Several days had passed since the Ashford family returned from the Valemont mansion.
The excitement of the wedding had faded, leaving the Ashford estate wrapped in its familiar silence.
Rizel had quickly grown attached to the little cat she had brought home from the Valemont garden.
She named her Rose.
Every morning, Rizel searched for her the moment she woke.
She fed her, brushed her fur, and spent hours carrying her around the mansion whenever she had nothing else to do.
For Rizel, the cat had become a small companion.
For Sylvan, it was simply another part of his sister’s quiet world.
Until one afternoon, everything changed.
A servant came to inform Sylvan that the Emperor wished to see him.
His father.
Sylvan immediately made his way to the imperial study.
Lucien Ashford stood beside the tall windows when Sylvan entered.
The room was quiet.
“Father.”
Lucien turned.
“Come in.”
Sylvan walked toward him.
Lucien studied his son for a moment before speaking.
“I have made a decision concerning your next assignment.”
Sylvan remained silent.
“You will be joining the Imperial Legion.”
His expression didn’t change.
“For how long?”
“Three years.”
The words settled heavily between them.
Sylvan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Three years?”
“Yes.”
Lucien’s voice remained firm.
“I am personally assigning you to the Legion.
This will not be a brief deployment.
You will remain there for the entire three-year mission.”
Sylvan absorbed the information without protest.
“When do I leave?”
“Soon.”
There was no hesitation in his father’s answer.
Sylvan lowered his eyes for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“I understand.”
That was all.
No argument.
No complaint.
He accepted the order as calmly as though his father had merely asked him to travel to another province.
But someone else would not take the news so calmly.
Rizel.
When Sylvan returned to his room, he found her waiting outside.
The moment she saw him, she smiled.
“Brother.”
Sylvan looked at her.
“What is it?”
She walked beside him.
“I heard you were with Father.”
“Yes.”
“Did something happen?”
Sylvan stopped.
Rizel immediately noticed the change in his expression.
“What is it?”
“I’ve been assigned to the Imperial Legion.”
Her smile slowly disappeared.
“For how long?”
“Three years.”
Rizel stared at him.
Three years.
The words seemed too large for her to understand.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
“But…
you’re always here.”
Sylvan said nothing.
“You’ll come back, right?”
“I will.”
“When?”
“After the mission.”
Rizel lowered her head.
She tried to hold herself together, but her lips trembled.
“You already left once.”
Sylvan’s expression changed slightly.
Rizel looked up at him through wet eyes.
“You went to the Valemont mansion, and I barely saw you there.”
Her voice cracked.
“And now you’re leaving again.”
Sylvan looked at his little sister.
She was trying not to cry.
That was what made it worse.
He stepped closer.
“Rizel.”
She wiped her eyes quickly.
“I don’t want you to go.”
Sylvan remained silent for a moment.
Then he placed a hand gently on her head.
“I have to.”
“I know.”
She lowered her voice.
“But I still don’t want you to.”
Sylvan’s eyes softened for only a moment.
“You’re stronger than you think.”
Rizel shook her head.
“Not when you’re gone.”
The words struck deeper than she intended.
Sylvan looked away.
For all his coldness, Rizel was the one person he had never learned how to ignore.
She was his little sister.
The last person in this world he could not simply walk away from.
“I’ll write to you,” he said.
“Every day?”
He paused.
“I’ll try.”
Rizel gave a small, tearful smile.
Then she hugged him.
Sylvan stood still for a moment before placing an arm around her.
Neither of them spoke.
Far away from the Ashford estate, the Valemont mansion had returned to its old cruelty.
Rosylin had searched the garden every night.
She searched beneath the trees.
Behind the bushes.
Near the stone benches.
Along the walls.
She called softly for the little cat.
But there was never an answer.
The garden remained empty.
Eventually, she understood.
The cat was gone.
She didn’t know where she had gone.
She didn’t know who had taken her.
And there was no one she could ask.
The small piece of happiness she had secretly protected had disappeared without leaving anything behind.
Rosylin stopped going to the garden as often.
There was nothing left to wait for.
Her sadness followed her everywhere.
And the mansion did not become kinder simply because her heart was already broken.
Irina and Yeon continued their cruelty whenever they found her alone.
A harsh word.
A shove.
A hand striking her arm.
A dress pulled from behind.
Small cruelties that left no witnesses.
Rosylin endured them silently.
She had become good at silence.
She had learned it from the people around her.
One evening, after another day of humiliation, Rosylin found herself standing outside her mother’s room.
She hesitated before knocking.
“Mother?”
There was no answer.
She opened the door slowly.
Lady Sia was inside.
The moment she saw Rosylin, her expression changed.
“Rose…”
Rosylin didn’t speak.
She walked toward her mother.
Then, without saying anything, she lowered herself beside her and rested her head against Sia.
For a moment, Sia simply held her.
Rosylin closed her eyes.
She wanted to stay like that.
Just for a little while.
She wanted to remember what it felt like to have a mother.
Then she whispered,
“Mother?”
“Yes?”
“Am I really your daughter?”
Sia froze.
Rosylin opened her eyes.
She didn’t look up.
“If I really am your daughter…”
Her voice trembled.
“Then why do you stay silent all the time?”
Sia’s eyes filled with tears.
“Rose…”
“You know what they do to me.”
Her voice was quiet.
“You know how they treat me.”
Sia tried to speak.
“I…”
“But you always come secretly.”
Rosylin finally lifted her head.
Tears were already gathering in her brown eyes.
“You come when nobody is looking.”
Her voice broke.
“You hold me.
You tell me you love me.
And then you leave.”
Sia reached for her.
Rosylin pulled back slightly.
“Why?”
Sia couldn’t answer.
That silence hurt more than any answer could have.
Rosylin stared at her mother.
“I kept waiting for you.”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“When I was little, I thought you would come one day and stop everything.”
Her lips trembled.
“I thought maybe you would tell them that I was your daughter.”
Sia covered her mouth, fighting back a sob.
Rosylin looked away.
“But you never did.”
“Rose, please…”
Rosylin shook her head.
“No.”
She wiped her tears with trembling fingers.
“You don’t have to come anymore, Mother.”
Sia stared at her.
“What?”
“You don’t have to come and see me secretly.”
Her voice became quieter.
“You don’t have to feel sorry for me anymore.”
“Rose…”
“I don’t want your sympathy.”
Sia reached for her hand.
Rosylin slowly pulled it away.
“If you can’t stand beside me…”
She swallowed hard.
“Then please stop making me believe that someday you will.”
The room fell silent.
Sia could only watch as her daughter stood.
Rosylin turned toward the door.
“I’m tired, Mother.”
She paused.
“I don’t want to wait anymore.”
Then she walked away.
The door closed softly behind her.
Sia remained where she was, tears running silently down her face.
Outside, Rosylin walked through the corridor alone.
She didn’t cry this time.
Perhaps she had already cried enough.
She simply kept walking.
At the other side of the kingdom, preparations were already beginning for Sylvan’s departure.
Three years.
That was how long he would be gone.
And neither Sylvan nor Rosylin knew that the distance between them would soon become far greater than the miles separating Ashen from the Valemont estate.
One of them was leaving because duty demanded it.
The other was being left behind because no one had ever chosen her.
And somewhere between those two lives, a promise remained unfinished.
A promise made beneath the midnight moon.
A promise that would have to wait three years.