……What sound did I just hear?

The golden eyes that fully captured Elaina, who was carefully pulling at the hem of my shirt, were dazed.

“Just…… As you said, the crackling sound is nice to hear……”

“……”

“But lying here alone feels a bit……”

Elaina didn’t know why she was suddenly saying such nonsense and being so stubborn.

But because you’re treating me differently today.

Much kinder, warmer, and gentler than usual.

Wishing this moment could last just a little longer……

“……”

Sinclair said nothing, just staring down at Elaina intently.

Unable to discern what he was thinking at all, Elaina slightly averted her gaze from him.

And not long after, surprisingly, Sinclair took his place beside Elaina again.

“Alright. Sometimes this… isn’t so bad.”

Even if it’s a mirage that will disappear tomorrow, I hope today will be a day long remembered.

I hope you can recall it as a happy and joyful time that made you act so uncharacteristically clingy.

Even if you’re not by my side then.

Perhaps it was a pitiful attempt to paint over past events with Elaina with new memories.

But is that… really such a bad thing?

No, I’m already bad enough to you……

Wouldn’t it be okay to be a little worse?

For the sake of myself who will be left alone someday.

Sinclair thought.

“You said let’s lie down together. So why are you just sitting there?”

Ah.

Elaina rustled slightly, then carefully lay down facing Sinclair.

Sinclair did the same. Unlike at the Imperial Palace, he lay facing her.

Watching her golden eyes shimmer brilliantly in the light, Elaina slowly parted her lips.

“You know…… Sinclair, the villa is so quaint and pretty. It’s just like you.”

“……Are you saying I’m that narrow-minded?”

“No, I never said that. I don’t know why you always twist my words like that.”

Elaina chuckled.

“Did you know? They say a person’s traces remain in a space.”

“What traces?”

“You can see traces of their past days, how they’re living now…… After all, home is the place where people spend the most time and can also relax. So when I first went to the Imperial Palace, I was surprised.”

“……”

“It seemed so bleak, lonely, and weary.”

……Yes. Perhaps so. Because the time I spent in the palace was filled with only such emotions. Sinclair silently gazed at Elaina.

“But coming here, I feel like I can see a bit of what kind of person you are.”

“Why?”

“The whole mansion is warm. Not because of the fireplace, just the atmosphere itself feels that way. But for example……”

Elaina pointed to the furniture in the back as she spoke.

“Everything is sized for a child. The empress must have given instructions herself, putting aside her own discomfort. For young Sinclair.”

“……”

“The books piled in the study over there only fill up to the middle shelves. And the bed being so wide… I don’t know if you’re aware, but you toss and turn a lot sometimes.”

“I do?”

“Yes. Not often, but you do.”

Elaina smiled.

“The empress’s love for you is melted into every corner of the mansion. I loved that.”

“……”

“And you, who resemble the empress… must be a very kind person.”

Me, kind?

I’ve never been called that by anyone. Others would laugh if they heard it, calling it crazy talk. But Elaina was still looking at me with a serious expression.

“I said it earlier too. You and the emperor don’t resemble each other at all.”

Sinclair laughed briefly.

“This warmth… suits you much better.”

“Schuler and Glen would faint if they heard that.”

“So what? That’s how I feel.”

“Now that I hear it, it does seem that way.”

“You’re not as messed up as you think you are.”

Sinclair faltered briefly at Elaina’s solemn voice.

“You seem cold, but you’re considerate of others, and even though your words are twisted… sometimes I can feel the warmth inside. Except when you’re talking to the emperor or Hister, of course. At those times, watching quietly, it seems like even if you died, your mouth would live on and drive even the devil neurotic.”

Whether this was meant as a compliment or an insult… Though incredulous, Sinclair didn’t bother to argue, finding Elaina’s utterly serious face cute.

“Then what kind of person are you?”

He asked instead.

“The first feeling I had when I set foot in the attic of House Aswald wasn’t much different from what you thought when you came to the Imperial Palace.”

That attic was like a crumbling ruin.

Probably because Elaina’s heart was no different.

Without knowing my place, I dared to be curious.

About what Ellie’s past days that I missed were like. What times she went through to become the current Elaina Butler.

“When I was young, I had a clear idea of what kind of person I was… but now I’m not so sure.”

Elaina gave a bitter smile.

“So I want to find out slowly. Even if it takes a long time.”

“……”

“Because a life lived without even realizing what kind of person you are is too pitiful.”

Is that so.

Is that why I’ve been living a pitiful life?

Because you were the only one who could explain me, but I kept missing you all along?

And Sinclair soon realized. The reason he could never forget that young Ellie.

And perhaps why even now he hadn’t moved forward from that place at all……

It was because of this aspect of Elaina.

Elaina Aswald, who always shines like an unextinguishable star no matter what situation she’s in.

Completely different from himself.

Always moving ahead of him, even with a damaged leg.

“Thank you for bringing me here today, Sinclair.”

Elaina muttered sincerely.

Of course, she knew there was a reason he had to vacate the palace. But still, she was glad. Grateful for his thoughtfulness in bringing her to a place meaningful to him.

Sinclair stared intently at Elaina without saying anything, then finally asked in a somewhat cracked voice.

“Was it………”

“……Yes?”

“An enjoyable day?”

“……”

“It will be a good memory, right?”

[I don’t have many good memories in Edenbell, so I don’t think I’ll have much to write.]

What suddenly came to mind was what she had said to Sinclair earlier.

Elaina wore a blank expression for a moment, then answered with a soft smile.

“Yes. Very much so.”

Instead of answering, Sinclair smiled faintly, just as Elaina had done.

……And so, the faces of the two lying facing each other were bathed in soft firelight, and the pleasant crackling sound, like raindrops, filled the quaint villa.

And until she drifted off to sleep, Elaina thought.

How fortunate it was to have made such a pleasant memory that brightened her mood just by recalling it.

And that it wasn’t so bad that the person who created such a memory for her was Sinclair Butler.

[This is the timeline separator]

The night temple was utterly quiet.

However, today’s temple bore a quite different appearance from usual.

The candles that always brightly illuminated the interior from sunset until dawn were all extinguished without exception, and not a single priest offering night or dawn prayers could be found.

So the emperor realized that something was strange.

“……High Priest.”

The emperor, who had already reached the center of the sanctuary, carefully parted his lips. His voice reverberated, filling the wide hall, but no one appeared.

‘Why on earth at such an hour……’

……Should I have brought guards after all?

But never once had the emperor come to the temple with guards. From his perspective, it was only natural. The temple of Edenbell was no different from his own palace to the emperor.

Moreover, a few hours ago, the priest sent by the High Priest had relayed the High Priest’s message like this:

‘I have an urgent matter to discuss with Your Majesty, so I would appreciate if you could come alone.’

The High Priest would not betray me.

The temple would not betray me.

Yet why does such an ominous feeling arise?

The emperor could not quite understand the reason.

And then…….

Not long after, a strange sound began to be heard from up ahead.

A clanking noise.

That is, just like the one he had heard not long ago…….

Just as the emperor was about to take a step back with a puzzled look, that was when.

The High Priest appeared with a miserable expression.

“……Your Majesty.”

Though it was too dark to see clearly, strangely enough, his voice seemed particularly weak and cracked today.

“I dared to send someone to Your Majesty at such a late hour… I am grateful that you personally came.”

“What did you have to tell me?”

“……”

“Is it related to Sinclair?”

“……I do.”

“What did you say?”

“……I’m sorry… Your Majesty.”

With that inexplicable apology, the High Priest’s pale, trembling hand suddenly opened the door.

The iron door leading to the very passage where the lion that attacked Sinclair and Elaina during the founding ceremony ritual had appeared.

And as soon as the iron door opened…….

“Roar!”

Just like that day, an enraged lion lunged forth.

Towards the emperor.