“Fay, tell me. You’re the greatest among the witches, right?”
Summer, having slipped out of Russell's embrace, staggered and grabbed Fay's arms, shaking them. “... It's not impossible. We can find the body just after the soul has departed and enter it. It will take some time, though.” “And what’s the chance that my soul will stick to this body before that?” “... Ninety-nine out of a hundred.” “Haha, so there’s really no way, is there?” “...” Summer let go of Fay's arms as if throwing them away, mocking her. Fay lowered her head, feeling devastated. Summer was right. If she couldn't return by today, Summer would also fall under the dominion of this world. If that happened, even if she later found another body to return to, the chances of her soul shattering or fragmenting like Selina's would be too high. “Black-haired girl, this world isn’t so bad. If you hate the world, you can come to the Black Forest where I live.” Fay suddenly lifted her head and spoke passionately. But Summer simply shook her head. “... Fay. Can I ask you one thing?” “Anything! Ask me anything!” Fay nodded vigorously, as if her neck would break. “If I fully establish myself in this world, can I die?” “What?” Fay's movements abruptly halted. In the distance, the Bertrand family carriage was approaching, but no one turned their gaze that way. “If the world loses interest in me, can I die then?” Summer's voice was eerily calm. Fay could feel it. Summer's soul was collapsing. “... No. No matter what, the only ones who can kill you are yourself and them.” “If it’s them...” “For example, that man next to you.” Summer's vacant eyes slowly turned toward Russell. The strangely shining eyes of Summer were not sane. “Russell...” “No.” “...” It was a swift and decisive rejection. “The reason I agreed to your death is because it meant returning. I will never allow you to truly die.” “... I understand.” With a resigned tone, Summer spoke in a voice devoid of energy and turned her gaze away. The carriage had already stopped right in front of Russell. “Let’s get in for now, Summer. And how about staying at my mansion for a while?” “...” Russell extended his hand. Summer merely stared at his hand blankly. In his anxiety, Russell finally revealed part of his true feelings. “I’m worried. Please allow me to be by your side.” Whether that moved Summer or not, she took Russell's hand and slowly climbed into the carriage. Even the simple act of getting into the carriage caused Summer to stagger several times. Each time, both Russell and Fay flinched. The carriage started moving, and the ruined temple gradually receded into the distance. Until then, Summer had maintained her silence, keeping her gaze down, but then she spoke up. “I’m sorry. For hurting you. I didn’t mean to... really.” “I know.” “I just... it was too hard for me.” “I know that too. Experiencing it, I realize it’s something one shouldn’t do.” “...” “It might be better to not give affection at all. I had forgotten how painful this is.” “I’m sorry.” Summer whispered her apology in a voice that seemed to crawl. Instead of saying anything in response, Russell simply opened the window silently. A cool breeze blew in. Summer leaned out the window and looked up at the sky. The sky was clear without a single cloud, and the sunlight was warm. Feeling overwhelmed, Summer slightly furrowed her brow and shielded her eyes with one hand. It was too intense. “Russell.” “Summer.” “Is my name Summer Lindsay? Is that correct?” “...” “Am I Summer because I took Summer's name? I don’t know.” “Summer.” “I feel like I belong nowhere, neither alive nor dead, like a foreigner.” Summer said, resting her head against the window frame. Russell couldn't take his eyes off her. Her expression was undeniably calm. The sunlight shone brightly on her. Yet, why did it feel like Summer was crying? “Summer. Call me Duke Bertrand.” “Duke Bertrand.” “Now call me Russell.” “... Russell.” Summer slightly narrowed her brows. She seemed to be pondering what Russell intended by asking her to do this. “Now, call me Lui.” “... But that’s not your name, Russell.” Summer raised a question. Russell maintained an emotionless, polite demeanor as he spoke. “My mother wanted to name me Lui. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Still, my mother sometimes called me Lui.” “...” How much time had passed for him to calmly bring up memories of his deceased mother like that? Summer scrutinized Russell's face. No matter how much she looked, it seemed impossible to discern his feelings first. “Just because I’m called Lui doesn’t mean I’m not myself.” “But...” “Just because I’m a soulless puppet in front of my cold father, a spoiled son in front of my gentle mother, Duke Bertrand, or the chancellor of the empire, doesn’t mean I’ve ever not been myself.” “Russell. But I’m a person from that world, and I died there. I don’t even know how or why I died.” Summer spoke with a tone full of emptiness, smiling sadly. Russell reached out and gently took Summer's hand. He could feel the warmth of her body beneath her skin. “Then who is this person I’ve met?” The blue eyes stared intently at Summer. In his gaze, Summer found herself. A weary and ragged soul, wearing an ill-fitting shell. “My body is Summer Lindsay, and my soul is a terrible being that has lost its way.” Russell felt pain from Summer's answer. It hurt so much that it felt like someone was tearing his heart apart with a sharp piece. The only things that could hurt him were the things he cherished. The precious Summer, who had come to see the world as terrible, was now seeing herself as terrible. “Please... I hope that when I close my eyes and open them again, this will all be a dream.” Summer said she wished everything that had happened in this world was a dream. Russell quietly lowered his gaze. Russell desperately wished that the time he spent with Summer was not a dream, trying not to forget her. But she said she wished all of this was a dream. I see. The hot earth was sprinkled over the buried heart. If my very existence was a nightmare for someone precious, what could I possibly do? Summer's melancholy began to creep down to Russell's feet. * * * “Gasp, huff... Witch!” Damien rushed in a panic. He was carrying a pile of old books in his arms. Fay, who had been quietly staring at the place where Summer had left, turned her body toward Damien. “Witch? You shouldn’t call me that, boy.” Damien flinched at Fay's gentle voice. It was a voice he had heard somewhere before. Since she was the former pope, he might have brushed past her once or twice. “Where’s Summer?” “She has returned and left.” “I looked for cases where a body was sucked into another world,” “It's meaningless.” “... What?” His hand, which was about to show the books in his arms, stopped. Damien had a bewildered expression, unable to understand the situation. Fay kindly snatched the books from his arms and threw them into the mud. “The black-haired girl from the original world is dead.” “...!” “As far as I know, there are only two foreigners: Selina and the black-haired girl. Since both of them died in the original world...” “... Are you saying that some of those who died in that world accidentally flowed into this world?” Damien continued Fay's words. If that were the case, then the idea of returning would not exist at all. Until now, Selina and Summer had dreamed of a return to a place they could never go back to. They had abandoned their homeland, and when they tried to return, their homeland had long since disappeared. “It's a guess. The best option is for the foreigners to live here contentedly, but how can they love this world?” “...” “They couldn’t even love their own world.” Fay thought that Selina and Summer had too many points of intersection. “What on earth is the god's scheme?” Damien crumpled his face in frustration. The god had always had a gloomy side. It was a world he created, yet he never allowed it to be happy and peaceful. As if it were made to torment us. The world was persistent and cruel. At least to Damien, the world and the god who created it were such beings. “The pope is quite blasphemous.” “I'm not a pope anymore. Selina is dead, so what does any of this mean?” Damien burst into a fierce laugh and tore at his priestly robe. He had only been standing in this wretched temple to take care of Selina. All for that poor savior of his. Fay's gaze fell on the priestly robe that had fallen to the ground. “... Yes. Before you are forsaken, forsake it.” “...” “I was foolish. I realized too late that I was merely a tool for the god to maintain the world.” Fay, who knew the god's cruelty better than anyone, reached out and gently patted Damien. “...” “You’ve had a hard time, child.” Damien bowed his head deeply. And soon, he let out a sorrowful cry. “How much I prayed... I just wanted her to be safe... I prayed like that.” “I felt the same. I prayed and prayed with an uncertain faith to a god who never answered. To protect my daughter.” “Did you also get betrayed?” Damien's red eyes, filled with rage, resembled an angel abandoned by the god. Fay quietly embraced Damien. The touch on his back was quite familiar. “No. I missed it.” “When?” Damien slowly closed and opened his eyes. Memories of the cabin he lived in as a child came to mind. The sounds of the crowd, the burning cabin, and his mother, screaming inside, urging him to go. Damien closed his eyes again. What had he come this far for? It felt empty. “If that child had grown up, she would be around the age of the black-haired girl now.” “That's an old story.” “Right. But it still feels like just yesterday. The cries of the child who lost my hand in the crowd, calling for mother.” “...” In the middle of the ruined temple, Fay silently comforted Damien for a long time. This time would eventually pass.