[Author's Note: You can skip this chapter if you want, as it doesn't affect the main story.]
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In this faraway village—the village of the last hero—
I have lived peacefully since I was a child. People have always been good to me. Not because I'm an ordinary child, but because I am the daughter of the village chief, the strongest fighter in the whole village.
My mom? She died after giving birth to me and my twin sister.
Later on, I met a lonely boy in the village's only library.
He was always inside, though sometimes I saw him training with Miss Merry, our village guard.
I wanted to know him more, but I couldn't—I was too shy to approach him.
My sister always stayed inside our manor, learning how to be a good leader.
I was a girl with freedom.
But him? He seemed like a prisoner.
One day, I asked my twin sister to talk to him as my representative.
I told her to pretend to be me.
At first, she refused, but after many days of convincing her nonstop, she agreed.
From then on, she visited him every day and night.
Every time she returned to the manor, I would ask her what he was like—what he wanted, what his attitude was.
She told me his name was Albert, and that he had a friend older than him whom he called "big brother."
My sister began to like him—not only her, but as we grew, Albert became more attracted to her too.
We were thirteen years old when my sister—still pretending to be me—was sent by our father to the other side to prepare her for the future as the wife of the Prince of Wenthoriz.
She cried and cried.
After she left, I began building the courage to go to Albert's library myself—until I finally succeeded in befriending him.
When I first met him, he was sad because Seth had left him.
I encouraged him and read with him. The books in the library were all fascinating, and we read together until we both fell asleep.
My father seemed to have no care for me, always busy with his work as chief.
A few years passed, and I became a full-fledged woman.
Sadly, Albert's parents—whom he had only met twice in his life—never returned. They were caught in the Verging War between the Wielders.
Then I received a letter from my sister, saying that the prince's cousin wanted to marry me.
I had no choice but to confront my father, demanding the right to choose who I would marry.
I ran into the library and saw Albert's face.
I waved at him, urging him to hurry.
Without thinking twice, I confessed to him and proposed.
I cried when I realized he was still deeply depressed over his parents' deaths.
But I had no other way. I ignored his emotions and followed my own heart.
I wanted him.
But the happy future I imagined with him was no longer possible.
As we rushed back to the manor, Albert suddenly pulled me in panic—and I discovered my father was dead.
While I cried on his back, he shielded me from a hooded man.
I heard a knife fall to the floor, and in the next second, Albert stood before me.
His face was so sad, trembling.
Then I realized I had been stabbed in the stomach.
With the last of my strength, I whispered my final words to him—words too faint to be heard.
"Al… I love you."
My last moment in this world was far from what I had imagined.
I still had so many things to do. I wanted to tell him that I had a twin.
And to fulfill my promise… to make him love me.