"Ah, it's over."

Moen cradled Aluka's severed head, which had lost all of its divine traits. He lowered his head, his eyes vacant as he murmured to himself.

He looked like a salted fish, as if he had lost all hope in life.

After gaining power from a seemingly formidable dark god, he was now marked by another old, scheming dark god.

Even worse, this one remembered his name—first and full name!

He could almost imagine their tone: hearing the name would make their teeth itch in frustration, as if they could only vent their resentment by storming from People's Street to Central Avenue with a kitchen knife.

Is there still a way out of this for him? Asking online, kind of urgent.

"Young master!"

Just as Moen was questioning how rest of his life goes, Ann suddenly dashed over, throwing herself into his arms without hesitation.

A warm, soft presence enveloped him as Moen could even feel Ann's delicate body trembling slightly.

She was shaken, deeply so.

Just a moment ago, she had almost lost her young master.

Even though she had resolved to maintain the elegance of a perfect maid forever…

At the time like this, softening for a moment was forgivable, right?

"Alright, alright, this isn't the time for that."

Moen patted Ann's shoulder. "You have more pressing matters to handle."

"More pressing matters?"

Ann looked utterly confused.

What could possibly be more important right now than hugging her young master?

"Look at this…"

Moen gestured for Ann to sit up properly, then revealed what he was holding in his hands.

Aluka's head.

On that once-cute, pretty face, the previous grotesque twisting and rage had all disappeared.

She looked as though she had fallen into a serene slumber.

But at that moment, Aluka's fine lashes suddenly fluttered slightly.

"Could it be…" Ann's eyes widened.

"That's right, Aluka is still alive."

Moen nodded.

A dark god's will cannot descend upon a corpse.

So, even if only her head remained, the dark god's power had mistakenly kept her alive.

However, this unintended gift from above couldn't possibly last long.

Which meant...

"Make the most of the time you have."

Moen murmured softly.

...

"Master..."

Aluka's eyes slowly opened, her gaze falling upon the nearby Ann.

"Is everything… over?"

"Yes, it's all over," Ann replied.

But after that brief answer, as she looked at Aluka, Ann found herself at a loss for words.

She suddenly realized that they had never truly had a proper conversation.

After a short pause, Ann awkwardly asked, "So… um, Aluka, how are you? How does it feel?"

"I feel… my body aches. Especially my chest. It hurts so much," Aluka replied softly, her gaze seeming to drift into nothingness.

"..."

Ann stared at the now-motionless Aluka, reduced to just a severed head, and again found herself speechless.

Silence enveloped them once more.

Before Moen could no longer bear it and tried to urge Ann to watch the remaining time,

Aluka suddenly spoke, "Master, I'm sorry. I lied to you."

"You lied to me? What do you mean?"

"Actually, my corruption by the dark god had nothing to do with you, Master. At that time, I lied to you just because I didn’t want you to leave me."

"..."

Ann's breathing hitched.

Then, she gave a soft smile:

"It's okay. I don't mind. After all, saving you wasn't just for that reason."

"Master…"

Tears slid down from Aluka's eyes.

For the first time, her lifeless gaze seemed to regain a trace of light.

"In fact, for a long time, I had some kind of connection with a god… with that dark god. I exchanged beast flesh for trivial assistance and benefits from it."

"After all, Rod was too perfect. If I didn’t resort to certain means, I could never keep up with him."

"And during those times, the dark god didn’t show any signs of behaving unusually."

"But then that day… after speaking with you, Master, I gathered the courage to confess to Rod."

"Confess…" Ann softly said, "Come to think of it, I never asked you what the result was.

Did… it not go well?"

Given the situation now, it seemed inevitable.

"No, it was a success."

A gentle smile formed on Aluka's lips. "I made it, Master."

"Success? Then why…?"

"Because that night, Rod told me he liked me too."

"But… he said he couldn’t be with me."

"Why?" Ann asked, bewildered.

"How could two people in love not be together?"

"Because…"

Aluka's voice softened as she replied,

"Tia was pregnant with his child."

"..."

Ann's breath caught.

"Rod told me he had secretly liked me for a long time. But one night, while drowning his sorrow in alcohol, he had a fling with Tia, who came to comfort him, and she ended up pregnant.

You know, a painfully clichéd story. And yet, it happened.

Rod is a responsible man, so he wouldn’t abandon Tia. Naturally, he couldn’t accept my confession either."

Aluka's expression grew pained.

It wasn’t simply a case of an unrequited love but rather the heartache of losing something she could have easily obtained slipping away through her fingers.

"…Did you ever doubt her?" Ann couldn’t help but ask.

After all, the odds of getting pregnant the first time were slim, making it hard not to suspect it was deliberate.

"I doubted it," Aluka admitted.

"So I made a wish to that dark god. I wanted to know whether Tia was truly pregnant."

"And then, when I came to my senses, I was covered in blood, and Tia’s stomach had been ripped open."

"…I see."

Ann recalled the girl who had been brutally gutted.

"And the result…?"

"Fake."

Aluka began to cry softly.

"The so-called pregnancy was fake. It was just a ploy by Tia to monopolize Rod.

She used some minor illusion magic to deceive Rod, making him believe her.

But no matter how great the illusion, it can’t mask the truth.

There was no child in her belly."

"Master, love is so fragile. Fragile enough that a single lie can easily shatter the bonds between people who should have been in love."

"I exposed the lie, but it was too late to turn back."

"Because Rod saw it."

"He saw… me personally rip open Tia’s belly."

"How could Rod possibly stay with someone as cruel as me? He even thought I was under the control of the dark god and tried to subdue me."

...

..."So, I made a second wish."

"I wished for Rod… to accept my love."

From that moment on, everything spiraled beyond redemption.

...

"Master, I regret it so much."

At the end of this almost entirely one-sided confessional, Aluka gazed deeply into Ann’s eyes and revealed a sorrowful, yet beautiful smile for the first time.

"If only I had met you earlier, Master."

"If only I had gathered my courage earlier to confess to Rod."

"Maybe this tragic ending could have been rewritten."

"But there are no 'if onlys' in life."

...

"So, be happy, Master."

"Prove to me that love can still bring something beautiful."