Mel left Laila’s quarters without delay. When the gradually fading footsteps finally became inaudible, Laila gently extinguished one of the candles beside the bed with her fingertip.

The stinging heat was momentary, and a dull tingling sensation arose from beneath her fingernail as her body grew languid.

She climbed onto the darkened bed, hugging her knees and resting her chin on the back of her hand. She stared blankly at the vermilion wall, glistening like a brilliant sunset in the remaining light.

A beautiful room adorned entirely with amber. When she first learned she would be staying here, had she ever imagined such a day?

‘Not at all.’

Laila thought. Her forehead grew warm again, as if the barely subsided intoxication was resurfacing.

Why? Looking at the flickering light shadows on the wall, she found herself laughing for no reason. At the same time, her eyes began to burn.

When she heard the door open, Laila immediately raised her head. Mel had not returned, but Eustar was standing there.

His hair, neatly tied up during the ceremony, was already undone, and the top two buttons of his jacket were unfastened, giving him a more disheveled appearance than usual.

He leaned against the doorway, staring intently at Laila. It was unclear how long he had been standing there. One thing was certain: he looked quite different.

The Eustar Hyanmorik who exuded a unique steel-like aura, regardless of who was around or where he was, was not present here. Leaning slightly with his arms crossed, he was dripping with languid sensuality.

“Were you looking for me?”

Laila nodded, and Eustar smiled faintly. However, that expression quickly vanished.

Though he didn’t appear to be very drunk, he briefly lowered his shoulders as if struggling to keep his head up. The sight of him kicking the edge of the carpet with his toe looked lonely.

“Laila.”

“What is it?”

“Do you dislike me?”

When Eustar’s voice cracked slightly at the end, Laila said,

“You’re not even that drunk, so stop with the drunken talk, Eustar. Come over here quickly.”

Laila casually responded to his words and patted the sheet. Eustar let out a laugh that sounded like a sigh, but obediently followed her words.

As Eustar’s body tilted backward while embracing Laila’s waist, Laila also found herself lying down facing him. A soft fragrance emanated from the pillow touching her cheek.

Eustar’s face drew near. Now Laila could accept his kiss without hesitation. No, to say it was without hesitation would be a lie.

It was even a little enjoyable. She liked slowly biting and tasting the warmest and softest part of his body. Her tongue tip and mind tingled as if biting into a sweet, juicy peach.

When the gentle movement exploring her teeth receded, Laila unconsciously grasped Eustar’s cheek. She could see a soft and tender smile spreading across his face, which was slightly redder than usual due to the alcohol.

“Do you like it, Laila?”

Laila nodded. Her round, red eyes looked innocent and indifferent. Eustar suddenly recalled when he first met Laila. What had she said back then?

— Witches, you know. They said witches don’t need to fall in love, so they can’t love.

She had seemed like a solid, cold, smooth wall that could never be grasped. Eustar, lost in thought, chuckled softly.

“Why did you laugh?”

“I was thinking about when I first met you. Do you remember, Laila? In that village we stopped at after escaping Rizikus…, you told me. That I was disturbing your thoughts.”

Laila blinked and made an expression that was almost a smile as she gently caressed around his eyes.

“Yes, I remember. I also remember what you said to me then. You said it sounded like something people in love often say. I didn’t believe those words.”

“You said you were someone who couldn’t love. Can you guess what I thought when I heard that?”

“What did you think?”

Eustar kissed the tip of Laila’s small nose and said,

“I thought you might be a more interesting person than I expected. And if possible, I wanted to see you fall in love… Seeing you like this now, it feels quite novel.”

“You’re teasing me again, Eustar.”

“Not at all. How could I?”

Their lips met once more. This time it was shorter and lighter, but Laila could understand each of the quiet words he was pushing into her body, one by one.

Because Eustar’s eyes, lips, and expression were always repeating the same words.

That he liked her very much and loved her deeply.

That he wanted to cherish her as much as possible and keep her by his side forever.

Eustar said,

“I said that because I’m happy. That you’re here like this now, willingly touching me.”

Then, after a moment of silence, he gently stroked below Laila’s eyes.

“You love me, don’t you, Laila?”

Laila said,

“Even the first witch loved. Her love was so deep that she ended up becoming a witch. And Badin, her partner, ultimately couldn’t let go of that one love, couldn’t shake off that human emotion, and had to wander forever in a place where everything was blurred and worn black. I’m similar to them.”

Her delicate trembling fingers moved from Eustar’s face to his ear, and then to his hair.

“I love you, Eustar.”

I wasn’t originally like this. Laila thought.

If there was anything she had wished for all her life, it was a small and quiet space where she could continue her life alone, undisturbed by anyone and disturbing no one, until she fell.

A place so secluded and lonely that apart from boiling herbal soup every day or occasionally grilling caught fish, it would be quiet enough not to hear even the sound of breathing – that was Laila’s initial desire.

However, the Laila who longed for that solitary freedom was now nowhere to be found. From the moment she took Eustar’s hand and turned her back on Rizikus, Laila had gained the freedom to not have to leave for anywhere else.

The foundation of freedom to walk with her head held high and back straight, without having to climb mountains clinging to rocks to avoid others’ eyes.

It was something Laila had feared all her life, but on the other hand, had desperately longed for.

“Speaking of Badin,” Eustar began.

“I saw him at the banquet.”

“I saw him too.”

“Where, at the banquet?”

“No, right over there.”

Laila gestured with her chin towards a spot not far from the bed. Eustar stared blankly at the empty space with an incredulous look.

“Talking nonsense is,” Laila spoke as the words came to mind, then paused to consider if she was using the right term. “It seems demons and humans aren’t so different after all.”

Eustar couldn’t help but giggle at her blunt expression.

“He talked nonsense? Why, what did he say?”

“That’s… I don’t want to say. Somehow it makes me feel embarrassed.”

“You still have things to be embarrassed about with me?”

Eustar’s fingers tickled around Laila’s waist. Laila curled up and pouted with a pretend sulky expression. This time, a series of quick pecks followed with a smacking sound.

“Eustar!”

Eustar laughed out loud and hugged Laila tightly.

“Well, you could just tell me.”

Laila raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment, then pressed her lips close to Eustar’s ear. As he listened to her whispers, Eustar suddenly covered his face with one hand and started laughing, holding his stomach.

“I’m not sure if I should say this, but… Laila, your father seems a bit senile.”

“I told you so. And don’t call him father. It feels strange somehow.”

Eustar playfully looked around and whispered softly.

“But shall we try?”

“I didn’t know senility was contagious. It’s already spread to you.”

Laila said, pretending to push his shoulder away. Eustar gently grasped Laila’s wrist and kissed where her pulse was beating.

“This isn’t called senility. Let’s call it part of the near-future plan, shall we?”

Eustar moved to change his position. As he lowered his head, his long platinum hair obscured Laila’s view.

Through the strands, the occasionally flickering or wavering light looked like stars that had run from afar. Starlight that had just been born, breaking through the pitch-black darkness, still retaining its heat.

“It feels like I met you in a very distant past, Eustar.”

Laila’s breath trembled faintly. Eustar closed his eyes as he carefully kissed her entire face, neck, and from one end of her collarbone to the other.

“I feel the same, Laila. Like stars born together.”

And so they had swum through the empty black universe to finally meet in the same place.

The first lights born gazing at each other became one, brightly illuminating the night. The mind, the sight, the body were all filled with an indistinguishable light.

The intense white radiance finally crushed the darkness. Beyond it stretched an endless, beautiful, and unfamiliar path that neither Eustar nor Laila had seen before.

Laila’s lips parted wide as she floundered in the explosive sensation. Her closed eyelids quivered, and her fingertips gripping Eustar’s shoulders tensed firmly.

Just before falling into a cozy dream, Laila heard someone speaking to her. It was a woman’s voice. As affectionate as Eustar’s.

— There will be no emptiness or loneliness in any part of the life ahead of you. I’ll take that away. As a token of my gratitude to you.

Laila’s body, which had risen like a surge, slowly settled down. The tidal wave was receding. As she felt Eustar’s warmth and scent simultaneously, Laila was able to fall asleep without any worries for the first time in her life.

It was a very deep and quiet sleep that no one could carelessly wake her from. Fearful dreams tried to wedge their way in, but were soon pushed back. All the way to the horizon, beyond the skyline. To places out of reach, they ebbed away like the tide.

A brilliant and enchanting warmth spread over the wide-open void.

− The End