š
The battlefield fell silent.
Not the kind of silence that follows victoryā
But the kind that comes after something unnatural.
---
Smoke still lingered faintly in the air.
The ground remained cracked, broken from the summoning.
Fragments of what once was the creature had already fadedā¦ as if erased.
---
But no one moved.
---
Because they were still looking at her.
---
The Grand Duke.
---
"ā¦Whatā¦ was that?" a knight whispered under his breath.
---
No one answered.
---
Because no one knew.
---
Except one.
---
And he wasn't saying anything.
---
---
Rosy stood at the center, her sword lowered at her side.
Her breathing steady.
Too steady.
---
But insideā
Her thoughts weren't calm.
---
That wasn't just power.
---
It was something deeper.
Something that didn't feel borrowed.
---
It feltā
---
Right.
---
Her fingers tightened slightly.
---
"ā¦We're leaving," she said.
---
Her voice cut through the silence instantly.
---
The soldiers snapped back to attention.
---
"Yes, Grand Duke!"
---
No one questioned her.
No one dared to.
---
Because whatever they had just witnessedā
---
It wasn't something you questioned.
---
It was something you followed.
---
---
The march back began immediately.
---
This timeā
No one spoke.
---
No whispers.
No doubt.
---
Only quiet respect.
And something else.
---
Fear.
---
---
Rosy rode at the front.
Her posture straight.
Her gaze fixed ahead.
---
But her mindā
Was somewhere else.
---
That vision.
That throne.
That presence.
---
That was me.
---
Not Isle.
Not Rosy.
---
Something else.
---
Somethingā¦ older.
---
"ā¦You're quiet."
---
Of course.
---
She didn't turn.
"ā¦For once."
---
A faint chuckle.
---
"Should I be offended?"
---
She exhaled slowly.
"ā¦You already knew."
---
Silence.
---
Thenā
"Yes."
---
Her grip tightened.
---
"ā¦Since when?"
---
A pause.
---
"Since before you woke up."
---
That answerā
---
Was worse than expected.
---
Rosy's eyes narrowed slightly.
---
"ā¦Then everything you've saidā"
---
"Was true."
---
She turned this time.
---
"ā¦You're not even trying to hide it anymore."
---
A faint smile.
---
"There's no point now."
---
---
They rode in silence for a while.
---
But the tension between them had changed.
---
Beforeā
It was curiosity.
Suspicion.
---
Nowā
---
It was something heavier.
---
Something closer to truth.
---
---
"ā¦Then answer me properly," she said finally.
---
His gaze shifted toward her.
---
"ā¦Who sealed me?"
---
A long pause followed.
---
Too long.
---
For the first timeā
---
He hesitated.
---
---
"ā¦Someone who shouldn't have had the power to."
---
Her brows furrowed.
---
"That's not an answer."
---
"It's the safest one."
---
Her patience thinned.
---
"I don't want safe answers."
---
A faint smile returned.
---
"I know."
---
---
Thenā
---
"ā¦Your father."
---
---
Everything stopped.
---
Not physically.
---
But mentally.
---
---
"ā¦What?"
---
The word came out quieter than she expected.
---
More dangerous.
---
---
He didn't look away.
---
"Your father," he repeated calmly.
---
A beat.
---
"The head of the Blackwell family."
---
---
Rosy's mind went blank.
---
Not confused.
---
Butā
---
Disconnected.
---
---
That doesn't make sense.
---
---
"ā¦No," she said immediately.
---
Her voice firm.
---
Cold.
---
"He didn't even appear much in the story."
---
A pause.
---
"He was irrelevant."
---
---
A soft laugh escaped him.
---
"Is that what you were told?"
---
---
Her eyes sharpened.
---
"ā¦What does that mean?"
---
---
He leaned slightly closer.
---
"It means you've been reading the wrong story."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
Because thatā
---
That hit differently.
---
---
"ā¦Explain."
---
---
But he didn't.
---
Not immediately.
---
---
Insteadā
---
"Do you remember what you said earlier?" he asked.
---
She frowned.
---
"ā¦About what?"
---
---
"About him."
---
A pause.
---
"You said he looked too young."
---
---
Her breath slowed.
---
"ā¦Yes."
---
---
"And you said," he continued softlyā
---
"you felt something was off."
---
---
She didn't answer.
---
Because she did.
---
---
That strange feeling.
---
That unnatural presence.
---
That momentā
---
When she accidentally called himā
---
darling.
---
---
Her grip tightened on the reins.
---
"ā¦That wasn't normal."
---
---
"No," he said quietly.
---
"It wasn't."
---
---
Silence stretched again.
---
But this timeā
---
It wasn't confusion.
---
It was realizationā
---
Slow.
---
Heavy.
---
Dangerous.
---
---
"ā¦He sealed me," she said softly.
---
---
Not a question.
---
A statement.
---
---
"Yes."
---
---
Her heart didn't race.
---
Her breath didn't falter.
---
---
But something inside herā
---
Shifted.
---
Deeply.
---
---
"ā¦Why?"
---
---
A pause.
---
Thenā
---
"Because you were too powerful."
---
---
The answer came easily.
---
Too easily.
---
---
"ā¦That's not enough," she said.
---
---
"It is in this world."
---
---
Her eyes darkened.
---
"ā¦Then this world is broken."
---
---
A faint smile.
---
"Exactly."
---
---
They rode in silence after that.
---
But nothing felt the same anymore.
---
Not the air.
Not the path.
Not even the destination.
---
---
Because nowā
---
She knew.
---
---
This wasn't just about survival.
---
---
It wasn't just about revenge.
---
---
It was personal.
---
---
---
Far awayā
---
In the capitalā
---
A man stood alone in a dimly lit room.
---
Tall.
Elegant.
---
Timeless.
---
His features sharp.
His presenceā
Unshakable.
---
In his handā
A glass of deep red wine.
---
"ā¦She broke it."
---
His voice was calm.
Measured.
---
But his eyesā
---
Cold.
---
---
A servant behind him trembled.
---
"Y-Yes, my lordā¦"
---
---
He took a slow sip.
---
Unbothered.
---
Unsurprised.
---
---
"ā¦I wondered how long it would take."
---
---
The servant hesitated.
---
"Should weā"
---
---
"No."
---
The word cut cleanly.
---
---
A pause.
---
Thenā
---
"Let her come back."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
"ā¦Because this timeā"
---
---
His lips curved into a faint smile.
---
Not warm.
---
Not kind.
---
---
"But this timeā¦ I won't seal her."
---
---
The room felt colder instantly.
---
---
"I'll break her."
---
---
Back on the roadā
---
Rosy's eyes gleamed faintly under the fading light.
---
Not confused.
---
Not lost.
---
---
Focused.
---
---
"ā¦Then let's see," she whispered.
---
---
Because if her father was the one who locked her awayā
---
Then he would be the first one she would destroy.
---
---
And this timeā
---
She wouldn't disappear.
---
---
She would return.
---
---
End of Chapter 12