Chapter 57

What terrified Lieutenant Erabelle Vermilion most...

was him.

Why was he here...?

Why...?

But as her consciousness began to fade, her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

I wonder if Count Valba Aracan is doing well. And Sanche... Camillia should be fine. I hope they paid out the condolence money like they promised... my 3,000 credits...

Weakly, she pressed the transmission controller still wedged between her teeth.

With only a few teeth left, it took several attempts.

At least she hadn’t swallowed it.

If she had, the thought of causing trouble for the two Vermilions even after death would have haunted her.

That was why.

She was going to die anyway.

One way or another, it was inevitable. There was no chance she would make it out alive.

But there was still a chance to save the Count’s house.

If her death was officially recorded as having occurred in the line of duty...

For his sake.

Erabelle trusted—uneasily, but sincerely—that they would at least compensate those who had worked for them.

There was only one way to deal with a man like him.

Give everything you had.

Then beg for mercy.

“...”

Commander Dezeb Avganis opened the pad screen and examined the transmitted data.

Through her blurred vision, Erabelle watched him skim through it.

When a faint smile appeared on his face, the tension left her.

Good.

She let go of the effort it had taken to keep her eyes focused.

Tears spilled freely from them.

It was only a physical reaction.

She wasn’t really that sad.

Or emotional.

Her senses were probably just becoming more sensitive.

She turned her vacant gaze back toward the darkening sky.

Ah.

I don’t want to die.

Not really.

I wasn’t asking for much... I just wanted a little more.

Still, I guess I accomplished my goal.

Plan B.

Work hard for thirty years or so, then fade away like cosmic dust.

She had simply reached the end far too early.

There had been no need to complete the plan twenty-eight and a half years ahead of schedule...

“Erabelle.”

He came closer.

Even though they had shared each other’s bodies hundreds of times, he was still a stranger to her.

A god from another world leaned over her, lowering himself until his ear was close to her lips—

to what little remained of her body.

She was afraid.

Afraid he might tear apart what little she had left.

Even though her body would be reduced to scraps when the second explosion went off, the fear remained.

She had always been afraid of this man.

She should warn him.

Tell him that blood would splatter soon.

Tell him to step back.

“Hm? What was that?”

Her lips parted.

Home...

Take me home...

A ringing filled her ears.

The sky spun.

The wind howled—

then the ringing returned.

Her gaze drifted through emptiness.

“Huh? I can’t hear you.”

Now...

I just want to go... home...

Please... don’t...

Don’t stop me...

Heat shimmered.

A hazy ripple passed through the air.

Moonlight cast a shadow beneath her.

Her feet—

she was certain they had touched the ground.

They had.

They still were.

The gate leading home stood right in front of her...

The canal that ran through the Imperial Palace.

Ah...

She could hear the river flowing.

Her breath caught in her throat.

697, 698...

Night.

The moon between the clouds.

A shadow fell.

712...

The wind carried the scent of moisture, and the leaves of the palace forest rustled together.

The grand banquet hall.

Mom... Dad...

I’ll be there soon...

Very soon...

Erabelle’s gaze drifted across time.

A strange alley.

The bitter, damp smell of a backstreet in the slums.

Three moons floated overhead like a mirage.

She had wandered through those alleys once, staring up at that alien sky.

Unfamiliar words drifted past her ears.

Strange people.

Strange sights.

Nothing was familiar.

She did not belong to this world.

Fifteen years old.

Wearing her school gym uniform.

One shoe missing.

Standing at the mouth of an alley and staring up at the sky of another world.

The ringing came again.

Someone was calling her name—

“Erabelle.”

A name she did not recognize.

Then another voice called to her.

A beloved voice.

“Jiwoo.”

She turned toward it.

Min Jiwoo.

Jiwoo!

***

“Get up, now!”

Her mother’s voice rang out as she patted her back, trying to wake her for school.

Mom. I’m twenty-seven. I’m way too old to be going to school.

Oh.

This was home.

Slowly, she turned her head and looked around.

Marks on the wall where they had measured her height.

Drawings from kindergarten.

A reward-sticker chart everyone had abandoned after only a few tries.

A perfectly ordinary three-bedroom, one-living-room, twenty-five-pyeong apartment.

With a mortgage.

Their home.

It had been so long.

“Why are you sleeping so deeply?”

She followed her mother into the kitchen and wrapped both arms around her from behind.

“My baby, sit down and eat. You’ll be late for school.”

Oh, Mom.

I’ve never been late once in five years of working.

I even got a scholarship to the academy.

Sure, it was only a regional scholarship, but still.

That’s pretty impressive, right?

Turns out I’m not as dumb as I thought.

“Jiwoo, should Dad drive you to school?”

School was light-years away.

Literally.

It would take millions of years by car.

But instead of saying that, she nodded playfully and sat down at the table.

A bubbling pot steamed in the middle of it.

Warm rolled eggs, fresh from the pan, were waiting beside it.

She greedily stuffed her mouth with everything in reach—

then felt a chill.

The same cold creeping through her dying body.

Wow.

It’s cold...

Really cold.

Pretending nothing was wrong, she picked up a piece of radish kimchi and placed it in her father’s bowl.

Here, Dad.

Your favorite.

Have some sausage too.

Her father brightened over the tiny gesture, while her mother clicked her tongue at him.

Erabelle watched them.

Quietly.

For a very long time.

I’m sorry I couldn’t come back.

It’s taking me forever to get home, isn’t it?

Sunlight poured through the living-room window.

It was dazzling.

Everything was.

Just...

everything.

I really tried to come back.

But I don’t think I can make it.

I worked so hard, but it still wasn’t enough...

Still...

don’t clear out my room.

Leave the drawings on the wall.

Don’t throw everything away.

Her eyes blinked slowly against the brilliant sunlight streaming through the window.

I missed you...

But I’m glad.

I’m really glad.

Just seeing your faces again, even for a moment like this, makes me happy.

I missed you so much.

Mom.

Dad.

Actually...

you can throw it all away.

The apartment is small.

Just make sure you pay off the mortgage.

Living taught me just how terrifying money can be.

Let’s just...

Just forget.

Forget everything.

And live well.

As she forced herself to swallow the food that had already gone cold, she kept staring at the people she would never see again.

***

Commander Dezeb Avganis supported Erabelle’s limp neck and lifted her.

Before the signum hanging from her throat could trigger a second explosion, he tore it away, then shoved his fingers into her mouth and pulled out the transmission device.

She had bitten down on it so hard that both corners of her mouth had split open.

“...”

Her limbless body had gone cold from blood loss.

Her skin was already taking on the pallor of death.

“You must be thrilled.”

He looked down at her.

“You finally achieved your goal.”

He crushed the signum and the transmission device in one hand.

The residual energy flared once, then vanished in his palm.

“Ah.”

“Or maybe not?”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“I bet you’re disappointed it didn’t all go off.”

Brushing the ashes from his hand, he turned toward the nearest medical station.

The base the Second Prince had constructed in Molin City was a typical Imperial building—

far too elegant for a war zone, a work of art obsessed with beauty even where beauty had no place.

Dezeb stepped inside.

The building was silent.

[Unauthorized access is prohibited— Please wait—...]

After silencing the few persistent voices, only the low hum of medical machinery remained.

He opened the medical facility himself and placed Erabelle inside.

Then he emptied every bio-ampoule from the emergency supply circle over her body.

Of course, none of it would be enough.

If he wanted to restore her properly, he would need food.

A great deal of food.

He contacted the Dogs and ordered them to bring him something edible.

Then he dragged over a chair, turned it backward, and sat down to look at the woman.

“...”

She did not move.

“You said we’d meet again next month.”

He draped one arm across the back of the chair and rested his head against it.

Slowly, the memory of their last conversation resurfaced.

As usual, it had consisted almost entirely of meaningless chatter.

[When I come up this time, Romantic 5 will already be out, right?]

[Of course I’m not going alone. Would you like to come with me?]

One of them had been waiting solely for the other.

The other had been thinking about some other man.

[How did you know it was rated R? I obviously didn’t know.]

Sure you didn’t.

He had sulked.

So you want to see another man naked that badly? What, are you already tired of me?

[I really didn’t know.]

Yeah, right.

Dezeb had laughed.

A cigarette between his lips, his head resting on one arm, he had giggled to himself.

He had looked so ridiculous it was almost funny.

Now he slouched over the chair, laughing softly again.

Even though her thoughts had been somewhere else the entire time...

she really had gone and done it.