“Calix resenting me is also an inevitable thing.”

“…….”

“But Livi and I are different. At least, this child is…”

Idun touched his forehead. Despite showing signs of exhaustion, he couldn’t fall asleep. He feared that his sister might disappear like foam. However, that fear made it impossible for him to turn away.

Livianna’s body, covered with a cloak, was bruised.

“For my sake, Livi shouldn’t get hurt anymore.”

“…….”

“At least as much as this child [dash].”

“Who did this?”

Cheshire’s voice sank deeply. Idun frowned.

“Surely, there was nothing that could cause such wounds, ah.”

Cheshire stepped back, roughly rubbing her face with her hand. She had protected Livianna all along. Even looking back, she couldn’t remember any incidents that would result in such injuries.

Then where did these bruises come from?

Cheshire’s eyes sparkled like the eyes of a shining cat in the darkness. Cheshire approached Livianna.

Upon closer inspection, the color of the bruise had faded a bit. It had been some time since the bruises appeared.

“Bake, that jerk.”

Anger surged to his head, and his calm demeanor was restored. It felt as if ice-cold water had been poured over his head. Cheshire growled softly.

Livianna’s follower, Bake, looked like a tail-wagging dog. Bake was Livianna’s follower, and because of that, Idun thought he wouldn’t harm her, at least not as much as to Livianna. It was a careless judgment.

“Has this happened often?”

“…I don’t know.”

It would have been better if she could say no, but seeing Livianna’s injuries, she couldn’t bring herself to deny it. No. In the first place, what did she know?

Cheshire’s face visibly distorted.

For a long time, there wasn’t much she could confidently say about Livianna. It was a fact that left her speechless.
“For a long time, there hasn’t been much I can confidently say about Livianna. Faced with that fact, I found myself speechless once again.

Cheshire walked weakly for a while, then suddenly stopped.

Going further was not an option. If something happened to the remaining two people, it would be a big problem. Currently, the only one who could fight was himself.

Cheshire retraced the path he had turned around before. However, even when he turned back, he couldn’t continue.

Inside the cave was Livianna.

Cheshire walked several times, turning his body, but eventually sat down on the ground. Water droplets splashed from the water bottle he held due to the recoil.

Cheshire stared blankly at the water droplets seeping into the dirt. Even though the water droplets disappeared quickly, dark traces remained in the soil.

A voice mixed with crying clung to his ears.

He didn’t want to show it, but he couldn’t help it. Cheshire exhaled heavily, touching his forehead.

He knew that Livianna had been through a lot, but he never thought she would want to die.

And that she was preparing for death, too.

Cheshire closed his eyes tightly. Even though he only recalled a few words, his chest felt heavy as if he had committed a crime.

For him, the words Livianna and death were never fitting together. There were plenty of kind words that could be applied to Livianna without using such a dreadful word.

But, what did that even mean?

The golden eyes under thick eyelashes shook. Cheshire clasped his face with his hands. It seemed like a sob might escape at any moment.

He felt miserable once again. He knew he couldn’t replace Merial. For Livianna, Merial was a special existence, and no one could replace that child.

But if he had just thought about himself a little bit, just a little, it couldn’t have come to this. It wasn’t silently following her will to feel this way.

He just wished for Livianna to be happy. Always, then and now. He just wanted that, but she was thinking about leaving the world.

So suddenly, he wanted to ask her. During such a choice, did she ever think of herself even once? At least, couldn’t she say that it was hard for her just once?

Veins swelled on the back of Cheshire’s hand.

He wanted to ask, but in fact, he felt like he already knew without hearing the answer.

Livianna was a noble.

Even if she was different from other nobles, she was still a noble. Moreover, she was a high-ranking noble among the nobles. Many people served her, sacrificed for her, and that was natural.

So, he knew. Asking if she ever thought of herself during the process of preparing for revenge and death was a ridiculous question in itself.

“…Damn it.”
Cheshire, unable to contain his frustration, stood up from his seat.

He hadn’t harbored much dissatisfaction with his status. He was more suited to being a mercenary, freely wandering without being entangled in the affairs of nobles who did nothing but flaunt their titles and honor, bound by conventions.

He couldn’t understand paying for titles or enduring an honorable death for the sake of a family.

But why now? For some reason, he felt he could somewhat understand that sentiment. It was due to the emergence of a new question.

Cheshire turned his back toward the cave.