SOTBW - 204

Emaydis Powley gazed at the fresco on the corridor ceiling with a sense of wonder.

As the devastation caused by the Serith worsened across neighboring countries, King Leon summoned Nellis and her household to the royal palace. Though Nellis seemed reluctant to bring her two daughters to the palace, if the Serith were to advance into the Kingdom of Kalonosia, the Powley territory would be among the first to fall.

If she stayed holed up in her estate, Nellis alone could hold her own against the Serith, but the people of other territories would be abandoned by their Sword Master.

Leon had decided to abandon all lands and focus solely on defending the royal palace. Their best option was simply to endure.

Following the king’s orders, the commoners began evacuating one by one. Nellis’s two daughters were to stay in a house located on the outskirts of the palace grounds, specially arranged by the king for Emaydis and Luna. Though Nellis found the antique furniture scattered throughout the house—clearly reflecting Leon’s tastes—to be somewhat distasteful, what mattered most was that the Powley sisters had left their home and come to the palace.

The sisters had always lived between the Powley mansion and their winter villa in the Powley territory, so they struggled to adapt to this sudden expansion of their boundaries. They spent awkward, distant moments with the palace servants stationed in the house where they were now staying.

While it was a foregone conclusion that war with the Serith was imminent, the Kingdom of Kalonosia, tucked away in the southern corner, still had time and room to breathe. Having endured longer than the surrounding nations expected, Kalonosia appeared to be handling the monsters’ attacks with relative calm.

However, there was one strange thing: despite many days passing since arriving at the palace, Nellis had not yet entered the royal court and instead remained at the house, awaiting instructions.

Emaydis later learned that Nellis had wanted to rush to the palace to discuss the long battle ahead but was denied an audience by the queen. At the time, Leon was away from the palace, guiding the evacuation of his people.

Upon hearing that the king would return that night, Nellis decided to wait a little longer for permission to enter the palace. Emaydis vaguely understood the queen’s intentions. The queen was sending a warning to Nellis, who had broken her oath to Sylin:

“I know whose seed your two daughters are. How dare I allow you, who have betrayed friendship and vows, into my garden?”

What thoughts crossed Nellis’s mind when her entry to the palace was denied? No one would ever know how she felt that day, but Emaydis believed her mother quietly grieved.

Though Emaydis wanted to comfort her, she didn’t know what to say. So, she often wandered near the study where Nellis would occasionally seclude herself after arriving at the palace.

As Emaydis paced back and forth along the corridor, she eventually looked up at the ceiling. A grand painting spanned the entire length of the hallway.

Captivated by the vibrant colors, she momentarily forgot how she had ended up on the third floor and slowly walked along, following the fresco. She had never noticed such a painting above her head before.

Craning her neck to admire it, Emaydis realized the dazzling ceiling depicted a scene related to the creation of the universe as described by a certain religion.

This religion explained the origin of the world like this:

Before anything existed, in the vast emptiness of the universe, there was only one being with self-awareness. One day, that being gathered the primordial forces of the world and commanded:

“Let there be eternal light to illuminate us henceforth.”

At that command, light was born in the palm of their hand, and countless stars fell to the earth, becoming living beings.

As Emaydis marveled at the radiant meteor shower painted on the ceiling, she suddenly heard movement coming from the stairs below and quickly stepped back. It wasn’t unusual for Emaydis, as Nellis’s daughter, to visit her mother, but their relationship was far from ordinary. Facing each other alone always felt strange and awkward.

Flustered, Emaydis didn’t know what to do and instinctively fled toward another staircase at the end of the corridor.

Najane watched Emaydis’ hurried escape with a lonely gaze, as though she were fleeing from some unseen guilt. She couldn’t understand why she was dreaming of this moment now, nor did she know how to wake herself from the dream.

With a resigned expression, Najane perched herself on the windowsill. Though she knew it was a dream, she could feel the warm summer air through the windowpane behind her. Despite knowing it wasn’t real, she anxiously glanced back, worried the glass might shatter.

Through the clear window, she saw a familiar face. Najane’s eyes trembled like a torn flag as she spotted Luna standing in the garden. Luna’s beautiful platinum hair shimmered under the sunlight, flowing like transparent, pure light. Najane smiled faintly, on the verge of tears, as she gently touched the window with her hand.

Luna, seemingly enjoying the summer sun, looked up at the sky and laughed brightly. At the sight of her smile, tears streamed down Najane’s cheeks.

Fingering the windowpane as if trying to reach Luna, Najane bit her lip to stifle the sobs threatening to burst forth.

Once, she and Luna had taken a walk through the forest near the mansion, holding hands. It had been summer then too, and the shaded forest path was cool, with frequent breezes keeping them from sweating much as they walked hand in hand.

Luna had always loved holding hands or linking arms, so they walked closely together whenever they strolled side by side. Najane had cherished those moments. When they grew older, walking along the narrow paths while listening to Luna chatter happily became Najane’s sole joy.

Luna was as lovely and lively as she was beautiful. Despite never attending a single noble party, her portrait alone had garnered marriage proposals from hundreds of men.

Najane didn’t want to send her only younger sister off to marriage just yet, but if it meant Luna could leave this place and live an ordinary life, Najane considered it a blessing.

After Luna’s marriage prospects were settled, the sisters began sleeping in the same bed every night. When sleep wouldn’t come, they would step out onto the balcony to gaze at the stars or sit by the fireplace wrapped in blankets, sharing slightly risqué conversations.

Luna worried about what might happen if she married and her mother-in-law mistreated her, or if she couldn’t have children. Emaydis held her sister’s hand tightly and whispered reassurances.

“If people ever treat you poorly, I’ll come for you. We’ll run away together. The world is vast—surely there’s a place for the two of us to hide. So don’t worry about anything except living happily…”

Recalling those words, Najane covered her mouth with her palm. The sharp, dagger-like words Mikael had thrown at her gnawed at her heart. The thought of what Luna had endured made her chest ache so much that even her sobs couldn’t escape properly.

Under the sun, Luna appeared radiant and healthy, glowing in a way that was impossible to miss. Najane couldn’t bear to look at her and lowered her head.

At that moment, footsteps echoed from the base of the stairs where she had sensed movement earlier. Najane turned toward the staircase with tear-filled eyes. It was Mikael. Mikael was climbing the stairs, carrying a tray.

The moment Najane saw him, her grief-stricken face darkened further. She screamed at Mikael as he carried the teapot and cups, rushing toward him as if wracked by the pain of being torn apart. But this was only a dream.

No matter how much Najane shouted or raged, Mikael calmly walked toward Nellis’s study. Stopping near the door, Mikael pulled out a small vial, smaller than his pinky finger, from his pocket before knocking. Inside the glass vial was a colorless, odorless liquid.

Najane watched in horror as Mikael poured the mysterious liquid into the teapot. Without hesitation, Mikael swallowed the empty vial. Najane couldn’t comprehend what she had just witnessed. What kind of potion was that? What on earth…?

Mikael knocked on the study door. Though no response came, he entered as if accustomed to the silence.

Nellis was searching for an effective way to defend the royal palace. Sitting on the sofa, Nellis glanced at Mikael once before coldly setting the book aside.

“How dare you enter without permission. How rude.”

“Forgive me, Lady Powley. Knowing you’d likely send me away, I dared to be impolite.”

“What’s in your hand?”

“A tea prepared by Lady Emaydis.”

Mikael’s lie left Najane stunned.

“It seems Lady Emaydis has grown worried after seeing you spend days in the study.”

“She sent you instead of coming herself?”

“She was here just moments ago, pacing outside. When I offered to bring the tea since she lacked the courage to do so herself, she agreed.”

Mikael lied effortlessly.

Shocked by the unfamiliar scene unfolding before her, Najane slowly began to accept that the caring, supportive Mikael she had known was nothing more than a mask hiding his true self. Whatever Mikael’s purpose, the impact he had on Najane’s life was immense.

Trembling with betrayal, Najane watched as Mikael prepared the tea. Nellis stared blankly at the red liquid filling the teacup, her voice softening slightly as she asked:

“Did Emaydis prepare this herself?”

Though her tone was curt, Nellis wore a faint smile—a smile Najane had never seen before. Overwhelmed, Najane burst into tears, her face frozen in disbelief.

Nellis savored the aroma of the tea steeped in cold water and drank it without suspicion. Najane could no longer bear to watch.

Distorting her face in anguish, she backed away from the study and fled. Just as she tried to escape, unable to endure the scenes she had witnessed, the surrounding scenery darkened abruptly.

Suddenly, Najane found herself standing amidst flames. Her eyes trembled violently as she faced the burning pillars. She knew this place.

In the rapidly resurfacing memories, Najane frantically ran somewhere. A hall engulfed in flames, littered with half-eaten corpses… This was the palace of the Kingdom of Kalonosia. Knowing the tragedy that unfolded here, Najane sprinted madly toward where Nellis was.

Somewhere, Serith suddenly appeared, and people screamed as they fled. A spark, ignited by someone’s mistake, began to spread…

Nellis received the order to enter the palace upon hearing that Leon had returned. Najane followed behind her, intending to fight alongside her mother against the Serith.

Emaydis, who had entered the palace with Nellis, waited calmly in the drawing room for news. At least, until screams began echoing through the corridors.

As Najane ran deeper into the palace, she eventually came upon Emaydis—her past self. Emaydis had been helping people evacuate but ventured further inside to find Nellis. Upon reaching the smoke and flame-filled hall, Emaydis spotted someone struggling valiantly to protect Queen Audelica.

“Mother!”

Emaydis shouted, dodging falling debris from the collapsing roof.

Najane watched as Nellis—the last Sword Master of the Kingdom of Kalonosia—met her end. Unable to use sword qi, Nellis panted heavily, staring at the main body of the Serith. Behind her stood Emaydis, and in front of her lay Queen Audelica, on the verge of death.

Nellis clutched her mouth as she raised her sword. Her pristine white gloves were stained with blood. Realizing she had been poisoned, Nellis Powley abandoned the queen and turned back toward Emaydis.

The raging flames reflected off Nellis’s face as she spoke with calm resignation.

“I’m sorry, Emaydis… Run away quickly…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Nellis’s head was severed from her body.