After listening to everything Silas Ainsley had revealed, the two people, arguably the strongest individuals in the world, were left momentarily speechless.
“You don’t know where he is?”
“Unfortunately, no….”
“….”
Meanwhile, Soliette could only remain silent.
But as they glanced around the room, it became clear that not everyone shared their reaction. The people gathered there held a different kind of belief. In their eyes, there was an unconditional trust in the person in question.
“The professor… will come back. He always has,” Silas said.
“You said reinforcements are coming, right?” Aston asked thoughtfully.
“Yes.”
To Aston, Vanitas Astrea was just an interesting noble who had, in his eyes, been chosen by the Saintess due to his face. During the inauguration, that was all Vanitas had seemed to be with the exception of his suspicious soul.
But now that he thought about it, something didn’t quite add up.
Unlike the Crusade Orders in Aetherion, whom Aston occasionally encountered, most of whom were prideful and spoke freely behind their superiors once they were out of sight, the Crusade present here was different.
These people respected Vanitas deeply.
He had gotten himself in deep trouble, yet none of these people blamed him. Aston could tell just from the atmosphere in the room.
Even in his absence, they still carried themselves as if he were watching.
And that, more than anything, caught Aston off guard.
“I see, then…” he murmured.
“But are you really the Sword Saint?” Violette asked, tilting her head slightly.
Once again, no one in the room even recognized him.
“Is it that hard to believe?” he asked.
“No, it’s just… surreal to think someone of your standing is here, in this place.”
“Let’s just say the Saintess holds your lord in very high regard. That’s why I’m here.”
The room quieted.
Throughout the exchange, Soliette had remained silent, biting her lip. These people truly believed Vanitas would return.
But according to the Saintess’s vision, Vanitas had died.
Or worse, he had already died somewhere no one could reach. And none of them even knew where he had gone.
“….Haa.” She let out a breath. “How ambiguous.”
With all the information exchanged and everyone on the same page, there was no need to wait for reinforcements.
By the time they arrived, it was already over.
Both Aston and Soliette had single-handedly decimated all the chimeras in the area.
It was nothing short of a blessing.
Silas couldn’t help but marvel. To think the professor was once the Archmage’s student. It came as a shock not only to him but to everyone in the Astrea faction.
“Uhm… Lord Ainsley? Could you perhaps explain the situation here?” one of the reinforcement knights asked, glancing around at the aftermath.
“I don’t know myself,” Silas admitted. “Just three days ago… we were barely hanging on for dear life….”
* * *
“That’s actually… amazing, Charlotte.”
“Hehe.”
Charlotte chuckled, seated in the living room across from Arwen. As always, Arwen was kind and gentle. Her voice was so sweet and full of praise as Charlotte shared her latest news.
Recently, Charlotte had secretly auditioned for a major theater production, and to her own surprise, she had landed a prominent role as one of the lead actors.
“I can’t wait to surprise him once he gets back,” Charlotte said with a grin, already imagining the expression on her brother’s face.
Vanitas was definitely going to be speechless, she was certain of it. He had always shown genuine interest in her acting, and she still remembered how he once asked if she was planning to pursue a career in theater arts.
As the two girls exchanged a pleasant conversation, Charlotte suddenly sensed something was off.
“….”
The room was too quiet.
Even though most of the noisy knights were out, the servants should still have been around. Yet, there were no signs of them.
“Arwen, can you wait here for a moment?”
“Ah… yes… is something… the matter…?” Arwen replied, her voice softer than usual.
Charlotte glanced at her. Arwen typically spoke slowly and with a breathy tone due to her condition. But right now, she seemed unusually languid. Her eyelids drooped, her posture slouched.
As if….
“Arwen?”
She was getting drowsier by the second. Her body swayed until she finally collapsed into the couch gently, fast asleep.
“….”
Alarmed, Charlotte stood up abruptly and began pacing around the living room. Something was deeply wrong. She hurried to check the adjoining rooms, and as she stepped into the next one, she froze.
“….”
There, lying on the floor, was her personal maid and close friend, Candice. She was sprawled out fast asleep, just like Arwen.
Charlotte’s heart pounded in her chest as she rushed through the manor, checking room after room.
Everyone was unconscious.
Every single person in the manor had fallen into a deep sleep.
“What’s going—”
——Hello.
Charlotte’s eyes widened and she turned around, scanning the living room upon hearing the voice.
“Who’s there?”
Magic began to stir around her. Will o’ wisps in a myriad of colors flickered to life one-by-one, illuminating the space as she called upon the power of the spirits.
Truth be told, Charlotte had attached a spirit to Vanitas for the sake of her peace of mind, her way of knowing whether he was safe or not.
The room was slowly, nearly imperceptibly, being swallowed by mist.
Charlotte felt it through all six of her senses. The gradual drop in temperature, the shift in the air, the imbalance influx of mana. Something was happening.
——I’ve only come to deliver a warning. But to think I’d find such an interesting specimen.
The voice echoed behind her. Charlotte turned around once again.
“….”
But there was nothing.
——I think I’ll take you.
Suddenly, a violent surge of magic erupted through the manor.
——!
The walls trembled. Cracks split across the floors and ceiling as Charlotte engaged in battle with the assailant. The very foundation of the Astrea estate shook under the pressure, as if the entire building were about to collapse.
* * *
Patience.
That was all I could tell myself.
Margaret was being irrational, but she had every reason to be. She was more vulnerable now than I had ever seen her, even more than back then. And yet, somehow, she had managed to survive this long, despite her fragile heart.
I wondered how she endured it all.
If I had arrived any later, I was certain she would’ve succumbed to her heart condition. Right now, I was doing everything I could to prevent that.
Which was why I had to be more patient and gentle with her.
“….I can’t do it, Vanitas.”
“It’s alright.”
For the past few days, I had been trying to teach Margaret how to control her stigmata so we could escape this place. Margaret was the only key to getting out, but there had been no progress so far.
Her stigmata was still too unstable.
“Just in case… Vanitas,” she said softly, “if I were to loop again… will I be able to find you here?”
I closed my eyes and nodded. “Yes. I’ll always wait for you here… not like I ever had a choice in the matter.”
Margaret let out a quiet chuckle at my words.
“….I’m sorry for being selfish.”
“If you’re really sorry, then come and eat.”
“Ah.”
Over the past few days, I’d been preparing meals and taking proper care of her.
“The food is good today, as always,” she said with a gentle smile.
But as she continued eating, her expression gradually turned sullen.
“You know… in the years I’ve been here, I’ve gone through so much. I can’t even remember what my life was like outside anymore.”
“Did you not try to find me?” I asked.
“I… I couldn’t. Not with how things were. No, to be honest… I forgot. I was so caught up in surviving, in everything that was happening. But it was my initial goal, believe me.”
“Right,” I said, watching her closely. “Do you still remember your Crusade Order?”
“Yes, of course! They’re here too!”
“Then you haven’t forgotten.”
“But what if I do?” she whispered. “Life here makes everything from before feel blurry. That’s what I’m afraid of. The more I loop, the more I’ll forget. And I’m scared I won’t remember you. Or this place. Or what I’m even supposed to do.”
I walked over and knelt in front of her, reaching out to rest a hand over hers.
“Then I’ll remind you,” I said. “As many times as it takes.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
“….Even if I forget everything?”
“Even then.”
Margaret smiled and continued eating.
* * *
In the days that followed, there was still no progress.
Worse, a new problem had emerged that forced Margaret to return to Illenia.
Hours later, I gazed at the sky.
“….Ah.”
The sky was fracturing.
In this realm, I realized something. Something that set it apart from all the countless realities I had wandered through.
This reality wasn’t bound by a fixed timeframe. It operated under its own set of rules, and everything within it was anchored by a single point.
Crackle—
That anchor was Margaret.
Every time she died, this reality collapsed, only to rebuild itself again into a new structure formed from the ruins of the last.
Which meant… this entire world existed solely to serve Margaret’s paradise.
I looked down at the burning Illenia Kingdom. An explosion had just erupted. And yet, time itself had frozen around me.
I reached for the revolver at my waist, raised it to the side of my head.
Bang——!
And pulled the trigger.
* * *
“Vanitas! Are you here?!”
Margaret burst through the cabin door once again. The distance she had traveled was unclear even to her, but that didn’t matter. Vanitas had told her he’d always be here, waiting for her.
“Yes,” came his calm reply.
Margaret let out a breath of relief as she saw him, seated on a wooden chair, closing the book in his hands as he looked up at her.
Her heart, which had been drowning in despair just hours earlier, bloomed with warmth the moment she saw his face.
“…Do you remember what happened last?” she asked softly.
“I do.”
“If that’s the case… then does that mean… the loop only occurs in Illenia?”
“You’ve caught on,” Vanitas said, nodding. “That’s right. I noticed some discrepancies in the frequencies, and from what I can tell, this place is completely unaffected by your looping.”
Margaret exhaled, her shoulders easing slightly.
“….That’s a relief.”
“It was raining,” Vanitas said. “I’m not entirely sure how things work here, but I doubt you’re unaffected by the rain.”
Without waiting for a reply, he walked over and pulled out a towel.
Margaret quickly waved her hands, flustered. “A-Ah! No, no. It’s fine. I can do it myself.”
But Vanitas was already behind her, gently patting her drenched hair with the towel.
The warmth in his touch seeped through, calming her internal turmoil. Margaret smiled softly without saying anything.
After he finished drying her hair, Vanitas gestured toward the table. “You must be hungry.”
“Ah…”
She paused, then slowly nodded. It was true. Every time she looped, hunger followed.. Still, she rarely had the appetite to eat these past few years.
But during her time here over the past few days, something had started to change.
Her appetite was slowly returning.
She sat down at the table, watching as Vanitas served the warm food.
“…Thank you,” she said softly.
Vanitas didn’t say anything in return, simply taking a seat across from her.
For a moment, there was only the sound of utensils as Margaret took a bite, then another.
“….It’s good. Where did you find the chicken?” Margaret asked between bites.
“Here and there,” Vanitas replied casually.
“Is that so? Hehe.”
Despite his ever-stern expression, Margaret was certain of one thing now. After spending so much time with him, she could tell. Vanitas was a gentle person, even if he hid it behind that naturally intimidating gaze.
Now that she thought about it, they used to bicker a lot in the past. Not seriously, of course. It was more like two close friends playfully arguing over something trivial.
But the Vanitas she was with now… he felt different.
He was warm.
So warm, in fact, that after spending several days with him in this quiet little cabin, Margaret found herself reluctant to leave.
Each morning, she woke to the appetizing scent of food cooking. Each evening, they shared dinners by a warm candlelight, exchanging a few words but somehow saying everything that mattered.
His presence was calming in a way nothing else had been in this world she kept reliving.
One night, as they sat beside the small fireplace, Margaret glanced sideways at him. He was focused on reading a book as the fire cast shadows across his face.
“…By the way, do you not get bored here?” she asked.
“Bored? Why would I be?” he replied without looking up.
“Well, you’re reading a book.”
“I always read a book.”
“Right. Next time, I’ll bring some entertainment.”
He finally looked at her, his expression flat but his brow slightly raised, almost like a walking question mark.
Margaret couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re cute when you’re confused, you know?”
Vanitas ignored the comment, returning his gaze to the pages in front of him.
A beat passed.
“By the way,” she said, “I’ll be leaving again tomorrow.”
“I see. I hope everything goes well.”
Margaret hesitated before speaking again. “Do you… perhaps want to meet my parents sometime?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly. So quickly, in fact, that it caught her off guard.
“Ah…?”
“It’s better if I don’t interact with the people here,” he said plainly. “Who knows? It might interfere with a version of me that already exists in this world.”
“You really think there’s another you here?”
“It’s better to assume.”
“I see…”
Margaret pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them quietly. The room fell into silence once more, broken only by the sound of the fireplace.
For some reason, despite how logical his answer was, it still sounded… lonely.
“….You must miss Charlotte.”
“….”
Vanitas didn’t respond out of consideration for her. Margaret understood that. She smiled gently, feeling the guilt creeping up her chest.
“I’m sorry again… There was barely any progress this week.”
“I told you to stop apologizing.”
Margaret smiled again. Then, carefully, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Vanitas didn’t move away.
“I’ll work hard,” she whispered. “I’ll get you out of here.”
“Hopefully.”
* * *
Once more, Vanitas turned his gaze toward the burning ruins of Illenia. The events this time had unfolded differently. But in the end, it was always the same.
Margaret had died again.
He looked up at the fractured sky and a heavy breath escaped his lips.
“Patience.”
He raised the revolver to the side of his head. The first time he had done this, it was quite terrifying.
But now?
After doing this an innumerable number of times, it had become as easy as breathing.
Bang——!
“Vanitas!”
And once more, the sound of Margaret entering the cabin reached his ears.
“That’s…?”
“I told you, I’d bring entertainment next time.”
She had also brought a League of Spirits board along with her.