Special SS ~ 1
So, this is a story that happened but did not happen. A tale of betrayal, despair, and a thirst for revenge for one who met an unjust death.
And for another, who had lived a life of loneliness and solitude, it left marks of despair, anger, and dark sorrow, ultimately consuming them.
A tale from another world that Seriniel knows, but Lexion does not.
Lexion survived, but Seriniel died, leaving him alone—all the beginnings of stories where she left him behind.
Perhaps, some might have wondered about these alternate pasts and futures.
* * *
Late one night, the war-crazed murderer, Lexion Rosenvester, who mercilessly wielded his sword against all, regardless of age or gender, returned to the Carteia Empire. This bastard, born out of wedlock, brutally killed his half-siblings and father, and swallowed up the Rosenvester house whole.
“……”
The Rosenvester mansion was as silent and eerie as a grave, just as it always was.
There was no one to greet him, no one to ask if he was injured, no one to worry about him.
But that was so familiar and normal to Lexion that he trudged into his study, looking a mess, without a second thought.
The first thing Lexion did was to remove the blood-soaked armor that weighed heavily on him.
Without anyone’s help, he placed the heavy armor on the sofa.
Soon, a sword with dried crimson bloodstains was placed beside it, just like the armor.
Lexion pulled out a cloth he had prepared beforehand and, with a blank expression, began cleaning his armor and sword.
He then slowly looked at the blood stains imprinted on the cloth like a stamp, closing and reopening his eyes.
Before long, Lexion had put the armor and sword back in their places and finally leaned his body against the sofa.
His eyes, gazing at the ceiling, showed no light.
He stared at the ceiling for a long time, looking as if he had died long ago.
“……”
Lexion, who had been sitting silently for a considerable time, suddenly lifted his hand slowly and wiped the dried blood off his hand onto his clothes, leaving the blood on his face untouched.
The now clean hand reached for his neck.
There hung a necklace he cherished more than anything in the world, as if it were the most precious jewel.
More precisely, an old earring threaded on a long chain.
Lexion clutched Seriniel’s earring tightly in his hand and slowly closed his eyes.
[Are you happy?]
Without moving a muscle, like a corpse, Lexion quietly reminisced about a conversation he once had with Seriniel.
…It was an event she likely didn’t even remember properly, but Lexion did.
[Are you happy, Seriniel Verdellete?]
Though it had become a long-ago event, for Lexion, the conversation from that day remained as vivid as if it had just happened.
[Yes.]
…And the emotions he felt then too.
[I’m happy.]
He remembered Seriniel’s face, etched in his mind, as she responded with a radiant, flower-like smile, even though she looked puzzled by the sudden question.
‘Is she… doing well?’
…It’s already been five years.
Even just before he left for this war, there was no special news about Seriniel and Calian Helcar.
So, although Lexion knew it was a foolish worry, he couldn’t help it.
For Lexion, thinking of Seriniel, worrying about her happiness, and endlessly reminiscing about memories that are too insignificant to even call memories had become a habit.
‘Does she still smile so lovingly?’
The sound of Seriniel’s laughter, which he heard secretly sneaking into the count’s mansion looking disheveled day after day, was so clear and beautiful.
…Just the sound of her laughing was so lovely.
He had thought that hundreds, no, thousands of times. Although he resented himself for not even daring to speak to her, he was also grateful.
Grateful that he could at least hear her.
Grateful that he could at least see her.
…But that was a very long time ago.
When was the last time he heard her voice?
He could no longer remember clearly. Ever since Seriniel married Calian Helcar, Lexion had not visited the Count’s mansion.
Nevertheless, the faint memory of Seriniel’s voice and her clear, radiant face still remained vividly etched in his heart, like a tattoo.
Despite the many years that had passed.
Despite the fact that she knew nothing of Lexion’s feelings.
“……”
Lexion, who had been holding Seriniel’s earring for quite some time, let out a short sigh with a weary expression.
It had only been a few hours since he returned from the war, but in just two days, he had to lead the imperial soldiers and the Rosenvester household troops back into battle.
It was the emperor’s request, but ultimately it was Lexion’s choice.
Since Seriniel married Calian Helcar, Lexion’s days in the Carteia Empire had become even fewer than before.
For years now, he had been throwing himself into every war, regardless of its scale.
Even if he returned injured, nothing changed. He didn’t even listen to the physician’s insistence that he must rest.
But Lexion never thought his choices were wrong. He simply accepted them as the natural course of things.
No, to be more honest, he no longer cared what happened.
Lexion wanted to keep wandering battlefields like this, until he eventually shattered and died like a piece of broken glass. He wanted to disappear that way.
Regardless of the process or the reasons, unfortunately, people’s views and rumors about Lexion were becoming more fearsome… but he didn’t care about such things at all.
“…Ugh.”
Lexion, who had been leaning against the sofa, suddenly let out a short groan.
His gaze fell upon his abdomen, from which blood was still oozing out.
Come to think of it, he had been stabbed by the enemy general’s sword in the final moments.
Lexion stared at the wound for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet and walked towards the large table by the window.
He opened a drawer, grabbed a few new bandages, and began to undress while sitting on the table.
He didn’t bother with proper disinfection or treatment. He simply wrapped the bandage haphazardly around the wound, which was still oozing blood, and let out a sigh.
“……”
But today, the pain was more severe.
It wasn’t a fatal wound, but having not slept properly or eaten anything, only wielding his sword and neglecting his body, made the pain worse.
However, he didn’t want any treatment. The reason was simple. Even if he healed, it would mean nothing. And such a wound wouldn’t kill him anyway.
So Lexion grabbed a small bottle from the corner of the table, opened it, and poured its contents into his mouth.
It was a liquor so strong that an ordinary person would wrinkle their nose at its smell alone.
…Anyway, this should help him sleep today.
Just as Lexion was about to put the bottle down, it happened.
“Duke Lexion!”
Someone’s urgent voice rang out as the door burst open.
It was one of those who closely assisted Lexion.
“What’s the matter?”
What could have happened at this late hour, right after he returned from war?
Lexion looked at the knight with a puzzled expression, but the knight, pale as a sheet, just stood there staring at him.
“Is it a summons from the emperor?”
“……”
“Or are the nobles expressing their complaints again?”
He had faced such things countless times. The emperor always relied excessively on Lexion, and the nobles were constantly trying to check him.
“Speak. Whatever it is, I don’t care.”
Lexion said with a look of annoyance, and the knight closed his eyes tightly before reluctantly parting his lips.
“Seriniel…”
Uttering her name.
“Seriniel Verdellete… no, Seriniel Helcar has passed away.”
“……”
“It happened a week ago, and the funeral is already over…”
Crash.
The small liquor bottle in Lexion’s hand fell to the floor, shattering into pieces with a loud noise.
