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Chapter 70
Because he had suffered for such a long time, even poison could no longer easily bring him down, and his wounds healed faster than anyone else’s.
He could hold his breath several times longer than others, and his ability to sense danger was exceptional.
It was both amusing and pleasant to Calix that Lilith worried about someone like him.
“Do you want to go outside?”
Calix mustered up the courage and held out his hand to her.
“There are lots of pretty places and fun spots inside the imperial palace.”
He had wandered everywhere, so he was confident he could guide her well.
“It must be suffocating to just sit still all the time.”
Weeks had passed since he had started visiting her daily. All this time, she had only sat in that narrow space, as if imprisoned, so it was no wonder she was starting to feel stifled.
“My power isn’t that strong, but it’s useful enough.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a black snake slithered out from Calix’s shadow.
“If there’s danger, I’ll protect you.”
Lilith poked the snake’s head, which had lifted itself into the window, with her small finger. Her eyes sparkled in wonder, as though she found it fascinating.
“How about that?”
In truth, Calix didn’t really understand what she was worried about. He simply wanted to reassure her.
“Then… just for a little while…”
She still looked deeply troubled. But Calix thought there was absolutely no problem.
After all, Lilith was the protagonist of the prophecy passed down for generations.
And for him, being able to spend even a little more time with her was good. Whenever he was with her, he felt like he could finally breathe.
Lilith outside the empress’s palace felt different.
Unlike when she was always full of worries, sometimes she did reckless things. She ran and played freely, without caring about what came after.
Perhaps it was because she felt protected that she dared to act so boldly.
Every day felt like a dream that could never be dreamt twice. Sometimes he even thought this life with her was the real world, and the imperial palace was the dream.
He had never known life could be this joyful. Those days were his only freedom, his only escape.
But one day, after parting with Lilith as usual, Calix returned late at night to the prince’s palace.
The moment he opened his chamber door, the stench of blood hit his nose. His brows furrowed and frustration boiled up again.
The room was filled with shattered objects, so destroyed that their shapes were unrecognizable. A servant stood before the cracked wall, where signs of fierce combat remained.
“You are safe now, Your Highness.”
It seemed that the emperor’s men had prevailed after a bloody struggle.
Once again, he had survived thanks to the emperor. That fact alone filled him with absurd disgust.
Dreams crumbled pathetically, and reality seethed before his eyes. As always, the real world was devastating, miserable.
“We will replace the bed with a new one, Your Highness.”
The servant bowed calmly, as if nothing had happened.
“Well done.”
He forced out words he didn’t mean. The servant respectfully withdrew.
“Sigh…”
Calix walked slowly through his ruined room. In one corner, he found a yellow flower torn into many pieces.
“…Damn, I’ll get scolded for this.”
The brooch that had supported the petals was smashed beyond repair. Calix carefully gathered the fragments in his hand.
‘I’ll have to make a new one.’
He could already see her resentful gaze if he told her someone else had broken it while he wasn’t wearing it.
So it would be better to say he made a new brooch, modeled after the one she had given him.
‘I can just ask someone to carve the flower.’
Real flowers would wither. But if he had the shape carved into gems or gold, it would look good and last forever.
‘And then…’
This time, he must not forget to wear it. He swore firmly to himself.
That night, Calix lay down on the new bed the servant had brought.
He always slept lightly, wary of assassins at any time. But that night, he fell into a deep sleep.
For the first time, no one disturbed him. He even dreamt sweet, happy dreams.
But the next morning, he awoke to the worst news.
During the night, Lilith had been attacked by assassins.
He rushed there immediately, but he was not allowed to see her.
A palace priest blocked his path, repeating over and over that she was being treated and no one could approach.
When Lilith eventually regained consciousness, she was no longer the same as before.
Her red eyes were filled with contempt. Her faint voice carried only anger.
From the day she appeared in ruined Oz together with Reshell, Calix could no longer approach her.
‘Of course.’
Lilith had always longed for safety. It was natural for her to stay with someone stronger.
‘Besides…’
It had been he who led her outside. And he had done it out of selfishness, just to forget reality.
He hadn’t been able to protect her, nor had he taken responsibility.
If he hadn’t urged her, if she had quietly stayed in the empress’s palace, she wouldn’t have suffered like this.
It all seemed like the result of his arrogance and conceit. Sometimes he even thought that all the torment that followed was also his fault.
Drip, drip. Raindrops—whether from reality or a dream—fell onto his tightly closed eyelids.
Calix shook off the illusion of his pain-filled past and opened his eyes.
He was still in the Alois Forest. And before his eyes was Lilith’s back as she stood, facing away from him.
The situation was still dire. It wasn’t one she could handle alone.
But with a sword in hand, Lilith looked determined to fight.
‘I told her to run.’
Lilith was just as stubborn as he was. That contradiction to reality made him laugh.
‘Is this just another dream before I die?’
Maybe he was lost in an illusion, wanting desperately to return to those days.
Because even now, he had never once truly protected her. He was still just a failure who couldn’t even lift his head.
Then why was Lilith trying to protect him? What was she thinking in this situation?
‘But… does it matter?’
Yes, it was true that things between them had worsened since that day.
But the Lilith before him now wasn’t the one who had tried to kill him. She wasn’t the cruel woman who tormented him.
She was the memory he had buried deep in his heart.
A childhood friend with whom he had spent peaceful, ordinary days—laughing, playing, living freely.
If so, then this time he had to protect her.
Not hear the news too late and rage afterwards, but protect her here, now, while she stood before him.
Calix slowly pushed himself up. For some reason, his wounds were healed, and his body felt fine.
He rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around her slender back. The small body, pulled helplessly into his embrace, trembled violently before stopping.
Holding her close, he breathed deeply. He didn’t want to let go. He didn’t want to lose her again.
Under the dark, hazy sky, his snake’s shadow was faint.
That alone wasn’t enough to destroy Cassius. A stronger light was needed to pierce the world.
His mind cooled with the calm clarity of one who had seen death. He even felt confident he could move heaven itself.
Then, the thick clouds that had covered the blue sky silently scattered. Sunlight poured down upon the earth in an instant.
The shadow deepened under the blazing sun. The snake that emerged from Calix’s shadow spread like a river.
The divine power bestowed by God, Estella, always had fixed limits from birth. That meant it could never be developed or expanded.
So this should have been impossible.
But Estella—“a star like a miracle”—was named so for a reason. It wasn’t entirely impossible for its limits to change.
The shadow widened like the sea, engulfing everything. The monstrous shadow, no longer something that could be called a snake, swallowed the enemies whole.
There was no longer anyone left to threaten her. Finally, the battle ended in quiet peace.
“Lilith.”
Calix reached out and grasped her wrist. The warmth he felt was real.
The yellow brooch pinned to his robe clinked softly. Surviving without a crack even in the chaos—it was as if the half-joking flower’s meaning had come true.
“It’s all right now.”
Her wide ruby eyes met his. Her golden hair glowed white under the warm, cloudless sunlight.
As the shadow dissipated, Lilith slipped from his arms. She darted her eyes around like a frightened squirrel, confirming safety, before turning back to him.
Seeing that made a smile tug at his lips.
“How can you still smile in that state?”
Lilith poked his bloodied side with her finger, snapping at him.
Calix simply gazed down at her.
Their first meeting had meant nothing.
Even afterwards, weren’t they just simple friends? They had only spent much time together.
But once separated, he felt afraid. When she turned her back, he felt desolate. If only he could turn back time, he would return to those childhood days.
That was why he had taken interest in the throne he had never wanted. That was why he clung to the impossible.
Why he felt jealousy and envy toward his brother. Why he stayed in the empire, though he could have left anytime.
Why he kept involving himself in Lilith’s matters. Why he reacted so strongly to her anxieties.
It wasn’t mercy for an old friend…
“It’s just… because I like you.”
Calix said it, then laughed playfully—just like in those days.
