The last thing I heard was someone calling me, and my consciousness was swallowed into the depths of despair.

When I opened my eyes again, it was a dark night. Flickering candlelight indicated that I had opened my eyes.

I saw unfamiliar chandeliers and canopies.

“Terry.”

As soon as I opened my eyes, Revanpel, who was by my side, hurriedly approached. His white hair, which had turned into a worried face, was visible.
Seeing that white hair, Iana, who had been lying on the bed, jumped up.

“Iana?”

Revanpel tightly held my waist as if he would immediately jump out of bed.

“…We’re going to prepare for her body and arrange the funeral soon.”

The word ‘body’ drained all my strength.

I couldn’t save her. In the end, I couldn’t do anything.

“Terry. You fainted, bleeding from your nose and ears. I’ve been nursing you here all the time.”

“…”

“Since the Marquis is not in his right mind, let’s rest for a while now. If you collapse again… we won’t be able to send Iana off properly.”

Tears, which had barely subsided at Revanpel’s low voice, seemed about to burst again.

The sweet scent that was always around Iana permeated the mansion. It made me cry even more, as if Iana was right beside me.

To stop the welling tears, I turned my gaze, and Revanpel’s white hair caught my eye.

“…I don’t want to see that appearance.”

A voice that had become hoarse came out.

I reached out and placed my hand on Revanpel’s chest. And before he could avoid it, I used sacred power.

It was a simple action, but my mind twisted for a moment. I felt dizzy and nauseous, as if I was about to vomit.

Revanpel, who quickly removed my hand, hugged me gently.

“Because you used too much sacred power a while ago, Elifu said your insides are a mess now. Unless I hope you return to the palace embracing Terry right now, don’t use sacred power.”

“…”

“It’s not your fault, Terry. None of us knew. And this… it’s Generva’s fault that hurt Iana. You don’t need to feel guilty. Generva killed her.”

Despite his firm tone, Revanpel’s touch as he hugged me was warm. It soothed all my anxiety and self-blame.

Knock, knock.

“Your Majesty.”

With a knock, Rejim’s weak voice was heard. After briefly touching my forehead with Revanpel, he lay down on the bed.

And he got up and headed for the door. The two of them exchanged words at the door. Due to using too much sacred power a while ago, it was hard to hear what they were saying.

While barely calming the tingling and rumbling sensation inside me as if I were about to vomit or fainted, Revanpel and Rejim approached.

“…Empress.”

As Rejim approached, I sat up again from the bed. During that time, Rejim’s eye area had turned red from crying. The eyes were swollen, perhaps from wiping away the flowing tears.

“Rejim.”

When I reached out, Rejim held my hand. When the warmth touched him, Rejim cried again and tightly held my hand.

His usual rational and cool demeanor was nowhere to be found. There was only an older brother thinking about his beloved younger sister in front of me.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t say that, Empress. I… I came to express my gratitude.”
Jaelim struggled to speak, wiping his red eyes with his large palm.

“Because of you, Empress, because you used sacred power for Iana…”

Before finishing the sentence, Jaelim bit his teeth again. It seemed difficult for him to hold back the bursting tears.

“Iana’s appearance, Iana’s appearance returned to her original beautiful state. So, so thankful… Huhu, for your kindness.”

Jaelim bit his teeth tightly and covered his eyes with his palm. But there seemed to be no way to stop the tears flowing down his cheeks.

“Thanks to you, Iana was able to say goodbye to everyone in her usual bright appearance… Thank you.”

Jaelim barely finished speaking and sat down. His body trembled perilously, as if he would collapse at any moment. Wiping away the flowing tears with my palm, I held Jaelim’s hand tightly to prevent him from falling apart.

“I’m the one… I’m insane. I’m a damn bastard. Even if Iana hated me, I had to show it to the Empress somehow. And the family… the family should have noticed when they couldn’t meet. When she suddenly said she would go down to the villa alone, at that time…”

Jaelim poured out his resentment as if vomiting blood.

“I wasn’t sending her alone at that time. It wasn’t to make her lonely and trembling in pain alone.”

Jaelim clenched his fist tightly and looked up. When I faced his face soaked in tears, my heart ached.

“I didn’t mean to say that I understand the Perdix, the Perdix experiment… I didn’t mean to say that. But all that misfortune has come back. It’s all my fault.”

“…”

“Iana, Iana, wasn’t left alone… I was an incompetent older brother.”

Jaelim also believed that Iana’s death was his fault. Otherwise, that pretty girl who had never been hated by anyone wouldn’t have ended up like this.

I got up from the bed and sat down next to Jaelim. And I gently embraced him.

“It’s not your fault, Jaelim.”

Jaelim tried hard to hold back the bursting cry, as if he didn’t have the right to cry so loudly.

The girl who shone brightly like a star died.

The girl who wanted to be my servant, dreaming like any other child, lost her light.

The pure girl who was loved and knew no hatred was devoured by the intense darkness.

Mother. Is this really what you wished for?

Mother. Is this what you wanted, me losing all the light and being trapped alone in the darkness?

You said you hoped I would shine brightly in the darkness. If so, you were wrong.

After losing all the light I had, when facing the enormous abyss, I will probably be devoured by monsters as if I never shone brightly.

Because dimly flickering light can never be brilliant.