Her silvery hair draped down, and her transparent purple eyes were exactly as he remembered Aneli. She stood motionless, wearing a dark-colored cloak over her pale, gaunt face, gazing at him.
"Aneli."
The moment he confirmed her identity, Maksel called out to her with an unwitting desperation in his voice. Aneli, who had been standing like a doll, shifted her eyes slightly.
Her gaze, which had been subtly misaligned, now met his directly. However, her closed lips showed no sign of parting.
Maksel recalled that she was a resurrected being. Had errors in her memory occurred when she was brought back to life?
"Do you recognize me?"
Still, she made no reply and only stared blankly at him. Maksel, having completely released his grip on his sword, was about to take another step when Aneli suddenly whirled around.
"Aneli!"
Maksel urgently chased after her. However, as he tried to cut through the flower bed, plants tangled stubbornly around his legs, slowing him down. When he forcefully thrashed through the flowers, the stems were torn up, exposing their roots.
"Wait, Aneli!"
In a brief moment, Aneli disappeared among the flowering trees. Even the clouded moonlight obstructed his view.
Maksel arrived at the spot where Aneli had been standing and looked around.
*Rustle.*
A sound came from beyond the dense flowering trees. Fearing he might lose the sound, Maksel ran quickly.
But the path was poorly visible, and the tree branches kept scratching his face and body. Annoyed, Maksel drew his sword and began cutting through the branches without hesitation.
Before he knew it, he was standing among rose bushes. The hand that had been swinging the sword was scratched by thorns, and his legs were pricked by thorns piercing through his trousers.
His body, advancing recklessly, finally stopped only after feeling stinging pain.
The strong scent of roses made his head dizzy. Maksel gritted his teeth and cut down the nearest rose bush.
In the opened view, a black shadow appeared.
"Aneli, it is you, isn't it?"
Aneli had her hood pulled low, her back turned to him. Had she recognized him and tried to flee?
"I heard you were kidnapped by monsters and I was very worried. I'm glad to meet you."
Maksel steadied his voice as calmly as possible so as not to startle her.
"I've come to take you."
Though these were words meant to capture her, the longer he spoke, the more his own heart trembled.
Maksel fell silent for a moment, trying to suppress the surging emotions rising within him. Even with the cloak wrapped around her, her somehow gaunt silhouette evoked old memories. Of when he first met Aneli, who had looked small and fragile.
At that time, Maksel had certainly felt excitement. He had been proud that this beautiful lady was his fiancée, his companion for life.
Maksel finally realized the identity of the emotion that had been unsettling him all along.
"I... missed you."
Aneli Roam, whom he had believed would naturally be with him for a lifetime.
Maksel had secretly visited Aneli when she was imprisoned. At that time, he certainly harbored some pity and guilt toward her.
With what kind of eyes had Aneli looked at Maksel, who stood unable to hide his complicated feelings?
'I heard you're choosing Lilia instead of me.'
Her purple eyes were empty. They were not firm as always, nor did they radiate cold love.
'You are no longer the Crown Prince's fiancée, Aneli.'
'That's right. I am no longer your fiancée, Maksel.'
That day, Aneli admitted it for the first time. That her connection with him had ended.
'If you love her.'
In the poor prison environment, her already deteriorating health had become even worse.
'You must send me out of this capital forever. No, please, I beg you to do so.'
With a hoarse voice, Aneli spoke. Saying that she no longer loved him, so please let her go.
'If you respect the feelings I once sent you, let me face my death in peaceful love.'
Lilia had said that Aneli was obsessed with him until her death, but Maksel knew better than anyone that this wasn't true.
Because he had seen it himself.
Because he had heard the word "end" finally come from Aneli's tattered lips.
'You say you'll find new love?'
At that moment, what Maksel felt was anger.
'Aneli, all the citizens of the empire condemn and despise your wickedness. Outside this palace, there is no such thing as the peaceful love you seek.'
Aneli cannot let go of Maksel. Having failed to obtain what she longed for, she should naturally remain obsessed until the end.
'Your entire life was for the imperial palace, so you must face its end here as well.'
It was Maksel who had forced Aneli to remain obsessed until her death. Having the audacity to dream of new love after putting herself in this state was outrageous, so he erased all remaining pity and guilt.
And now, the resurrected Aneli stood before him.
God had returned her to him.
"I missed you, Aneli Roam."
At his voice filled with more certainty than before, Aneli's shoulders flinched. Maksel reached out his hand toward her shoulder.
At that moment, Aneli, who had remained silent all this time, asked in a strained voice.
"If you missed me, why did you make me like this...?"
Before he could grab her shoulder, she turned around first and removed her hood. Just then, the clouds parted, and bright moonlight poured down over their heads.
"Why did you do that...?"
There was nothing on her torso beneath the dark cloak.
"Heok!"
Maksel gasped and hurriedly stepped back. The headless body swayed as it stood facing him.
"Why? Why? Why? Why?"
"Aaaah!"
A delicate voice, as if taking its last breath, endlessly repeated the word "why."
Maksel shuddered and quickly turned his body. The nearby rose bushes scratched his body wildly, but he felt no pain.
Then, the moment he forcefully pushed away an obstructive branch.
*Bzzzt!*
Multiple bees flew out from between the leaves all at once.
"Aah!"
Maksel ran, flailing his arms wildly in the air. However, the thoroughly angered bees began stinging his face, hands, and back all over.
The people inside the building heard the scream late and came running toward Maksel. Shouts were exchanged as they ran through the flower bed in the dark of night. Meanwhile, Maksel's screams continued.
The appearance of the Crown Prince, who barely managed to escape into the building with the support of others, was unspeakable. Eventually, they decided to urgently return to the city.
Everyone was in chaos, searching for a doctor to examine the Crown Prince immediately, and carrying out his orders to search the flower bed while shouting.
The next day, the city citizens were dumbfounded upon seeing the ruined flower farm.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince, who had become a mess from bee stings, could not carry out his official schedule and urgently returned to the imperial palace. The First Prince, who had coincidentally accompanied him, took over several of his originally planned duties.
Despite the attendants firmly keeping silent through the night, rumors that 'the Crown Prince caused a disturbance after seeing something in the flower bed' spread quietly.
Then, specific testimony emerged from someone's mouth that the Crown Prince had seen a ghost, was frightened, and got stung by bees while fleeing.
Finally, it was concluded that what had been sighted in the city was not a dullahan but a ghost.
Afterward, the flower farm ruined by the Crown Prince became even more famous as a ghost sighting location.
Later, this 'Ghost Farm' would become established as a unique tourist attraction in the Freya region, but that was a story for a more distant day.
* * *
"Why didn't I think to record a video?"
I should have preserved it forever as a video. Even if I couldn't release it publicly since I might be tracked down, I could have used it for blackmail later, right?
Only after leaving the city did I recall the existence of the video recording device, and I was in the midst of repeated regret atop Nadev.
Finally, Zenon, who had been silently driving his horse on my right, couldn't hold back any longer and spoke.
"If you had delayed to record video, we wouldn't have escaped safely."
His point wasn't wrong, but the regret remained.
I clicked my tongue and glanced to the left. The person wearing armor thoroughly and even a helmet, who was driving their horse, felt my gaze and flinched.
"Good work, Palides."
"I, I'm glad I could be of help."
At my praise, Palides twisted their body in embarrassment. Palides was the very dullahan who had run away upon seeing me.
The seventh knight who lost their head and wandered searching for it, Palides.
When I met Palides again at the farm late at night, she did cry upon seeing me but didn't run away. Jigor had apparently persuaded her very earnestly.
'In a panic state, you say? You were scared yourself?'
'No matter how hard I tried, a head wouldn't form... It was humiliating to meet the Captain in such a hideous and terrifying form...'
Palides explained so. After awakening and transforming, she saw her reflection in the water and became frightened, falling into a panic state.
'But your true form is a dullahan anyway.'
You don't have a head originally. You said you even lost the head you carry at your side.
'But when I transform, I have to create a head even if there isn't one! Jigor and Tristan look perfectly fine!'
[...You want to be like a bumblebee?]
Tristan, who couldn't listen anymore, asked back in an exasperated voice, and Palides waved her hand toward him as if shooing away a fly.
'Kyah! I hate insects! They're gross!'
[You're a headless human calling someone else gross!]
'Right, I don't have a head. Good heavens. If I was going to transform into this state, I should have just become a insignificant bird like Jigor!'
[Insignificant! I am Jigor, the knight who makes enemies tremble in fear on the front lines!]
Recalling that noisy conversation at the farm made my head throb again.
Since Jigor and Tristan's voices couldn't be heard by others anyway, it didn't matter, but Palides had transformed into a human, so direct conversation was possible and she had to be calmed down.
Fortunately, Zenon and Heinri had drawn the attention of the nearby knights beforehand.
Anyway, thanks to Palides actively stepping forward out of guilt for running away from me initially, the plan was easy to execute.
It became even easier to carry out due to Maksel's actions when he came out alone to get some air.
"If we had followed the original plan, we would have had plenty of time."
"The original plan?"
Pretending not to hear Zenon's puzzled question, I turned my gaze to the distance.