A man I could fall in love with.

‘Surely they don’t mean Calic.’

My taste is not for large, muscular, and burly men. My sisters knew that very well.

I liked men who were beautiful like flowers, gentle as blades of grass, and laughed like the bending branches of a willow.

A kind person who loves animals and children. One who does not overly flaunt himself, nor is arrogant or prideful.

Yes, exactly like… Enrique in the past.

My precious shepherd.

A boy on the cusp of manhood with an innocent face and still immature manners, every step taken seemed unsteady, making me want to help…

‘Ah.’

For a moment, I looked around at my sisters with a slightly shocked expression.

Then, the second sister clicked her tongue in a tone of disdain.

[So predictable and consistent in taste.]

“No, that’s not it. The important thing is, I have no heart left to love a human again. How could I?”

I hastily shook my head in panic.

The betrayal I had experienced was painful. I had vowed never to love again, and now suddenly, I am asked to love again. And to end that love with my own hands.

[You might think it’s cruel. But you’ve already been swept away by numerous causes and effects. You can’t return just like that.]

The second sister spoke seriously as she heard my story.

[Remember, this is a test. You can love that human Emperor again, or someone else. In fact, it doesn’t matter who.]

Then, the second sister gestured as if poking my chest with her index finger.

[Even a woman would do. Just love a human once again. Love that rational, emotional love that caused your death. Understand?]

“…….”

[Tears of blood may flow, but if you don’t sever that love, you can never return as a demon. If you die in that body, you’ll enter the cycle of reincarnation as a human. Think carefully.]

Thud!

At that moment, my heart sank heavily.

“…….Never return?”

[Yes. Your life as a demon is over. It’s the end for us, too. You’ll become a human.] [You’ll forget all your memories as a demon, too.] [We can’t help you directly.] [This is the most we can do for you. It’s the result of negotiating with causality as much as possible. We can no longer intervene in your affairs.]

My sisters unanimously spoke at the same time.

‘That can’t be. It just can’t!’

My body trembled like a leaf. My mind went blank for a moment, unable to think.

[As time passes, you’ll become more and more human, child. Eventually, you’ll be completely different from a demon.]

My eldest sister whispered to me, sounding sorrowful.

I couldn’t say anything, just closed my mouth.

The thought of ‘I’ll die and reincarnate as a human’ and hearing it confirmed from my eldest sister’s mouth were entirely different matters.

My eldest sister was a being who saw the fates of gods and demons.

She was the darkness split from the primordial chaos, governing life, death, and even causality.

An entity too profound to be simply called a god or demon, existing in a higher realm.

There was no escape from my eldest sister’s words.

Dazed, the second sister sharply added another line.

[Don’t forget the lesson. Don’t foolishly give your all in love again. Love just enough to take that life if necessary. Like a true demon.]

The light was fading. Time to say goodbye.

My sisters opened their mouths simultaneously and shouted in unison.

[Devotion is for humans, and joy is for demons. Come back, youngest one.]

As I felt my sisters’ energy receding and my consciousness being thrown back to reality, I screamed silently.

“……Ah!”

Crackle.

My fingertips stung. Startled as if struck by lightning, I stumbled backward.

“Empress?”

Thud.

There stood Enrique, of all people.
If I didn’t want to make it obvious that our relationship was terribly bad, I should have remained still. But I just couldn’t help it and ended up pushing Enrique away.

‘It’s because of you. Because of you, I am in this state, in this situation.’

My heart ached as if poisoned.

It was unbelievable that he was once a man I had passionately loved. Now, just seeing his face made me feel sick.

A passage from Leonarda’s diary came to mind.

I wish he were dead. Better dead than in my sight.

The sharp handwriting seemed to claw across the paper, wishing for his death.

That was exactly how I felt.

‘I want to strangle him.’

He taught me love, took it away, and even made me know despair. I wanted to kill him.

Trembling, I pressed my fingernails into the soft skin of my palm to regain composure.

This was a banquet prepared with great effort by many.

I couldn’t create an infamous historical scene by strangling Enrique right here.

“Oho, did you see something terrifying?”

“You stood there silently for a few seconds.”

Calic and Cassandra were looking at me with great curiosity.

Luckily, my strange reaction could be interpreted as some revelation or its shock.

I quickly buried my emotions deep in my heart and smiled.

It was time to lie.

“When I touched that dagger, suddenly everything went white before my eyes. I heard a voice like… it wasn’t just one revelation.”