With a start, I turned my head.
Cherish's hand, tightly buried in Aen's.
From the tip of that hand, a tiny red butterfly bloomed, traveled along their connected hands, and permeated me.
"...!!"
The moment it was absorbed into me, I felt an unknown sense of fulfillment.
Along with the vitality of blood finally starting to circulate.
My eyes met Cherish's.
Her lips moved.
'Thank you. Please take care of me.'
I hesitated, unsure how to respond to those words, and then, belatedly, as I parted my lips to speak,
Thud.
Cherish's hand fell downwards.
"Ah."
Aen, who had been holding Cherish tightly, let out a faint groan.
After that, no sound was heard.
Not even Cherish's very faint breathing.
Nor Aen's voice, screaming as he held on.
Nothing at all...
We simply held our breaths as if forcibly stopping time, turning a blind eye to the horrifying reality.
Both I and Aen...
Just.
Swish, swish, swish─
Dark clouds filled the sky, and before I knew it, raindrops began to pour down.
It was a downpour that made it difficult to see even an inch ahead.
I got out of the carriage and took a deep breath.
"Haa."
A puff of white vapor scattered.
"Young lady..."
I was blankly staring at the breath when I heard Marin's voice from beside me.
Turning my head, I saw her looking at me with a worried expression.
I gave Marin a small smile and said,
"Shall we go?"
"...Are you really going to be alright?"
It was a question filled with many meanings.
I nodded.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"...I understand. Let's go inside quickly. It's too cold."
"Okay."
Swish.
Marin opened a black umbrella.
Under that umbrella, I walked towards the building in front of me.
It was a small church.
A muted light filtered through the large stained glass window on the front, and that light flowed down over the praying goddess statue, pouring onto a particularly small coffin.
There were no mourners.
There was no clergyman.
Only one man was kneeling in front of the coffin.
"..."
I told Marin to wait and then slowly approached him.
Tap. Tap.
The sound of my heels echoed softly.
Silently standing beside him, Aen raised his head.
"...Young lady."
"...Aen."
I was about to ask if he was okay, but the moment I saw his face, I couldn't say anything.
"You came. You didn't have to. How did you know? Weren't you cold? What if you catch a cold?"
Aen smiles.
With a face that looks like he's about to die any second, with an appearance that looks like he'll crumble to pieces if you just touch him, he tries to smile.
"...I wanted to pay my respects to Cherish, too."
On the day Cherish died, Aen, who had taken me back to the Duke's residence, took a leave of absence and disappeared.
Four days passed like that, and I heard about the funeral from Aen's adjutant, whom I met by chance.
He also told me that he wanted to hold the funeral quietly, alone.
The adjutant told me to pretend I didn't know, but I couldn't bring myself to do that.
So, after getting permission to go out through Ligrin, I came here with Marin.
"Is that so. Thank you. Cherish will be happy too. She liked you, young lady..."
Aen laughed and turned his head towards the coffin.
I followed his gaze and looked at the coffin.
Inside, Cherish's figure could be seen, holding a pure white lily in her hand.
If this wasn't a funeral hall and if that inside wasn't a coffin, it would feel like she was simply in a deep sleep.
Perhaps that's why. She looked more comfortable than when she was alive.
I could tell. That she was finally free from the fate that had bound her.
Come to think of it...
'This is the first time she hasn't been murdered.'
From Arista to becoming Cherish. She had her life taken by the hands of others and began a new life.
What was her life like, running only towards death?
I vaguely felt like I understood that emotion, and my heart ached even more.
I recalled the last words Cherish left.
Those words, 'Please take care of me.'
I think that 'Please take care of me' had two meanings.
One is...
"...Aen."
"...Hmm?"
Aen looked back at me a beat late.
Looking at his face, which had become haggard in a few days, I said.
"I will protect you."
"Huh?"
Aen's eyes widened.
Looking at that figure, I smiled bitterly.
Aen's eyes wavered.
"Cherish asked me. She asked me to protect Aen, no matter what."
"..."
"So, I will definitely protect Aen. No matter what happens."
Even if my own life is threatened.
"...Young lady... I... I..."
Aen couldn't continue his words.
He simply bowed his head and his shoulders trembled slightly.
I didn't want any answer from him either. The words I said a moment ago were my pledge, and also words I was conveying to Cherish.
And... the remaining one.
'Lilith.'
The words Arista said while looking in the mirror.
Find the 'real' reincarnation of Lucrezia Rodbel, complete her soul,
Seal Lilith,
And save him.
Everything was connected by one string.
Lilith... The beautiful and lovely woman I saw in Lucrezia Rodbel's memories.
At the same time, the person Lucrezia Rodbel also warned about.
'She's interfering with Lucrezia Rodbel's soul becoming complete.'
Her identity is still a mystery, but I seemed to know one thing for sure.
'I have to eliminate her.'
Bedel Denav Arpedel, the reincarnation of the Evil God.
Cherish, the incomplete reincarnation of Lucrezia Rodbel.
If so, Lilith must also have a reincarnation.
That woman who killed countless Cherishes in the long history. If that woman is Lilith's reincarnation, then...
Lilith in this life is...
"..."
The realization is not just that.
I looked down at my hands.
That power that Cherish left before she died.
That feeling of me finally becoming complete. Fulfillment. Vitality.
The fact that I received that feeling... that is...
'I knew something was strange, but...'
Even if I inherited the blood of the first family head thickly, it doesn't make sense to glimpse her memories or see illusions as the artifact reacts.
But I never expected that I would be the reincarnation of the first family head... I didn't expect that at all.
I was the most un-Rodbel-like person in Rodbel.
And more than anything, what bothered me.
He whom Arista said I had to save was...
However, I could no longer continue my thoughts.
Ding- Ding- Ding-
The sound of the bell announcing the end of the funeral echoed.
Cherish would be buried in the Rixus family's cemetery. Because she was Rixus's daughter, that was right.
The Rixus family's cemetery was too far away for me to go.
The carriage carrying the coffin arrived. The coachman and worker who came with it moved the coffin.
Now, only Aen had to board and it would be over.
Aen, who came up to me, said with a sorry face.
"I'm sorry I can't take you back."
"No, it's okay."
I quickly shook my head.
"Marin is here too. It's okay. I can go back safely."
And to ease his worries a little more, I said confidently.
"I'm almost 11 years old, you know."
I said it to mean that I had grown up in my own way.
"Haha, that's right. Our young lady is almost 11 years old. You've grown up so much, really."
It didn't seem to have much effect.
Still, I smiled slightly as I looked at Aen's smiling face.
I know that smile is forced to reassure me.
If I'm in front of him, he'll definitely keep hiding his emotions and forcing a smile like that.
"...I'll go first."
I had no choice but to turn around first.
"Okay, young lady. Go back carefully."
He waved his hand.
I was guided by Marin and slowly got into the carriage, then suddenly turned my head.
My eyes met Aen's face, devoid of laughter.
The moment his eyes widened slightly.
I asked impulsively.
"Will we be able to meet again?"
Somehow, I felt like I would never see Aen again like this.
I was gripped by anxiety, as if he would follow Cherish and disappear forever.
Aen quietly smiled instead of answering and then turned around.
His carriage left first.
In the end, I didn't hear any answer and could only watch him move away.
"Young lady... Let's go back now too."
"...Okay."
I stared endlessly at the departing figure and then got into the carriage with Marin.
The carriage began to run towards Rodbel, cutting through the rain that had become even heavier in the meantime.
I thought.
'Will Aen really come back?'
I probably... had a feeling that he might not come back.
Because there was no reason for Aen to stay in the Duke's family anymore.
Because the future we had drawn together had been shattered to pieces.
'It's better this way.'
I squeezed my eyes shut.
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