episode_0214

*It was likely because she was walking barefoot on the carpet, but to me, it looked like the steps of an assassin approaching to kill their target in one strike.* *The murderous intent that had been aimed at me just moments ago was now directed at Fosao.*

*“Noooo-!!!”* *Fosao crawled clumsily away from the approaching Tia, but it was useless. Cornered, with nowhere left to escape, he spoke, his hands trembling.* *“Tia… It’s me, it’s me!”* *“……”* *“W-we’re husband and wife… aren’t we?”* *Fosao’s emotional plea held no meaning.* *Tia knew exactly who she needed to swing her sword at.* *The human who had twisted and defiled her life was ‘Fosao Modaless’ himself.*

*Swish!* *The blade of Rose Shabel pointed directly at Fosao’s face.* *“Hieek-!!”* *“You… haven’t changed, have you?”*

*Tia, who had suffered terrible things at his hands as a child. The one who had locked her heart away and treated him as if he didn’t exist.* *There was only one reason she had forgiven him and opened her heart.* *It was because she believed Fosao was truly remorseful for what he had done back then.* *But Fosao had never truly repented, not even once. He had merely ‘acted’ remorseful in front of Tia.* *A wicked nature does not easily disappear. Fosao had spoken resentfully, claiming the people of Breezedown had ostracized him, but why would villagers, so respectful of authority, treat the ‘Village Chief’s son’ with such disrespect?* *I had never seen or heard the exact past, but it was easy enough to guess. Fosao did not leave Breezedown of his own accord. The Village Chief must have exiled him.* *It was because he had known for a long time that Fosao’s nature was twisted. So, thinking he would be a great threat to the village, he had driven him out.* *In the end, Fosao truly became a disaster that engulfed the village. The people scattered, and the quiet, peaceful village was abandoned.* *And he tore apart my and Tia’s promised future.* *The sin of toying with everyone’s fate.* *It would not be light.*

*Tia’s voice was filled with sorrow.* *“All those appearances you showed me… were all… lies…”* *“Tia…! Th-those visions, they’re all fake! Don’t believe them!”* *It was the moment Fosao stretched out his hand, his mouth flapping with pathetic excuses.*

*Slash!* *The Queen drew Rose Shabel back over her shoulder and swung it forward.* *The sound of flesh being sliced… was like the crushing of fruit. Something fell away into the darkness, and at the same time, Fosao let out a desperate scream.* *“Ugh… Aaaah-! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH——!!!!!!!”* *It was a horrific scream, one I had never heard before.* *He grabbed his right arm and collapsed to the floor. The shadow of his large arm trembled. Something that should have been attached to its end was gone. It just looked like a blunt club.* *Lightning flashed briefly.* *What I saw for a moment under the flash was Fosao’s horrified face, pale with pain. And his vanished right hand.* *His hand lay isolated on the carpet, as if it had never been there in the first place.* *Drops of blood fell from the tip of Rose Shabel.* *Above them, Tia’s cold voice settled.* *“This… is the hand that tried to kill Rits.”*

*He had crushed me, used that hand to force open my mouth and shove medicine down my throat. He had picked up my unconscious body and thrown me into the valley.* *That act, disguised as an accidental death, had pushed Tia into an even more hellish life.* *It was the hand of a murderer.*

*Swish!* *Tia raised Rose Shabel again.* *Fosao gasped, sucking in a breath. He had briefly forgotten that the punishment wasn’t over due to the extreme pain, but then he realized it again, gasping.* *It wasn’t just that he realized.* *He also knew Tia was no longer his woman.* *He must have known that no words could stop her now.* *The inescapable terror of impending death walked towards him in the darkness.*

*“Ughhh… Ughhh……!”* *He tried to drag his heavy body away again, but his last struggle didn’t get him far.* *Tia gritted her teeth, then.* *Thwack!* *She brought the sword down precisely on his left hand, which was crawling on the floor.* *“Aaaargh-!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH—-!!!!”* *His last remaining hand was severed with a thud.* *“This… is the hand that killed my father.”*

*Two hands.* *Fosao had killed people with those hands.* *Tia’s father was the first victim. There had been many speculations and suspicions about his disappearance, but from what I saw, he had been poisoned to death. More precisely, he had gone mad and wandered somewhere deep in the mountains until he died.* *Fosao also knew that Tia’s father, Albert, was a prince. He stole Albert’s handwriting and belongings, then sent a letter to King Deseo, stating that Albert would soon return to the palace. The former king, fearing Albert’s return, disguised the royal guards as mountain bandits and had them massacre the tribute convoy. Innocent people died because of his scheme to retrieve Tia.* *I had collapsed, Breezedown had been destroyed, and there was no way to know what had happened to the elderly residents in that unfamiliar land. Even after killing countless people, Fosao felt not a shred of guilt.* *His sole purpose, from beginning to end, was to possess Tia. And for that, he would stop at nothing.*

*Fosao had defiled Tia with those hands.* *He touched her stomach and chest, her legs and buttocks. And then, he removed her trousers, revealing and touching the deepest parts she had kept hidden.* *There was no part of Tia’s body that his hands had not touched. Fosao’s touch had permeated every inch, imbued with the feverish heat of lust, and Tia still remembered that sticky sensation.* *That was how he had thrown a young girl’s life onto his hands.* *Tia, who had cut off all of Fosao’s repulsive hands, continued speaking with difficulty.* *“Because you could steal other people’s memories with those hands… you went astray. So… I will free you from that terrible curse.”* *“Urk… ugh.”*

*It was impossible to tell if Fosao heard Tia’s words. Perhaps due to the intense pain, or maybe because of the blood he’d been losing for a while now. His screams faded like bubbles, and he soon lost consciousness.* *Clang!* *Tia dropped Rose Shabel, which she had been holding. Then, as if all strength had left her, she sank to the floor, staring blankly down at Fosao.* *There was no life in her face. Like a statue carved from unblemished marble, only her crimson eyes floated quietly above her deathly pale cheeks.* *She seemed to have no strength left to hold the sword again.*

*“……Tia?”* *An indescribable sorrow emanated from Tia, who sat hollowly. Although there were no words or gestures, I felt that she was filled with an immense grief.* *A question arose.* *Shouldn’t Tia be feeling more elation than anyone right now?* *She had finally realized the truth, escaped from the devil’s grasp, and was able to enact her revenge immediately.* *Yet somehow… Tia was grieving.* *With a sorrow too deep to fathom, she gazed down at Fosao.* *Then what was the meaning of cutting off both of Fosao’s hands?* *Wasn’t it to inflict intense pain before killing him, to exact maximum revenge?* *Why did it seem to me… that Tia had no intention of ending Fosao’s life?* *Was this right?* *I had come all this way to kill him. I had even yielded the glorious chance to end his life to you.* *And you would just let him live?* *I had definitely conveyed my memories. I had shared my blood so that Tia could see everything I had seen clearly. I had thought that Tia, having learned the ‘truth,’ would rightfully put an end to this cursed fate by killing Fosao.* *But was I wrong?* *Unable to comprehend, I asked again.*

*“Tia, my memories… didn’t you see them?”* *A trembling breath escaped Tia’s parched lips.* *“…I saw them. I saw everything……”* *“Then why are you letting him live? That bastard killed your father! He tried to kill me!”* *At my sudden shout, she slowly turned her head to look at me.* *Her eyes, once always full of life, now held nothing.* *They were like empty pupils that had lost something precious forever. Like rubies that had lost their luster and would never shine again.*

*“Because I saw them…… I can’t.”* *“What… did you say?”* *Long streaks began to form on her pale cheeks.* *“Rits…… can we go back?”* *A short question.* *But for some reason, my tongue froze at that question.*

*Thud!* *A huge roar echoed from outside. Soon after, the sounds of soldiers’ boots running frantically down the hallway could be heard.* *They slammed their bodies against the bedroom door to open it. With every forceful push, the Rose Shabel’s scabbard, caught in the lock, rattled loudly.* *There wasn’t much time.* *I managed to move my lips.* *“Of course we can go…. Look here. I have my hand.”* *I held out my left hand towards Tia.* *A large wound on my palm was bleeding, but it didn’t matter. Tia’s pale hand would become this Rubus bandage.* *“Let’s go together. Let’s kill him, escape from this prison-like castle… and travel far away. So no one can follow us, to the ends of the world—to the ‘Land of Flowers.’ And let’s forget everything that’s happened until now… and live together, just the two of us.”* *My fingertips trembled. So slightly, as if wishing for Tia’s delicate hand to rise immediately.* *We used to be like this. We often stood facing each other with open hands. Whenever I extended my hand to Tia when she was about to cross a boundary, telling her not to go further, she would stop moving forward and come back, holding my hand.* *So…* *“……”* *But her hand did not rise for a long time. For a very long time.* *Was she too tired and exhausted to even lift her arm?* *No. That didn’t seem to be the case.*

*“We can’t go back to that time.”* *Tia said.* *A hollow question escaped my lips.* *“Why?”* *“…Because we have to live.”* *Click.* *Tia’s hand gently rested on mine. As expected, it was as pale as marble, yet warm, and it cradled my wound without causing any pain.* *Finally. Finally, our hands met.*

*At that moment, pure white lights began to shimmer from our joined hands. Even though they didn’t brightly illuminate the surroundings, we could see the dazzling, radiant, multicolored light.* *I had always seen visions of memory in black. Whenever Fosao saw memory visions, I had seen the murky ink spreading from his hands.* *But this light was different. It was so beautiful that I found myself staring blankly into the light, and to my surprise, there was a vision within it.* *…I can see it.* *What was in the vision was my face.* *But it was a severed face, with nothing remaining below the neck. I looked around, and a gallows appeared. The surroundings were filled with spectators.* *As the executioner grabbed my hair and lifted my head, a roar erupted, and a few crows flew in under the gloomy sky.* *He shouted:* *“Behold! This is the end of the rebel who murdered the Royal Consort and challenged the sacred royal authority!”* *Suddenly, the vision vanished. And a new one appeared.*

*My face appeared again. This time, I wasn’t dead. I was sitting in an old chair. I didn’t know where it was, but I was shrouded in the deep shadows of a cabin, with the setting sun behind it.* *My empty eyes were gazing somewhere. Following my gaze, Tia was there. She wasn’t the Queen. She was dressed like a commoner, holding a tiny newborn in her arms.* *The quiet baby suddenly burst into tears. Surprised, Tia gently stroked the baby’s head.* *“What’s wrong? Are you hungry?”* *She pulled down the strap of her shirt, revealing her breast. And she put it to the baby’s mouth, beginning to pat its back softly. Along with a gentle, faint lullaby.* *The me in the vision… was just standing there, watching.* *Though I was hidden in the pitch-black shadows, I could tell. His expression was as rigid as decaying wood.* *Why was he like that?* *Why was I feeling such immense disgust at the sight of my wife nursing the baby… and hiding it in the shadows?* *I understood without difficulty.* *That child was not my blood, but ‘Fosao Modaless’s’.* *That’s why I, who had run away with her, couldn’t love that child.* *Not my child, but Fosao and Tia’s child. That child, who increasingly resembled Fosao as time passed. And Tia, who loved that child without reservation.*

*“Rits, are you okay…?”* *“Huh?”* *“You seem a little off today.”* *“Ah, I’m just tired. I saw a lot of patients today. I’m sorry, but I’ll go in early and get some rest.”* *“Alright.”* *I, who had tried hard to make excuses, got up from the chair and disappeared with heavy footsteps.* *The vision ceased, and another appeared.*

*It was hot. Flames shot up everywhere. Two people were tumbling in the inferno. Their struggle was savage, as if to kill each other, but it continued for a long time.* *However, the fight didn’t last. Soon, one man fell, and the other climbed on top of him, breathing heavily.* *When the blazing fire briefly subsided, I realized that both the man on the ground and the man on top had familiar faces.* *“…Ruyef.”* *“Uncle Joseph.”* *They called each other’s names.* *Ruyef stepped on the bruised Uncle Joseph with his foot and pointed a blade at him.* *Uncle Joseph let out a weak laugh.* *“I remember. On the battlefield, with nothing but smoldering embers remaining… you were lying pinned beneath a pillar like this. You were clutching the sleeping Marie in your arms, and you looked at me with eyes just like these. When I reached out my hand, you fought so desperately to grab me… just to survive.”* *“……”* *“But now… you’re pointing a blade at me to kill me.”* *“Why?”* *Ruyef yelled.* *“Why… did you let Marie die?!”* *“Marie tried to kill Tia. A conspiracy to assassinate the Queen, that is a grave crime punishable by death.”* *“You, you could have stopped her!!”* *“I tried to stop it… but I was too late. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault… for not stopping Rits from the beginning. Because of my selfishness, wanting all of you, whom I loved, to live, Rits and Marie ultimately left.”* *Uncle Joseph burst into a hearty laugh.* *His once boisterous laughter was now so hoarse that only wheezing sounds could be heard.* *“Now… I can’t even protect Tia, and I’m about to die at the hands of a boy like my own son. Haha… Hahaha……”* *Ruyef plunged the sword into his chest.* *Uncle Joseph’s large body, which had thrashed for a moment, remained motionless.* *His breath ceased, but Ruyef’s rage did not extinguish, like the flames burning all around.* *“Aaaargh-!!”* *With a terrible scream, the vision disappeared.* *And soon, the white light that had enveloped us also vanished.*

*What I saw in front of me again was Tia’s hand resting on mine.* *“This was……”* *This vision was not mine.* *It was a memory Tia had seen.* *Things that hadn’t happened in the ‘present’ or the ‘past’.* *But they were clearly ‘things that would happen’.* *I had never thought about the future. I didn’t even want to think about it. I had closed my eyes and deliberately ignored it. I told myself, like a spell, that we would be different. That somehow, things would work out.* *But when I actually saw that future for myself.* *I finally understood.* *That Tia’s choice… was for me.* *For all of us.*

*“Rits.”* *The warmth was fading. Tia’s hand was about to leave mine.* *The hands we had joined were not meant to signify ‘let’s go together’.* *It was Tia’s final farewell to me.* *“I will remember all the pain you endured. I will pay for this man’s sins and my sins my entire life. I will bear everything. So please……”* *Tia wept sadly.* *“Please… forget me.”* *Forget me.* *At those words, my chest grew so heavy that I fell to my knees.* *A hollow laugh escaped me.* *“Is that so…”*

*Perhaps, it wasn’t Tia who had been trapped in the cage.* *Everything had passed.* *Breezedown. The Village Chief, Aunt Seri, Marvin, Aunt Olivia and Merid. Uncle Joseph’s hearty laughter. The children of Taildon. The majestic and grand mountains of Dragones. Our childhood, catching frogs and dragonflies. Ruyef and Marie. Your smile when you came to borrow bandages. The snack parties. And the shy vow made at the Lake of Promises.* *We can revisit memories thousands of times, but we can’t go back to that time. We can’t make things that weren’t happen, or make things that were disappear.* *Because it’s the only thing we can never meet again……* *That’s why the memories I shared with Tia were always beautiful, lovely, and radiant.* *I was a winged creature, constantly circling, drawn by that brilliance. A person who yearned for the warmth of that light, even knowing I could never reach it.* *Yes.* *Now it’s my turn… to escape the illusion and return to reality.* *Never again will we—.*

*“We can’t go back to that time.”* *That Tia wouldn’t return.* *That we couldn’t go back.* *Just as even now, in the same space, we weren’t in the same state of mind.* *Because we… weren’t the ‘us’ from back then.*

*I heard the shouts of soldiers slamming their bodies against the iron door as if to tear it down. I heard the sharp sound of the scabbard, which had resisted so long, slowly cracking. And I heard the relentless downpour of dark rain and the sky’s wailing, cruelly filling all these sounds.* *Although we had met again like this, the time allowed to us was too short.* *All I could do now was briefly embrace the woman I loved.*

*She was cold.* *Cold, yet this small body. The fresh scent of apples… it was unmistakably Tia.* *My broken heart instantly healed. Numerous wounds melted away and disappeared.* *My ragged breath slowly stabilized, and I felt a warm vitality vigorously circulating through my choked veins.*

*“Haaah-.”* *How long had it been since I felt such comfort and ease?* *It felt as if hundreds, thousands of years had passed.*

*“Tia. I’ve really missed you.”* *“Rits……”* *“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I couldn’t treat you well, that I couldn’t protect you when you were suffering.”* *“Hnngh- Hnngh……”* *The small, delicate being burst into tears in my arms.*

*“Tia.”* *I conveyed the words I had only shouted in my heart, the words I hadn’t been able to say.* *“I liked you. My heart pounded every time I met you. I liked you so much that I was embarrassed, not knowing what to say. All those times I spent with you… they were truly happy for me.”* *Only when each of those words left my voice.* *Did I realize, truly, that I loved Tia.*

*CRASH!* *Finally, the scabbard, unable to withstand the force, split in two and burst open.* *The shadows of the soldiers began to pour into the bedroom.* *“I love you, Tia. And—”* *Countless hands enveloped me.* *All sorts of loud shouts assaulted my ears. My entire body was pushed and pulled.* *And then, when my vision was completely obscured and everything went dark.* *“Farewell, Tia.”* *I left my last greeting for the woman I loved.*