Epilogue - The Dying Ember by the Riverside
A cold winter day, the riverbank encased in thin ice. As a woman strolled along the shore, an unfamiliar scent and a faint breath reached her ears. A precarious sound, like a candle flame on the verge of extinguishing.
"......."
The woman paused, pondering for a moment, then moved toward the source. There lay a child. Her condition was so horrific it couldn't even be called pitiful—it was beyond words.
Hu, a short sigh escaped as white breath in the frigid air. Without grimacing, the woman carefully examined the girl. Sharp bruises and gashes covered her body, including her face, as if she'd collided with something jagged. By her abdomen, it was like a stuffed doll burst open at the seams.
"You'll die soon."
"......."
Once spilled, water can't be gathered back. The wounds were massive, and too much blood had already drained. Anyone could see the child had one foot in the grave. There was no need to go this far just to kill her. This was done to torment and toy with her, the woman concluded inwardly.
An arrow embedded in her calf. One hand reduced to rags. Wounds stabbed repeatedly in non-vital spots. Yet seeing no traces of resistance from the child, the woman thought the perpetrator must have been someone dear to her.
Did you get betrayed too? the woman asked softly.
No answer came, as expected.
"...The world outside hasn't changed at all."
".......—.."
"Always cruel and merciless to everyone..."
And so, she placed her hand on the child's neck. A slender throat that seemed it would snap with the slightest pressure. Was it to ease her pain? But the woman couldn't bring herself to apply more force. Her hand trembled pitifully.
"Haha... Pity, feeling that is nothing but a luxury for me..."
"....."
"Why... am I feeling it now?"
She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them with resolved determination. A momentary hesitation, but now a life would end by her hand. The grip on the neck tightened. Slowly. Bit by bit.
".....Ni—"
"...What—"
Just as the flickering candle was about to go out. The child's lips parted ever so slightly. The woman, watching, pulled back her hand in shock and stared at her.
The child spat blood from her mouth, along with a single word.
"—Unni.."
"....!!"
Moments later, no one remained there. Only traces of blood proved a child had washed up, but even those faded with the river's flow. What became of the girl, whom no doctor could save, remains unknown to all.
"In the end... I brought her with me..."
"I should have killed her..."
"From the moment she came here and saw me... I had no choice but to kill her...!"
"I don't want to be betrayed again...!!"
A storm of blood swept through the palace without warning. The day etched in everyone's memory as one of joyful festival had crumbled entirely.
Aris Akaia, the beloved third princess, had vanished.
No one knew the details. Why she had slipped past the barriers into the forest. What caused her to fall from the cliff. Why the first princess, returning supported by her guards, was covered in blood. Why the second princess had swung her sword madly, trying to kill her sister. What urgent news the former knight captain and the librarian had brought.
Nothing was revealed. Knights and servants who might hold clues sealed their lips. It became a taboo. A forbidden fruit. And perhaps because of that, it seemed all the sweeter. People still sought to uncover the truth—and without fail, they ended up buried deep underground, never reaching it.
Weeks after the incident, the official investigation results were announced.
The culprit was Duke Akiten Beit.
Once a promising talent, now a grave criminal steeped in greed, guilty of unspeakable crimes. After the event, he tried to flee across the border with his fortune but was captured. He screamed he hadn't committed such acts, but having been caught mid-flight, his words rang hollow.
There was no trial. Everyone involved was rounded up. The maid who swapped earrings with his bribe. The shaman who crafted the pearl infused with sorcery. The merchant who regularly supplied materials. The carpenter who built the secret chamber.
Then the kingdom's torturers were unleashed. Their first pleas were for mercy; soon after, they begged for death. But it didn't stop. The experts worked silently, pouring in their personal malice. They began spewing grotesque sounds unfit for words, then only laughter, until finally their vocal cords were ripped out, rendering speech impossible. Only then did the torment end.
The ringleader, Duke Akiten, was hung alive from the city gates, surviving three days and nights in agony before dying, or so the tales go. At first, people didn't recognize the dangling figure. Save for a few sharp-eyed folk, most mistook it for a leather sculpture. But once his name was inscribed below, a barrage of filth rained upon him.
Thus, the saga concluded. Vivid scars fade with time, so the kingdom's people firmly believed the royals would shake it off and return to normal.
Peace restored to the realm. Yet whispers began to spread.
"The first princess, jealous of the third's talents, pushed her off the cliff."
Initially dismissed as nonsense. But as eyewitness accounts gained credence, it became an open secret, then accepted truth. Everyone heard it, a hushed consensus.
The palace hunted the rumor's source but found nothing. Their efforts only fattened the tale, spreading it far and wide. A rumor travels a thousand miles on wings.
It evolved: The first princess had always hated the third. She'd secretly abused the youngest before. She'd butchered her right before the second princess's eyes. Anna Akaia's reputation teetered on ruin.
Yet the subject herself let the rumors fester. Whether from disdain for such lowly gossip or guilt-ridden paralysis, no one knew.
Today, too, tales of the first princess buzzed in a tavern. Knights arrived on a tip, but the drinkers had vanished.
And so, another day passed in the kingdom.
IF. If she had caught Aris from the cliff.
"Aa... Aaaah...!! Anyone, please, anyone come quick—!!!!"
"....—,—."
Aris's body, always as warm as her heart, was now ice-cold. My hands pressed desperately against the blood pouring from her stomach, but mercilessly, it seeped through my fingers.
Drip, drip. The falling droplets sounded like Aris's soul fading. The pristine snow beneath was staining red from her blood, the crimson circle ever widening.
What do I do, what can I do...!!
"—Over here!! The princesses are here!!!"
"Hurry!! Hurry!! Call a physician, now!!"
Soldiers found us soon. Their earnest efforts grated today. Faster... please... faster!!
They glanced my way, gasped, left a few behind, and rushed off for the physician.
".....Ni—, cough, hack."
"Aris!? Don't speak!! Yeah, yeah. It's Remi. It'll be okay, yeah."
Aris's hand slowly groped toward my face. I forced a smile to reassure her.
The physician arrived shortly.
"It's okay.... You'll live... Aris, right? Yeah?"
".........—."
"Yeah.. Aris is so good.. You promised to always stay by my side.... Right...!"
Aris's eyes turned to me. Those jade eyes, like jewels I adored, were clouding over. Unfocused, staring into distant void.
"—No!"
"......"
"No, Aris... yeah? Hang on just a bit. They went for the physician...! Snap out of it, Aris! Please—!!!!"
I gripped her wandering hand tightly, squeezing hard. Did my prayers reach the heavens? Aris, who moments ago seemed lifeless, smiled and looked straight at me.
Yes, you can make it... Aris...!
"Yeah, Aris.... I still can't make flower crowns properly... yeah? You said you'd teach me...?"
"—Un, ni."
"Aris won't leave, right..? You won't leave me alone...!?"
"....Love, you."
"Yeah yeah! I love you too... Aris."
With those words, Aris relaxed, closing her eyes as if to sleep. Don't sleep, Aris. Open your eyes. Sleeping in the cold gets you sick. You taught me that. Right?
"Don't close your eyes, Aris..! Open them..! We were gonna read books together, travel, play tag!!"
"......."
Please...
"Open your eyes... please... just once... Aris..."
"......."
Please....
"You're... sleeping...?"
"......."
"Yeah... no helping it. Aris..."
Aris never opened her eyes again. Snowflakes fell from the sky, cold winds tickled my ears, but she slumbered peacefully.
The physicians began carrying her away.
A—
"■■■■■■■■...."
"□□, □□□......"
Knight and maids spoke beside me. Sleepy, maybe? Their words didn't register. What are they saying? Nothing comes through. Just leave me alone.
I always slept beside Aris when she dozed off. Now she slept, so maybe my turn? My eyelids drooped.
Sleep? Yeah, maybe this is all a dream? A nightmare I never want again. It has to be. Such horror can't be real.
I glanced at my waist. A honed dagger gleamed.
Time to wake from the dream. I—