“No!” I let out a heart-wrenching scream and lunged to stop him, grasping at the blade with bare hands.
But my brother only shook his head, resolute. Sweat and tears slid down his face, dripping onto the cold steel.
“I’d rather die than ever hurt you.”
Shlick.
The chilling sound of metal piercing flesh froze the blood in my veins.
He gave me one final, gentle smile before crumpling into my arms, his body growing limp as it sank into a spreading pool of crimson.
“Brother——!”
I clung to him, pressing my face to his cooling forehead. And in a trembling voice, I sang the lullaby of our people—the one he used to hum when we were young.
Time passed in a blur until distant fireworks shattered the silence, their echo a cruel contrast to the devastation in my arms.
A servant stormed in and yanked my hair with a snarl. “Useless wretch! Madam’s not feeling well—Master says you’re to serve!”
But I wouldn’t let go. Not even as they beat and kicked me. I held my brother’s body like he was the last warmth left in this world.
Then Garrett burst in, surrounded by guards.
“Jayne! Don’t make me come here myself, are you trying to defy me—”
He stopped mid-roar.
I looked up slowly. My arms were wrapped around a lifeless body. My eyes, empty. My soul, hollow.
He paused, his gaze shifting to Elsie’s maid. “What happened?”
The maid rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Madam kindly reunited her with her brother, but he went mad and killed himself.”
Garrett frowned, clearly uneasy. “Jayne…”
But I didn’t respond. I only hummed the lullaby softly, my tears falling like rain onto my brother’s still lashes.
Just then, the butler burst in breathlessly.
“Th-The young lady has returned!”
Garrett stiffened as if struck by lightning.
“I’m home!” A cheerful voice called out from outside, clear and familiar. Everyone froze.
My body began to feel light—weightless. I looked down. My fingertips were dissolving into glowing motes of light. My brother’s form shimmered too, and from our intertwined hands, thousands of crystal butterflies emerged.
“It’s the elves turning into butterflies!” a servant screamed.
Garrett spun around just as one butterfly brushed past his face and vanished into the sky.
