[Warning: This chapter contains mature scenes that may not be suitable for younger readers.]

"Why do you suddenly want to go home, Allari?"

By the way he was pouting like a child, my brother Servan was obviously sulking. I decided to retreat into our home on short notice, and he was seeing me off in the carriage with a disappointed face.

His shoulders fell. "Can't you just stay here?"

Mages like us who are officially employed by the tower have our makeshift quarters there, but we still have our own house. That's also where I first woke up as Allari. I'm about to hide there for now.

To quell his sadness, I pulled Servan into a hug.

I couldn't tell him the reason. That I was running away from the tower out of fear that Alistair may come to meet me anytime after reading my letter.

He was suspicious of me the first time we met.

Can a single letter change his mind about me?

"Anyway, make sure to take your meals on time." My brother told me for the nth time. "My plate is presently full with matters concerning the tower so I can't accompany you home, but I'll visit soon."

With that, I left the tower with a heavy heart.

Even Haniel doesn't know about my departure.

I made sure to leave on a day when he was called to the palace by the emperor, and I could already picture him sighing deeply once he learns of my retreat. He gave me an opportunity to reconnect with Alistair, but I wasted that chance and fled.

Seriously, I'm nothing but a coward.

Anyway, my journey on the carriage was bumpy. Every second made me anxious, and I just wanted to get away from the tower as soon as possible.

It will take at least a week to travel from the capital to the tower, and it's been days since Haniel delivered my letter to the grand duke.

If he truly intends to meet me, then he should arrive in the tower soon, that's why I left now.

I still don't have the heart to meet him.

I'm sorry, Haniel.

The carriage suddenly halted.

I kept the hood of my cloak over my head before cautiously peeking from the window. To my shock, it was a knight who had stopped my coachman.

A Lohefalter knight, that is.

I can't be mistaken. On his armour was a badge with a shield and a crimson butterfly. I easily recognized the symbol of the Averill duchy.

Moreover, the knight was somebody I knew.

"We are currently in search for someone. She's a blonde mage who had just left the tower. Would you allow me to confirm the passenger's identity?"

The ironclad knight spoke sternly while eyeing my carriage. His brown hair and notable freckles made me reminisce the few times that I met him.

Sir Louie, I nervously thought to myself.

Come to think of it, I never saw him in the tower so I almost forgot about the grand duke's personal knight. Why did Sir Louie only reappear now?

Wait. This isn't the time to think about trivial things. I just found myself in a predicament.

A blonde mage who had just left the tower, he says. Sir Louie must be referring to me. That means the knights were already dispatched.

With that in mind, I came to a conclusion.

That Grand Duke Averill wants to capture me.

I knew it. I shouldn't have hoped that he'd believe me in the slightest. If he dispatched his knights to search for me, then he must want to arrest me.

Does he think that I dabbled on sorcery? After all, black magic is taboo in this world. The contents of my letter, which tells of my deaths and revival to life, can be interpreted as a result of black magic.

He must deem me as a witch and an imposter.

The idea gripped my heart and squeezed it.

Still, I won't let myself get caught. I'm not a user of black magic. It's not like I ever wanted to die and come back to life repeatedly. I didn't choose this role. The novel chose me to portray this tragedy.

Therefore, I steeled my resolve. I will escape.

When the knight walked up to the door of my carriage, I braced myself. Sir Louie was about to open the door but I did so instantly with all my strength. As a result, he was caught off guard and the grand duke's personal knight lost his balance.

As the door swung open, Sir Louie slumped on the ground in surprise. I took that chance to jump out of the carriage and run. At that time, our eyes met.

"Isabelle!" Sir Louie shouted in panic. "Wait!"

I flinched. He called me by my previous name?

Despite that, I didn't stop. I ran as fast as I could like my life depended on it, even as Sir Louie chased after me while calling my name.

During that exhausting chase, we ended up in the slums situated in the capital. Aside from Sir Louie, two other knights were on my tail the whole time.

"Restrain her!" One of them screamed.

After many twists and turns, it seems that my luck has ran out when they finally cornered me on a dead end. We found ourselves in a dark alley, all of us sweating profusely and short of breath.

"Isabelle," Sir Louie called grimly. "Just stop."

I set my eyes on him, fully ablaze.

"I beg you. I don't want to hurt you." he pleaded.

In one last desperate attempt to fend for myself, I took out the dagger that I've been carrying with me since I left the tower. Like hell I'd get caught.

I was about to lunge at them when a familiar voice thundered from above, stealing our attention.

"Callista!" The voice exclaimed. "You dummy!"

He stood on the roof of a nearby house with an air of arrogance. His jet black hair was swayed by the wind, and his purple eyes twitched in dismay.

It was Haniel.

"Listen," He clicked his tongue before getting into stance. "I love you, but you need to calm down!"

My jaw dropped when the black-haired mage jumped without hesitation and lunged at me.

Before I could even react, I felt him touching my nape and mumbling an incantation. That's when I realized, Haniel casted a spell to put me on sleep.

"My deepest apologies," Haniel whispered as he caught me in his arms. "But know that I would never let you get hurt, so sleep without worry."

With that, I immediately lost consciousness.

---

To my surprise, I woke up in my home soon after.

I immediately glanced over the window. The skies were already turning orange, presumably from the sunset. That means I slept for a few hours.

Confusion filled my face when I found myself comfortably tucked in bed. Beside me, however, was Haniel who stood there with arms crossed.

"Hmm." He smiled warmly. "Finally awake?"

I instantly got up and grabbed a fistful of his black robe. At first he was taken aback, but then Haniel gently caressed my head as if to calm me down.

"Yes, yes. You must have been terrified, Callie." He murmured in a soothing voice. "But I'm here now, so be at ease. Also, I do not mind hugging you all day but we aren't alone here, just so you know."

Haniel stepped aside and gave me a clearer view of the person who stood from a distance. At that moment, my face blanched and I turned to Haniel.

"I assure you, he's only here to talk." Haniel told me then eyed the unexpected guest. "If he dares to hurt you, I shall kill him on the spot. Don't worry."

It was none other than Grand Duke Averill.

"I have never met anyone who's foolish enough to threaten me right on my face." Alistair coldly stated. "Watch your mouth, you insolent mage."

"Your Grace," The black-haired mage smiled with derision. "Even the emperor is frightened by my existence. Why should I ever be afraid of you?"

The two of them stared intensely at each other.

In the end, Alistair was the first one who broke his gaze. He looked away then heaved out a deep sigh.

"Get out, Astana. I'd like to talk with her alone."

Astana?

"Very well." Haniel was about to leave my bedside when I grabbed onto his robe once again, begging him to stay. "Heh, miss me already? How needy."

He gently tapped on my hand clinging onto him.

"Do not be afraid. I promise I'll be right outside." He gave me a reassuring smile. "So talk to your heart's content. I won't leave no matter what."

Despite my qualms, Haniel left me and Alistair in my own house which was a whole mess, by the way. Books and empty bottles were cluttered everywhere, a sign that Servan had previously been here conducting his healing experiments.

That aside, we were both quiet for a while.

When I glanced over Alistair, he was holding a piece of paper. I realized that it was my letter.

I stayed still on my bed. He stood rooted on the doorway. It felt like both of us were too scared to break the silence, to address the presence of each other, and to confront the cold and harsh reality.

However, stars burn when they collide, and at that moment we were burning. It felt like the fire that we were desperately trying to extinguish was finally reignited after holding back for so long.

When Alistair finally spoke, his voice cracked.

"Are you truly the same person?" he asked.

The corner of my eyes moistened at his question.

"If you're lying, then I'm willing to be deceived." The grand duke slowly walked towards me. "If it means that I can have an excuse to hold you again, then I'm willing to jump into your trap."

Grand Duke Averill knelt on the side of my bed.

"Now, tell me. Are you Callista and Isabelle?"

Alistair was willing to be deceived.

It was the same as telling me that, at this point, he doesn't care if I'm lying through my teeth or not.

As we drowned in each other's gaze, it felt like all the moments that we shared in the past reflected on his golden eyes. His fervent stare reminded me that Alistair taught me how to love immensely.

The way I used to brush his silver hair during our secret meetings, the lascivious smiles he used to flash whenever he was spouting dirty jokes... They were all memories on my mind as clear as water.

And so, I mustered all my courage and wrote down my thoughts with trembling fingers.

Yes, Your Grace.

His jaw clenched at my answer.

I'm Callista. Before I died, I even gave you a pet name that I never even got to use. Right, Aki?

Pain registered on his eyes.

I'm also Isabelle. You said you only kiss willing lips, and we had our first kiss in the carriage.

At that point, tears rolled down on his cheeks.

And now in my third role as Allari, I am still helplessly in love with you, Your Grace.

Grand Duke Averill broke down into woeful sobs and buried his face on my hands. My heart sank every time his teardrops slipped on my fingers.

"I'm sorry." Alistair said in between sobs. "I failed to protect you twice. It must have hurt so much."

I couldn't help but cry, too. He sounded so hurt.

"I thought of you everyday. I cried, I grieved, I mourned... and yet the pain wasn't enough to overwrite my love for you. I couldn't let you go."

He gently held onto my hands while crying.

"I couldn't do it. The more I tried to forget about you, the more I remembered why I loved you. All these years, despite taking another woman as my wife, I have only ever loved you with all my heart.

"I lied in front of the gods and spoke my wedding vows while thinking about you. I threw away my self-respect and slept on the same bed with that woman for the sake of avenging your death."

The grand duke got up and lovingly cupped my cheeks with his hands. Just like he usually did in the past, Alistair placed his forehead on mine.

"This time, I will protect you." He whispered in a desperate voice. "I won't ever let you die again."

It all happened so fast. The next thing I knew, our lips were touching. His hands were caressing my face so gently like he's holding something fragile.

At that moment, I only kept thinking of one thing.

That Alistair Kirsten de Averill was married.

And this passionate kiss makes me his mistress.

But I wasn't in the right mind to even bother with my own morality. Our inflamed passion overrode reasoning. I had thought about stopping on that kiss, but it was impossible to end on a kiss at all.

His hands slowly went down on my breasts as the grand duke showered my neck with kisses. He was breathing heavily and moaning through my skin.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization.

"I apologise," Alistair panicked. "My emotions got the better of me. I forgot to ask for permission."

His eyes trembled with desire and longing.

"Am I allowed to do this, Isabelle?"

I quietly nodded in response.

"I won't be able to stop myself halfway, so I want to make sure." The grand duke whispered to my ear. "How much am I allowed to take from you?"

Everything, I mouthed with shaking lips.

I'll give everything to you, so just take it from me.

"Everything, then." he whispered to my ear.

With that, our bodies gave in to the desire.

Alistair didn't even bother to strip my clothes. His hands couldn't stay still at all. One was fondling my breast, the other was on my lower body.

"Isabelle," He breathed my name. "I love you."

My voice was nowhere to be found, and only soft whimpers were able to escape from my mouth as Grand Duke Averill thrust inside me. At first he was gentle, but not only the night got deeper in that moment full of pleasure. He rammed on me all night, as if to make up for the years we lost.

I never regretted giving myself to Alistair.

But if I have any regrets on that night, it was the fact that I ignored the shadow by the doorway.

---

It was already past midnight when Grand Duke Averill fell into slumber beside me. After a long night, he was finally sound asleep like a child.

I was still overwhelmed by this sudden turn of events, so I couldn't sleep a wink despite my exhaustion, so I decided to slip out of bed.

I dressed myself first then quietly made my way out of the house. However, as soon as I stepped out of the door, I was taken aback upon finding Haniel seated comfortably on the balcony.

We were equally surprised to see each other.

"Hm?" His brows lifted. "You're still awake?"

My lips parted. What are you doing here?

As if he heard my inner thoughts, the black-haired mage smiled. "I promised I'll never leave, didn't I? In case things didn't work between you and him."

No. The question is, why did you stay?

"I'm glad it turned out well." Haniel crossed his arms. "I told you, didn't I? Everything will be okay."

If you were here the whole time, then you must've heard everything. The moans of pleasure, the bed creaking, the grand duke calling me all night.

Despite that, why did you stay here?

"Don't think about useless things." Haniel said then chuckled. "I'm here simply because I love you. That's all there is to it, so get some rest."

It was dark, but the moonlight struck his face and helped me get a glimpse on his eyes. Despite his candid words, those orbs showed a bit of sadness.

"It's quite sad." Haniel laughed softly. "I think I am bound to stay in love with you forever. Only death can end this one-sided love of mine to you, Callie."

Back then, neither Haniel nor I even knew.

That once his one-sided love for me ends, my one-sided love for him begins. It was a love that blooms from death amidst that painful summer.

---

This was such a long update! Exceeded my usual word count lol. But I decided to just publish it that way to make up for the days that I couldn't update.

Actually, I was busy with preparations for my graduation, and I finally graduated yesterday.

Also, Every Arc Ends with My Death was #1 on the Tragedy tag the other day. That made me so happy!

Anyway, I'm sorry for the lengthy message. Just wanted to tell you guys why I couldn't update. As usual, thank you for all your votes and comments!

With Love,
Aomine-san