She sat perched on the crumbling windowsill at the top of an old tower, her bottom balanced on the edge. As she hummed and murmured something while swinging her legs like a child, her worn silk shoes dangled precariously, threatening to slip off into the void.

Watching her, he parted his parched lips.

“Stay… stay still. Don’t move.”

She slowly turned her head. Her eyes widened slightly as she recognized him standing a few steps behind her. She spoke with an innocent expression, seemingly unaware he would be there.

“I thought you were busy… What brings you here?”

“…”

His insides burned like he’d swallowed coal, and his throat was so dry he couldn’t speak. He simply moved toward her slowly, very slowly, extending his hand. His trembling fingertips shook mercilessly, betraying his composure.

Completely oblivious to his turmoil, she spoke casually.

“You didn’t need to come all the way here… I can manage fine on my own. You don’t need to watch over me.”

“…!”

At those words, his face—barely maintaining a facade of composure—crumpled in devastation. He suppressed the surging rage and, even greater than that, the overwhelming despair with every ounce of his strength. After exhaling silently, he spoke as gently as possible.

“Don’t think such strange thoughts. I didn’t come to monitor you—I came to return together with you.”

“Return… together?”

Her head tilted to one side, like she’d heard something odd. In that moment, the shoe finally slipped from her swinging foot. The worn pink silk shoe fell through the hazy fog.

After a brief silence, a faint impact sound echoed. It was a sound that froze his heart.

“But even if I return…”

Her gaze fixed on the empty air, paying no mind to him or the fallen shoe, she muttered vacantly.

“…there’s no one waiting for me.”

At those words, he couldn’t contain his emotions and lunged forward a step.

“I’m here! Am I not…?”

But the words that started so forcefully faded before he could finish. The moment he stepped closer, she leaned outward in defiance.

Seized by absolute terror, he couldn’t speak and dropped to his knees with a thud.

“Don’t do this… Don’t do this to me. Where are you trying to go… leaving me behind? Leaving me here alone…”

“…”

His face filled with emotion as he whispered.

“The late Emperor, the Empress Dowager… everyone has left. Now even you… are you going to abandon me…?”

“…”

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, making the hem of her gray gown billow and settle. Now she truly clung precariously to the very edge of the railing.

She watched him with empty eyes as his shoulders heaved with emotion, then her lips moved.

“If I return…”

“…!”

His face lit up as he jerked his head up. But she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes seemed out of focus, like they saw not the present him but the him of the past. The moment he realized this, his heart plummeted. A small whisper escaped from between her lips.

“Can you erase… the traces that I was here?”

“What… do you mean?”

“Like I never existed from the beginning… Can you do that for me?”

“…”

His face hardened. His throat felt stuck together, making it hard to breathe. Without her, like she’d never existed… the mere thought made his mind reel. He staggered to his feet.

“That’s… impossible. That you weren’t in this world… that can’t be.”

Despite his anguished plea, she only blinked impassively. Then she spoke matter-of-factly.

“It’s better for everyone if I’m gone. Especially for Emil… So.”

Suddenly, she looked straight at him. Her eyes sparkled with a sharpness he hadn’t seen in months. The feeling that she’d returned to how she used to be made his expression soften involuntarily.

But the next moment, his face went deathly pale. She spoke in a voice filled with affection, just like before.

“Grant my first and last wish, Your Majesty.”

“…”

He squeezed his eyes shut. You truly want to leave me… Suppressing the surging resentment and sorrow, he shook his head heavily.

“…I cannot.”

“I see. I thought you’d say that…”

She quietly turned her eyes away, seemingly having expected nothing from the start, and looked down at the dizzying depths below. Then she murmured softly.

“So this is the only way.”

Her hollow gaze resembled a fog-covered wasteland. In that moment, he felt a shudder run through his entire body.

“No…!”

His feet kicked off the ground urgently. Just before his outstretched hand—extended with all his might—could touch the hem of her clothes, she threw herself out the window.