Death was not a void. It was the slow, agonizing return of memory. Then, piece by piece, Nyasia Sofia Rashet remembered she had suffered from severe fever. And that she had not survived it.
Now, she had become a mere ghost, wandering the main hall of Rashet Manor, watching people in dark clothes. Her cold body lay inside an open casket. It was a funeral service for the so-called unknown heiress of the Rashet Clan.
'Fay!'
It was her handmaid.
Fay was striding toward the main entrance archway of Nyasia's private courtyard. A few paces away stood a man's tall figure, and every second of its heavy presence there could make the air vanish.
No one should be deceived because of that handsome face, for his dangerous, obsidian gaze could trap anyone like a rabbit in a snare. And that gaze was on Fay.
He was Rian. Or so the man she knew. But now, he was Dorian Alexei Varyn. The one she only vaguely recognised. The one people feared.
"Y—young Master." Fay wept bitterly, immediately kneeling on the floor. "We—we've tried everything. For four days. I—I'm so sorry. The lady has always been sick since childhood, because she couldn't withstand the sun. I thought she'd survive the fever just like before—!"
"Sunlight won't kill her." Dorian's icy voice sounded as if it could dry Fay's skin. "Stop pretending she's that weak. I checked her pulse. I always do."
Nyasia froze. 'He always did?'
She had always thought he was shameless when he'd try to hold her hand. But he was actually checking on her health?
"B—but at that time, the young lady was truly fine. And something happened to her recently. I—I don't know. The doctor said her body simply gave out."
"Gave out."
Dorian scoffed, the sound hollow.
"It seems everyone in Rashet Manor is incompetent."
His voice hardened.
Then he turned and strode away, Fay still sobbing on the floor.
...
SOMEHOW, Nyasia's soul ascended toward the sky. Unable to descend. Unable to run toward anyone. Unable to track down Dorian and tell him she was fine.
And Fay...
"My lady, I've failed you! I had one job, but I still failed. I couldn't protect you..." Fay cried sorrowfully on Nyasia's grave. "And now, the marquis has died from a broken heart. I—I don't know what to do!"
Fay!
Nyasia shouted again.
Yet Fay couldn't take it anymore. She hanged herself in the garden.
Nyasia helplessly cried.
'Fay, you fool!'
'Father!'
'Oh, Father! You cared for me, all this time? But why were you never around? Why did you visit so rarely? Why did you favor someone else, not me?'
...
NYASIA'S SPIRIT was awakened by the eerie voices of the capital of the Tenusa Empire. Blood splattered the capital walls. Screams everywhere. Moans. The streets smelled of death. Then came a familiar figure of a man on horseback. His jaw was sharper. His face carved in hard lines. The blood in his eyes was dark. Devouring. She'd never seen anything like it.
Like the devil himself.
Only he possessed the face of an extraordinarily handsome man who could make women offer themselves as willing sacrifices.
They didn't care that he held the emperor's severed head, then raised his hand so the people could see the emperor's face frozen in horror.
"This is Heaven's mandate! Long live the new emperor!"
"Long live the emperor!"
Nyasia's eyes widened.
'Rian, what happened to you?'
Nyasia screamed his name. She screamed until her ghost-throat tore apart.
Over the next few days, thousands were sent to the guillotine. The emperor spared no one. Not even Rashet clan. Not even her brother—his close friend in everything but blood—who knelt at the blade.
"Who knew emperoring was this effortless, Levon?" Dorian on the platform spoke with casual amusement, knuckles brushing his chin. Behind the lightness, his eyes pinned Levon Ares Rashet in place.
"You were meant to rule, Your Majesty," Levon said, his eyes on the ground. "Fate. The same fate that calls me to my father and her—"
"Fate?" Dorian cut him. "Don't worship that word like a fool. Nothing is fate. People don't drop dead for no reason. The Academy taught you better."
"I know why you're doing this. I know you're being irrational—"
"I don't care who knows." He smiled, cruelty flickering in his eyes. "Let everyone know I want to rip the Tenusa apart. Starting with heads."
"You've lost your mind."
"I never had one to lose, Levon. That's the truth." Dorian's voice turned heavy. "I only managed to get one with her. And you killed her."
Nyasia's lips parted.
'Rian, what are you saying? I had a fever. A severe fever. Brother didn't know!'
"Please punish me, then, for I am incompetent. I have failed the Rashet Clan. I have failed what matters most," Levon said, firmly, eyes empty.
Nyasia's tears fell.
'Brother, none of it was your fault!'
And without a warning, Levon's head rolled across the ground and soon other Rashet members were executed one by one. Nyasia froze, reeling in disbelief as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. That Dorian Alexei. Her Rian. The man she had admired and loved had killed her beloved brother.
The next thing she knew—
Him.
Dorian was kneeling at her grave.
"Cruel. You're cruel. I needed three months—just three—to deal with them and take you for myself, Nyasia Sofia. You couldn't wait." His tone was very low. "Should've taken everything long ago. I should have."
Rian...
She screamed with hot tears.
'Rian, how could I possibly know?'
'Must you become a monster?'
As she tried to talk to him helplessly, Dorian stood up and began walking at the edge of the cliff. He glanced up the sky for a while and spoke, "Sia, how are dare you give up on me."
'Rian!'
But his body already fell, as if he was finally free. As if he had finally joined her.
'How dare you!'
'How dare you, Dorian Alexei!'
Tok!
Tok!
Tok!
Her eyes opened.
The ceiling of her bedroom.
She lay in her bed.
'Why am I here?'
Today...
She tried to remember today. Her hand went to her head. Fever.
Wait.
This was the day before she died.
'How?'
Tok!
Then came another knock at the door.
*