YW | Prologue

The Wecker Family has a secret about the Star Eye that no one knows. It grants its owner’s earnest wish just once, in any form. The problem is, it really does grant it in any form.

⋆⭒˚☾⋆.˚ ⋆⭒˚☾⋆.˚ ⋆⭒˚☾⋆.˚

Sunlight that couldn’t be fully covered by the awning settled on my cheek. Wherever I looked, petals of various colors swayed, and the fragrance was overwhelming.

“Why do you seem so down these days? Is someone bothering you?”

The apple pie in Arnoute’s hand lightly touched my lips, but no one scolded the action as frivolous. As I forced my jaw open to chew, the mushy texture in my mouth gave me chills.

“There’s no way.”

I forced the corners of my mouth to lift.

There’s no one here who would bother me.

The whole world was warm. Wherever I went, gazes and greetings followed, and even with my eyes closed, their love touched my skin. The sunlight was warm, the breeze was cool, and when it rained, there were countless people ready to offer an umbrella.

It was kindness to the point of suffocation.

Truly, to the point of suffocation.

“Sir Burnel found Hecte Lopez’s new work. He said to bring it as soon as possible, even if we skip some procedures.”

So, smile.

The unspoken words naturally followed.

“Or should we go buy some jewelry? You like shiny things, right?”

My eyelids trembled. The more words were added, the harder it became to hide my gaze.

The mushy texture of the apple pie was disgusting, the abstract art was incomprehensible, and the jewels that reminded me of the Star Eye were the worst.

Everything they believed I liked were things I absolutely loathed. But what truly made me sick was something else.

“Lili.”

A nickname I never liked from the moment I first heard it. The longing gaze that seemed to look at something behind me, even while looking at me. Every time I was called that, the resolve I had barely held onto crumbled.

“Did we upset Lili again?”

The foreigner who took over my body in the summer of my twentieth year still clutched my neck like a shadow even now.

Amidst the stifling frustration, a surge of sorrowful emotion welled up.

It wasn’t because I was Liriel Wecker that I wasn’t loved.

It was because I was me.

The first spring day with my family wasn’t warm. It felt so hot that my skin seemed to burn.

⋆⭒˚☾⋆.˚ ⋆⭒˚☾⋆.˚ ⋆⭒˚☾⋆.˚

To Cassius Baltar, life is boredom. It’s so dull that it’s utterly tiresome.

People called Cassius a demon mad with revenge for his actions of cutting down his parents and the servants of the Grand Duke’s residence, but strictly speaking, that was incorrect.

Even when enduring life in a basement cold enough for teeth to chatter, or when he had to wield a sword as big as himself on the battlefield, it wasn’t revenge that drove him, but rather the desire to end the bothersome tasks quickly.

What Cassius wanted was simply peace, but no one knew that.

It wasn’t long ago that he finally grasped what he had longed for.

The peace he experienced for the first time since birth wasn’t as warm as people said. It wasn’t dazzling with colors, nor was each day joyful.

Rather, he often felt as if something sticky was swallowing him whole, but the thought of suffocating like this didn’t seem so bad.

As he reached the end of his only wish, the time he spent awake gradually became shorter than the time he spent asleep. Naturally, nothing in the world stimulated him.

Even as he thought he had become somewhat broken, he had no will to fix himself now.

His sunset-colored eyes, blinking blankly, alternated between the sword and the cigarette on the desk.

If I stabbed my neck in one go, this tiresome act would end.

Cassius stood still for a long time. It was quite a while before he stretched out his long arm.

Contrary to his thoughts, his hand picked up the cigarette instead of the sword and naturally lit it.

It’s too early to grant my father’s wish.

‘Satan’s spawn, fall into hell! When you die, I’ll be the first to laugh at your torn limbs! I’ll dance on your rotten corpse!’

Recalling the pitiful end of the man who shouted until his vocal cords nearly burst just before the sword touched his neck, Cassius’s lips curled up for the first time in a while. It was amusing to think such words could be a curse.

Only those who’ve been to heaven fear hell; for him, this place and that place were all the same.

His weary gaze turned to the window.

Life is dull, and the world is monochrome. The branches fluttering outside the window and the snow piled up were all gray.

Suddenly, it seemed like those things would never have color until the day he died.

Truly, uncharacteristic.

It was a night filled with trivial thoughts.