The last traces of sunlight slowly disappeared beyond the horizon.
The sky above Aetherial Institute had turned into a sea of deep orange and crimson.
Long shadows stretched across the empty combat grounds.
The lively atmosphere of the academy had faded.
Students had already returned to their dormitories.
The training fields stood nearly abandoned.
Only the distant sounds of evening life echoed faintly through the academy island.
The wind carried the scent of the ocean.
Gentle.
Cold.
Quiet.
Upon a stone bench near the edge of the training grounds—
Kel and Valeryn remained seated.
Neither had moved for several minutes.
The conversation from moments ago lingered heavily between them.
The confession.
The betrayal.
The blood.
The revenge.
The death.
Valeryn's crimson eyes remained fixed upon the fading horizon.
She had expected many reactions.
Fear.
Disgust.
Judgment.
Hatred.
Those reactions were familiar.
People always had opinions.
People always judged.
People always believed they understood events they had never lived through.
Yet—
Aedon had simply listened.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
The lack of reaction unsettled her.
Far more than anger ever could.
Finally—
The noblewoman broke the silence.
"Aedon."
Kel continued examining his weapon.
"Hm?"
Valeryn's gaze slowly shifted toward him.
The evening breeze moved through her crimson hair.
The fading sunlight reflected within her eyes.
For the first time since meeting her—
A hint of uncertainty appeared there.
A rare sight.
An extremely rare sight.
"Don't you feel anything?"
Kel looked toward her.
"What do you mean?"
The noblewoman folded her arms.
As though trying to protect herself from the question she was asking.
"I told you I killed people."
Her voice remained calm.
Yet something hidden existed beneath it.
Something fragile.
Something old.
"I have taken lives since I was young."
Her crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"Many lives."
A brief pause followed.
The wind passed quietly between them.
Then—
"Don't you feel anger?"
The question lingered.
"Disgust?"
Another pause.
"Fear?"
Her voice became softer.
Almost reluctant.
"Hate?"
The final word carried weight.
Years of weight.
The weight of countless people looking at her differently after learning the truth.
The weight of becoming something feared.
Something whispered about.
Something judged.
Valeryn waited.
Watching him carefully.
Searching his expression.
Searching for the inevitable reaction.
The reaction everyone eventually gave.
Yet—
Kel simply looked at her.
Calmly.
Quietly.
Then answered.
"You were protecting yourself."
Silence.
The answer arrived so naturally that it almost caught her off guard.
The noblewoman blinked.
"What?"
Kel looked toward the darkening sky.
The first stars had begun appearing.
Tiny lights scattered across endless darkness.
Then he continued.
"You weren't killing because you enjoyed it."
His voice remained calm.
"You weren't killing for amusement."
"You weren't killing because you wanted power."
His silver eyes reflected the evening sky.
"You were protecting yourself."
Valeryn remained silent.
The words echoed inside her mind.
Kel continued.
"When someone attempts to destroy your future..."
A brief pause followed.
"...you have the right to defend it."
The noblewoman's fingers tightened slightly.
The memory resurfaced.
The medicines.
The deception.
The betrayal.
The realization that every smile from her trusted maid had been a lie.
Kel continued.
"The noble wasn't trying to court you."
His voice became colder.
"He was trying to erase you."
The statement landed heavily.
Because it was true.
Painfully true.
The young man leaned back slightly.
Then added—
"Saving oneself isn't a crime."
The wind grew quieter.
The academy seemed strangely distant.
For several moments neither spoke.
Then—
Valeryn laughed softly.
Not because something was amusing.
Because the simplicity of his answer felt absurd.
Almost impossible.
The noblewoman shook her head.
"Aedon..."
Her voice carried disbelief.
"You make things sound simple."
Kel shrugged.
"They usually are."
"No."
Valeryn immediately disagreed.
Her crimson eyes sharpened.
"They aren't."
The response came quickly.
Almost emotionally.
The noblewoman stared at him.
"People aren't simple."
"Politics aren't simple."
"Noble families certainly aren't simple."
The frustration hidden inside her voice slowly surfaced.
"The moment blood is spilled, everyone suddenly becomes an expert."
Her expression darkened.
"They judge."
"They speculate."
"They decide who was right and who was wrong."
The bitterness returned.
Old.
Familiar.
Exhausting.
"Yet none of them were there."
The silence deepened.
Kel listened.
Simply listened.
Valeryn continued.
"And despite all that..."
Her gaze met his.
"You still don't seem bothered."
The question returned.
Stronger this time.
More personal.
"Do you truly not fear me?"
The wind moved through her crimson hair.
"Do you truly not feel disgusted?"
Her voice became quieter.
Almost vulnerable.
"Do you truly not hate me?"
The words hung in the air.
For several moments—
Only silence existed.
Far away beneath Scarder Lake—
Seiren quietly listened through their connection.
The goddess remained unusually silent.
No jokes.
No teasing.
No commentary.
Only observation.
Because even she understood this moment mattered.
Then—
Kel looked toward the sky.
Toward the countless stars beginning to emerge.
His expression remained calm.
Peaceful.
Ancient.
As though he had spent a very long time contemplating humanity.
Eventually—
He spoke.
"Who am I to you?"
Valeryn blinked.
The question surprised her.
"What?"
Kel repeated it.
His voice remained gentle.
"Who am I to you?"
The noblewoman frowned.
Confused.
Then answered honestly.
"A classmate."
The answer came after several seconds.
Then she added—
"A partner."
A pause followed.
Then—
"A friend."
The final word escaped quietly.
Almost unintentionally.
Kel smiled faintly.
Then nodded.
"I see."
Valeryn remained confused.
The silver-haired young man looked back toward the stars.
Then spoke.
"Who are you to me?"
The noblewoman opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
The question felt strange.
Because she didn't know.
Not really.
Not yet.
Eventually—
She remained silent.
Then Kel answered himself.
His voice carried neither warmth nor coldness.
Only honesty.
"You are someone I met a few hours ago."
The words sounded almost cruel.
Yet somehow they weren't.
They felt real.
Painfully real.
Then came the sentence that made Valeryn freeze.
"Who am I to hold an opinion of you?"
The wind stopped.
The academy faded away.
Only his voice remained.
"Who are you to me that I should hate you?"
His silver eyes reflected the stars.
"Who are you to me that I should fear you?"
A brief pause followed.
"Who are you to me that I should carry anger toward you?"
Valeryn stared.
The answer wasn't dismissive.
It wasn't uncaring.
It wasn't cruel.
It was simply honest.
Kel continued.
"I don't know enough about you to hate you."
The noblewoman remained silent.
"I don't know enough about you to admire you either."
Another pause.
The young man smiled faintly.
"At the moment..."
His gaze shifted toward her.
"...you're simply Valeryn."
The words landed softly.
Yet somehow hit harder than everything else.
No titles.
No rumors.
No reputation.
No fear.
No expectations.
Simply—
Valeryn.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
The noblewoman lowered her gaze.
For reasons she couldn't explain—
Her chest felt strangely tight.
Because throughout her entire life—
People always reacted to her name.
To her family.
To her strength.
To her reputation.
Rarely to her.
Just her.
Meanwhile—
Kel leaned back.
Completely unaware of the effect his words had caused.
Or perhaps—
He simply didn't care.
Far away beneath Scarder Lake—
Seiren finally spoke.
"You realize she will remember that conversation for years."
Kel blinked.
"Why?"
The goddess laughed softly.
A warm laugh.
A knowing laugh.
"Because sometimes..."
The sacred waters rippled gently around her.
"...being understood is rarer than being praised."
Kel stared toward the stars.
Then shrugged.
The reaction made Seiren laugh harder.
Meanwhile—
Valeryn sat quietly beside him.
The anger.
The bitterness.
The resentment.
For the first time in a very long while—
They felt lighter.
Not gone.
Never gone.
But lighter.
And beneath the endless night sky of Aetherial Institute—
Two students sat side by side in comfortable silence.
Neither realizing that this simple conversation would become one of the moments neither would ever truly forget.