By Zephyria 
“Our perfect… selves…?”
Just hearing the words made it sound like I had betrayed him first. But no matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t find any clue at all. Being an orphan without a home or property was the same in my previous life, and I was busy desperately trying to survive. I hadn’t lived a terribly ethical life to the point of receiving the admiration of others, but I hadn’t committed any cruel acts to the point of driving nails into other people’s hearts either. I was just busy trying to survive. It wasn’t my fault that I had survived like that and died from overwork just when I thought I could finally live a decent life, and was born into this damn world.
“Haha, you still don’t know, do you? You don’t understand at all what I’m talking about, do you?”
The System burst into laughter as if it couldn’t stand it any longer, being so cheerful. It bent over to the point of doubling over, laughing. The frivolous laughter sounded like crying.
“…That’s the reason. Ruining our perfect selves and not even remembering it. Forgetting me so thoroughly.”
It was a ridiculous story, but it sounded strangely persuasive. Was it because the appearance of the broken god, smiling brightly even in a grotesque form, felt so sincere?
“Yes, Noah. That’s why. That’s why I couldn’t forget you like this. I hate and love you so much that I can’t possibly let you go with a simple method like death.”
The blue eyes, glaring with madness, were indescribably disgusting. For a reason slightly different from fear, I wanted to get out of this place right away. But I really didn’t intend to run away, but my body was always more honest than my mind. Without me knowing, my legs were already staggering backwards.
“Where are you going.”
“……”
My lips moved weakly. Should I call him the System, or should I call him Allen. I became dazed to the point that I couldn’t even solve that simple problem.
“Leaving me here, you’re going to run away again… alone… where are you trying to run away to?”
It was a heinous smile that didn’t suit the still beautiful face, even if it was only half. The white teeth visible inside the long, horizontally torn corners of his mouth looked particularly ferocious.
“That won’t do. You mustn’t abandon me, you can’t abandon me again. You can’t go anywhere.”
He muttered in a murderous voice and burst into a blue laugh. Every time the corners of his mouth moved slightly, rocks that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the air were repeatedly planted into the ground with a thud, thud, thud. They filled my surroundings densely. So that I couldn’t go anywhere, as he said.
“I will keep my promise. So you keep your promise too. Try to somehow steal the destiny that is destined for ‘this body’. I’m going to do my best to stop it in my own way.”
Woo-oong, the air vibrated eerily. The stones that had been trapping me floated heavily into the air, and were soon enveloped in a bright light and transformed into some unrecognizable… rings of letters.
“Whether you give up or I give up… Yes, let’s go to the end. It was such a covenant from the beginning. Right?”
“……”
“Promise me. The wish of the winning side will be fulfilled. My wish has always been only one.”
To be with you, who no longer runs away, in an eternity without destruction.
The gentle voice was divided into several strands and echoed all at once. I just became mentally dazed. The rings of bright light surrounded and spun around him and me in a dizzying way, and soon turned into blue flames and burned away without leaving a trace.
Even in the midst of becoming dazed, I thought.
My wish, my wish is…
‘To be eternally separated from you who do not love me. To be completely annihilated from this world… without leaving even a speck of dust.’
* * *
‘What are you looking at so interestingly all alone?’
‘Who are you?’
‘Oh dear, it seems like I asked first.’
‘I’m asking who you are?’
It was a dazzling color I had never seen before. The fountain, adorned with a small statue that a sculptor of the century had painstakingly carved, was a birthday gift from the Imperial Palace last year. The fluttering ripples of water shone with rainbow colors, so beautiful that I would lose track of time just watching it.
On a sunny day, sitting in front of the fountain and aimlessly watching the water was something that had long become one of my favorite pastimes. I didn’t want to be disturbed by others when I was in front of the fountain, so I usually kept everyone, including Nicole, away… But that day, suddenly, someone appeared before me.
“You’re pretty. Your hair is sparkly.”
Having been pampered and adored by everyone around me since I was born, I, a mere ten-year-old, didn’t realize that I should speak respectfully even to a grown-up who seemed to have an extraordinary status.
Born with a Divine Mandate to become the consort of the most noble being, I was established as the most noble being in the Empire from the very moment I cried my first cry. Everyone was sure that I would become the Crown Princess and the future Empress. I thought so too. Who else could dare to bear the title of the most noble being if not someone who would become the future Emperor?
“Give it to me. I’ve never seen anything prettier than the fountain.”
“I’m glad you like it. Outer appearances don’t matter, but… it’s good to be pleased with it, since we’ll be together forever.”
“Forever?”
His hair, cascading down to his waist, shone more brilliantly than the water droplets scattering in the sunlight. Even the stars in the night sky couldn’t shine more dazzlingly than him. He was ethereal, like a midday mirage, like a Milky Way blooming in the sky, just by standing there.
I, as a child, was instantly captivated by that sparkle. Perhaps it was the name of fate.
“Yes, my forever, who is still young. I’ll come again next time.”
He disappeared just like that. I thought I was possessed by a ghost or dreaming while asleep without realizing it.
“Noah!”
What was that all about? As I blinked blankly, someone called me. It was Crown Prince Adrian, the very person who had gifted me this masterpiece with such care.
“How long has it been? Has my acorn grown a little in the meantime?”
“Don’t tease me. Why are you making such a fuss when you saw me just a week ago?”
“Haha, it hasn’t grown at all in a week. When will it grow like a tree and be planted in my palace?”
Unlike me, who was still a young child, Adrian was already seventeen and had come of age. He wasn’t busy, and whenever he had time, he would come and tease me every day, asking how much I had grown.
Since I received the Divine Mandate in my mother’s womb, Adrian had been eagerly waiting for me. We were already engaged when I was taking my first steps, and he took care of my every move more obsessively than Freddy or Andy. He kept singing about when my acorn would grow, when it would roll into the Imperial Palace, so my own siblings dared to hate the Crown Prince of the nation more than anyone else.
“Stop it! That’s why Andy banned you from entering the mansion!”
“That Little Count is so narrow-minded. After all, the acorn will eventually become my Empress. Right?”
“Uh-huh…”
“What’s with that lukewarm reaction? Don’t you want to be the Empress?”
“But…”
“But?”
“Yesterday, the nanny said that becoming the Empress means marrying Adrian.”
“That’s right.”
“Marriage is about loving each other, right?”
“That’s also right.”
“I don’t know if I love Adrian.”
“Oh, dear. I’ll have to work harder in the future. Let’s talk about that again after you’ve grown up for at least five more years.”
Adrian smiled handsomely and hugged me tightly. I rubbed my sleepy eyes, nestling into his familiar embrace. Sleepy? His voice asking was so gentle. Uh-huh… a little… My voice answering was full of spoiled affection, as if it were natural, and Adrian patted my shoulder and smiled contentedly. He told me to rest assured and sleep, and he would wake me up when it was time for dinner.
“You have to wake me up. I’ll hate you if you just disappear like before.”
“I’m sorry. His Majesty urgently called for me then.”
“Me or His Majesty?”
“Of course…”
“Of course?”
“Of course, my precious consort.”
Adrian’s soft voice tickled my ears like a lullaby. Through my drowsy vision, I caught sight of Adrian’s fine golden hair. His hair, which seemed to have a deeper hue than mine, always shone handsomely and made me happy to see… But somehow, from that day on, I didn’t care how shiny Adrian’s hair was. The enchanting silver mirage had secretly taken root within me.