It felt as though he had sunk into an endless void of darkness. In that pitch-black void, he tried to move his arms and legs, but he couldn’t even twitch a finger. It was as if his entire body were paralysed. And that wasn’t the only problem.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make a sound, not even a groan of pain. His eyes were steeped in darkness as if they had been swallowed by the void itself, so he couldn’t see a thing.

He tried to open his eyes wide, but all he could see was impenetrable blackness. He couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open or closed.

‘I have to pull myself together!’

It seemed hearing was the only sense that hadn’t failed him. A voice burrowed into Karsten’s mind, seizing his consciousness.

He sharpened all his focus onto that one sense—listening.

“How devastated would your parents be if you gave up now!”

It was a very young voice, still childish in tone. Strangely, though, it didn’t feel unfamiliar at all.

Karsten tried desperately to move toward the direction of the voice. At last, he managed to twitch his fingertips—just a little.

“Trust me!”

The owner of the voice suddenly grabbed his hand. In that instant, as if it were all a lie, his body—which hadn’t budged until now—began to move.

But even now, he couldn’t speak, and his vision was still swallowed in darkness.

“I’ll help you.”

With his sight gone, he had no way of knowing who was leading him by the hand. Yet the moment he heard that voice, a strange sense of relief wrapped around him.

He felt as though, no matter what that voice told him, he could trust it completely., as if it had always been decided, since long ago.

Just then—

“That’s right.”

Suddenly, Karsten’s mouth moved of its own accord, and a voice escaped his lips.

“Let’s go.”

He couldn’t understand what was happening. It felt as if something were wedged tightly in his throat, keeping him from making a sound—so how was he able to speak at all?

Karsten wanted desperately to shout, to insist that the words weren’t his own, but no matter how much he strained, his own voice wouldn’t come out.

Instead, the same voice echoed in his head again.

“Karsten, you just keep quiet. Shut your mouth.”

It was the same voice as before—one that sounded exactly like his own.

💙💙💙 💙💙💙

Bagi paced around Breti, her worry plain to see. She wasn’t the only one watching Breti anxiously. Thompson stood outside Karsten’s bedroom and looked at her with the same concern.

“Miss, you should take a moment to rest.”

“Bagi is right. His Grace’s condition seems to have improved a great deal. You really ought to…”

“I—no… With my brother in such poor condition, how could I possibly rest?”

With Breti insisting so firmly, neither Bagi nor Thompson could say another word.

“I’ll go and fetch a doctor as soon as the rain stops.”

Thompson said politely, bowing before leaving the room. Bagi followed right after.

“I’ll be waiting just outside, miss. If anything happens, call for me immediately.”

The door closed behind her, leaving the room in silence for a moment.

After watching over Karsten for a moment, Breti replaced the herb poultice on his abdomen with a fresh one.

She had taken it Upon herself to care for him for a reason. When he suddenly collapsed, it threw everyone in the Servien manor into confusion.

To make matters worse, it began to pour with rain, making it almost impossible to send for a doctor. Anxiety filled the entire household.

With so many obstacles piling up, Breti found herself torn — was it really her place to tend to him? But her doubts didn’t last long. The moment she saw Karsten groaning in pain, she knew she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

Pushing through the bewildered manor staff, she stepped forward.

‘I’ll take a look at him.’

Since childhood, she had gathered herbs with her mother and sold them to merchants. Her years at Aurora had also taught her how to care for people injured in Haeriji attacks. Guided by that experience, she was able to help the others find a herb in the manor’s back garden that could counteract the poison.

She crushed the herb into a fine paste, applied it to Karsten’s wound, and brewed the rest into a tea for him to drink. Little by little, his condition began to improve.

The only problem was that Karsten still hadn’t regained consciousness, so it was difficult to know his exact state.

One of the most severe symptoms of Haeriji poison was blindness—and in the worst cases, it could become permanent.

Breti couldn’t relax, knowing that if he woke up, she would need to check his eyesight right away.

‘Will he be all right?’

Breti watched Karsten’s closed eyes, her face etched with worry.

‘He’s not so scary up close.’

She had never dared to look him in the face before; this was the first time she had properly looked at him. When he had looked at her before, his gaze had always been sharp and cold. With his eyes closed, however, he looked completely different.

With his well-shaped eyebrows, straight nose and red lips, he had an undeniably noble elegance — he was a handsome man.

As Breti studied his face, she tilted her head in confusion.

‘Somehow…’

The more she looked at him, the more familiar he seemed. Had they met before? She was certain she’d seen him for the first time in Aurora, so why did she feel this way?

Just as Breti shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts—

“Breti.”

Karsten’s voice reached her ears.

“You’re awake? How’s your vision? Can you see clearly, or is it still dark?”

Breti hurriedly fired off her questions, anxiety clear in her tone.

Karsten gave a small, unexpected smile.

“It’s been a while. We meet again like this.”

His response threw Breti off. It had only been a few days since she’d last seen him, yet his words felt strangely out of place.

“Since I can see you, my eyes must be fine.”

For a brief moment, Breti forgot her confusion—then she caught sight of his unfamiliar smile and quickly averted her gaze, startled.

“Why are you so surprised?”

Karsten, noticing her sudden reaction, asked quietly.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, are you all right? Does your wound hurt?”

Breti quickly pulled herself together and changed the subject.

A faint look of confusion flickered across Karsten’s face at her question.

“My body?”

“Your wound is quite deep. You should take it easy for a while.”

“Ah, right. The wound.”

Karsten looked down at the herbs on his stomach and gave a small, wry smile. He murmured softly to himself.

“Some things never change.”

“Pardon?”

His words didn’t quite reach her ears.

When Breti looked at him in confusion, Karsten gave another faint smile.

“You’re quite skilled. I’m proud of you.”

He said, running his hand lightly over the spot where she’d treated his injury.

Breti, watching his movements, suddenly felt her cheeks grow hot.

Karsten’s bare, well-built torso filled Breti’s vision. She found herself unable to look away, wondering why she hadn’t noticed it until just now.

Flustered, she quickly forced the heat from her cheeks and added,

“I’ll call someone. You should really get some rest today.”

In truth, there was much she wanted to say now that he was awake.

First, she’d meant to show him the letter she’d received from the duchess. But telling him anything while he was still injured didn’t seem right.

And besides…

“There’s no need, Breti. I think I’ll be just fine with you here taking care of me.”

She hadn’t known him long, but his behavior now was so different from before that she felt strangely uneasy being alone by his side.

Breti tried to brush away his hand as he touched her cheek and rose to her feet.

“Well then…”

She bowed quickly and left his bedroom almost at a run.

💙💙💙 💙💙💙

Left alone, Karsten stared wistfully at the door for a moment, then pulled on a robe and got up from bed. Despite the pain from his wound, he moved around the room without so much as a flinch.

He soon spotted a letter on the table and immediately broke the wax seal.

“To the esteemed Duke of White…”

He read the salutation aloud, then suddenly burst into laughter. Once he started, he couldn’t seem to stop.

“This is absurd. Truly absurd.”

He said, his voice tinged with amusement.

“Who would have thought I’d become the master of House White? Is there anything more ridiculous?”

Losing interest, he dropped the letter back onto the table and approached the mirror. He ran his hand over his reflection, his expression thoughtful.

“Without the childishness, you’ve turned out quite manly. Better looking than expected, actually.”

He whispered as though speaking to someone else entirely, as if the reflection in the mirror were another person.

After a while, he smiled at himself in the mirror.

“It’s been a long time, Karsten.”

He was Karsten, but not Karsten.

“It’s been fifteen years.”

He was Adrian, Karsten’s other self.