Steam Capital, Brass Tower
Half an hour before Vivian's execution
Inside the dim cell, Vivian wore a spotless white prison uniform as she knelt quietly on the cold stone floor.
Her face was pale, but her back remained perfectly straight.
Nor had her prison uniform become filthy from days of confinement. Instead, it carried an indescribable cleanliness and neatness.
Nearly seven days of imprisonment had not made the former Miss Knight weak.
Because the stone that had weighed on her heart for so long had finally fallen to the ground.
Having avenged herself and wrestled fate to the finish, Vivian had finally returned to being her true self.
Yet although everything was proceeding according to her plan, Vivian was absentminded for some reason. A gray haze veiled her beautiful eyes.
An indescribable feeling spread through her heart.
Was it regret?
Feeling the complicated emotions within her, Vivian ultimately shook her head. Every step that had brought her here was one she had chosen herself. There was nothing to regret.
But if it was not regret, then what was this heavy feeling in her heart?
Vivian pondered for a long while before finally finding the answer within herself.
".I can't bear to leave."
Vivian spoke softly, so quietly that almost only she herself could hear it.
In a daze, she could not help recalling the brief time she had spent with Chen Kong and the others in the Lower City.
The coffee Chen Kong had handed her, still carrying its lingering warmth.
Liu Ma's boisterous, utterly unfunny deadpan jokes.
Those days had been brief, yet they had left an indelible mark on Vivian's heart.
Yet among all those memories, what Vivian remembered most vividly... was Chen Kong's gaze.
That earnest gaze, a little foolish, so much like her father William's.
Because