At his words, I sealed my lips. I couldn’t empathize with his misery.

‘He probably thought everything would be a happy ending when he resurrected me.’

If I had woken up by his side, I might have been more forgiving. If I had awakened as a human Marianne, he could have hidden my eyes more effectively. Perhaps, he might have pretended to be the Bird Prince from the beginning.

‘But in life, “what if” doesn’t mean anything.’

And it doesn’t cover the numerous atrocities he committed.

‘Even if he fell in love with me, if he found out about the things he had done, I couldn’t have turned a blind eye.’

I opened and closed my eyes. And I repeated the words I had said before.

“Let’s apologize and compensate to the victims together. I’ll help you set things right. We’ll undo the wrongs.”

“Wrong? Saving you? Others might say that, but you shouldn’t.”

I steadied my trembling voice, forcing an appearance of composure.

“I can say that because it’s me.”

“You’re truly cruel to the end, aren’t you?”

It didn’t matter what he said. I just wished Espen would stop committing sins.

However, the hundred years passed seemed too far to rewind.

Instead of admitting his mistakes, Espen chose to misconstrue my intentions.

“No, be cruel only to me. You didn’t do that to him, did you?”

“Espen!”

What I was saying now had nothing to do with Hadel. Yet, seeing Espen desperately clinging to Hadel, I frowned.

Espen, who seemed momentarily insane, grabbed my wrist again. His questioning gaze was intense.

“Then why did you jump in when I caused a mana explosion, knowing you could die?”

Why? In that situation, I was the only one with the opposite attribute to Espen’s, capable of stopping his rampage. It wasn’t about wanting to die with him; it was the only way to save everyone in that moment.

“Because you were my comrade.”

With my concise answer, Espen’s grip on my wrist tightened. He asked desperately.

“So, if I ask you to die together now, can you do that?”

“……. ”

At his words, I tightly sealed my lips.

It wasn’t that my life had suddenly become precious again. It was just that Evelyn’s whispered words bothered me.

It wasn’t confirmed with a more detailed examination, but Evelyn said it seemed like she was pregnant.

When I first heard that, I shook my head.

‘Having a baby isn’t that easy.’

Especially in such a complicated situation. No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem likely.

However.

“……No.”

If there was even a slight possibility.

“I can’t do that now.”

If I die, it’s not just me who dies. That’s why I couldn’t die.

‘I promised Hadel too. I vowed to stay by Hadel’s side.’
Hadel had already lived a lonely life. I couldn’t make him any sadder.

“Well, then, the conversation is over.”

Espen, sensing my resolve, twisted his lips.

“You, who are not mine, are not needed.”

“How do you plan to do that? Are you going to kill me?”

“Yes.”

Espen was far more determined than I had thought.

“I’ll kill you, take out your heart, and resurrect you. Until you love me, continuously.”

If he had just said he would kill me, it might not have felt so repulsive. I grimaced and forcefully pushed Espen’s hand away with a loud sound.

“Are you crazy? How many times do you think you can move my heart?”

“You’ll know if you try.”

The cold emanating from Espen’s body grew stronger. His silver hair turned almost white.

It was similar to a hundred years ago when he caused a mana explosion.

He might freeze me like this. However, I also had a hidden trick.

Chi-ik!

I took out ice powder from my pocket and sprinkled it into the air. Although it was a dangerous substance that could turn into an ice monster if it entered the mouth, if I set it on fire…

Bang!

The ice powder and the flames I produced mixed, instantly covering the entire Moonlight Palace with thick white vapor. It was so dense that it was difficult to recognize even the ground beneath my feet.

‘I didn’t expect to use ice powder like this.’

Since Espen had planned to use it when he entered my room, my movements remained unhesitant even with my vision obscured.

I grabbed Cecil and Evelyn’s hands and left the room. Espen’s scream echoed from behind.

“Marian!”

‘I thought it would be easy for him to fall for it.’

I didn’t make the mistake of replying. Even though I had finally covered my eyes, I couldn’t make such a foolish move as to reveal my location to the enemy.

Jjeong!

However, it didn’t take a long time for the vapor to dissipate. Now, Espen, as if he could die at any moment, began shooting ice in all directions.

The vapor instantly turned into falling ice fragments.

“Kyah!”

People who were standing still, dumbfounded by the sudden situation, screamed. I shouted at them.

“What are you all doing! Run!”

If they weren’t of the same fire attribute as me, their bodies would freeze and they would die just by touching the ice.

In response to my shout, the people in the palace, who had been frozen in place, began to run away. I also shouted at the knights who were standing still, holding their swords.