Her vision blurred as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Clovis. Clovis.
Silently and cruelly, his crimson blood spread across the marble floor.
Even so, she continued to call out his name in her head.
He mustn’t die. She wanted him to live. To smile. To call out to her.
Clovis. Clovis. Clovis. Clovis…
“Don’t die!! CLOVIS!!!!!!!!”
“Alicia!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
🌹🌹🌹
ALICIA jumped, her consciousness yanked back by the dignified voice sounding in her ear. Her hands reached out, clutching onto Clovis’s clothes. A warmth enveloped her body, and Alicia knew she was in his arms.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Edmund standing to one side, his face pale.
“What happened…? You looked possessed… It’s…”
“Alicia.”
Clovis’s voice drowned out Edmund’s, and she pressed her ear against his chest, seeking proof that he was alive.
Tears flowed from her sky-blue eyes. The sight of his ghastly pale face, his lifeless limbs, and that sea of red spreading across the cold marble floor was burned into her mind. She couldn’t unsee it.
Her lip trembled as she clung to him.
“Don’t die, Clovis. I can’t take it. I don’t want you to die…”
“I’m right here… It’s okay, Alicia. I’m right here with you.”
His grip on her tightened. His words warmed her up, and her body, frozen with fear, slowly thawed.
He was alive. The truth finally clicked within her.
But the tears didn’t stop. She trembled as she held back sobs but couldn’t stop. Clovis continued to hold her, but his eyes wavered with utter confusion.
…The kaleidoscope lay on the desk, forgotten.
✦ ✦ ✦
🌹🌹🌹
A gentle breeze caressed her cheek.
Alicia opened her eyes to countless stars sparkling in a deep blue sky. She was standing alone on a hill, enveloped in complete silence under that endless starry sky. Looking up at it, she spoke.
“So you are unkind, after all. Unkind, cruel, terrible,” she uttered.
“That’s not fair. I’ve been hurt as well.”
The response came readily. Before she knew it, the messenger of the stars had appeared before her. He looked the same as when they’d met that distant night; his beauty was just as otherworldly. He looked at Alicia, his face grim, and spoke again.
“Why are you upset, Alicia? Is it because I failed to tell you that the revolution was part of Erdal’s plan? Or is it because I kept it a secret that all the revolutionaries, including Clovis Cromwell, also lost their lives that night?”
“…Both. But no, that’s not it. You—”
“It wasn’t something for me to tell.”
Alicia gulped, staring at the boy, who furrowed his brows apologetically.
“I have my limits. Tampering with time is a delicate matter. To erase everything that happened in your previous life, I had to break it into tiny pieces, each of which still holds on to its possibility.”
“But if I’d known that the Erdalian chancellor is our enemy—”
“What do you think would have happened?” the messenger retorted. “Would you have built stronger ties with Erdal? Would you have formed an alliance with Elizabeth much sooner?”
Alicia closed her mouth, unable to answer. He’d seen through her and knew all of her doubts.
“See? It wouldn’t have worked. Your suspicions would have created unrest within Heilland, souring the relationship with Erdal. And when that happened, your enemy might no longer be Eric. It could very well be Elizabeth.” The messenger shrugged lightly. “Also, I hadn’t thought what happened to Clovis would have affected you so much. I know it sounds heartless, but if you had learned early on that he was also killed, your feelings for him now wouldn’t be so strong, would they?”
“Well…”
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You were a kind child, but you’d only just met him. Yet even I hadn’t predicted that the man who killed you in your previous life would become such an irreplaceable part of your life this time.”
She lowered her head, silent. The messenger was right. Her relationship with Clovis in this life was vastly different from the one they shared in the previous.
Unable to look up, she finally asked the question she feared the most.
“So if my reprise in life fails, he will die too?”
The boy stared at Alicia as she wrung her hands. After a long moment, he sighed quietly and shook his head.
“I don’t know. As I’ve said, all that’s left of the future are pieces of possibilities. As to what picture will form as all the players put the pieces back into place, I have no way of knowing, but…” His piercing gaze shot through Alicia. “As long as Heilland is in danger, many of those you hold dear will get hurt. Not just Clovis, but King James and his court, the townspeople and merchants, the Heillanders you want to protect—all of them. But your goal has to remain the same.”
Alicia looked up to see a single shining thread connecting her to the messenger.
“This is our pact. Save Heilland, Alicia. For the sake of all you hold dear.”
Claws dug into her, and pain shot through her body. Ignoring it, she closed her eyes in prayer as she let out a breath. When she next opened them, the fear wavering in them was gone, and she met the messenger’s eyes boldly.
“I understand. My goal remains the same. Even if I lose something along the way, I will use this life to save the kingdom from destruction.”
The wind blew up the hill, pulling at Alicia’s hair as she closed her bright, sky-blue eyes. Above her dignified form, the painfully beautiful stars shone brightly.
✦ ✦ ✦
🌹🌹🌹
A few days had passed since the Star Festival.
Princess Adviser Clovis woke up in his bed, shook his head a few times to clear the sleep from his mind, and got ready to head into the castle. Finishing the breakfast brought in by a maid, he was just about to leave his rooms when his eyes landed on the kaleidoscope on his desk.
It was Edmund’s gift to him when they’d met in town on the night of the Star Festival.
After some hesitation, he reached for the item and picked it up carefully. Turning it around in his hands, he raised it to his eye…but turned away at the last moment.
Returning it to his desk, he adjusted the tie around his neck and stood straighter. With a flip of his long robe, he was off to the advisory office.
Chief Adviser Nigel Otto and several of his colleagues were already there when Clovis arrived. The mood felt somewhat tense, and an ominous feeling assailed Clovis when Nigel stood at his arrival.
“What’s all this, Clovis? Why wasn’t I informed?”
“What…? What do you mean, sir?”
“Haven’t you heard?” Nigel asked, then pressed a hand to his forehead. “Honestly, she’s just impossible…”
Time stopped after the chief adviser’s next words.
“Her Highness has given her opinion to His Majesty this morning. As a show of friendship with Erdal, she would like to proceed with her betrothal to Crown Prince Fritz.”