episode_0155

Valkaros stepped forward, dazed. Even amidst his confusion, his steps didn’t falter, as if knowing what they desired.

Thump.

The Emperor finally reached the sickbed of Rose on the opposite side. Had they sensed his approach? The red-haired and platinum-haired girls were looking back at their father. Perhaps it was because they now knew the full story of the curse, but their eyes no longer held animosity. Still, a sense of unfamiliarity was unavoidable. Of course, the man didn’t care.

“……”

The tears simply wouldn’t stop. Valkaros couldn’t even think of wiping away his shabby appearance. He simply met the children’s gaze. Various scenes flashed before his eyes. Even during the days when he had lost his emotions, the memories remained vivid: the path he had always walked, coldly; the children who had to be lonely because of him; the helplessness of ultimately failing to protect them. Even himself from a few hours ago, who had dismissed the tumultuous ups and downs as merely ‘pointless.’ All emotions surged like a storm, as if making up for the past decade’s void.

‘I was the worst father.’

The swirling emotions had names: self-reproach, relief, joy… And love, love, love. Though his voice was wretched, his pronunciation constantly slurred, Valkaros spoke, squeezing out the words with all his might.

“……Charlotte. Elize.”

For a moment, the girls’ pupils trembled. It was something they hadn’t heard in nearly a decade. After always using stiff titles like ‘Princess’ or ‘Your Grace,’ the names he suddenly uttered were enough to fluster them. At the same time, it served as a catalyst for them to notice the Emperor’s change.

“Perhaps.”

It was the flickering symbol of a past era. A scar that would never return, yet never fade.

“Just for a moment… may I embrace you?”

Valkaros opened his mouth. He knew it was shameless. He was a terrible father who had neglected his children when they were most lonely. Even with circumstances, it was an unforgivable sin.

However.

Overwhelming emotions were not to be controlled. It was almost a miracle that he had asked first, before immediately wanting to embrace them. The Emperor was exercising superhuman patience, holding back his steps.

The moment passed like an eternity.

“……”

Deep down, he was afraid. Would they push him away? Would the resentment accumulated over the years return as karma? A myriad of worries tightened the man’s heart. It was a new anxiety he hadn’t known before.

‘If they refuse… I must accept it.’

He was no different than a wound to those children. He bit his lip, his emotions thin.

Silence settled for a while. At its end came…

“……Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It’s no problem.”

It was none other than the girls’ nod. They hesitated for a moment, then met his gaze as if having made up their minds. Yuda, who had been watching from the side, had secretly given them a signal, letting them know it was alright.

“Ah…”

A soft gasp. Valkaros spread his arms wide.

Whump!

A warm embrace pulled the two girls in. The Emperor, finally breaking, leaned against his children and lowered his head. The falling raindrops grew thicker and stronger. Charlotte and Elize wore unfamiliar expressions, then, perhaps assimilated by the tears, their eyes reddened. They timidly wrapped their arms around their father in response to his embrace. The awkward atmosphere, mingling with the spring rain, completely melted away.

Valkaros continued to whisper.

“Thank you… and I’m sorry.”

Even as he cried, fragments that couldn’t be formed into words scattered piece by piece. The warmth he felt after so long seemed overwhelmingly emotional.

“Thank you for growing up so wonderfully… I’m sorry I couldn’t be by your side…”

The father repeated it again and again. The daughters in his arms slowly embraced his back. Outside the window, the sun was already setting. The iron-clad winter, which had seemed eternal, agonizing, and sinful, also met its end, transitioning into a brilliant spring.

“Heh heh.”

The boy who had brought about this entire scene simply watched them from a step behind, with a faint smile on his face.

***

A day that had passed in a blur. Even the complaints that had seemed eternal faded into the night sky like faint wisps. Though it felt like three days had passed since arriving at the imperial palace, a full morning had yet to dawn outside the window. Meaning they had spent an incredibly intense day. It was a distant dawn, still too early for daybreak.

“……”

Elize couldn’t sleep. Lying sprawled on the bed, she could only toss and turn. Her green eyes simply stared up at the innocent ceiling. It felt new. It had been a long time since she had slept in the detached palace. Just a few months ago, she had spent her daily life here.

After blinking for a moment, a voice reached her.

“Can’t you sleep?”

It was none other than Yuda. He was sitting on one side of the bed, guarding Rose’s side. It was because she had asked him to stay with her.

Elize mumbled softly.

“Yeah… It’s strange not to feel any pain.”

It was strange. Should she say it felt like the shackles that had followed her for a lifetime had been broken? It wasn’t merely the absence of pain; it transcended that level. The gravity that had weighed down her body seemed to have lightened overall. In the severed past, only a refreshing phantom pain remained. The girl clenched and unclenched her fist, then turned her head towards the boy. The surroundings were utterly silent.

“I’m a little confused.”

Her eyes, an exceptionally deep green, were clearly trembling.

“The feeling of being completely cured is faint, and I don’t quite understand about His Majesty either… I guess I still need time.”

“I understand. These were very sudden events.”

Too much had happened in just one day. Her destiny freed from the curse, the revelation about her biological father, and stories she hadn’t known. It was too vast a volume of information to absorb in just a few hours.

Elize wore a peculiar expression. Yuda, as if understanding her reaction, calmly stroked her hair. Feeling her inner self gradually stabilizing, Rose came to realize once again that it was all thanks to this warmth.

“It’s strange.”

“What is strange?”

“Since meeting you, my whole world seems to have changed.”

The girl remembered. A few months ago, in this very room, she had glared at the boy as if to kill him. Every night, she would cut her arms and neck with a knife, spend the dawns crying blood and tears, hurl insults at her loved ones, and simply wait for the death that was soon to come.

But now.

‘If the me from half a year ago saw this, she’d be horrified.’

Now, she was docilely receiving his strokes. It was something that had changed since she met the boy. The brief recollection of the past left its mark on Rose’s heart. Pushing back a needless blush, Elize took the hand that had been caressing her hair. And then rubbed her cheek against his broad palm. The warm touch calmed her breathing.

“You know.”

The preamble that followed carried a profound emotion.

“I… was scared to die.”

Words remembering the past. It was an honest fear. It was also the truth she had always pretended to ignore, acting strong.

“I didn’t want to die.”

No matter how desensitized to pain she had become, she was still just an immature girl. She resented life. Why it had to be her. Happiness was so far away. Alone, she waited for an unfair, lonely, and desolate death. At that time, Elize hated everything about herself.

– Die quickly. – If you’re going to interfere with everything, then get lost too. – Please, just give up.

She hated herself for hurting Tanya with harsh words. She felt guilty for pushing her sister away with words she didn’t mean. Nevertheless, consumed by fear, she couldn’t stop her self-destructive behavior. Struggling in agony until the end, she felt like she would be extinguished by a single spark. Because she feared such an end, the girl always lived with suicide in mind, promising that when the despair of her life crossed its breaking point, she would leave so she wouldn’t be pathetic any longer. It was the last thorn held by the pathetic rose.

However.

“Then… you appeared.”

You came like a star. To the dawn that was not even allowed a hint of sunlight, you granted it light for the first time.

– I will give you a miracle. – I can promise it all. – I can fulfill the hope you had to abandon. – You just need to take my hand.

The hand extended into the abyss. The hope that corrected her resignation. The voice that whispered she didn’t have to hurt anymore. And your smile, which waited for her to accept, without once showing irritation, even as she despaired. Thanks to you, I held onto you at the edge of the cliff. My world greeted the morning because of you. Breaking through the terrible dawn.

“Thank you.”