Vespertine Family.

Was it a dream?

Was it a memory?

I don't know.

Perhaps it was a memory.

Azariah's memories—My memories.

In the garden of beautiful flowers, a boy covered in mud was picking up flowers of different colors from the garden.

He stood in the middle of the afternoon, his purple hair drenched with sweat, closely sticking as sweat trickled down his face.

He arranged the flowers in his hand. Some of them were white, some were black, some were blue.

He made the flowers into a set of three... for three different people.

Each flower he gathered seemed to hold a special meaning to him.

But what stood out from all this was... his smile.

A pure and innocent smile... a smile that only children could have.

As he arranged the flowers into a small bouquet, the boy's smile widened.

He stood up from his place and began to walk back, jumping happily.

"Az!" His smile widened even more as a girl came running towards him.

"Christy!" The boy shouted with his innocent childlike voice as he took off running towards the girl.

The features of the girl were blurred; I couldn't tell exactly how she looked, but I know her.

I know her all too well.

"What are you doing in the middle of the afternoon?" The girl asked as she cleaned the boy's face with her sleeves, wiping away the dust and sweat while dirtying her own dress.

"Here!" The boy extended one of the bouquets to her with a wide smile, "This one is for you."

Her face lit up with delight as she accepted the bouquet from the boy's outstretched hand. "Thank you, Az! They're beautiful."

"I picked them just for you," he replied with a wide smile.

"But what about the rest of them?" she asked, eyeing the other two bouquets.

"This one is for Aria," the boy replied with a wide smile, "and the last one is a secret."

"Let me guess then," she said after cleaning his face, "this one is for Avril."

"No," the boy shook his head in reply, "I gave one to big sister Avril and Aunt Bel yesterday."

"Then who is it?" she asked, looking at him with pleading eyes.

The boy hesitated for a second before vigorously shaking his head. "It's a secret from Christy."

"Why are your shoelaces not tied?" she asked, noticing his untied shoes.

"I...I don't know how to tie them," the boy replied.

"You're hopeless, Az," she teased affectionately. "Come here, let me help you."

"No, my mother told me one should never down in front of others." As she tired to knelt down the boy quickly stopped her in panic.

"But you are different az, if it means helping you I will always kneel down." She replied before gently she knelt down and carefully tied the boy's shoelaces.

"There you go, all done," she said, standing back up. "Now you won't trip and fall."

"Thank you, Christy," the boy said with a bright smile.

The girl also smiled back as she brought her cheeks close to his, rubbing her cheeks against his affectionately.

As her cheeks brushing against his, the boy closed his eyes, savoring the closeness and the comfort of her touch.

"Don't do that," the boy whispered, his cheeks red as he glanced at her.

"Now, let's find Aria and give her this bouquet. I'm sure she'll love it." Grinning, she replied as she extended her hand.

Nodding eagerly, the boy took Christy's hand.

And just like that....the dream ended.

...

...

...

"Haah...Cough... Cough."

A viscous and violent cough erupted from my mouth the moment I regained consciousness.

The splitting headache only added to my discomfort, blurring my vision of the surroundings.

"Argh..."

Pain surged through me, all too familiar now.

"Huff...Huff..."

I took deep breaths, attempting to calm my racing heart as I slowly scanned the room.

'A hospital room?'

The thought crossed my mind as I surveyed my surroundings: a white ceiling, walls adorned with marble, and the rhythmic beeping of machines in the background.

'Yeah, right. I requested to go to the hospital the moment I emerged from the labyrinth.'

Given my condition after leaving, it wouldn't have been surprising if I had died to blood loss.

But somehow, I managed to make it out before losing consciousness.

Click.

My gaze snapped to the door as it clicked open, revealing a figure entering the room.

"You're awake," she remarked, her eyes fixed on me.

"Althea," I murmured, recognizing the redhead standing before me.

Althea Vespertine, the [Sub-heroine] of the game and the heiress of the vespertine viscounty.

And...One of the best friends of my fiancee.

She approached and settled into the chair beside the bed.

"Couldn't you find a better place to die? Why Vespertine viscounty?" she quipped, her green eyes glaring at me.

"Where are my clothes?" I asked, disregarding her comment as I shifted uncomfortably in the bed, feeling a jolt of pain shoot through my body.

"On the table," she replied, pointing at the side table.

"Argh..." Groaning in pain, I struggled to rise from the bed, but Althea made no move to assist me.

"The Aljanah family has been informed about your condition," she informed me, sifting through some report cards.

"Broken ribs, blood loss, concussion, and various injuries throughout the body," she continued, examining the reports.

Meanwhile, I retrieved my clothes and began dressing, discarding the hospital gown.

"What's this doing here?" I asked, noticing the small hammer placed among my clothes.

"They found it with you," she responded, watching me as I pulled on my pants.

"..I checked your condition Azariah....How long are do you think you going to live with that damaged body of yours?" she inquired, but I remained silent.

"The most you could live is ten years," she continued, despite my lack of response.

"So, what do you want me to do?" I asked, still not meeting her gaze as I shrugged on my jacket.

"....Leave Christina," she insisted, causing me to pause in my movements. "She deserves better than a guy like you."

"....Is that so?" I replied, continuing to dress.

".... Don't ruin her life, Azariah," she whispered softly. "After all she has done for you—."

"What has she done?" I interjected. "She did nothing when I needed her the most."

".... Don't act like you deserved any help from her," she asserted, standing up and walking closer to me. "She could have found someone better than you but she choosed to stick with you."

"I don't have a say in it," I replied, picking up my keys and the black card.

".....You are going to die anyway, so just leave her alone!" She raised her voice, shouting at me.

"Always the bad guy," I replied with a smile. "I am always the bad guy, aren't I?"

".... Azariah, she loved you once, at least think about her happiness," she whispered again, but I chose to ignore her.

"Like I said, I don't have a say in it," I replied as I walked towards the door. "And I'm pretty sure even if I tried to leave her, she won't let me."

[...Are you alright?]

'...Never felt any better, buddy,' I replied as I walked through the hospital corridor.

'How long was I asleep anyway?'

[...Two days.]

'Huh? We don't have much time.'

I replied as I arrived at the main hall, but I halted my movement when I saw another redhead standing at the entrance of the hospital.

[...Do you know her?]

'Yeah.'

Aaliyah Vespertine, the [Sub-heroine] of the game.

"Hello." As I walked towards the entrance, she waved at me.

"Need something?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't approach me unless she needed something.

Come to think of it, no one will until they want something from me.

"Oliver is not answering his calls. Do you know why?" She asked as her red eyes looked at me.

And yeah....she is a simp for Oliver.

".....I will tell him to contact you," I replied as I walked past her.

I have better things to do than being a matchmaker.

'El, tell me all the items I need before we start engraving runes on my body.'