Hate me, Miss Witch!

Rather, after witnessing everything between Shiayar and Enola at the dinner party, Silvia had actually already found the answer to that question in her heart.

She just felt a bit envious.

Envious of the blonde girl who could stay by Shiayar's side from start to finish, sharing his sorrow, his laughter.

While she could only stand alone in that cold tower, missing him over and over again.

Shiayar could only maintain silence.

If it had been someone else who had received such adoration from a Throne Level Beastmaster, they would probably have been too elated to contain themselves, eagerly showing their loyalty, devotion, and drawing a clear line with other women.

After all, the easy life laid out before him wasn't just about avoiding decades of detours; it was skipping hundreds of years.

However, Shiayar didn't speak. He couldn't even bring himself to tell Silvia what one might call a 'white lie.'

Because he was afraid Ennie would be hurt, and more importantly, because he knew he couldn't do such a thing.

If that hadn't been the case, at the earlier banquet, Shiayar would have chosen to feign acceptance of the Borgia family's marriage proposal, rather than firing that shot that surprised everyone.

He saw the Gray-Silver Witch before him take a few steps back, her pure silver eyes slightly downcast.

"Brother Shiayar."

"I must apologize to you, and to Miss Enola."

"Apologize?" Shiayar echoed, somewhat perplexed. "Why?"

"Because it was only when the White Tower within my inner world crumbled that I finally realized."

"For the five hundred years before this, the feelings I harbored for you were not actually love, but rather dependence."

"Time can cause feelings to sour..."

"During those long years, I clung to my memories of you as a light in the Darkness. They were my only support. I thought of them day and night, reliving them repeatedly... Over these five hundred years, these feelings fermented and warped."

"By the time I awoke, my inner feelings had already become pathological... transformed into a dependency on you, and an intense, indelible possessive impulse."

"That's why I couldn't help but kiss you when we were reunited. But at that moment, in my heart, I didn't actually see you, Brother Shiayar, as a lover, but merely as a treasure that belonged solely to me. I kissed you simply to declare my sovereignty, because I didn't want something that was exclusively mine to be coveted by others."

Silvia clasped her hands behind her back and smiled faintly. "To use your words, Brother Shiayar, I suppose that would be what you call a yandere... That wasn't love, just a kind of pathological possessiveness."

"My actions must have caused considerable trouble for Miss Enola and you, Brother Shiayar."

Is that so...

Shiayar let out a breath.

He felt somewhat relieved, yet also a bit regretful.

But the next moment, his eyes suddenly widened.

Because that cold and soft touch caressed his cheek once again.

Unlike the previous kiss, which was forceful and possessive, this time Silvia's kiss was light and fleeting, gone in an instant.

"Miss Silvia?"

This time Shiayar was truly bewildered.

She just said her feelings weren't love, but merely pathological possessiveness.

And as the master of her inner world, Silvia easily sensed Shiayar's confusion at that moment.

"For the past five hundred years, the feelings I held for you, Brother Shiayar, were not love, but a pathological dependence and possessiveness."

"Hmm..."

Silvia leaned down, her clear, beautiful eyes gazing into Shiayar's.

"So, starting from this moment..."

"That just now... *that* was true love."

The glow of dawn reflected in the girl's eyes, like a dusky Sea of Stars.

She had indeed arrived five hundred years too early, and so she had waited for five hundred years.

Fortunately, her wait had finally come to an end.

No longer separated by the Echo of History, nor divided by the vast expanse of time and space.

Instead, it was in a reality truly within reach.

To meet again, to know each other anew...

And then, to fall in love.

"Compared to me, Miss Enola indeed has quite a head start."

"But since we haven't reached the finish line, nothing is set in stone. That's a lesson you taught me, Brother Shiayar."

The Miss Witch offered a gentle smile, yet it was as radiant as the morning sun.

"Well then, Brother Shiayar."

"From now on, please take care of me."

...

PS: I actually finished writing most of this part last night, but I spent a long time revising it.

Anyway, please vote with your monthly tickets!