Yuder's chest roared to a boil in an instant.

It was a time slightly ahead of the dream he had had that day.

The day he secretly left the capital, following Emperor Katchian's plan, and had managed to sneak into the depths of Peletta Castle in the dark. Bizarrely, he had succeeded in hiding in the lord's chamber, in relatively good shape, without encountering the Knights or Nathan Zuckerman that he had expected to face.

The man he encountered as soon as he entered greeted him with a faint smile, his sharp, gaunt face looking as if he was pleased to meet a long-lost friend.

“...”

Yuder held his sword, looking around cautiously, but Kishiar did not move an inch. His deeply sunken red eyes were fixed solely on Yuder, not even glancing at the divine sword.

With an indescribable emotion, just like that.

“Shall I pour some tea? Ah, but I need to fetch the teapot and cups.”

“Do not move. I believe you already know why I am here.”

“To play a tactical game?”

“I bring the Emperor's decree.”

Though he knew what it meant, the smile on his pale cheek did not change a bit. An inscrutable smile, as if mocking his opponent, or as if he had been waiting for this all along. His eyes betrayed neither discomfort nor fear, and there was no sign that he intended to rise and punish the armed intruder. His guard was naturally stimulated by this appearance, where no hostility was shown, yet, on the other hand, the man's behavior felt strangely acceptable.

“Yes...... I see.”

Yuder watched his own face as he frowned and spoke.

“Is that all?”

Kishiar's eyes narrowed, and a remarkably calm answer for a man facing death flowed out.

“I have no regrets. ...Just a bit of regret.”

“What do you mean?”

Yes... from here on, his memories were different.

But what he had remembered or thought he had remembered before was now meaningless. Yuder wanted to know the next part, and even what came after that.

Kishiar spoke of his vessel, just as in the dream Yuder had had before. Seeing the same scene twice had nearly eliminated the shock.

“If the injury I sustained by touching that stone hadn't shattered my vessel...... what would have happened?”

Ah.

Finally, the words that had faded away before he could hear them last time flowed out.

There was indeed more to come.

Yuder tried to see Kishiar more clearly, shivering slightly. The bloodless lips moved very slowly in the dim darkness.

“Of course, "what-ifs" are meaningless... but still. Could it have been a bit better?”

Yuder saw the tip of his sword tremble slightly. It was a clear, unmistakable disturbance, and he knew exactly the emotions his past self must have been feeling, even without a sound.

Questioning. Confusion, anger... all negative emotions mixed together.

“You look like you don't know what I'm talking about. Yes. Think of this as mere drunken babbling. It's all just a joke. I know best that it means nothing. Now is the best time.”

Kishiar chuckled softly. But that laughter turned into a stifled cough a moment later. The man, raising his gloved hand to wipe his mouth, swallowed his cough with a throaty noise, then sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. In that moment, Yuder read an intense and deep fatigue from Kishiar's shoulders, layered over time like thick, blue dust.

With a face akin to a piece of bark hanging from the end of a withered branch, the man looked at the assassin standing before him.

"I have no intention of getting up from here."

"..."

"Now, let's see the skills of the one who followed me after a long time."

Yuder's hand, which held the sword, tightened with strength at the taunting jest. The bones of his protruding hand and the tips of his fingernails turned pale.

But a moment later, Yuder swung his sword no more and spat out words not found in his memory.

"...You have not answered."

His voice was filled with a painful and perplexed tone, as if he couldn't believe he was doing this himself.

"What's regrettable is that you still haven't answered."

Kishiar blinked his eyes, with an expression as if he hadn't expected such a response. Yuder glared at him, grinding his teeth and spoke the words, biting them off one by one.

"If... if you regret it, surrender now. If you intend to do so, I can at least help you deliver the message to His Majesty..."

"..."

"This is truly the last chance and question I can offer you."

"My goodness... Unbelievable. The one who came to kill me is now offering to help?"

A bitter smile spread across Kishiar's face. While the previous sullenness had completely turned into a sincere smile, Yuder's face only hardened further.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe, but I..."

"No. I believe. It's too sincere, that's the problem."

The man who answered firmly swallowed a low cough once again. A heavy question remained where the sound of coughing disappeared.

"Do you intend to betray the Emperor, Commander of the Cavalry?"

"If His Majesty hears my story, it cannot be betrayal. Of course, if I have nothing to convey..."

"This is a decision made by one who has ambitious challenges to break free from the old age; there won't be any mistakes. The new Emperor is testing whether he can build a wall by pressing his surroundings with the intact Cavalry and its trusted Commander. I hope you pass this test."

"...What do you mean?"

"I've bet everything on you. Because I'm selfish and greedy."

Kishiar gave an inexplicable answer and laughed listlessly.

"So, I have no intention of begging for forgiveness or craving a conversation. This must happen. For you and for me."

"..."

"You have no idea how hard I worked to have this conviction. I promised to tell you the answer I found a long time ago, and I'm really sorry to only keep it now."

"What are you... talking about...?"

"The mysterious 'connection' I committed to you. Remember?"

Thump.

At that moment, something once again filled Yuder's previously empty chest.

Though simply described as a connection, he understood immediately that it was related to an accident during the second gender manifestation. Had Kishiar talked about that on that day? Why?

In the midst of immense confusion, only the calm voice continued.

"Perhaps what connected that day went beyond our bodies, something deeper... something like a soul. After a long search for what to do to sever something invisible, I concluded that I could achieve the best result with my power."

"What are you talking about? Why now...?"

"...Because there's no other time."

Kishiar tilted his head and smiled with a weary face.

"So I will decline the tender and virtuous suggestion you have made. Only the lamentation that it will not be remembered by posterity is regrettable."

It was a cold joke. A graceful and cruel meaning of refusal.

But at the same time, contradictorily, Yuder felt a vast pain rising like a tsunami from deep within his heart. Whether it was anger, sorrow, or agony, he could no longer distinguish.

Whether all this pain was his own, or,

Even if it was Kishiar's.

"...It will be over soon. Until all connections are forcibly severed... and then..."

In the quiet darkness, a faint voice rang out.

A lightning-like shock struck down, and everything went dark...

"..."

Yuder blankly stared at the ceiling, only then realizing that he had woken from his sleep. Hearing the sound of his heart beating furiously amidst a pounding headache and shock, he heard someone's voice not far away.

"Are you awake?"

A heavy and gruff voice from Enon.

Turning his head, he saw a haggard face sitting under the lavish chandelier of the room, incongruent like a crumpled bundle. Seeing Enon's face looking angrier than ever, yet with a hint of relief in his eyes, Yuder's sense of reality slowly returned.

"Do you know who I am?"

"...Enon."

"Ha. Yes. You seem fine."

Glancing reflexively around, Yuder realized that Kishiar was not there.

'I remember... moving through the passage while nestled in Kishiar's arms. What happened after that?'

"You, while fighting, took medicine and threw up a bowl of blood and fainted. Do you remember fainting?"

"...No."

"You did well. Very well."

Hearing the clear irony in the praise made his heart feel a bit heavy.

He thought he was fine, but maybe the effect of throwing up quite a bit of blood was significant. Regardless, the hall and its surroundings were incomparably serene compared to before.

"...Where is the Commander?"

"The first thing you ask after waking up is that?"

"I'm sorry to you. But at that time, I thought it was a situation where I needed to take the medicine..."

"Enough. Let's stop talking about that. I thought you would say something like that, but hearing exactly those words annoys me."

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