A life that ended by one’s own hand, not the hand of others.
Riv smiled bitterly.
“No, I don’t want to.”
This life was too precious to end.
Riv could not predict the consequences if she quit magic.
She thought of Lionel. She didn’t want to leave Lionel’s side.
Philip shook his head.
“The Duchess’ body must have already started showing signs of abnormality.”
“That!”
“And damage will also be done to your husband, the Duke.”
“…!”
Lionel, the only person that kept Riv alive and made her persevere.
“I…I love Lionel! We are happy now!”
“Do you believe that his heart is real, that this life is real? Is it an illusion created by magic?”
Riv came back using magic and lived only for him.
These days should have been the most wonderful and happiest of Riv’s life.
But what if it was an illusion created by magic?
The moment Riv quit her magic, everything would disappear like a mirage.
“I-I!”
Returning to the timeline where Lionel did not meet Riv, she would be erased from this world.
Riv began to sob.
“All I wanted was to live! I’m happy to be alive! I came back! Why?!”
Philip spoke sternly.
“Olivia de Sentoren, your promised time is up.”
Riv became desperate.
“But there is still time until then!”
“You have changed your destiny, and you have changed the fate of your husband.”
“So? Do you want me to admit that I’m disappearing?”
“Yes. If you do not choose extinction on the scheduled day, your remaining magic will run wild and everyone around you will disappear from this world.”
Philip’s words were false.
They had to be lies.
Riv was a witch. She wanted to say that it would be different because she turned back time using a magical tool, but she knew it wasn’t.
Riv was dying.
She took off the gloves she was wearing.
Her fingernails and fingertips had become invisible. Her hand was there, but she couldn’t see it.
Riv became convinced of her own extinction.
If he was really right…
Philip held out a letter to Riv.
“When your mind is calm, read it.”
***
Philip looked back at the Duke’s mansion.
The gigantic mansion was enveloped by a gray sky. He exhaled white steam.
It was a bitterly cold winter.
It looked like it was going to snow in two or three days.
Philip remembered a woman with white skin, as pure as snow.
A witch of time, Shana. A woman who would have become his mother-in-law.
-“Philip Katana.”
Shana had a spiritual connection with Phillip at the end of her life.
He could still hear her voice clearly in his ears.
-“I will die giving birth to my child. A daughter. She will grow up lonely.”
Shana.
-“Philip, you will find my child after she is married. And you’ll understand what I’m saying.”
Shana spoke with a sad face.
-“If you meet her, you will understand her condition. Please stop her then.”
She begged.
-“She will be using magic. According to your original destiny, you and the child will never meet. If you and the child meet, it means that she has come back, against fate.”
Shana clearly said so. It was a bizarre story Philip had tried to forget.
So it was exactly what he remembered.
Today’s Philip was a ghost in a shell.
“God, why did you give me such suffering?”
While still alive, Philip loved Shana.
He wanted to set her free and be with her, but he failed. His father, Count Katana, expelled him.
Then Shana said to Philip.
-“We will never meet again.”
Shana died while giving birth to her child.
A few years later, Philip also died.
He did not know whether his soul was eaten by the reaper or whether he was always the reaper. Regardless, since then, he had possessed his body occasionally.
Twenty years after he parted ways with Shana, he heard a glamorous scandal involving a woman who was believed to be Shana’s daughter.
When he met Riv Sentoren, Philip realized.
‘Shana’s words were true.’
Riv was a witch who tried to resurrect herself with magic.
And the reaper was the one who gave Riv her life back.
But now, Riv had to pay the price for her magic.
“God, grant peace to us all.”
The ghost in Philip’s shell genuinely prayed.
***
After Philip left, Riv locked herself in the Duchess’ room.
Her body was trembling. Her face looked unusually white and colorless.
She looked like a living ghost.
“Haha.”
Riv crumpled the letter Philip had given her.
She wanted to tear up the d*mn letter and set it on fire.
But…
After a while, Riv opened the letter.
She quickly scanned its contents.
[Magic is maintained by consuming the magical powers of wizards and witches.
The moment magical power is depleted, the magic disappears.
Wizards and witches were devoured by their magic once it failed, and faced extinction.
They disappeared, along with their memory.
They were erased as if they never existed.]
It was as if Philip was whispering into Riv’s ear.
-“Do you want to sacrifice your loved ones?”
-“Did you not see the signs of your extinction?”
Riv’s body showed symptoms of extinction.
“It won’t only be me, but the people around me as well?”
Riv sat down, immersed in her thoughts.
She took off her gloves and stared at her fingertips.
“Ah.”
Last night, her hand had disappeared, but now her wrist had become invisible.
Her arms looked like they were going to disappear soon.
In the dark bedroom, even though there was no sunlight, the skin of her hands and arms glowed transparently.
“There’s no use crying now.”
Riv realized her own disappearance was inevitable and felt detached.
Invisibility would swallow her entire body as it progressed.
“There’s not much time left.”
In any case, she was prepared for the end.
Riv didn’t cry. Her magic powers were still intact.
Riv removed the Duchess’ ring from her pendant necklace.
The ring was the same, but the ruby stone was cloudy.
Riv had to admit it.
It was difficult to endure in this body.
“I may have just dreamed that I was alive.”
What if all of this was an illusion created by magic?
A man-made dream.
As a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a butterfly and flying freely.
It was only after waking up that she realized that it was only a dream.
Similarly, Riv Sentoren was an illusion of the dead Riv Katana.
If she quit her magic, she would wake up from this dream, dead.
The real Riv was killed by Marianne.
“All I wanted was a happy life.”
She didn’t know that the moment she found happiness, she would disappear.
“It’s sad.”
Riv read the rest of the letter.
[You are familiar with the process of magic.
The moment your magic disappears, your existence will be completely erased as if you never existed.
No one will remember you.
So don’t be sad or distressed. Everything will return to normal.]
Riv decided not to suffer any more.
“It is now.”
When she decided to take control of her life, everything felt easy.
All that was left to do was clean up.
‘Is it fortunate that there is nothing I can do, even if I try?’
If she disappeared, her possessions would also disappear.
She didn’t have to distribute her things. Even writing a letter to someone would be in vain.
‘Even if I don’t choose extinction, I won’t last long.’
Chewy, who had been playing happily, came to her room and lingered around her.
Riv stroked the dog with her transparent hands.
***
Anna looked at Riv.
“Madame, you look particularly pale. Did you catch a cold?”
“I seem to be having trouble sleeping these days.”
“Are you worried about Priest Philip, who visited earlier? Did he threaten you?”
They seemed eager to track down Philip and argue.
Anna and Claudel were very worried about Riv.
“It’s not because of that.”
“Then should I call a doctor?”
“If you’re in pain, why not take a warm bath? It is too cold for a walk.”
“Why don’t you go to the greenhouse?”
“I’ll go to the greenhouse for a while. It will be warm there.”
Riv’s complexion seemed to have improved.
The two looked somewhat relieved. Riv called Claudel and Anna before she went to the greenhouse.
“Claudel, Anna.”
“Miss Riv?”
“My Lady?”
“Thank you.”
Even though saying thank you or sorry was meaningless.
Riv locked herself in the greenhouse, and stared at the tropical plants.
Her heart had regained its composure. But that didn’t change her situation.
“I really don’t want to die.”
***