Cecile could only stare blankly at the sight before her. The manâs chest was impaled by a black spear⊠no, not a spearâthe black figure outside the window had transformed itself into a spear to pierce the manâs chest. The man gurgled and groaned before collapsing forward, pulling Cecile along with him.
âIt hurts.â Cecile let a yelp of pain as tears welled in her eyes. He hadnât let go of her hair, and it hurt from being yanked. Her cheek still stung from the slap, and her shoulder also ached from smacking against the ground.
When she turned her head, she saw the man collapsed next to her had stopped breathing with his eyes still open. He had died. As the realization struck Cecile, more tears welled up and spilled over. She felt the onset of fear that had been long forgotten. Sheâd seen people die in the manner the night of her wedding.
âAm I going to die here? After all my efforts to not end up like this?â Cecile mumbled subconsciously, âIâm scaredâŠâ
Her captor was dead, and she would be next. She couldnât prevent the tears spilling from her eyes as the black thing thatâd impaled him shifted into a long snake-like form and approached her. Cecile gripped the scepter tightly and debated whether to strike it, but her body was paralyzed with fear. When the black thing raised itself, Cecile closed her eyes thinking this would be her end.
And yet, no matter how long she waited, there was no pain. âWhatâs going on? Am I already dead, but I just canât feel it? Or is that black thing waiting for the moment I open my eyes to kill me?â A jumble of thoughts was running through her mind, when she felt something gently wipe her cheek. Her eyes shot open in surprise at the sensation.
The black thing that had ruthlessly murdered the man mere moments before was tenderly caressing the corner of Cecileâs eyes, as if it were worried. Cecile blinked, startled by the touch against her cheek. She remembered this feelingâCecile had returned to the empressâs palace in tears on the night of Yulianaâs arrival at the imperial palace, and he had comforted her with this same touch.
âYour Majesty?â Cecile called out in a cautious voice. She was convinced that the black thingâs caress was the same as Estianâs touch. The way it wiped away her tears and stroked her cheek, and even how it hesitated as if unsure what to do next. It meant that the black shape was reallyâŠ
âYour Majesty!â Cecile jumped to her feet. âHow⊠did you end up like this?â Was this truly, truly Estian? Had that man been truthful? How had Estian ended up looking like this? What in the world had happened? She could barely bear to continue, as she reached out and tried to grab the black shape in her shock. Before she could reach it, the black thing quickly pulled back in an instant, leaving her staring stupefied.
The moment Cecile murmured her question, it seemed to tremble like a person whose secret had been exposed. It swiftly retreated back outside the window. Cecile ran after it and saw the entirety of the black mass covering Etiaâs capital was shaking.
Groooar!âa tremendous howl echoed everywhere, forcing Cecile to cover her ears. It was the same cry sheâd heard when the gate first opened back at the imperial palace. But this time, it sounded even louder and more desperate than before.
* * *
âShe knows.â This fact colored Estianâs every thought. Sheâd found outâhis true form. It was a reality heâd never considered before.
âThen we should kill her,â the childrenâs voices inside him whispered in his ears. âYouâve killed everyone who saw your true form. So, letâs kill this time too. Thatâs right. You canât let anyone whoâs seen this monstrous appearance live.â
These were the voices belonging to those children that were thrown into the same laboratory as Estian. They were all absorbed into and lived in Estianâs mind when he became the sole survivor.
âEstian, kill her already. Come on!â the voices urged.
âNo, I canât,â Estian insisted, shaking his head. He looked at Cecile, who was gazing blankly at him from the window of the tall building. He couldnât for the life of him figure out how sheâd ended up here. His wife shouldâve been enjoying a pleasant day at the empressâs palace. Heâd even placed Richard at her side for her safety. How could she be here in the city of Etia?
At first, Estian thought he was hallucinating, but then he caught sight of the scepter in her hand. The scepter was an item that couldnât be replicated with illusions. If she was holding the regalia, then she was the real Cecile. Estian felt despair as he looked at the wife heâd wished to see ever since he departed from the imperial palace.
Her appearance was a messâher cheek was bruised from the ruptured blood vessels after being slapped by that mutt, and her face was streaked with the tears she shed moments ago.
âYour Majesty!â Cecile cried out to him. Estian felt his heart shattering at the sound of her voice.