Someone caught me. It seems I was about to fall.

Through my slightly opened eyelids, all I could see was someone’s clothing.

As I took shallow breaths, something surged up–hot and unpleasant. My vision was stained red.

No, someone’s clothing was stained red.

“It’s okay, Miss… It’s okay.”

The voice saying it’s okay, the voice repeating it’s okay.

I wanted to ask what exactly was okay, but the question wouldn’t come out.

Just accepting it… Yes, it’ll be okay.

That was the last of my coherent memories.

* * *

Drops of red blood trickled from Selena’s drooping lips.

Aiden caught her falling body and extended his sleeve to wipe her mouth.

“Miss, Miss…”

Despite his soft calm, Selena didn’t open her eyes. Silence returned to the room, and after a brief pause, a storm broke out.

“No… No…No! Selena,no…. my daughter! What should I do with my daughter? My daughter…. She’s just turning 20… She’s still 19, still… still so young…”

The blood was too vividly red to deny the truth.

The blood that soaked Aiden’s clothes and even the floor was painfully eloquent.

The Duchess who had pushed Aaron, moved to Selena and lifted her limp arm.

Tears streamed down and drenched Selena’s gown. The beautiful, ornate dress was marred with blood and tears.

The heart-wrenching scream echoed in the room for a long time. Amidst the chaos, Selena lay peacefully with her eyes closed.

* * *

After laying Selena on the bed and leaving her family with her, Aiden left the room.

The others had left long before.

Stepping into the hallway, he saw someone standing alone in the dark corridor. A shadow standing alone in the dim light, with violet eyes glaring even through the darkness.

Aiden quietly observed the standing figure.

“So, this was the secret you were hiding.”

“…It was a secret Miss wanted to keep.”

“When did you know?”

“Not long ago. The day we went on the trip, the day she pushed me away. I learned that day, too.”

Lucas didn’t respond.

Hidden in the darkness, his face was pale. His lips were bitten to the point of turning blood-red.

“The High Priest’s black magic… Is there truly no way to break it?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Ha, you don’t know?”

Lucas shook his head. Meaning that he didn’t believe him.

Despite his silence about Selena’s condition, could he be speaking truthfully?

Irresistible doubt was evident in his eyes.

However, Aiden was truly innocent.

Selena had only told him it was a sickness.

Of course, from Ian’s words the previous night, Aiden had begun to suspect this was no ordinary illness. A disease that causes flowers to bloom… he had never heard of it.

So, today, he had even sent a letter to his mentor, Alogen, seeking help.

If there was anything he knew, to teach him.

“I don’t know. But my mentor might know. I’ve already sent a letter. We should receive a reply soon.”

Aiden’s response made Lucas’ lips curl in skepticism.

“Will your mentor really reveal the truth?”

The voice that came out was more twisted than his smirk.

“….What do you mean by that…”

“Let’s say the High Priest cast a dark magic spell on her before dying. Who would believe that just like that? If someone gets sick, they go to a doctor to ask about their illness, right? If it’s dark magic, then they would consult a wizard for details. Who could that wizard be? You?”

Lucas shook his head.

“A wizard well-known to Selena, someone who could access forbidden dark magic books. It must be your mentor. Your mentor must have known about Selena’s condition early on. And yet, he remained silent… That means he’s just like you. Selena asked him to keep quiet, and he complied.”

Aiden’s eyelashes fluttered nervously. He had rushed ahead without considering this far.

“There are two possibilities. First, as Selena said, there is no solution. It’s pointless to speak out, so it was kept secret. Second, there is a solution. However, it’s so unthinkable that Selena chose to hide it. One of these two must be the case.”

As Lucas continued to speak, his voice sped up.

When talking about the second possibility, he had to gasp for breath.

“You must uncover the truth at all costs. Whether it’s the first or the second. Forget the nonsense about Selena wanting to keep it a secret.”

Lucas ruffled his hair roughly and turned his back. Unlike his usually quiet footsteps, the loud clack of his shoes echoed down the corridor.

Aiden watched blankly as Lucas disappeared.

“I won’t say it, even if you ask me to. Struggling in vain hope… That’s the only thing I’m allowed to do.”

So, he might as well struggle as hard as he can.

In the empty corridor, Aiden’s murmurs echoed.

* * *

That night, Selena’s family stayed by her side.

The doctor and Ian visited her room to check on her condition. After the doctor conducted a brief examination and left, Ian began to infuse Selena with divine energy.

The room was heavy with silence.

“In truth, I knew the Lady was ill.”

In the stillness of the room, as Ian was sending divine energy to Selena, he confessed softly. The gaze of those present shifted from Selena to Ian. Unable to lift his head, Ian continued speaking, only looking at Selena’s pale face.

“The Lady didn’t want to reveal it.”

“Even so! You should have told us.”

Aaron rose from his chair and grabbed Ian’s shoulder, while the Duke and Duchess held onto each of Aaron’s arms. Aaron dropped his hands as the two shook their heads.

“She wanted to remain peaceful. She did not wish to cling to a hopeless chance, to live day by day dying as a patient. She did not want to spend her precious time with her loved ones… only in tears.”

Aaron’s shoulders, previously rigid with anger, dropped. Staggering, he slumped onto a chair beside the bed.

“She wanted to laugh. She wanted to live laughing. Her voice, saying those words, was too sincere, and I simply couldn’t bring myself to speak.”

What face must Selena have made as she made that request?

The family members each fell silent, lost in their own thoughts.

“…What did she say about the curse?”

The Duchess asked while wiping her tear-stained eyes.

Ian withdrew his hand from reaching out to Selena and slowly turned to face the Duchess to present a note he had prepared in advance.

It was a note describing the ‘black flower’ as told by Selena, along with the symptoms she was currently experiencing.

One by one, the three of them read through the note, which crumpled increasingly as they read it. It was because none of them could stop their hands from trembling as they held the note.

All gazes eventually rested on the quiet Selena.

Selena, with her eyes closed quietly. She appeared utterly peaceful, just as she had wished.

__