“...So, you’re no longer a Pryster?”

All eyes turned to me.

But I was busy trying to comprehend the situation.

Sharon Payne.

I thought she had gone missing. I never expected to find her here.

I groaned in disbelief.

“How did you get here...”

“Hmm? Isn’t it rather impolite for the very person who drove me out of the Academy to ask such a question?”

She seemed to have changed a lot. No, her former demeanor when serving us might have been the acting; This might actually be her true nature.

“...What I mean is, why didn’t you return to the family and instead resorted to thievery...? I might have driven you out of the Academy, but it was you who ran away on your way home..!”

There were many puzzling aspects about Sharon’s actions. But having been busy recovering at that time, I didn’t care to dig any deeper. I assumed she disappeared because she felt it was better to run away than to return home and confess her sins.

“...Ah... you don’t know.”

Sharon smirked. Then, she softly muttered,

“I can’t return to the family. At least... not publicly.”

“...What do you mean?”

“It means that the punishment you gave wasn’t the only one. Your sister, Asena. Do you know what she gave me?”

“........”

Asena.

My body froze at the mention of that name.

Sharon seemed to be recalling the events, her eyelids quivering with suppressed rage.

“...She gave me a postcard. A postcard to take to my father. It ordered my execution.”

“...What?”

“Well, at least she gave me a choice. Die or run away. I had to choose one.”

-Tick.

She took something out and threw it at me.

From the tree above, a postcard fluttered down towards me.

The order Sharon spoke of was clearly written on the postcard that landed at my feet, in Asena’s handwriting.

“......”

“So, I had no choice but to run. Understood?”

Sharon continued in a light voice.

“We now have something in common. Being abandoned by Asena and being chased out of the family because of her.”

She stretched her legs and pulled her hood back on, signaling that the conversation was coming to an end.

“...But if there’s a difference between you and me... I still receive love from my family. To the outside world, I’m no longer a Payne, but look-”

She spread her arms, pointing to her group. Only then did the scale of her entourage make sense. They weren’t thieves, but the soldiers of the Payne family.

“The eldest of the Pryster, you, are merely leading a bunch of flies. And me, a mere second daughter of the Payne family, holds the power to crush you. Haha.”

I clenched my sword tightly.

Sharon continued.

“Direct your resentment at Asena, who tried to kill me. Though she probably doesn’t even care about you anymore.”

She then looked over her army.

“Kill them all. Loot the goods. Leave no survivors. Especially that man named Cayden.”

For a moment, everything felt surreal. The terror and tension vanished simultaneously.

When Sharon Payne issued the execution order, there was only one thing I was worried about…

Asena and Keirsey.

If it had come to this...

If this was the end...

“.....”

In the face of death, everything becomes trivial. But until the end, I regretted not being able to fulfill the promises I made to Daisy, to Judy, and finally, to the twins.

‘Haah…’

Among the fleeing crowds, the soldiers of the Payne family charged. At the first clash, three mercenaries fell. It was a battle we couldn’t win.

I whispered without realizing it.

“.....I hope the twins won’t cry too much.”

And then, I drew my sword.

****

Asena and Keirsey were taking a rest in Cayden’s room. Their spirits were still low, but they hadn’t hit rock bottom.

They had been going over a letter containing news about Cayden.

Though they didn’t speak of it, they both imagined the image of Cayden conveyed through the letter, and their desire to see him rose sharply.

But as much as they missed seeing him in person, having this letter was better than having nothing at all. Because even though the root cause remained unresolved, the letter offered a temporary lifeline.Lying on Cayden’s bed, Keirsey read the letter and quietly asked Asena,

“...Unnie, when did they say the next letter would arrive?”

It was evening. They were resting after their daily routines, though they hadn’t been very active since he left.

Tapping on the desk, Asena replied,

“...Night. Or maybe dawn. Once all the tasks are done and the person beside Oppa sends the letter, then based on that, Count Benthrock will send it to us.”

“...”

Realizing there was still a considerable wait for the next letter, Keirsey sighed deeply. The waiting time felt excruciating.

-Clang!

Suddenly, the weapon rack in Cayden’s room made a strange noise and collapsed.

It had been one of the few items they hadn’t touched while renovating the room.

Its polished appearance seemed like a testament to Cayden’s efforts. But now, it was broken.

Without a word, Asena and Keirsey stared at the fallen weapon rack.

Had it possibly received some impact when they were rummaging through the room yesterday? Keirsey wondered.

They tried not to make too much of it.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“It’s Helen, Lady Asena, Lady Keirsey.”

At that moment, Helen knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Keirsey spoke, shifting her gaze back to the letter.

As Helen entered, Keirsey said,

“Helen, I’m not in the mood for snacks.”

“That’s not why I’m here, Lady Keirsey.”

As Keirsey looked over with questioning eyes, Helen smiled and waved an envelope.

“The letter you’ve been waiting for all day has arrived.”

Keirsey’s heart skipped a beat.

“But... didn’t Unnie say it would come late at night?”

Her anticipation began to rise, wondering about the contents of today’s letter.

“Isn’t good news always welcome? The message has arrived.”

Helen responded.

“...I’ll read it first, Keirsey.”

Asena, who was nearby, grabbed the letter first. Keirsey was displeased, but knowing her turn would come, she patiently waited.

Though Asena tried to act nonchalant, only Keirsey could detect the glint of hope that had been absent in her expression all day.

With a hint of urgency, Asena tore open the envelope. Inside was a small page.

The size of this letter differed greatly from the one that had come the previous day.

Seeing that, Keirsey felt a slight disappointment.

If only there had been more content.

Keirsey rose from her seat.

Considering how brief the letter was, it seemed fine for both of them to read it together.

She promptly stood behind Asena, who slowly spread out the page.

Even before reading, it was clear the message was brief. Merely two lines.

===

Cayden and his convoy were attacked by thieves.

Cayden, including the entire convoy, seems to be dead.

===

The twins’ expressions hardened simultaneously.

“..........”

“...........”

It felt as though time stretched indefinitely for them.

Asena felt her heart stop. A cold weight pressed on her chest. While her heart reacted to the message, her mind refused to comprehend it.

Keirsey’s face turned ghostly white. Never had she encountered such an incomprehensible sequence of words.

Neither of them moved first.

They remained still, as if waiting to be awoken from a dream.

After what felt like an eternity,

The letter slipped through Asena’s fingers.

-Tap

“.......Huh?”

As the letter hit the table, the petrified twins snapped back to reality.“.......Oppa... is dead?”

At that dazed murmur, Helen gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

Keirsey, still unable to fully grasp the news, felt numb. There could be no death more unreal.magic

He was their brother, who trained in swordsmanship more diligently than anyone. He was their pillar, their reason for living. And the end of such a life was conveyed through a mere letter.

It was impossible to believe that he was no longer in this world… that they would never see his face again.

Gradually, the dreadful word “death” began to sink in. At the same time, their heads heated up, and it felt like the ground beneath was giving way. Breathing became difficult, and tears welled up.

“No....no...it can’t be...!”

Asena’s vacant eyes once again drifted to the letter on the table.

Attacked by thieves.

This line was the hardest to believe. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a disease. Cayden lost his life to thieves, to human greed. He had given his life for what the thieves deemed treasure.

Their benefactor, their love. The one they thought invincible.

Had given his life trying to protect mere goods.

Whatever merchandise he was guarding, its value wouldn’t even match the price of the chair she sat on.

He met death for something of such meager worth.

“...Oppa... did?”

Dazedly, Asena voiced a question to the void.

And then, slowly, a realization dawned.

No. He didn’t give his life merely for goods worth a pittance.

It wasn’t human greed that led to his demise.

It was because of her.

Because she had banished him from the Pryster family, he had to take the journey on foot.

Thus, he had to travel while escorting the convoy.

Since he wasn’t a Pryster, he wasn’t treated properly, and since he wasn’t a Pryster, he encountered thieves.

She had driven him to death.

She remembered her own actions just a few days ago.

Frantically writing letters, broadcasting throughout the kingdom that Cayden was no longer a Pryster.

And this was the result.

He, who couldn’t find shelter due to being a commoner, fell at the hands of thieves.

The horrific reality hit Asena hard.

...If he had remained a Pryster, none of this would have happened.

By her own hands, she had killed him.

In anger, she had driven him to death.

In return for a lifetime of care, she had stabbed him in the heart.

Asena recalled her last moments with Cayden.

That day she spat only words of hatred.

The day she vowed to hate him forever.

And as she had vowed, he could not escape her wrath.

What might he have thought? Did he resent her?

“No... no... Oppa...”

A tear fell from her vacant eyes.

“How could I... how could I hate Oppa...”

But surely, he must have heard. The declarations spread far and wide. Everywhere he went, he would have heard the news that he was no longer a Pryster. It must have felt like her wrath.

Everything was a lie. Deep love was the firm foundation beneath, and the various emotions that arose were merely fleeting expressions of it. Her love for him never wavered.

But he can’t hear that anymore.

It’s become an irreversible truth.

In their last meeting, Asena had cursed him, and he left this world.

Even if she gave her all, it wouldn’t be enough for him. And yet, he died alone in a foreign land, far from home.

She couldn’t believe that their final memory together was of them fighting.

On the verge of madness, she dismissed this truth as a lie. No matter how realistic it seemed, she couldn’t believe this information. She shouldn’t believe it.

Still unable to fully accept the reality, Asena, wandering in her confusion, tried to calm the equally distraught Keirsey.

“...It’s a lie.”

“...What?”

“It’s a lie. So... don’t worry. Helen. Send a letter to Count Benthrock. Tell him to meet us. And prepare for our journey to the Benthrock estate.”

With trembling legs, she stood up from her seat, tightly clutching the letter.

“...Oppa...”

Asena held back her tears.

“...No, it’s not true. It just can’t.”

--- End Of The Chapter ---

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