Present...
"My Lady... are you crying?" Sally asked as she arrived. After delivering the message to Javrian to wear proper clothes and cleaning the garden of blood marks following Luna's orders, she had come only to find tear streaks on Luna's face, clearly taken aback.
"No, just some memories." Luna wiped her tears, slowly standing from her desk. As she inhaled, she finally felt all the pieces of memory that had been coming to her since two months ago settle down.
There were no gaps in her memory now, and slowly they all became part of her.
Though it had taken time, the fragments had allowed her to send letters to Javrian, warning him about traps and setups in advance.
She had also used him to eliminate all twenty minor merchants and nobles who held authority within the victor's influence—they were the first obstacle in her journey to reclaim herself.
'!'
"Wh-what? Are you smiling now!?" Sally was shocked, looking at Luna, who had been crying when she arrived but suddenly had a smile tugging at her face as she seemed to move toward the door, causing Sally to furrow her brow.
"After all, I'm going to meet my husband after three months. Shouldn't I be happy?" Luna just shrugged her shoulders, calmly looking toward the balcony and the open garden where the man sat looking away from the mansion, bringing a soft smile to her face.
"I-I know Luna, you are pregnant, but Javrian is already married to—" Before Sally could inform her that Javrian had married Lila, Luna instantly interrupted.
"He lied, Sally." Luna stated blankly, recalling how this man had lied to everyone, even going so far as to set up a fake marriage with Lila so that she would be happy.
And especially how it was too late in the future when she learned that Lila had actually died five months after that breakup due to a sudden ambush by empire troops while trying to protect her clan members.
"WHAT!?" Sally was shocked—not because she doubted what Luna said, especially since for these two months, whatever she had been saying was becoming true.
The way she handled situations was clearly her style, but it was as if she possessed not just intelligence but could also predict future outcomes. Clenching her jaw, Sally looked toward the garden area, narrowing her gaze. "This idiot..."
"He is my husband, Sally. Mind your words." Luna poked Sally before finally turning and heading toward the garden area, causing Sally to gasp, clearly acting shocked.
"What? After three months of my service, you still choose a man!?"
"...Don't create misunderstandings by saying it like that." Luna raised her hand to gesture for Sally to stop, and she did, also noticing how the garden area was mostly empty—something peculiar.
But seeing Luna's gesture, Sally gave a bow, already well-trained to follow her instructions, and slowly retreated, knowing she didn't have to worry about protection since he was here.
Luna stood alone, ten steps away from the man seated in the chair with his back to her. Looking at his black hair, she couldn't help but close her eyes, recalling that day—how wounded he had been and the time they were separated.
She remembered the pain he must have gone through because of her choices. Choices that had consequences she couldn't bear.
At least now she knew how much it would hurt if this man weren't there for her.
'Did I hurt you that much?'
She thought, remembering everything.
After Luna's separation, she had expected to just... exist.
Maybe that was all she could manage anyway.
But then, a month later, something changed. Her future memories started coming back—weird, scary whispers of what was going to happen.
At first, it was too much. She spent a whole week just crying and feeling hopeless.
The memories came in pieces, mixing up her thoughts with her present self and future regrets and choices of what was coming.
They didn't all come at once.
They crept in slowly. The nightmares were the worst, forcing her to see moments that would change everything.
Each night brought new images—accidents, injuries, things that would happen in the future. Heavy, emotional stuff.
But gradually, Luna started to make sense of it all.
The messy fragments began forming a clearer picture of what lay ahead. She could feel each moment so clearly, like they were happening right now, carved deep into her heart.
Luna began gathering strength to face whatever was coming, finally understanding how wrong she'd been. Her choices, no matter how logically sound, hadn't led to good outcomes. Logic meant nothing when hearts were breaking.
"How are you?" She looked toward the man, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes caught the slightest movement—just his hand shifting, not even turning to acknowledge her.
"Lila will be waiting for me. Tell me your problem, I'll solve it and leave." Javrian's words cut through the air like ice. His eyes remained fixed ahead, hand gripping the armrest so tightly his knuckles went white.
Those first few months, when her letters started arriving, he'd hidden them from everyone. Each time, his heart would race thinking—hoping—she needed something from him. Instead, he'd find strategies, warnings about underground traps set by empire troops. Never a plea. Never a request.
Letter after letter, she gave him everything and asked for nothing. Each one a reminder that maybe... maybe she didn't think he was capable of giving her what she needed.
She was right, wasn't she? He was just some man from the wilderness. What could he possibly offer someone like her?
"You know... Javrian." Luna's voice cracked, her entire being trembling as if she was killing every piece of pride, every wall she'd built. Tears spilled over her lashes as the words tore from her throat: "How completely powerless I feel when I'm near you?"
drip
The single tear hit the grass with a sound that shouldn't have been audible over the wind, but somehow was. In the silence between them, it echoed like thunder.
'!'
Javrian's entire body went rigid. That sound—that broken voice—it all came flooding back. The same tears, the same pain he'd caused her that day. Even now, without looking at her, he was hurting her. She would always cry when he was near.
'How can I keep doing this to her...' Rage began boiling in his chest, his fists clenching as the air around him started to shimmer with heat. The same fury from three months ago, but stronger—because now he understood. He was poison to her. Pure poison.
'I should never have come here.' He spun around to leave, muscles coiled to launch himself away from her forever, to disappear from her life completely—
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"
'!'
"What—?" The word died in his throat. Two delicate hands wrapped around his ribs, fingers clawing desperately at his white shirt. She pressed against his back so tightly he could feel her heartbeat hammering against him, her entire body shaking with sobs.
'N-no, she doesn't know what I—'
Before he could form another thought about leaving, about protecting her from himself, she cried out words that shattered his world:
"hic... ARE YOU GOING TO LEAVE ME AGAIN? LEAVE OUR CHILDREN TO DIE? WHYYYY! YOU ARE A CRUEL MAN!"