Emily, a librarian at the royal library, looked up at the steady drip of water falling onto her desk and sighed.

“Not again.”

She muttered.

The leaking roof had been a problem lately, and it was starting to get on her nerves.

“As if I didn’t have enough to worry about.”

Between fixing the roof and dealing with overdue books, damaged materials, and loud patrons, Emily felt like her hands were full.

And then there was the matter of the noblewoman who had come in the other day and checked out an entire shelf of books on ancient ruins. She couldn’t imagine why she would want all those books, but she didn’t dare question a noble.

It was just one of the many strange things she had seen in her time as a librarian. She wished people would just stay away from the library, especially on days like today when she was feeling particularly exhausted.

Just then, a man rushed into the library, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.

“Can you help me find a book?”

He asked.

Emily recognized the title immediately.

She dusted and shelved that book every day. Then, with practiced ease, she pulled a form from her desk and handed it to him.

“That’s a restricted book. You’ll need to fill out this application and come back in a week.”

“I need it now.”

The man said, his voice urgent as he continued.

“Just for a few minutes. Ten minutes, five minutes, I’ll pay you whatever you want.”

Emily’s instincts told her that this man was trouble. He was just as strange as the noblewoman, if not more so. At the thought, she put the application back on her desk and responded in a clipped tone.

“A million gold coins wouldn’t be enough. I’d lose my job.”

“Please.”

The man pleaded, his eyes filling with tears.

“I’ll only be a moment.”

She hesitated.

The man was undeniably handsome, with golden hair, pale skin, and piercing blue eyes. He had a sharp nose and full pink lips, and he wore stylish wire-rimmed glasses and a diamond earring. Even his simple shirt and leather gloves looked expensive.

He would have been her type if he didn’t have such a desperate look in his eyes.

She sighed.

“Fine.”

She added.

“One minute.”

Emily retrieved the book from the stacks and handed it to the man.

He took it from her with trembling hands and flipped through the pages until he found the section he was looking for. Then, he scanned the text rapidly, muttering under his breath. Before she could count to forty, he slammed the book shut and handed it back to her.

“Thank you.”

He opened his mouth, and before she could say another word, he was gone. He ran out of the library as if the devil himself was chasing him.

So much for being a lovesick puppy, he seemed more like a man on the run from something.

‘What a shame.’

Emily thought.

‘He’s my type, except for the crazy part.’

Oh well.

The book he had checked out was full of gibberish anyway, so there was no harm in letting him look at it for a few minutes.

Unless, of course, he was some kind of genius who could decipher ancient languages in seconds.

Still, the man didn’t seem like a genius. He seemed more like a heartbroken fool who had gotten drunk and decided to go on a library rampage.

Emily shook her head and went back to work.

She placed the book in the depository and returned to her seat. What was it that she was about to do? Oh, right. There was a leak in the ceiling. Should she request the materials needed to repair the ceiling?

She scribbled something down on the paper, drawing squares around it. She wondered why the suspicious man had asked to see the original copy of the oracle, but she decided that there was nothing she could do about it.

By the time she had finished writing the list of materials, she had completely forgotten about the man.

* * *

Carinne was escorted to the central plaza, surrounded by knights. Every time she took a step, the chains connected to her handcuffs rattled.

As they approached the central plaza, she saw a huge statue of the saint standing tall in the middle of the square. It was a temporary statue of the saint, made with a wooden frame and covered with paper. There were also several altars with food on them, connected by colorful flags from tree to tree. On top of the altars, there were small statues of the saint without fail.

Looking at it, a thought came to her.

‘Today is the saint’s memorial day.’

It was ironic. She was being burned at the stake, accused of being a witch, on the memorial day of the saint who symbolized love and peace.

It was truly a strange fate.

Carinne walked along, taking in the scenery around her for the last time. The area around the outdoor courtroom next to the statue of the saint was packed with people. They were all there to watch the trial.

As she approached the courtroom, she saw the nobles sitting on folding chairs—Duke Lucas, mustache guy, the face she had seen at the meeting, and other unfamiliar faces. On one side of the courtroom, she saw Iris looking at her with a worried expression. She fidgeted with her feet, unable to take her eyes off her.

Carinne raised the corners of her lips slightly at Iris, making her look even sadder.

How scared and confused must she be, seeing her only friend in this state? Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. She was going to be burned at the stake soon.

She had almost reached the courtroom.

In the middle of the courtroom, she saw the platform where she would be standing. People surrounded the platform, leaving no gaps. If there were a spotlight, she would have looked like the main character on stage.

The main character.

She remembered when she had just possessed Carinne’s body. When she decided to save her favorite character and live happily ever after, she had no idea that this kind of future awaited her.

She was simply happy to have escaped the harsh reality by possessing a character, and she even felt a sense of superiority, thinking that she had become one of the main characters of the world. But now she was being accused of being a witch and burned at the stake because she was a possessor.

Fate was truly a cruel mistress.

She was going to be burned at the stake anyway, so should she just reveal that she was a witch? Or should she try to endure it until the end?

On the one hand, she thought that if she revealed that she was not Carinne, they might show mercy. Burning at the stake was said to be the most painful way to die. Maybe if she confessed honestly, they would mercifully behead her instead.

But then she changed her mind.

She was going to die either way. She might as well accept it humbly.

Carinne cleared her mind and regulated her breathing. Then, feeling lightheaded, she tilted her head back and looked up at the sky.

It was a cloudless day.

‘Great weather for a funeral.’

The red sky was cloudless.

It was a clear day, so why was the sky red? Was she seeing things because she was about to die? She blinked, but the red sky remained. The clear blue sky was slowly turning red. It was an unbelievable sight.

Even more surprisingly, the sun was hanging in the middle of the sky. The golden sun was shining at the top of the red sky. Judging from the position of the sun, it was noon.

The sky was turning red at noon…

It was absurd.

“I’ve finally gone mad.”

It was said that when death was near, you could see things that weren’t visible before. Even if you accepted everything and emptied your mind, a person was still a person. Death was a frightening thing for anyone.

Acceptance with the mind, fear with the heart.

Maybe the sky looked red because her head was spinning from the cognitive dissonance.

In order to make an accurate diagnosis, she had to find out if the sky looked red to other people as well. When she lifted her head back to its original position, she realized that she had not gone mad.

Everyone surrounding the judge was looking up at the sky. Some were pointing at the sky, others had their mouths agape, and still others were rubbing their eyes in disbelief. People’s reactions were no less but rather more intense than hers.

“Look at the color of the sky!”

“…What is happening?”

As if on cue, people began to make a commotion about the red sky that defied the laws of nature. The King and the nobles were just as surprised. The nobles stood up in a panic, and the King looked up at the sky with a face of astonishment.

Carinne also opened her mouth slightly and looked up at the sky along with the others.

Just then, a raindrop fell right onto her face, which was still gaping open. The raindrop fell indiscriminately on the platform, on the heads of the judges standing on the podium, and on the paper effigy of the saint.

Upon closer inspection, the raindrops were also red.

The raindrops gradually grew thicker, and red rain poured down heavily from the red sky where not a single cloud could be seen.

At this strange phenomenon, the commotion among the people grew even louder.

“I’ve lived long enough to see red rain.”

“What is happening on the anniversary of the holy saint?”

“Could it be that the saint is angry?”

Amidst the cacophony, everyone sitting in the courtroom heard that speculation. The face of the judge standing on the podium turned pale. So did the other priests standing next to him.

The King, who had read the ominous look on the priests’ faces, struck his scepter and shouted loudly.

“Silence!”

At the majestic voice, the noisy courtroom suddenly fell silent. In the silence, only the sound of the heavy rain filled everyone’s ears.

—