"G-get out … from your sight?"
Kael took a bite of his waffle. Too sweet for his taste.
"I'll give you all the money I've saved up. It's not much, but enough for you to rent a room and live comfortably somewhere else for a few months."
He swallowed. "I'll also give you half of my monthly allowance—for the next three years."
He glanced over.
Ellaria hadn't moved.
Was that not enough?
Kael thought harder, trying to recall anything else he owned that wouldn't need his 'father's' approval to give away.
"There's a villa," he added. "A gift from one of my father's business partners. It's remote and probably outdated in terms of tech, but... it's yours, if you want it."
That was the same villa Kael had fled to after Samael defeated him for the second time.
It was there, under the influence of that same 'business partner'—later revealed to be part of a criminal syndicate—that Kael was tempted with the promise of power.
It hadn't ended well.
So maybe this was just a way to rid himself of the baggage.
"I'm sorry, Young Master. I don't understand. Did I ... do something wrong? Are you … throwing me away?"
What?
Kael blinked. Ellaria was trembling.
Not from fear. Not from panic.
She was about to cry?
"Did you not catch a single thing I've been trying to say?" His irritation was rising.
"I ... I did. I'm trying, okay? But none of it makes sense. You think I hate you? That's absurd!"
"No need to keep pretending."
"But I never have."
"Then what is it? Are you some secret masochist who enjoys being slapped, kicked, and punished?"
"No!" Ellaria caught herself, realizing her voice was too loud—but this time, she didn't apologize. "What I mean is ... sometimes, you really go too far."
"Sometimes?"
"Often," Ellaria glanced at Kael, as if seeking his approval—but found only a cold, challenging stare. As if daring her to keep going, to prove this wasn't just a play on words.
"No—always. You were ... cruel. You'd slap me over and over for adding the wrong amount of sugar. Or when you made me pretending to be Lord Lightborn, so you could took out your rage on me instead."
She lowered her head, biting her lip.
When she looked up again, her eyes were brimming.
"I can't forgive you. I never will. Those things will stay with me forever. But after all that, now you want to throw me away? Is this your way of running from everything you've done?"
That's the honesty I was looking for.
Kael propped his chin on his hand, sighing as he watched her cry.
"I'm sorry. Yes, I know it won't change anything. It won't heal anything…"
But, as the one now living in Kael's body …. As the one who once hurt you—
"Did you not catch a single thing I've been trying to say?"
Kael froze.
There was a weight to her words now—a sharpness that cut deeper than her tears.
"I know you probably don't remember. Maybe it was just a childish thing you once said. But..." Ellaria wiped her tears, her breathing uneven.
With eyes still glistening, she declared:
"Glory to the Ashborn."
Kael's eyes widened.
At the same time, a strange prompt appeared before him:
[Synchronizing memory fragment …]
A foreign memory surged—this time, not just a vague cutscene from the game.
It was a full detonation. A flood of detailed, vivid memories.
And all of them? Tragic.
Even in the Vyle estate, Kael was never treated like a noble's son.
Despite being Edwyn's only male heir, his room was more like a storage closet.
The staff gave him food and left. No one spoke. No one acknowledged him.
He had freedom to go anywhere, do anything—but for what? For whom?
Until the day a new servant girl was assigned to him.
Only slightly older than him—two or three years, at most.
"Let's see if you're capable of commanding one of your own kind," his father had said.
That cryptic remark made sense the moment the girl introduced herself.
"M-my name is Ellaria... "Ashborn" Vionette."
She was awkward, clumsy, always crying.
Easy to imagine she was outcasted by the other servants for being terrible at her job.
But that wasn't the root of it.
One day, Kael found her in the kitchen.
Doing nothing.
No one spoke to her. No one noticed her. Even though the kitchen was bustling, no one saw her.
As if they spoke different languages.
As if they lived in different worlds.
As if they were... different species.
And when their eyes met, young Kael realized something:
In that mansion, he was the only one who could see her. And she ... was the only one who could see him.
Because they were both Ashborn.
Goddammit.
As if they had a choice in being born that way.
It wasn't their fault their parents sinned.
It wasn't their fault their blood was 'tainted.'
The adults made the choices—yet the children bore the punishment.
One night, after Kael had hit her for the first time—telling himself it was 'discipline' to keep her from being seen as weak—he whispered his dream:
"Glory to the Ashborn."
Reckless. Radical.
[Memory synchronization complete]
[Your identity has fully merged with Kael "Ashborn" Vyle]
"You've hurt me in so many ways," Ellaria said, "but I can't hate you. I don't want to. Not until that dream becomes real."
"And what if it never happens? What if I stop trying? What if that dream never becomes real."
"Then..." she faltered. "At the very least, I'll still have you to come home to. And you'll still have me."
Did she even realize what she just said?
"So you think I need you? Confident, aren't you?"
"D-does that mean you don't need me anymore?"
Kael shut his eyes, exhaling the tight pressure in his chest as he chuckled softly.
God, this was a mess.
"For now, I'm going to focus on making Gideon pay. I can't sleep easy knowing he's out there, laughing like nothing happened."
"I-I understand."
"And after that ..." Kael clicked his tongue. "Maybe I'll reconsider what my future's supposed to look like."
Ellaria didn't reply.
Kael wondered—had she already left?
Strange, if she didn't ask for permission.
So, cautiously, he peeked between his fingers.
Big mistake.
Ellaria smiled often—mostly those fake, apologetic, half-hearted ones.
But this smile?
This one was different.
It was sweet.
Sweet enough—for even his taste.
Damn it.
Was the memory sync messing with him?
As he covered his face again, Kael began to wonder...
Maybe he was just as stupid as she was.
[Ellaria Vionette's Love Meter increased: 70%]