'Ah, again.'
Leonardo wandered through a space-time that could have been a dream or an illusion. It felt like he’d had a similar experience before, but strangely, when he woke from the dream, he couldn’t remember anything. Nevertheless, now that he’d returned to this space, the vague scenes from the previous dream came back to him one by one.
The beginning of that dream had started with him being sucked into a space of 'nothingness' that unfolded right after the mother body disappeared on the peninsula.
Not only he, but even the surrounding time that formed the world was pulled in with him. Though time couldn’t be given any particular form, he clearly felt it wrapping around his body and leading him into the abyss.
And this time, though the trigger was different, the situation was similar. The moment his entire body was covered in light, as if taking an unwanted journey, Leonardo watched someone’s lifetime from within a maze of time.
Crying, laughing, fighting fiercely, and winning brilliantly. Sometimes being swayed by personal emotions and feeling frustrated, yet loving someone passionately. Then the end of those brilliant days once again returned to the moment of eternal rest.
'Vërḁthe Ėxⱥnîr na Sëlüṁx....'
A voice—either an officiant’s or a cleric’s—that carried years of experience declared that the owner of this lifetime had returned to God’s embrace. With it, darkness fell over his vision. Those who filled the spacious room couldn’t suppress their sorrow and wept bitterly.
Leonardo, who could no longer see anything, merely lay straight, fully receiving their surging emotions.
But even that didn’t last long. Soon, the presence of countless people disappeared, and as before, only one person remained by his side.
The breath that grasped the corpse’s hand and kissed it while sitting beside the bed was as hot as ever today.
'...wished upon the tree.'
This time, he could hear a bit more than he had before. Leonardo inevitably inclined his ear. The voice buried in sobs still couldn’t be called clear, but the following short sentence was distinct.
'To make me forget you.'
...What?
He had certainly thought they were close, or loving. It was a shocking and cruel whisper that felt like betrayal. To ask to forget—shouldn’t it be the opposite?
'In the end, your wish came true.'
But it was ironic that it was also his wish. Wasn’t it love? That couldn’t be. According to his unconscious cries, it was a pure, consummate love unparalleled in the world.
Yet the other’s heart, and the subtle tremors transmitted through their clasped palms, couldn’t even begin to be imagined as false. He even doubted whether such a person could truly forget him.
The desire for the one left alone to forget everything coexisted with the desire for them to never forget. Perhaps because of that, his fingertips, left with lingering attachments, might have moved slightly. He felt the force in the other’s hand, connected to him, intensify significantly.
The 'Glory to Raina Logia' that should have followed wasn’t heard.
Instead, a completely stiffened breath, and a voice that caught at a thin thread of hope carefully called his name.
"Teo?"
He opened his eyes wide, inhaling sharply. His heart was beating at least twice as fast as usual. Leonardo slowly regulated his breathing, feeling the pounding spread throughout his body.
His limbs were heavy and his senses dull, as if his body had been left unattended for a very long time. With his situational awareness incomplete, his golden eyes stared forward in a daze.
Signe, with a worried expression, was looking down at him.
"Teo, are you conscious?"
Her concerned voice grew increasingly urgent, resonating in his ears. Behind her, a warm-colored sky filled his vision.
"Ugh..."
It was unclear whether the sun was rising or the sunset was receding. As he did nothing but regulate his breathing, the sight of clouds drifting slowly across the yellow sky caught his attention.
A cloud, imbued with a golden glow, slid smoothly across his field of vision. Soon, it disappeared beyond a large, dark shadow. Leonardo rolled his eyes to follow its path.
The identity of the shadow was a building looming over his head. A building he always saw—yet it was a mystery why it felt so unfamiliar.
"......."
It was around then that he realized the scenery he had last seen didn’t match what was before his eyes.
The sky he had been perceiving until just a moment ago had been a clear blue, with clouds stagnant as if time had stopped. Moreover, in terms of buildings, there had only been a modest rural station and the remains of old structures with only foundations left on the ground.
Reflexively opening his eyes wide, Leonardo sat up abruptly.
"Wh-what happened?"
"Teo!"
As he forced out his first words in a locked voice, Signe, who had been anxiously staring, flung her arms around Leonardo’s neck.
He almost fell backward, but managed to catch his balance by pressing his hands to the ground. Leonardo, barely supporting himself with one arm, grabbed Signe’s shoulder and muttered as she overflowed with emotion:
"Hey, you’re heavy..."
"I thought you were dead! Why did you wake up so late?"
Her irritable tone was mixed with fear rather than annoyance. Sensing that, Leonardo couldn’t push Signe away. Instead, while glaring at her with sunken eyes, he patted her back until she calmed down.
"...Was I lying down for a long time?"
"You were unconscious for about thirty minutes even after I woke up. No matter how much I shook you, you wouldn’t open your eyes..."
While listening to her complaints, he lifted his chin and glanced past Signe’s shoulder at the scenery beyond.
The sensation under his palm was certainly not soft grass or soil, and indeed, scanning the surroundings, it wasn’t the look of the field they had been wandering in until just now. Trees arranged in various forms, fallen leaves rolling around, and an old building constructed in a solemn, majestic architectural style surrounded all four directions.
It was as if they were in the center of a formal garden made for a mansion or castle.
The ceiling was completely open, allowing light and wind to pass through easily, and the space was so substantial that if he hadn’t looked to the side, he might not have realized he was set at the boundary between indoors and outdoors. It was a landscape where a piloti-style open space harmonized well with vegetation, but it seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, as weeds sprouted wildly through the gaps in the brick-laid floor.
"Where is this place?"
The garden generally gave the impression of a faded gray city. However, the setting sun flowing down the wall also created the illusion that it was dyed gold.
Signe’s arm, which had been constricting his neck for so long, slid down smoothly. She rubbed her reddened eyes vigorously and answered:
"I think we’re inside the old castle."
Leonardo’s lips moved subtly. Complex thoughts followed one after another. Unlike his ominous expectations, the castle’s atmosphere was lonely yet cozy.
It might have been because the thick fog seen from the outside had disappeared without a trace. He wondered how they had entered this place. In the midst of that, the massive fountain occupying the center of the garden caught his attention.
Instead of water flowing, it was filled with colorful fallen leaves. A pair of birds chirping loudly as they perched on the dry basin was also visible. The type of bird, whose feathers looked golden, was a canary. They were amicably touching beaks when a sudden gust of wind made them fly off elsewhere.
Leonardo, turning his gaze to follow the wingbeats, sat quietly within the broad scenery. It was an exceedingly strange space. Suddenly, like the moment when he had eliminated the mother body on the peninsula, his heart throbbed with pain rushing in.
Leonardo, who rose from his place taking the hand Signe offered, checked her condition first without showing his pain. Once he determined that both of them had no major issues, he strolled around the spacious garden, piecing together the last things they each remembered.
They had definitely been wandering in the field. After racking their brains over the stone tablets, he had uttered the name "Theodore," which meant "God’s gift." At that moment, as if the sun had suddenly appeared in a land where the sun couldn’t be found, a hot, dazzling light enveloped his entire body.
According to Signe’s explanation, after struggling in the extreme heat, she opened her eyes here, and Leonardo was lying not far away. And as for the source of the light, both of them unanimously pointed to the small bag slung across Leonardo’s chest.
But when they opened the bag, the gold bracelet was sitting quietly alongside the valuables, no different from when they first boarded the train.
"Then anyway, don’t you think we came here because you solved the riddle? You said space was distorted due to the magnetic field or gravity or whatever. When you got the right answer, 'Theodore,' a portal leading to the gift appeared before us, and we were sucked into it—doesn’t that make sense?"
Unlike when they first met eye to eye, Signe showed a fairly calm demeanor despite seeming tense. Leonardo agreed with her claim, nodding, but knelt down in a corner of the yard where smooth stone pillars and statues were gathered.
There was another stone tablet, made of the same rock as the ones outside, though different in form. It wasn’t easy to find, hidden behind a statue. Its placement was awkward, as if meant to conceal it.
"When I came with my sister, we only saw the entrance of the old castle and went back, so it’s my first time going inside too. Back then, it was full of fog and looked dangerous. But now there’s no fog... When I opened my eyes, I thought it was a completely different world. Looking at my watch, not much time has passed..."
Leonardo, who had casually let her muttering flow by, reached out to the stone tablet as if entranced. After neatly clearing away the fallen leaves, he stared intently at its contents. Unlike the stone tablets outside that spoke in circles, the meaning here was relatively direct.
To the eternal Emperor of this land and the brilliant sun
I dedicate the Castle of Romance, nature, and land to you
Even a single flower and the blowing wind
All have been shaped for you
May it become your sanctuary
Always at this place
For you alone
My Romance
"Romance."
Leonardo murmured like a sigh. As expected, this castle—or rather, the entire broad nature and land surrounding it—seemed to be their 'Romance' and gift. Moreover, due to the nature of the ancient language, he could confirm that even the recipient was ambiguously referred to as 'Romance.' If the stone tablets scattered across the land had similar content, then Signe’s sister’s remark about all this being like a 'love letter' had considerable credibility.
Without doubt, the recipient of the gift was Theodore, the first Emperor of Raina Logia. If ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) this land was related to him, it somewhat made sense that Alec Siles knew about this place and that it had remained unknown until now.
Currently, most records related to the first Emperor had been erased, and that guy had said he was looking for 'empty spaces in history.' Regardless of the route, it was clearly a place that would attract his interest.
But seeing this serenade in front of him, disguised as philosophy, he suddenly became curious about who was giving the gift.
'Did Theodore have a lover? I heard he didn’t leave any heirs.'
The letter overflowed with affection to an extent that might be a little embarrassing if sent by a royal family member from a neighboring country or a loyal servant. There was no hesitation in the address. If he was the first Emperor of the empire that integrated two powerful nations at the time, he would be dignified as if the world were under his feet, a being everything looked up to.
How many people could such a person call "you" or "my Romance"? At present, only a lover came to mind. But if he had a lover, he would have continued his bloodline...
Just then, Signe, who had bent at the waist, thrust her face toward the stone tablet and asked:
"Why— is 'Romance' written here?"
Leonardo, who turned back abruptly, stared at her face. In his mind, the answer Signe had given about 'Romance' earlier flashed.
