***
At the sound of the emperor's maddening laughter, everyone put on a bewildered expression.
"I killed her."
But Theodore murmured gloomily, as if all the faces of those around him were invisible.
"I killed Yvonne."
His chest felt like it was being ripped apart. Although Theodore struggled in agony, he did not stop chanting.
"I killed Yvonne, and I killed Yves."
As if that only one proposition was the only truth of the world, he cried endlessly.
"I, I killed her."
Then he suddenly looked at his watch.
At some point, the clock was past two in the afternoon.
"No, two o'clock...."
It was past the time he was supposed to meet her.
"It's past two o'clock. I can't be late. Yves will be waiting."
He abruptly got up and ran out. Now he was heading to the place of a long-time promise that has been over 10 years old.
In fact, he waited for her in the same place, at the same time, every day for the last 10 years since he had lost Yvonne.
It was also where he had stopped coming since he met her again last summer.
Looking back, it was really strange.
After losing his memory, why didn't he think of going back here?
The habit of 10 years broke off in half a year, so why didn't he even think that it was strange?
"Ha, ha..."
Theodore took a deep breath and looked at the tree of promise.
[Hi.]
[Ah, hello...!]
The afterimage of the pretty child Yvonne, who stuttered her words with a reddened face and said hello, passed in a blurry way before his eyes.
Theodore's eyes widened sadly, capturing that pretty afterimage even after thinking about it dozens of times.
"Hello......Hello, Yvonne...."
But the moment he opened his mouth, her afterimage disappeared without a trace. The soft smile that had risen on Theodore's face also disappeared without a slurred sound.
He was too late.
She wasn't here.
He was late. He was too late, and Yvonne was no longer here.
"Yvonne... ."
Knowing this, Theodore called in search of her.
"Yvonne..."
The moment he put that lovely name in his mouth, his throat was clogged.
His throat was so sore that it hurt.
With that hoarse voice, Theodore let out a sound he couldn't reach.
"I miss you. I really miss you, Yvonne..."
His fingers stretched out trembling and traced the rough wooden post.
"I'm sorry................"
Knowing that an already late apology couldn't do anything. And even more bitter sorrow roared within him.
"I'm sorry, really... I'm really sorry..."
The lost apology wandered around in vain and then scattered in vain.
Like his irretrievable love that has turned to black ashes.
"Yves...."
A teardrop fell down his cheek.
Before long, one drop of tear became two, three...Gradually it became innumerable quantities and wet the floor.
After losing Yvonne and Yves, the whole world fell to a damp floor. In the broken world, Theodore was unable to leave his place.
Until the dazzling golden sun that resembled his pupils set, and the pale silver moon that resembled Yvonne rose. All the time in the same place.
After a very long time, his head moved.
A small piece of paper suddenly appeared in the golden eyes that had lost their light.
Theodore slowly reached out and grabbed the piece of paper.
When he unfolded the white paper, he was greeted with letters written in a lovely typeface that brought tears to his eyes.
<To the secret childhood friend who may have regained his memory>
It was a letter from Yvonne.
<Hello, Theo.
If you found this letter, you must have come here to remember me.
Can I think that I am no longer a painful memory for you?
Yes, Theo. I have a lot to thank you for.
Thank you for not forgetting me, for remembering me alone, when everyone thought I was dead.
Thank you so much for finding me again and giving me the love that I will never forget.
Now I will remember our time.
So, even if you regain your memories, I hope you don't suffer too much.
Without you, I will live well.
Thank you for that time. Bye, my Theo.
- Yvonne who loved you so much.>
***
The spell that had obscured Theodore's memory was broken.
"Ugh... Shit, Shit...!"
At the same time, a reaction came to Katarina's body.
"It all failed! Yves Llewellyn, because of that woman, I should have gotten rid of her from the beginning!"
Laying on the cold floor, Katarina vomited blood and cursed Yves Llewellyn.
[Now that you've run out of value, there's no need to keep you alive.]
She remembered what Benjamin had said one day.
Benjamin kept her alive all this time to keep Yves Llewellyn by his side, and now he had Yves.
A bastard with his eyes half turned to win her favor, that cruel and vicious wizard will not hesitate to kill her.
And Emperor Theodore, who had the power to protect her from Benjamin, no longer needed her.
So he wouldn't even care if Benjamin killed her or not.
Rather, she was lucky if the emperor didn't run rampant to kill her after realizing what caused him to lose his memory.
If Benjamin was halfway to her, then Emperor Theodore was a perfect lap.
"Damn it... I can't die like this........ ! Ha....."
It was when Katarina, who was destined to die one way or another, cried out in despair.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
There was the sound of soft footsteps that could not be heard from somewhere.
The owner of the footsteps stopped in front of Katarina.
Katarina looked at the hem of the white trousers and the shiny shoes, then slowly lifted her head.
The first thing that caught her eyes was his dark hair.
Emperor Theodore..... ??
For a moment, she thought it was Theodore.
In the Albrecht Empire, the only one with black hair was Emperor Theodore.
However, upon closer inspection of the man's face in the shimmering field of view, he had a completely different face from Theodore's.
And Katarina knew who this man was.
"You... why, how are you here...?"
The man, who was looking around the old room without a bored gaze lowered his glance and met her eyes.
Then he asked, bending his eyes.
"Are you the one who called me?"
Ha!
The moment she heard the voice, Katarina knew that the man in front of her was not the man in the Imperial Palace she remembered.
A creepy low, solitary voice.
This was not a person.
Katarina had seen in the old literature such a dangerous and beautiful being.
An existence that has long been taboo in the Albrecht Empire.
An ancient apostle with red eyes like blood flowing and black hair like a deep abyss.
Dark Executioner, Tenebris.
Upon realizing the man's existence, Katarina felt goosebumps all over her body.
"I can feel the power of black magic in you." (The man)
The man stared at her face with sharp eyes that seemed to pierce the insides of Katarina. Katarina couldn't even make a sound of swallowing her breath.
"Are you the one who made this barrier?" (The man)
Katarina shook her head quickly.
"Hmm. That's right, you... aren't good enough to resurrect me." (The man)
The man noticed that Katarina's magical power wasn't very good. Her quality and quantity were far short.
"Ben, Benjamin Ferdinand! He...!"
It was when Katarina mentioned Benjamin's name.
"...Ferdinand?"
The man's energy, who had been drowsy the whole time, swayed sharply in an instant.
"You're a descendant of that damn bastard?" (The man)
"Huh... !"
There was a strange brilliance in the man's red eyes.
At the eerie gaze that obscured even his beauty, Katarina trembled in fear.
"Ferdinand, Ferdinand............"
The man, who had been engulfed in his anger for a long time, suddenly turned to Katarina.
Katarina was startled by the murderous gaze, and she withdrew her body.
"Do you want to live?"
If he could kill people with his voice, it would have to be this dreary tone.
"...Yes, yes!"
Katarina nodded her head vigorously, not wanting to die.
"Okay, then let's make a deal."
The man let out a slow laugh and stretched out his hand towards Katarina.
Just in time he needed a human to be the right limbs for him. Because the vessel that still contained him was too unstable.
The moment the man's finger touched Katarina's forehead.
Black smoke billowed from the tips of his fingers and swallowed Katarina's body.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Katarina screamed painfully as she collapsed helplessly.
The man watched the scene with a numb gaze and turned around.
The man who came out and walked in the dark was in a very bad mood.
"Ferdinand....."
Of all things, it was the name he heard as soon as he woke up.
The man chewed the names of his colleagues who had been by his side in the past one by one.
Ferdinand.
Leobrante.
And.....Chernicia.
"Chernicia......"
It was the name that he had been saying for a long time.
Suddenly, an afterimage of her passed past his eyes.
Long, curly silver hair that captured the moonlight and fresh green eyes that resemble the earth.
Earth's guide, Chernicia.
When she smiled, the whole earth would be dyed with a fresh green hue.
At the moment when the lost longing came alive, the man immediately erased the afterimage in front of his eyes.
The red eyes sank indifferently once again.
***
Meanwhile, Yvonne spent a very peaceful time on an island in the south. Life there was perfect. Warm weather, friendly staff, delicious food and beautiful scenery.
It was a luxury she had never had in her life.
She couldn't take a nap on the treetop, which was her hobby, because her stomach was getting bigger, but it was a place where she could do everything else.
So Yvonne returned after a few months from a prenatal trip from a warm resort owned by Ferdinand.
Benjamin welcomed Yvonne back to the capital.
And in the meantime, the mansion was completely turned upside down.
The servants muttered as they saw the pregnant woman Benjamin had brought one day. No one knew her because Benjamin had replaced all of the servants while she was away.
She was a beautiful woman whom they could not take their eyes off, and her round belly, which could not be hidden even with a gorgeous dress decoration, was in a state of being pregnant.
'Maybe it's the Lord's......'
However, it was unclear where the woman came from, and people suspected that she was Benjamin's lover when they saw a strange woman.
It must be so, because Benjamin's expression on Yvonne was so sweet that it dripped with honey.
It was the kind of eyes that were dripping with love throughout.
***