Vika Lamberst raised his hand as he looked at the back of sleeping Sikar Blake.

Once I summon the spirit of sleep and put Sikar to rest, Kian will completely lift his curse.

And perhaps I might disappear. If it were nothing, it would be absurd, but in any case, it’s something I cannot avoid.

Tears kept falling as I gazed at Sikar’s sleeping back, but recalling the time I truly believed he had died, I steeled my resolve.

“Master Vika, I beg you.”

But Vika lowered his hand as if giving up on raising it.

“It will be difficult. The Duke is awake.”

“What?! What did you say?!”

Kian and I stared in shock at Sikar’s back as he lay down—then he slowly lifted his body.

“Huh. Caught because of perceptive Vika.”

Sikar sat up and smiled at me.

“If you plan to lift my curse, you’d better give up, Madam.”

“No. I won’t give up. Kian! Quickly lift Sikar’s curse!”

I shouted resolutely, and Kian also yelled with serious intensity.

“Understood! Mother!”

What Kian summoned then was the fire spirit, Leorem.

I don’t know how Kian, at his age, could already summon Leorem—a spirit resembling a golem (stone giant)—but he summoned a spirit far stronger than I expected.

Vika, too, muttered in surprise, “No, how…?” then fell silent.

Sikar also muttered the moment he saw Leorem.

“Leorem?!”

Kian grinned and faced off against Sikar.

“Yes. Father. It’s Leorem. So listen to Mother.”

Precisely because Kian had summoned Leorem—and because Sikar’s body hadn’t fully recovered yet—he looked quite flustered.

He swept his hair back in frustration and began trying to persuade Kian.

“Listen well, Kian. If you lift my curse as your mother wishes, you will deeply regret it.”

“I already regretted it—when I believed Father had passed away. Do you know how much I regretted it? How utterly despairing I felt?!”

Seeing the faint tears gathering at the corners of Kian’s eyes, I understood just how sincere his determination was to lift Sikar’s curse no matter what.

I encouraged Kian as much as I possibly could.

“You’re doing well, Your Majesty. Never, ever back down. Understood?!”

Sikar placed his hands on his waist and sighed deeply, looking both angry and frustrated.

“Don’t do this, Kian. You shouldn’t be acting like this now.”

I thought it urgent to heal him before Sikar, cornered, could tell Kian that I might disappear.

“Your Majesty! Knock the Duke unconscious if you must, but lift his curse quickly! Hurry!”

“Yes! Mother!”

The moment Kian answered loudly, Leorem stomped toward Sikar.

But whether Sikar had taken control of the spirit or not, Leorem halted and turned back toward Kian.

Kian tilted his head as if sensing things weren’t going as planned, then refocused.

Sikar and Kian’s eyes seemed more intensely concentrated than ever before.

Leorem, caught between them, creaked helplessly as though broken, unable to move either way.

“There’s no time for this, Kian. If you lift my curse, your mother will disappear!”

Kian snapped to attention, lifting his head as if waking from a daze.

“W, what do you mean?”

Then he turned to me and asked again.

“F, Father’s words—what do they mean, Mother?”

“Your Majesty! Listen to me! You must heal the Duke immediately!”

“No! If you heal me, your mother will vanish!”

“Mother will vanish? What does that even…”

While Kian stood hesitating with a confused expression, Leorem took a step backward.

Seizing the moment, Sikar attempted to completely erase Leorem.

“Master Vika! Help the King!”

Vika, who had been watching silently, summoned a spirit to seize Sikar’s arms. Sikar glared at Vika with furious eyes.

“Vika… don’t do this. If Yura disappears, I will never break your oath for you.”

But Vika didn’t back down. She stood glaring fiercely at Sikar.

“Better than dying.”

Now, the only thing left was to persuade Kian.

“Don’t worry, Kian! I won’t disappear. So hurry—Heal Sikar!”

“No. Your mother will vanish, Kian! Do you remember Seo Yeon, Reidox’s lover, disappearing?! Yura will vanish just like her!”

Kian looked between me and Sikar, lost in confusion.

“Mother? What do you mean, Mother will vanish?”

“There’s no time to think about that now! Only think of when the Duke died! Kian! Hurry! Save the Duke! Hurry!”

“No! Yura will vanish! Snap out of it, Kian!”

“That’s impossible! It can’t be! Save your father! Hurry!”

I desperately hoped Kian would heed my plea. I stared at him with pleading eyes.

I prayed my desperation would reach him.

Sikar kept warning Kian that this must never happen—I feared Kian might listen to him.

“Please, Kian… please listen to me… please… I beg you… save Sikar. Please…”

I pleaded toward Kian, tears streaming down my face, desperately hoping he would grant my request.

Perhaps my desperate heart reached him—Kian looked at me and nodded firmly, as if solidifying his resolve.

Sensing something ominous from Kian, Sikar’s expression turned chilling.

“K, Kian. W, what are you thinking?! No! Your mother might vanish! Yura! Yura! Don’t do this!”

Yura looked at Sikar through her tears.

“I’m sorry, Sikar. I’m sorry…”

Yura silently repeated words she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud.

‘And I love you. I can’t stand by and watch you die because of me. Survive, Sikar…’

Seeing Yura’s desperate tears, Kian shouted with eyes tightly shut—as if declaring he would never heed Sikar’s words.

“Father! I’m sorry!”

After Kian’s cry, Leorem turned its body and walked straight toward Sikar.

Sikar, as if no longer able to endure, screamed in anguish.

“No! Kian! Your mother will vanish…!”

At that moment, Sikar focused all his energy on blocking Leorem’s outstretched hand. Veins bulged on his forehead.

He screamed—a cry mixed with rage and despair.

“Kiiiiian!”

Sikar could say no more and fainted, consumed by Leorem’s flames.

Though I worried he might be dead, Kian swiftly healed Sikar. Then, sweating, he looked at me.

“Shall we begin?”

“Start quickly. Hurry.”

Kian looked at me, stood firmly beside Sikar, and began extending his hand toward him.

“Father’s vital organs haven’t fully recovered yet, and due to the strain, his stamina is very weak—I’m not sure he can endure it well.”

Kian’s expression looked more solemn than ever.

And seeing him like this, my heart felt complicated in many ways.

Now I must prepare to leave.

Kian wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and smiled at me.

“It’s done, Mother. Truly, it’s all over. I’ve completely uprooted the curse’s seed from Father’s body.”

It’s over now. Goodbye, Sikar.

Thinking it was time to depart, my feelings toward Kian grew bittersweet.

Must I now prepare to leave? Or will I simply vanish as I am?

Though I regretted leaving this world, I was glad I hadn’t let Sikar’s death go unchallenged.

“Kian. Can we hug, just once?”

Kian suddenly looked at me, then smiled gently and embraced me.

“It’s all over now, Mother.”

Sikar Blake’s eyes snapped open as he awoke from sleep. He felt no strange sensations or energies in his body.

But when he tried to move his legs, his whole body throbbed painfully. Only then did he recall fainting the previous night.

At that moment, only one name flashed through his mind.

‘Yura!’

He needed to confirm immediately—had Kian healed him? Was Yura still here?!

Sikar dashed out toward the corridor, mindless of everything.

“Yura! Yura!”

At the end of the corridor, Vika stood watching Sikar with a languid expression.

“So you’ve finally awakened, Duke.”

Unable to manage his throbbing body, Sikar hunched over and limped toward Vika.

“Yura? Where is Yura?!”

Vika looked down at the bent-over Sikar with a pitiful expression, as if seeing someone truly unfortunate.

“How pitiful, Duke.”

“At least tell me where Yura is… Vika…”

“The Lady is gone now.”

Sikar staggered, nearly collapsing in despair.

“In the end… in the end… Yura has vanished…”

Vika sighed, gazing at Sikar with eyes full of pity.

“Poor Duke. You don’t even know how much time has passed…”

Sikar, swaying in despair, gripped the railing and glared at Vika.

“Time has passed…? What do you mean?”

Vika clicked his tongue, turned his head away, and avoided looking at Sikar.

“Humans really do age so quickly…”

“What do you mean?!”

Vika, walking forward, turned his head back with a regretful expression and looked at Sikar.

“You’ve grown far too old, Sikar.”

“Old…? What do you mean? I’m asking what you mean!”

“Fifty years have already passed while you were asleep.”

“I, I slept… that long?”

“Yes. Look at this empty palace. While you slept, this palace remained vacant for far too long. Those you once knew are gone now.”

Fifty years had passed. Sikar couldn’t believe it. Moreover, Vika’s appearance remained unchanged—but she was a Dark Elf hybrid, aging slowly.

Vika clicked his tongue toward the bewildered Sikar and spoke.

“Don’t worry too much. The Lady is still here. But the Lady you knew no longer exists—she has grown far too old.”

“Y, Yura is here?! Where?! Where is Yura now?!”

“She’s probably tending the garden again, waiting for you.”

Sikar wanted to rush out immediately, but his body refused to obey.

Though he couldn’t believe fifty years had passed, his body’s disobedience made Vika’s words seem true.

Sikar felt hot tears streaming from his eyes.

‘Yura… I miss you. Whether you’ve become a grandmother or a monster… it doesn’t matter…’

He longed desperately for Yura. If she hadn’t vanished, that was enough.

Limping outside, he saw the garden—once full of roses—now overflowing with daisies, as it had been during Princess Veronia’s time. The rose-filled garden he remembered was nowhere to be seen.

Had fifty years truly passed?

Wiping away the tears blurring his vision, he saw in the distance the back of a woman with graying hair.

Sikar’s heart ached unbearably.

‘Y, Yura?’