At dawn, the palace gates of Lionback Kingdom were lined with towering ranks of soldiers. Each halberd, over six feet long, pointed straight at the blue sky, forming a black forest as far as the eye could see.
Clara Heart walked slowly down the central passageway, right through the heart of the formation.
All around her, countless soldiers stood guard, their brows furrowed and eyes fierce—gone were the sycophantic expressions of the past. Now, to them, Clara was nothing more than a prisoner.
"Miss Belle, I too hail from Blossom Mountain. Though my status was low and I never had much contact with you, I know something of your story. In a way, you could be considered my mistress."
"Forgive me for overstepping, but I don’t understand what difference you see between our Great Sage and the other Great Sage. Still, when you speak to him in a moment, you must answer carefully."
"It’s best to choose your words wisely. Don’t risk your own life over this."
"Aren’t they both Great Sages? Whomever you marry, it’s all the same, isn’t it?"
"Our Great Sage is not like the original. He has none of those old memories. What little he knows of you comes only from others’ words. So don’t think he would hesitate to act against you."
"This is all I can do for you. The rest is up to your own fate."
With unease in her heart, Clara followed Gavin Goathorn’s lead, step by step through the ranks, and entered the great hall.
The floor gleamed, the pillars soared, and the entire great hall was empty—a stark contrast to the military parade ground outside. Every corner radiated a chill.
On the throne at the center, the Six-Eared Macaque—Damon—sat, gazing down at Clara Heart.
Clara took a deep breath, lowered her head, and stepped forward, inch by inch, until she stood before Damon.
"I assume someone already tipped you off about what happened yesterday?"
Clara did not answer.
Gavin Goathorn lowered his voice, speaking with care: "Miss Belle, the Great Sage is asking you a question."
Still, Clara did not reply. She lifted her gaze slightly toward Damon, her anxiety and helplessness plain to see.
"No matter. If she doesn’t want to answer, let’s just assume she hasn’t heard." Damon jerked his chin. "You may leave now."
"Yes, sir." As Gavin turned to go, he frantically signaled Clara with his eyes.
Seeing this, Clara could only nod mechanically, offering him a shred of reassurance.
Once Gavin Goathorn had left, Damon spoke slowly: "I intend to marry you."
"Does Anna know?" Clara countered.
"What does it matter whether she knows or not? I’ve already determined her heart isn’t with me."
"Then why marry me? I’m not on your side either."
"But you could be, couldn’t you?" Damon snorted. "I mean, starting now."
Outside the door, Gavin Goathorn grew anxious the moment he heard this.
Is this what he calls a proper conversation? This was clearly a threat!
But there was nothing he could do—Damon was always like this. Thinking back, he realized he’d been naive to hope Damon would truly talk things over with Clara. Still, he’d done all he could. Events had long since spun out of the control of minor players like him.
"What do you mean?" Clara pressed.
"I mean, I won’t hold your past lies against you. But from today onward, you’re not allowed to deceive me anymore. You must be wholeheartedly mine. Do you understand?"
At this, Clara laughed outright.
The smile vanished from Damon’s face. "Why are you laughing? Is my offer not good enough for you?"
"You truly, truly have no memory of me. The real you would never say such things to me."
"The real me?" Damon’s eye twitched. "So you mean I’m not really myself?"
Clara stood quietly, eyes fixed on the empty floor.
"Answer me!" Damon roared, slamming his palm on the table.
The sound echoed through the great hall, making even the guards outside shrink back in fear.
After a long silence, Clara finally blinked and said, "Do you know how my past tragedy happened?"
"What?"
"Belle always knew she was Birdie, but she didn’t dare say so. Because the core of a person is memory. Without memory, you become someone else—a stranger to your own self."
Back then, no one knew that my two masters actually possessed a way to implant memories into the soul. Not even... not even he knew. The only known method was to drive the soul into the earth, letting this life dissolve completely and truly resurrect the former self.
Damon narrowed his eyes at Clara. "What are you getting at?"
Summoning her courage, Clara lifted her head and spoke, word by word: "I mean, you really aren’t yourself."
The words made Damon gasp, eyes wide in shock.
Outside the door, Gavin Goathorn was so anxious he beat his chest in frustration.
"How dare you!"
"Isn’t it true? Even you fear others questioning your identity! Talking about marrying me... Ha! Not just you—even the other one—I’ve already decided to keep my distance. I only came here because I was coerced by Many-Eyes! Before you said any of this, did you ever consider what I was thinking? And now you want me to be devoted to you? What a joke."
For a moment, Damon was speechless under Clara’s barrage, his clenched fist trembling.
"Enough!"
The next instant, Damon overturned the entire table in front of him, scattering its contents across the floor. Clara, however, stood her ground, turning her gaze away from him.