Kallion couldn't shake off Juan's dying words.
"Who dared to break through Valdormer's defenses?"
"Some of the vassal families betrayed us and opened the way," the knight replied.
The moment he had ignored the vassals' counsel had come back to strike him like a blade.
In disbelief, Kallion muttered, "Who did they betray us to…?"
The knight bowed his head even deeper, his voice filled with shame.
"The Imperial family, my lord."
Kallion froze.
"The Imperial family… why…?"
Then, suddenly, a thought struck him—Yuliana and Denian were still inside the Valdormer estate.
Without another second of hesitation, he leapt onto his horse and spurred it forward.
When he arrived, the estate was already in ruins, trampled by Imperial warhorses.
"No… no…!"
Seeing the mansion consumed by flames, Kallion charged straight into the inferno.
The choking smoke and searing heat didn't matter. He forced his way upstairs—toward the room where Yuliana and Denian would be waiting.
"Kallion, don't worry."
A memory of Yuliana's gentle smile stabbed at his mind.
A burning pillar collapsed in front of him, splintering across his shoulder and leg. But he gritted his teeth and kept climbing, limping onward.
"This is your house. So Denian and I will always be safe here."
Even as fire licked at his skin, he pushed himself forward.
"You'll always protect us, won't you? Right?"
Half of his body charred black from burns, Kallion finally reached Yuliana's room.
Inside, amidst the collapsing flames, lay Yuliana—clutching Denian in her arms.
She had fought desperately to the end; the floor around her was scorched with traces of her power.
But a royal sword had pierced through her back and straight through Denian's tiny chest.
A guttural, animal-like groan escaped Kallion's lips.
"Urgh…"
Staggering through smoke, he fell to his knees before their bodies. Both Yuliana and Denian had died with their eyes still open.
Tears streamed down his face.
In his ears, her sweet voice echoed once more:
"I love you, Kallion."
Pressing his forehead to hers, he whispered hoarsely:
"I love you, Yuliana… I'd give my soul itself for you. I'd sell it to the devil if it meant saving you…"
A broken sob tore from his chest.
This life, he had wanted nothing more than to make her happy.
He stroked her blood-stained face, Denian's small body, trembling violently.
All he had wished for was her smile. For their child to live in happiness.
Why—why was even this simple dream denied to him?
Clutching her cold face, he cried until his tears ran red with blood.
"Aaahhhhhhh!"
It was less a cry than a howl from hell itself.
As flames devoured the mansion, Kallion screamed to the heavens:
If fate demands her death, then I will defy fate itself!
And the burning roof collapsed around him.
Suddenly, memories surged into his mind—countless lives, countless loops.
In every one, Yuliana had died. In every one, Kallion had failed to save her.
"AAAHHHH!"
Unable to bear the flood of memory, his eyes burned red as his aura burst outward.
Shattered glass rained from every window in his office.
Rain and storm winds howled in, whipping the curtains.
Hearing the crash, even the butler—who usually avoided disturbing him—rushed in, horrified.
Amidst the wreckage, Kallion lay on the ground, trembling, clutching his head.
"Urgh…"
"Lord Kallion!" Cliff, the butler, hurried to his side.
Kallion didn't care that shards of glass tore into his hands and legs. He only groaned, lost in torment.
Finally, lifting his head, on his face was a mask of madness, he whispered:
"Yuliana… where is Yuliana…?"
"…What?" Cliff hesitated.
"Where is she?"
Seeing his delirious eyes, Cliff bit his lip.
"My lord… the madam has been missing for over half a year! Please, you must come to your senses!"
But Kallion shoved him aside, staggering to his feet.
He stumbled out of the office, searching desperately.
"Yuliana… Yuliana…! Yuliana!!"
Servants shrank back in fear as he stormed through the halls, calling her name like a madman.
Whispers rose behind him:
"What happened to him…?"
"I think he's lost his mind."
"With the acting lord in this state, shouldn't the true lord return?"
Cliff shot them a sharp glare, silencing them.
But as he watched Kallion's broken figure stumble away, his own face was heavy with despair.
"Yuliana?"
I turned at the sound of a familiar voice while holding Denian close.
It was Lloyd, returning from the city with a gentle smile.
"You're back?"
"Has Denian been well?"
"Yes. He eats and sleeps well, no need to worry."
Lloyd cherished Denian as if he were his own child.
But even as I smiled at him, guilt weighed in my heart.
I didn't want him bound to me and another man's child. I wanted him to be free to leave whenever he chose.
"Yuliana."
Reading my heart, Lloyd gently took my hand.
"Please don't take this the wrong way."
I blinked, puzzled, as he continued.
"Valdormer is still searching for you."
My expression hardened. "I know."
"But they don't know you were pregnant… or that you've already given birth."
My grip on Denian tightened.
Kallion could never find out about Denian. That was why I ran away in the first place.
"To protect the child, no one can know he carries Valdormer blood. Am I right?"
Slowly, I nodded.
"Then trust me. I'll help make sure Denian is safe."
His earnest eyes wavered in front of me. After a long hesitation, I nodded again.
Protecting Denian from Kallion mattered more than anything.
Lloyd smiled, then reached out to touch Denian's head.
A stream of white energy flowed from his fingertips, sinking into Denian's black hair.
Before my eyes, the strands shimmered and turned silver—just like Lloyd's.
I stared at the transformation, shocked.
"This way, he'll be far safer."
He was right.
For Denian's safety, this precaution could only help.
At last, I nodded in agreement.