No. I shook my head.
'Miracle is... not her.'
A woman with flowing white hair, looking down at the cheering crowd with sparkling eyes, a beautiful smile on her blood-red lips.
She was more mature and captivating than the adult Miracle I knew, yet she resembled Miracle so much.
Who is that woman...?
Cherish said.
"She's Citros Rodbel's daughter, Selene Rodbel."
"Selene Rodbel..."
It was a name I knew too.
The only daughter of the four Rodbel Dukes, praised as a 'saint' for her outstanding healing magic.
Citros Rodbel and Selene Rodbel, who appeared side by side, sat in chairs prepared next to the guillotine.
In the midst of the crowd's enthusiastic cheers, just as the execution was about to begin.
"Excuse me."
Selene Rodbel stood up from her seat.
"Selene, what is it?"
At Citros' question, Selene looked at him with sad eyes and said.
"I want to say goodbye to Arista one last time."
At those words, deep anger filled Citros' purple eyes.
"That woman dared to harm you, not knowing her place! I wanted to punish her even more painfully, but I am giving her a humane end at your request for mercy. Why do you insist on getting close to something so filthy?"
Citros treated the woman - Arista - worse than an animal.
From what I heard, it seemed that this woman named Arista had tried to harm Selene Rodbel and was caught and punished.
Whether it was magic or not, their conversation was clearly audible to me.
At Citros' words, Selene replied in a tearful voice.
"But Arista was also my closest maid. Although it is true that she was tainted by evil and tried to harm me... I still want to say a final goodbye for the sake of our past. That way, I can feel at ease. Please grant my wish, Father."
"..."
The crowd, hearing Selene's words, exclaimed, "Ah, Saintess...", "She is so kind-hearted...", "To dare harm such a person, a hundred deaths are not enough!" and hated Arista even more.
While everyone was looking at Selene, I was looking at Arista.
Arista was glaring at Selene with eyes that seemed to want to tear her apart and kill her.
Her eyes, full of resentment, seemed to belong to someone who had tried to kill Selene and failed.
But why isn't anyone questioning it? It's strange.
'The closest person to someone praised as a saint is expressing such hatred.'
Doesn't anyone suspect that Selene might have a hidden side that we don't know about...?
At Selene's earnest request, Citros was lost in thought.
After a long time, he made a decision.
"Alright. But only for a very short time."
"Yes, and our last conversation..."
She raised her hand.
"I want it to be private."
"So be it."
"Thank you."
Selene, with an elegant gesture of gratitude, walked lightly towards Arista.
She looked down at her, who was kneeling low for a moment, and slowly lowered her head.
Her long, snow-white hair blocked the two of them like a curtain.
No sound can be heard.
What are they talking about?
'Would I be able to hear if I went over there?'
Just as I was thinking that.
"Foolish Arista."
Cherish began to speak.
I flinched and turned to look at her, but Cherish was staring at the two people on the execution ground without even blinking.
Her lips are moving.
"Did you think you could succeed?"
She continues to speak.
"You wanted to get rid of me and get in contact with 'it' at all costs, didn't you. But what can you do? You were too incompetent and stupid to accomplish anything."
As if whispering.
"Even if you die and come back to life more than ten times, you will never be able to meet 'it'. Because I will always be there in front of you. So I will kill you in such a humiliating, miserable, and tragic way every time."
In a terribly cold voice.
"Then goodbye. Go to where you originally belong. See you again. I'll be waiting."
"..."
"Those were the last words Selene said to Arista."
"But..."
The conversation was strange.
A conversation that seemed to hint at a reunion.
The 'it' that Arista tried to contact and failed was...
At the same time as Cherish finished speaking, Selene stood up.
Looking down at Arista, who was silently wailing with resentment, hatred, and bitterness, she shed a single tear.
And returned to Citros Rodbel's side. As if the magic was activated again, Selene's last words were heard.
"I think you can send Arista away now."
"Execute the sentence!"
At Citros' command, the blade fell.
Thud. The sound of something falling, amplified by sound magic, echoed throughout the square.
"Waaaaaaah!!"
"The witch has been executed!!"
"Long live Rodbel! Long live Rodbel!!"
The people cheered and rejoiced as if they were celebrating a festival.
Among them, I saw Selene smiling.
That was the end.
In an instant, the sound disappeared and turned into darkness.
"What on earth is-"
The moment I turned to Cherish to get an answer.
"Huff, huff..."
The place had changed.
This time, it was a dark alley at night.
A woman with bare feet and covered in wounds was running frantically.
But after a while. The moment the moonlight shone.
Screech!
A sword blade that appeared from the darkness slashed her back.
Thud.
Like a marionette with its strings cut, the woman fell to the cold floor.
Step, step.
The sound of cold leather shoes grew closer.
I, who was staring blankly at the fallen woman, turned my head in the direction of the sound.
There.
"You're being annoying, you filthy rat."
A white-haired man was standing there with a blood-stained sword.
Bansis...? No. The appearance is similar, but the atmosphere is different.
A much colder and darker feeling.
"Did you think you could survive after daring to harm my sister?"
"Araque, Brother."
A woman appeared beside him.
White-haired... this time too, a woman who resembled Miracle.
She approached lightly and linked arms with the man.
"Silphy, I told you to wait in the carriage because it's dirty here."
"But I'm worried. Ellie knows how to use black magic. I'll be so sad if Brother gets hurt even a little."
"Kind and gentle Silphy Rodbel. That's why this kind of thing targeted you. You need to be a little more ruthless."
"Brother will protect me, right?"
"That's right."
Leaving the writhing and dying woman in front of them, the two of them had an affectionate conversation.
I stared at them with cold eyes.
Araque Rodbel and Silphy Rodbel. Those were names I knew as well.
Former members of the Rodbel family.
All names I had seen in history books and yearbooks.
Silphy once again asked Araque if she could say a final goodbye, and Araque reluctantly granted her request.
However, after removing Ellie's hands and feet so that she could not play any tricks.
Clack, clack, Silphy approached and whispered in Ellie's ear.
This time, I heard it.
"Foolish Ellie, no matter how many times you come back, you'll end up the same way. Goodbye."
Those were the last words Ellie heard.
And it kept repeating.
Death, greeting, death, greeting, death, greeting...
The situation kept changing, and the Rodbels next to the white-haired woman also changed, but the ending did not change.
The woman died a total of nine times.
The last time the woman lost her life was a hundred years ago with the Rodbels.
After seeing all those deaths, I returned to reality.
Aen and Cherish's house.
But that house no longer felt cozy.
It felt like the end of a terrible hell.
I turned around with a collapsed face.
In that place, Cherish was standing with a face that looked exactly like the woman who had been murdered countless times before my eyes.
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