Rattle rattle.

I felt the smooth rolling of wheels and vibrations.

I had my head against a soft cushion with my eyes closed.

‘When did I fall asleep… I fell asleep!?’

Startled, I fluttered and opened my eyes to see a girl staring at me with surprised eyes.

“Are you alright, Master?”

It was Lucilia.

Only then did I realize I was inside a moving carriage.

“Lu, Lucilia… why am I here?”

As drowsiness cleared completely, my last memory became vivid.

I had definitely tried to stop Lumen from obtaining a vessel together with the two ancestors.

To be precise, I tried to prevent Lynen from being sacrificed.

‘Lord Offensa was planning to seal both Lynen and Lumen’s heart together if it came to it.’

I stepped forward before that happened.

I pushed Lumen’s heart from my body into Lynen.

‘The one inside me was already death itself. If the two Lumen’s hearts merged and received the right stimulus… I thought they would destroy each other.’

But the possibility of failure hadn’t been zero.

A quest completion message appeared at the end, but I ultimately couldn’t tell whether my plan succeeded or not.

‘System window. System window!’

No matter how much I called for it internally, the system didn’t appear. Like it didn’t exist at all.

I hastily pressed my hand against my chest area.

‘…It’s gone.’

I couldn’t feel Lumen’s heart.

Then did I succeed… maybe?

“Why are you here, you ask? Are you joking?”

Lucilia looked at me strangely.

“Master insisted on buying more gifts and wasted time, so we had no choice but to go separately like this. So simply.”

For something called simple, there were quite a few knights visible through the tiny carriage window.

“You don’t remember that?”

“Well, I… had such a vivid dream that I’m a bit confused.”

Looking to the side, I saw wrapped gift boxes piled up. I had no memory of buying these.

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

‘Come to think of it, before I got thrown to the ancestors’ era… Blaine was with me, right?′

It all started when Blaine and Lumen were squabbling over the heart before I briefly went to the past.

“So, are we going alone? What about His Highness?”

“…Why do you keep saying strange things? Are you feeling unwell?”

Now Lucilia started worrying about my condition. Her grumbling voice became much gentler.

But she looked somewhat gloomy.

“Brother Blaine left the imperial palace.”

“What?”

I made an expression demanding further explanation, but Lucilia only stared at me with a complicated face.

I decided to stop before she really found me suspicious.

I could ask someone else.

‘I should meet Lynen first.’

That’s what I was thinking when.

“Fortunately, we’ll arrive on time. As Crown Princess, it would have looked bad if I was late to such an occasion.”

“Mm, right.”

“Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem? It’s the same for you, Master.”

Lucilia spoke with an unreadable expression.

“As Young Marquis Offensa, you can’t miss Duke Ortega’s funeral.”

My heart stopped for a moment.

I don’t know what state of mind I was in.

Dazed, I joined my grandfather Marquis Offensa and stayed practically glued to his side.

Even though my complexion wasn’t good, given the occasion, no one seemed to say anything.

‘It really is a funeral.’

Around the coffin, I saw familiar faces. They were Ortega’s retainers.

‘Countess Yvonne is here too.’

When our eyes met, she greeted me with a short bow. She couldn’t speak since High Cardinal was reciting a eulogy.

High Cardinal Willien. A person I knew.

But it wasn’t a situation to greet him cheerfully, so I couldn’t ask what happened.

Moving my gaze, I also saw the back of a small child.

Noah.

“……”

I looked at Noah’s small back with trembling eyes before scanning the other faces.

But no matter how much I looked.

Nowhere.

Lynen’s face wasn’t there.

“Let us observe a moment of silence for Duke Ortega.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and bowed my head.

Getting swept along by everything, before I knew it, the sun was setting.

I stood blankly in front of Duke Ortega’s tombstone. At some point, I was alone here.

I think I made some excuse about having something to say to the Duke alone… but I couldn’t remember well.

‘Did I fail?’

I destroyed Lumen’s heart, but did that end up killing Lynen?

Did I kill him and survive alone?

“Lynen…”

I forced my lips that wouldn’t part to move and made a sound. Even to me, an unfamiliar voice flowed out.

Just then, thick raindrops started falling plop plop.

Come to think of it, they said there would be a shower.

As I stood dazed, the raindrops instantly became thick streams pouring down.

Only then did tears burst out.

“Lynen, I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

The plan to make Lumen’s heart destroy another heart was definitely a gamble, but I thought it would succeed.

And my gamble hit exactly right.

Though I had to pay a cruel price.

This wasn’t victory.

I cried like a child, wiping away what might be tears or rain with the back of my hand.

“If I knew it would be like this, I would have just let things happen according to the records!”

Whether someone died or got sealed, if I hadn’t interfered and just left it alone—

“That would be troublesome.”

Then, along with a soft low voice, an umbrella cast over my head.

My tears stopped abruptly as I slowly turned around.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

A man draping a coat over my shoulders.

That face was unmistakably Lynen.

“H-how…? Your coffin is buried there… there’s even a tombstone… how on earth.”

“Look at the tombstone carefully.”

“Huh?”

I wiped my eyes roughly and read the inscription on the tombstone carefully.

“Where the sword was laid down, honor was erected… Raymon Ortega.”

“……”

“…Raymon Ortega?”

“My brother. Half-brother. Noah’s biological father.”

“?!”

My jaw dropped. My eyes probably went wide too.

Finding my expression quite funny, Lynen chuckled.

Don’t laugh!!

I kicked his shin without warning, and Lynen took it without dodging.

Taking advantage of the momentum, I threw all kinds of punches at him. Gradually real force went into them, but it didn’t last long.

“Annoying… this is really annoying…”

As my strength drained and I nearly slumped down, Lynen caught and held me.

As his firm embrace wrapped around me, I finally felt relieved.

“You weren’t really dead, right? If you play another trick, I’ll kill you.”

“I never played tricks. I didn’t expect you’d be here alone crying while caught in a misunderstanding.”

“……”

My face burned with embarrassment.

“Why didn’t you show up at the funeral? More importantly, what happened? What about Lumen’s heart?”

“Something sudden came up, so I had no choice. Let’s move somewhere else for a more detailed explanation.”

Entrusting the umbrella to me, he lifted me up with both arms.

Thanks to that, my shoes could leave the muddy ground.

I silently entrusted my body to him as he went. Thanks to our touching body heat, my heart gradually calmed.

I felt like I could calmly nod at whatever Lynen said now.

But I was mistaken.

“First, I should explain about Lumen’s heart that was absorbed into me.”

“Right.”

“Your plan was correct. But seeing you now, it seems you overlooked one thing.”

“Something I overlooked?”

“Before we returned to normal, Lumen’s heart wasn’t destroyed. But now it’s in a destroyed state. What do you think is the reason?”

At his words as he handed me cocoa, my jaw dropped once again.