* * *

Haeng-in’s eyes were as wide as they could be. Her gaping mouth showed no sign of closing. Sarah was fully aware that what she was about to tell her would be overwhelming for Haeng-in. But someday she would need to know, why she had to live like an extra her whole life, why she met Oliven and came here, so that she could move forward, even if she had to go back.

“This story will make more sense if I tell it along with what brought Miss Haeng-in here.”

Sarah gave Belluna a small flick of her eyes in farewell, then snapped her fingers again. Soon enough, the two of them were back in Haeng-in’s room at Ambrosia Mansion.

“……Wow.”

Haeng-in, who hadn’t yet adjusted to Sarah’s magic, looked around the room in wonder, and Sarah smiled in relief at how innocent it looked. She was sure that Haeng-in would be able to handle any traumatic story Sarah had to tell with that same innocence and clarity. Sarah glanced at her sinner of a disciple, buried in the blankets Haeng-in had hastily gathered.

“Oliven, come out.”

“…….”

“Now.”

Sarah’s voice was chilling. Haeng-in stiffened at the sudden change in her demeanor, as she had only ever seen Sarah as a sweetheart. The temperature of her affection was much lower than it had been with Belluna, and it was suddenly clear that Oliven was no longer her beloved disciple.

“Master…….”

Oliven quietly pushed through the covers. Haeng-in was surprised to see him, for she had always thought of him as a doll who could do nothing unless she took him out, who would stay wherever she put him, wherever she hid him. But he could move like this. Haeng-in looked at Oliven wide-eyed, and Sarah’s stern warning hit Oliven squarely in the face.

“Do not call me that, for nothing that makes you who you are came from me, and I have already given up calling you thus.”

The words were chilling. Haeng-in shuddered, even though the words weren’t spoken to her.

“…….”

But for Oliven, it was all too familiar. Haeng-in wondered if this was the same Oliven who had been singing Master this, Master that, to Haeng-in all this time, as he stood there like a mere doll, not even moving.

“I suppose you had no choice but to bring Miss Haeng-in here, but even so, you’re quite the cheeky one.”

“…….”

“If your soul is about to be shattered and destroyed, you should just disappear quietly.”

Sarah lifted Oliven, who had become a doll. Unlike the teary-eyed figure he’d been when he’d first been sealed, he now looked lifeless, as if he were nothing more than an object.

“Let me see the last of you with my own eyes.”

“……I’m sorry.”

Sarah’s words brought Oliven’s voice to a crawling apology. As if that were enough, Sarah set him back down on the bed. Oliven’s soul was about to be destroyed. Sarah sealed Oliven in a doll and allowed him to go through all of her past, and all of her endeavors.

Every moment of falling in love with Claude, falling in love with Ethan, and losing them both. Oliven had seen it all along, not just once, but every day, every night, like a nightmare. He realized that it was his own misguided obsession that had always ruined his master’s happiness.

“I tried to take the fragment of Master’s soul from Haeng-in, but I, I couldn’t. I don’t have the power anymore…….”

“It’s a good thing you found her, though, because otherwise I would have never known of Miss Haeng-in’s existence.”

Sarah let out a deep sigh and looked at Haeng-in.

“I’m sure you don’t understand what we’re talking about, so let me explain.”

“…….Yes”

Haeng-in, who had been holding her breath as Oliven and Sarah’s conversation went back and forth in seriousness, took a deep breath. Sarah’s face broke into a smile as she seemed ready to listen.

“I used the Magician’s Oath to return to this world. I broke the oath I made with my disciples by taking the body of Park Hyeyeon and breaking her soul, and then I used the power of Ambrosia to bind the momentary return to Sarah Millen’s soul forever.”

“Yeah, yeah, it sounds really simple when you describe it like that, and I guess that’s how it ended.”

“The plan worked, and I was able to have Sarah Millen’s life to the fullest, but it seems that Park Hyeyeon’s power was stronger than I thought it would be.”

The horror of not knowing how much power she was born with. It had been a long time since she’d been free of it, but at times like this, it was almost unbearable. But Sarah had Ethan and Claude by her side, and with their strength holding her steady, there was no way that fear would ever control her again.

“Because a fragment of Park Hyeyeon’s soul remained, the annihilation of her body was not complete.”

“……?”

“That means she’s in a near-comatose state, with her soul definitely gone but her body remaining.”

“Then what?”

“The world needs to be rebalanced again.”

The result was right in front of them. A being inhabiting Park Hyeyeon’s body, living a life not with the name and life of Park Hyeyeon, but as Park Haeng-in.

“Miss Haeng-in is the soul that inhabits Park Hyeyeon’s body. Park Hyeyeon’s body was empty and needed another soul to fill it, and perhaps Miss Haeng-in’s soul needed an empty body to settle into.”

“So, you’re saying that my, I mean, my body was originally Park Hyeyeon’s body?”

“Yes. A fragment of my soul that had been living as Park Hyeyeon was still in that body, and that’s why Miss Haeng-in was able to see the story of this world, the ‘novel’ that is the record of my life.”

“……This is beyond the secrets of birth, even a dog-blood drama can’t be written like this.”

“That’s right.”

Sarah held up Oliven, who had become a doll.

“Oliven, who was left behind in that world, recognized Miss Haeng-in’s condition and brought you here to retrieve the fragment of my soul that remained in your body.”

“……So, that’s why I’m here, and I was wondering why this was happening to me, someone who is so normal.”

Haeng-in’s face suddenly made sense of the whole situation, but she also sounded a little wistful.

“But do you really need to retrieve that soul fragment? Without it, I won’t be able to see Sarah’s story anymore?”

“Oh my?”

Sarah’s eyes widened at Haeng-in’s words. Worried that she might be offended by her words, Haeng-in held up her hands in a gesture of harmlessness.

“It’s just, it’s just that it happened in my normal life, and it was so special that it will never happen again. I want to remember it, I want to keep seeing it……. As a reader, I’m rooting for you! Oh, of course, now I won’t think of you as just a character in a novel…….”

Haeng-in rambled on like she didn’t know what she was talking about. But Sarah knew what she wanted. Clasping Haeng-in’s hands tightly together, Sarah spoke in a soothing voice.

“The reason Miss Haeng-in has been living an ordinary life, an extra, not the main character, is because a fragment of my soul and a fragment of Miss Haeng-in’s soul have been fighting for control of the body, and neither one of them can fully occupy the body, so there can be no proper color of life.”

“……!”

“We need to retrieve this soul fragment so that Miss Haeng-in can now write her own story. Rather than reading a novel with someone else as the main character, Miss Haeng-in should write the novel of her life.”

Sarah’s words brought tears to Haeng-in’s eyes. The tears rolling down her cheeks startled her, and she realized she hadn’t realized she was crying.

“Our bond will live on, because I will never forget how special you were to watch this ‘story’.”

Sarah placed her forehead against Haeng-in’s. Then she slowly activated her magic. An azure glow enveloped them both, and something twitching between Haeng-in’s lips mingled with Sarah’s magic.

“It’s almost time to go back, and when you do, please continue to watch over us. Otherwise, I think we’ll be disappointed.”

“I, I’ll remember, I’ll never forget.”

Haeng-in’s form began to return to the body that had once been Park Hyeyeon, not Juliette. It was time to go home. Haeng-in could feel it instinctively.

“Goodbye, Sarah. Make sure you stay happy.”

“Yes. I’ll be happy.”

To Haeng-in’s relief, Sarah smiled as if she was already happy. Just having someone who wanted her to be happy and supported her was enough to make her feel full and happy.