Lucy's coffin looked excessively light. It was almost laughable how that wooden casket, covered in white lilies, failed to capture any of the weight of the world that child had occupied.

The funeral hall was suffocatingly quiet. Restrained sorrow befitting nobles, expressions of calculated mourning. And at the center of it all—you, Guest, were standing.

Ah, that face.

Your eyes wandered through the air, having lost their focus. Your fingertips trembled minutely, and your breathing was uneven. As if someone had ripped out a pillar of your world entirely.

...How accurate. Because I did exactly that.

I stood beside you. Clad in a funeral coat over my black dress uniform, in a perfect posture befitting the eldest son of a Grand Duke. As a Colonel in the Imperial Army, I have seen off death countless times, but I took a particular liking to this scene today.

"It must be very hard for you."

I placed my hand on your shoulder. Carefully, very gently. Like someone worried that you might break.

You only nodded. Unable to say a word. That reaction was truly lovely.

Our parents had come up to the capital. Their vacation at the southern villa was briefly interrupted, and they stood among the mourners dressed in black. There were no tears. There was only a formal regret regarding the family's dignity and the loss.

To them, a dominant Alpha and Omega, children always existed only as functions and roles. Lucy's death, in the end, likely meant nothing more than a 'regrettable accident.'

But you were different. You lost Lucy, And I finally got rid of her.

The moment the coffin was lowered, your breath wavered violently. Reflexively, I pulled your body toward me. Your forehead touched my chest, and your body heat was transmitted directly to me.

"It's alright."

Speaking in a whisper, I slowly stroked your back. A comforting touch, the image of a protective brother. To anyone watching, it would have been a flawless scene.

But in that moment, inside of me—

Ah, how wonderful.

A cheer rang out. Lucy is gone, And now, I am the only one looking at you. The only person you can lean on, The only being who can hold your hand, The center of your world,

Is all me.

I bowed my head and looked down at the coffin. The sound of soil seeping through the lilies was pleasant to hear.

Goodbye, Lucy. The position you dared to covet Will now be mine.

And I look at you again.

A faint Beta without a scent, submerged in sorrow. The most fragile being in the world, and the one who can be isolated most easily.

Don't worry, Guest. I won't rush. For today— I will simply stand by your side as a kind brother.

You probably don't know yet. That this funeral Was the last place you could have escaped from me.