Nagi dropped by the palace on his own. It was the middle of the night. He had the same rope in his hand that he had once used to infiltrate the Garden. It didn’t seem like he could see Saya through proper means. When he dropped by in the afternoon, the guards turned him back coldly.
“Lady Saya’s condition is worse than usual; please show some consideration,” so they said.
He wasn’t even allowed to speak through Jubilia, so Nagi backed down. Relying on the transformed Cobalt was obviously out of the question. Thus, he decided to handle things himself. He had the layout of the palace memorized because of his repeated visits. He never actually put it into practice before, but he had always considered ways of sneaking into the palace to see Saya.
The time had come for all that plotting to come to fruition. Nagi tossed the rope up onto a protrusion from the wall without making a single noise. Even in Garuga Village, Nagi focused his time on hunting. What’s more, the forest near the village was more abundant than the one near Strano, so his meals were far better than before. Nagi’s muscles were stronger now. It was easy for him to scale the side of a wall all the way up to Saya’s room.
He couldn’t have infiltrated the palace so easily before the revolution. He was fortunate the guards patrolling the area had yet to fully reorganize. Above all else, he knew the area around Saya’s room perfectly.
“Saya, it’s me; open up,” Nagi said, tapping on the glass of her window.
He couldn’t possibly shout, so he was a little worried whether his voice carried into her room, but before long, the window opened.
“Nagi, what are you doing?”
It wasn’t Saya. Jubilia opened the window, her hand gripping a drawn sword.
“Let me in. I have something I need to speak with Saya about quickly.”
“Why didn’t you come during the day?”
“I did. They didn’t let me in.”
“Jubilia, please let him in,” Saya said from behind her.
Jubilia let out a small sigh and sheathed her blade. “Come in. You can’t stay for long. Even you won’t get off lightly if you’re discovered.”
“I know.” Nagi slipped through the window. Saya sat up in bed. She looked delighted, leaving Nagi feeling dejected. “Saya, we need to talk.”
He wondered what kind of expression he was making. He was at least sure he didn’t show innocent delight the way Saya did.
“Jubilia, give us some time alone.”
“Lady Saya, I can’t...”
“Please.”
“Just five minutes... I’ll be right outside the door. Please inform me if something comes up.”
Nagi nodded. “That’s fine with me.”
Jubilia left the room.
“This reminds me of the first time we met,” Saya remarked.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“It was much flashier back then, though. You suddenly fell through the ceiling.”
Nagi stood next to Saya’s bed. He slowly touched her arm, her hand. Just looking into her eyes, hearing her voice, was enough to send sweet emotions through his chest. He ran his hand through her silver hair. A delicate feeling wrapped around his fingers. He moved his palm over to her cheeks, whiter than her hair. When he first met her, he was astonished that such a beautiful color could exist. Now somewhat gaunt, her cheeks seemed scarily more beautiful than back then. He had to protect her. He had to protect something so delicate and lovely.
“Nagi,” Saya muttered, closing her eyes vacantly. “You can’t, the professor said you can’t.”
“Just a little.”
Nagi pressed his lips against Saya’s. That tiny amount of time felt like eternity, but still felt like it ended in an instant.
“That’s all?” Saya asked.
“One day, when your body properly recovers.”
Saya’s expression stiffened up. Nagi could’ve never predicted the next words to leave her lips.
“One day... Nagi, how... how many more years will you live?”
“Huh?”
Saya’s eyes were serious. They were trembling in fear.
“Tell me, Nagi... How much time do you have left?”
Nagi thought it over. Now that she mentioned it, he hadn’t considered it for a while. Just some time ago, it was all that was ever on his mind. Was it because he was surrounded by Crestfolk who lived longer than commoners?
“If I’d have to guess... five, maybe ten years? I might go a little longer than that if I don’t do any blood offerings.”
Those were also being reinstated, apparently... By the command of the girl right before him.
“Is that really all? It’s just like Lernaean said?” Saya said in a trembling voice.
Lernaean? He was the man Nagi had to be the most vigilant about. His heart shook, but before he could question Lernaean’s involvement, Nagi completely lost sight of what he was about to say because of Saya’s next utterance.
“It’s no good... That’s not enough... They say my body will take years... maybe even decades to heal.”
Nagi didn’t reply. He had been keeping himself from thinking about this. Saya stared into Nagi’s eyes. There was some sort of resolve taking shape in her gaze.
“Nagi, please. Drink this.”
She pulled a small bottle from the bag she kept by her pillow. The liquid within was a familiar red.
“That... can’t be...” Nagi couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t possible.
Saya nodded. “Yes, it’s Amrita. If you drink this, you’ll be able to live longer.”
Why does Saya have that...? Nagi’s heart was dominated by confusion.
“You... really betrayed us?”
“Huh?”
“You’re just another vampire?!”
What followed was tremendous anger. He was seething with such rage he forgot he couldn’t raise his voice here.
“Huh?”
Saya trembled in fear as he suddenly raised his voice. Nagi closed in, roughly grabbing her shoulders.
“You ended up the same as those other nobles?! Stealing from commoners! Stealing from Crestfolk!”
“That’s not...”
“Blood offerings and sterilizations... They’re all for Amrita, aren’t they?”
“That’s... Lernaean said...”
“Lernaean... You allied with him, rather than us?”
“I-I didn’t! I just wanted to...”
Jubilia barged into the room, sensing something was wrong within.
“Nagi, what are you doing?! Step away from Lady Saya!”
Seeing that Jubilia was about to draw her sword, Nagi immediately ran for the window. No... her arrival was simply the impetus for him to move. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He wanted to get away from Saya.
“Goodbye, Saya...”
“Nagi, wait!”
He wanted to get away from the girl he loved who had changed so much. He ran beneath the starry sky. He laughed at the crescent moon hanging overhead. He couldn’t even remember how he managed to slip out of the palace, but muscle memory carried the day. Nagi arrived at Garuga Village before the night was over.
Tess was awake and waiting for him. He definitely had a horrible expression on his face. She was surprised upon seeing him, said nothing, and embraced him tightly. Nagi surrendered himself to her arms. A dull pain pierced his chest as something hard pressed against him. It was something that had been hanging around his neck all this time: a necklace containing Saya’s blood. Nagi took off the necklace. He couldn’t continue carrying it anymore.
“Nagi, what happened?”
“Saya... changed.”
Tess gulped. She shook her head repeatedly, then took a deep breath.
“Is Saya... our enemy?” she asked.
Nagi nodded, and Tess fell completely silent. She then pointed to the necklace still in Nagi’s hand.
“Is that why you’re throwing that away?”
“Yeah...”
“If you don’t want it, then give it to me.”
Tess took the necklace from Nagi. He simply let her. He didn’t really pay it much attention when he was wearing it all this time, but now that it was gone, he felt strangely dejected by its absence. He now realized it wasn’t just the necklace which was gone. He had lost something within his heart. Something big. Something precious.
Nagi looked at Tess as she dangled the necklace from her hand. This Crestfolk girl had her wish stolen from her by disease. The world was filled with those who stole, and those who were stolen from. The Crestfolk were the people who had everything stolen from them. They continued to be stolen from, losing far more than Nagi had lost just now.
Nagi had gotten them involved in the revolution. He did it so that they could retrieve even just a little of what was stolen from them. They won, but victory was nothing more than an illusion. With an empty hole gouged out of him, Nagi found just one thing which remained deep within his heart. It was what Zamin had entrusted him with. All that was left to him now was the reverberation of a dead man’s voice.
“I’ll protect Garuga Village... I’ll protect the Crestfolk...”
Power had changed Saya, of all people. Nevertheless, commoners... and Crestfolk, couldn’t simply stand by and allow themselves to be killed. Nagi clung to the fate Zamin had entrusted to him, to the sense of responsibility he felt. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to keep on his feet.
Tess looked into Nagi’s eyes. Her big, black pupils reflected the moonlit scenery. “I think... I love you.” Her words surprisingly didn’t feel abrupt to him. “I hated commoners. I envied them. They had what I wanted. That’s why when I first met you, I couldn’t help but hate you. But you didn’t hesitate to touch me. You were a weird commoner. You were stupid, childish, and shallow. That’s why I ended up falling in love with you... But...”
Tess shook her head lightly. She looked like she was both crying and smiling at the same time.
“My feelings didn’t matter at all. You only ever looked at Saya, and I loved you and Saya being together. I loved the way Saya looked at you. I truly believed it would be great for you two to have kids.”
“Nobles don’t want kids. Especially royalty.”
“I was mistaken. The thing I wanted was an illusion from the very beginning... So at the very least, I’ll take this.”
Tess tied the necklace she took from Nagi around her own neck. Her bloodmark-stained nape looked bewitching under the moonlight. Unsure what he even wanted, Nagi wrapped his arms around her, and she hugged him back.
Her well-trained and supple arms squeezed Nagi hard enough for it to hurt, but the hurt felt like some kind of salvation to him. He felt like he would collapse in an instant if he didn’t have such support from her.
Their lips met under the dazzling moonlight.