But it didn’t calm her.

  To change the direction of her thoughts, he added quietly,

  “I don’t understand why you’re reacting like this. Your life… was far harsher than mine.”

  Her head snapped up.

  “What?”

  The word came out sharper than she intended.

  “How do you know that?”

  A flicker of regret passed through his eyes.

  “I apologize,” he said. “When you first entered the Severin, we needed to know who you were. We investigated.”

  Her gaze hardened.

  “You shouldn’t have.”

  He didn’t look away.

  “You’re right.”

  The tension between them sharpened.

  But then she sighed.

  “…I suppose it was necessary.”

  She stepped back slowly, staring at the floor.

  “I wasn’t always like this,” she said quietly. “I wasn’t always… fragile.”

  He listened.

  “I had a family,” she continued. “A loving one. My mom and dad… they were my entire world.”

  A faint smile touched her lips — painful, distant.

  “They never let me feel pain. Not once.”

  Her eyes shimmered.

  “I was their princess.”

  The word hung between them.

  Princess.

  For a brief moment, Kael saw it clearly — the girl she must have been. Protected. Loved. Untouched by cruelty.

  And then—

  Something must have happened.

  Because that softness in her voice carried loss.

  Not nostalgia.

  Loss.

  He didn’t interrupt.

  Didn’t ask.

  For once, the stoic Sword Master chose silence over answers.

  And in that silence—

  Two different pasts stood facing each other.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  One born into duty.

  One torn from peace.

  Both bound now by fate neither had chosen.

  For a moment after hearing her story, Kael said nothing.

  “A princess…” he murmured faintly. “What a coincidence.”

  Before Aira could react, he stood and crossed the distance between them.

  She startled when he suddenly grasped her hand.

  “W–wait—”

  He pulled her gently toward him.

  Her tear-filled eyes lifted, shining like polished crystal on the verge of breaking. Without hesitation, he cupped her cheek.

  The warmth of his palm steadied her.

  The simple gesture shattered the dam she had built inside.

  She stepped forward and buried her face against his chest.

  Her fingers clutched at his shirt as if afraid he would disappear.

  His arms wrapped around her carefully.

  Awkward at first.

  Then firmer.

  “Do you miss them?” he asked quietly, resting his hand against her hair.

  She nodded.

  After a moment he asked, “Do you want to see them?”

  Her body stilled.

  Slowly, she lifted her head. In a trembling voice she asked, “Is… is that possible?”

  He nodded once.

  “I possess an artifact,” he said. “It cannot change the past. But it can allow you to see it.”

  Her breath caught.

  “For ten minutes,” he added softly.

  That was all.

  Ten minutes.

  Yet to someone who had lost everything, ten minutes was a miracle.

  With trembling gratitude shining in her eyes, she whispered, “Thank you.”

  They walked to his office.

  On a high shelf rested an old clock encased in silver metal. A faint gem was embedded at its crown, pulsing gently with light.

  He reached for it carefully.

  “Remember the moment you were happiest,” he told her. “Focus only on that memory.”

  She closed her eyes.

  Her grip tightened around the clock as he placed it in her hands.

  The gem began to glow.

  The ticking deepened.

  The air around them shimmered.

  And then—

  The room dissolved.

  The stone walls faded into sunlight.

  Wood replaced marble.

  The scent of wild grass filled the air.

  They stood in a small village.

  It was beautiful.

  Simple.

  Peaceful.

  A little girl ran past them.

  She ran straight through Aira.

  Aira gasped and turned, instinctively trying to follow.

  Kael caught her wrist.

  “We are still in the room,” he reminded gently. “This is only a projection. You cannot touch them.”

  Her breathing trembled.

  The little girl leapt into her father’s arms.

  Her mother laughed and wrapped them both in an embrace.

  They were smiling.

  The kind of smile that exists only in homes filled with love.

  Aira’s hands began to shake.

  Tears streamed down her face silently.

  If Kael released her now… she might try to run to them anyway.

  “I remember this day,” she whispered. “It was my birthday.”

  The warmth of the memory felt real.

  Too real.

  Then—

  From a distance, three figures approached.

  A beautiful woman.

  Two men behind her.

  Something about them made Kael’s instincts flare.

  The woman smiled as she approached the family.

  She picked up the little girl.

  Spoke softly.

  Then carried her toward a small hut nearby.

  Aira’s father hesitated.

  He trembled.

  As if he knew.

  As if he wanted to stop it—

  But couldn’t.

  Kael’s expression darkened.

  This wasn’t just a memory of happiness.

  This was the day everything changed.

  Aira tried to step forward.

  He turned her around immediately and covered her eyes and ears.

  “The time is up,” he said firmly.

  The village shattered into fragments of light.

  The office returned.

  The clock went silent.

  A sudden chill ran down his spine. His whole body was sweating.

  Kael slowly sat down.

  His breathing was steady.

  But his eyes were not.

  He had seen something before the vision ended.

  Something that everyone was afraid of, something which shouldn't have happened.

  “Sir… what happened?” Aira asked, wiping her tears. “Did you see something?”

  With her sudden words he suddenly grasped into reality. His hands were sweating, he couldn't look at her the way he used to.

  He forced a calm expression onto his face.

  “It was nothing.”

  But it wasn’t.

  He had seen the woman’s eyes. That was her.

  Not human.

  Not kind.

  And the two men—

  Even with the shape of a human their monstrous body and behaviour couldn't hide them.

  He swallowed the realization.

  Then Aira had not simply lost her family.

  They were taken away from her with the worst way possible. She was forced to live this wretched life.

  He looked at her gently and gave a faint smile.

  “So… Princess. Feeling better?”

  She nodded, though her voice trembled.

  “Yes.”

  Then she looked at him with sincerity so pure it almost hurt.

  “Thank you. I don’t know how I could ever repay you, Sir.”

  He studied her quietly.

  Repay.

  The word lingered.

  Those ten minutes of her past had just opened a door that should have remained closed.