Chapter 53 – Traitors

“I suppose I can’t hide it any longer…”

Diana slowly removed her Opera mask. Beside her, Amira lowered her gaze as she unclipped her earring.

Ren watched them calmly, without the slightest hint of surprise.

“Ada would be so disappointed if she knew this…” he murmured. Then his voice turned to a blade of ice. “Who are you working for?”

Amira raised her rifle, the barrel trembling in her hands.

“Master, I can take him from here—”

But Diana lifted a hand to stop her.

“No. We have no chance.” Her voice carried a tone of resignation… almost admiration. “I’ve waited years for you to let your guard down… but not even at your wedding did you.”

“You’re a terrifying man, Sinclair.”

Ren narrowed his eyes.

“So it’s true. Our meeting in Urus wasn’t a coincidence, was it, Diana?”

She shook her head, brushing aside the strand of hair covering her face. The right side revealed deep, twisted scars from old wounds.

“That’s right. I knew who you were the moment you appeared. That day… he asked me to watch you. And over time, you became a threat that had to be erased.”

Ren’s voice stayed cold as steel.

“I assume ‘he’ means Lucifer.”

Diana nodded.

“Do you see these scars?” She ran her fingers lightly across the marked flesh, showing the ruined side of her face. “That day, I was supposed to die. But Lucy saved me… gave me a second chance." 

"He said he couldn’t waste such a valuable pawn.”

Her gaze dropped, weary.

“In the end, that’s all we are… just pawns.”

Ren shook his head calmly, though his eyes burned with restrained fury.

“You’re wrong, Diana. I never once thought of you as pawns. I saw you as family. I even thought you felt the same… you were so close to Ada I was going to ask you to be our daughter’s godmother.”

“I have to admit… you fooled me well.”

Diana let out a hollow laugh—bitter, like someone laughing at a cruel joke.

“If it hadn’t been for the leak about your mother, I might have carried out my mission.”

Ren’s eyes narrowed.

“I suspected as much. The same with Amira. Her shots the day I arrived gave her away.”

“What irony…” Diana shook her head with a tired smile. “I never saw Clementine’s move coming. To fall to something so ridiculous…”

Amira stepped forward, clutching at her master.

“Lady Diana, let’s run! We can still escape!”

But Diana gently stroked her cheek.

“There’s no escape, my little Amira. I’m tired of running… tired of hiding.”

Amira broke into sobs, shaking her head.

“Don’t say that, Master!”

“Forgive me…” Diana whispered, brushing away her tears. “I should never have dragged you into this. To me… you were like a daughter.”

With a precise strike, she knocked Amira unconscious. The young sniper collapsed silently to the ground.

Diana stepped toward Ren, unarmed, offering no resistance.

“I know there’s no way out. But at least… let Amira live. She only followed orders.”

She lifted her gaze one final time, forcing a faint smile.

“Think of it as a last request. And don’t tell Ada or the others, all right?” she tried to joke, though her voice trembled.

Ren gripped Wisteria tightly, shifting into the stance of the Aseina.

“I regret that it ends this way, Diana. But for old times’ sake… I’ll grant your final wish.”

She bowed her head in solemn reverence. A single, final tear traced down her cheek.

“Thank you… for your mercy. I hope you reach your goal. He’s stronger than you can imagine.”

Ren lowered his blade, his voice heavy as a decree.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“May Shion have mercy on your soul.”

Diana closed her eyes, a strange peace softening the scarred lines of her face.

At last… I can rest.

Her body crumpled to the ground, lifeless, beside the unconscious Amira.

Ren lowered his katana and stood in silence for a few moments. Then he spoke softly, almost like a prayer.

“I regret that it came to this… but I am a man of my word.”

He drove the blade into the earth, tearing open a rift that revealed a distant landscape. Beyond lay a radiant academy, encircled by endless towers and sprawling libraries.

“Atera… the nation of knowledge.”

Ren carefully lifted Diana’s remains and laid them at the threshold. Then, taking Amira into his arms, he stripped the rifle from her hands before placing her gently beside her master.

“A new life begins… it’s the only gift I can give you in Diana’s name.”

But before sealing the portal, he extended a hand over the sleeping sniper. A wave of freezing cold surged down his arm, until her dominant hand froze solid—and shattered.

“Never again will you raise a weapon.” His words rang as an unyielding decree. “That is my mercy.”

With a crack, the rift sealed shut, swallowing the bodies and the weapon into another destiny.

Ren lifted his gaze toward Luxaris Castle, looming in the distance. His voice, rough and resolute, broke the silence of the field.

“It’s time to prepare the stage.”

He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and released a frosted sigh.

“Ice Age!”

Snow began to fall—first soft, then relentless. The meadow, the road, the forest—all were swallowed beneath a merciless white. Colossal spires of ice erupted from the ground, twisting the landscape as though eternal winter had descended upon Solmara.

Luxaris Castle glittered beneath the frost, its walls glazed in crystalline light.

What had once stood as a symbol of power and ambition… had become a frozen mausoleum.

The climate—and the fate of the kingdom—had been changed forever.