“Um, so…”
As Summer hesitated to speak, Russell turned his body.
“Let’s keep watching. The sun will set soon.”
“Ah.”
At Russell’s words, Summer quickly shifted her gaze to the garden.
A gasp escaped her lips. The garden, bathed in a scarlet sunset, looked unreal, as if it were something out of a dream.
The gentle breeze carried the scent of autumn. Summer had truly come to an end.
“...Summer?”
“This is, this is, um…”
Summer raised her hands to hurriedly wipe away the redness around her eyes.
“Feeling sad while watching the sunset was something my grandmother often did.”
“Sniff, sob…”
“Oh dear.”
As if Russell’s joke had triggered something, Summer began to drop tears like chicken droppings.
Russell quickly took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped away Summer’s tears.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”
“Don’t apologize to me, Summer.”
“…”
“I’m just spending four days being shameless.”
“…”
Under the setting sun, Russell’s blue eyes held a sorrowful light.
“So that you can let go of your feelings for me. So that I can feel a little relieved.”
But Russell’s face, as he said this, didn’t look relieved at all.
He let out a faint sigh, and a shadow briefly crossed his beautiful blue eyes.
“Russell. You should also try to be a little shameless. I have to let go of my feelings too, you know.”
Summer wiped away the remaining tears with the back of her hand and forced a smile. Her red eyes stood out under the sunset.
Russell’s fingertips touched the red rim of Summer’s eyes. Very carefully, slowly.
“Summer.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t go.”
“…”
As if bound by Russell’s gaze, Summer couldn’t move an inch.
Not even a blink. All Summer could do was stand there, frozen, continuously looking into Russell’s eyes.
His blue eyes, tinged with purple. It was the moment she saw his true feelings.
It felt like something inside her had dropped to the ground with a thud. What should she call this feeling?
Should she say her heart ached like a stone? Or perhaps…
“Summer. If you leave, I’ll spend several nights awake, desperately trying to hold onto the fading summer.”
His voice was low, just the right volume. The setting sun. The blowing wind. His trembling eyes and the nervous bobbing of his throat.
“Summer, don’t go.”
When Summer realized that the end of his voice was faintly trembling, she closed her eyes.
She had asked him to let her go of her feelings.
“What do you think? Are you starting to let go of your feelings for me now?”
His trembling voice, as if trying to joke.
Summer slowly opened her eyes.
“Russell.”
“…”
“Thank you.”
“…”
“Really, really thank you. They say there’s no such thing as forever, but I will remember you forever.”
“...Summer.”
In four days, she wouldn’t see his face or this scenery again.
The sunset, which seemed to swallow the world, sank beyond the mountains, and the blue darkness arrived.
“I have something I want to show you.”
“…”
“Just a moment.”
Russell extended his arm. Summer lightly placed her hand on his arm.
The place they arrived at was the office.
It was a place where one could see the atmosphere of the Bertrand family at a glance. Since Summer had already finished her tour, she immediately sat down in a chair.
As she sat in the chair, quietly looking at the books, memories of preparing for exams flooded back.
In this small corner of the office, she had memorized her textbooks as if possessed.
“Summer.”
Russell took a document out of the safe in the office and handed it to her. Summer, who received the document in a daze, widened her eyes in shock.
“This is…”
“It’s an appointment letter. It states that you will be hired as an administrator of the Bertrand family.”
“…”
“All you have to do is sign here. It’s been your long-held dream.”
“...Since when have you been preparing this?”
“Since you told me that becoming an administrator was your dream.”
“…”
“Will you sign it? Summer, I don’t want to miss out on such a talented person.”
Russell handed her a pen. Summer, as if entranced, engraved her signature on the line.
The appointment letter. Summer stared blankly at the document, feeling an unreal sensation.
It was a dream. She thought that this path would guarantee her future. She clung to that belief, whipping herself into thinking that without it, there would only be a fall.
“Russell, have you ever disliked studying?”
“I always disliked it. I learned while being hit since I was young.”
“...You?”
“Believe it or not, I had the lowest grades in the family.”
“…”
“Just as people don’t know everything about you, you don’t know everything about me either.”
“…”
“Still, at least I’m not a different species from you, so I can dare to listen to your story.”
As Summer listened to Russell’s words, she gently brushed her hand over the appointment letter. The texture of the paper felt vivid under her palm.
So this is the appointment letter. This is it.
“Now, Summer is the administrator of the Bertrand family. You can work here from now on.”
“...What? Work?”
In a daze, Summer quietly watched as Russell opened the door connected to the office.
When the door opened, it revealed the office.
“…”
“Summer. This is your personal office. You can come and use it anytime, as much as you like.”
Russell placed a bundle of keys in Summer’s hand.
With her mind still hazy, Summer gripped the keys tightly. She felt the cold metal in her hand.
“...This isn’t a dream.”
Summer murmured as she gently fiddled with the keys in her hand. The cold sensation confirmed that it wasn’t a dream.
“Would you like to go in and sit down?”
“…”
As soon as Russell finished speaking, Summer staggered and slowly walked over, brushing her fingertips over the desk and chair.
Then she sat down in the chair.
“…”
“Since you’ve been preparing to be an administrator for a long time.”
“Thank you for remembering…”
Summer kept fiddling with the desk and writing tools. The more she touched them, the more her face twisted, and eventually, she collapsed silently onto the desk, crying.
A dream. It was a dream. To get a stable job and sit here like this.
To shed the identity of a student and become a member of society.
What everyone else does.
While Summer cried for a long time, Russell stood quietly by the door, waiting for her to calm down. Silently.
This time, Summer couldn’t stop crying easily. Her frail shoulders shook as if they might break.
“...Summer. You’ll exhaust yourself like this.”
“I’ll remember this. I’ll never forget today… Thank you, thank you…”
“...I wanted something other than such a grand thank you.”
Russell detached himself from the doorframe and approached Summer. He gently placed his hand on her cheek, as if to say, “Look at me.”
Summer, dazed, lifted her tear-streaked face to meet Russell’s gaze.
“I wanted to see your smiling face. Your happy expression. Your excited voice.”
“...Sniff,”
“I feel like you’re just crying. I wanted to see you smile, but you’re crying so much it’s heartbreaking.”
“Ru, Russell…”
“Yes, Summer. I’m here.”
Summer weakly tugged at Russell’s sleeve. With the strength to not even kill an ant, she pulled him closer.
Summer wrapped her arms around Russell’s waist and burst into tears again. Russell, with his eyes downcast, endlessly stroked Summer’s head and patted her shoulder.
He didn’t know when the tears would stop, but he would always be there, no matter when they did.
“Why has our young lady, who went out all excited, returned in such a state?”
Mary frowned as she saw Summer, who had returned asleep in Russell’s arms.
Summer’s eyes were so red from crying that they looked swollen.
“I have nothing to say. She seems exhausted from crying for a long time, so let her rest.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Mary snatched Summer from Russell’s arms and lifted her up. It was a skill she had honed while restraining her when she flailed in nightmares.
“Please.”
“Be careful on your way back.”
As Russell left, Mary stood alone in front of the main gate, staring into the void.
“Don’t come near.”
A cold warning slipped from Mary’s lips.
“…”
“Don’t touch the young lady.”
“You’re selfish. You don’t care what happens to the world, do you?”
Emerging from the darkness was Fay. Mary tightened her grip on Summer, who she held close.
“Isn’t it selfish of you?”
“We’re just acting for the preservation of the world.”
Fay shrugged, speaking in a teasing tone. Mary gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at Fay.
“Does that mean the young lady’s life must be sacrificed for that? What a trivial world.”
“Watch your words, frog.”
“Watch your own words, witch.”
“Ha! You know, right? This world flows according to the Creator.”
As Mary countered without backing down, Fay began to get angry, exhaling sharply.
With a calm expression, Mary waved her arms toward the mansion a couple of times.
Through the window, Daisy, who had been eagerly waiting for the young lady to return, ran excitedly toward Mary.
“Uh, the young lady…?”
“She’s asleep. Can you take care of her for me? I have something to discuss with that one.”
“Sure.”
Daisy cheerfully hoisted Summer onto her shoulder and entered the mansion.
Only then did Mary feel at ease and mock Fay.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Can a witch be this foolish?”
“...What?”
“Keep your own god safe.”
“Keeping a god safe? We’re maintaining the balance of the world…!”
“No. You already know. Who is the only one who can change this world that the Creator has abandoned?”
“The black-haired one wants to go back. Who do you think you are to leave a child in this world?”
“A long time ago.”
“…”
Mary’s voice was chillingly calm. Even Fay flinched slightly.
“A long time ago, when the Creator abandoned this world, it was you who rebelled against the gods, became a witch, lost your name, and was banished to the Black Forest.”
“How do you know that…?”
“You exist to somehow maintain the world that the Creator abandoned.”
“…”
Mary smirked, mocking Fay.
“You’re holding onto a forsaken world. Crying out for the god who abandoned us.”
“...What does that mean?”
Fay stammered, confused. What on earth is this being? Mary saw Fay, the witch, as a creature she had never encountered before.
Mary’s eyes were unwavering and clear. In contrast, Fay’s eyes darted around.
She could instinctively tell. The black-haired one might have deceived her, but this former maid could never be deceived.
Mary took a step closer and lightly tapped Fay’s shoulder. Even though it was a small force, Fay lost her balance for a moment and stumbled, landing on her backside.
“Keep your own god safe.”
“…”
The maid looking down at her seemed to be looking at the version of herself that lived in a brilliant world.
“I will protect my god.”
The god who created the world, the first pope.
Just like Fay, who lived under that name.