Roxana's eyes were constantly looking out the window.
Before she knew it, darkness fell in the sky where the winter sun was completely down.
The place she is in is the office used by the heads of Agriche for generations. It was also a space owned by Rant until yesterday.
Perhaps that's why the office was filled with the spicy aroma of stimulants that Rant used to smoke occasionally.
Roxana moved her hand and picked up the glass on the luxurious mahogany desk. Inside it was a red liquor with a subtle scent.
Like this, the feeling of drinking alcohol sitting in the chair she uses in Lant's office was special.
Roxana said to the man, who just opened the door silently and entered the office with a glass of liquor.
"I never allowed you to come in."
But Deon didn't even blink as always.
He moved as if he hadn't heard Roxana and came closer to her.
"Yeah, well...Because I'm in a good mood today."
Roxana did not seem to have thought that Deon would go outside again in the first place.
She leaned her back deeper into the chair and allowed Deon access.
"Would you like a drink?"
Whether it's true that she's in a good mood, Roxana rarely showed a friendly attitude toward Deon.
Deon coolly refused.
"I don't need it."
"Really? That's too bad. This is the only chance I have today."
Deon's gaze has been fixed in one place ever since.
The room was dim except for the light leaking out of the window. For Deon, however, it didn't seem to disturb him at all.
Roxana also noticed where Deon's eyes were staring.
"You recognize it."
She pulled up the corners of her lips, putting down the glass she had in her hand.
Roxana has not changed yet, so she was still dressed in outdoor clothes.
However, the outerwear on top of it was not hers by all appearances.
"It was given by Cassis."
What Roxana was wearing over her dress was was quite big in men's coats.
As she stretched my collar more properly, she felt like her soft body was half buried there.
"I liked it, so I wore it."
Rosana smiled brightly at Deon in that state.
"Do you feel bad when you see me like this?"
Deon gave her a cold look without answering.
Cassis Pedelian, whom she met before she left Wigdrasil.
What Roxana and Deon are thinking at the same time is him without having to confirm.
"I'm still a little surprised every time you do that face. Now you seem to get angry almost every time you see me."
Roxana whispered in a drowsy tone and reached back to the glass. Deon was still looking at her quietly.
"I am…."
Soon, Deon opened his lips slowly.
"I don't regret killing Asil."
The hand that had just touched the glass stopped.
The smile slowly began to disappear from Roxana's face.
It wasn't just the smile that disappeared.
"Even if I go back to that time, I'll kill him again without hesitation."
Her face, which evaporated even faint emotions like thread, only remained dry.
"But this time, I'll hit him in the neck in front of you."
An infinitely calm and monotonous voice resonated low in the quiet office.
"Because you were so agitated at the sight of an illusion."
"...."
"So what if you saw the real Asil die with your own eyes?"
Deon's voice, which is buried in darkness and recited in a low voice, sounded like a word to himself.
"I've always wondered that."
Roxana looked at him with insensitive eyes, neither hot anger nor sharp hatred seen.
The air in the office was cold.
However, the faces of the two, who would normally be cold as usual, were not colder than the north wind today.
"When I think about it, I feel sorry that I've already killed Asil with my own hands."
Deon wasn't saying this to get back at Roxana.
"But it's no use doing that. He's already dead. So next time to kill your mother in front of you."
He didn't bring up this sound to threaten her.
"You know that, so you've assigned my mother to protect her."
Roxana knew about it.
She didn't want to admit it, but in a way, they were the only ones who understood each other best in Agriche.
"That day, you said you knew what I wanted."
The memories of the two have gone back to three years ago. The day they first stepped into this swamp that is now bound.
"But it's funny. I can't believe you know what even I don't."
Who would've known until then? There will be today in their future.
Even Roxana was not imagining such a moment at that time.
The day when she drives out Rant Agriche and has this conversation with Deon in his office.
Perhaps it's the same with Deon.
Suddenly, I felt a cluttered energy outside.
If anything else had happened, there would have been someone looking for Roxana.
But seeing that he didn't, it was probably Jeremy that was doing what she had asked in advance.
Roxana slowly lowered her gaze.
"...…maybe you and I are a little bit alike."
The long eyelashes sparkled small in the subtle light coming in from outside the window.
Roxana's eyes were staring at the red liquid in the glass.
"I didn't think there was a reason why I've been trying to survive in this gutter somehow."
It was a strange night.
No, maybe she should order it to be a special night or an unusual night.
Surely, today was the most meaningful day she had ever lived, and this night, which just began, would consist of a longer time than ever.
"That's the truth. I just didn't want to die like you know. If I had to say, it was the purpose of surviving."
Anyway, it was a different night than usual. It was also a moment when I would never come back again.
That's why Roxana and Deon did not know that they could talk about this by beating the sharp thorns they were aiming at each other.
"But now that I think about it, I don't think it was my last purpose."
Just as Deon did a while ago, Roxana's voice felt like talking to herself in a sense.
This time, the speaker and the listener were reversed, but similarly, there was no unnaturalness.
"Maybe I wanted to survive this patiently and do something."
The atmosphere between the two has been so calm that she wonders if there has been such a moment so far.
"Do you know what I want?"
Roxana asked in a quiet voice.
Deon's eyes, which had a calm glow, stared at her.
"I know."
After some time, Deon replied.
Roxana's face had a dim smile on her face.
"Yes.... I'm still confused at this moment."
The outside is a little noisier than before. She could feel the movement of many people at once.
"If I give you what I want."
In the darker darkness, Deon slowly opened his mouth.
"Can you give me what I want?"
Roxana stared at him without saying a word.
Deon quietly looked into the eyes he faced and left the room without a sound as he did when he first came in.
Roxana, who became alone, looked out the window again.
Night eaten by darkness. She knew what was lurking beyond it.
Salang.
A red butterfly loomed around a glass of liquor.
"It's time."
The short celebration is over.
Roxana got up from her seat and opened the door where Deon had just escaped.
After a while, the door closed again, and the cold room was covered with deep darkness.
Before she knew it, white snowflakes were flying outside the window.