"Swoosh! Shhh! Clash—!"
Blades collided under the dim light of the training hall. Swiish—shhh! Sparks scattered as Evie and Anna's swords met once more.
Anna: "Enough… enough. Let's stop here for today."
It had been some time since Anna's arrival at the duchy, where she had been officially employed. William's lessons continued—covering politics, history, and the structure of noble society.
After training, Louis walked through the corridors, lost in thought. Suddenly, distant shouting broke through his silence.
"Bring my son back to life! John—he worked at the bakery!"
The voice came from outside the castle gates. Louis frowned. Impossible, he thought. The Duchy of Ramon would never kill an innocent man.
Yet a sharp pain struck his chest. Sadness? No—it wasn't truly his emotion. It was hers.
Evie.
A surge of grief and fear washed through him—grief for a friend she'd never met, and fear toward himself. Her fear.
Evie's heart trembled. In her eyes, Louis was no longer a savior… but a monster.
Louis tried to move, to speak, but body no longer obeyed. When the vessel rejects its soul, even a savior becomes unseen.
In his mind luis said she is an eight years old in the end …
He felt his senses fading—sight, sound, touch—one by one.
The "rose," , was closing.
Louis sank into darkness.
Evie had taken over.
She ran toward the gates, tears spilling down her cheeks.
Evie: "Is John… really gone?"
Her cries echoed through the courtyard. Servants and guards turned, startled.
Guard 1: "Hey, girl! Step away from the gate!"
Guard 2: "Wait—don't you recognize her?
That's Evie… You've heard the rumors."
Panic seized her. Evie fled, running through the marble halls until she reached her room.
Meanwhile, Anna and William heard the whispers among the servants. They rushed to Evie's quarters, knocking on her door.
Anna: "Open the door!"
No answer—only muffled sobs from within.
Moments later, guards arrived.
Guard: "Step aside!"
William: "What's going on?! Where are you taking her?"
Guard: "By order of the Duchess, the girl is to be sent to the Crown Prince's palace."
Anna: "Damn it… not now…"
Evie: "No! Don't touch me! Where are you taking me?!"
William froze, eyes wide. Was that really her voice?
And as Evie screamed, Anna surprised and …laughed.