“When winter arrives, there’s nothing to do. You end up completely confined in the castle.”

“A closed-off area with nothing to do must have been an irresistible adventure.”

“That’s right.”

“So, can I explore this place too?”

“……”

“I can’t?”

“…If you want to.”

“You promised, so don’t take it back later.”

With a new task in mind, Cecilia felt a spark of excitement.

For a while, she wouldn’t need to start each day wondering, What should I do today?

She met Russell’s gaze, noticing a gleam in his deep violet eyes, one that she didn’t quite know how to name.

‘I thought this before, but this man… I still don’t understand him.’

Cecilia was someone who always stood out, wherever she was, and the reactions of people toward her were usually split into admiration or resentment.

There were advantages to that, of course, like how easy it was to discern others’ emotions—especially men’s.

Usually, the sight of her left men with softened expressions, eager to charm her. Some even made casual bets on whether they could lure her into bed. It happened so frequently that she’d stopped getting angry about it long ago.

Russell, however, regarded her with a detached calm.

He was the first young man who looked at her that way.

Perhaps that’s why, even being alone with him, she didn’t feel uncomfortable.

“How unexpected. You’ve adapted so well.”

“If it’s a situation I can’t change, then I have to adapt.”

‘That’s what’s surprising,’ Russell thought to himself. Quite frankly, he had expected Cecilia to throw a fit for a while after arriving at Lagos Castle.

They continued walking until they reached the far left end of the hall, where a passage opened up into a hallway. On either side were rooms with open archways instead of doors.

‘No doors on any of these rooms? How odd. Is there a reason why lounges wouldn’t have doors?’

Cecilia entered one of the rooms.

‘It’s spacious. This must be a private lounge for important guests.’

On one side, a marble vanity-like ledge jutted out with a mirror affixed above it. The walls and ceiling were adorned with intricate floral murals, their colors still strikingly vivid.

“If it had furniture, it would look even more splendid. Were there no furnishings here when you were young either?”

“There weren’t any from the beginning.”

“Antique furniture can last for centuries… if someone took it, it would have shown up somewhere on the market. But come to think of it, I’ve never heard of imperial-era furniture appearing at antique auctions.”

“You seem interested in antiques.”

Cecilia wouldn’t have learned of antique auctions until much later in life. It was an incredibly exclusive market, known only to a select few.

At one time, Cecilia had been captivated by collecting antiques, enjoying the envious glances and admiration they attracted. It was an attempt to fill the emptiness within her.

‘In the end, it was all pointless.’

“…I’ve just picked up bits here and there.”

Though there was no way Russell could know she spoke from future knowledge, Cecilia instinctively held back.

“No furniture was ever taken from Lagos Castle.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Do you know how the Empire fell?”

“Who doesn’t? It’s practically a legend. The last Emperor of the Empire dabbled in forbidden magic, and then…”

“…A massive explosion engulfed Lagos, leaving it a dead land.”

The lines they both recited came from The Fall of the Empire, the continent’s most renowned text by its foremost philosopher and historian.

“The explosion was enough to bring down the Empire, yet this castle remained standing.”

Cecilia murmured in awe.

“Then… perhaps it wasn’t an explosion at all?”

“It was a mana explosion.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s a tale that’s been passed down through generations here in Lagos. Everyone here knows it.”

 

⌜From the heart of the imperial palace, light erupted and spread across the land, engulfing all. Those drawn to witness its wondrous spectacle from afar were met with a horrific scene. Every living being and anything born of life within the light’s reach was reduced to ash, yet not a single stone-built structure fell.⌟

 

“Oh…”

As Russell recounted the tale, Cecilia pictured the haunting vision in her mind, feeling a chill.

“So, all the furniture in Lagos Castle… it all turned to ash?”

“Along with nearly everything else that could burn. Only stone, glass and metal survived.”

“But what about over there? The east and west wings have doors.”

“They were added later.”

“…That makes sense.”

“‘Makes sense?’”

Russell raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

“Oh, just… they’re not particularly beautiful.”