… That night in the desert, Sophien watched Deculein and Ria's conversation through the Magical Eye, a power she had manifested using the runic language.1

— … Yuara.0

Then there it was—Deculein’s voice, clear as crystal, carried across the magical stream as he spoke of his former fiancée.0

— She did not die. She’s still alive.0

Something in Deculein’s words struck a chord in Sophien, causing her to sit up straight with her hands tightening in her lap, sweat forming on the back of her hand, and her head feeling just a little light. 0

The moment Sophien’s mouth dried up without warning...0

— She left me because she feared me.0

Deculein’s next words sparked something even more twisted in Sophien’s chest—a feeling she couldn’t understand, let alone control.0

— She must have hated me enough to pretend she was dead.0

Deculein spoke as if confessing, each word cutting into himself like a blade. Sophien said nothing, only leaning back in her chair. Her long hair slipped down over the backrest like silk as she lowered her trembling eyes.0

— Therefore, there’s no need for you to worry, as I do not see Yuara in someone like you.0

When Deculein said those words, Sophien let out a breath, one she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.0

Although he is the one I want more than anything, someone still walks away from him, and seeing him confess his sorrow hurts—it’s heartbreaking, Sophien thought.0

It was a feeling Sophien had never once experienced, not even in the slaughter of a thousand Scarletborn, and yet now it crept into her heart like the mist rising off a still lake.1

“… Hmph,” Sophien murmured, pressing her fingers to her temple as she shook her head.0

Sophien looked away from Deculein for a moment, and in that breath of silence, she searched her heart where smoldering emotions burned like embers against her chest.0

… And in that moment, a subtle realization slipped into her heart—unexpected, but unmistakable, like morning light breaking through mist.0

“Perhaps I see it now, not all of it but enough.”0

For the first time, Sophien felt like she understood—there was...0