Liliana bowed her head, unable to hold back her overwhelming tears. 

 

Everything about this situation was unbearably horrible.

 

‘What am I even doing…’

 

Countless emotions, impossible to define with a single word, swirled inside her. 

 

It felt as if all those emotions were converging behind her eyes, making the rims of her eyes grow increasingly hot.

 

Around that time, Theodoro’s voice, low and slightly choked, washed over her ears.

 

“You didn’t need to come all the way here. I was so preoccupied with getting here that I didn’t think it through.”

 

When she slowly turned to look at him with tear-filled eyes, Theodoro was pressing his temples, showing clear signs of exhaustion.

 

“I’ll make sure you never have to see something like that again.”

 

“…”

 

“I’m sorry about this incident.”

 

“…!”

 

Her heart felt like it was crumpling and collapsing. She didn’t want to hear him apologize to her, not even a little.

 

The man named Theodoro Domenico Benedetti needed to remain the villain in her story, forever. He should have stayed exactly the same as he was the day he pointed a gun at her.

 

So why was he…

 

Liliana shook her head vehemently and bit her lip.

 

A thought brushed past her mind: perhaps the mistake started the moment she decided to throw herself into this world.

 

If she could just go back to November 4, 1961, even once, she wouldn’t choose to be by Theodoro’s side.

 

But as she listened to the story Theodoro told next, she felt it with her entire being—Whether it was a wrong choice or not, whether she regretted it or not, the time when she could have turned back had already passed.

 

💫

 

“Hah… aghh…!”

 

Her breath was caught in her throat, but she couldn’t stop running. 11:10 PM. She was very late for her appointment with Wayne. 

 

Even if she had been on time, maybe Wayne wouldn’t have shown up.

 

‘But still…’

 

Nevertheless, right after the Benjamin Wolf situation was resolved, Liliana had no choice but to hail a taxi and come to the meeting place.

 

For her, who could neither let Wayne go nor send him away, that was the best she could do.

 

The clock tower of the park where they had agreed to meet was getting closer. 

 

And beneath it, a dark figure standing under the bright lights was also beginning to come into clear view.

 

He had dazzling blond hair, as brilliant as the pouring streetlights. His long black coat, which reached all the way down to his ankles, had its shoulders covered in white snow, showing how long he had been standing there.

 

“Ah…”

 

Liliana swallowed the tears that had been rising all day once more and quickened her running pace.

 

But the tall man slowly turned his back and began to walk away, and the man who had seemed within reach just moments ago was now growing distant.

 

“Wayne…!”

 

Every step she took, landing on the ground, was filled with desperation. 

 

But her high heels slipped on the piled-up snow, and her body tumbled forward heavily. Her body, crashing onto the cold ground, hurt enough to bring tears to her eyes, but she couldn’t pay attention to that.

 

“Ugh…! Wayne Boyd!”

 

It was a final, scream-like cry. 

 

At that moment, the man’s footsteps, which had been treading the lonely snow, stopped, and he looked back.

 

“…!”

 

His eyes widened, capturing the image of the pale woman on the snowy field. 

 

Wayne, who had been frozen for a moment, came to his senses a few seconds later and rushed towards her in a single breath.

 

“Haa, ha… Lilliana?”

 

The face he thought he would never see again was stained with a mix of complex, subtle emotions. Whether she was happy, sad, or angry, he couldn’t tell. 

 

With an unreadable expression, Wayne hurriedly helped her up.

 

Her lips moved as if to say something, but he couldn’t utter a word… 

 

In the end, he pressed his lips tightly together and silently began brushing the snow off her.

 

His hand suddenly flinched and paused in mid-air.

 

“…!”

 

“Ah… this is…”

 

It was a blue dress, its hem stained a purplish hue, as she had been walking through the warehouse. Though she tried hastily to hide it, she couldn’t conceal the long, trailing skirt within her coat.

 

Wayne stopped her, who was at a loss for what to do, and let out a bitter smile.

 

“Is this… the reason you were late?”

 

“Ah, no… I didn’t do this, I mean…”

 

Lilliana hesitated, as if making an excuse, but ultimately swallowed her words. 

 

A look of self-deprecation flashed across her eyes.

 

What could she even say? She didn’t know where to start, how, or what to say.

 

“…”

 

“It’s alright. You don’t need to explain.”

 

Wayne offered a faint smile and slightly turned his head away.

 

He looked towards the shadowed part of the park beyond and, despite having waited for her for a long time, remained silent for a while. 

 

Under the streetlight, he just quietly watched the white snowflakes fluttering down.

 

After a long silence, he finally managed to speak.

 

“…Was it intentional?”

 

“No… It was a coincidence. Our meeting.”

 

“…”

 

No answer came, and once again, an empty silence enveloped the two of them.

 

He moistened his dry lips repeatedly, as if he had many things he wanted to say, many things he was holding back. 

 

But the words he so carefully chose were neither an accusation, a reproach, nor a lament.

 

“I really like what I do… I have a dedication so strong I can feel it myself. If someone were to ask me why, I couldn’t explain it, even to myself. It’s probably similar to how I was irresistibly drawn to you.”

 

“…”

 

“But the paths that you and I must take are clearly different… I think this is probably… as far as we could go together.”

 

“Ah… Wayne…”

 

Wayne turned his head and looked at Liliana. 

 

A sad smile, one that would make an observer’s heartache more, hung on the corner of his lips.

 

“There are many things I want to ask… There was still so much I wanted to learn about you, but I won’t ask. The reason I waited for you here was to say my final goodbye.”

 

“Wayne, wait—”

 

“It was enjoyable. Truly. Please take care of yourself.”

 

“Ah…”

 

With that final farewell, Wayne turned away.

 

On the pure white snowfield, blank as a sheet of paper, distinct footprints began to be imprinted, one by two. 

 

Liliana’s pale eyes, capturing that scene, blankly lost their focus.

 

‘It can’t end like this.’

 

“No, you… You can’t turn away like this. Then what meaning do all the days I have to endure from now on have…”

 

Her face suddenly contorted.

 

After seeing Benjamin Wolf’s body, she felt like giving up and leaving everything behind. She even briefly considered living an ordinary life like everyone else, pretending none of it ever happened.

 

She hated this cruel world so much, and she didn’t want to get any more involved with the man who was being kind to her, completely unaware that he was the one who had killed her.

 

But she now realized she couldn’t quit.

 

When ‘that topic’ came up, Theodoro was leaning his head on his arm, which was resting on the windowsill.

 

“My brother said that. That he hopes we can continue as before, just like we used to.”

 

“…”

 

“It’s ridiculous. Even as he was saying those words, he must have been thinking about whether the assassination tonight would succeed.”

 

His tone was sarcastic, but the expression on his face didn’t match the voice coming from his mouth at all. 

 

It was just gloomily sunken, as if under a dark cloud.

 

“Until that very moment… no, until the moment I heard the news from Paul, I was still hoping. Hoping that my brother would change his decision.”

 

He slowly stretched out his other arm and grittingly, grabbed the steering wheel. 

 

Just like the leather steering wheel crumpling under his grip, the line of his mouth gradually twisted.

 

“My brother will think I ruined everything, but he’s wrong.”

 

“…”

 

“For the past eight years, my life has been nothing but the organization… And it wasn’t me who trampled that time, effort, and trust into the dirt; it was you, brother.”

 

Her heart began to beat irregularly. She had a feeling she knew what words were coming next.

 

Theodoro turned his head and looked straight into her wavering eyes. Then, he finally forced the words out through his clenched teeth.

 

“If that’s the choice you’re making, then I can’t just stand here like a fool either.”

 

“Ah…”

 

“Liliana, do you understand what this means? I’m saying I am willingly joining this dogfight too.”

 

Yes, she realized it at that moment. It was too late to turn back.

 

Not only had things begun, but they were already in motion, having reached nearly half the intended goal…

 

No matter what words Theodoro said to her, what actions he took to unsettle her, it couldn’t be stopped now. 

 

Since there was no way to pull out, it was clear they had to see it through to the end.  Liliana stared at Wayne’s retreating back in the distance and clenched her fist tightly.

 

‘But even if I finish everything… what meaning will it have if you aren’t there at the end, Wayne? For whom… did I even start all this for?’

 

She screamed until her throat felt torn.

 

“Wayne…!”

 

“…”

 

“Wayne Boyd…!”

 

And she began to run towards him, moving her injured foot.

 

The moment she called his name, Wayne had stopped dead in his tracks. 

 

Perhaps he was caught in a moment of conflict, feeling the heart he had tried so hard to steady come crumbling down.

 

Should he turn around and take her in his arms as he was, or should he hold fast to his conviction and duty?

 

In the end, his conclusion must have been the latter, for Wayne was about to turn his back on her and walk away again when…

 

Thump!

 

Lilia, breathing heavily, grabbed hold of Wayne’s arm.

 

“I called… haa… I called for you.”

 

“…!”

 

Her words poured out rapidly towards him, his eyes wide with surprise.

 

“Why… won’t you listen to me? You… haa, ha… You may have said your goodbyes, but I haven’t even had my chance to… say anything.”

 

“…Lilia. You know it’s better if we aren’t involved—”

 

“It’s not because I like it there… that I’m there.”

 

Her words, thrown without hesitation, made Wayne’s eyes waver and tremble.

 

Lilia shot him a look, her eyes shining with an intensity he had likely never seen before, and added firmly,

 

“To me, the Benedetti brothers are just people I have to kill… that’s all. Me singing there, having to kiss that man… I’m saying I don’t do any of it because I want to.”

 

Then, pulling on his collar, she met his gaze directly.

 

“Then how can you say the paths we must walk are different?”