“Why, why are you taking off your clothes!”
Russell began to unbutton his white shirt one by one. Then he took it off completely and draped it over Summer. Under the large shirt, Summer was completely hidden. “Just a moment.” “Wh-what are you trying to do?” Summer suddenly felt something strange. The upper body of Russell, filling her view, was closer to that of a soldier than a statesman. Well-defined muscles. And scars. Summer reached out and touched the largest scar with her fingertips. She felt Russell flinch beneath her touch. “Why does a bureaucrat sitting at a desk have such scars?” “Because I haven’t lived a smooth life.” Summer stared at the scar. It was long and white, running along his side, suggesting it had been there for a long time. To think that the Duke of Bertrand, praised for resembling a delicate orchid, would have such scars. It was unimaginable. In the original story, Russell was someone who provided thorough political assistance, not someone who used force. “Perhaps it’s possible for you, Russell.” To deceive the gods. After all, Russell had already deceived the gods once to ask Summer for information. “Summer. Please stop touching my body and carve.” “...Carve?” “With that, you can leave what you want to leave behind. It would be nice if I could remember it.” “Are you serious?” “I wouldn’t be in this state, exposed before you, if I weren’t serious.” “...” Summer opened the ink bottle and filled the pen nib with ink. Then, with trembling hands, she began to write on Russell’s scar. Her story was densely packed over the scar. “Is it possible to deceive the gods with something like this?” Summer’s hand suddenly stopped. She wondered if the world would remain unaware just because she carved some words on her body. Perhaps by the time Summer returned and the sun rose the next day, these words would have completely vanished. “It’s good if you can deceive them, and if you can’t, then it’s fine.” “What if the gods get angry and harm Russell?” “I have never served the gods in the first place. If he harms me, that’s entirely possible, and it’s not Summer’s fault.” “...” “Will you tell me this time?” “What about?” “Your real name. The name that you, Summer, who wanted to find it so desperately that you said you would leave me here, are searching for.” “...Name, you say.” The expression on Summer’s face as she said that was so sorrowful that Russell momentarily lost his words. Is that what it means to lose a name? To have one’s soul consumed and gnawed at until it becomes tattered. Wasn’t that what she had to endure, a powerless and fearful day? “It’s done.” Summer finally put down the pen. Russell immediately put his shirt back on without reading what Summer had carved. Under the white shirt, the words Summer had inscribed were hidden. “Russell, if, by any chance, you forget me...” “I will remember.” “Still,” “Even if the world erases my memory, I will trace back the traces of my life and surely remember.” Summer turned her gaze to the window. The moonlight was bright. Time had swiftly moved forward. Summer stood up and approached the window. Outside was a ruin. How perfectly Damian had shattered the newness, the temple that had just been pristine was now a crumbled ruin. “It’s a really good stage for an exit.” Fortunately, whether it was because Pay had subdued Damian or because Damian had given up, there were no more sounds of things breaking. Summer turned around and faced Russell. Her hair, woven with golden threads, shimmered like sunlight under the white moonlight. “Russell. Can you stay by my side until my last breath?” “If you allow it.” In that moment, facing Summer under the moonlight, Russell thought that if there were a god in this world, it might be similar to Summer. “Then shall we go?” Summer smiled and reached out her hand. Russell, knowing that pain of loss would follow, had no choice but to take that hand. His usual rational judgment was, by no means, present. * * * “Summer. Are you ready?” Having changed into a green dress and arrived at the prayer room, she saw Pay and Damian. Pay jumped down from the fountain and approached Summer. Damian’s condition was honestly hard to say was good, even as a polite lie. His hands were covered in blood, and his priestly robe was a mess. With his black hair hanging down, sitting like a broken doll, Damian didn’t even glance at Summer. “I’m ready.” “Are you really planning to just jump into that holy water and breathe your last?” “Yes.” “Oh my. Do you know how long and painful that will be!” Pay vehemently opposed. Summer had felt for some time that Pay was not happy about her death. It would be good if the world returned to normal. Thanks to Pay’s uproar, Damian slowly cast his gaze toward Summer. Then, from under the sleeve of his priestly robe, he pulled out two small bottles and tossed them in front of Summer. “Take it.” “What is this?” Summer picked up the two small bottles that had fallen and asked. “It’s poison.” Damian replied in a completely exhausted tone. Summer held the bottles up to the faint light. To the naked eye, there didn’t seem to be a significant difference between the two. “The left one is the breath of Blenkis. The right one is a poison that slowly kills you. The choice is yours.” Instant death or a slow approach to death. It was time for her to choose. “Of course, it’s the left one! Right?” Pay said as if there was no need to think. But Summer dropped the breath of Blenkis to the ground. The fallen bottle shattered into pieces. “I’ll take the right one.” “...” Damian’s red eyes stared directly at Summer. It seemed both Damian and Pay were surprised by Summer’s decision. Summer looked down at the bottle in her hand. She knew. The mind that had lost its reason was trembling at the thought of returning, but her body already knew. What she was about to do was not an act of returning. It was an act of ending. Only Summer knew that. She slowly brought the bottle’s opening to her lips. The poison that slid down her throat was unbearably bitter. “Ugh!” Immediately, a sensation of twisting in her stomach hit, and Summer staggered. The empty bottle she had been holding fell to the marble floor. “Summer!” Russell quickly supported Summer. “P-push me into the fountain, cough, throw me into the fountain...” With each word, dark blood surged up. Russell quickly picked Summer up and moved toward the fountain. Then he stepped into the fountain. The water wasn’t very deep. It was only up to Russell’s knees. “Cough!” Summer spat out blood again. The prayer room was eerily quiet. No one dared to make a sound. “Why does everyone have such faces...?” Summer mumbled, letting out a weak laugh. Especially Pay looked completely distorted, his face filled with despair. “Russell, hurry...” “I understand.” Russell slowly bent his knees and set Summer down. The icy water rose tightly to his chest. Russell did not let go of Summer. Holding Summer on his lap, he was busy wiping the blood from her with his hands. “Summer. Please, please...” Russell’s lips were murmuring incessantly. Summer gazed at him, her eyes filled with everything. “Russell, you can be flustered too.” “Please, Summer...” Russell didn’t even know what he was wishing for as he tightened his grip around Summer. It felt like Summer was about to disappear. He was afraid. The fear of loss that he had forgotten resurfaced. While caring for his mother, who was visibly sick, Russell had to watch someone slowly die helplessly. Even now, holding Summer, he felt powerless. Perhaps even more so than back then. “Ugh! You know, Russell...” “Don’t say it. It will hurt a lot.” “If I die, please don’t hold a funeral, huff, don’t hold a funeral for me.” “Summer, please... don’t be so cruel to me. Please...” “Please, Russell.” “...” Russell’s face seemed to crack, and soon his expression twisted in pain. “This is a personal request.” “...” “Don’t cry too painfully. I’ve seen someone who lost a precious person. Ugh, ha... it feels like my heart is being torn apart, ha ha, it’s not pleasant.” “I refuse. I will grieve as much as I want.” “That’s too much.” Summer forced a smile and pretended to be calm. But her face, losing its color, grew paler, and her fingertips trembled. “Russell.” “Yes. I am here. I will stay here until you leave.” The red liquid spread over the transparent water. The area around Summer and Russell was already blood-red. “Can you tell me you love me just once?” “...” “Even if it’s not true, huff, it’s fine, just once.” “...” Russell’s tightly closed lips showed no sign of opening. Summer let out a laugh as if she had expected this. “You’re such a coward. Even if you’re about to die, you can’t lie.” In that moment, Summer felt dizzy, and her head fell back. “Summer!” Russell quickly adjusted his hold on her. Her body was excessively cold. The end was approaching. “...Russell?” As Summer barely regained her composure to say goodbye to Russell, her eyes widened. “Why are you so cruel?” “Russell...” Tears streamed down Russell’s cheeks. The wet blue eyes reflected his deep sorrow and despair. Summer forced her weak arm to lift and wiped the tears flowing down Russell’s cheek. “Russell, don’t cry too much.” “...Don’t leave me.” “...” “I was wrong. I won’t be able to handle it. I am not at all prepared to bear the separation from you.” “...” “Summer, please...” “Russell. Don’t be too sad. After all,” As the end approached, Summer gasped for breath and continued speaking. “Time flows, and we must inevitably part at least once.” “Summer...!” “Take care. I will go first.” With that, Summer closed her eyes. And with her last strength, she pushed Russell’s arms away. With a splash, Summer’s body was completely submerged. Russell hurriedly tried to lift Summer again, but her body had already vanished like a mirage. Russell’s blue eyes swirled in confusion. “Summer...? Summer, Summer! Oh, no... Summer! Please, no...!” Russell, like a madman, kept thrusting his head into the fountain, searching for Summer. Pay also approached with a shocked expression, looking helplessly at the blood-stained fountain. “Did she even... cross over with her physical body?” Summer was gone. Nowhere to be found.