A Purple Rose
The sun, which had warmly illuminated the world with its violet-tinged rays, slipped beyond the horizon. Only the quiet twilight of autumn lingered in the sky. Inside the park, lonely darkness shattered along the edges of the moonlit haze.
Unlike the chaotic atmosphere that had filled the daytime funeral, the grass now echoed with the solitary cries of insects. The memorial service had long since ended. Everyone had sent off the deceased with their own grief, burying his name deep in their hearts.
But only after they had all returned to their places did one woman finally stand before the tombstone, holding a single flower.
"I'm sorry, Lucas... I'm a little late..."
Her rich crimson hair fluttered wildly in the gusting wind. Even in the biting cold that seemed to pierce her flesh, her golden eyes stared blankly at the gray headstone. The woman bit her lip without a word.
Her identity was none other than Korn Ronesia. She was the principal of Reynolds Academy, and the lover of Lucas Crayden, who had now returned to the side of the stars.
Korn, who had been standing frozen, soon reached into her bosom and pulled out a crystal orb. It was a recording Lucas had left behind as his last will. Not the casual video that had been played at the funeral, but one he had recorded with deadly seriousness. A letter he had given her, telling her to watch it if he ever died.
"You bastard... In the end, you made me watch this..."
Overcome with emotion, Korn could not hold back her resentful words. She quietly moved her fingers to activate the crystal orb. Before long, its surface glowed with a blue light, and a familiar voice began to play.
— Hello, Master.
— The fact that you're watching this recording... probably means I'm already gone from this world.
The green-haired young man who appeared on the surface wore a bitter smile. Korn lowered her head as a lump formed in her throat.
— I don't know exactly how my end came, but I'll start by saying I'm sorry.
— I wanted to stay by your side forever...
— But I guess some wishes just can't come true.
— Please forgive your unworthy disciple, Master.
The disciple apologized with an expression of deep shame, but that only made his master's heart ache even more. Even as Korn's vision gradually blurred with tears, Lucas continued his final message.
— Still... I think my life was quite happy.
— There were times when misfortune struck, but in the end, I overcame them.
— There were so many people I was grateful for.
— Uncle Gillius whom I met on the battlefield, His Grace the Duke of Lisite, my comrades who passed before me.
— And the fellow professors and students at the academy who welcomed me.
— And finally......
— My beloved Master.
Korn could no longer hold back her tears. Transparent lines traced sadly down her pale cheeks. As if he could see straight through her, Lucas gave a mischievous smile.
— You're crying right now, aren't you, Master?
— You're softer-hearted than you look.
At the young man's playful smile, Korn roughly wiped her damp eyes. But once the downpour had begun, it showed no sign of stopping.
— I remember the moment I first confessed my love to you.
— Your face flushed red as you scolded me, "Don't make such ridiculous jokes!"
— Haha... You were so cute back then, Master.
Korn's body began to tremble. She remembered that moment too. How could she forget? In her long life, there had never been a time when she had felt so flustered and embarrassed.
— Only after I courted you for nearly a year did you finally accept me.
— After that, it was truly a continuous stretch of happiness.
— Waking up beside you in the morning, working with reliable colleagues, teaching bright young students...
— It was a daily life so happy I sometimes wondered if it was really allowed.
In the green eyes reflecting on the past, a sense of fulfillment and relief seemed to shine through. Lucas looked at Korn with a bright, sunny face.
— So please, don't be too sad about my death.
— I'm leaving very peacefully.
— The only thing that weighs on me is leaving you behind alone... but I believe you'll overcome it.
— I hope you won't grieve for too long even without me.
— I loved you more than anyone else in this world.
— My beloved Master.
With that final confession of love, the video came to an end. Korn remained frozen, clutching the now-dark crystal orb to her chest. At some point, she had fallen to her knees before the tombstone, sobbing miserably.
"Ah... Aah......"
A terrible sense of loss consumed the world. The woman who had lost the most precious fragment of herself sang a song of sorrow. She had survived countless hells, including war, but this pain was almost impossible to endure with a sane mind.
The grief of losing a loved one. A sharpened spike of misfortune stabbed deep into her chest.
Plop...
A single flower slipped from her hand and fell before the tombstone. The purple rose, soaked with tears, rolled pathetically across the grass in the autumn wind.
Korn reached out with a trembling hand and brushed the lonely headstone. The icy chill that met her fingertips made her stomach churn.
"If you leave me like this... then I..."
Just a month ago, they had been facing each other over meals. They had handled academy business together. They had lain in bed, whispering love into each other's ears.
Yet now, she stood before his grave, pouring out her grief.
"......You wicked thing."
Hadn't they promised? Hadn't he sworn he would never use magic that consumed his lifespan? Hadn't they agreed to enjoy peaceful days together for the time they had left?
What were the students to him that he would throw it all away? Were they more precious to him than she was? To her, he was more precious than the entire academy combined.
Yet in the end, he had left her side.
And after doing that, to say he loved her... wasn't that too cruel?
"I... I love you too, Lucas..."
Korn pressed her forehead against the headstone as she confessed. Even the woman called the Empire's hero and the strongest of humanity was, in the end, just one person. For a long while, hot tears dripped onto the cold stone.
.
.
.
While Korn continued her solitary memorial, a man stood silently behind her, watching. He was a middle-aged man with a sturdy build, distinctive black eyes, and black hair.
The man, who had been quietly listening to her sobs, slowly walked toward her side.
"Korn."
A heavy, low-pitched voice called her name. But Korn did not turn to look. She could tell who he was just from the aura she felt.
"......Stener."
Stener Lisite. The current head of the Lisite ducal family, and a close friend she had known since childhood.
Stener looked at Korn's tear-streaked face and let out a small sigh.
"How long have you been like this?"
"......"
Korn remained silent. Stener seemed to understand and shifted his gaze. His eyes fell on the memorial stone engraved with Lucas's name.
Stener stared at it and murmured quietly.
"......He was a clever boy."
"......"
"Even after going through war, he was a good child who never lost his light."
As he spoke, Stener recalled memories of the past. The green-haired boy who had sought hope even on blood-soaked battlefields. Once, he had hoped his own son would grow up just as brightly.
That was already a story from ten years ago.
While Stener was lost in recollection, Korn suddenly asked in a tear-choked voice.
"Stener..."
"Speak."
"How... how do you bury this pain and keep living...?"
"......"
"You lost Philippa too... How are you enduring this sorrow...?"
Her golden eyes, dyed with despair, pierced through his hidden reverse scale. Stener flinched for a moment but quickly shook it off. With his usual expressionless face, he rummaged in his trouser pocket and pulled out a cigarette, placing it between his lips.
"Because there are things I must take responsibility for."
Stener lit the cigarette and answered calmly. Thick gray smoke scattered through the cold night air.
"The family I must support, the empire I must protect, the people of my territory I must govern... If I were to collapse, too many problems would arise."
"......"
"I didn't endure it, Korn. I simply couldn't afford to fall apart."
Stener exhaled slowly. The pungent smell of tobacco spread, overpowering the fresh autumn scent.
He spoke to Korn, who was still kneeling on the ground.
"I hope you will do the same."
"What...?"
At the cold advice, a poisonous glint flashed in her unfocused golden eyes. Korn glared at Stener as if she wanted to kill him.
"The only thing left by my side was that child...! After the war took everything from me, he was the only meaning left in my world...!"
She had no parents from birth. Her younger sister, who had overcome hardship with her, had died in the war. And now, even her beloved lover had left her in an accident.
In such a situation, to speak of responsibility. It sounded like nothing but mockery.
"What would you know...!"
"I do know."
"Shut up!!"
"The problem is that I know all too well."
Stener gazed quietly at his grief-stricken friend. It felt as if he were facing his past self. The death of his beloved wife, and the family he had neglected while being consumed by emotion.
Stener chewed on the bitter regret rising within him and stubbed out the cigarette on the back of his hand.
"It may not be visible to you right now... but there will surely be things. Things you must take responsibility for."
Do not lose what remains by your side. Otherwise, an even greater loss will one day swallow you whole.
Though I ended up creating more things to regret while drowning in sorrow...
"......I hope you will be different."
With those final words, Stener turned away. He walked out of the park with steady steps. All that remained where he had stood was thick cigarette smoke and an empty sense of deprivation.