Beyond the dense trees and bushes, the sea shimmered like a jewel.
“Etricia, once we cross that sea, our history will begin.”
“……”
“The child born between you and me will be an absolute being who will never betray us. Only then will I truly become human—”
“You think you’re human?”
At my unintended sneer, his eyes turned sharp and cold.
Beneath that gaze, I caught a ripple of betrayal.
I narrowed one eye.
‘To him, I’m nothing more than a body to bear his offspring. So why does he look like that?’
What I saw in him was something worn and decayed, like an ancient relic preserved for far too long.
Lunox slowly raised his upper body, his face as cold as frost.
His hand, which had lightly grasped my chin, slid upward, then suddenly gripped it tightly.
“Hngh.”
Pain shot through me as if my bones would shatter.
I gasped as he forced my chin up, making our eyes meet. His murky, sunken gaze was filled with toxic intent, sending a cold sweat down my back.
“Etricia, you’re the only one who can bear my child. I will respect you as my mate. So, you should respect me too, right?”
A ridiculous smirk twisted his lips.
“Or do I need to make you understand through more violent means?”
I scoffed.
I couldn’t listen to this arrogant, self-absorbed man any longer.
Respect?
How dare he preach about understanding when he couldn’t control his own twisted desires and resorted to cruelty?
How could someone so shameless, who stole what was precious to others, expect to have their own wish fulfilled?
I gritted my teeth and glared at him with disgust. His grip on my chin weakened slightly.
“That look again.”
Lunox whispered, his face contorting.
‘That look?’
His hand slowly released my chin. His eyes dulled into a lifeless gray. When we were alone, he always seemed emotionally unstable.
“…Don’t look at me like that, Etricia.”
“……”
“I said, don’t look at me like that.”
His voice, filled with raw desperation, sounded almost like a plea.
I kept my expression blank and my voice emotionless.
“What kind of look do you mean?”
“The same look as back then.”
“……”
“The way you’d look at a mere beast.”
His voice trembled like rain-soaked petals, and his eyes flickered like a candle’s dying flame.
‘Ah… Now I understand.’
I narrowed my eyes.
“You once told him that humans are greedy, that they fail to recognize what’s precious until they lose it. But that statement applies to you more than anyone.”
“……”
“You lost something precious because of your greed.”
He tilted his head slightly, as if hearing something unfamiliar.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Something—someone—truly precious.
His request just moments ago, the betrayal reflected in his eyes, suddenly made perfect sense.
“You… you want me to be Leticia’s reincarnation, don’t you?”
“What?”
Lunox stared at me blankly before letting out a hollow laugh, shaking his head.
“Etricia, I admire your effort to provoke me, but you’re mistaken.”
“No, you regret losing Leticia.”
“Regret? That’s a word for weaklings clinging to the past. I don’t even remember my past self. It’s been gone for a long time!”
“Then why are you still alive?”
His voice had been rising, but at my question, his intensity faded. His eyes wavered, fragile.
“What…?”
“Isn’t it because you’ve been living to fulfill your wish?”
It was a contradiction.
He needed me to fulfill a wish from the past, yet he claimed to have forgotten that past.
So, was his wish nothing more than an empty goal?
For what reason? For what purpose? From where did it originate?
Had he truly forgotten the foundation of his own existence?
Lunox might have forgotten, but I remembered clearly.
I remembered the hands that once tried to strangle Leticia, only to waver in hesitation.
I remembered the madness that tried to cover wounds with cruelty.
The bond between them, the love and loyalty I had sensed—it had never been a lie.
The betrayal and confusion in his eyes confirmed that.
“You say you’ve forgotten the past. Then let me remind you.”
“……”
“You never truly wanted to become human, nor did you ever truly want a family.”
“What…?”
He had claimed to desire humanity, yet he loathed and looked down upon them.
He had used them without hesitation for years, treating them as insignificant.
Yet despite that, he had indeed wanted to become human.
Not just any human—but one like Leticia, whom he both loved and resented.
Not just any family—but Leticia’s family.
“What you truly wanted was to be Leticia’s family.”
Lunox, his face pale and his eyes vacant, stared at me as if he had turned into a lifeless doll.
I sneered.
“But what now? I’m not Leticia’s reincarnation. And Leticia… you were the one who killed her.”
“Etricia…”
His voice was cold as winter frost. I knew I was provoking him, yet I couldn’t stop.
I let my twisted smirk fade and glared at him icily.
“Leticia was the only one.”
‘Sister, Lunox said something at the end. He said that the only person who ever truly loved him was you. And he was right. I was a fool.’
Verita’s remorseful words echoed in my mind.
And within them lay the truth.
“Leticia was the only one who truly loved you. You just realized it too late.”
“Ha!”
A short, bitter laugh burst from him. Then another. And another, until he clutched his stomach, veins bulging in his neck as he let out a crazed laugh.
When his laughter finally faded, his face twisted in pain. His features, once strikingly beautiful, were now distorted beyond recognition.
“Leticia never loved me. That’s why she killed her own family.”
“……”
“She called me a friend while trying to seal me away. She called me family while trying to destroy me! She abandoned me for her family—then locked me in this cursed purification stone!”
Lunox tore at the purification stone hanging around his neck.
“And you say she loved me?”
Ha, haha! Haha…!
He had been laughing with a twisted face, but then, like a fading shower, his laughter slowly disappeared.
Soon, his twisted eyes wandered through the forest in a daze, lost in thought.
“No…”
“…”
“No, Etricia. You misunderstood.”
As he said that, I glanced at his trembling clenched fists and looked up at him coldly.
It was a moment of realization, where memories overlapped and connected.
I knew I hadn’t lived these past few years in vain.
From the cry of a newborn baby, from a mother’s gentle lullaby, from a lover’s whisper, from a friend’s comfort, and from the beauty of vast nature—
He must have realized that love comes in many different forms.
He wouldn’t have known it when he lived in the temple as a human, like a frog in a well, but now he must understand.
I quietly looked at Lunox, who was drowning in confusion.
“How does it feel to lose something precious?”
His eyes, which had been wandering through the air, floated down to me like clouds.
His blank gaze met mine, and I smiled with satisfaction.
“Does it hurt? Are you sad? I really hope so.”
I stared at him coldly, with a serious face.
“So that all the people who suffered because of you won’t feel it was for nothing.”
At that moment, Lunox frowned when he saw the fire blazing in my eyes.
“You…”
“You said you wanted a family, right?”
“…”
“You don’t need to share blood to be family.”
Because I have people like that too.
And as long as I don’t betray them, they will never let go of me.
Whoosh—
Smack!
Just then, something flew in threateningly and struck the tree behind me.
Shh— The rope around my wrists was cut cleanly in two and slid down my arms.
Then I heard the sound of footsteps stepping on fallen leaves, coming closer.
As Lunox’s fierce eyes turned toward the forest, I quickly grabbed the dagger stuck in the tree and hooked it like a hook to snatch the purification stone hanging from his neck. I cut the leather strap with the blade.
Tap.
“…!”
The moment Lunox’s gaze returned to me, I quickly stepped back.
Then I smiled boldly, holding up the leather strap and shaking the purification stone in front of him.
His shocked eyes moved from my face to the stone.
“You… don’t tell me…”
“That’s right. I let myself get kidnapped on purpose.”
“But the tracking device—”
“That was a double trick, of course. I swallowed an edible tracking artifact, just like the trick you used.”
I smiled proudly, lips curved with confidence.
“You said there’s no way to destroy you? No, you actually knew the way. That’s why you were so calm at the banquet. And of course, I know the way too.”
[ You must return to where it began. ]
I finally understood what Leticia meant when she kept repeating those words while reading the ancient book.
The place it began—meant the purification stone where the monster was sealed. Only by sealing it there again could it be destroyed.
“Damn it!”
Jake cursed harshly and tried to move.
Whoosh—!
A sharp wind flew by like a blade, brushing past his jet-black hair. Rustle—his hair was split in half and fell to the ground.
Pale-faced, Lunox turned around slowly. The sea breeze blew and messed up his now-short hair.
Behind him stood Edmund, leaning slightly with a spear resting on his shoulder.
I saw him and narrowed my eyes with a smile.
“This is the end of your greed, Lunox.”
