Rowell's blood cooled in an instant. In any other place, she could have hidden, but this place was blocked by high walls all around. Moreover, she was standing right in the middle of the garden, fully exposed. The only thing in the garden was a rose with thorns, so there was no proper place to hide.
Simoren Lindel, he definitely said it had been closed for three years. Rowell blamed Simoren internally, but blaming the one who gave the information wouldn't change the situation.
'Am I bound to be caught?'
Every minute and second seemed to pass slowly. As the footsteps approached, cold sweat trickled down Rowell's back.
The moment the shadow reached where Rowell was...
"...Rowell?"
Rowell faced Peter's pale face.
Only, it wasn't in front of Peter's eyes.
The moment Peter's steps reached where Rowell was, something in the wall shadow caught her. And Rowell knew very well what it was. It was literally a shadow.
To be more precise, it should be called a subspace in the shadow.
In a space where everything is shrouded in darkness, Rowell met eyes with a black cat with golden eyes. A bright welcome spread over Rowell's face.
"Rene!"
"Shh, Annette."
The cat whispered and wagged its tail. The cat's voice was as soft as velvet, and also low.
A sweet and soothing voice that gives a sense of stability.
"I saved you, didn't I?"
* * *
There was a fact that Rowell learned when she became 'Annette Martinek'.
Why Martinek secluded herself and claims to be the custodian of Opherta. And how a single family could control the entire underworld. Of course, Martinek specially trained soldiers and created a system for the management of the Opherta house, but that alone did not explain her astonishing control.
The truth that was later discovered was that the direct bloodline of Martinek manifests abilities specialized in assassination and concealment.
A Shadow Familiar, also known as Noctiluca.
Whether because she was an adopted daughter or not the heir, Rowell was not informed of its principle or existence either. She could only guess that it was an ancient power, as it had been handed down since the founding of the empire.
And the fact that Martinek was hiding in the huge crime of the opera house to prevent the existence from being discovered was all Rowell knew.
The shadow familiar takes a completely different form depending on the owner, and among them, Rene's familiar was in the form of a short-haired black cat. Rowell thought it suited Rene well. Above all, she quite liked cats.
In this way, while the familiar maintains its form, it was possible to create an extradimensional space in the shadows to hide the body. Truly an ability specialized in concealment.
If Rene had not appeared at the opportune moment, Rowell would have had to face Peter directly.
'In fact...it seemed like Peter caught a glimpse of me too.'
If she was even a little late, she wouldn't have been able to hide. Rowell peeked beyond the shadow.
Peter seemed to think he saw something wrong, standing with a disappointed expression. No matter how great his magic is, he wouldn't be able to recognize the inside of the shadow, so he would think he saw something wrong.
Rowell sighed in relief and stroked the cat.
"Thanks to you, I survived. How did you get here?"
"I came to see your face. I was wondering if you were doing well."
"You should have said so. If I knew you were coming..."
She wouldn't have come here today.
Rowell swallowed the sincerity that was about to flow out beyond her throat. The golden eyes of the expressionless black cat quietly took in her appearance. Soon, he patted Rowell's back of the hand with his tail, which had risen thickly.
"I thought you forgot me because you didn't even write a letter."
"...No way."
At the joke, Rowell smiled faintly.
It wasn't a lie, Rowell really liked his adoptive older brother Rene. He was affectionate and gentlemanly, and he helped a lot when Rowell was not well adapted in the Opherta house. Just like now.
If Rowell were to name the only person she can trust and rely on now, Rene would definitely be at the top. The bond that has been together in the opera house for 10 years has a strong bond that is hard to ignore.
'In fact, it's almost like a real brother now.'
Maybe it's because she has dead brothers. Rowell did not find it difficult to have a relationship with Rene. Thanks to Rene's not so prickly personality, Rowell has been quite close to Rene since some point, though she doesn't know when.
'Surely at first, I think I was a little wary.'
Now Rene was no different from the closest person to Rowell.
Above all, he was a stable and relaxed person.
Unlike herself, who is always anxious and sharp.
'So I tried not to meet as much as possible.'
Rene was a person who cherished Annette. He wanted Annette not to do hard work, and he didn't want her to risk her life at all.
Even when she claimed to be the bride of the emperor, Rene dissuaded Annette to the end.
While that intention was certainly appreciated, it was a hindrance to Rowell's plan.
Rowell got up from her seat and looked around. Hiding in the shadows separated the space, so sound didn't leak out and it was convenient in many ways, but there was a downside. If someone other than the Shadow familiar entered the space, the time it could be maintained rapidly shortened.
"It looks like we'll have to get out before the space is released, Rene. Is there a way out of this building?"
"It may be possible through the shadows. But I should take a look around first."
"Then let's move and find a way. We can't stay here..."
That moment.
Bang! Something broke. The source of the sound was outside the shadow.
Surprised, she looked at where the sound came from, and Peter was visible. He was breaking a light bulb in the middle of the garden with one hand. The broken glass pieces fell noisily to the floor, but Peter did not care and pulled out the light source inside the light bulb. No, he tore it out.
What was pulled out by Peter's hand was a magic stone that emits light. Peter stared at the magic stone that filled his hand, and then put strength into his hand.
Crunch.
The magic stone, which could not withstand the grip, was crushed into pieces and lost its light. At the same time, the result was revealed in front of his eyes in an instant.
'The garden...'
It started to wither.
* * *
The moment he thought he saw Rowell. The moment he uttered that name.
It was only after hearing his own voice in his ears that Peter regained his senses, ridiculously.
He only then realized that he had experienced a hallucination.
'Rowell does not exist here.'
He cannot exist here, and should not exist. How could Peter have forgotten about Rowell? How could he have erased that longing? He did not want to revisit it this way. Peter knew all too well that the moment he let the longing for Rowell come before him, he would crumble without any resistance.
The fact that he could not even properly revisit that longing was terrible. Remembering the deceased, harboring affection for them—these were not permitted for him. Having to feel this way was extremely unpleasant.
Suppressing the rising nausea, Peter recalled the cause of all this.
'Annette Martinek.'
The very person who brought the barely erased Rowell back before him. If not for her, he would not have ended up like this again.
'To start seeing hallucinations already.'
He felt like madness was consuming him. The moment he saw and heard delusions, the insanity had already begun. All that was left was to slowly, imperceptibly, lose his sanity and go mad.
If that happened, what exactly would he be able to remember? Would there even be anything for him to remember?
At least the other mad emperors had their memories intact, but of course Peter's power allowed him to erase even his own memories all too easily.
Perhaps even himself.
The uncontrollable, inevitable tragedy was utterly vexing.
'I can't use this place anymore.'
He had come to control his madness, but it only seemed to backfire. Considering he had remembered Rowell after seeing Annette, anything that reminded him of Rowell would have the opposite effect for now.
At least until Peter decided to bring back the longing for Rowell before him again.
But Peter had no such intention yet. How could he acknowledge that longing now, with memories he had erased, with Rowell he had forgotten?
It was obvious that he would crumble the moment he could no longer endure. And he could feel in his skin that the moment was not far away.
Powdered magic stone trickled through the gaps between his fingers. A look of regret tinged the gaze of the man looking down at the sight.
Everything was utterly vexing.
"...I'm tired."
As the magic stone supplying power to the garden was destroyed, the plants began to wither rapidly around the lanterns.
The sight of the flower garden in full bloom instantly reduced to a desolate state as if winter had arrived was strikingly incongruous, even eerie.
Peter's face briefly creased as he watched the scene.
The sensation of tearing off a part of his own body. Whenever he suppressed his longing for Rowell, he always experienced a similar pain.
Peter turned to leave before the entire garden withered. He did not have it in him to see the aftermath of the garden's complete demise.
"Seal it off completely. It will never be opened again."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Creak, thud. The thick door closed once more. Instantly, darkness, winter, descended upon the garden.
But there was one thing Peter did not know.
Among the quickly withering flowers that had taken root, there was already a severed red petal at his feet that could no longer wither. An intruder had come before his own memories.
"...Peter."
That the memories he had destroyed were not just his alone.
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