The first time I saw her again, I thought the rain was playing tricks on me.But ghosts don't tremble when they see you.And ghosts don't bleed when you cut them.But she did.
"…Rhea?"The name left my mouth before I could stop it.
The woman standing in the threshold flinched like I'd struck her.Her once golden hair was matted with dirt and cut ragged at the ends.The vibrant light in her amber eyes — the light that once made me believe in something — was dim now, like a candle struggling against the wind.
"Your Highness…" she whispered, voice hoarse.
My fists clenched.Not at her.At fate.At the cruelty of seeing this—another piece of my past, broken and thrown at my feet.
Donmar stepped forward, hand already on his blade."She was caught snooping near the south barracks," he growled. "Claims she was looking for you."
My gaze never left her.Her frame was thinner now, her once proud posture hunched like a beaten dog.
"Leave us," I said, voice low.
Donmar tensed. "Leonhart—"
"Leave."Sharper this time.More dangerous.
He cursed under his breath but obeyed, leading the others out.The heavy door shut with a dull thud.Silence swallowed the room.
"Why are you here, Rhea?"I kept my voice steady, even though my chest felt like it was caving in.
She lifted her chin, and for a heartbeat, I glimpsed the old fire behind those battered eyes."You know why. The capital… the nobles… they're calling you a traitor. A usurper. They say you've allied with the Black Sun. They say you're building an army in the shadows."Her voice cracked. "They say you're going to burn this kingdom down."
I said nothing.Because none of it was false.Because I was already too deep in the blood and the mud to turn back.
"Leon…" Her voice softened. "Please. Stop this before it's too late. I—"She took a step forward. "I know you. I know you're not this monster they paint you as. You saved me once, remember? You protected me from them when no one else would."
My throat tightened.I remembered.I remembered too well.The alley. The blood. The terrified girl who had clung to me like I was her salvation.
But that was another life.Another Leonhart.
"I'm not that boy anymore," I said coldly."He died the day they branded me a villain."
Her face crumpled like I'd slapped her."No. I refuse to believe that. I refuse to believe you would throw everything away for… for this!"She gestured wildly at the maps, the swords, the dark banners lining the walls."This madness. This war."
I stepped closer.The rain outside hammered against the windows like drums of war.
"You want to know why I do this, Rhea?"I bared my teeth in a grin that tasted like poison."Because they left me no choice. Because every time I tried to be kind, to be good, they spit on me. Betrayed me. Cast me out."
I grabbed her wrist — too hard, too tight.She winced but didn't pull away.
"You think this is madness?" I hissed. "No. This is clarity. I see this world for what it is now — rotten to the core. And I will tear it apart, piece by piece, until there's nothing left but ashes."
Her eyes glistened with tears.Not from pain.But from something far worse — pity.
"Leonhart…" she whispered, voice trembling. "You're breaking. And you don't even see it."
I shoved her back.Hard enough that she stumbled, catching herself against the wall.
"Get out," I snarled. "Before I forget that once, long ago, I cared about you."
For a moment, I thought she would leave.But then, Rhea did something that shattered what little armor I had left.
She stepped forward again.Tears streaking down her cheeks.And she hugged me.
Like I was still that boy in the alley.Like I was still worth saving.
My hands hovered in the air, trembling.I could feel her heartbeat against my chest — rapid, desperate.
"Please," she choked out. "Don't become the monster they say you are. Don't lose yourself."
My vision blurred.For a breath, I wasn't in my war room.I was back in that alley, holding a girl who had no one else.I was back before the betrayals, before the blood, before Evelyne's cold indifference and the world's hatred.
But then the door creaked.Donmar's silhouette appeared — a reminder of reality.Of the army waiting for my orders.Of the war that could not be stopped.
I pulled away.My face hardened.My heart sealed shut once more.
"Go back to the capital, Rhea," I said, voice like iron. "Tell them whatever you want. Call me a villain. A tyrant. A monster. I don't care anymore."
I turned away."Because I will not stop until this world bleeds."
Her sob tore through the room like a dagger.And then she was gone.Her footsteps echoing in the hall like the fading pulse of something precious I could never reclaim.
Donmar watched me in silence.His gaze heavy.
After a long pause, he muttered, "She was right, you know."
I didn't look at him.My hands curled into fists until my knuckles cracked.
"Monsters don't get to have hearts, Donmar," I whispered. "Not anymore."
Outside, the rain turned to hail.Sharp. Cold. Unforgiving.Just like me.