[Luna's Perspective]
After I was overcome by sleep last night following that exhausting day, I found myself the next morning in Klo's room.
Half-leaning on the edge of his bed, I quickly got up out of respect for him.
But I didn't find him — the only thing left where he slept were the creases in the mattress shaped by his body.
It wasn't the first time I had slept in his room. Since our wedding, I had been sleeping in his room while he slept on the chair.
I feel bad for that. I'll apologize to him for doing so.
I left his room, closing the door behind me. Worried about Klo, who seemed gloomy yesterday for some unknown reason.
Ever since we defeated that girl, sadness started to creep onto his features. He wasn't like that before — he was sarcastic and playful.
Even in serious moments, he would lighten them up with jokes. But yesterday, he showed no reaction to the death of his loyal servant other than silence.
Caught in my thoughts, I looked for Klo throughout the blood-stained palace, now dominated by crimson.
"Klo! Where are you?!"
Where are you, Klo… I started worrying about you.
I continued searching until I exited the palace, this time heading to the garden.
I walked through the vast garden, searching for Klo, but unfortunately, I couldn't find him.
I sat beside one of the decorated flower beds.
Despite their strange appearance, the flowers had a magnetic allure. I tried to pick one, but as soon as I did, it turned to ash.
This palace feels so gloomy. How did Klo live here? This place plays with a person's emotions.
I raised my head to the red sky and saw Klo atop the palace, wearing a winter scarf wrapped around his neck to avoid catching a cold.
But his expression broke my heart.
His eyes were heavy, as if he'd lived among ruins.
His eyes pointed downward, as if he were asleep.
I shifted my footing backward, adjusting my stance to leap toward him.
I bent down then jumped with force. I reached Klo, who sensed my presence but said nothing.
I walked over and sat beside him.
I looked at his face — he looked lost.
"Klo?"
"…"
No reply.
"Klo."
Klo flinched slightly, as if waking from sleep.
He turned his head toward me and smiled.
"Ah, you're here, Luna. Sorry I didn't respond earlier. My mind was elsewhere."
"…"
"Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. It's just a phase… it'll pass like the others."
Klo turned his face back toward the view he'd been watching.
"Andrew's funeral will start soon. Do you want to come?"
"If you're going, I'll go with you."
"I doubt I will. You go in my place — as if you're Klo. I'm your husband, and husbands and wives share things."
"…"
"Then I won't go."
"Why?"
"Why should I leave you when you're clearly not okay?"
"…"
"You know… I always thought your eyes were beautifully radiant."
"…"
He didn't respond. If I'd said that to him before, he'd have blushed and squirmed in place.
I guess Klo is lost right now.
"Klo, where do you want to go after the funeral?"
"I don't know."
I hugged his hand to comfort him.
"Come on… you've never taken me out. We haven't done anything since our wedding."
"Where do you want to go?"
"Wherever you want to go."
"Alright."
I couldn't take Klo's coldness, so I lowered my head between my knees.
Huff~
Klo slowly looked at me and saw my head down, panting.
He leaned in and saw the tears falling from my face.
He lifted my face with his hand and saw my flushed cheeks.
Klo averted his gaze to the side.
"Ah… I really am a terrible man. If only I'd just died—"
"Don't say that. You're still trying despite your weakness. I don't know what happened to you, but I can feel it."
Klo bit his mustache and scratched his head.
"I think… they've started the ceremony. Want to come with me, Luna?"
He reached his hand out to me while looking into my eyes.
I felt happy — even though I knew he was pretending, I was glad he at least moved a bit from how he was.
"Yes!"
...
At the funeral, Andrew's loved ones and friends were present.
We stood in rows facing each other, staring at Andrew's picture in front of his casket.
Some were crying, some holding their heads, and some just staring.
The ones most affected by the loss were Andrew's daughter and Lynette.
They hadn't stopped crying since we arrived.
I sat next to Klo on a small white chair.
Klo kept staring at Andrew's coffin amidst the grey, gloomy weather and the fog that covered the place.
He stared slowly… then began to smile.
What's happening?
His smile grew wider and wider until he lowered his head to hide it from everyone.
But his eyes didn't lie.
As the ceremony neared its end and everyone began to leave, Andrew's daughter walked toward Klo with tear-filled eyes, followed by Lynette.
"What's wrong with you, you bastard? Smiling at the funeral of the man who raised you?"
He didn't respond.
I tried to calm the situation.
"Sorry about what he—"
"Shut up! How could he do this at the funeral of his second father?" Lynette shouted.
Andrew's daughter grabbed Klo by the tie and pulled him close.
"Don't you know how hard my father worked to raise you? To make you a man instead of the garbage you are now?"
Still, Klo didn't respond. He just kept smiling — until she slapped him.
"Why can't you understand other people's feelings?! Even in serious moments, you joke around!"
It was Lynette who slapped him.
Klo raised his head then lowered it again.
"Why should I care about someone weak? It's his fault if he couldn't protect himself."
Her eyes widened, and she struck him with a powerful mana-infused blow.
Klo flew through the air for a moment before slamming into the wall where Andrew's portrait hung.
"You really are a wicked bastard. You lived a pampered life even without your parents. You got everything you ever wanted. You lived happily, never caring about others. Everyone loved you — and now this?!"
Klo lowered his head, and the smile turned into a sorrowful expression.
He stood up and walked toward Lynette, visibly affected by her words.
He gently patted her shoulder, his head bowed.
"Sorry. But you don't know anything about me."
After those words, Klo walked back into the palace, wiping his face with his arm.