Afterwards, Revampel, Raven, and Rejim and Clint gathered again.

“…The assassin who killed Raven’s brother is now working by Generba’s side, right?”

I muttered to myself, playing with the chess piece on the desk, speaking as if murmuring.

“Perhaps Lord Liraneph is not associated with Generba.”

“I also had the same thought, Your Majesty.”

Rejim agreed with my words and coughed twice with a dry cough. Even with a small cough, Rejim seemed extremely tired.

“Rejim, how about taking a break for a bit?”

“To tell someone who just returned from vacation to rest again, Your Majesty? If you mean to cut me off from the position of your aide or…”

“No! That’s not what I meant… It’s just, considering the situation with Iana, I thought you might not have had real rest.”

Rejim forced a smile.

“I personally delivered the letter you sent to Iana. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“No. …I’m the one who couldn’t visit you in person, and I’m sorry.”

“I couldn’t help it because Iana disliked it. …Actually, I haven’t seen her a few times. Iana hates meeting anyone, including her family.”

Iana is not that kind of child. Where and how could she be hurt…

“But she seems to be getting better gradually, so it will be okay soon. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”

“…Rejim.”

“Iana is also fighting her illness diligently, so I have to do my job diligently too.”

Rejim smiled, trying to dismiss his worries.

“By the way, I agree with Your Majesty’s words. There is a high possibility that Lord Liraneph is associated with Generba. …Your Majesty.”

“I’m listening.”

“What should we do about Lord Liraneph?”

“Lord Liraneph is…”

Revampel opened his mouth with difficulty. He looked at me. The corners of his eyes, looking at me, were wrinkled.

‘Huh?’

I wondered why, so I tilted my head, and Revampel let out a sigh mixed with a lament. He pressed his wrinkled eyes and muttered with a suppressed voice.

“Just leave it be.”

“What?”

“What?”

I expected an intense order like “Bring him immediately” or “Kill him,” whenever Lord Liraneph’s name came up, Revampel was very angry.

It seemed that I was not the only one who was confused. Rejim also looked at Revampel with a bewildered face.

“Your Majesty. If we capture Lord Liraneph… we might find out where Generba is.”

“…”

“If we assume that Raven’s story a while ago is true, Lord Liraneph and the assassin have probably known each other for a long time. They wouldn’t have hired a random mercenary to interfere.”

“I understand. …I get it.”

Revampel, nodding in agreement with Rejim’s words, looked at me and stared at me with his eyes.

“…For now, just leave it be.”

“Your Majesty.”

For some reason, Revampel seemed reluctant to touch Lord Liraneph. Apparently, Rejim and Clint also seemed to be puzzled about the reason.

‘Come to think of it, when we talked about Lord Liraneph before, he also said that he couldn’t kill him. He said that killing him would change the future.’

Is that related to what he said back then?

After leaving those words, Revampel left the room. I left a message to Rejim and Clint that I would go and followed Revampel.

Revampel had already left the room, passing through the external corridor.

I ran to catch up with him, but it was futile.

“Revampel!”

I called out his name loudly, breathing heavily. Upon hearing my call, Revampel stopped and turned his head back slightly.

I stopped running, trying to catch up with him, and took a deep breath.

“It’s too fast, I can’t keep up with you.”

Raindrops, falling heavily outside the corridor, splashed up from the pooled water.

“Walk slowly so I can follow you.”

“…No. There’s no need for that.”
Revampel turned his body completely backward to face me. Then, he swiftly approached, just like when he distanced himself.

He retraced the steps he had taken with long strides and came back towards me.

“You don’t have to come. Whenever you call, just call, and I will come back to you as many times as you want.”

“…”

“Wherever you are, I’ll go.”

Revampel reached out and tucked my disheveled hair behind my ear.

“Terry, I always become a coward when it comes to matters related to you. If there’s even a tenth of a danger to you, I…”

“…”

“I can’t. I don’t want to lose you.”

“Is that somehow related to why you’re just letting Lord Liraneph be?”

Revampel didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled me into a tight hug without letting go.

Behind him, the rain-soaked garden was visible. It looked much more withered than the last time I saw it.

“I can’t. I can’t be like Raven.”

“…”

“If I lose the person I love, if I lose the most precious person, I…”

Revampel buried his face in my shoulder.

“I will perish just like that. I’ll be too resentful and dreadful for not being able to protect and losing that person.”

Leaves that had barely held on were swept away by the strong rain, gracefully dancing downward. As if they couldn’t withstand the chilly rain and chose to fall beautifully.

“I can’t live.”

I gently stroked Revampel’s head, clinging to my shoulder.

Hoping that he wouldn’t see the landscape of the withered garden.

“It’s okay, Revampel.”

I held him in my arms, shielding him from the cold north wind so that he wouldn’t feel numb.

“I feel the same way.”

Because I can’t lose you either.

“…Someone came to find me a while ago.”

“Yeah.”

“That woman told me. If I want to protect the person I’m waiting for and want to keep safe…”

Revampel turned his head to the side. His warm breath touched my neck.

“Don’t kill Lord Liraneph.”

“…What?”

“If I kill him, the future changes. If the future changes, I might not be able to protect the person I want to protect, you, Terry.”

“…”

“That woman said that. Darkness must exist for light to shine.”

I was startled and raised my head abruptly. It was a familiar phrase from the stories Mu told me recently.

‘Because you, who possesses my power, must shine as the pinnacle of this world.’

‘For brilliant light to have value, darkness must exist. For you, who possess my power, to shine as the pinnacle of this world.’

‘This world must become dim and head towards destruction for it to have more meaning.’

It was exactly the story that Mu told me about my mother.