My perspective suddenly shifted, finally seeing the reddened amethyst eyes of the White Princess.
In her blood-soaked hand was an uneven shattered mirror shard, and through it was my reflection—the new yet also true body and appearance of mine as the Lugh of Eshu or perhaps...?
"It seems I have an unwanted visitor. Since when did I permit him to send someone in this forsaken world?"
Princess Yuridika's demeanor changed, her rage calmed, and her composure was regained. It was as though the 'her' earlier was a separate identity.
I didn't know my current predicament—whether my entire existence was imprisoned inside a mirror or that my perspective just separated itself from anyone's character in this unrecorded timeline.
Either way, my mouth refused to open, but my mind pondered what I just heard.
'Him? Is she talking about the Apostle of the Unseen? What did she mean by sending someone in this forsaken world?'
Don't tell me...
Was she aware that this was the past?
There's no way, right?
Sensing my prolonged silence, Princess Yuridika's gleaming eyes seemed to pierce my thoughts, guessing what was running in my mind, "Did he ask you to free me from this eternal burden? Or he wanted to know why my choice led to this state?"
I retained my silence, absorbing every word coming out of her mouth.
"..."
After some time, as if she did not bother getting a response, the White Princess continued,
"It seems you cannot understand why you are even here, yes? What a pity. It's been forever since I had a guest."
Hearing her, I finally decided to speak, "By him, are you referring to the Apostle of the Unseen?" If yes, then he uses his authority to conceal the present and the future of your empire, that's how I was able to be here—with his request to be enlightened."
Princess Yuridika momentarily tilted her head whilst looking at my miniature reflection.
"You are an honest man, aren't you?"
"..."
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Regarding his desire for enlightenment, it's his mere curiosity as someone who abandoned everything and hid himself from the world. His mind was long aware, but his heart refused to accept the irreversible."
I could not understand a thing that she was saying. But if there was one thing I'm certain of, it's that the Apostle of the Unseen was an entity who stopped aging, and that he had a connection with the Imperial Princess of the Britanoia Empire.
Hoping for something, I replied to her, "What choice did you make that he seemed to be unable to understand and accept?"
It was a straightforward query, something that might shed light on what the Apostle of the Unseen wanted all this time.
Princess Yuridika chuckled at my question, finding my frank response somewhat amusing.
However, before I could process everything, something shifted in my surroundings. No, it seemed the window of my separation abruptly ended as I found my vision through her very lens.
I've returned to her body.
And the more mature princess vanished into nothingness as I once again shared the emotions of exhaustion and rage that this one previously harbored.
What just happened?
Whether or not it was another power in the works, I believed I just conversed with Princess Yuridika—possibly the version of 'her' after everything had already fallen into ruination.
"Since it has come to this, I have to move forward with the plan..." The White Princess gritted her teeth, her hand clasped the mirror shard earlier, causing blood to drip off her supple hand.
She neglected the searing agony. No, as if such a cut was nothing but an illusion.
"..."
*
The night ended.
The scenery shifted.
This time around, everything happened simultaneously.
In the end, after the orphanage was burned down, and constructing another would be hefty, or rather time-consuming, with nowhere to go, Princess Yuridika seized the opportunity to take care of the twelve children.
Unfortunately, as the reports of the incident were being cleared and thoroughly verified, it was proven that many children also perished.
It caused Krishnaya—the Imperial Princess' maid—due to intense guilt, to commit a double suicide by bringing her younger brother with her.
Meanwhile, Princess Yuridika, unable to bear the loss, promised herself that what Krishnaya did would not be in vain.
Witnessing the gradual spiral of the circumstances into hell, I couldn't help but remain silent—the Princess' emotions continued to resonate with me, and their gravity was weighing my mind to think rationally.
It was as though I was being pulled into a black hole of emotions so dark and unfathomable that my soul and hers truly became one.
There was one moment I thought—if I didn't resist these emotions that weren't mine to begin with, would I be trapped in this illusion forever?
However, poking my skull and remembering everything needed to be done... Everything needed to be saved... I continued to sail with Princess Yuridika's broken mental state.
Now, after her father, His Majesty's repeated warning due to her adopting the war orphans labeled with filth by the Church of Harvest and Prosperity, consequently voiding the marriage with the successor of the said church, as she indefinitely became my lens since then, the White Princess had decided an ultimatum, the point of no return—something that shook the entire Britanoia Empire.
In front of her every loyal vassal, those aligned with her ideals who did not delight in unifying the estate with the church, the Princess' voice resounded with resolve.
"Heed my order! From this day onward, I declare the separation of the Lunar Region from the Britanoia Empire! My father has gone mad! It is time to remove him from power and vanquish the remnants of the lunatics from the church!
"Whoever stands in our way, whether they are my brothers, their mothers... Even if they are of blood, they shall be slain without mercy!"
Throughout all this time, as I felt Princess Yuridika's conviction without flaw, the scenery shifted again...
This time, holding a silver tray filled with twelve glasses of cold drinks, Princess Yuridika visited every child in the Little Twelve Bedrooms.
"Miss Yuridika!"
The children were used to calling her casually, yet their voice was filled with affection.
The kid in this room hugged her, but when their gaze met each other, I saw the concern in this little one's eyes.
Based on the diary, they were aware of the consequences of their presence here—on how it affected Yuridika's status in the empire.
Moreover, they inwardly knew and blamed themselves that it was because of them.
"Nari... I can't let them... I can't let them take all of you away from me."
She embraced the little kid, and tears streamed down her face.
In the next moment, I couldn't help but helplessly resist her body...
"Thank you for being with me, Nari. Don't worry. Sleep tight. They will be with you soon."
...The drinks she had were painless poison.
Princess Yuridika euthanized the children—or so she believed.