Elara burned my sick little cat to ashes and placed them in my coffin.
My father came to take me.
He had resigned from his post as the
“I have no noble ideals. In the past, I fought on the battlefield, lost an eye and a hand–does it hurt? Yes. Was I afraid? Yes. But I thought, if I suffered a little more, my daughter would earn the respect of the king. She was a stubborn gifl, always digging herself into a hole. I was afraid she wouldn’t get the love she deserved, and it would break her heart. I wanted her to live happily and peacefully, growing old in safety, but she’s gone now…She’s gone, and I’m left with nothing but an old, useless man! They talk about protecting the country, but my daughter is dead. What use is there for me to protect anyone else’s land or crown?”
ke of the Realm. He no longer wished to serve as the protector of the northern borders for the kingdom.
Alaric clung tightly to the edge of the coffin, stumbling after my father, his nails bloodied.
“Whoever dares take my Sera away, I will kill them!”
“No, no, I was wrong. Don’t take her. Don’t take her, old general, have mercy on me…‘
Several lords stepped forward to stop him, whispering, “Your Majesty, let the Lady rest in peace.”
I got my wish, I followed my father back to the frontier.
There, in a place far from the reach of civilization, he kept large herds of cattle and sheep.
Every day, they bleated in front of my grave, and my little sick cat ran wild with them across the plains. Watching it, I felt an immense sense of peace.
Within two years, my brother faked his death on the battlefield and secretly came to join us.
Among all the brave warriors of the kingdom, only my father and I my brother remained. Beyond that, there was not a single capable soldier left. Five years later, the northern borders fell.
Two years after that, the royal capital was sacked.
When invaders found Alaric, he curled around a bloodstained pouch in my abandoned chambers.
They pried the rings from his rigor–mortised grip–flattened them for scrap gold.
Just as he deserved.
