Beyond the fading light, a flicker of mist seemed to appear.

Maxim was never a morning person, but recently, every time he awoke, the heavy pressure and lethargy that weighed on him made his reflection seem even more powerless. He drank a glass of water, washed up, and dressed.

It was a day off. As he passed the door, he noticed a letter slipped under it.

“Hm?”

His recent experiences with letters had not been pleasant. Drying his hair with a towel, he picked up the envelope. Fortunately, it wasn’t one of those stiff, luxurious envelopes from before. He turned it over to inspect the seal. As soon as he saw the familiar emblem, his brows furrowed.

“Why is the family sending...”

The wax seal bore the owl crest of the Apart family. Maxim felt both a hint of nostalgia and an unsettling unease as he wondered why his family had decided to contact him. Without dwelling on it, he broke the seal.

Two thick sheets of paper slid out of the envelope. The paper was of a much higher quality than usual, contrasting with the plain envelope. What was the point of skimping on the envelope only to use such expensive paper for the letter?

“To the eldest son...”

Maxim sighed heavily. What could they want now, addressing him with such formalities?

Recently, I heard news from your father-in-law.

Oh, great.

Maxim’s lips twitched as he continued reading. His family was nothing if not transparent.

Pressure must be mounting from both the Benning and Borden families. How could they not notice? Maxim read on.

I understand that the formal announcement of your engagement to Marion is imminent. It feels like just yesterday that you two were betrothed, but three years have already passed. It’s not unusual to make the announcement now and set a wedding date—if anything, it’s strange we haven’t done so yet.

Maxim’s eyes scanned the following lines.

Before the invitations are sent out, I’ll visit the capital. I heard you and Marion haven’t chosen rings yet. This might be a good opportunity to get one.

Maxim chuckled. His family seemed overjoyed by their connection to a high-ranking noble family. He flipped the letter, but the second page contained only a short signature from his father: Your father.

“...”

Maxim stared at the second sheet in confusion. Why waste perfectly good paper just to sign a name?

He lifted the second page to inspect it more closely. There had to be more to it.

Indentations.

Maxim held the paper up to the light.

“...There it is.”

Under the light, faint impressions appeared. He carefully ran his fingers over the paper. The grooves felt like engravings on the thick paper. Taking a pencil, Maxim shaded over the impressions.

Slowly, hidden writing emerged.

Maxim frowned as he deciphered the message. Although some words were missing due to the pressure used to write them, he could make out most of the hidden text.

“So childish...”

I didn’t expect to leave a message this way, but I couldn’t be sure whose hands this letter might fall into.

The tone shifted, becoming closer to how his father truly spoke. Maxim let out a sigh—half relieved, half concerned.

I hope you notice this. There are a few things I need to ask you.

Maxim read on, his expression growing more serious.

Lately, I’ve sensed a strange atmosphere within the family. It feels like we’re being watched.

Maxim’s breath caught.

It hasn’t been long since I noticed it. First, there’s the increase in household staff who weren’t from the estate. It wasn’t something I paid attention to when they were hired, but after reviewing the staff lists with our steward, I realized it.

The letter continued.

I don’t know why or who might be watching our family. My only guess is that someone among the higher nobility is responsible, but I can’t figure out why. The only thing that comes to mind is the sudden marriage proposal from the Borden family, but they don’t seem powerful enough to be behind this, which is even more concerning.

Don’t let it bother you too much. The worst thing we could do is act out of the ordinary. Focus on preparing for the public announcement of your engagement to Marion. I’ll see you at the capital for your engagement ceremony.

Maxim let out a dry laugh as he folded the letter and set it down on the table. As long as he didn’t take any action, his family wouldn’t be in any immediate danger. Despite the unsettling sense of being watched, explaining everything to his father was impossible.

And yet, the rings.

Maxim frowned and slowly made his way to his wardrobe. Opening it, he reached for a necklace hanging inside the door. At the center of the necklace wasn’t a pendant or ornament, but a ring.

The ring was simple, with no intricate design—just a small gemstone embedded in it. It was the ring he and Theodora had once exchanged, a source of both pain and solace for Maxim.

The ring, suspended from the necklace, remained tucked away in the corner of his wardrobe. Maxim gazed at it, his hand gripping the ring tightly as if trying to cling to the memories it represented.

Should I bury it?

The memories with Theodora, the letters she had sent—he had discarded none of them. To Maxim, they were both a sharp, painful reminder and a source of emotional dependence.

When he fell off the cliff and later confronted the Death Worm, vowing to use his aura—what had he ultimately resolved? It wasn’t just about pushing things away or avoiding them. He had decided to face everything head-on, hadn’t he?

To face it meant, in the end, to sever ties.

The two precarious lines he had been tiptoeing between were destined to break once they converged.

The end was drawing nearer, its form becoming clearer to Maxim.

The curse, the punishment he had avoided choosing, awaited him at the end of this path. He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the curse slowly eating away at him. Could he hold out until his confrontation with the Behemoth?

Hadn’t he known this would happen all along?

He had always known he would meet such a miserable, pitiful end, devoid of anyone’s sympathy.

Maxim stared into the dark depths of his wardrobe, feeling as though he were looking into a mirror. He tucked the ring back into the deepest corner of the wardrobe and closed the door.

Maxim dressed in a suit—simple, without any flashy decorations. Slowly, as if performing a ritual, he buttoned his shirt and straightened his sleeves.

Today, the Apart and Borden families were set to meet, and Maxim’s engagement to Marion was to be formally announced.

Even though she had discarded most of the items that reminded her of Maxim, there was one thing Theodora couldn’t throw away. She remembered it clearly.

It had been during a winter break, at a small jewelry shop in the capital. Theodora was about to return to her family’s estate and had wanted a token to remind her of her connection to Maxim.

Maxim had suggested they exchange rings.

On the day of the academy’s closure, Theodora and Maxim had visited the shop and had rings made. They weren’t ornate, just simple bands with small gemstones to signify they weren’t ordinary rings.

Even at the academy and in her own estate, Theodora couldn’t wear the ring openly, so she had bought a matching string to wear it as a necklace.

“Don’t forget. You must keep wearing it. Even if you can’t wear it, you should always carry it,” Theodora had said.

Maxim had smiled and nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Whenever you feel the necklace around your neck, think of me.”

“I think of you even without it.”

Theodora had smiled at his teasing response.

“You know what I mean.”

“Sorry, I’ll always wear it.”

Maxim had lifted the ring hanging from his necklace and shown it to her.

“Can you promise we’ll always be together?”

“As long as I have this, forever.”

After they parted ways, Theodora had burned every letter she and Maxim had exchanged. She had thrown away every gift he had given her, burying them in places she could no longer remember, determined to forget him.

By the river, Theodora had held the ring in her hand. The necklace slipped through her fingers like a handful of sand. She clenched her fist, unable to throw it away.

Her arm, raised high, fell limply to her side. She had been able to discard everything else, but not the ring. The words she had spoken when she gave it to Maxim, and the words he had returned, weighed too heavily on her.

“...Damn you.”

Theodora had cried by the river that night. The ring had not been cast away. She had turned back, clutching the necklace in her hand, its chain trailing behind her like smoke.

Now, Theodora opened her drawer. Inside was a collection of old things, many of which she had long since forgotten about. Opening the drawer felt like sifting through the shelves of her memory. But Theodora didn’t have the mental energy to pay attention to those memories now.

Like a sleepwalker, she reached the second drawer. At the very top lay the ring, still attached to its now-faded necklace.

Carefully, as if holding a fragile glass bauble, Theodora lifted the necklace.

It said nothing to her. It didn’t offer the warm embrace Maxim once had. At one time, holding this necklace had made her feel an inexplicable warmth. But now, the cold metal reminded her that it had all been an illusion.

With a soft clink, the ring rested in her palm. Theodora, as if seeking some form of absolution, clutched the necklace tightly. Her elbows rested on the floor as she closed the drawer. In her arms, she held the necklace with the ring.

A letter had fallen to the floor beside her.

It was an invitation, announcing an engagement—Maxim’s engagement.

Theodora slipped the necklace around her neck, hiding it beneath her clothes.

She wasn’t sure what she would see when she arrived, nor what she would say to Maxim. But one thing was clear: if she didn’t go, she might never face him again.

Theodora picked up the invitation.