The gradual deterioration of bodily functions had been noticed long ago.
‘From the beginning, my lifespan was short.’
This body might have been designed that way.
When you think about it, the first time Sena was discovered was during the dawn at the orphanage.
No one knew who left him there or whose child he was.
Rendel village was rural. If someone like Sena, with silver hair, had lived there, people would have known.
In other words, there were no parents to begin with. If there were, it would be the Goddess.
The Goddess placed him here, and when she created this body, it must have been designed with a short lifespan.
‘I wanted to go back to my hometown.’
Fortunately, he wasn’t completely invisible.
He was just like looking at a watercolor painting where the colors had blurred significantly.
Yet, even within that world, the yellow stood out particularly vividly.
“Isn’t there… a way to fix this?”
Was she sad?
Judging by her voice, it seemed so.
‘How much time do I have left?’
0 days.
That was likely all the time he had left.
Though the exact moment when life would end was unclear, it would probably be within hours.
‘I have to do everything I can pass on while I still can.’
I’ll die here.
But my loved ones still live on in this world.
“So, to summarize the situation… Duke Granz has risen in rebellion and is marching toward us?”
“Such things are meaningless.”
Astria’s lifeless demeanor was a stark contrast to the commanding presence she had shown until now.
Sena turned his head toward Astria with a faint smile.
“I don’t have much time left, you know. Won’t you even listen to my final words?”
Clench.
Astria lowered her head and gripped her thighs tightly.
Sena, weakened to the extreme, could do little more than lie in bed, breathing heavily.
To Astria, it was incomprehensible how someone in such a condition could still worry about others.
But if this was truly the end…
‘I must honor him. He fulfilled his duty as my personal physician. He should be treated with the same respect as a knight who died on the battlefield for me.’
He deserved that respect.
“Speak.”
She finally said, even though the effort felt like spitting blood.
“I just wanted to say that there’s no need to worry too much about Duke Granz.”
“…What?”
“I met Duke Granz once, back in Your Majesty’s garden.”
It was when Astria had been stabbed by Isabella and collapsed.
At that chaotic time, Sena had encountered him.
He had treated Duke Granz’s injuries at the cost of shortening his own lifespan.
“…What did that man do to you?”
The burning fury in her voice was palpable.
Sena shook his head.
“No. Duke Granz didn’t do anything. If anything, I’m the one who acted.”
Madness.
That was the common perception people had of Astria back then.
The Empress was said to be neither of sound mind nor body due to her chronic illness and supposed insanity.
Thus, Duke Granz, an innocent man, was being unjustly threatened.
Even Sylvia shared a similar perception.
But Sena had always thought differently, even in the past.
‘Astria was never insane. She just wanted to protect something—whether it was her power or the lives of her subordinates.’
Mental health wasn’t Sena’s specialty, but he wasn’t entirely ignorant of such matters either.
As Astria’s personal physician, Sena had concluded she was perfectly sane.
The more conversations they had, and the closer their relationship grew, the more convinced he became.
Even so, it was a bit saddening.
No matter how much she spoke, no one believed her.
If that was the case, couldn’t at least one person stand by her side?
Duke Granz was undoubtedly an enemy.
Sena had speculated it, and when it turned out to be true, he regretted it.
It wasn’t enough to simply trust; action should have been taken.
And so, belatedly, Sena had dealt with Duke Granz.
“You acted? What exactly did you do?”
“I treated him. However, it was a different kind of treatment. For the first time, I acted with ill intent.”
Divine power carries a slight will of its own.
Depending on the caster’s intentions, it could be manipulated to some degree.
Sena treated Granz Kairos while simultaneously slicing the inferior vena cava leading to his heart into small pieces.
Then, using divine power, he solidified it and created an artificial vein to replace the damaged one.
It was a form of vascular grafting.
In other words, Granz’s body was now sustained by Sena’s divine power.
“I damaged a part of his body and made it so that he could only survive with my divine power.”
The procedure had consumed a considerable portion of his remaining lifespan.
He had worried whether it would succeed, given the limited time, but fortunately, it had worked.
The operation had one sole purpose.
If the Duke ever attempted to harm those Sena cherished.
Sena’s death would ensure Granz’s demise as well.
‘If he had been a good man, I planned to redo the surgery properly before I died. But… it would’ve made me feel terribly guilty, wouldn’t it?’
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Granz was an enemy.
As a result, Sena never had to step onto the surgical table again in his current condition.
“When I die, Duke Granz will die as well. No matter how extraordinary he may be, no one can survive long without their inferior vena cava.”
“…!”
Astria’s eyes widened at the meticulous measure Sena had taken without anyone knowing.
Her lips trembled slightly.
She hadn’t known this.
—That furball doesn’t matter anymore.
—You are no longer my personal physician.
She had treated Sena with disdain, despite him doing everything he could for her.
For the first time, Astria felt something akin to guilt.
Her heart ached, a torment she hadn’t even experienced when faced with death before meeting Sena.
“Please handle the situation well, Your Majesty. That’s my final wish. Ah, and one more thing.”
Sena took Astria’s hand.
“Take care of Chris, Sylvia, and Chloe for me as well.”
“…That’s a given. If Dame Sylvia is alive, she will be honored as a hero.”
“She’ll survive. No matter how malicious Cruyff might have been, he wouldn’t go against his nature.”
“Even now, in this situation, you still trust that man?”
“I can’t help it. He’s my father, after all.”
“…I see.”
“One more request, if that’s alright?”
Sena’s voice grew weaker.
Astria gripped his hand a little tighter.
“You stand before the Empress. I’d give you half the world if you asked for it.”
“Haha, but you won’t say you’d give me everything? How greedy.”
Astria stiffened.
She should have said she’d give him everything.
Just as she was about to correct herself, Sena spoke again.
“Can you forgive Cruyff? Just as you forgave Isabella.”
“…”
“I don’t think he had bad intentions. Like a fool, he overreached, trying to save me. Maybe he was even manipulated by Granz.”
Sena’s breathing grew labored. Seeing him struggle to speak, Astria became agitated.
“Stop talking for now. You can continue later when…”
Sena, his face flushed red, shook his head.
He was saying it had to be now.
“…I will allow it. I will forgive Cruyff. Once this matter is settled, the Church’s power will inevitably wane, and I’ll ensure he can be restrained.”
Sena smiled faintly.
“That’s a relief. Still, he’s done plenty of bad things, so he deserves punishment. For example… right, exile him to my hometown, Rendel. Tell him to spend the rest of his life caring for children there.”
“I understand. Do you have any other requests?”
“I do.”
Sena weakly raised his hand to gently touch Astria’s cheek.
“Take your medicine properly.”
“…I will.”
“When something upsets you, try to hold back as much as you can.”
“…Alright.”
“And, be happy.”
“…”
Astria bit her lip.
“Are you not afraid of death?”
“I am.”
“No, I’ve never once felt that way about you. How is that even possible?”
‘When I’m so terrified of your death like this.’
Astria swallowed the words she couldn’t bring herself to say.
“Um… You know about my body, right? My death was predetermined. It’s because Goddess-nim willed it.”
Perhaps it was because the time of parting drew near.
For the first time, Sena addressed the Goddess with the honorific “nim”.
“I know. But it’s the first time I’ve heard it directly from your lips.”
“Haha, sorry… I thought you’d never accept it if I told you.”
“That’s true. A month ago, I would have done anything, no matter how extreme, to save you.”
‘That’s a bit scary.’
Sena thought, wiping a small bead of cold sweat from his brow.
He had almost been tied down for life.
“That’s exactly why I can be so calm. Because I know there’s another world after death.”
“Is the Goddess favorable toward you?”
“Probably. Maybe that’s why she wants to take me away so quickly. Who knows? I might even be reborn as an angel. So please, Your Majesty, don’t worry too much. I’ll probably live better than you up there.”
Sena said it like a joke, expecting Astria to respond with something like, “How dare you say that to me, who possesses everything? Insolent furball.”
But no such response came.
Plop.
A warm droplet fell onto the back of Sena’s hand.
“You’ve lived like a flower.”
Astria compared Sena to the thing she loved most.
“Wherever you go, you’ll thrive. But…”
She spoke with earnest desperation.
“No matter how beautiful the heavens may be, they can’t compare to this world.”
Her voice caught in her throat.
“Stay just a little longer.”
Shwaa—
Heavy rain began to pour, a relentless downpour that seemed to echo Astria’s feelings.
Sena merely smiled in response.
“Alright.”
Silence filled the room for a while.
Astria didn’t let her gaze stray from Sena for even a moment, trying to capture every part of him.
If he disappeared from her sight, it felt like he might vanish entirely. That’s the kind of presence Sena was.
“Your Majesty.”
How much time had passed?
The rain had stopped, and the sunlight began to shine through.
When Sena spoke again, his voice was no longer faint.
It was as clear as the sky after the storm.
“I, am a coward.”
“…”
“I’m terribly selfish. I know I shouldn’t be, but…”
Astria instinctively knew.
This would be Sena’s final words.
“I like you.”
“…!”
Sena’s eyes slowly closed.
His head tilted to the side on the pillow.
The hand that had held even a faint strength just moments ago fell limp.
He had said what he wanted and left this world.
It was, as he had said, incredibly cowardly.
So cowardly, in fact, that Astria could only laugh.
