The mountain stood silent beneath the pale evening sky.
A cold wind swept across the cliffs, carrying away the echoes of Larissa's cries.
James remained beside her without saying a word.
Sometimes, silence was kinder than comfort.
Larissa sat on the edge of a rock, wrapping her trembling arms around herself. Her bandaged shoulders still ached from the explosion, but the pain inside her chest drowned everything else.
James finally broke the silence.
"Come with me."
Larissa slowly shook her head.
"I don't want to go anywhere."
"You need treatment."
"I'm fine."
"No."
James looked directly into her eyes.
"You're alive."
"And as long as you're alive, nothing is over."
Larissa lowered her head.
"My home isn't my home anymore."
"My fiancé married someone else."
"My own realm believes I'm dead."
"What do I have left?"
James let out a quiet sigh.
"You still have me."
Larissa's eyes trembled.
For the first time since arriving, she allowed herself to cry openly.
Not loudly.
Just quiet tears flowing endlessly.
James gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"You carried everyone's pain."
"Now let someone carry yours."
Larissa closed her eyes.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Far away...
The headquarters had become unusually quiet.
Servants walked through the halls without making a sound.
Even the laughter that once filled the building had disappeared.
Kael slowly opened his bedroom door.
His eyes were swollen.
He had not slept.
He walked through the corridor aimlessly.
Every corner reminded him of Larissa.
The flowers she watered.
The chair where she drank tea every night.
The small bookshelf she always organized whenever she was bored.
Nothing had changed.
Only she was gone.
His footsteps stopped outside the garden.
The wooden chair still faced the mountains.
A cold cup of tea rested on the table.
Kael gently picked it up.
It was empty.
He smiled bitterly.
"You forgot to wash it..."
His voice cracked.
"...again."
He carefully placed it back exactly where it had been.
Emily watched him quietly from inside the house.
Her heart tightened.
She had known Kael for years.
Never had she seen him this broken.
Grace also stood behind the window.
She watched Kael from a far.
He never once looked toward her.
Not once.
She slowly clenched her fists.
"So..."
"I really lost."
Meanwhile...
Inside the council chamber...
Elder Arulines sat with the other elders.
The room felt heavier than ever before.
One elder finally spoke.
"We made the right decision..."
"But..."
"The cost was too high."
Another elder nodded silently.
"We protected the realm."
"But destroyed three lives."
Arulines closed his eyes.
"No."
"We destroyed more than three."
"The people no longer trust us."
Silence filled the chamber once again.
Outside...
Citizens had begun whispering.
"They forced the wedding."
"They sacrificed those children."
"Was there really no other way?"
Rumors spread from street to street.
Some blamed Robert.
Others blamed the elders.
A few...
Blamed Grace.
Grace heard every whisper as she walked through the town.
People bowed because she was their leader.
But no one smiled.
Children who once greeted her now hid behind their parents.
Shopkeepers forced polite expressions.
Every greeting felt empty.
Every smile looked fake.
For the first time...
Grace understood something.
Respect obtained by authority was different from respect earned through trust.
That evening...
She returned to her office.
The room that once filled her with pride now felt suffocating.
She sat behind the large desk.
Stacks of reports covered the table.
Injured citizens.
Destroyed homes.
Food shortages.
Medical requests.
Compensation.
She rubbed her forehead.
Being a leader was nothing like she had imagined.
There was no glory.
Only responsibility.
A knock came at the door.
"Come in."
A servant stepped inside.
"Lady Grace."
"The citizens from the eastern district wish to meet you."
Grace nodded.
"I'll be there."
The servant hesitated.
"They..."
"They're angry."
Grace remained silent.
After the servant left, she looked at her reflection in the window.
Outside...
Dark clouds slowly covered the evening sky.
Her own reflection looked unfamiliar.
"Was this..."
"...really what I wanted?"
No answer came.
Only silence
And somewhere beyond the mountains...
A girl named Larissa stared at the same dark sky...
While a boy named Kael unknowingly stared toward the very same horizon.
The distance between them had never felt greater.
Night settled quietly over both realms.
The same moon shone above them.
Yet beneath that single sky...
Two hearts suffered in complete silence.
---
The western hideout had become unusually peaceful.
After the doctor's treatment, Larissa rested inside a small wooden room.
A lantern flickered softly on the bedside table.
James stood by the window, looking into the dark forest outside.
Behind him came a quiet voice.
"...Brother."
James turned.
Larissa had finally sat up.
Her face looked pale.
The bandages around her shoulder had already turned slightly red from the fresh blood seeping through.
"You shouldn't be sitting."
Larissa ignored him.
Instead, she asked the question that had been trapped inside her heart.
"...Did Kael really agree on his own?"
James remained silent for several seconds.
Finally, he answered honestly.
"No"
Larissa slowly looked at him.
"He refused."
"For two days."
"He argued with the elders."
"He nearly collapsed."
"He stopped eating."
"He stopped sleeping."
"He kept saying the same thing."
«"I'd rather lose my life than betray Larissa."»
Larissa's eyes trembled.
James continued quietly.
"But the realm was falling apart."
"The elders..."
"...and Emily..."
"...finally convinced him."
Tears slowly rolled down Larissa's cheeks.
"So..."
"He really didn't want it..."
James nodded.
"No."
"He didn't."
Larissa lowered her head.
"I should feel better after hearing that..."
"...so why does it hurt even more?"
James had no answer.
---
Back at the headquarters...
Kael hadn't entered his room since morning.
Instead...
He sat beneath the old oak tree in the garden.
The same place where Larissa used to read books while drinking tea.
The empty wooden chair remained beside him.
Kael stared at it for a long time.
Then quietly spoke.
"...You're late today."
Silenc answered him.
A gentle breeze moved the branches above.
For a brief moment...
He almost imagined Larissa smiling beside him.
His hand slowly reached toward the empty chair.
But there was no one there.
Only cold air.
Emily watched from the hallway.
She wanted to walk over.
She wanted to comfort him.
Yet every word felt meaningless now.
Sometimes...
No apology was enough.
---
Inside the castle...
Grace buried herself in work.
Reports covered every corner of her office.
She signed document after document.
Food distribution.
Medical supplies.
Rebuilding projects.
Security patrols.
She worked without stopping.
Not because she enjoyed it.
Because the silence terrified her.
Whenever she stopped working...
Kael's cold eyes returned to her mind.
She suddenly placed the pen down.
"...Why?"
She whispered to herself.
"I got everything I wanted."
"So why..."
"...does it feel like I lost?"
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Come in."
A servant entered.
"My Lady."
"The eastern district wishes to thank you."
Grace looked surprised.
"They do?"
The servant nodded.
"The rebuilding has already started."
"They appreciate your quick decisions."
Grace smiled faintly.
For the first time in days...
She felt relieved.
Maybe...
She could still become a good leader.
Maybe...
One day...
People would accept her.
But deep inside...
She knew there was one person whose acceptance she desired more than anyone else's.
And that person hadn't spoken to her since the wedding.
---
Meanwhile...
James quietly walked through the western hideout.
One of his soldiers approached him.
"Brother James."
"The attacks have completely stopped."
James nodded.
"As expected."
"The ritual restored the barrier."
The soldier hesitated.
"Should we continue helping the injured villages?"
James answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
"Robert's war isn't against innocent people."
"Anyone injured..."
"...help them."
The soldier bowed before leaving.
James looked toward Larissa's room.
"...I hope one day..."
"...you'll understand everything."
---
Late that night...
Larissa couldn't sleep.
She quietly left her room and walked outside.
The mountain air felt cold against her skin.
She sat on a large rock overlooking the distant kingdom.
Tiny lights flickered far beyond the mountains.
Somewhere over there...
Kael was looking at the same night sky.
Without realizing it...
Both of them raised their heads at exactly the same moment.
Separated by countless mountains.
Separated by fate.
Yet connected by memories neither of them could abandon.
Larissa slowly closed her eyes.
"...Are you sleeping..."
"...or crying like me?"
Far away...
Kael whispered into the night.
"...Wherever you are..."
"...please stay alive."
The wind carried both voices across the mountains.
Neither of them heard the other.
But under the same moon...
Their hearts spoke the same prayer.