531 The 530th time of the letter was a moment of turmo...




 On the parchment, each sentence is written as if it were engraved, and then the names are added one after another.

 Each letter is written differently, but the weight remains the same. Everyone paused for a beat when they wrote their signature.

 It was, after all, the first official signature in history on a document declaring peace and cooperation between the Kingdom of Garryst and the Borvat Dynasty. It was undoubtedly a stroke that would go down in history.

 It was normal for him to wonder if he might have made a mistake.

 The signing ceremony was being held in the palace's long and distinguished room.

 The first to take a quill was Princess Philos, followed by the young monarch of the Borvat dynasty. After the signatures of the two, the names of dignitaries, including the saint Mattia and the magic general Mastighios, were added to the list.

 All of these names would be witnesses to the document, Fialaert had said. This is the usual form of pacts and declarations.

 Well, I guess I'll never learn it, but I'll never use it.

"You're next, Lugis. Lastly, sign at the end.

 The saint Mattia, who was sitting next to me, handed me a quill and said. She must have used a very high quality feather. The tip of the quill was as neat as any I had ever seen.

 My lips twisted involuntarily in front of the parchment. After a beat and another pause, he said.

...... I'm going to stop. I can't remember ever having a problem with my name on a document.

 As I said this, I saw Mattia's blue eyes stop in front of me. His cheeks were wrinkling in amusement. He was as emotional as ever.

 The content of the document was a pledge of inviolability between the two sides, and a declaration of intent to conduct a joint operation against the demonic threat.

 There were many other detailed clauses, but I didn't care to look at them. It must have been thought up by Mattia or Borvat's higher-ups.

 I think the content of the document is fine, but the fact that I have to sign it makes me feel bad.

 It brings back bitter memories of the time when I was forced to sign a document without knowing why, and got into a debt I didn't remember. First of all, there are enough witnesses. There are more than a dozen other people besides me on the list.

 --If I sign this, I'll get into trouble again.

 With this in mind, I lay my quill down to rest. When I tried to open my hand, Mattia's fingers overlapped my hand.

 She grabbed my hand and squeezed it with such force that I thought she was going to crush it.

"Hey, wait. Mattia. Wait a minute.

"Listen, Lugis. You are the architect of peace and cooperation between our two countries. There is no way you will not sign on as mediator.

 I thought that was something you decided on your own while I was asleep. Yesterday, I was at a ceremony to celebrate the crowning of the monarch, and all I did was drink, and I only found out about it after the signing ceremony started.

 While I'm talking like that, Mattia's fingers are holding me down more and more forcefully. It was as if she had leapt onto the battlefield with a spear in her hand.

This is not to put you under some crazy obligation. It's a sign that the war between humans is over. Wasn't it you who said the time for mankind to fight each other is over?

...... Are you sure there's nothing more?

Yes, of course. Have I ever lied to you?

 Mattia turned his eyes to me and made me hold the quill once more.

 After a few moments of questioning and answering, the people around me began to buzz, and multiple stares pierced me. This included Kalia and Fialaat, who were present on the Gerleist and Borvat sides respectively.

 Well, I certainly don't remember ever being set up by Mattia before. It's a bad habit to be too suspicious of people.

 At the end of the document, where it said "mediator," I put my name.

 It was a strange feeling. I wasn't supposed to be involved in public affairs at all. I was filled with shame.

 Just as I finished writing, my fingers and Mattia's brushed against each other, making an oddly hard sound. I shifted my gaze to the other side.

 Apparently, it was the sound of rings striking each other. Mattia's maiden ring on my finger, and the gold ring I had left with her.

 By the way, I forgot to return it. As I recall, we exchanged them when we infiltrated the royal city ruled by the demon Drigman.

 Should I return it here? Before I could say anything else, Mattia said to me, brushing aside the stares that had gathered around us.

The exchange of rings will have to wait for another time, Rougis. Right now, it's a signing ceremony.

 Mattia's lips rippled with a rather gentle smile and soft eyes. I'm not sure if I've ever seen that look before.


 I'm not sure what to say.


 I'm not sure what to make of it. The sky was covered with dead snow, and the grayness of the sky was just right for the way I felt right now.

 He hugged his chest lightly and then tried to hold his shoulders with both hands. The only thing I could feel was my own body heat, and I couldn't feel a single hint of the presence that should have been there.

 I wonder why. I've been alone since I was born, even after my mother died. It should have been nothing, but now this lack is too much to bear.

 Tears spontaneously fall from my eyes. The brightest jewel of all is nowhere to be found.



"What? What? You cry a lot! You must be very unhappy to be crying at such an auspicious time!

 From outside the window, a red-haired man peeked into the room. How can she be peeking out of the window when we're on the second floor?

 The owner of the voice, Shad, came into the room through the window without permission and jumped on the bed without permission.

 What is it really? Leu rolls his eyes at the sudden sequence of events.

I'm not sure what you mean by "...... good luck".

"Of course. Vriligant is dead. If someone who is a threat to you is dead, you should celebrate that.

 Leu's face twisted into a blatant expression. Since the loss of the jewel Agathos and the acquisition of its source material - in short, since becoming a demon, Leu's expression and behavior had sometimes resembled hers.

I don't rejoice in the death of anyone, even my enemies.

"You don't like it! What makes you happy makes you happy!

 For the first time today, Leu felt a faint sense of disdain. There are people like this in the world, he thought. Of course, Shad is not a person.

 I wondered what he had come here for. Seeing Leu's blatant confusion, Shad got up from the bed and said.

"Well. You can cry all you want. But if you cry once, you'll make a habit of crying every time someone dies. And in the end, it's as if you can't cry. Keep it in moderation.

 After a few seconds of being told this, Leung raised her eyelashes.

 I wondered if this was her way of comforting me. To be honest, it wasn't much of a consolation, but Leu felt his shoulders relax somehow, and he let out a breath.

 Then he looked again at Shad's red copper eyes. When he asked if there was something he wanted, Shad nodded and said, "Yes. Her red hair bounced strongly. Her red hair bounced strongly, as if to express what was on her mind.

If you are the heir to the original, then you must have the jewels that Agathos had. You want one of them back, don't you?

 I want my jewel back. After hearing that, Leu finally understood. Perhaps he was referring to what Agathos had sealed in the jewel in the past.

 The original of Agathos was that even a living person or a city can be sealed in a jewel and stop time forever. That is the essence of Agathos.

 To be honest, Leu would never want to give up what she had. But on the other hand, if there are things that originally belonged to Shad, it would be a problem to keep them.

 As Leu remained silent with mixed feelings, Shad stood up from the bed with vigor. Then, in a dignified manner, he said.

Zebraeliris is on the move, I see. You should at least be prepared.

 At the same time as her words, the wind suddenly hit the window hard. The snow that had stopped until now began to drift down again.

 A dead snow butterfly was flying lightly outside the window.

 It was as if it was trying to bring in bad luck again.