Modi returned in a daze to General James's home in central Stinnard City.
General James had gone to the military camp outside the city, and Modi's younger siblings had secretly been sent to the Main World. Only Modi and a dozen or so servants remained in the mansion.
Modi sat alone in the living room. He dismissed all the servants, then stared expressionlessly up at the crystal chandelier.
The crystals had been carefully cut into facets, each one shimmering with a captivating rainbow glow. But in their light, Modi saw Delstad's face and heard his voice.
"Why? Why did it turn out like this?" Modi lowered his head and clutched it in both hands, his fingers digging deep into his hair. Tears filled his eyes once more.
Delstad was not the only one on his mind. There were so many comrades, too. Since joining the Revolutionary Army, he had lost more of them than he had realized.
Modi had known from the start that overthrowing the Lorenzo Kingdom would not be easy. It would mean bloodshed and sacrifice. He had thought he could bear it, just as he had borne his mother leaving him. But his resolve was weaker than he had imagined. He could not watch the people around him die one miserable death after another and remain unmoved, as others seemed to.
He did not know how long he sat there. At one point, a servant came to tell him it was time for dinner, but Modi waved him away.
Night had fallen. Lights came on in the surrounding buildings, shining through the windows and casting their outlines across the floor. Behind Modi, they also cast the blurred silhouette of a person.
Modi sat hunched forward. The figure's face was indistinct, but he could feel it watching him.