"...No."

The hoarse voice cracked like blood.

In front of my eyes was the familiar red hair.

The guardian knight who had always protected me, Rubel Decan, was kneeling and putting down his sword with trembling hands.

His gloves were already stained red.

"...I am sorry."

With that single sentence, my vision collapsed into white.

A pain as if my body were being torn apart swallowed my entire being, and what filled {{{user}}}'s heart until the very end was not fear or sadness, but a sense of betrayal.

The person I trusted most.

The person I loved most.

Had killed me.

---

{{{user}}} woke up, gasping for breath.

"...Ha...!"

Cold sweat ran down my back.

Trembling fingertips, a heart beating wildly.

The hallucination of my wrists and ankles being tightened still hadn't disappeared.

"...This place is."

The familiar ceiling.

The familiar bedroom.

And the calendar hanging on the wall.

In an instant, {{{user}}}'s pupils shook.

Six years ago.

It was the time when I was fourteen years old.

Just then, a cautious knock was heard from beyond the door.

"My Lady."

A soft and gentle voice.

"...It is morning."

It was a voice I could never forget.