"You need to be careful. This is Ancia's body,"

Ser touched the sword with her hands.

The sword pricked her finger and a drop of blood appeared on it. Blake hurriedly put his sword away. He still needed to protect Ancia's body.

"Don't be mad at me. I didn't do anything, Ancia chose this herself."

"What do you mean?"

"I gave her a chance but Ancia said no."

Ser took Blake's hand.

Blake tried to shake her hand off, but at that moment, something rushed into his head.

Ser had sent him some fragments of her memory.

He could see a little girl walking in the dark, relying on the faint light emitted by the Macul.

It was Ancia.

She must've lost her shoes somewhere. Her hands and feet were covered in wounds.

The light from the macul gradually faded away.

And the little girl eventually grew up to be a woman.

But she didn't stop walking.

'She has been walking in the door of darkness for seven years to lift my curse?'

Blake's heart broke at the revelation.

He had searched desperately for Ancia, wondering where she was and how she was doing.

However, he had never imagined that for seven years she had been wandering around inside the door of darkness without stop.

But it was too soon to be sad.

"...I'll kill the crown prince first. Then you'll be on my side, right?"

After Ser broke out of her seal, she tried to kill Blake.

He didn't know the exact reason because Ser didn't give him the full memory.

However, since the goddess of light was betrayed by Phillip and was sealed inside the door of darkness, Blake could guess that she resented him because he was a descendant of Phillip.

"No, Ser! Please don't! I love him! He's the one I love! Please, Ser!"

Ancia pleaded.

"All this for love! Isn't that funny? If he's that precious, then give me your life instead."

"I'll give it to you."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. Kill me right now. But in exchange for my life, don't touch him."

Ancia was willing to give up her life to protect Blake.

She managed to save her own life but lost her body to the goddess. She also lost her voice.

[If you stain the sword with the Crown Prince's blood, I will give you back what's yours. Your beautiful body, your voice, your language ability, the power of light, you can have everything back!]

The goddess gave Ancia a chance, but Ancia rejected her offer.

'I don't need it.'

She gave up everything for Blake even though she knew that she could only live for a hundred days.

The surroundings brightened and Blake could see Sephia Palace again.

The goddess of light, whom Ancia called Ser, said while crying, "Everything was Ancia's choice. I gave her so many chances but she always refused."

Blake gritted his teeth.

It was all because of him.

Just because of him, Ancia gave up everything she had.

He felt like a fool. He was mad at himself for being a burden to her.

Now, he couldn't just watch Ancia suffer.

"What do I have to do to save Ancia?"

Ser smiled strangely.

"Do you want to save her?"

"Tell me how to."

"Are you saying that you want to save that ugly woman?"

"You don't need to repeat it. Of course."

"Crown Prince, why don't you come to my side instead?"

"Stop speaking nonsense."

Blake snapped, struggling to contain his anger.

But Ser was serious.

"It's just the two of us who know the truth. As long as you choose me, you can get anything you want."

She seductively held Blake's hand.

"The mighty power of light, prosperity and gold for the empire. With unlimited gold and mana, you can have anything you want."

It was a very nice offer. There was no one who would turn it down.

But Blake shook her hand off roughly.

"I don't need it."

"Ancia's not coming back. She will live with that ugly face for the rest of her life."

"I don't care. As long as it's Ancia, nothing else matters.

Blake begged her as he dropped to his knees on the floor.

"Please save Ancia. I'll do anything to save her."

"You'll do anything? Even being cursed again?"

A sinister smile hung on Ser's mouth.

"If you get cursed, everything will return to how it was before. Everyone will despise you because of it. You will live in hell again. Do you still want it? For Ancia, can you continue to live in hell for the rest of your life?"

Love was, afterall, a very hypocritical thing.

One might say they would do anything for their partner, but they'd draw the line at something that would hurt them.

Ser was sure that Blake was the same too.

There was no need to wait for his answer.

She looked at Blake as he opened his mouth.

"It's already a blessing that I got to meet Ancia."

Blake was smiling happily.

"You..."

Ser was speechless.

Did he really want to sacrifice himself for Ancia?

Ser handed him a transparent bottle.

"What's this?"

"Feed this to Ancia. She'll regain her original body and become healthy again."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Blake looked at the bottle.

He was only concerned for Ancia's safety. He wasn't worried about getting cursed again.

But how long could he endure that?

Ser imagined the curse's sentences appearing on Blake's face again as she added coldly, "As soon as Ancia drinks that medicine, you'll die."

"......"

"Can you sacrifice yourself for that love?"

Blake heard what she said and got up from his seat.

This time, he was going to give up. She knew it.

Ser smiled as Blake opened his mouth.

"I always had a nightmare every night when I was young. It was full of flames and screams. However, when I woke up from my dream, I couldn't remember much of it. But now I know. You're the one who appeared in my dreams, right?"

"......"

Did she?

Ser sifted through her memories but nothing came to mind.

"If I died under your curse, would your resentment be gone?"

Blake asked but Ser couldn't answer.

He spoke again as he calmly watched her.

"If it would, why didn't you kill me quickly? Why did you do this to Ancia instead? You're her friend aren't you?"

Blake asked after recalling the memory,

He didn't know when it happened but the two looked very close.

"...right."

Ser answered quietly, breaking the silence.

"I just need to trust you. Please keep Ancia safe even if I die."

"......"

"And I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry about? Are you going to apologize in Phillip's stead?"

Ser replied coldly. But Blake shook his head.

He wouldn't apologize for what his ancestor did a thousand years ago.

"In my dreams, you screamed so painfully, yet I always forgot when I woke up. I couldn't remember you, so I couldn't help you."

Ser's screams rang ceaselessly in the midst of the flames but Blake couldn't remember any of it when he woke up.

If he remembered it, the goddess of light could've been unsealed earlier.

And Ancia wouldn't have been in that kind of pain.

"I'm so sorry."

He bowed his head and apologized.

***

Blake took the bottle of medicine that Ser gave him and went to Amoria Palace.

As soon as he entered the room, he grasped Ancia's hand firmly.

Her heartbeat was very faint.

"Why did you do that? Stupid..."

Tears welled in his eyes the moment he thought of Ancia walking alone in the darkness.

"Just throw me away. You should have left. Why did you do such a stupid thing?"

He shouldn't have held on to Ancia. He should've let her go when she first wanted to leave.

Thanks to him, Ancia suffered something she shouldn't have gone through.

"I'm sorry."

He thought Rose was Ancia but hesitated because he still had a faint shadow of doubt.

He shouldn't have doubted her.

He should've believed in his intuition. His soul responded to Ancia.

"I love you, Ancia."

Blake held her hand tightly. And without a moment of hesitation, he slipped the medicine into Ancia's mouth.

He didn't care whether he was cursed again or lost his life.

There was no need to worry, because to him, he didn' have any reason for living besides Ancia.

Ancia was his everything. He couldn't give her up no matter what. Even his own life didn't matter.

As soon as the liquid went inside Ancia, Blake's vision blurred.

He fainted, and the empty bottle rolled to a stop beside him.

***

"If I died under your curse, would your resentment be gone?"

When Blake asked that, Ser couldn't answer him.

She was Laontel's friend.

She recalled one of her clearest memories.