The Worldview Where Everyone is Destined to Die

Late afternoon, County of Cruz Bay.

"For some reason, I had a bad feeling when we sent him, Mother."

Kwang!

When the hand that had been holding the sword for a long time and the nails were firmly embedded hit the desk, the piles of documents fell down. The beautiful woman in riding clothes with brilliantly shining golden hair and golden eyes was wheezing, as if she couldn't hold back her anger.

"I heard it's an elite training academy! What kind of elite throws stones at other people's heads?"

"Your brother was stoned?."

"You think that is all? That guy, on the stomach-"

"Ruin."

It was her mother, Tess Cruz, who calmed Ruin down, who was enraged and saying things she didn't need to. Except for Lilian Cruz, who got married and left the family, the three women gathered here all had shining, brilliant golden hair. There was this subtle difference between Arma Cruz and Count Joseph Cruz, who had golden hair with a hint of brown.

"Anyway, now it would be better to bring back Arma."

"How did my brother get stoned? And the stomach?"

"Bring him back here as quickly as possible; I don't like this."

"Brother is---"

"Ask him directly when Arma comes back."

Ruin, who interrupted the youngest child, Riche Cruz's question, crossed her arms nervously and stared at the empty floor.

"You were too stubborn. And he got stranded on that gloomy island, which we cannot even reach! I should have gone along."

All the women of the Cruz family inherited their temper from their mother, Tessa, and keen intuition. Ever since the third and only male, Arma Cruz, decided to head to the academy, Ruin, the eldest daughter, couldn't pretend to not notice the ominous premonition that he would die one day. Ruin Cruz brushed off her short, close-cropped hair like a man and sat down with her legs crossed on the sofa.

"Anyway, it all went well. We just couldn't ask him to come back since he had nothing to use."

Tessa Cruz lowered her eyes, pondering those words.

'Was this all?'

Arma Cruz melted all of her sorrow at a young age. Although he was scolded for being a fool for following his mother around, Tessa Cruz wanted to live with Arma a little longer if she could. That is, if it weren't for the sudden decision to head to the academy. It wasn't a good idea for an already incompetent child to spend his adolescence on this remote island at the border.

Nevertheless, the reason he was allowed was that it was one of the few things Arma looked excited about.

"How many years has it been since Arma hasn't come?"

"A little over a year?"

"Before that? He came a year ago, and when did he come before that?"

"When he was 19, he came here twice."

Hearing that answer, Ruin and Tessa felt that something was odd. They were missing something here, but they couldn't put their finger on it.

"But anyway, he would have graduated from the academy in just one more year. Are you really going to bring back my brother after he graduates?"

Unlike Ruin, who kept her hair short, the youngest one, Riche, had her curly hair grown to the waist and braided. So, unlike Ruin, who was constantly flipping her hair in nervousness, Riche expressed her nervousness by wrapping her fingers around the ends of her hair.

Ruin and Tessa looked as if they were caught off guard by Riche's point. This anxiety continued to grow, and two people became more anxious about bringing Arma back home.

'Just why?'

Why did they feel anxious? Besides, why on earth was this conversation strangely disjointed? Tessa continued to think. There was no answer; nothing was being resolved.

It occurred to her that Arma had rarely visited them since entering the academy, and the only time he came was to get the documents requiring the family crest stamped.

"Arma will have to come this time, but if he doesn't like it, we can do nothing."

The feeling of horribly missing him and the feeling that she shouldn't bring Arma were all clubbed in her mind, and the tangled mess calmed down. It was an odd sleep, but Tessa Cruz decided not to think about it.

Fraudulent for murder.

Smashed.

Demonic beasts attack.

A misfire.

The wounds all healed, but each incident left a mark on my mind.

"This, seriously."

The moment I cleaned up and put down the gun, which came covered in blood, I realized this late that my hands were shaking.

It was the day after the Thanksgiving festival ended. Thankfully, today was a weekend without classes.

"Hmm."

When I held the gun, the shaking stopped, but when I didn't hold anything, they shook again.

I silently placed the gun back into the holster I had prepared as a spare and tightened the belt to secure it. I found out two days ago that I could get sleep by wearing this.

In any case, the future isn't far when I knock on Shirley's door, asking to sleep in the room because I was scared at night.

Rustle.

I lay down on the bed, looking at the ceiling, and turned around. Since I was shot, I no longer wanted people to look at me, so I sent away the cadet who was put there for my protection. As the incidents continued to happen, it was inevitable that the academy atmosphere would be affected, and so, today, the classes got canceled.

Arthur, who had vanished, still didn't come back, and Machina seemed to be onto something, but I, the one caught in this, didn't say anything, so she couldn't do anything about it.

'I heard that Mother was contacted. If I take a leave of absence, do I have to pack my bags and just head back?'

My mother, Tessa Cruz, who married a noble in the royal family and received the title of Countess, was the 21st lady of the Cruz family and the owner of the Cruz merchants, which were growing in popularity through maritime trade. Since I was born, I suffered from frequent ill health and was a problematic child who moved in and out of nursing homes, making my mother angry.

Due to the rather strict family tradition, the eldest and second daughters and the third daughter entered into this competition to become the head of the family at a young age. As a weakling, I stepped back early. There were many incidents involved in which I couldn't speak to anyone.

Well, I feel bad for my sisters and siblings, but the narrative was completely distorted by the fact that I stepped back for health reasons, and so I applied to the academy.

My mother, who senses my emotions to an extent, didn't stop me from coming to the academy... I think.

"Maybe I was possessed by a ghost or something?"

I was being so stubborn then; I felt like I had to step in here to calm the anger. I think I was angry at myself for not participating in deciding whether to win or lose by risking the future, even though I made many sacrifices to save this one life.

But to break my mother's heart like that and to be framed for murder, stoned, and shot at the academy I willingly stepped into? Even though it wasn't my fault, I was feeling so embarrassed. As I forced myself to sleep, which wasn't coming, I closed my eyes. Of course, I had nightmares about being shot by someone, but the dreams I had that day weren't the kind of dreams that happened or had an impact on my daily life.

Knock, knock.

The dawn felt long because I couldn't fall asleep and lose consciousness. Even though I took naps, I couldn't shake the fatigue off. In the meantime, I heard a knock on the door, which made me anxious.

Clack.

I cocked the barrel, put two bullets in, and then loaded it. Now I was confused if I was being too cautious or delusional.

"It is morning. It is too early for anyone to visit me."

No matter how close they are to me, it is a bit too early to come visit me like this. In reality, that wasn't the case, but I cleared my throat to sound calm and said.

"... Arthur?"

"Theodore."

"Isn't this a bit too early to come find me?"

"Yes, it is."

He spoke in a bit of a troubled tone. I could clearly understand the emotions of Theodore, who was on the other side of the door, and slowly opened it, hoping no one copied the tone.

'It is him.'

Theodore was there with this sad face, like he couldn't sleep, and I looked at him. The men of the White family are known to be famous for their tall genes after they come of age. Right now, he is looking up to me, but one day I will be the one looking up at him. Theodore looked at me differently than usual and then tried to come in.

"Wait, stay where you are."

I stopped Theodore, who was trying to come in. Then, holding the gun in my hand, I tried to slowly pull the trigger to unload.

"Something not nice happened over the past few days. One was just a misfire I had caused."

"Yes."

"I think I reacted a bit too sensitively because I was feeling anxious for no reason."

"..."

Theodore didn't seem to care that I had loaded the gun before opening the door. Well, even though he looked unassuming, this guy was an elite in black magic. In some cases, he could wield greater strength than me; he wouldn't have been very surprised if I opened the door and pointed the gun at him.

"What did you come here for? Is something up?"

"I have something to ask Arma Cruz."

I let him inside and into the room. The living room is a small space next to the bedroom, half blocked by the wall. Theodore followed my lead and pulled out a chair to sit down. He sat with his hands over his knees. Just a little while ago, I would have never imagined having Theodore in the home and having such talks, but I guess humans are unpredictable.

"No matter how much I think, I feel like Arma Cruz and Arthur met that day, but it is strange that nothing is being said to me, so I came here."

"Haha, so upfront..."

I didn't hate Theodore, who cut off the bullshit and came to the point. I sat across from him with my legs crossed and then thought before speaking.

"Right, we met."

"Is it Arthur who fired the gun?"

"No."

It was an answer that wasn't a lie---not a full lie. After all, Arthur didn't mean to shoot me at all. But Theodore nodded, like he got a hint from my words.

"Whether it was intentional or not, Arthur did it."

"First of all, I have no intention of blaming Arthur for that."

"I thought you would say that. But regardless of how kind Arma Cruz is, I just want to say that Arthur will be in danger now."

"Arthur and not me?"

Theodore nodded.