“Sei… Seiana…!”
Raymond pounded on the wall with both hands.
Normally, he could tear something like this apart with just his fingers, but strangely, he had no strength.
It felt like he had become a powerless ordinary person.
But as he kept pounding, cracks eventually formed.
Raymond dug his fingers into the crack and pulled it open with both hands.
The gap widened more and more.
‘Where is she? Where?’
The inside was bizarre.
The space was filled with violently clashing colors that made his head throb.
Enduring the nausea, he searched every inch, and amid the dirty, mottled chaos, Seiana stood alone—clear and vivid.
“Seiana…!”
Raymond thrust his arm through the gap.
It was narrow and tight, and as he forced his way through, the surrounding wall began to shatter and crumble around his arm.
His skin was scraped by the debris, turning his arm into a bloody mess, but Raymond didn’t care.
When he finally got his shoulder through, he was able to grab hold of Seiana.
Only then did his world begin to function properly again.
“Haa…”
—He’s insane.
A voice rang out.
—Tearing apart the world just to find one person?
What would you have done if the world had ended because of it?
To Raymond, if he couldn’t find Seiana, the world might as well have ended.
If it meant reclaiming his world, he would tear this damn world apart a hundred times more.
—Hah, you’re truly insane.
That’s why you’re so dangerous.
Along with those words, a flash of light burst in front of Raymond.
The figure that appeared before him—he couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.
The flat chest and broad, angular shoulders made Raymond think it was probably a man.
The moment Raymond saw the figure, he understood.
This was the fairy who had kidnapped Seiana.
—What should I do with you?
Honestly, I’d like to get rid of you.
There was a faint murderous intent in the fairy’s eyes.
Not necessarily out of hatred, but rather a desire to remove something dangerous standing in front of them.
Raymond also glared back.
He was afraid this being might take her away again.
As their eyes locked, the fairy suddenly asked:
—Do you know the name of the primordial god?
Raymond didn’t answer the question.
But upon seeing his expression, the fairy burst into laughter.
It wasn’t the same confused expression Seiana would have made at such a strange question.
At the very least, Raymond knew that the god had a name.
—Yes.
Even if others don’t, your kind must know.
You must never forget.
The fairy’s voice had a trace of resentment, but the killing intent in his eyes melted away like snow.
More than that, a sense of familiarity filled his gaze.
—Don’t let go of yourself.
As long as you stay centered, you’ll be able to remain human.
—Even if you die as a human, don’t ever forget.
The one who vanished for your sake. Remember forever.
At those words, Raymond’s lips twisted.
For your sake, they said… It might’ve made sense if said to someone else, but not to Raymond, whose life had been twisted because of that very person.
The fairy raised an eyebrow at Raymond’s resentful glare and grinned.
—You’ve come to the land of the fairies, so you ought to experience a prank at least once, right?
The intent behind the fairy’s words was clear: to mess with him under the guise of a “prank.”
Just as Raymond’s eyes widened in protest—
A storm of flower petals surged again.
Fearing he’d lose Seiana once more, Raymond clenched his fists.
But he had to release his grip as she let out a faint groan.
The fairy seized that opportunity.
“No!”
Raymond, his eyes turning wild again, gritted his teeth and launched an attack, but the fairy had already disappeared with a burst of laughter.
As despair overwhelmed him from losing Seiana yet again right in front of his eyes, Raymond was about to scream—only to realize he had arrived somewhere familiar.
“Where… is this?”
It was the imperial palace.
His residence.
But something about the room was strange.
The wallpaper and carpet hadn’t changed, and yet…
‘The furniture’s all huge.’
Even the bed in front of him looked twice as big.
At first, Raymond thought maybe he had shrunk, but his line of sight was actually higher.
Looking around, he caught his reflection in a mirror and jumped in surprise.
There was someone else.
But on closer inspection, it wasn’t someone else.
“…Is that me?”
His height had nearly doubled, and while his face resembled the Empress’s beauty, it carried a strong masculine air.
It was what he might look like if he grew up.
He realized the entire situation was a fairy’s prank.
‘I need to get out of here.’
Determined to twist the fairy’s neck after finding Seiana, Raymond left the room.
He hadn’t forgotten to wear his usual robe, which had also grown to match his larger body.
The fairy had to be hiding somewhere in this fake world.
As he moved around trying to avoid people, it wasn’t easy to locate him right away.
Wandering through the palace, he eventually saw familiar faces.
Of course, they looked older than he remembered.
“The Count?”
He was speaking with someone, looking unusually serious, and that reminded Raymond of Seiana.
He was older.
The Count was older.
Surely, Seiana must’ve grown too.
Imagining her as a grown lady made Raymond’s heart race.
He wanted to see her.
‘No, damn it. I need to find that damn fairy.’
This was all a fake world created by the fairy.
He didn’t want to waste any more time here—he wanted to return to the real world and meet the real Seiana.
But the encounter that followed changed Raymond’s mind.
“My younger sister is at the palace today…”
He saw Halo, now a full-grown adult, speaking with a fellow knight.
And from his lips came the words: Seiana is at the palace.
Without a second thought, Raymond ran off to find her.
He didn’t know why she was in the palace.
This world was fake, so she must be fake too—but that didn’t matter.
‘I just want to see her.’
She had appeared right in front of his eyes.
Why wouldn’t he see her?
Raymond searched everywhere she might be, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Damn it. Why is this place so damn big?”
The place was unnecessarily vast—he had no idea where she might be.
He decided to try the legal office wing in the outer palace, the nearest spot he hadn’t yet searched.
“There she is.”
There stood Seiana. In a corridor leading to another part of the outer palace, gazing out at the garden.
Even as a child, Seiana was quite beautiful.
But now—grown up—she was on another level entirely.
Her face seemed to glow with light.
Raymond forgot even the thought that he had to meet her and, hidden, stared at her as if bewitched.
‘Why does she look… sad?’
With a sorrowful expression, Seiana let out a deep sigh and leaned against a corridor pillar.
Maybe it was because no one else was in the corridor—it made her look even lonelier.
Just as Raymond was debating whether to approach her, Seiana began to cry.
Seeing that, Raymond couldn’t hold back any longer and revealed himself before her.
“Hic! Oh my! Wh-Who…?”
“Why… why are you crying?”
“Huh?”
Perhaps startled even more by Raymond’s sudden appearance, Seiana looked up at him with tears streaming down her face.
Seeing her like that, Raymond’s mind went completely blank.
He wanted to comfort her, but what should he do?
He first reached out his hand to wipe her tears, but Seiana flinched.
It didn’t seem like she was afraid of him—it looked like she was just startled by the sudden gesture.
“Don’t cry…”
Raymond felt like crying instead.
Why was she crying?
If he could find whoever made her cry, he swore he would never forgive them.
This time, he reached out more slowly.
Unlike before, when she had trembled and rejected him, Seiana didn’t avoid his hand.
His palm was soon soaked with her tears.
“Should I scold them for you?”
“Sniff…”
She didn’t know who he was, but hearing him say he’d scold the person for her made Seiana laugh.
It was probably funny since a complete stranger was saying this.
“Do you… know me?”
Seiana asked hesitantly.
At her question, he thought for a moment about how to respond, then opened his mouth.
“I’m Raymond.”
“Raymond… I’m…”
“I know. Seiana Lovely Estarote.”
Seiana’s face turned red when he said her middle name.
Even though she was grown up, hearing someone else call her Lovely was terribly embarrassing for her.
Raymond found her adorable and almost smiled, but held back, worried she’d feel even more embarrassed.
Then he cleared his throat.
He had something important to say.
“And I am…”
“…the person who loves Seiana Lovely Estarote the most in this world.”
“…Huh?”
Her confused expression changed to one of even deeper redness as she processed his words.
“Whaaa…” she blurted, as if unable to understand, then looked up at Raymond as if asking if he was serious.
But he only smiled.
He didn’t say it lightly—and the person who truly needed to hear this was outside of this world.
“…Is this real or what…”
As Seiana murmured in her usual tone, Raymond’s smile deepened.
Just then, the wind blew again.
Even if this was fake, he didn’t want to witness her disappearing before his eyes again.
So Raymond quickly pulled her into an embrace.
“Kyah!”
She was startled by the sudden hug, but didn’t push him away.
Rather, as the wind grew stronger, she fully leaned into Raymond’s arms.
Flap, flap.
A piece of paper clutched in her hand caught his eye.
He hadn’t meant to peek at it, but somehow ended up reading it, and his eyes narrowed.
‘Annulment Authorization Form.’
It was a document granting permission to dissolve an engagement.
Thanks to Raymond’s excellent vision, he also caught the name written on it.
It was at that very moment—he confirmed the name he had long cursed: Ro.