I was startled and immediately looked toward where Karl had been standing.
As if Karl had never opened the door and entered at all, the door to my chambers was quietly closed. Karl himself was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed he'd fled the moment he heard Callius's presence.
Callius looked around the room with mild curiosity.
"Were you alone, Chloe?"
I nodded, sighing with relief.
"Yes. I was alone the whole time."
"I thought I heard voices—as though there were other people here."
A small pang of guilt stabbed at me, but I tried to act calm and shook my head.
"Oh, no. No. I was definitely alone."
"I see."
Fortunately, Callius didn't seem particularly concerned. He didn't press for more details.
Instead, he looked into my face and asked with sudden concern.
"Did you cry?"
"Oh."
I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled awkwardly.
"I'm sorry. You keep seeing me cry, don't you?"
How many times has he witnessed my tears already?
At this rate, I worried that even Callius would grow tired of it and say he couldn't stand it anymore.
Andrea's voice—vividly etched into my memory—suddenly surfaced in my mind.
His words were engraved in my very bones. They would emerge unconsciously like this, unbidden.
He may have said it without much thought, but those words had left enormous scars on my heart. They continued to torment me even now, in this new life I'd been given.
I tried to erase the traces of my tears with a forced smile, hoping Callius would simply ignore them and move on.
But Callius didn't ignore my tears.
"Are you upset about what happened with Vanessa?"
"Yes, but I figured it out. I'm fine now."
"How could anyone be truly fine after something like that? No one would be unfazed by witnessing such a terrible thing happening to someone close to them."
"But... Vanessa was really just a nasty piece of work. She was a Kavala operative. Every word out of her mouth was hateful. We weren't even close, and I never relied on her. So why would I care?"
Yes. That was right. Strange as it was, I was crying over Vanessa.
It was something I said to appear strong—but it was also something I used to punish myself.
Don't cry over this, Chloe. You're being ridiculous, crying over Vanessa of all people. She was your enemy.
I tried to force away this inexplicable heaviness that had settled in my chest.
But Callius didn't agree with my self-criticism.
"That's separate from this. It's natural to feel lonely and strange when someone you saw every single day suddenly dies and disappears."
"...!"
"The greatest fear of all living, breathing beings is death itself. You witnessed the end of someone's life, Chloe—someone who was alive and breathing until last night, until this very morning."
"Yes..."
"It's natural to feel strange and frightened by that."
"Is... is that so?"
It made perfect sense.
My inner self—agreeing wholeheartedly with his words—finally put down the whip I'd been using to flagellate myself.
What I felt was fear.
Just acknowledging my feelings made everything feel lighter.
"It's natural to feel fear and to struggle with it. It's all right. You're not strange for feeling this way."
Why do I feel so relieved when I think about it like that?
Callius smiled gently and handed me a handkerchief as I sniffled, fresh tears welling in my eyes.
"It was truly remarkable how calmly you identified the culprit even in such a frightening and difficult situation."
I looked up at him, forgetting all about pride as I wiped my tears and runny nose with his handkerchief.
"Really?"
"Yes. Not just anyone could have done what you did. You handled it exceptionally well."
"Truly?"
"Truly."
Fresh tears streamed down my face.
I burst into tears like a child and threw my arms around Callius tightly.
I was doing with Callius what I'd been trying to do with Karl earlier.
I was receiving comfort from Callius—comfort I should have sought from Karl.
Suddenly, it occurred to me that I had only ever received this kind of consolation from Karl. That I was now handing that position over to Callius instead.
Is this all right?
Karl had warned me not to trust Callius. But no matter how determined I was to heed that warning, I found myself letting my guard down whenever I was with Callius.
No matter how much I think about it, this person seems like a genuinely good person.
Anyone who could offer such sincere comfort had to be good.
I decided to trust my own judgment this time—just as I'd trusted my judgment the other day when I identified the true culprit.
The me of the past and the me of now are different.
In my previous life, I'd had no choice but to trust people I absolutely shouldn't have trusted. But that was no longer the case.
I remembered Granada's words clearly.
"I have decided that you are trustworthy—that I will trust you. So I speak with the full determination to take responsibility for the consequences of that choice."
When Granada had said that, I'd thought she was a truly admirable person.
I want to be someone impressive like that too.
So at this moment, I made a firm decision to trust Callius.
And I was prepared to take full responsibility for my choice—whatever the outcome might be.
I'll make it clear to Karl as well. He needs to understand that I've changed.
Speaking of which...
Where is Karl, who disappeared so hastily because of Callius? What is he doing right now?
The next morning.
Was it thanks to Callius's comfort?
I woke after a long, deep sleep.
I must have slept so soundly that I didn't even notice the cold that usually tormented me through the night.
I felt genuinely refreshed.
Strange. I can't seem to open my eyes properly.
My mind was clearly awake and alert, but my eyelids felt impossibly heavy.
I rubbed my eyes groggily and stretched.
Looking around, I saw that Callius's side of the bed was empty as usual.
It seemed he rose early every single morning to train, never missing a day.
Since I could never wake as early as Callius, I'd never been able to greet him in the morning.
Thinking that was somewhat regrettable, I climbed out of bed and walked to the mirror hanging on the bedroom wall.
After seeing my reflection, I immediately changed my mind.
Actually, I'm glad I didn't see him this morning...!
In an instant, today's schedule flashed through my mind.
Thinking about the countless people I would have to meet today, I felt so defeated that I collapsed backward onto the bed.
"My eyes..."
I crawled across the bed, lay back down, and pulled the covers over my head.
I had absolutely zero confidence in going out like this.
I'll just pretend to be sick.
Since arriving in Ronheim, I'd been genuinely ill and bedridden often enough that no one would think it strange.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and tried to feign sleep.
That's when I heard it.
Knock, knock.
"Madam, it's me—Lamia. I'm coming in."
Lamia knocked, entered, and pulled back the curtains.
She opened the window to ventilate the room, then raked the ashes from the fireplace and carried them outside.
The bitterly cold wind of Ronheim quickly penetrated even the thick blankets.
Though I huddled deeper into the covers against the chill, Ronheim's crisp air had a refreshing quality that actually felt quite pleasant.
Lamia returned shortly, stacking fresh firewood beside the hearth. Then she approached and shook me gently awake.
"Madam, please wake up."
I burrowed deeper into the blankets, determined not to show my face.
"Mmph... Lamia, today I..."
I was just about to say I felt unwell and needed to rest.
But Lamia cut me off abruptly, speaking in an unusually serious tone.
"Madam, I have something important to tell you."
"Hm...?"
"I've been thinking about this all night. I feel I must tell you right now."
Her voice carried a weight and determination completely unlike her usual demeanor.
It was an atmosphere that made feigning illness and postponing the conversation completely impossible.
Eventually, I had no choice but to kick off the blanket and sit up.
"What is it...?"
I sat on the edge of the bed, pretending to rub my eyes while covering my face with my hands.
I was certain Lamia would burst out laughing and tease me mercilessly when she saw my swollen face.
But contrary to my expectations, Lamia didn't try to move my hands away or look at my face.
Instead, she dropped to her knees before me with a heavy thud.
"Wh-what?!"
Startled, I removed the hand covering my eyes and stared down at Lamia.
Lamia knelt before me with perfect formality, her head bowed low.
To Be Continued...
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