The approaching dawn.
The crisp winter breeze painted the sky in deep hues.
Above, brilliant starlight rained down.
Spring had yet to arrive in the garden, but the faint traces of fresh greenery whispered of its coming.
Charlotte and I strolled side by side through the grass.
Our steps left behind soft, rustling sounds.
Crunch, crunch...
The seasons flowed gently.
A low western wind blew through the air.
Golden and platinum hair fluttered lightly, tousled by the breeze.
I swept my bangs back and glanced to the side.
"......."
Charlotte was silent.
Not a single word.
She simply walked through the wintry landscape, her expression unreadable.
Ever since she had seen coughing up blood, she had been like this.
I could read the gloom in her eyes.
Did I worry her too much?
Her delicate features remained neutral.
On the surface, she looked no different from usual.
But having spent so much ti with her, I could now read the emotions hidden behind those unshaken blue eyes.
And right now, they were filled with sorrow.
Recognizing that, I was the first to speak.
"I’m fine."
"......."
"I pushed myself a little harder than expected, but it’s nothing serious."
"But you were coughing up blood. You were struggling to breathe."
"It wasn’t as bad as it looked—"
"Liar."
"Ah."
A voice tinged with quiet indignation.
She was clearly upset.
I let out a faint, bitter chuckle.
"It seems I’ve made Your Highness worry."
"......."
"I’ll be more careful next ti."
"That’s not what I wanted to hear."
"Huh?"
Clear blue eyes fixed on .
Beyond their surface, all they reflected was the image of a golden-haired boy.
"Yuda never says when sothing is difficult."
"That’s because it’s not. It wouldn’t make sense to complain for no reason."
"That’s exactly the problem."
Poke.
A slender finger pressed against my cheek.
Her brow furrowed ever so slightly.
But because her features were naturally soft, it only made her look... endearing.
The steady blue of her gaze carried a quiet complaint.
Perhaps it was sothing she had been holding onto for a long ti.
"You’ve gone through so many hardships."
"None co to mind."
"You were in pain every ti, and yet you keep hiding it like this."
"Everyone has secrets they keep."
"Yuda, you have too many."
"I’d say I’m rather ordinary."
A conversation running in parallel lines.
I avoided each of her points with practiced ease—until she asked a single question that pierced straight into my chest.
"Are you afraid?"
"......."
Just a question.
No specifics.
No details.
And yet, I found myself unable to answer imdiately.
Perhaps it was because of the weight of yesterday and the uncertainty of tomorrow.
An old, rusted mory stirred in the depths of my mind.
I—
—Oppa!
I pushed the thought away.
Then, smoothly, I deflected her question.
"Is there anyone in this world without fear?"
"That’s not what I was asking."
"Not every question has a clean answer."
"You’re unfair, Yuda. You always dodge like this."
"Haha... isn’t that part of my charm?"
"Maybe."
Charlotte nodded plainly.
As a silent thanks, I reached out and ruffled her hair.
The silky strands slid gently between my fingers.
"Thank you for worrying about ."
"Mm..."
She quietly accepted my touch.
She’s being quite obedient.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
To be soone’s concern ant to be soone important.
And with , Charlotte always showed a range of emotions.
So unlike her usual cold, expressionless self.
—Y-Yuda... don’t die.
Last ti, when I had been injured, she had even shed tears.
She might seem aloof, but at her core, she was still just a girl with a fragile heart.
Her eccentric ways made her unpredictable, but there was never any malice in her actions.
Slowly, I withdrew my hand.
Charlotte remained quiet.
Whether she realized it or not, our bond had deepened with ti, as naturally as the changing seasons.
"......."
The silence lingered.
Yet the gloom in her eyes had not completely faded.
She was still thinking about sothing.
This ti, it was my turn to ask.
"Your Highness."
I spoke softly.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Huh...?"
"Do you have sothing on your mind?"
"Hmm. I’m not sure."
Charlotte responded casually.
Yet, her blue eyes drifted upward toward the distant night sky.
As if chasing after the fading stars.
"My heart feels restless."
"Restless?"
"Empty... like there’s a hole in my chest."
Perhaps it was because dawn had yet to break.
The darkness before sunrise was especially deep.
And in that pitch-black void, the word emptiness carried a strange weight.
As if stepping toward an abyss from which one might never return.
Her gaze wandered, searching for a star that wasn’t there.
"Elize’s curse is finally gone."
"It doesn’t feel real yet?"
"No, I’m incredibly happy. I spent my whole life thinking about this mont."
"Your Highness was always desperate. Gathering the best physicians, poring through endless books, even tracking down cultists for leads."
"You really do know everything."
"I hear I have sharp ears."
"Then this should be easy to explain."
Charlotte.
A girl who had lived her entire life with only one purpose—to save the Rose.
Her devotion to her younger sister was equal to, if not greater than, the Emperor’s.
Perhaps that was why she was struggling now.
Her eyes wavered, her voice low and uncertain.
"I don’t know what to do now."
And it made sense.
"I’ve always only thought about saving Elize. I never once imagined what ca after."
Her life’s purpose.
Charlotte had placed it above even herself.
Her ailing sister had always co first.
But now...
That was no longer the case.
A miracle had found them, and her wish had been granted.
She no longer needed to cling to sothing.
But now, she had to think about the future.
A future she had never once considered—a tomorrow that was hers alone to decide.
Her confusion stemd from that disconnect.
Quietly, I responded.
"I understand."
"Really...?"
"Why wouldn’t I?"
After all, I had been through sothing similar.
A terminally ill younger sibling.
Looking back at my past life, there was never a mont to plan for tomorrow.
Even surviving the present had been a struggle.
"To be able to envision a tomorrow is a blessing. It ans you’re no longer burdened by today. I, too, once lived without the ability to think about the future. Though, I suppose that was a long ti ago now."
"......."
"You must be feeling lost."
The things children often worry about—
What to do next, who to beco, who to love.
For the first ti, Charlotte had no answers.
Because this was her first ti facing them.
"Yeah... I think you’re right."
"The unknown is always frightening."
Duty and devotion.
For so long, they had bound her like iron chains.
But—
"Even so, you must move forward."
Nothing bound her anymore.
My light had shattered those chains.
For the first ti, she was free.
She could finally live her own life, not one spent chasing after soone else’s shadow.
I had not only saved the Rose and the Emperor—
I had saved her, too.
"Because now, you have a tomorrow to walk toward."
My salvation had granted her a future.
A once gray world now held color.
Charlotte’s eyes lifted to et mine.
Then, a small voice.
"...Then what should I do now?"
"Find a new purpose."
A firm answer.
A faint smile played on my lips.
"It’s your choice now."
What to do next, who to beco, who to love.
She had a life that belonged only to her.
Nothing held her back anymore.
For the first ti, she could walk forward freely.
"Freedom."
"......."
"That’s the na of the gift I have given you."
Swipe.
I gently brushed my hand against her cheek.
Warmth spread across my palm.
Feeling the softness of her skin, I t her gaze.
Against the backdrop of winter, the platinum-haired princess was utterly still.
A beautiful scene.
"You... really..."
Her voice trailed off.
Her blue eyes shimred, forming a pool of tears.
That clarity reflected the dawn approaching on the horizon.
I leaned in slightly and murmured.
"It’s almost morning."
So people do not belong in the night.
Charlotte was one of them.
Regardless of personal preference, she was ant to stay in the light.
She was far too bright a soul to be swallowed by the shadows.
Despair was the domain of adults.
The night belonged to them.
And to .
—Answer , Elize.
—If I couldn’t even save you... how could I ever lead an empire?
—I’m afraid I won’t be able to save anyone.
—I am... so terribly small.
The girl who had once whispered those words in the original story no longer existed.
She had not lost her sister.
She had not lost her father.
She had not been robbed of her will to live.
Because I had ensured that ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) wouldn’t happen.
—Is this what it ans to be an adult?
I had always wanted her to remain a child.
To stay bright, pure, and, at tis, recklessly innocent.
And I had hoped that the ending she and the others reached would be one of true happiness.
That was the wish that had led to step into this story.
To carve through countless bad endings.
"...Thank you."
In the end, emotions overwheld her.
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
The clear, unblemished streaks across her pale skin painted her emotions more vividly than any brush could.
Joy, sorrow, gratitude...
A mix of feelings, so she had likely never known before.
But for now, all she could do was cry.
"For saving Elize, for saving Father..."
Carefully, she reached out.
And then, she leaned into my arms.
As if lting into my warmth.
"And for saving ."
Thank you.
A simple phrase.
But filled with raw, unmistakable sincerity.
Her desperate embrace softened sothing inside .
She buried her face in my chest before eventually lifting her head to et my gaze.
The blue of her eyes no longer trembled.
Only gentle ripples remained.
"You saved all of ."
Her voice, slightly unsteady.
But she pressed on.
"If I must find a new purpose... then that purpose is you, Yuda."
Because only you—
The only one I can trust.
The only one I can lean on.
The only one I can give my heart to.
I—
"From now on... I will live for you."
And with those words, she smiled.
Not the faint, reserved smile she always wore.
No.
Her lips curled in a crescent moon, her eyes curved like the waning night.
A perfect smile.
One I had never seen before, not even in the countless tis I had played through the original story.
Softly, I whispered back.
"I’ll be looking forward to it."
"Mm...!"
Our voices echoed faintly.
And I, too, smiled.
A winter breeze rustled through my hair.
As I brushed my bangs back, I felt a faint warmth against the back of my hand.
Sunlight.
"......."
Beyond the horizon, dawn had broken.
For a mont, ti seed to slow.
The golden rays of the rising sun scattered across the clear night sky.
Platinum brilliance shattered like ripples across the world.
Fragnts of light cut through the fading darkness.
That glowing radiance illuminated Charlotte, making her pale hair shine once more.
She no longer stood in the night.
Now, she stood firmly in the morning.
"The sun has risen."
I murmured.
Light had arrived for everyone.
***
And so.
The Imperial chapter ca to an end.
Peace followed after a long and brutal war.
I intended to take my ti and relax before returning to the Academy.
But then—
"So, Young Lord Snakeus."
"You called for , Your Majesty?"
"There is sothing I wanted to ask."
"I would be honored to answer any question."
"Who do you intend to marry—Charlotte or Elize?"
"...Excuse ?"
Marriage?!
Where did that co from?!
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