other was the periodic news about Celia.

But now, neither has arrived.

“Why are you doing this to me… why?”

Eos sobbed, her face buried in the table.

It was too cruel if this was the price of failing to kill Gopher Allnight. How could she have forced poison upon someone who had suspected her plan and refused to drink tea?

Indeed, this failure couldn’t have made them believe she betrayed them, right? She had done everything asked of her. Even feigning loyalty to Gopher and pretending to switch allegiances were part of her orders to get closer to him.

She had been so devoted, so loyal—just one failure, and now this!

If you poisoned Celia, this isn’t how it should go.

Her sobs grew louder.

She missed her sister. Was she in pain? Was she taking the medicine to ease her symptoms? Was she crying, saying she missed her big sister?

As Eos painted a mental picture of her little sister, a chilling fear suddenly struck her.

What if she dies?

A sharp terror clamped down on her tear ducts. It felt like someone had grabbed her shoulders and shaken her violently. Eos straightened her back.

I have to do something.

There was no time to wallow in despair. She was Celia’s sister. She was the only one who could save her.

Determination flared in her eyes. Eos wiped her face with a handkerchief and stood abruptly.

Those who remain on a sinking ship are either sacrifices to the sea or fools. But Eos was neither. If she couldn’t reach Mixel, she would find help elsewhere.

They mentioned Bleria when summoning me. Anything will do. I need to know everything about it.

Eos didn’t have access to any sophisticated information network. She couldn’t gather intelligence externally. Instead, she decided to gamble on the people inside her estate.

Eos gazed into the mirror, steadying her expression. Soon, the sorrow-stricken woman was replaced by the stern face of a master.

Donning her role, Eos Heaven rang a bell. Shortly after, Lucy entered.

“You called for me, Lady Eos?”

“Welcome, Lucy.”

Eos’s voice resonated coldly.

“I heard something interesting.”

***

“Let Rex go. He wouldn’t want you to be like this.”

“How long are you going to behave like a madman? I thought time would help, but it’s only getting worse!”

“Please. If you collapse, we’ll all be in trouble.”

“This is the final warning. If you’re not back to normal by next week, your title as successor will be revoked, and Mixel Luke will be named the next Duke.”

“It’s all your fault—they all died because of you. Again.”

“…”

Words from the past few days, mingled with hallucinations, echoed in his ears. Ignoring the noise, Gopher ripped a page from a book and tossed it into the fireplace. Although the season for a fireplace had long passed, and the fire was already roaring, he felt compelled to do so.

The last page of the book burned. As he reached for another, his gaze fell on the table.

There lay a document stripping Gopher Allnight of his succession rights. Stella’s aide had left it as an untouched threat.

He silently picked up the paper and thought again.

Why did I even want to become the Duke?

As a child, he was driven by revenge against their parents, who imposed relentless schedules on him. A childish plan to take the position they desired so much and cast them out.

After the fire, he was afraid of Stella—her ruthless power to destroy even her own children or grandchildren without hesitation. He had even admired her cruelty.

But now, there was nothing. No vengeance, no fear, no admiration, no ambition.

So what did it matter? Gopher threw the document into the fire and sat beside Rex. He carefully tucked the blanket around the dog, covering every inch of fur.

Sometimes, it felt like Bleria might be under that blanket—a figure with snowy white hair and an unyielding expression curled up and asleep.

Since that thought had crossed his mind, he couldn’t lift the blanket.

To Gopher, death meant loss.

No more eye contact, no more touch, no more conversations. No one would cool his tea or fret over him excessively. No one would stubbornly visit on anniversaries to stay by his side.

Having lived solely to become the Duke, everyone who interacted with Gopher treated him as the young Duke. The only exception had been Bleria—the one person who had genuinely cared for him.

And he had cast her aside with his own hands.

“…Idiot.”

Gopher ran a hand over his face. Had he really believed he could let her go? That time would make things better? Now, he realized how utterly delusional he had been.

It wasn’t Bleria who had been abandoned. Once again, it was Gopher Allnight who was left alone. And now, he was sick and tired of merely enduring and surviving.

He picked up the crossbow lying on the floor. Neither the real Bleria nor the illusionary Bleria had ever managed to shoot him.

“If you can’t do it, I’ll do it for you.”

He loaded an arrow into the crossbow and aimed the steel tip at himself. Perhaps he felt surprisingly little hesitation because he had nothing left to lose. It had been an endlessly tiresome and insignificant life.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, someone burst into the study.

“My Lord!”

Startled by the sudden voice, his hand slipped, and the crossbow veered off target. A loud thud resounded from the opposite wall. His ears grew hot, but Gopher’s gaze remained fixed on the doorway.

At first, seeing the white hair, he thought it was another illusion. But soon, the features became clear: eyes sharp yet not overly dense with lashes and lips of a noticeable hue. Even if her face was pale with shock, she still looked healthier than he had imagined.

Hope swelled in him for a moment, only to deflate into hollow disappointment. Who had let Selene Pincher into his study? It was an utterly ridiculous expectation if she thought she could somehow fix him.

Selene boldly stepped into the room and firmly shut the door.

“Please, just wait a moment. I have something to say.”

Without a word, Gopher reloaded the crossbow.

“I can’t find my younger sister. I’ve lost contact with Mixel, too. Please, save my sister, Celia. I’m not just begging for your help. I want to make a deal with you. I’ve brought the information you asked for. Please, listen first─.”

Just as he raised the arrow tip to his own head again and prepared to pull the trigger, Selene Pincher screamed.

“Bleria Heaven might still be alive!”

His finger froze on the trigger. Gopher shifted his gaze to Selene, moving only his eyes.

The moment their eyes met, she exhaled the breath she had held in her chest. Then, lowering her gaze, she quickly began to speak.

“Remember when I mentioned the jewelry box? At the time, I was just talking nonsense, but it turned out to be true. I pretended to know something and tested Lucy, that maid. She said she saw the jewelry being smuggled out.”

“……”

“The person who usually dressed according to the maid’s recommendation always chose specific clothes on hunting days. Simple clothes that were easy to replicate. And the maid sent to prepare her for the hunt? It was Daisy Cape, someone I know personally. That woman is one of Mixel’s informants.”

Selene Pincher’s expression showed uncertainty, yet she dared to speak with conviction.

“She doesn’t seem like someone who wants to die, does she? I’m sure of it. Mixel smuggled her out.”

“Mixel has no reason to do that.”

“I know. But when I think back, he said something strange. He claimed he was trying to save her, Bleria Heaven. He said it quite a few times.”

Save her?

Gopher’s lips twisted faintly. Selene continued.

“To save someone usually means to help them out of a difficult situation, right? And even when he handed over the order to assassinate you, his words were suspicious. He said he’d skip the troublesome steps because things had gotten more complicated than expected─.”

“Speculation is meaningless. Without new information, it’s just a game of delusions.”

“There is something new… not entirely insignificant.”

Selene took a deep breath and, this time, raised her head to look at him directly.

“My Lord, you’ve been broken.”