Soft music filled the hall. White lilies and chrysanthemums adorned the altar. Over the pristine coffin, blue gypsophila were delicately arranged.

“Here is the painting the lady requested.”

A man with black hair placed a painting on the altar. Within the frame, a lady in blue smiled faintly.

Just as she had when she was alive.

The man gazed longingly at the woman in the painting, her smile remaining forever in his life.

Placing a hand over his heart, he bowed his head in silence. Upon raising his head, he straightened his clothes, adjusted the sleeves of his clerical robe, and stepped forward to address the congregation. He looked solemnly across the room.

The grieving attendees, their eyes lost and wandering in despair. Filled with reverence, his voice broke the mournful silence.

“There will be a final farewell.”

As his words faded, a few attendants came forward to open the coffin lid. Inside lay the woman. The woman in blue from the painting.

Her face was infinitely serene. It was the epitome of tranquility and peace.

Someone burst into tears; it was her mother. As her mother wept, her brother’s eyes reddened with sorrow. Soon after, the sound of quiet sobs spread throughout the room.

The first to approach was the woman’s father, his heavy steps drawing everyone’s attention. He stopped before the coffin, knelt down, and tenderly kissed his daughter’s forehead.

“I love you, Selena.”

A single tear rolled down as his voice quivered with emotion. Noticing the droplet on her beautiful face, the Duke took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her face.

“Farewell, my daughter.”

As the Duke stepped back, the Duchess made her way forward. Her steps were shaky, but she insisted on approaching without help.

She knelt before the coffin as if to collapse.

“Selena, it’s Mom. Selena, Mom will come to you later. I might be a little late. But you have to remember to wait for me, okay? Mom won’t forget either. My beautiful girl, my lovely daughter… my beloved daughter.”

Her trembling fingers caressed Selena’s pale cheek. Her pale lips pressed a final kiss on her white forehead before pulling away.

The Duchess clung to the coffin as she burst into tears.

“Uhhu…Huk…Uuh…My daughter…My daughter….”

She had wanted to remain composed, but in front of her daughter, who had closed her eyes to the world before her, she couldn’t be composed.

“Mother…”

Aaron approached and wrapped his arms around his crumbling mother. The warmth of his embrace made the Duchess cry even harder.

The warmth of living beings was so comforting, yet Selena lay there cold and still. The difference only amplified the Duchess’ sorrow.

“Selena… my daughter… our daughter…! What are we to do, ah, aah, what to do…? Even now, I wish we could switch places! My daughter… hu, my daughter!”

The Duke walked over and held his wife in his arms. Her sobs grew louder as she nestled into the Duke’s embrace.

“Let’s go, honey. Others….also need to say their farewells to Selena. If you keep weeping like this, how can our Selena rest in peace?”

The Duke whispered gently stroking his wife’s back even as tears streamed down his own face.

“But… but…”

The Duchess repeated ‘but’ as she bit at her lower lip and nodded.

Selena looked so peaceful in her eternal sleep that she did not want to spoil that peace with her tears.

The couple staggered back to their place. Aaron watched his parents’ backs then slowly turned his head back. His eyes went to his sister’s pale face lying in the coffin.

“To go before me, where is the justice in that?”

A smile lingered at the end of his words. He blinked slowly, his long eyelashes trembling.

“I was so happy to have you as my sister and to be your brother. Even though we’re only half-related, what does that matter? You’ll always be my sister.”

His hand gently stroked Selena’s hair. A year ago, he never would have thought to touch her head.

Aaron chuckled lightly before pressing a kiss against his sister’s forehead.

“I’ll follow you when my time comes, but don’t you dare not recognize me because I’ve gotten too old, okay?”

With Aaron’s final plea, the family’s farewells came to an end.

One after another, her acquaintances stepped forward to bid farewell. Ian, the doctor, Vivian, Jane, and… Lucas.

“Goodbye, Selena. Give my regards to Mother.”

It was a brief farewell.

Tears streamed down over the calm smile he forced, not bothering to wipe them away. He had always been calm and smiled. So he decided that on this day, he would cry wholeheartedly.

Lucas’ lips gently touched Selena’s head.

He slowly stood up and looked at the man waiting on the opposite side, a man who did not cry among the tear-filled mourners, the only one not shedding tears.

As Lucas walked by, Aiden walked forward. They paused momentarily as they passed each other, their gazes locking in the air.

Lucas looked away first, finding it strangely impossible to keep looking.

Aiden slightly bowed his head to Lucas, who reciprocated the gesture.

With a faint smile, Aiden took a step, then another, toward Selena.

He knelt before the coffin, speaking in his usual tone.

“….Miss. Are you at peace?”

There was no answer from Selena.

Of course, there wouldn’t be. Aiden forced a brittle smile.

“Miss, you were my life. Hatred, affection, love… all belonged to you. I love you. I will love you until this world falls apart. I can’t help it… you are my life. Right?”

Aiden pressed his lips to Selena’s closed mouth, his face contorting at the cold touch.

But the contortion was brief.

Once more, Aiden forced the corners of his mouth upward. He knew his Miss would not like seeing him cry.

“Goodbye, Selena.”

With his farewell, Selena began to disintegrate.

Her stiff fingers turned black, and gradually, the blackness turned to ash.

“Miss!”

His urgent call drew everyone closer. They watched in stunned silence as Selena turned to ash and disappeared.

She vanished like that. Surrounded by her loved ones….turning black and then to ash, leaving behind merely a trace of her existence.

Atop the black ashes, a single black flower bloomed.

* * *

“Gasp, gasp….gasp….”

“Miss!”

Selena lifted her upper body from the bed.

Aiden had dozed off beside her and was startled awake and called out to Selena.

Hearing her name, Selena turned toward the voice. Her shaking blue eyes met Aiden’s.

Only then could Selena breathe out and relax the tension in her shoulders.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Aiden hurriedly handed her a glass of water. Without a word, Selena took the glass and gulped the liquid down.

Aiden took back the empty glass.

“It… It was a dream about my funeral. I turned to ash and disappeared… And a black flower bloomed in my place. What kind of dream is that…”

Selena muttered, sighing with frustration. Aiden’s hand, which had been moving to comfort her, hesitated in mid-air as she buried her face in her hands.

“Such a nonsensical nightmare.”

“Right?”

Aiden awkwardly returned his wandering hand to his lap.

“But… why are you up so early? Is it time for our walk?”

At Selena’s question, Aiden smiled and then shook his head.

The day was cold, and she wasn’t in any condition to move. Their walks had ended a long time ago.

“No. I just wanted to see you.”

Aiden responded casually.

However, his heart wasn’t so calm. In contrast to his smiling face, tension seemed to coil up from his toes, his entire body straining.

The petals had reached five.

With only a week left until her death, Selena’s mind was a mess. What exactly went wrong was unclear.

Which part of her memory was twisted? At what point in time did her current memories reside… before they were lovers, or after?

In truth, it didn’t matter.

One thing was certain. Right now, she didn’t know she was ill. That was enough.

That was… enough for him.

Aiden looked at the clock with a bitter smile. Tick, tock, the clock hands kept moving, relentlessly, without stopping.

“You need to eat. Everyone will be here soon.”

“Who’s coming?”

“…Your family, Miss.”

At Aiden’s answer, Selena tilted her head in confusion. She couldn’t understand the current situation. Why would her family suddenly come to her room for a meal?

“My family? My family is coming here? Why?”

Aiden smiled softly and stood. As Selena tried to follow suit, her upper body wobbled. Aiden quickly reached out to support her.

Startled by her own unsteadiness, Selena blinked widely. She looked at the firm hand holding her, then lifted her head to gaze at Aiden. However, Aiden’s shadowed face remained hidden. From AIden’s unseen face, his voice leaked out.

“This room… it gets good sunlight.”

It was an absurd random thing to say. A totally incomprehensible excuse. Selena tilted her head again, never quite seeing how Aiden’s face twisted.

* * *

The day that Selena confessed everything to her family.

Her family pondered. How much pain Selena, who wanted to endure her suffering alone and keep everything hidden, must have felt. How desperate she must have been.

Peace and tranquility. Words that seemed unfit yet perfectly suited her.

Therefore, the family decided. They would honor Selena’s wishes. They vowed not to cry in front of her.

Even if they cried behind her back, they resolved to act as usual in front of Selena. Selena was happy, and her family smiled, too.

A happiness that wasn’t happy. A peace that wasn’t peaceful.

Yet, even that precarious calm didn’t last long. The fifth petal bloomed on Selena’s body.

She collapsed in front of everyone, vomiting blood, screaming in agony, clutching her throat while gasping for air until she passed out.

It was a horrific scene. So shocking that no one could find the words to speak.

After the fifth petal bloomed, Selena’s memory began to fade.

Everything became blurry and jumbled.

Memories from a month ago seemed like yesterday, memories from a week ago seemed like today, and today’s occurrences were just that – today’s memories.

Her surroundings had to adapt and act according to her mixed-up recollections.

Just like now.

After learning of Selena’s illness, her family made it a routine to have lunch together in her room every day. It became an unspoken rule, a natural part of life in the mansion. However, on days when Selena’s memory was scattered, this routine felt oddly out of place.

“Why are we having a meal in my room? We usually eat in the dining room…”

Selena carefully asked while gazing at the thin soup before her. Having received a brief explanation from Aiden, Aaron responded with a smile tugging at his lips.

“Just because the sunlight is nice here. It’s fun to have a meal in a different spot once in a while.”

“…Oh, a different spot… is my room?”

“Of course, Selena’s room always feels new.”

With a nod from their mother adding to the explanation, Selena awkwardly agreed. Though she didn’t quite understand, she accepted it if that’s what her mother said.

“…Aha.”

Selena hesitantly moved her spoon in the air, its vibration visible to everyone. Watching the uneasy trembling, the three of them resumed their meal. Suddenly, everyone stopped.

The spoon Selena held had finally dropped to the floor due to her unstable shaking. With a puzzled expression, Selena looked down at the spoon then at her still quivering hand. Her face filled with confusion as she struggled to control her own body.

“My…my hands… It feels strange. It’s like… I can’t put any strength into them…”

“It’s because of the nightmare!”

Before Selena could finish, Aaron interrupted. His voice echoed loudly in the room. After inhaling deeply, Aaron awkwardly curved his mouth into a smile.

“If you had a nightmare, it’s normal… to feel weak in your hands afterward. It happens to me, too… when I have nightmares.”

Aaron lowered his clenched fist below the table.

They all dutifully protected Selena and were clearly witnessing her gradual decline.

__