Celestia's grip tightened around Selena's trembling hands as she said softly, "You can't betray him. You are not capable of it. I know who you are."

And just like that Selena finally broke.

Her face crumpled. Tears spilled from her eyes in rivers, not droplets.

"I–I'm not that good Selena anymore, Cels…" she choked out, voice shredding apart mid-sentence. "I.. I don't even know why I'm still called a Saintess. I don't deserve that title… not anymore."

Her words tumbled out uncontrollably, raw and cracked like a dam bursting.

"You don't know how disgusting I am," she whispered, hugging her own arms as if freezing. "I've been lying… lying to everyone my family… his family… to him… to the entire empire…"

She squeezed her eyes shut painfully.

"Do you know," she whispered shakily, "Razeal's mother still comes to see me every month…?"

Celestia stiffened.

Selena continued, the guilt choking her.

"Every time she comes… She and Nova never lets me be alone. They stay with me. They hover around me like I'm the one who needs protection… like I'm the one who's fragile…"

Her face twisted, the pain in her chest overflowing.

"When I was the one who destroyed the person who actually needed them…" Her breath cracked. "The one they should've been saving… the one they were punishing instead."

A sob escaped her, sharp and broken.

"It felt wrong… so wrong that it scared me."

Her voice softened to a whisper, trembling uncontrollably.

"Cels… the moment they punished Razeal…"

She inhaled sharply as the memory hit her the public announcement, the crowd's disgust, Razeal's helpless eyes. "When Nova announced everything… in front of everyone… they didn't just punish him."

Her voice broke.

"They crushed everything. His dignity… his pride… his future… his place in this world."

She looked like she couldn't even breathe.

"They were cruel," Celestia cut her off. "Even I never thought Lady Merisa and Nova… could go that far."

Celestia bowed her head slightly sighing.

"I honestly.. Well." Celestia said quietly. "I never expected them to be so harsh either."

But Selena shook her head violently.

"No… it was my fault," she whispered. "All of it was because of me."

Her fingers curled tightly into the fabric of her dress.

"Because of me… his family broke into pieces. Because of me… they hurt each other. Because of me… they can never go back to what they once were."

She sucked in a trembling breath.

"And knowing that… knowing I was the reason… that guilt has been eating me alive every day for last five years."

Her voice dropped lower, thick with despair.

"I don't deserve to be a Saintess," she whispered. "I'm shameless… disgusting… evil… I don't even know why God hasn't punished me yet. I don't know how I'm still allowed to carry this title."

"Sometimes I… I think maybe there is no God watching at all… because someone like me is untouched."

Celestia reached out, rubbing Selena's cold hands gently, trying to stabilize her shaking body.

"Hey… hey… calm down. Don't say that. It's okay. You're overwhelmed. Don't think like that.."

But Selena was already spiraling.

Her thoughts.. her guilt her fear her everything crashed down at once.

"I was so happy when he came back…" she whispered, clutching her chest. "I thought he died because of me. And when he came back alive, even with all that hatred… I was still happy."

More tears fell.

"I thought… maybe he just needed time. Maybe he'd stabilize. Maybe he'd heal slowly in the empire. I even went to Nova. She promised they would protect me. That they wouldn't let him go anywhere."

Her lips trembled.

"And now look," she whispered. "He ran away again…"

Her fingers dug into her knees.

"He left me again."

Her tears gathered faster hot, desperate.

"I want to go after him," she whispered. "I want to. I want to find him. I want to keep him safe."

She looked up at Celestia with terrified golden eyes.

"But I don't want to force him either…"

Her breath trembled as she continued.

"I know what's best for him too. I know he won't accept it. I know he'll push me away even harder. I know he'll even already considers me… as his enemy."

A tear slid down her cheek as she whispered:

"He has always guarded against me… When he came back."

The garden felt silent. The pond moved gently, unaware of the storm in front of it.

Selena wiped her tears with shaking hands, but they kept coming.

"I don't know what he's thinking anymore…" she said, voice barely audible. "It's like he's… disappearing. Like he's doing everything without caring about his life."

Fear flooded her eyes raw and suffocating.

"He needs my help, Cels," she whispered. "If no one stops him… if no one anchors him…"

Her voice trembled violently.

"He might really kill himself someday…"

She clutched her chest tightly, gasping as her emotions overflowed.

"He risks his life like it's nothing. Like his existence doesn't matter. And I'm scared… I'm scared that one day… he really will…"

She couldn't finish the sentence.

Celestia immediately reached forward sighing again.

"It's alright," Celestia whispered again and again, rubbing her hands soothingly. "It's alright. I'm here. Just breathe. Just breathe."

Selena's tears had barely stopped when she suddenly inhaled sharply, a trembling breath pulling her upright as if something in her chest snapped.

"No!! I… I can't take this anymore," she whispered, voice cracking. "I want to reveal everything. All of it. Whatever outcome it brings.. whatever happens to me whatever punishment comes… I can't carry this alone anymore."

Her legs shook as she stood up from the bench, wiping her eyes with the back of her trembling hand. Her throat bobbed painfully as she swallowed down dread, but her eyes despite the tears held a stubborn, burning resolve.

"I'll go to Aunt Merisa and Sister Nova right now." Her voice shook violently. "I'll face it today."

She took one step forward

But Celestia immediately grabbed her wrist and yanked her back, refusing to let her take even a single step away.

Her grip was firm almost desperate.

"Hey.. hey what do you mean you're going to tell them?" Celestia demanded, her voice dropping low and serious. She spun Selena around and forced her to face her. "Tell them what, Selena? What exactly?"

Selena stared back at her with wet, trembling eyes… yet with resolve fierce enough to burn through her fear.

"I'm going to tell them the truth," she whispered. Her voice cracked but she didn't hesitate. "That I lied. That we lied. That Razeal never tried to rape me. That he never touched me. That I… I just…"

Her lips trembled.

"That I lied."

Tears dripped freely, slipping off her chin onto the stone path below.

Celestia's expression changed instantly.

Her soft concern hardened into a tense, sharp frown.

She crouched slightly to look directly into Selena's face, her tone turning firm, controlled, and terrifyingly serious.

"Hey. Breathe. Calm down. This isn't the way."

She reached out and gently cupped Selena's cheeks, her thumbs brushing away tears. "Listen to me selena. Remember why we didn't reveal it back then."

Her voice grew colder.

"Because we knew the consequences."

Selena blinked rapidly, but Celestia continued before she could speak.

"You know how insane his family is," Celestia said, her tone grim. "If they find out we lied.. if they learn that the whole reason Razeal was punished, exiled, humiliated, shattered… was because we lied.. do you know what will happen tomorrow?"

Selena's breath froze.

Celestia tightened her grip on her face.

"They'll declare war."

Selena flinched.

Celestia continued, voice low and heavy with certainty.

"There will be deaths. Not hundreds. Not thousands. Millions if not billions. Merisa will go on a rampage the moment she learns the truth. She will tear the empire apart. She will hunt both of us down and she won't stop until she's satisfied."

Her eyes dimmed, but she spoke honestly:

"I might survive."

Her gaze softened with heartbreak as she looked at Selena.

"But you?" She shook her head. "You won't survive."

Selena trembled, but Celestia didn't stop there.

"And even if she kills you do you think the people behind you will stay quiet?" Her voice sharpened.

"Your family. The Church. The entire Luminus. The believers of the Saintess. The citizens who worship you like a living goddess. The fanatics who would die with a smile just because you asked."

She leaned closer, golden and platinum eyes locked together.

"Do you think they'll sit still if their Saintess is killed?"

Selena froze.

Her lips parted.

She couldn't deny it.

"No," Celestia whispered. "They won't."

Her tone turned grim.

"They will burn the Noctvale territory to the ground."

Selena visibly blanched.

Celestia straightened, her tone lowering further.

"And you know what the Virelans will do in response? They will slaughter them."

The word slaughter cut into Selena's heart like a blade.

"You've seen their power. Their bloodline. Their obsession with protecting their own." Celestia's voice trembled slightly, as if even imagining the destruction worries her. "If a war starts because of your confession… this land will drown in blood."

She gently placed both hands on Selena's cheeks again, her voice softening.

"Selena… you made a terrible mistake. I made a terrible mistake. And I'm not saying we don't deserve consequences."

She brushed a tear from Selena's chin.

"But the punishment won't fall only on you or me. It will fall on everyone around us. On families. On children. On the entire empire."

She leaned closer.

"It's not just your burden. That's why you can't just charge into it alone."

She took a breath and spoke softly:

"This is why we didn't reveal it back then even though we never talked. You know that. You knew exactly what would happen i don't think i need to remind you of anything. Don't be impatient right now. Don't act out of pain. Think, Selena… think."

Her voice gentled even more, full of weary affection.

"Don't be selfish."

Her hands gently cupped Selena's cheeks, steadying her trembling head.

"Please. Calm down. I'm right here. You're not alone. Listen to me.."

"Shut up, Cels."

Selena's voice suddenly cracked loud, raw, erupting like a scream torn straight from her soul.

Celestia's hands froze on her cheeks.

Selena slapped them away with trembling force, her eyes blazing with agonized fury.

"RAZEAL MIGHT DIE!"

Her voice was so loud it echoed through the quiet garden.

Celestia's eyes widened.

Selena stepped forward shakily, her whole body trembling with desperation.

"He's out there in the ocean.. Alone!"

"He became a criminal.. an enemy of the empire because he wanted to run away from here!"

Her voice broke, thick with fear.

"He doesn't care about his life anymore… he doesn't value it… he doesn't protect it…"

Her chest heaved violently.

"But I do!"

Tears streamed down her face again uncontrollably.

"I DO!"

"I FUCKING DO!"

Her voice exploded with raw agony.

"I DON'T WANT HIM TO DIE!"

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