The moment Selina placed her foot on the first step of the staircase, Aiden was already sprinting toward the clock tower.
‘If I think about the location, it should definitely be on the outskirts of the plaza...’
Aiden clenched and unclenched his fists.
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Truthfully, even though he secretly practiced magic, the most he could manage was minor training in his own room. He had never tried anything like flying or accelerating his movements—he had no idea if such things were even possible.
But...
‘Why did you save me?’
Aiden stood still and focused his mind. All magic originated from thought and emotion. That was the only thing he could rely on right now.
Just like that day on the staircase.
Think. Imagine.
He needed to reach the clock tower.
He needed to reach her.
When will this damn thing end?
The stairs seemed endless.
Well, it made sense—this tower was visible even from near the Duke’s estate. It had to be this tall.
I paused for a moment to wipe the sweat from my forehead.
I had been climbing without stopping, yet I had no idea if I was halfway up or nearly at the top. There were small windows here and there, but they were too tiny and too high for me to get a proper view outside.
I turned to glance downward, and the sight made me dizzy.
Going back down would be just as much of a hassle.
I wiped my sweat one last time and continued climbing.
By now, they had likely noticed my disappearance.
There was a good chance someone had been ordered to keep watch over the clock tower.
And that someone was most likely Aiden.
After all, he was the one who spent the most time by my side.
The light grew stronger.
I was almost at the top.
The staircase opened up into a space lined with small windows, and before me stood a massive wooden door.
It didn’t seem locked.
Standing before it, I closed my eyes.
Selina, this really is the end.
It’s the end of me living as you.
It’s the end of you being alive.
Not too bad, right? Not that miserable, is it?
I don’t know why you appeared in my dreams and grabbed me by the throat, but if we meet in hell, I’ll grab yours too.
I pushed against the heavy wooden door, and the deep groan of its hinges echoed through the tower.
A gust of wind blew through, whipping my hair into the air.
The breeze felt strangely refreshing for a moment like this.
If I were the protagonist, wouldn't it be raining right now?
I slipped off my shoes and held them in my hands.
The dust-covered floor of the rarely visited tower top didn’t bother me.
It wasn’t like anyone would examine a dead person’s feet and say, Oh my, how dirty.
I placed my shoes neatly on the floor and walked toward the window opposite the massive clock.
This window faced the forest—a place where few people would pass by.
At the very least, I could avoid shocking anyone by dropping into their view while still alive.
Leaning out over the arch-shaped window, I looked down.
Towering trees stretched below—tall, straight, and green.
Even if Selina disappeared from the world, those trees would remain the same.
Ha.
Maybe because I had planned this so carefully, my feet wouldn’t move.
If I had acted on impulse, it would have been easier to follow through.
I slapped my thighs a few times.
The dull ache in my limbs helped ground me.
Gripping the solid window frame, I hoisted myself onto the ledge.
If a strong wind blew now, I would tumble down effortlessly.
Perched there, I closed my eyes.
‘Sister! Read me a book!’
‘...My throat hurts today.’
‘What? That’s not fair! Are you more sick than me? I’m the one stuck in a hospital bed!’
What a temper.
My younger sibling’s cracked voice echoed in my head.
Everything was hers. My things, her things—there was no difference.
I wanted to hate her.
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But when she weakly called my name, struggling to breathe, I could never bring myself to.
If we meet in hell, I’m going to smack you on the back.
So stay healthy until then.
When I opened my eyes again, an all-too-familiar face stood beyond the open door.
“...I’ve been caught.”
“Lady... please, step down from there.”
Aiden swallowed hard, his voice unsteady.
He sounded like a police officer trying to talk down a hostage-taker.
Or maybe in this case, Selina’s body was the hostage.
I lifted my hand and opened and closed my fingers a few times.
Aiden flinched and took a step forward, his entire body trembling.
The sight of my hand drifting away from the ledge must have made the situation seem even more precarious.
“Lady!”
“Aiden.”
The single word echoed through the tower, making Aiden freeze.
It was so quiet, it felt as if even the air had stopped moving.
Then, I spoke again.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Aiden had practically flown to the clock tower.
He barely registered the murmurs of passersby.
Before their words could even form into sentences, he was already moving.
Gazing up at the seemingly endless tower, he wiped the sweat from his brow and approached the guard stationed at the entrance.
“Did a young woman come here?”
The guard, still flushed from excitement, was startled by Aiden’s abrupt question.
“How dare you refer to the Lady of the Duke’s House as ‘a young woman’!”
“...Lady of the Duke’s House? And how did you recognize her?”
At those words, Aiden’s eyes sharpened.
His voice, though slow and measured, carried a clear threat.
The guard shrank back, suddenly unsure if he had made a mistake.
Had that girl not been the Duke’s daughter?
“She, uh... she showed an imperial invitation addressed to the Duke’s House... Is there... a problem?”
Aiden ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.
She had hidden an invitation in advance.
That meant coming here had been her plan from the very start.
When had she started preparing for this?
But there was no time to think.
He had to move.
The official certificate issued by the Duke was pulled from Aiden’s coat and presented.
It had been granted to him just in case, since he was the one who spent the most time by Selina’s side. Within the Duke’s domain, it carried significant authority, allowing him to act swiftly in urgent situations.
The guard’s eyes darted rapidly as he scanned the document. Then, snapping to attention, he stood rigidly.
“Don’t ask any questions. Stay as far away from this tower as possible. Ah... and block the outer roads leading to the clock tower. No one is allowed entry except for people from the Duke’s household.”
The guard didn’t hesitate to nod. Without a moment’s delay, he turned and sprinted toward the plaza to carry out the order.
Aiden watched the man disappear, then stepped through the door.
The spiral staircase stretched upward, seemingly endless.
He bit his lip before taking off in a sprint once again.
By the time he reached the top, Selina was already there—perched dangerously on the ledge of the massive window.
Her hair was tousled by the wind, the strands swaying as if they might be carried away at any moment.
Her precarious posture made Aiden’s breath hitch.
Her eyes opened slowly, and in an eerily calm voice, she spoke.
“...I’ve been caught.”
That voice—it was strange.
Even in a situation like this, it remained the same. Unchanged. Unmoved.
And somehow, that made it unbearably sad.
“...My lady. Please, step down from there.”
He forced the words out, though his throat felt like it was closing up.
Selina lifted her hand from the ledge and flexed her fingers, clenching and unclenching them absently.
Realizing that only one hand remained in contact with the window frame, Aiden instinctively stepped forward.
“My lady!”
“Aiden.”
She called his name quietly—just as she had in the bedroom, just as she had on the stairs.
Just as she had while they strolled through the gardens.
Just as she had when she pushed a plate of cake toward him.
Just as she had when she pulled him away from the party.
Exactly like always.
Her voice, so ordinary, so familiar—it made Aiden swallow hard.
“Don’t come any closer.”
He couldn’t speak.
For a brief moment, it felt like she was the one who could use magic, not him. His throat felt constricted, his voice trapped.
He opened his mouth a few times but couldn’t force out a single word. In the end, he only shook his head.
My lady, why are you doing this?
The words echoed in his mind, but never made it past his lips.
And yet, in stark contrast, Selina spoke lightly. As if this was nothing at all.
“Why are you trying to save me?”
Aiden frowned at the foolish question. Why? What kind of question was that?
“I’ve ignored you, hit you, humiliated you... It must have been an unbearable time for you.”
The facts, laid out so plainly, played like a slideshow in his mind.
Yes.
She had ignored him, scorned him.
He had resented her, hated her, even wanted revenge.
If he could have taken revenge, he would have done so without hesitation.
“So why are you trying to save me? Is it because I’ve left you alone these past two months? Because I haven’t tormented you? What if I regain my memories? What if I start tormenting you again?”
Aiden had no answer.
“If I die here, you can just say you tried to save me. You know the people of the Duke’s household. No one will blame you. No one will cast you out.”
His throat burned.
Was this the pain of remembering the past?
Or was it something else?
Was it the loyalty he felt for the girl who sat alone on that ledge—the one who, for the past two months, had been unkindly kind to him?
“Just turn around. Pretend you saw nothing. Pretend you were too late.”
She paused before finishing, voice quiet.
“You deserve that much.”
She meant it.
For two months, I—not Selina, but I—hadn’t tormented him.
I had even repaid him in my own way when he helped me.
But it had only been two months.
And even then, I hadn’t been particularly kind.
From Aiden’s perspective, if Selina regained her memories, she could resume tormenting him at any moment.
So right now, he just had to pretend he had been a step too late.
He just had to cry and say, I tried, but I couldn’t save her.
If he thought of it as revenge, it wouldn’t even leave a bad taste in his mouth.
Aiden’s gaze wavered, drifting downward.
He was clearly conflicted.
“Aiden.”
I was about to end that conflict for him.
Magic’s source is the mind and emotions... wasn’t that how it went?
In this story, the only magic-user was Aiden.
Every time someone asked about magic, he was the one who answered.
But in this moment—when he was drowning in confusion—he probably wouldn’t be able to use it.
His gaze, clouded with uncertainty, lifted toward me again.
The corners of his lips—ones that had always held a smile—were now twisted into something unrecognizable.
“...I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t Selina apologizing.
It was me.
Because I had taken Selina’s body.
Because I had promised to grant Selina’s wish.
Because I had to leave things as cleanly as possible.
A single apology wouldn’t erase everything.
But it still needed to be said.
I had never once received an apology at the end.
So I would at least leave one behind.
For Selina.
For Aiden.
For myself.
Aiden’s lips parted, as if he wanted to say something.
But before he could—
My vision flipped.
The sky rushed toward me.
Ah.
The sky was so clear.
The blue before sunset—
Yes, it was so, so clear.
“My lady—!”
Too clear.
Tragically, unbearably clear.