Ch.27290. Perhaps That Kind of Warmth.

The dark, shadowy girl was sitting in a field of pure white flowers.

A place she had long held only in her imagination.

A place where the sky was bright, and below it, the harmony of green and white foliage evoked another paradise.

The girl with dark hair and even darker eyes… had been regarded by those around her sometimes as a witch, sometimes as an ominous presence.

Even after being dragged or summoned somewhere, her circumstances never changed.

Her life had been limited to merely receiving instructions.

A life of moving strictly according to others’ words.

So when someone told her to stay quietly tucked away somewhere, she accepted it without resistance.

In the small room that filled her vision, she prayed and prayed again.

Then suddenly she recalled, suddenly she thought, suddenly she began to dream.

This was the scenery she had seen then.

This was the sight she had carefully observed.

Even amidst the flowers that filled her eyes, for some reason, she couldn’t sense their fragrance.

She couldn’t smell them at all.

Was it because it was a dream?

Was it because it was imagination?

“……”

The girl unclasped her hands.

Then, gripping her bent knee, she straightened her other leg to press against the soft earth, and laboriously raised herself up.

The world’s eye level seemed to have risen slightly.

Still, there was no scent of flowers.

Among these countless flowers, the butterflies and bees that should naturally be present.

They were, quite naturally, nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, someone’s voice reached her.

The voice of a seemingly spiteful old woman.

“Payment? Such a thing isn’t necessary. Just, well. After you fulfill the hero’s mission. That’s when you’ll receive your payment. Of course, you don’t need to give me anything. I’ll take care of it myself. Don’t worry. You won’t even know what’s been taken from you.”

After confiding this to someone, the old woman turned her back and left the dark hut.

As her hunched back suddenly straightened.

The old woman somehow now had pitch-black, silk-like hair flowing in the wind, displaying alabaster skin under the sky.

Lifting her magnificent dress that seemed made from melted black pearls with her left thumb and index finger.

Abruptly, she proclaimed to the sky:

“They’re my acquaintance, aren’t they? They were also my sibling. And in a way, my companion too. So there shouldn’t be any problem with me taking them, right?”

Who was this question directed at?

Neither the sky, nor the earth, nor even the wind answered her.

“I’m only trying to claim payment equal to what I provided. What could possibly be wrong with that?”

Toward the beautiful woman.

Suddenly, from the darkened sky, a pure white lightning bolt struck without warning.

As if it were divine punishment.

The woman exposed to the lightning.

She had already lost her beautiful form, and had become a huge snake that anyone would tremble at the sight of—hideous and terrifying, covered in gleaming black scales, too massive to take in at a glance.

Suddenly, its dark eyes were staring in this direction.

“……”

All at once, a familiar ceiling came into view.

Turning her head, familiar walls and furniture… caught her eye.

The girl had somehow become an adult.

As she raised her head, black waves cascaded down like a waterfall.

Pushing them back over her shoulders, she brushed away the hair covering her eyes.

She placed her bare feet on the floor.

For reasons unknown, she left her room and wandered the corridor aimlessly.

An anxious feeling pressed heavily on her heart.

An inexplicable unease.

Though the terror she felt had neither form nor shape.

It was clearly affecting her inner self.

Walking and walking down the corridor, she reached a familiar door.

She unconsciously tried to knock, but suddenly couldn’t remember why she wanted to.

She couldn’t recall at all.

Opening the door, a scene both familiar and unfamiliar… extremely novel yet strange…

Yet somehow recognizable unfolded before her.

A bed. A desk. A wardrobe. And bookshelves filled with books.

Beyond that…

Nothing else looked familiar.

While looking around near the bed, her gaze suddenly shifted to the window.

As she approached, she suddenly noticed a child who seemed to be conversing with a black-clad woman outside.

“…?!”

With an anxious heart, she dashed out of the room in one breath.

Running down the stairs, opening the door, and stepping outside.

A familiar child, now firmly grasping the black woman’s hand, was walking through the wide-open main gate of the mansion.

A familiar child.

A child more precious than anyone.

Did that black-haired little one sense her gaze?

Look at those golden eyes that turned to her with a smiling face.

The brightly smiling child then casually continued walking away.

“…!”

She suddenly looked at the black woman who had turned her head.

Her bright yellow eyes, those darkly depressed eyes.

Were showing a fierce sneer as they looked in her direction.

“……”

Then the black woman whispered softly.

But the sound didn’t reach her.

Yet somehow.

The woman, Ermina, saw it.

‘Now it’s time to pay the price.’

For some reason, those words the black woman had whispered were clearly engraved in her mind.

As if deeply rooted.

They echoed in her head like a mantra.

“—?!”

Perhaps because she had forcibly awakened her body and consciousness.

With an increasingly unpleasant feeling, embracing her fragile body that felt absurdly stifling, soaked in sweat, and even desolate.

Ermina trembled with an inexplicable sense of foreboding.

“Why…?”

Was it just a nightmare?

For something like that, this was too… too…

Her head was spinning.

Forcibly steadying her ragged breathing, she pulled her feet from the bed.

Putting on the small slippers placed under the bed, struggling to move her damp body, she finally realized that she was suffering from a mild fever.

“……”

Is he not back yet?

Such loneliness welled up within her, but she calmly walked toward a certain room.

And.

Only after seeing the child who resembled him could she feel some relief.

Ermina sat down by the child’s bedside, as if lowering herself, as if leaning.

“……”

She remained like that for a long time.

Until the bright light began to creep up from the horizon.

====

A familiar sight.

A corridor shrouded in silence.

Darkness being driven away by a single oil lamp.

That scenery from those days.

Among the times when sadness had silently settled.

Perhaps the saddest of all days.

That was Sylphia’s honest feeling as she remembered that day.

“…Young Master.”

Herself, standing with an oil lamp.

And the person before her was dressed as if about to embark on a distant journey.

She had tried to speak indirectly.

She had just heard some joyous news, after all.

“Y-you’re going to where… the Lady is? Right?”

“……”

He didn’t speak.

Anxious because of this, she tried to pretend to be cheerful.

It wasn’t like her usual manner.

But she tried to be brave.

“T-today is still a joyous day, isn’t it? And… I heard the rumors. They say you magnificently defeated the Prince?”

She didn’t even know what she was saying.

Perhaps she had a “whatever happens, happens” mindset.

If only she could keep him here like this…

“S-so… now…”

“Sylphia.”

He finally opened his mouth.

With an expression devoid of emotion, unlike any she had seen before.

Yet what did the sadness, the affection in his eyes mean?

Had she seen wrong?

Or did she want to believe she had seen it?

Sylphia remembered.

But even that was gradually fading away.

“……”

Yet that dark expression he showed.

That gloomy, despondent expression.

It remained vivid in her mind.

“……”

So, she had to ask.

She had to call out to him.

“Young… Master?”

“I’m sorry.”

So when he suddenly apologized.

Her heart was pierced with inexplicable anxiety.

“Pardon?”

He continued to apologize.

“…Because of my inadequacy, I sometimes got irritated with you and vented my frustrations.”

Calmly.

As if trying to shake off lingering attachments.

Perhaps that’s why she immediately denied it.

“N-no! That was, that was because I was clumsy and incompetent. I-I’m slow to catch on…”

“It’s alright.”

As if telling her not to force herself, he patted her head.

His touch was sad.

His touch felt very painful.

Perhaps the area around her eyes grew hot.

Even though the real pain was in her heart.

“Still, because you were here, in this household, a little…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

As if he had forgotten.

As if he couldn’t remember anymore.

Even his gaze had stopped.

“If I… could have been someone capable enough to solve Young Master’s worries…”

She regretted.

If only I had been a little more capable.

If only I could have carried even a small part of his heavy burden…

“Enough. Don’t blame yourself.”

As if cutting off lingering attachments, he handed her a letter and requested:

“The academy break is almost over, and I need some time to organize my thoughts, so I’ll be leaving the Empire for a while.”

“……”

He’s leaving.

But he didn’t mention an eternal farewell.

So, she wanted to believe.

“You’ll… come back, right?”

“……”

He didn’t answer.

“Come to think of it…”

He spoke as if changing the subject.

But that was all.

As if something had occurred to him, he was lost in thought for a long time.

So she spoke first.

“I’ll wait.”

Taking a step back, she bowed her head calmly.

Somehow the world was becoming blurry as if soaked in water.

But his figure, his form.

Even now, if she closed her eyes…

“For the day I can serve you again.”

“……”

====

She had a dream that was both nostalgic and sorrowful.

Though the sun had not yet risen, Sylphia was already up and busy preparing for work.

Even in this moment of hazy consciousness, her body followed the routine and habits developed over years, step by step.

After checking on each sleeping family member, she quietly left the house.

As soon as she stepped outside, the cold seeped in.

When she exhaled, seeing the faint white breath flow out, perhaps winter was truly just around the corner.

The district was in a festive mood, but now was a time when even that atmosphere had momentarily subsided.

In an hour or two, the streets would be bustling again.

Traces of those who had roamed the streets at dawn were clearly visible throughout.

Guards on night duty could be seen suppressing yawns while cautioning some drunkards.

Passing through these unfamiliar dawn scenes of the district.

Sylphia headed toward the Brendiar mansion.

“Hey? Miss over there! Miss, wait a secoooond!”

When a voice echoed nearby, she instinctively turned to look.

There were two men with reddened faces, seemingly drunk, approaching her with grins.

“Um…”

When those men suddenly collapsed and lay on the ground, Sylphia became a little frightened, wondering if something was wrong.

“……”

Somehow.

Someone wearing an ash-gray hood pulled low was standing behind her.

“Excuse me…?”

“……”

He remained silent for a long time.

“Don’t mind them.”

“Pardon?”

“They’re just creatures living without consciousness.”

He gestured for her to go on her way.

“……”

Yet.

Sylphia couldn’t help but stand rooted to the spot.

For reasons unknown, a feeling that she shouldn’t retreat or continue on her way here.

Yes, perhaps because she felt that way.

“Have we… met somewhere before?”

“……”

To throw out such a guess without having properly seen his face requires considerable courage.

Perhaps that’s why.

The man in the ash-gray hood who had been silent for a moment.

He finally lifted his hood slightly.

“Y-?!”

Sylphia instinctively covered her mouth.

She looked around urgently.

“Young… Master?”

Was what she saw correct?

Was this not a dream?

Sylphia stared at him intently for a long time.

She couldn’t help but tightly grasp her trembling hands.

“…A promise is a promise.”

Though he had never said it himself.

Nevertheless, she had believed it would be so.

It was a one-sided request and demand.

But what could be wrong with that?

“……”

Finally, Sylphia’s eyes reddened.

Instinctively, she reached out her searching hand.

And tightly grasped his worn bare hand.

As if she would never let go again.

Firmly with both hands.

“……”

Though she had so much to say.

Only sobs closer to crying than words continued to flow out inexplicably.

“……”

And Kariel.

Without saying anything.

Could only stand there limply.

The warmth felt from his hand was infinitely faint.

But it was enough to effortlessly erase the chill of dawn.

Such warmth, perhaps.