Chapter 173 - <16>
When Anna and the others arrived, the Autonomous Guard headquarters was in a state of chaos. People were bustling in and out, trying to determine the cause of the biggest commotion in the city’s history. But the desolate corridor they had walked down countless times to visit Ritz was completely empty, and it was clear that in all this turmoil, the tower prison had been forgotten.
“It seems no one has realized yet that Kamala is the cause of this commotion,” Edward muttered. Without glancing at the nodding Anna and Franz, he spotted a familiar face among the bustling crowd and caught him. It was Susir, who belonged to the squad of the murdered Dayaram. Susir, too, seemed to have noticed them and approached at a trot.
“Excuse me. We’re in the middle of something, but can I help you?”
Susir asked, mindful of the bustling people around them. Edward explained the situation succinctly. As he listened, Susir’s expression changed dramatically.
“So, you’re saying Kamala is the one causing this commotion?”
“That’s right. It seems the elders’ dragon is holding back the Wind Dragon, so it should subside soon.”
“I see.”
With a pained expression, Susir shook his head.
“While taking Barat’s testimony, I thought it must be some mistake that Kamala was the culprit, but I suppose Kamala is the only one with enough spiritual power to cause a disturbance of this magnitude.”
“Also, a landslide has occurred in the residential district just below this. It’s unconfirmed, but there may be people buried alive. Anil and Ritz are at the scene, so please send personnel.”
“Understood.”
Nodding briefly, Susir bowed deeply.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Mutual cooperation is necessary, even if our countries are different. Also, Barat may be in danger. We want to head there immediately, but just in case, I’d like to borrow a key.”
“A key?”
“Yes. In case of an emergency, we must protect Barat from Kamala.”
Susir hesitated for a moment, unable to agree immediately, but he soon nodded and took a key from somewhere in his clothes.
“I trust the Grand Duke of the Yuresla Kingdom. Please.”
“Thank you.”
Cued by a glance from Edward, who had taken the key, Anna nodded, spun on her heel, and ran towards the prison where Ritz had been. Franz, who had only been to the prison once, followed behind Anna. The white plaster corridor turned to cold stone, and as she set foot on the spiral staircase, she noticed something was wrong and turned back to Edward, who was walking behind her.
“Ed-san, the wind…”
“The wind?”
A strong wind was blowing down from the top of the tower. She had gone up and down this staircase countless times before, but this had never happened. Edward, too, seemed to have noticed what Anna meant, and his brow furrowed.
“It means a window has been opened up there.”
“But the windows are incredibly high up, aren’t they? Right, Franz?”
She muttered, remembering the several windows that were so high they could be called skylights, and looked at Franz, who was right behind her. Franz, who had been with her the last time she entered the prison, also seemed to remember immediately and nodded.
“…That’s right.”
“But it means those windows have been opened.”
“Even though they’re so high up?”
“Yes. Kamala… can fly.”
“Ah…”
She gasped involuntarily. He was right. A considerable amount of time had passed since this commotion started, so it wouldn’t be strange if Kamala had beaten them to it.
At that moment, Franz, who was behind Anna, silently started climbing the spiral staircase ahead of her. The profile of Franz that she glimpsed had a tense urgency that was different from usual. Feeling a sense of urgency from Franz’s back, Anna, driven by anxiety, also climbed the spiral staircase leading to the tower.
If this ended with her unable to do anything, it would be just as Kuchiba wanted. As it was, for Anna, the thought of her own actions bringing misfortune to others was an unbearable pain.
The spiral staircase, which she had never thought much of before, felt abnormally long, and Anna felt a sense of impatience. She wanted to hurry, but she couldn’t seem to reach the top. When she finally arrived in front of the old wooden door, it was shaking and creaking from the strong wind blowing from inside.
Franz, who had gone ahead, was standing hesitant in front of the door. Just as she was about to call out to him, wondering what was wrong, a gentle song mixed with the high-pitched creaking of the door reached her ears. The soft, warm melody, unsuited for this place, was like a lullaby. She understood that Franz had stopped moving because he had noticed this singing. Even Anna hesitated to open the door in this strange atmosphere.
In place of the two of them, Edward yanked the door open at once. Instantly, a strong wind mixed with the lullaby violently tousled Franz’s hair and blew Anna’s hair back. Shielding her face from the wind with her arm, she timidly opened her eyes, and there sat a single woman.
Her hands were covered in blood. Perhaps she had been spattered with it, for her beautiful face was mottled with bloodstains. Her gentle expression only made the sight more terrifying.
The woman was sitting on the stone floor where a pool of blood had formed, lovingly stroking the head of a man whose head was in her lap. But the man’s expression was frozen in terror. A dagger was thrust deep into his back.
“Barat-san…”
For a moment, his face contorted in pain made him unrecognizable, but Anna, realizing who the man was, called out the dead man’s name in a voice that was not a voice. She remembered the terrified expression of Barat, who had pleaded not to be killed, to be saved. They were too late. Next to Anna, Franz whispered softly.
“Kamala…”
Strong-willed hazel eyes, tanned skin, and silver hair. The woman holding her dead lover was Kamala, whom she had never met before. It was then that she knew for the first time.
“Kamala, let Barat go.”
Franz, who had been standing a step in front of the stunned Anna, took a small step towards Kamala. But his voice was trembling. Without noticing Franz’s state, Kamala continued to sing her lullaby happily.
After hesitating for a moment, Franz called out to Kamala again in a stronger tone. Unlike the usual Franz, it seemed he was trying to talk to her. She didn’t know the reason, but his trembling yet firm stance conveyed the strength of his resolve.
“Kamala.”
When he called out strongly, Kamala finally raised her face and looked at Franz.
“What do you want?”
Kamala laughed quietly with a cold tone. Her expression was beautiful, but to Anna, it was terrifying. It was an expression completely beyond Anna’s comprehension.
“Let Barat go. You should turn yourself in to the Autonomous Guard.”
“Let Barat go? Why? When I’ve finally gotten him.”
With an expression of genuine bewilderment, Kamala glared at Franz. But her hand continued to stroke Barat’s hair without rest.
“This can’t go on. You won’t be saved.”
“Save me? You?”
Kamala sneered, as if Franz’s words were utterly ridiculous.
“The only one who can save me is me. And I have obtained him for my sake. I don’t need anyone to save me anymore.”
“That’s not true.”
Franz muttered with a groan.
“Even if you escape into madness, there is no peace there. The only path left is to drive yourself further into madness. You only lose yourself; there is no salvation there.”
At Franz’s words, Anna remembered the story Ritz had told her about Franz and Constanze’s mother, and the conversation between the Lucina siblings she had overheard. Constanze’s mother, while having feelings for Franz, was made to be Franz’s father’s wife, and in the end, on the brink of madness, she died young, believing Constanze was her and Franz’s child.
Remembering that, she understood what Franz was trying to do. He was trying to save Kamala. In place of Constanze’s mother.
“I can’t save you. I think you’re the only one who can save you. But I might be able to help with that.”
At Franz’s desperate plea, Kamala raised her face and stared intently at Franz. Perhaps she would let Barat go, Anna thought with a flicker of hope, and waited in silence. Edward, standing beside her, also had his gaze fixed on Franz. Perhaps he intended to leave it to Franz.
As Kamala remained silent, Franz continued to speak.
“I don’t think it was your true intention to kill so many people, even your lover. There must be someone who instigated you and made you suffer. You don’t need to follow the story he wrote. So… you can stop now.”
“…What if I wanted to go mad?”
Kamala looked up at Franz with a smile.
“You’re talking about the Messenger of the Black Wings, I assume, but when he appeared, I already hated my father. I wanted to kill him.”
Kamala’s fingers playfully twirled a lock of Barat’s hair.
“In the darkness of the night, he descended to my window like a Birdfolk and asked me if I had a wish. The words came out smoothly: ‘I want to kill my father and leave this city with Barat.’ He smiled and said, ‘I will help you.’”
With that, Kamala let out a soft chuckle and stroked Barat’s hair.
“The world will probably think I went mad at that moment. But that’s not it. In that instant, I was liberated. Liberated from the shackles that bound me. If that’s what you call madness, then I’m fine with not being sane anymore.”
Kamala showed a beautiful smile, the likes of which Anna had never seen before.
“I have fallen. Fallen as far as I can go. So this man has to fall with me. He betrayed me once. But now, he can never betray me again, can he? You see, facing yourself is far more painful than going mad. True happiness isn’t about logic.”
Anna could see Franz’s hands trembling slightly. She understood his feelings. He was probably dominated by a sense of powerlessness, of his thoughts not getting through. Anna, too, didn’t know what to say to her. Kamala directed a sympathetic gaze at the silent Franz.
“You had something sad happen in your past, didn’t you? But I am not a substitute to heal that sorrow. Your sorrow is for you to heal, and I will never be saved by you.”
With that said quietly, Kamala smiled at Franz.
“There’s nothing I can do for you, is there?”
“No. There isn’t. Leave me and Barat alone now. Let the two of us fall into the land of darkness.”
Though the sound of the wind blowing in from the high window should have been intense, to Anna’s ears, it felt incredibly quiet. Kamala no longer had any hesitation. That was why no one could stop her. Especially since she had already killed her lover.
Just as an immense sense of lethargy and powerlessness welled up in Anna’s heart, Barat’s fingertips moved slightly, as if reaching for something. He was dying, but still alive. If she used healing magic immediately, he might be saved.
The moment she thought that, hope welled up inside Anna. If she could make Kamala understand that her lover could be saved and they could start over, perhaps she could save her.
She had already killed three people, so it was unlikely she would get off scot-free. There was a possibility of execution or imprisonment. But it was definitely better than dying here with Barat, to atone for her sins and talk with her lover once more.
“Kamala-san, Barat-san can still be saved! Please, let him go.”
Instinctively, Anna had shouted and pleaded with Kamala.
“If he’s saved, you can talk properly again! You’re lovers, so please start over. If he dies, there’s nothing you can do!”
Kamala’s eyes, which had not noticed Anna’s presence until now, turned to Anna for the first time.
“No.”
“Why?! But Kamala-san, you love Barat-san, don’t you?”
“Yes. I love him. So much that I can’t control it myself.”
“Then let me treat him! It’s better for the person you love to be alive, isn’t it?! If you make a mistake, you can just start over as many times as you need!”
If someone was important to you, you should want them to live, even more than yourself. If you cared for them, you should want to protect them. These words came from that belief. But Kamala looked at Anna with pity and shook her head.
“You poor thing.”
“Huh…?”
She was at a loss for words at the unexpected comment. To Anna, Kamala, holding her dying lover in her arms and about to wander down a path with no future, seemed far more unfortunate. But Kamala had definitely said that to Anna with pity. As Anna stood there, confused and speechless, Kamala continued.
“You’ve never been in love, have you?”
“Love…”
“Wanting to protect someone because they’re precious, wanting them to live because you love them… I understand that too. But that’s not romantic love; it’s the same affection you have for family.”
“What’s the difference between affection and love? It doesn’t change the fact that they’re important, does it?”
“To you, there may be no difference. But there are loves that can’t be started over. Even if you can’t start over, you can never lose them, more than life itself. Even if letting go is the best option, there are feelings so intertwined that they can never be unraveled.”
Anna truly didn’t understand what Kamala was trying to say. Confused but still looking straight at Kamala, she asked, and Kamala smiled faintly.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“The girl who can care for an unfaithful man.”
“An unfaithful… man…?”
Not understanding, she looked at Kamala again. Kamala looked lovingly at Barat, stroking his hair and continuing as if singing.
“Love is happiness. Our gazes meet, we smile at the same thing, we feel our hearts become one, we feel the warmth of the other. It’s all a happy time. But there is an equal amount of suffering.”
Kamala gently placed a hand on Barat’s open eyes and closed them. Barat hadn’t moved at all since a moment ago. As if the last flicker of life was in the fingertips Anna had seen.
“Just thinking about him makes me want to cry. Thinking about where he is and what he’s doing makes me anxious, and the thought of him with another woman makes jealousy burn in my chest like a scorching flame. I love him so, so much, and that’s why I hate him. Because he’s so precious to me, there are unforgivable mistakes.”
With that, Kamala raised her face and met Anna’s eyes. Her hazel eyes were terrifyingly clear, without a single shred of doubt. Anna, who was trying to persuade her, faltered at the purity of those eyes.
“You are not in love.”
“That’s not…”
She tried to say true, but the words wouldn’t come out. If she said it wasn’t true, it would mean she was in love. But she had no such awareness. But Kamala tilted her head at Anna.
“Then, are you in love? Have you ever truly loved someone?”
“I don’t know…”
She was confused. She couldn’t meet her unwavering gaze head-on. Something was nagging at her somewhere in her heart. She couldn’t say for sure that she wasn’t in love. But she couldn’t say she was in love either.
Noticing Anna’s confusion, Kamala quietly threw words at her.
“I heard. You have an important man, don’t you?”
“…You mean Ritz?”
“I believe that was his name.”
As she spoke, Kamala looked at Anna with pity. Anna couldn’t look away from those eyes.
“The man you care for, the man I trapped, spent a night with another woman, you know?”
“Huh…?”
“He might have held a woman other than you in his arms. He might have poured more love into her than you. If you thought that, what would you think?”
“I…”
Her mind was completely full. She didn’t know what she was being asked, or what she should think anymore.
“You’re okay with him spending the night with a woman other than you, aren’t you? After all… you’ve never been in love. You’ve never held this burning ache in your chest. Am I wrong?”
“I…”
Which was it? Even she didn’t know.
“Even if he gives sweet, gentle words to another woman, even if he touches and holds another woman, you’re okay with it because you have affection for him, right? You told me so yourself. In the end, that’s the only kind of feeling you’ve ever had.”
Her mind was in turmoil. She couldn’t let herself be swayed by Kamala’s words; if she did, she wouldn’t be able to save Barat. Even as she told herself that, she couldn’t remain calm at all. Things she had never considered… never even tried to consider, were spinning around in her head.
“If that’s the case, your feeling is familial love. You, who can’t understand the difference between familial love and romantic love, can never understand me.”
“That’s…”
“The despair of holding a burning passion and being betrayed. And on top of that, I still love him. There’s no other way to satisfy my despair and hunger than this.”
“But to kill someone…”
“I don’t want my heart to be judged by someone like you, who has never truly loved and yearned for someone.”
She suddenly remembered her adoptive father in her distant hometown. Surrounded by many children, her adoptive father, who was always smiling, had given his impartial love to all the children. Even if she wasn’t the one he loved the most, even if she felt a little lonely, it was okay. She had thought that love, like the Goddess, was something given impartially to all.
She immediately understood that this was the familial love Kamala was talking about now. No matter what her most precious adoptive father did, she trusted him, so there was no anxiety.
At the same time, Ritz’s face came to mind. The large hands that always held her softly. The lips that gently touched her forehead and cheeks. His body was big and strong, and the glimpses of his daring mercenary days and his cheerful, bright expression were very reliable. And yet, he would show his weakness only in front of her and act spoiled, the one person who trusted her with his heart.
Anna’s precious, precious person.
What if the one in his arms wasn’t Anna? What if there was another woman to whom he showed the gentle expression he only showed to Anna? For example, if it was the murdered Baradi…
Just imagining it made her tremble. Absolutely, absolutely not. It had to be her in Ritz’s arms, or no one. If Ritz did the same things to another woman that he did to Anna, she couldn’t bear it.
It had to be her who was held, spoiled, and gently touched by Ritz. No one else would do. What should she do? She never knew she had such feelings for Ritz inside her.
Could this be what they call love? But… Anna didn’t know. Maybe if her adoptive father were to remarry, would she be jealous? She couldn’t really imagine it. But when it came to Ritz, she could say with certainty that she would hate it.
Anna, standing there confused, was gently shaken back to her senses. The one who had shaken her was Franz, who had been standing in front of her, facing Kamala. Franz, with downcast, dark eyes, shook his head slightly and silently urged her gaze towards Kamala. As urged, she looked at Kamala, who was gently stroking Barat and singing a lullaby again.
Out of Kamala’s sight was Edward, who had been behind Anna until a moment ago. While Kamala was distracted by her exchange with Anna and by Barat, he must have quietly circled around, hiding behind the desk. If things went well, he might be able to rescue Barat.
Her own confusion and the tense atmosphere of the place made Anna’s body stiffen. This was no time to be worrying about herself. Rescuing Barat came first, she told herself.
But in her confused mind, she could see an afterimage of Ritz leaving her behind with another woman. Her body trembled. She hated it. She hated it so much. Don’t leave me…
What did Ritz think of Anna? From the day Anton had asked him, Anna had been Ritz’s ward, and now she was his partner. But a partner was neither family nor a lover, of course.
And Anna herself had made Ritz promise, “If we find someone we like, we’ll let each other go.” If so, how should she understand this easily breakable connection of being partners? Why had she so easily promised to part ways if they each found someone they liked?
“Don’t come any closer!”
Kamala’s voice brought Anna back to her senses again. Edward had stopped moving, glared at by Kamala. In Kamala’s hand were a bloodstained dagger and something like a jewel. The calmness in Kamala’s eyes, which had seemed so steady until now, was gone. The mental balance that had been teetering on a fine line had collapsed at once the moment she thought Edward would take Barat from her.
“Kamala, stop.”
At Edward’s quiet words, Kamala shook her head violently.
“Kamala. Do not commit any more crimes. Anil will be sad.”
At the mention of her younger brother’s name, something akin to regret flashed in Kamala’s eyes for a moment, but it vanished just as quickly. Then Kamala held Barat in her blood-stained arms and raised the jewel.
“Please, just leave me alone. Leave us alone!”
As Kamala shouted, tears streamed from her eyes.
“No matter what happens, I will never let him go again. No one will ever tear us apart.”
“Kamala! Stop, please!”
She didn’t know if her feelings were familial love or romantic love. But she didn’t want to let her die like this. So Anna shouted with all the emotion she could muster. But Kamala smiled at the desperate Anna.
“Now he is mine. He will never betray me again.”
“Kamala!”
“I didn’t even ask your name. Hey, if you ever fall in love, make sure it’s a wonderful love, not like this.”
Showing a beautiful smile, Kamala slammed the jewel in her hand onto the floor. The next moment, a violent pillar of fire erupted from the floor. A Fire Spirit had burst forth from the jewel.
“Anna, His Majesty!”
At Franz’s words, she instantly created a water sphere and threw it towards where Edward was. Edward, who had been on the verge of being engulfed by the flames, was drenched in water and ran back. Perhaps because he had reflexively protected himself from the flames with both hands, his face was unburned, but his arms were badly scorched. But without minding it, Edward muttered in a daze.
“I never thought she would have something like this.”
In the blink of an eye, the flames swirled, cloaked in the power of darkness, and shot up towards the ceiling, scorching the tower. Engulfed in those flames, Kamala’s silhouette emerged vividly like a shadow puppet. She was holding something with both hands. The moment Anna realized what it was, she screamed.
“Kamala, no!”
With the dagger that had stabbed Barat, Kamala pierced her own throat and collapsed on top of him. The flames swallowed the unmoving pair and grew stronger.
“Please, go out!”
Anna desperately threw water spheres at the vortex, but their momentum didn’t slow at all. They were being repelled by the clinging dark spirits.
“This is… fire and dark spirits.”
“It’s the same technique as Laria, so it’s probably Kuchiba’s…”
Next to the darkly muttering Franz, Anna desperately tried to extinguish the fire. But she was no match for it.
“Why… why won’t you go out!”
At the flames that would not be extinguished, Anna screamed. A year had passed since then, and she was still not strong enough. How, how powerless she was.
Eventually, the flames that shot up burned the upper windows, and shards of glass scorched by the heat began to rain down. The flames, shooting up towards the heavens, violently engulfed the entire tower.
“It’s no use. Anna, let’s go down.”
Franz urged her, but unable to give up, Anna shook her head. But a strong grip on her shoulder made her look up at Franz. A single tear was streaming from Franz’s eyes.
“I’m just as powerless.”
“Franz…”
Wordless before the dejected Franz, Anna gave a small nod. Edward gently placed his hands on both their shoulders.
“Let’s go.”
Urged gently, Anna nodded.
Setting foot on the spiral staircase, Anna glanced back at the prison one last time.
“I’m sorry.”
She couldn’t save them.
And so, the serial murders that had thrown Tashkur into turmoil came to a close.
The flames that engulfed the tower that night illuminated the city of Tashkur, which had been plunged into darkness by the Wind Dragon, like a lighthouse, shining brightly forevermore.