[Osric's POV]
[Imperial Garden, Moments After]
The moment I saw her face…my heart stopped.
Not in awe. Not in recognition.
In rage.
Elaenia Valcorin.
That name. That face. That shadow stitched into every corner of my nightmares. She stood there, calm as a drifting feather, wrapped in polite smiles and noble grace—but all I could see was blood.
The same girl who knelt beside me when the emperor raised his sword to execute me. The same girl whose trembling hands had reached for mine. The same girl who shouldn't exist here—not in this timeline.
Not in this life.
My grip tightened around the wine glass. So tight, I felt the crystal creak beneath my fingers.
She shouldn't be here.
She wasn't supposed to be here.
She was meant to appear far later—in another region, another city, far from the imperial palace. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere harmless. Where I could have ignored her existence entirely.
But now?
