The sea was unusually calm that morning.
Rain sat alone at the edge of the stone pier, his gaze fixed on the horizon, as if waiting for something that would never come.
"You look like you're about to pour, sky..."
He murmured unconsciously.
Steady footsteps broke the silence behind him.
He didn't turn, but the voice wasn't unfamiliar.
"You haven't slept in days."
Rick's tone was calm, devoid of interrogation.
"It's hard to sleep when you don't know if what happened was real... or just a long dream,"
Rain said without taking his eyes off the sea.
Rick approached and sat beside him, keeping a respectful distance, as though honoring a space of mourning.
"One of the guards told me you asked about her wing,"
Rick said simply, then added, "It's sealed."
"Why?"
"Because she asked for it."
A silent glance was exchanged between the two before Rick continued:
"She told me her disappearance wasn't an end, but the beginning of a new phase."
Silence.
Then Rain asked quietly:
"Did you really know her?"
Rick let out a short, breath-like laugh.
"No one ever fully knew her. She always wore more than one face. But I did know one thing for sure: she was sincere in what she did for you."
Rain finally turned his head toward him, his gaze deeper than words could describe.
"And who said I ever wanted any of this?"
"She didn't. But you didn't reject it either."
Rick then fixed a firm gaze on him.
"You know… she left me no clear instructions, but she trusted you. A rare kind of trust..."
Rain raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Trust? Or guilt?"
Rick paused for a moment, then said quietly:
"Maybe both. Maybe love, too... but that's not for me to say."
Rain's expression froze at the word. He didn't deny it. He didn't confirm it.
But after a moment, he whispered:
"I was going to tell her... but she left before I could say anything."
Rick didn't reply.
Then, in a softer voice, like a belated confession:
"Tell me, Rick... do you think she was really there? Or have I just... lost my mind?"
Rick answered quietly:
"I still hear her voice sometimes. In the halls... her old commands, her scoldings, her excitement... even her presence.
If that's madness, then I'm afflicted too."
Rick stood up, brushed the dust off his cloak, and gave one last glance at the sea.
"When you're ready... come to the sealed wing.
There are things she left for you. I'll be waiting."
From afar, in the shadow of the stone column, Valeria stood.
Her fragile silhouette swayed with the breeze, but her smile remained steady.
"Thank you, Rick..."