Now that I think about it, the deal with House Castraine might take a bit longer, but oh well.
They already got <Gloriana’s Insignia>.
After my and Queen Elaine’s death, those conscienceless princes will probably try to mess with Vivi, but that wwould no doubt be taken care of by Duke Castraine.
“I’m fine… And now, Lord Raymon’ll be fine, too.”
I see. If I had known this would happen today, I wouldn’t have worried so much about the future. I laughed, blinking back tears. My vision was hazy. I was so sleepy, I didn’t even know if the words were coming out right. I felt like if I closed my eyes, it would be over. Suddenly, I realized.
Was there any reason to keep my eyes open here? Was there?
Queen Elaine would be truly free. Raymon and House Castraine, chained to an unwanted fiancée, would be at peace. Prince Adrian may mourn the loss of his unofficial alliance, but he would not mourn too much, for their bond was shallow.
Indeed…
A sullen resignation spread like fog in my chest. It was cold, freezing my heart. Perhaps, then, it would have been best for all if ‘Titania’ had never been born.
In fact, I knew this for a fact.
I knew it from the moment I regained my memory and opened my eyes in this world for the first time. That ‘Princess Titania’ would never be welcome anywhere. That my memories of the people I loved and was loved by were mere fragments of my former life.
“…It’s not.”
I snapped out of my reverie at an unfamiliar touch. Vivi’s grip on my hand tightened, as if she would never release it. Suddenly, her blue eyes shone with determination.
“It’s not okay, I’m not okay! I haven’t even repaid my savior, and you’re already trying to make me leave!”
“…”
“I, I am Duke Castraine’s daughter, and I must repay this debt, I must repay it with all my might.”
Vivi’s eyes squint as if she might cry at any moment, but she never did.
“Is there such a thing as a person who doesn’t mind dying?”
Lovely, sweet Vivi.
Vivi, the girl who never gave up.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. After all, I didn’t regret saving Vivi.
“…Okay, thank you.”
Now I’m really, really sleepy. So sleepy that it didn’t matter to me what would happen next.
“Wake up, wake up, Titania, don’t close your eyes!”
A blink, and I fell unconscious. Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I saw something explode in the distance and a very desperate-looking Lord Raymon running towards me… but…
* * *
If the servants of House Castraine had anything in common, it was that they had good instincts.
After threatening the Emperor with a non-threatening threat, Raymon scoured the palace in every way possible. After confirming that a young girl, presumably Vivi, had been spotted near the labyrinth, he rushed in without a backward glance.
He broke down the central passageway to the lower levels.
Baring his teeth, Raymon slashed at the lunging beast with a single blow, his face a bloody mess. The smell of blood hit him like a ton of bricks. His heart thudded dangerously in his chest as he took in the scene before him.
“Big brother!” Vivi cried, a young unconscious girl was hugging her as if she would never let go.
Raymon felt his mind go white.
Covered in blood, Vivi was surprisingly unharmed. Only Titania was a wreck. Blood was still oozing from deep wounds, clear as day. With trembling hands, he picked her up and held her close.
Her face was always pale, but today she was as pale as… a corpse.
He could barely feel any weight. The amount of blood pooling on the floor alone was enough to make his breathing quicken.
“…Princess Titania?”
Raymon felt himself choke up.
It was strange. He’d seen many versions of Titania over the years. When she was younger, he’d felt a subtle compassion for her, but as she’d grown, it had faded with each interaction.
And suddenly, she’d changed, making him wonder if she’d been fooling everyone all along…
“Uh, save big sister, big brother, start with a priest, she’s lost too much blood, now…”
None of that came to mind now.
Why was she dying here, in this shape, was beyond him.
Was he worrying about Vivi?
Or Titania?
Was he just shocked to see a scene he hadn’t imagined?
He didn’t know. He couldn’t tell. How many people had he seen dying in such a horrible way…?
Raymon brought a trembling finger under Titania’s nose.
… He couldn’t feel anything, nothing. It terrified him that the woman in his arms was indeed a corpse.
Was she dead?
Just like this, in vain?
“…Titania?”
Ironically, this was the first time Raymon called Princess Titania by her first name.
It was then. Titania’s eyelids fluttered open, then closed, once. The color of her eyes was a fresh green, like a newborn sprout in a millennia-old field, like the sunlight on the deepest bottom of a lake.
His heart, that had apparently stopped beating until then, began to beat again. Raymon stopped breathing for a moment.
Was this a miracle? Or the last gasp of a dying woman? Either way, it didn’t matter.
“…It’s okay, it’s okay…”
The voice was faint, like the cry of a dying bird.
“…Vivi, from… Save you…”
“…Don’t talk, and don’t sleep. Stay awake.”
Raymon said through clenched teeth. He was angry that the person in his arms was so light. This was the girl who had once been so irritable, as if the most precious things in the world could be laid at her feet and she would not be satisfied.
Why was she worried about someone she’d just met for the first time today, when she felt like she could run out of breath at any moment?
A man could not think properly when his blood was running low. Especially when they’re critically ill. The last time anyone checked, Princess Titania was… Well, at the very least, she didn’t look like the kind of person who would do that.
It was the characteristic of a noble person who would always retain his honor, even if it was somewhat incomprehensible.
Why, in her last moments, the words she uttered with all her might were someone else’s name… until the very end?
As if Raymon’s name, the name of the man she’d always said she loved so much, or her parents’, had never mattered…
A devastation that even he could not comprehend filled his chest, and Raymon scooped Titania up in his arms and ran out to find the priest without looking back.
It was a sensation he had never experienced in his life.
* * * *
[The Pact of Lord (Род) was activated.]
…Dusk has not yet fallen
For the veil of light to be lifted
It is too early.
Yet it shall dream of spring
The dawn that endures the night
Is the dying and the living
and the ending of the undying.
Open your eyes, O living one,
for the end for thee is the night beyond the veil.
O chosen one,
thou art the candle wick of the dawn.
[The death of the contractor ‘Titania’ is erased].
And while ‘Titania’ drifted in death, she dreamed of the past, the present, and the future.
* * *
Inside a tower. It was desolate, as if it had been empty for hundreds of years. There was no sign of life. Or at least, there was only one living, breathing being here and it wasn’t even a normal mortal.
Looking worse than a beggar abandoned in the slums, Titania stared wordlessly into space. A pale figure spoke to her out of thin air. The voice was bland, not enticing.
–I will grant you a wish.
“…”
–Do you wish to turn back time? Do you wish to have that man, Raymon, fall in love with you? Do you wish to become Emperor of the Empire? Do you wish to have all those who despised you fall at your feet?
“…What happens if I don’t make a deal?”
Titania was silent for a moment after hearing her opponent’s answer.
“I’m…”
Titania pondered. Titania had been envious of Vivi. She had really envied her for being loved by Raymon. But now….
“Oh, I do want to find the right family. I do want to be loved by the right parents…and…”
I wanted to live properly. I wanted to live properly, without being controlled by anyone. I wanted to make my own decisions and live my life. Finally moving forward in the right direction.
Like Vivi.
“…I want to live again.”
That was Titania’s true desire, buried deep in her heart.
