Blanche was exploring the Grand Temple after leaving the chapel.

‘Mother told me to go to the central staircase, but…’

A sparkling golden baby angel fountain, statues adorned with brilliant jewels.

There were too many things stimulating Blanche’s curiosity on her way to the central staircase.

“Wow, there are so many amazing things here.”

She ran to the gurgling fountain and looked at her face reflected in the water’s surface.

Her wolf ears had popped out, likely from excitement.

“W-when did these come out?”

Startled, Blanche quickly looked around.

‘Mother said I shouldn’t let my wolf ears show outside!’

Fortunately, no one was around, so she quickly tucked her wolf ears back in.

‘But why does Shu Shu have wolf ears?’

Mother, grandfather, they were all different from Blanche. None of them had wolf ears.

‘Does Shu Shu take after Father? Does Father have wolf ears like Shu Shu?’

Blanche wondered what her father looked like. That way, she could recognize him at a glance if she happened to meet him.

‘I wish I had taken after Father…’

Taking after her mother made it difficult to guess what kind of face her father had.

Of course, that didn’t mean she disliked taking after her mother.

Her light brown hair, like her mother’s, shone brightest under the sunlight.

Even her sea-colored eyes were pretty, like sapphires with a drop of lavender flower dye.

‘…But why is Shu Shu the only one who doesn’t take after Father when Jenny and Ellie all do?’

Not taking after her father, what if he couldn’t recognize Blanche as his daughter when they met?

Blanche had few clues about her father.

Long ago, on a day when she woke up from a nap.

She overheard Mother and Mary talking about Father.

‘Blanche really only takes after me, I thought there’d be nothing of Jade in her. I didn’t expect her to inherit that habit of his.’

‘It’s fortunate she doesn’t have silver hair like the Marquis. Silver is such a rare color, it catches people’s eyes. It’s better that she takes after him in habits rather than appearance.’

That was it, that Father was a Marquis with silver hair.

…However, among the people Blanche knew, there was no ‘Marquis’ with ‘silver hair’.

To begin with, silver was a rare color not easily seen.

‘What if I can’t find Father at all?’

Walking aimlessly, Blanche soon realized she was lost.

‘Where am I?’

Even retracing her steps, she was still in the same place.

Then, hearing someone approaching, she instinctively hid behind a pillar.

It was the priest she had seen earlier, and beside him was a very tall man with broad shoulders wearing a formal uniform.

The man’s silver hair was as white as the snow she first saw when disembarking at the port with Mother.

“My Lord. Thank you for visiting the Grand Temple. Will you be going to that place this time as well?”

“…There’s no need to guide me. You may go now.”

“Understood. I pray the deceased rests peacefully in Stella’s embrace.”

Blanche got excited hearing how the priest addressed the man.

‘My Lord?’

Not only did he have silver hair like Blanche’s father, but the man was also a lord.

‘When two clues match, it’s the point that requires the most attention during an investigation!’

Maybe the stars had granted Shu Shu’s wish and brought her to where her father was.

She just had that certainty. Usually her body would react first when afraid of strangers, but strangely, she didn’t dislike this man.

‘He might be Shu Shu’s father!’

Blanche’s heart leapt.

‘If so, I should make Mother and Father meet. Mother said she’d be at the central staircase, so I just need to bring Father there!’

If she could make that man and Mother meet, she felt certain she’d know if he was Blanche’s father.

Blanche followed closely behind the man, trailing him eagerly.

The prayer room in the west wing of the Grand Temple.

The slow footsteps approaching the altar came to a stop.

Jade picked up a portrait covered in years of dust and gently dusted it off.

“Larien, have you been well?”

He greeted her warmly, meeting the gaze of those sea-colored eyes.

“I meant to come earlier, but I had matters to attend to. I’m sorry.”

He grasped the withered lilies scattered around, which crumbled easily in his hand.

“Larien. Ayla is getting married soon. It’s surprising, isn’t it? I thought she’d never marry with that nasty temper of hers.”

“…”

He pulled out the wedding invitation his younger sister had written herself, sneering, but his smile quickly faded.

“Still no answer from you, huh.”

Once again, a loneliness that sank into the mire consumed him.

“Larien. It’s been almost 5 years since you died.”

Quite some time had passed since Larien’s death, but it still didn’t feel real. In fact, he still wished it was all just a misunderstanding.

‘…I should probably clear this place out soon.’

In the end, it was all his own selfishness.

He had kept Larien from resting peacefully even after her death.

“…Happy birthday, Larien.”

Jade, celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday, was still stuck at the age of twenty when Larien had died.

It didn’t feel like he was really living. If not for the letter Larien had left behind, he would have ended this wretched life long ago.

Even just existing felt sinful.

It was repulsive to live another day after having killed Larien.

“Whose birthday is it today? Can Shu Shu celebrate too?”

At that moment.

“Hello!”

Along with the sound of footsteps, a child entered.

‘…How dare.’

Jade had been pouring massive donations into the Grand Temple, comparable to a year’s budget for his territory.

All to maintain this prayer room in her memory.

Jade had only one condition for the Grand Temple.

To ensure that no one else’s footsteps would enter this prayer room.

‘How utterly incompetent. It wasn’t even a difficult request.’

The prayer room was his private space, one he wouldn’t allow even his younger sister to enter.

It was unpleasant that a stranger had entered such a sacred space.

“Shu Shu had a birthday recently too. Shu Shu is 4 years old!”

“How dare you come in here…”

Jade’s irritation faded as he took a closer look at the child’s face, leaving him breathless.

A delicate nose, white skin that looked soft to the touch.

“Was this a place Shu Shu shouldn’t have entered?”

The child with light brown hair tied in two braids blinked her sea-colored eyes tinged with purple.

“You…”

Her hair and eye color were exactly the same as Larien’s.

Her features were so similar that one could believe it was Larien’s childhood self.

‘It’s amazing how closely she resembles her.’

His rising anger subsided, seeing this child who looked so much like the woman he thought he’d never see again.

“You’re too tall, Shu Shu’s neck hurts! Can you bend down a little?”

Jade indulged the child and bent his knees to meet her eye level.

“Thank you! Now Shu Shu can see well!”

“Your name?”

He wanted to see more of that face that resembled Larien, regardless of the circumstances.

Even if it was just someone who looked like Larien, with no actual connection to her.

‘Larien, what if you had lived like this child?’

Jade had never forgotten Larien, not for a single moment.

Her voice pleading for help, calling his name every night in his dreams, was still vivid in his ears.

Larien had chosen death because of his actions.

What if he hadn’t torn up Larien’s train ticket that day?

If he had turned a blind eye to Larien’s attempt to seek asylum in a foreign country, would she not have died?

“Shu Shu’s name is Blanche!”

The child brightened up immediately and revealed her name.

“…Blanche, you say?”

It was curious that the child had the same name as her mother.

‘If Larien had lived and had a baby, she would be about the size of the child before me now.’

The bright smile that was the spitting image of Larien’s made his heart ache.

“Oh, Shu Shu is sorry for coming in without permission. It’s Shu Shu’s first time at the Grand Temple, so Shu Shu didn’t know.”

The child apologized with clumsy pronunciation, lowering her head and fidgeting with her hands.

“…No. It’s alright.”

He usually disliked children. They were always bothersome and noisy to him.

“Are you forgiving Shu Shu? By the way, why were you alone here?”

But watching this chattering child wasn’t unpleasant.

“Oh no! Mother will be looking for Shu Shu! Mother told Shu Shu to stay put at the central staircase… Shu Shu doesn’t know the way…”

Suddenly, the child’s teary-eyed expression reminded him of Larien’s terrible sense of direction, tugging at his heartstrings.

“I’ll… take you to where the central staircase is.”

“Thank you. Shu Shu will never forget this kindness! Let’s go quickly!”

The child bowed deeply with her hands on her stomach.

“…It’s nothing.”

Normally he wouldn’t have cared, but he didn’t want to see a face that resembled Larien’s crying.

“Um, can Shu Shu hold your hand?”

“…Hand?”

The child immediately grasped Jade’s pinky with her small palm.

“Hmm, your hand is too big, so Shu Shu will just hold your pinky!”

Jade was taken aback by the child’s behavior, from speaking to him upon entering the prayer room to treating him, a stranger, so familiarly.

“Let’s hurry to the central staircase!”

Urged by the child, they left the room and walked down the corridor. In the distance, they heard someone approaching. A woman in a robe appeared.

“Mother!”

The child ran quickly, swinging her short arms and legs, and was embraced by the woman.

“Blanche! Where have you been! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

A voice he had never forgotten, one he had longed to hear.

“…Larien?”

Larien, who was supposed to be dead, was standing right before his eyes.