“I’ll go and get your meal! It’s going to be especially delicious today!”

Hailla carried the food on a wooden tray, unfolded the bedside table, and laid out the warm dishes. As always, she had put her heart and soul into preparing the meal. As always, Rethe picked up her spoon and reached for the soup, her expression blank. Throughout the meal, she ate in silence.

Usually, she wouldn’t even finish half of it, leaving most of the food uneaten. But today, for some reason, she cleared the bowl completely. Hailla was so touched by this that she beamed.

“Not bad.”

Perhaps feeling embarrassed by her sister’s reaction, Rethe muttered a half-hearted compliment and told her to clear the table. Still smiling, Hailla tidied up and handed Rethe her medicine. Then she sat back down on the chair beside the bed.

“You’re going to the village again today?”

‘She must really be in a good mood today.’

Hailla was deeply touched that her sister had spoken to her first, and whispered this to herself.

“Yeah! If there’s anything you want for dinner, just let me know. I’ll make whatever you want.”

“No need. I don’t want anything.”

“Aw, come on! You need to eat well so you can get better, just like you did earlier. So you can recover.”

Hailla swallowed the words she hadn’t dared to say for a long time and blamed herself. She should have been more careful. Rethe had been unusually pessimistic about her condition, lashing out whenever Hailla mentioned the possibility of recovery. Over time, Hailla had stopped mentioning anything about getting better, not wanting to provoke her sister.

She braced herself, expecting Rethe to snap. But the answer she received was completely unexpected.

“Chicken stew.”

Rethe didn’t get angry. Instead, she replied kindly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Moreover, chicken stew was Hailla’s favourite dish, and Rethe used to make it for her often when they were young.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, it’s nothing. Is there anything else you want?”

“No.”

“OK! I’ll be right back then!”

Convinced that Rethe’s strange change in attitude was a good sign, Hailla jumped to her feet, overjoyed. Her eyes were slightly red. After checking Rethe’s bedding a few times, she reached for the door. But just as she turned the knob and moved it slightly, Lete’s voice stopped her

“Hailla.”

The thin hand resting on the cold iron bedframe flinched — not because she had been called, but because of the voice that had uttered her name.

“Be careful out there.”

It was so startlingly familiar. It overlapped too closely with a time she had longed for.

“Come home early.”

A calm voice filled with concern and warmth. It was undoubtedly Rethe’s voice, but with a tenderness she hadn’t heard from her in years. Hailla slowly turned around and replied quietly, ‘Mm,’ without looking up. She kept her gaze on the floor, knowing that if she saw her sister’s face, she would burst into tears and upset her.

Leaving the room, Hailla sniffled into a tissue, stood up straight, and got ready to leave the house. Her steps were lighter than usual.

—

As always, she was on her way to the village to buy groceries. She took pride in cooking for the two people she loved, which is why she went to the market every day.

But that day, she wasn’t able to achieve any of her plans.

She never made it to the town – someone caught her before she could get there.

The masked men had no trouble abducting such a fragile woman. The moment she realised escape was impossible, she began to tremble, her mind filled only with thoughts of Lian and Rethe. Sitting in a dark room, she didn’t dare look at the figure seated in front of her. She couldn’t stop thinking about the two people she loved, worrying that if they had taken her, they might harm them too.

She told herself that the brief happiness she had just experienced was enough. If she could save them by giving up her own life, she would gladly do so. She made that vow to the gods.

But when the man in front of her leaned across the table and raised her chin with one hand, all her thoughts stopped.

His face was so similar to Lian’s that they could have been twins. Even his expression — bored and emotionless — mirrored that of the man she loved.

“Hm.”

The man gripped her pale cheek tightly and turned her face roughly as he examined her features.

“Pretty.”

Offering this generous assessment, Tassen let go and sat back down.

“Now look at me. No more staring at the floor.”

Surprisingly, he was polite.

“You’re the Duke, aren’t you?

“That’s right.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“I’m just here to talk.”

Still suspicious, Hailla gave a small nod. Then, behind the Duke, she spotted someone standing quietly.

“Ah, have you two met before?”

She had seen him standing behind Lian. She had seen him running errands for the duke. In fact, he had even been left in charge of looking after Rethe while she and Lian were away. Now, he was standing beside the duke.

“He’s the one Lian assigned to guard you. But now he’s mine.”

‘You betrayed him.’

Hailla glared furiously at the man behind the Duke. She was the only one showing any emotion.

“It’s a matter of choice. Everyone decides for themselves how much their loyalty is worth.”

“That’s called betrayal.”

“You’re fixated on the wrong things. There’s something more important you should be asking.”

“Like how I can get back home. That’s what I care about most.”

“Well, that’s certainly important. But what’s even more important is how I approached and persuaded my son’s murderer.”

He continued speaking in an almost gentle tone, as though he were a kind father.

“Lian’s actually quite cautious. Even tracking down where he was staying wasn’t easy.”

With the Emperor’s help, Lian arranged for several decoys to travel around the Empire in his place. Some were hidden well, but others were not, and the Duke eventually realised this, as Lian had planned. This was why the Duke had been unable to find Lian for so long.

“If that woman — your sister — hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have been able to bring you here. I wouldn’t have been able to turn Lian’s man either.”

“… My sister?”

She couldn’t understand why Rethe had suddenly been brought into this. She couldn’t even walk unaided! How could someone like that have contacted the duke and secretly made a deal with him? Even in her stunned state, Hailla could feel her anger rising. How dare he mention her name like that?

“What are you talking about?”

Rethe had fought so hard just to survive. And yet, time and time again, she had been dragged through the mud and robbed of all hope. The people who had plunged her into despair had always been men like this: shameless, cunning monsters.

“I can tell you don’t want to believe it. But that woman, Rethe—”

“Shut your mouth.”

It was unbearable. Lete was not someone to be spoken of so carelessly or trampled upon.

She was precious. So, so precious.

Hailla, on the other hand, was just…

Hailla pushed the chair back roughly, stood up, and turned away without hesitation. Even if he tried to grab her and resorted to violence, she would not take part in anything that betrayed Rethe. She refused to stand by and watch her sick sister being manipulated as part of an elaborate scheme.

Just as she clenched her fists and turned her back, a calm voice stopped her.

“The higher the fruit on the tree, the lower you must reach to get it.”

Hailla’s steps faltered.

“You can’t climb tabae trees to pick the fruit. You either knock the fruit down with a tool from below or shake the whole tree to harvest it.”

“…”

“You’re terribly impatient. You need to learn to be more patient and think carefully about how to achieve your goals. That’s the only way. Whether it’s gathering Tabae fruit or doing anything else, you’re being far too hasty.”

He scratched the back of his neck, looking annoyed. Hailla slowly turned back and stared at Tassen. How does he know what happened to Lian in that place? Her breath caught in her throat as confusion and dread overwhelmed her.

“Do you really think your sister didn’t know Lian followed you?”

“…”

“How do you think Lian found that hut deep in the mountains?”

He pulled a cheap, coarse envelope from his coat and tossed it onto the table, motioning for her to open it. It was just a single piece of paper, yet it carried an inexplicable weight. Something felt off.

“It’s probably nothing.”

It landed softly on the wooden table, as if it were a butterfly. However, when she tried to pick it up, it felt as heavy as a lead weight. The envelope was rough to the touch, with uneven ridges that she could feel as she brushed her fingers over it. Pressing both ends with one hand, she tipped its contents onto the table.

A single sheet of paper folded in half and two fragments — one red, one blue — that looked like medicine fell out. She looked at Tassen, silently asking what they were, but he said nothing. He kept his eyes only on the paper.

Should she read it?

Her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t move beyond that.

If she opened it and read it, and if, by some chance…

“I’m not going to read it.”

Her hand slowly lowered the paper. The man tilted his head slightly.

“Whatever you’re trying to do will only bring us misery.”

“Ah, so you won’t do as I’d hoped.”

He voiced what she hadn’t been able to say herself. There was even a hint of amusement in his voice; he seemed to find it entertaining. It was as though he understood her heart better than anyone else.

“Then how about this?”

“……”

“What if your sister is the one who wants you to see this letter?”

“That’s nonsense…”

‘Why would my sister? For what reason? There was no reason for her to do so. After all, Lian had helped treat my sister, and I—’

“You remember the woman who delivered newspapers, don’t you? You paid extra to have the daily papers brought directly into your home.”

‘But I’m her sister.’