Justeaze and Laurent's days went on like that.
Day after day, they fell into the same small patterns—those little exchanges. Her presence, in a way, filled something that had been missing in Laurent for hundreds of years. It patched the hollow in his chest, made him feel like he wasn't alone anymore, and only strengthened his resolve to keep pursuing what he wanted.
And yet, Justeaze's "success" also marked the beginning of the magi's failure.
It was the wrong beginning—no, the start of a road that had twisted completely off course.
They believed the Third Magic had succeeded. They began producing everything after her using Justeaze as the template, only to discover that no matter what they did, they could never make a second her.
And that was only the start. They couldn't even create anything that surpassed Justeaze.
The Einzbern family produced more and more homunculi, but not one of them achieved the Third Magic again. Still, some were born with true individual personalities, and those at least could remain within the Einzbern family for a long time.
To manage these homunculi, they created a first-generation "humanity terminal." At Laurent's suggestion, they didn't install any personality safeguards, to avoid a collapse later.
Even so, their research stalled.
A magus's life was finite. A homunculus's life was infinite.
Over time, some magi began to realize the limits of their own ability. Worse—they discovered that the homunculi around them might one day be smarter than they were. Some grew jealous and tried to kill the homunculi.
Laurent found out and dealt with them.
Banished from the Einzbern family—that was only the beginning.
Others recognized their own weakness and withdrew of their own accord, realizing they weren't even as capable as the homunculi they'd created with their own hands.
In the end, the conclusion arrived all the same.
Even if human hands could build something that surpassed humanity, they still couldn't build something that would save humanity. Some accepted that truth, and one by one, they left the Einzbern family behind.
Was Justeaze a success?
No.
She was nothing but the magi's complete failure.
Maybe if she'd never been born, they wouldn't have suffered such a devastating blow. But because Justeaze had shown them hope—when they finally learned the truth, they were forced to face how small and ordinary they really were.
Hope and despair are equal in magnitude.
Just like the people who had once worked alongside Laurent to create Justeaze—now, one by one, they had been seen off by Laurent's own hands, buried as age took them.
Perhaps Laurent's existence had been their last straw of hope. Even so, they couldn't endure time's slow torment.
...
In 1790, the homunculi the Einzbern family left behind were completely abandoned by their creators. They continued operating the atelier purely according to the magi's ideals—an atelier built for humanity's salvation, for the reproduction of miracles.
And honestly, the most hopeless person in all of this was still Laurent.
All the laughter from before was gone.
For Jeanne, he had spent a century helping with this research, searching for a way forward—only to discover these magi were half-baked to the end, and had gained nothing.
Sometimes he could still recall what he'd thought a hundred years ago. But in the end, he would only let out a quiet chuckle and find it absurd.
Even so, he didn't give up.
Justeaze watched it all. She wanted to stay by his side, but she could never quite reach his heart.
She wanted to help with his efforts, but there was nothing she could do.
...
Another winter came.
Snow fell, and white swallowed Einzbern. By now, there were no "people" left here at all.
All that remained were Laurent, the homunculi… and Justeaze.
The production of homunculi never stopped. They would follow the procedures the magi had left behind forever, repeating the same work in a loop.
Time hadn't worn down Laurent's patience, but it had dulled his drive—just a little. Still, he longed for a miracle.
Sitting on the second-floor balcony of one of the Einzbern villas, he lifted his head and watched the snow outside.
"How many winters has it been…?"
It was a view he'd seen countless times. Even he was sick of it.
"If Lord Laurent is tired of looking at it, you can go on a date with me~"
Justeaze's voice came from behind him. He couldn't help but laugh.
"It's been a hundred years. You still haven't given up?"
"Yes. If Lord Laurent can pursue Miss Jeanne for hundreds of years, then I will do it too. I will."
Laurent had only told her about Jeanne once, after he finally gave in to her relentless pestering. Now Justeaze brought her up often—she'd even dug through piles of records to confirm Laurent's true identity.
"Hearing you say that makes me feel like I've wronged you."
He patted the spot beside him, signaling for her to sit.
The Einzbern family had lost its magi, but it still had to keep running. And so, the current head of the house was Justeaze.
She'd wanted to hand the role to Laurent, but Laurent had no interest and refused.
By now, even the Einzbern family's homunculus production had become an assembly line. The output wasn't high—they only produced a new one when an old one became unusable, keeping the balance.
Most of them had personalities now. Laurent didn't treat them like tools the way the magi had—he treated them like people. Just like human life, once their functions wore out, they died.
And since Justeaze was now the head of the house, she occasionally had to interact with outsiders. After a while, people saw her silvery white hair and that almost sacred air about her, and started calling her the "Winter Holy Maiden."
At Laurent's words, clear delight surfaced on Justeaze's face, and she quickly sat beside him.
Laurent caught a faint fragrance and glanced at her. Over the years, Justeaze had constantly changed up what she wore. Laurent had seen her in every outfit imaginable—and as for the reason… it hardly needed saying.
Like today: she even had a flower in her hair as a little ornament.
"Lord Laurent… you still haven't given up?"
"Of course not."
Laurent spoke with something like a sigh.
"It's just… I've gone numb in some ways. Sometimes I catch myself praying for a miracle."
"In that case," Justeaze said, "if Lord Laurent goes on a date with me today, I'll tell you some good news."
"You," Laurent said, exasperated, "when did you start acting like such a little devil?"
He shot her a look. "I haven't been keeping tabs on your research these past few years, sure, but what kind of good news could you possibly have for me?"
Justeaze kept her mysterious smile. "Then will Lord Laurent agree and find out?"
As she spoke, she leaned closer and hooked his arm, deliberately pressing her chest against him to steal his attention.
Laurent was long since used to tactics like that. He thought it over—he didn't have anything better to do.
"Fine. I'll go out with you and hear it. But watch your condition. Once you leave, your lifespan starts shrinking."
"It's fine. Spending that much time for a date is worth it."
Justeaze's smile was beautiful—like a flower blooming in white winter.
Every now and then… this girl really could warm your heart.
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, i was too focused on something elseeeeeeeeeeeee ive been playing 7daystodieeeeeeeeeee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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