She had always been on her toes in the Arlen Estate. Ilyin had been the most afraid of her father, who had not much of his reason left. He would order something out of the blue when he was drunk or excited, and she had been terrified during those times.

The Viscount had always disliked Ilyin, and that had made her live a life in a constant state of stress at the Arlen Estate. She would’ve lived like that to her death if she had not seen her first night with Aden. Ilyin had always thought this was the only place she could be.

“You have not spoken of your childhood, right?” The Viscount looked serious as he asked Ilyin. She lowered her face and closed her eyes. The floorboards, which were more familiar to her than people, were now replaced with darkness.

“You seem to have at least thought of that,” the Viscount sighed heavily at Ilyin’s silence. “An eerie woman who sees death. How His Highness would have been surprised. I hear that there are many superstitions in the North…”

Ilyin heard the Viscount cluck his tongue and reminded herself that she was dreaming. “However, we still have a chance. You spent a night with him, right?” He continued. The Viscount grumbled that Ilyin should have done so since she had been there over a month. Gritting her teeth she let the words flow with her eyes tightly closed.

“Is there anyone outside?” The maid who had guided Ilyin came in as the Viscount spoke, “Show her to the doctor and remain silent.” His voice was fierce, “Stay silent until you die. I could say something to His Highness if you have a child. I told you to remain silent. Is this because of your mother’s common blood?”

The maid pulled at Ilyin’s arm at the Viscount’s wave for them to go, “Let us go.”

Ilyin didn’t open her eyes. This was an extremely realistic dream, which she’d had a few times before. She only looked for one thing whenever she found herself in a dream such as this and allowed herself to be treated mercilessly while doing so. Ilyin opened her eyes and searched the room one last time before going out. She didn’t see the mobile. If it was not there, she would not be thrown away.

***

Aden had gone through his first succession ceremony when he was eleven years old. The repeated rituals had not been as complex as the name suggested, and the ceremony only needed four Divine Objects and someone from the Biflten bloodline.

The mirror on the round table would glow brightly for a moment when he placed his hand on the Divine Objects, and he’d wanted to know what the light was when he had been young because he thought he had seen something strange during the first ceremony.

However, Aden became indifferent to them over the years, as he grew tired of what the three elders requested for each ceremony. He just wanted it to be over and done with. While the elders said that the power would protect Biflten, they would force him into battlefields because of that power.

Lidan had said once, that while it was easy for Aden to kill a hundred monsters, it would take a great many knights, risking their lives, to do the same. While Aden had gone into battle because of that reason before, now he did not. His childhood had ended when the elders had tried to split the Delroses.

Aden was calming Ilyin down during Lidan’s spell casting. The old man was speaking in an ancient Biflten language that had been passed down from the elders who had commenced this ceremony before. He didn’t care for that. He cared only for the woman standing next to him. Ilyin’s hand was cold and trembled as he held it, but he knew that nothing much would happen. She breathed deeply, and her scent seemed to calm people down.

Aden gently stroked the back of her hand, as he recalled that she would calm down and breathe normally while they were in bed if he did so. She responded the same now, and Aden heard her breathing return to its normal rhythm. He then guided Ilyin’s hand to the round table after Lidan had finished speaking.

Feeling her surprise at the light, he embraced her shoulders. “It’s all right. It will be over soon,” he whispered. But the light shone for a much longer time than usual and she seemed to be in a trance. Aden saw the elder’s surprise, and they watched Ilyin who stood stiff, staring blankly at the mirror.

“Ilyin?” Aden called as he felt panic rising. She remained motionless despite the flashing light. “Something is wrong!”action

The Mille’s elder approached her, and at that moment, the light went out along with something else.

“Ilyin!” Aden shouted. He enjoyed listening to her heartbeat whenever he held her. It was the same now, but then suddenly, her breathing and her heartbeat stopped, and she fainted and collapsed to the floor.