The night air, which had been chilly just a few days ago, has become noticeably warmer.
Carsis watched Bellona's back as she walked through the garden.
He hadn't noticed it before, but the ribbon wrapped around his hair was something he was familiar with.
And after discovering it, Carsis's heart was so troubled that he couldn't say anything for a long time.
“It suits you well.”
So, they're halfway through the patronage.
Bellona, who was breathing in the refreshing night air deep into her lungs, turned around at Carsis's unexpected question.
"That ribbon. It suits you well."
"Ah."
Only then did Bellona realize that the ribbon she had given herself today was a gift from Carsis a long time ago, and a shy smile appeared on her lips?
She ran her fingers through her hair tied with a ribbon as if it was awkward.
"...Thank goodness. I was worried it would get buried because it's similar to my hair color."
Even in the dark of night, she was secretly surprised that Carsis recognized me right away.
She felt embarrassed about wearing this ribbon decoration, so she did it now because she thought it wouldn't be visible at night.
It was a useless effort.
Just a ribbon.
It took Bellona so long to do that one ribbon.
For a brief moment, an awkward silence flows between the two.
And the wind blows through them. A wind that mixes the scent of summer with the scent of spring.
The wind that had welcomed the two of them blew, caressing Bellona's hair, loosening her ribbon, and running away.
"Uh?"
She reached out to try to keep the ribbon from being snatched away by the wind, but it was too late.
The ribbon floated away into the air, leaving behind Bellona's short sigh.
Carsis, who was watching it, stopped Bellona from chasing Ribbon.
Then, he left a message saying that he would come to find her and started walking towards where the ribbon had disappeared.
So Carsis left Bellona and went around the yard to find the ribbon.
Unlike what he thought he would find right away, he ended up finding it hanging on the tree a bit late because the ribbon was dark and too small.
Carsis quickly pulled the ribbon off the branch and returned to where Bellona was.
However.
“…Bellona?”
Just 10 minutes.
The time he was away from Bellona was only ten minutes.
It definitely was like that.
When he returned to where he had been, Bellona was lying on the floor unconscious.
The atmosphere in the palace, which had been excited about the upcoming national wedding just a few days ago, suddenly sank to the bottom of the gutter.
It was because Bellona suddenly collapsed while walking with Carsis a while ago.
And even after several days, Bellona still did not wake up.
Because of this, those working in the palace felt like they were walking on thin ice.
Among them, there was one who was standing on the thinnest ice.
He was Clarkson, the royal doctor.
Clarkson, who had been examining Bellona who had been lying on the bed for a long time, shook his head.
“I think... you need to prepare yourself mentally.”
The doctor brought up something he had never been able to say before because he had to be careful about what the Emperor thought.
It was no longer acceptable to delay telling this story.
Bellona was no longer hopeless.
It was nothing short of a miracle that she had lasted this long.
“…”
At those words, Carsis quietly gave the order to leave without even looking at the doctor.
Then, everyone in the bedroom rushed out like a flood.
As everyone left, only the sound of shallow breathing that seemed like it would soon die down echoed quietly in the room.
Carsis approached Bellona, who was sleeping as if dead and grabbed her hand.
"I got a call from Isaac today. He said he was coming to the palace to find Duke Philosykos."
The news was a ray of hope for him who felt like he was walking through hell.
"So just hold on until then."
Please.
Carsis prayed and prayed inwardly.
“Carsis...”
That was when.
Bellona's hand twitched, and then her eyes slowly opened.
At the same time, a muffled voice penetrated Carsis's ears.
A faint smile appeared on Carsis' lips as he was afraid that he would never see Bellona again.
“Bellona...”
Carsis, who was looking at Bellona's half-opened green eyes, grabbed her limp hand.
"Wait. I'll go and get the doctor..."
And then, at that very moment, he was about to get up to call the doctor.
Bellona gently squeezed Carsis' hand as if to dissuade him.
“...I had a dream.”
Before Carsis could ask what was so urgent, Bellona began to tell him about the dream she had while she was sleeping.
"When I lost my memory, I thought I was possessed by the book I was reading. I thought the world we live in now was the world inside the book."
“…”
In a book? Carsis didn't understand what Bellona was saying. But Bellona continued to speak, not knowing whether she knew Carsis's feelings or not. “In my dream, I was living a very ordinary life.”
He just thought he was asleep for a long time and must have been delusional.
The world she saw in her long dream that lasted for several days was a completely different place from where she is now. And there, Bellona was living a very ordinary life.
A life where she grew up in an ordinary family, did ordinary things like other people, and had ordinary worries that any ordinary person would have.
That life brought back a distant feeling of nostalgia for her.
It felt like a feeling of longing and familiarity as if she had gone back to her hometown that she hadn't been to for a long time.
"...Good. That's the place."
She loved it so much that even now when she recalls the memory, her heart sings with excitement.
So Bellona thought. Could it be that the place she saw in her dream was actually her past life...?
According to the god Helios, people's lives are said to be a cycle of reincarnation.
If that were really true, she would have liked her past life quite a bit.
There, she was a bright and selfless person, different from now... like 'Ellie'.
It was when Bellona, who was reliving her dream once again, smiled faintly.
She suddenly couldn't bear the heat rising in her throat and let out a violent cough.
“Cough, cough...!”
At the same time, red blood burst out from her mouth.
“Bellona!”
Carsis' face hardened as he looked at it. But that was only for a moment. Without hesitation, he bit his finger and drew blood.
“Drink.”
Carsis knew that his actions were meaningless.
Because Bellona's condition has already gone too far for Clepius' power to resolve.
But if he did this, he could at least hold out until he could bring Paulo back... With that hope in mind, Carsis brought the dripping blood to Bellona's mouth.
But Bellona didn't drink his blood. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Carsis.
"...I want to rest now."
Bellona groaned as she exhaled into the empty air.
She's tired.
She has been living in this world with all her might, so she has no strength left to live the rest of her life.
“Please, Bellona...”
Carsis's eyes were crying.
Bellona's eyes welled up with hot tears at the sight of her biting her lips and forcing herself to suppress her sadness.
Now the moment of real parting has arrived.
“...Do you remember the lotus flower I told you about a while ago?”
At this, Carsis nodded quietly.
"Like a lotus that must die to bloom again... I must die to start anew." "So don't be sad, Carsis." Even at the moment when she was comforting Carsis, blood continued to flow out of Bellona's mouth. “We will meet again…” Certainly.
Bellona mustered up the last of her strength and placed her thinner hand on Carsis' cheek.
Carsis wrapped her arms around Bellona's hand, which was resting on her cheek.
“No, Bellona...”
He persisted with Bellona, who was giving her final greetings.
"I'll wait."
But his pleas fell on deaf ears...
I love you, Carsis.
Bellona's grip loosened as she whispered softly enough for only Carsis to hear.
Eventually, Bellona left his side.
By the time Isaac arrived at the palace, much had already changed.
At this time of year, the back garden, which was always filled with the scent of flowers, had withered away as if it had not been maintained for a long time, and only a desolate silence filled the palace.
Inside the palace, people lived in silence, unable to even take a step for fear of offending the Emperor.
It's been a month since Bellona died.
From that day on, it seemed as if the world had stopped, and everything in the palace came to a halt.
"Your Majesty."
Isaac, who entered the palace with a heavy heart, entered the place where Carsis was. The first thing that caught his eye was Carsis leaning against the transparent glass case.
Carsis watched Bellona's back as she walked through the garden.
He hadn't noticed it before, but the ribbon wrapped around his hair was something he was familiar with.
And after discovering it, Carsis's heart was so troubled that he couldn't say anything for a long time.
“It suits you well.”
So, they're halfway through the patronage.
Bellona, who was breathing in the refreshing night air deep into her lungs, turned around at Carsis's unexpected question.
"That ribbon. It suits you well."
"Ah."
Only then did Bellona realize that the ribbon she had given herself today was a gift from Carsis a long time ago, and a shy smile appeared on her lips?
She ran her fingers through her hair tied with a ribbon as if it was awkward.
"...Thank goodness. I was worried it would get buried because it's similar to my hair color."
Even in the dark of night, she was secretly surprised that Carsis recognized me right away.
She felt embarrassed about wearing this ribbon decoration, so she did it now because she thought it wouldn't be visible at night.
It was a useless effort.
Just a ribbon.
It took Bellona so long to do that one ribbon.
For a brief moment, an awkward silence flows between the two.
And the wind blows through them. A wind that mixes the scent of summer with the scent of spring.
The wind that had welcomed the two of them blew, caressing Bellona's hair, loosening her ribbon, and running away.
"Uh?"
She reached out to try to keep the ribbon from being snatched away by the wind, but it was too late.
The ribbon floated away into the air, leaving behind Bellona's short sigh.
Carsis, who was watching it, stopped Bellona from chasing Ribbon.
Then, he left a message saying that he would come to find her and started walking towards where the ribbon had disappeared.
So Carsis left Bellona and went around the yard to find the ribbon.
Unlike what he thought he would find right away, he ended up finding it hanging on the tree a bit late because the ribbon was dark and too small.
Carsis quickly pulled the ribbon off the branch and returned to where Bellona was.
However.
“…Bellona?”
Just 10 minutes.
The time he was away from Bellona was only ten minutes.
It definitely was like that.
When he returned to where he had been, Bellona was lying on the floor unconscious.
***
The atmosphere in the palace, which had been excited about the upcoming national wedding just a few days ago, suddenly sank to the bottom of the gutter.
It was because Bellona suddenly collapsed while walking with Carsis a while ago.
And even after several days, Bellona still did not wake up.
Because of this, those working in the palace felt like they were walking on thin ice.
Among them, there was one who was standing on the thinnest ice.
He was Clarkson, the royal doctor.
Clarkson, who had been examining Bellona who had been lying on the bed for a long time, shook his head.
“I think... you need to prepare yourself mentally.”
The doctor brought up something he had never been able to say before because he had to be careful about what the Emperor thought.
It was no longer acceptable to delay telling this story.
Bellona was no longer hopeless.
It was nothing short of a miracle that she had lasted this long.
“…”
At those words, Carsis quietly gave the order to leave without even looking at the doctor.
Then, everyone in the bedroom rushed out like a flood.
As everyone left, only the sound of shallow breathing that seemed like it would soon die down echoed quietly in the room.
Carsis approached Bellona, who was sleeping as if dead and grabbed her hand.
"I got a call from Isaac today. He said he was coming to the palace to find Duke Philosykos."
The news was a ray of hope for him who felt like he was walking through hell.
"So just hold on until then."
Please.
Carsis prayed and prayed inwardly.
“Carsis...”
That was when.
Bellona's hand twitched, and then her eyes slowly opened.
At the same time, a muffled voice penetrated Carsis's ears.
A faint smile appeared on Carsis' lips as he was afraid that he would never see Bellona again.
“Bellona...”
Carsis, who was looking at Bellona's half-opened green eyes, grabbed her limp hand.
"Wait. I'll go and get the doctor..."
And then, at that very moment, he was about to get up to call the doctor.
Bellona gently squeezed Carsis' hand as if to dissuade him.
“...I had a dream.”
Before Carsis could ask what was so urgent, Bellona began to tell him about the dream she had while she was sleeping.
"When I lost my memory, I thought I was possessed by the book I was reading. I thought the world we live in now was the world inside the book."
“…”
In a book? Carsis didn't understand what Bellona was saying. But Bellona continued to speak, not knowing whether she knew Carsis's feelings or not. “In my dream, I was living a very ordinary life.”
He just thought he was asleep for a long time and must have been delusional.
The world she saw in her long dream that lasted for several days was a completely different place from where she is now. And there, Bellona was living a very ordinary life.
A life where she grew up in an ordinary family, did ordinary things like other people, and had ordinary worries that any ordinary person would have.
That life brought back a distant feeling of nostalgia for her.
It felt like a feeling of longing and familiarity as if she had gone back to her hometown that she hadn't been to for a long time.
"...Good. That's the place."
She loved it so much that even now when she recalls the memory, her heart sings with excitement.
So Bellona thought. Could it be that the place she saw in her dream was actually her past life...?
According to the god Helios, people's lives are said to be a cycle of reincarnation.
If that were really true, she would have liked her past life quite a bit.
There, she was a bright and selfless person, different from now... like 'Ellie'.
It was when Bellona, who was reliving her dream once again, smiled faintly.
She suddenly couldn't bear the heat rising in her throat and let out a violent cough.
“Cough, cough...!”
At the same time, red blood burst out from her mouth.
“Bellona!”
Carsis' face hardened as he looked at it. But that was only for a moment. Without hesitation, he bit his finger and drew blood.
“Drink.”
Carsis knew that his actions were meaningless.
Because Bellona's condition has already gone too far for Clepius' power to resolve.
But if he did this, he could at least hold out until he could bring Paulo back... With that hope in mind, Carsis brought the dripping blood to Bellona's mouth.
But Bellona didn't drink his blood. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Carsis.
"...I want to rest now."
Bellona groaned as she exhaled into the empty air.
She's tired.
She has been living in this world with all her might, so she has no strength left to live the rest of her life.
“Please, Bellona...”
Carsis's eyes were crying.
Bellona's eyes welled up with hot tears at the sight of her biting her lips and forcing herself to suppress her sadness.
Now the moment of real parting has arrived.
“...Do you remember the lotus flower I told you about a while ago?”
At this, Carsis nodded quietly.
"Like a lotus that must die to bloom again... I must die to start anew." "So don't be sad, Carsis." Even at the moment when she was comforting Carsis, blood continued to flow out of Bellona's mouth. “We will meet again…” Certainly.
Bellona mustered up the last of her strength and placed her thinner hand on Carsis' cheek.
Carsis wrapped her arms around Bellona's hand, which was resting on her cheek.
“No, Bellona...”
He persisted with Bellona, who was giving her final greetings.
"I'll wait."
But his pleas fell on deaf ears...
I love you, Carsis.
Bellona's grip loosened as she whispered softly enough for only Carsis to hear.
Eventually, Bellona left his side.
***
By the time Isaac arrived at the palace, much had already changed.
At this time of year, the back garden, which was always filled with the scent of flowers, had withered away as if it had not been maintained for a long time, and only a desolate silence filled the palace.
Inside the palace, people lived in silence, unable to even take a step for fear of offending the Emperor.
It's been a month since Bellona died.
From that day on, it seemed as if the world had stopped, and everything in the palace came to a halt.
"Your Majesty."
Isaac, who entered the palace with a heavy heart, entered the place where Carsis was. The first thing that caught his eye was Carsis leaning against the transparent glass case.
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