“We can walk over there... toward the West Courtyard,” Francesca suggested, pointing her cane toward a quieter, separate path with a subtle nod.
Miller gently took her hand into his own, and they began walking side by side through the falling snow.
“Ah... ahem... The coop project seems to be coming along quite well, huh?” Miller offered awkwardly, trying to break the silence.
Francesca offered a small, quiet nod. “It is.”
Watching the two of them walk together into the distance, Stella smiled softly, standing beside Kenny. “What did you tell him? It really seems like they are going to reconcile today.”
Kenny let out a quiet sigh, resting a hand gently over her shoulder as he replied, “Just that they simply needed to communicate and express themselves properly.”
“The exact same advice I gave Her Ladyship?” Stella chuckled, before playfully pouting up at him. “Now... Now, don’t go thinking this means I have forgiven you for that dreadful marriage proposal of yours.”
Kenny, taken aback, immediately protested, “Oh, come on! How on earth was that my fault?! The ring was revealed out of my pocket right in front of everyone, so I had no choice but to do it right then and there without a proper plan!”
Stella chuckled softly, shaking her head. “Even so, who proposes on such a random whim?! Your words were so terribly plain: ‘Hey, what do you say we get married?’ Who actually does that?!”
“I... I mean, I did that... so clearly, I do that, right?” Kenny replied, nervously scratching the back of his neck.
“Pfft~” Stella burst into a bright laugh at his response, and Kenny couldn't help but chuckle along as she added, “Always a smart-ass, aren't you...? Pfft~”
“Wait, what do you mean by that...?” Gino asked the construction workers, who were sitting in a circle around a cozy campfire, clearly resting on the far side of the site.
“Just that we already finished digging the partial foundation holes for the communal kitchen tents over at the West Courtyard,” one of the workers replied.
Gino’s face lit up with a smile. “So the kitchen tents could potentially be completed as early as today?”
He took a warm sip from his cup, laughing alongside the crew for a few moments.
“Alright, alright, keep up the good work, everyone. I need to go report this great progress to Her Ladyship right away,” Gino said, setting his cup down near the fireplace.
Waving a hand, he turned and began briskly walking back toward where he had left Francesca.
Upon arriving, he blinked in surprise. “Mister Kenny? You are here as well?”
Gino looked around with a slightly tense expression. “Is His Lordship here, too? What about Her Ladyship?”
“Ah... Her Ladyship and His Lordship just went for a private stroll together toward the West Courtyard,” Stella answered smoothly, gazing off toward the path. “They had some personal matters to discuss.”
Gino’s eyes suddenly widened in sheer horror. “Oh no! We have to stop them right now!”
Before Kenny or Stella could even process what was happening, the short, white-haired old man sprinted toward the path at a speed none of them thought him capable of.
“We have to hurry! It’s extremely dangerous!”
Tak... Tak...
Francesca and Miller walked silently side by side through the West Courtyard, the soft, falling snow accentuating the somber awkwardness between them.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Miller finally broke the quiet. “So... I think I was at fault, too. I was so narrowly focused on the immediate problem that I completely failed to take your feelings into account... It’s-”
“No... you are not the only one at fault here,” Francesca interjected, turning her head to face him. Clenching her free fist tightly, she continued, “It is because I kept the true importance of the necklace hidden from you. You simply couldn't understand my position, yet I unfairly expected you to… all while a loyal subject you cared about was in danger.”
“Th-that still doesn't excuse the terrible words I said to you!” Miller insisted, holding her hand tighter in his own. “Even under immense stress, I had no right to hurt you like that!”
“So? Are you trying to claim all the fault lies solely with you?” Francesca scoffed playfully, a soft, genuine smile creeping onto her face. “I know you don't actually believe that, and it isn't true anyway. We were both being complete idiots.”
Miller stared down at her for a few quiet seconds, his expression softening before turning deeply somber.
“You see... it stems from my ambition,” Miller confessed, struggling to force the words past his throat as he pushed through his lingering hesitation. “All my life, everyone around me constantly compared me to my father... a man who was vicious, violent, and dangerous. They believed it was in my very nature to become a bloodthirsty beast just like him.”
“Miller...” Francesca murmured softly, holding his hand.
Miller didn't stop, letting out the heavy burden he had carried alone for years. “The mermaid blood flowing through my veins felt like a dark swamp constantly threatening to drag me down... So I... I set myself on a rigid path to become a great, honorable leader.”
Looking directly into her golden eyes, his voice trembled faintly. “A leader who would be remembered as a true protector... not a bloodthirsty monster who enjoys slaughter on the battlefield. So... you are not selfish at all, Francesca. I am just as selfish for forcing my rigid standards of duty onto you to satisfy my own desires... It isn't pure selflessness that drives me-it is a selfish need to prove I am a good man.”
Francesca’s heart throbbed with warmth and pain seeing Miller render himself so completely vulnerable before her.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, she took a slight step back, anchoring herself firmly with her cane. “Miller... I am going to tell you my secret.” She offered him a warm, trusting smile, resting her weight on her cane. “The real reason why I seem to know so much... and the thing I fear most in this world. So-”
Before she could finish her sentence, distant, panicked shouts pierced through the quiet courtyard air.
“What was that...?” Francesca turned, taking two steps toward the noise to hear clearer, while Miller stepped closer to her side.
Through the falling snow, Gino's terrified voice finally reached them clearly: “There are incomplete foundation pits! It’s dangerous out there!”
Just as the warning registered in their minds, Miller instinctively reached out to grab Francesca, but the warning came a second too late.
CRACK!
The snow-covered earth beneath their boots suddenly gave way without warning. The freshly excavated timber braces snapped under the weight, sending a sudden avalanche of loose soil, ice, and heavy snow collapsing downward.
Before either of them could react, the ground completely caved in, dragging them both down into the dark, shadowed pit below.
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