Chapter 3: A Light She Won't Share
Years passed.
Time moved forward quietly—
But the changes it brought were anything but small.
"You're late."
The moment I stepped into the courtyard, she was already there.
Waiting.
She always was.
"…I had lessons," I replied with a helpless smile.
Her red eyes narrowed slightly.
"…You should come earlier."
It wasn't a suggestion.
It never was.
I sighed. "I came as fast as I could."
Only then did her expression soften—just a little.
"…Then sit."
Like always, she patted the spot beside her.
Not across.
Not nearby.
Beside.
Close enough that our shoulders almost touched.
I didn't think much of it anymore.
At some point, this had become normal.
---
She had grown.
The small, lonely girl from before was gone.
In her place stood someone… different.
Her white hair flowed down her back like snow.
Her red eyes, once empty, now held something deeper.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Beautiful—
And dangerous.
More importantly—
She wasn't alone anymore.
"You're going to the army?" I asked.
"…Yes."
Her answer was simple.
Calm.
As if it was the most natural thing in the world.
And maybe it was.
With her talent, there was no place better.
"…You'll be fine," I said. "Actually, you'll probably dominate everyone."
She looked at me.
Quietly.
"…Of course."
There was no arrogance in her voice.
Just certainty.
Absolute certainty.
---
And she was right.
It didn't take long.
Her name spread like wildfire.
A genius.
A monster on the battlefield.
An undefeated force.
People began to whisper again—
Not just about her eyes or hair.
But about her strength.
About her existence.
Fear returned.
But this time…
It wasn't baseless.
"…They're calling you a monster again," I said one day.
We were sitting together like always.
"…Does it bother you?" I asked.
She shook her head.
"…No."
A pause.
Then—
"…As long as you don't."
I blinked.
"…I won't."
Her gaze lingered on me for a moment longer than usual.
Then she looked away.
Satisfied.
---
She became a general faster than anyone expected.
The youngest in the empire's history.
A position others would fight their whole lives to reach—
She took it effortlessly.
And yet…
Nothing changed.
At least, not on the surface.
She still came to see me.
Still sat beside me.
Still waited.
Always waited.
"…You're busy now," I said once.
"You don't have to come here every time."
Silence.
Then—
"…I have time."
"But—"
"…I will make time."
Her voice was firm.
Unyielding.
There was no room for argument.
I raised my hands in surrender. "Alright, alright."
She nodded, satisfied again.
---
Sometimes, I wondered.
Had I really changed her fate?
She didn't seem like the person who would slaughter the royal family anymore.
She wasn't cold.
Not with me.
She listened.
Stayed.
Smiled… sometimes.
"…Maybe things really are different now," I muttered.
I believed that.
I wanted to believe that.
---
But there were things I didn't see.
Things I didn't understand.
Things she never said.
---
In the quiet of the night—
Far away from the palace—
She stood alone.
Looking over the vast lands of the empire.
Her empire.
"…Not enough."
Her voice was soft.
Cold.
Different from how she spoke to me.
"The kingdom…"
Her red eyes narrowed slightly.
"…is not enough."
Power.
Control.
Strength.
She wanted all of it.
Not for glory.
Not for pride.
But for something far more personal.
A thought crossed her mind—
And for the first time that night…
A faint smile appeared.
"…He belongs here."
Not beside the throne.
Not below it.
But above everything else.
Higher than the kingdom.
More important than power.
More important than the world itself.
"…Everything… will be his."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"…So no one can take him."
---
The next day, I met her like always.
Nothing had changed.
At least, that's what I thought.
"…What are you thinking about?" I asked.
She looked at me.
Quietly.
"…The future."
"Oh? Planning something big?"
A small pause.
Then—
"…Yes."
I laughed lightly. "Tell me too."
Silence.
Then she shook her head.
"…Not yet."
"…Mysterious, huh?"
She didn't respond.
She just kept looking at me.
With those same red eyes.
But something inside them had changed.
Something deeper.
Something I couldn't understand.
---
I smiled, completely unaware.
She sat beside me, closer than ever.
And somewhere along the way—
Without realizing it—
I had stopped being just someone she knew.
Just someone she cared about.
I had become something else entirely.
Something irreplaceable.
---
Without knowing it… I was no longer part of the story.
I had become the reason it would change.