To Be a Power in the Shadows!

Rose was walking in the dark underground.

The blood is still seeping out of the back wounds I sustained on my escape. Cuts that are not deep, but never even shallow.

I should have treated her as soon as possible, but I didn't have time for her to run away from the chaser.

I concentrate my magic on my wounds and do the least I can do. But with time, the pain increases and the health is taken away.

My breathing is rough.

She's been thinking, even though she cares about the chaser.

What was right then?

I wonder what was best?

That, unanswered question was circling my head repeatedly.

It was an aggressive decision that she stabbed her fiancée Doem. But it wasn't impulsive behavior. In her limited time, she thought and chose the best...... she intended.

But it failed.

Doem survived and Rose was pursued.

Failure is a theory of results. It was her mistake to look at Doem's strength incorrectly, and the very choice that moved to eliminate Doem was not necessarily wrong.

Yeah, I just had to. A changed father...... the moment he looked into King Oriana's eyes, Rose opted for the elimination of Doem. The connection between Doem and the denomination, and my father, who lost himself and became a puppet, all the rumors turned to certainty.

That's why I pulled out my sword.

Was I impulsive then?

Was it sudden?

Weren't you rushed or angry?

Rose decided calmly.

I didn't want to rely on Alexia or nuts. It must only be dealt with as a problem within the Kingdom of Oriana. It was intuitive, but Rose decided so.

That political feeling was not wrong.

It failed as a result, but this is Rose's fault and the problem of the Kingdom of Oriana. I have yet to fly to the Midokal kingdom. Only the worst results were avoided unconsciously.

But that's only a matter of time, too.

The words that Doem shouted at me as I left come back to mind.

"Surrender by the end of the martial arts festival! Or King Oriana will kill your guest!

If King Oriana kills the guests of the Martial Arts Festival, as Doem said... it will be a war. I don't know how serious he is, but maybe the Order only sees the Kingdom of Oriana as a small pawn.

If so......

Gillis, Rose's teeth squeal. And his face was distorted with regret.

My father was not a famous man, and the Kingdom of Oriana is not a great country.

But for her, it's only one father and only one country.

So I just wanted to protect you.

That sentiment changed in a hurry.

Rose slammed the basement wall hard.

At the end of the day, I just moved impulsively, leaving it to my emotions. Eliminate Doem and everything will be resolved. I was so illusioned.

But Doem is also an abandoned pawn. We should assume that the roots of the Order are stretched deep into the Kingdom of Oriana, and nothing is resolved where we have eliminated Doem.

There must have been another choice.

Everything will be solved, a magical choice will surely......

Rose sat down in the damp basement.

If I had made the best choice and everything was going well...... Think of the possibility of not doing that, and mock yourself.

It's over now. I don't even know why I'm running away.

What are you gonna do with him running?

Does running change anything?

Shouldn't we be surrendering?

Yes... I'm sure that's good.

"Oh well... you just have to surrender"

I still don't know what I should have done then. But now I know exactly what to do.

If we surrender, at least we can avoid war.

Just a little, it made me feel better. And I was attacked with loss and sadness, as if I had lost everything important.

Rose removed any wrapping paper that tumbled out of her pocket. I've already eaten the contents, but it smelled slightly like bread.

And I think about the brunette boy. I'm sure he heard the case, too. What did he think?

Would you have been worried?

Would you have believed me?

Could... would you have looked for yourself?

If we had eliminated Doem and the king could regain his sanity... such a future in which everything would have worked... could we have accompanied him?

I'm sure I wanted to dream about it.

"Sorry......"

Rose apologized.

A tear spills.

All the dreams I was portraying crumbled to pieces.

Rose folded which wrapping paper to tumble into and into the pocket of her skirt. That seemed like a piece of my last dream.

"Ouch...!

A sharp pain ran on Rose's chest. When I spread my chest, there was a black mole.

It's a testament to demonic possession. It was only recently that I developed it.

From the beginning, everything was an unfulfilled dream. Rose leaned down and laughed.

That's when the little noise reached Rose's ear.

Is it the footsteps of the chaser?

But a gentle, beautiful tone for footsteps. When I heard it, it was the piano tone.

"Moonlight...?

Also familiar with music, she knew the song. That song, which also earned an unusual high praise in the country of art, Oriana, can be heard from the end of the underground.

"Beautiful..."

Just to play moonlight.

It was a deeply completed performance, as if I had spent all of my life just on that one song.

Rose walks out to that tone so that she can be guided by the light of the moon.

This underground tunnel is called the Wangdu Underground Labyrinth, but it feels more like a ruin than a labyrinth. The basement is solid cobblestone with sculptures and ancient letters engraved on the walls.

There were some doors on the wall, but most of them didn't open. Do you need any keys, or has the functionality of the ruins stopped?

Approaching the sound of the piano.

And Rose, who turned the corner, found a large door that had been destroyed.

The sound can be heard from beyond.

Rose dived an empty big hole in the door and finally arrived.

It was a cathedral where fantastic light plugged in. The heavenly high stained glass depicts three heroes and an octave torn demon.

Brightly colored light pours out of the stained glass.

There, the grand piano was placed.

"Shadow......"

In a forgotten diocese, he was playing 'Moonlight' alone.