I fanned my face with the other hand to cool the remaining heat and barely managed to steady my voice.

“Ahem. Sha, Shahar. You were really handsome…?”

“That is not my complete appearance. It is a painting drawn by later humans using their imagination.”

“I-Is that so?”

Indeed, it was hard to believe such a handsome man could exist.

‘Besides, he didn’t have such long hair.’

But I realized anew just how extraordinary my mate, the rock, was.

It made even less sense to me that he liked me this much.

‘But wasn’t he usually described as having dark hair?’

My curiosity was soon resolved. The next painting depicted that process.

The wolf, who had always been dissatisfied with his birth, eventually rebelled and killed the goddess. Shahar set out to punish his brother who killed their mother.

After a long battle, both brothers met their deaths. During that process, Shahar’s white hair turned black.

Seeing the hair gradually darken from the ends, I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.

This coal had such a storied past.

The story of the wolf and Shahar ended there. The subsequent paintings depicted the birth of other gods.

Even while looking at his story, Shahar remained silent.

Perhaps he was reminiscing about a long time that couldn’t be explained with just a few paintings. For some reason, my chest felt heavy.

I couldn’t say I was sad, but I wasn’t feeling cheerful either as I finished my tour of the art gallery and stepped outside.

“Lady, lady!”

Seren, who had been waiting outside, excitedly grabbed me and pulled me along.

I was dragged to the square, where the crowd was much larger than before.

“What’s all this? Is there some event?”

“In a little while, His Holiness the Pope will conduct a mass! We’re lucky. Oh, it looks like it’s about to start!”

From where Seren pointed, the Pope and a group of priests were walking out.

The priests in their white robes looked dignified and majestic, but I had no time to appreciate it. The Holy Knight Order of Sephiroth was escorting the Pope and the priests.

My heart sank as soon as I saw Gined.

“Wow, it’s Sir Roengreen! Go and say hi.”

Seren glanced at me mischievously.

“Sh-shut up. I’m going back to the inn to rest.”

Before Gined could notice me, I hurried back to the inn.

As I finally caught my breath and lay sprawled on the bed, Shahar suddenly asked.

“Weren’t you close with the commander of the Holy Knights?”

“Not anymore.”

“Why?”

“Just because. Human relationships can’t always stay the same, right? Sometimes you grow apart, sometimes you get closer. What about you, Shahar? Didn’t you get along with the wolf?”

It had become a habit to change the subject when things got difficult.

“Before that incident, our relationship wasn’t bad. Our mother pitied and loved the wolf the most, so I thought he wouldn’t have any major grievances.”

“Wow, he started a rebellion despite being favored? That’s completely ungrateful. What was he thinking?”

“I don’t know.”

“The wolf is in the underworld, right? Have you ever talked to him?”

“There’s no reason to. I have no intention of ever understanding or forgiving him.”

I flinched at Shahar’s cold voice, which I was hearing for the first time.

“Well, it seems like everything was the wolf’s fault. Shahar, you did everything right.”

“…”

He fell silent again. It seemed this kind of conversation made him uncomfortable.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, he must have many pasts he wanted to hide. With my mere twenty years of life, I couldn’t fathom his feelings.

Rather than offering a clumsy comfort, I chose to stay silent with him.

Although Shahar’s heart still felt like a misty enigma, I felt I could at least read his emotions a little.

In that sense, it was fortunate that humans had two arms. One hug could replace ten words.

* * *

Under the gray sky, a group of people knelt, bound.

Iscallion looked at the man at the forefront with indifferent eyes.

The man, who looked about ten years older than Iscallion, had a face full of fear.

“Long time no see, Abel.”

At the mention of his name, Abel flinched. Abel had yellow eyes similar to Iscallion’s, but unlike Iscallion’s vibrant eyes, his were dull and lifeless.

“I heard you handled the official duties well in my absence.”

Iscallion crossed his legs arrogantly and spoke dismissively.

“Pl-please spare me! It wasn’t my intention, they forced me to take your position…! I never intended to covet your place!”

Abel Pontos pleaded miserably.

Iscallion looked at his cousin indifferently.

“That could be. After all, I’m too ignorant to handle half the work you did. Thanks.”

Abel felt that Iscallion had changed.

In the past, he would have beheaded him without giving him time to make excuses. His violence had been tempered, and his speech was calm, giving off a strangely domesticated feel.

To whoever had tamed him, Abel held onto a sliver of hope.

“I, I, I…”

“Taking on tedious chores and even covering for all the rebels. There can’t be a more capable cousin than you. I won’t forget your contributions even after you die.”

“P-please spare me!”

No, Abel corrected his thoughts.

The change was only superficial; his true nature remained the same. He still had no hesitation in wielding a sword against his kin.

With a final scream, Abel collapsed.

“Clean it up.”

Iscallion kicked the corpse aside and instructed his subordinates to deal with the rest, then turned away.

Horrific screams erupted behind him, but they no longer affected him. He was merely annoyed by the headache that had returned since he parted from Lou.

There had been times when killing eased his headache temporarily.

But once he had tasted complete comfort, he could no longer endure it.

‘I should have just kidnapped her.’

No, if he did that, Lou would surely hate him.

To win Lou’s favor, he had to show he was a good child.

He headed to his office for the first time in a while. The office was messy, but it was clear that Abel had decorated it meticulously to his taste.

Iscallion picked up a clean sheet of paper and sat at the desk.

He wanted to write a letter, even if it was clumsy.

「Hello, sister.」

He wanted to win Lou’s heart with romantic words, but his barely literate knowledge made it impossible.

「Hello, sister. It’s Iscallion. It’s only been a short time since I came to Pontos, but I already miss you. When I become an adult, I will definitely marry you.」

He looked at the letter he had written and pouted in dissatisfaction.

He might lack literary skill, but he wasn’t blind. Anyone could see it was a terrible letter.

Frustration surged within him.

He crumpled the letter and threw it into the fireplace, deciding to focus on grooming his appearance as the Duchess of Dronay had taught him.

According to her, who knew everything about the world, showing a handsome face was better than saying a hundred words when confessing love.

Iscallion went to the broken mirror, wiped off the dirty blood splatters on his face, and tidied his disheveled hair.

Then he noticed that one of his eyes had turned halfway black.

“Huh?”

When he blinked, his eyes returned to their original color as if nothing had happened.

He frowned and glared at his reflection.

He might have seen an illusion from witnessing too much blood.

He resumed tidying up his appearance.

After washing and changing his clothes, he looked like an ordinary boy of his age.

His complexion was overly pale, making him seem somewhat fragile, but Lou tended to soften when he showed a vulnerable side, so it didn’t matter.

There were only about two months left until he became an adult.

Would he be able to meet Lou before the year ended?

“Your Highness.”

A subordinate approached him secretly from behind as he stared at the mirror all day.

“The remnants in the underground prison are acting suspiciously. It seems they are plotting something.”

“In the underground prison?”

Iscallion followed his subordinate to the underground prison and frowned at the stench.

Whatever had happened, everyone imprisoned was dead.

“W-what is this…!”

The subordinate who had called him screamed and collapsed. Ignoring him, Iscallion kicked the corpses aside and walked further in.

In the middle of the prison, there was a huge summoning circle drawn with their blood.

Iscallion had seen something like this before. At the mansion of Duke Poel, where he had gone with Lou.

But the one before his eyes now was much larger and more intricate than the summoning circle Ines Poel had drawn.

“It looks like a summoning circle. What were they trying to summon?”

The subordinate, barely regaining his composure, asked with a trembling voice.

“Whatever it was, it must have been trash.”

He replied indifferently and rubbed the summoning circle with his shoe. Rotten blood smeared on it, but he didn’t care.

After ordering his servant to erase the summoning circle, he left the prison to escape the headache-inducing stench.

Today, Seirios shone particularly brightly in the sky.

It was at that moment.

[O King.]

A voice called out, whether it was a whisper or a hallucination.

[The time for vengeance is approaching.]

“What are you talking about?”

“Pardon?”

The puzzled subordinate asked.

“What did you just say?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“But just a moment ago…”

Iscallion noticed that something was going wrong and kept his mouth shut. Meanwhile, the headache only worsened.

He had to meet Lou somehow. Whether he returned to her side or brought her to him.

He needed Lou.

That much was clear.