Chapter 10
Noctis carefully poured tea into a cup and set it in front of Kallia.
Facing Kallia’s sharp, judge-like eyes, Phyllis felt an odd heaviness in his chest.
He remembered how Veronica had once described her sister:
“She’s the strongest and most beautiful person in the world… but also the scariest.”
“…Are you smiling?” Kallia asked suddenly.
Phyllis touched his lips.
The bond between his soul and Veronica’s wasn’t complete yet, so sometimes her feelings blended with his own.
But he didn’t mind.
When Veronica was sad, he wanted to comfort her.
When she was happy, he wanted to laugh with her.
When she celebrated, he wanted to be the first to congratulate her.
Because Veronica was the true heir of the thousand-year covenant.
“I understand your concern,” Phyllis said softly. “But what you fear will not happen.”
“Are you sure?” Kallia’s voice was cold.
“Noctis only heard the story secondhand, but I… I lived through it.”
She picked up a butter knife from the table and pointed it at Phyllis.
“I saw it all with my own eyes.”
Phyllis stared back, then spoke calmly.
“You’re someone blessed by time itself, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. Twice, in fact.”
Kallia’s words were laced with both pride and bitterness.
Her memories came rushing back.
“The northern walls collapsed. Monsters flooded in.
Those who lost their shadows went mad and attacked people.
And then… the dragon appeared.”
At the mention of a dragon, Phyllis’s eyes twitched.
“The black dragon’s breath turned despairing humans into monsters.
When it reached the capital, it transformed into a human shape… one that looked exactly like Noctis.
And in its arms—”
Phyllis muttered under his breath.
“…Veronica.”
“Yes,” Kallia replied firmly.
“Veronica, broken and barely breathing, was carried in its arms.”
She remembered how Phyllis had accused them then: You’ve broken the covenant.
Kallia clenched her jaw.
“I drew my sword and charged, but against the dragon’s power, a human was nothing.
For the first time, I was utterly defeated.
And when I opened my eyes again, I had gone back twelve years… reliving my sixteenth year.”
She lifted the teacup and drained it in one motion, as if swallowing down the bitterness.
“At first, I didn’t even realize I had gone back in time.
So the first thing I thought of was this—
I would kill Veronica with my own hands.”
Noctis froze.
Now it made sense why Kallia guarded her sister so fiercely.
Phyllis’s red eyes darkened.
“You wanted to… kill her?”
Kallia’s lips twisted into a bitter smile.
“Yes. I convinced myself her smile, her gentleness—everything about her—was just a trick of the monsters.
But I was wrong.
In the end, Veronica didn’t die because of me, but because of that foolish eldest son of the family.
Still… that doesn’t erase my sin.”
Phyllis whispered, “You’re a dangerous one.”
“Me? Really?” Kallia shot back, smirking.
Darkness began to rise around Phyllis like smoke.
But Kallia didn’t flinch.
“If you harm me, Veronica will cry.”
The darkness vanished instantly.
Phyllis narrowed his eyes.
“Then what is it that you truly want?”
Kallia’s lips curved into a bright smile.
“What I want is…”
***
Chapter 2 – Can Friends Kiss Each Other?
“Mmm…”
When did I fall asleep?
The last thing I remembered was walking through the garden with Dolce.
Then it hit me.
“Oh no!”
At dinner, I’d been nodding off, and my sister had teased me.
‘Eat like that, and you’ll never become a proper lady.’
‘I’m not sleepy… mmm.’
‘…Here.’
‘Ah—’
And then Phyllis sat beside me, gently feeding me food.
The memory made my face burn hot.
What if he thought I was silly?
“Prrong?”
“Oh! Berry!”
I buried my face in the pillow and kicked my feet, but Berry hopped onto my head.
“Not now, Berry! I’m too embarrassed!”
Pip! Piror! Pii!
I pulled the blanket over my head to hide, but Berry wriggled inside anyway.
His tiny warm body rubbed against my cheek, tickling me until I squealed.
“Ah! Stop it, Berry!”
I was laughing and squirming under the blanket when—
