Chapter 84
“Anyway, Mother only wanted to see Ren, so I’ll step aside here.”
Rix cut through the silence like a sharp wound and turned his back without hesitation. It was before Ren could even stop him. Not only could she not catch up with his quick steps, but Lena also grabbed her arm tightly.
“It’s okay.”
Lena smiled faintly at the flustered Ren. She acted as if this were an everyday occurrence, as if it had always been this way—completely at ease.
“Rix will be fine. I want to talk with you a bit more.”
“But—”
“Come here.”
Lena didn’t even glance at Rix as he left. Ren, unsure of what to do, was pulled along by Lena’s firm grip.
Although a banquet had been prepared, there was no one left to eat it.
Lena led Ren in the exact opposite direction of where Rix had gone.
Her hands had seemed delicate and fragile, as if they would break if mishandled—but the grip was surprisingly strong.
Ren eventually went along with Lena, though she kept glancing back. By the time she turned, Rix had already disappeared completely into the darkness.
An inexplicable sense of guilt washed over her. Why do I feel sorry? she wondered, yet the lonely figure of him walking away lingered in her mind.
“Hurry up.”
Lena urged Ren, who was still moving slowly. Ren finally gave up looking back and followed her.
Humming a tune, Lena weaved through the servants, guiding Ren somewhere.
Excited, Lena seemed like a girl who simply loved chatting with friends.
The deeper they went into the northern part of the castle, the more Lena bombarded Ren with questions—so fast that Ren could hardly keep up.
Most of it was incomprehensible to Ren, which left her bewildered.
“■■ is still number one? How’s ■■■■? Just before I came here, ■■ was doing well. They even managed ■■ ■■■ ■■, and ■■ got attention too. But honestly, I liked ■■■■ more than ■■.”
Ren didn’t even know how to respond to the excited chatter, so she just gave an awkward, “Ah…” Lena didn’t seem to expect answers anyway; she was happily talking to herself.
When they reached what seemed like a dead-end, a staircase appeared. They climbed up and up.
Ren started feeling anxious, as if she were moving further away from Rix.
It felt like they were going somewhere forbidden.
“I did ■■ when ■■■■. Back then, ■■■ was ■■■ but—”
“Excuse me.”
Ren finally spoke, forcing herself to stop following blindly. Her steps halted.
Lena, one stair ahead, turned her head.
Seeing those vivid blue eyes, Ren felt an unexplainable sense of crisis.
She couldn’t continue following her.
“Does Rix really understand what the Saint said?”
At Ren’s careful question, Lena fell silent.
Her wide smile gradually hardened.
She released the wrist she had been gripping tightly.
Ren drew her throbbing wrist to her chest. How could such a small frame possess such strength?
“I taught him.”
“…Pardon?”
Unexpectedly calm, Lena confessed.
“I taught Rix Hangul. That’s why the words no one else could hear started being understood by him. Of course, he probably didn’t understand much—maybe only ‘Mom’ or something.”
Lena chuckled faintly, recalling the past.
Ren felt dizzy, as if all the blood drained from her body.
Letters? Could Rix really read them, like she could read the sketches she’d made of The Saint’s Dilemma?
Is that why she could faintly hear his words?
The question repeated endlessly in her mind, with no clear answer.
Everything tangled together like a massive ball of yarn she didn’t know how to unravel.
Lena said, expressionless:
“He knows this world is a place I created.”
Ren’s heart sank at those words.
A false world for Lena.
But how desperately had Rix been struggling to survive here?
It was unfair.
Ren couldn’t help but speak what came to mind.
“But now it’s real, isn’t it?”
“…What?”
Lena frowned, her beautiful face clouded.
Ren stepped down a stair. Her hands, gripping the railing, were weakening.
Her chest tightened. Breath caught in her throat.
Is this how the world of an epilogue is supposed to be?
Wasn’t the classic romance fantasy supposed to end with, “And everyone lived happily ever after”?
Shaking her head, Ren spoke quietly.
“You’ve lived here for over twenty years, haven’t you?”
“Mm.”
Lena replied obediently.
Yet the question seemed to bother her; her expression darkened.
“And you even had a child—”
Ren struggled to put her swirling confusion into words. The more she thought, the deeper into the pit of uncertainty she felt.
Then Lena chuckled.
Covering her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking, she laughed uproariously. Tears even welled in her eyes as if she had heard the most hilarious story.
Exhausted from laughing, she sat on the stairs and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
Seeing Ren still bewildered, Lena smiled faintly.
“You know…”
Ren felt chills down her spine, not knowing what would follow.
“I thought everything would be over once I had a child.”
“…Pardon?”
Lena brushed her silver hair back, lifeless and dry. She twirled a long strand around her finger.
“You know, in fairytales, the story always ends with, ‘The hero and heroine had a child and lived happily ever after,’ right?”
She smiled, but it wasn’t really a smile.
Ren thought she looked so much like Rix.
“But why didn’t it end?”
Lena laughed bitterly.
“Why can’t I go back to ■■■■■? The story is over. The ending is done. The prince met the saint, the prince became emperor, and the saint even had a beautiful child.”
Run.
Ren’s heart whispered.
“Why does the story keep going?”
A single tear rolled down Lena’s cheek as she laughed hollowly.
She let it fall, staring at Ren.
Paralyzed, as if facing a ghost, Ren couldn’t move.
After a few seconds, Lena muttered softly:
“Is it because you came here?”
The moment Ren heard that, it felt like an immense weight pressed down on her. A massive gravitational pull seemed to focus around Lena.
Using all her strength, Ren turned her back to Lena.
She ran down the stairs, almost stumbling several times, but kept going.
Thankfully, the path Lena had taken was simple.
When Ren reached the bottom floor, she ran down the hallway as fast as she could.
Scarlet cautiously knocked at Rix’s study. There was no response. Normally, it was her duty to wait for her lord’s command, but this time, she boldly opened the door.
“Your Highness.”
Still, no answer.
Rix sat in his chair, back turned. He stared blankly out at the black night beyond the window. The two moons were unusually bright tonight.
“Saint Ren followed Saint Lena.”
“……”
“Shall I bring her back?”
Scarlet waited calmly for Rix’s answer. This time, she would persist until he spoke.
Silence lingered.
Scarlet endured it alone, like a statue.
After some time, Rix struggled to rise.
He roughly brushed back his disheveled red hair and spoke in a hoarse voice:
“We have to bring her. Who knows what Mother might do.”
“Yes. Then right now—”
At that moment, a commotion arose outside. Footsteps rushed urgently.
“Rix!”
A voice called from beyond the thick study door.
How many could dare to call a prince by name in this world?
The Emperor, the Saint. And—
“Ren?”
Frowning in disbelief, Rix saw the door fling open. Servants behind tried to stop her, but Rix, striding over, reached the doorway in long steps.
Pale, Ren ran straight into him.
Before he could ask what was going on, she raised her hands. Her arms encircled Rix’s neck. His torso bent instinctively.
Ren pulled him close, and her damp voice whispered in his ear:
“You’ve worked hard.”
At that one phrase, Rix swallowed the words he had meant to say. The awkward position didn’t feel uncomfortable.
He let the words “You’ve worked hard” echo endlessly in his mind, then chuckled softly.
With his large hands, he embraced her back. Resting his forehead against her shoulder, Rix whispered:
“Thank you.”
