“Now, my lady. You should run.”
Hartmann, who naturally stepped in front of me to shield my body, whispered quietly. His eyes met mine.
“It would be best for you to hide on the balcony until things settle down. When it’s over, either His Grace or I will come for you.”
Hartmann turned his gaze forward again. The distance between Dorian and Scarlett was steadily closing. The murmurs spreading among the people grew loud enough that their voices could no longer be heard.
Hartmann spoke to me again.
“If you lightly tie the end of the balcony curtain’s ribbon, I’ll know you’re there.”
He couldn’t see it, but I nodded.
“All right.”
I turned around and lowered my posture. Since everyone’s attention was fixed on Dorian and Scarlett, slipping away wasn’t difficult.
The rustle of skirts brushing against one another followed me. I wanted to look back as I left, but I suppressed the urge.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m feeling unwell.”
“Please get some rest then.”
I hurried down the hallway and up the stairs.
The servants I passed didn’t question further once I told them I wasn’t feeling well.
The ball hadn’t officially begun yet, so the hallway leading to the balconies was empty.
I slipped into the third balcony. I pulled the curtain to block the view from the ballroom below, and after tying the ribbon so Dorian or Hartmann could find me, I finally felt myself relax.
“Haa…”
A breeze swept past and tickled my cheek. Slowly, I approached the railing.
The ground floor of the annex, decorated for the ball, glittered brightly, but the forest in the distance was pitch black.
I caught my breath and recalled Scarlett speaking privately with the Emperor.
He clearly didn’t trust her, yet they didn’t seem on bad terms.
Is Scarlett aligned with the Emperor?
I rested my arms on the railing and leaned my left cheek against them. A chill ran up my arm.
“…They did look close.”
“Who did?”
A voice suddenly rose from the corner of the balcony. A low voice—mixed with the wind, soft enough that in any other situation it might have made my heart flutter.
The hair on my head stood up.
I immediately pulled myself away from the railing and looked toward the source of the sound. I had seen no one when I entered—but now, someone was standing within the shadowed corner.
Leaning against the wall… staring at me.
Even in the darkness, short silver hair glimmered faintly, and golden, pupil-less eyes shone.
“I am Shekinah. Among people, I am known as Hiram.”
Why did that name come to mind? But no—the person in my dream couldn’t possibly appear in reality.
And this person was a man.
Still, just in case… I spoke.
“…Shekinah?”
The man stared blankly at me. He resembled her so shockingly much, but the aura he emitted was completely different.
Maybe not? I hesitated, then tried the other name she had given me.
“Hiram?”
At that, the man’s lips slowly curved upward. When he smiled broadly, his hair shifted and shimmered faintly like an aurora.
But instead of the comfort and warmth I had felt in the dream, an unpleasant chill crawled up my spine.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
It doesn’t feel like a person… more like a living mannequin.
He pushed off the wall and slowly walked toward me.
“So you remembered.”
His gentle, hypnotic voice brushed my ear.
“Rohella.”
Before I realized it, he was standing right in front of me. I couldn’t even think to step back—my eyes were locked on his.
“You’re… that person from my dream…”
Could someone from a dream appear in real life? I could barely form words.
The man tilted his head, eyes widening slightly.
“A dream?”
He sounded genuinely unfamiliar with the concept. I cautiously asked:
“…Wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I meant the academy, Rohella.”
He lifted his hand as he spoke. I flinched, and he let out a soft laugh while picking up a strand of my hair.
“Strange… how are you walking around like nothing happened?”
As he lowered his head, I didn’t care about my hair—but when his lips brushed it, goosebumps rippled across my skin.
“Don’t tell me that artifact…?”
He didn’t answer. Under the light, his eyes looked similar to—but not quite the same as—the woman’s in my dream.
She had no pupils. But the center of his eyes had a deep, uneven stain. As though something had tried to bore through them and failed.
As though he was only half-finished.
“This is fun. I thought you were interesting back then too. So fascinating. What are you?”
He released my hair. It slid through his fingers.
I finally regained some movement and stepped back.
“Where did you see me?”
My voice came out small and desperate.
The man pondered for a second, glancing to the side before looking back at me.
“At the entrance ceremony.”
“…Whose?”
“Dietrich’s.”
Dietrich… Dietrich…
I searched frantically through my memory. That was the crown prince’s name.
What was I doing during his entrance ceremony? I did watch the freshman oath.
But I’d only glimpsed it from the edge before heading straight to the library to work on my thesis.
If I had seen someone this visually striking, there’s no way I would have forgotten. I hesitantly asked:
“You’re sure it was then?”
His expression darkened instantly. His smile froze.
“…What. So I was the only one who remembered? That’s disappointing.”
With his expression wiped clean, he really did look like a mannequin. Or a ball-jointed doll. Something imitating a human.
I shivered.
Thankfully, his smile soon returned.
“It’s fine. We can get to know each other from now on. Right?”
Everything about him screamed abnormal. He took another step toward me.
My back touched the railing. A cold night breeze brushed in from behind.
Don’t come closer.
His hair fluttered in the wind. His eyes bore into mine.
Stop.
I gathered mana in my right hand. My fingertips heated up, and I squinted.
If needed, I would use magic.
“No.”
Before I could cast, he grabbed my hand.
“Agh!”
The mana I’d gathered at my fingertips instantly flooded into his body.
Not just that—mana kept draining from my core, unraveling from my chest like a scroll.
I ripped my hand away.
Above me, the man’s soft voice echoed.
“You’re still inexperienced.”
I glared at him.
How could my mana just disappear like that? Was the mana inside the artifact… his?
“It’s fine. These things happen.”
While I was racking my brain, he raised his hand again.
Even without the tone, something about it felt mocking.
“As I thought, I want to keep you.”
His hollow eyes swept down my entire body. Realizing what he meant made my spine freeze.
Another lunatic—right after Scarlett.
How do I escape?
There was still time before the music ended. The faint sound of the orchestra drifted from the ballroom.
The Duke wouldn’t arrive for a while.
If only Hartmann would come… but magical tools were banned at imperial balls.
I decided to stall.
“Hearing all this… I think I kinda remember. You said we met at the entrance ceremony?”
He beamed. Under the light, his smile was dazzling—almost blinding.
Like the full moon right in front of me.
“Yes! After the ceremony, we met in the back garden.”
I had run into a suspicious man in the garden—a guy with his hood pulled low. I hadn’t seen his face. We hadn’t spoken.
“A robe…?”
Judging by his bright expression, I’d guessed correctly.
“Thank goodness. I almost got disappointed thinking I was the only one who remembered.”
I cried internally.
Of course I didn’t remember that…
I blurted out something random.
“You weren’t a student, were you?”
“No. I just went to check on something.”
He grinned. Was he checking on the ceremony? Or something else?
While I tried to think, he continued:
“I thought you were so unique that I wanted to meet you again. Then when Blancet told me about you—gods, I was so happy! I knew it was fate.”
My fingers tightened around the railing. As soon as he finished speaking, he leaned close.
My heart jolted. I didn’t scream, but my eyelids hurt from how wide I’d opened them.
That strange, crawling discomfort returned. Thankfully, he soon pulled back.
Trying to steady my breathing, I asked:
“You and… me?”
“Yes! When Blancet first spoke of you, I felt thrilled. I really wanted to see you again. Once that little cube inside you activated, I planned to stay with you after everything was over.”
He spoke casually—like describing what he ate for lunch.
If the artifact had worked properly, I would’ve been nothing but an empty shell. A puppet.
The stress of facing someone so unhinged made my head spin.
He must have meant Lewin’s assassination. After killing Lewin, he planned to keep puppet-me with him.
A wave of regret washed over me.
Maybe I should’ve just died when I had the chance… and moved on to a next life.
But my tragedy wasn’t over. He wasn’t done speaking.
“It’s a shame it failed. I was disappointed at first, but then I realized—it’s even better this way. My magic was absorbed by you! And you even used my mana to cast magic. We ARE destined!”
His golden eyes glowed in ecstasy—yet behind it, I sensed greed.
Hold on—what?
“So I told Blancet that if she tried to harm you again, I’d make her swallow a cube.”
“Wasn’t that good of me?” he whispered with a laugh.
“…Sure.”
I heard the words, but my brain was too overwhelmed to process them.
He knows I used magic?
Just now I only gathered mana. I didn’t cast anything. Then the accident at the riding arena must’ve been caused by Scarlett or him.
How?
Too much information hit me at once. My knees wobbled as I stepped back.
“Come with me.”
