'Could I have done more?'

The thought bubbled up. If I had warned the Academy sooner? If I had ambushed Silas before the ritual started? Maybe this woman would be alive.

I stopped. I closed my eyes and crushed that thought instantly.

'No.'

I shook my head, opening my eyes. The cold, pragmatic light returned to them.

'Self-doubt is for heroes. Guilt is for the weak.'

I was a villain. I was Lucien Ashborne.

I looked at the carnage and did the math.

In the original game, this event—the Day of Shattered Glass—resulted in the death of 80% of the attendees. Every noble in the VIP section died. The protagonist party was decimated mentally. The Empire plunged into chaos.

Today?

The VIPs were alive. My mother was alive. Ariana was alive. The Protagonists were injured but breathing.

The only casualties were commoners and low-ranking staff who didn't have protective artifacts or personal knights.

'Acceptable losses.'

It was a cruel calculation, but it was the truth. I had turned a massacre into a skirmish. I had changed the timeline for the better.

"I did what I had to do," I whispered to the dead woman.

I stepped over her and didn't look back.

****

[VIP Area]

By the time I reached the barricaded VIP deck, the knights had already secured the perimeter.

"Lucien!"

The moment I stepped through the broken doors, a lavender blur slammed into me.

Ariana buried her face in my chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Her beautiful dress was stained with soot, but she was unharmed.

"You came back… you came back…"

I wrapped an arm around her, patting her head awkwardly.

"I told you," I said, my voice raspy. "I'd be back before tea time."

Over her shoulder, I saw my mother.

Lyriana was sitting on a chair, looking exhausted. Her hair was messy, and she had a small cut on her cheek, but she was alive. Lena stood beside her, dagger still drawn, looking like she had piled up a mountain of bodies to keep her mistress safe.

Lyriana looked at me. She saw the blood on my suit—none of it mine—and the cold look in my eyes.

She didn't say anything. She just nodded, a look of profound relief and pride in her eyes.

***

The silence that followed the slaughter was louder than the battle itself.

It was broken only by the rhythmic chanting of the Clerics who had flooded the park. Dressed in pristine white robes that contrasted sharply with the gore-slicked cobblestones, they moved among the wounded, casting [High Heal] and [Purification].

Golden light flashed sporadically like fireflies in the twilight.

"We need a stretcher here!"

"His leg is gone! Cauterize it!"

"Mommy? Mommy!"

The sounds of rescue were chaotic.

We stood near the wreckage of the main gate. The adrenaline was fading, leaving behind a bone-deep exhaustion.

"Lucien," Lyriana said, her voice commanding yet weary. "You are not going back to that shed of yours. Not tonight."

"Mother, I have—"

"No," she cut me off. "You look like you bathed in a slaughterhouse. And bringing a noble daughter to a commoner district in this state is improper. We are going to the Capital Estate."

I looked down at my suit. It was stiff with dried blood—mostly Orc and Imp, but some human. She had a point.

"Fine."

I turned to Alicia.

"Alicia, head back to Kitchen 21. Tell Lily we're alive before she hears the news and has a heart attack."

Alicia nodded, looking relieved to be dismissed. "Understood, Boss. I'll make sure the shop is secure."

Ariana turned to her bodyguard.

"Lena… return to the Academy dorms. Inform the authorities that I am safe and under the protection of Countess Ashborne. I… I don't think I can handle the dormitory questions tonight."

Lena bowed deeply. "As you wish, Young Miss. Please be safe."

The two maids departed, melting into the crowd of evacuees.

A black carriage bearing the Ashborne crest rolled up, the horses looking nervous from the smell of demon blood. The footman opened the door, his face pale as he took in our appearance.

"To the Estate," Lyriana ordered.

We climbed in. The door shut, sealing out the cries of the wounded.

****

The carriage ride was suffocatingly quiet at first. The plush velvet seats felt too soft, too clean after the hard stone and violence of the last hour.

Ariana sat beside me, staring at her hands. I sat opposite my mother.

"The Empire…" Lyriana broke the silence, staring out the window at the passing city. "...is going to be in an uproar for a while."

"That's putting it mildly," I replied, leaning my head back against the seat. "Infernus just declared war in the capital's backyard."

Lyriana sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Indeed. This was such a large-scale attack. If not for Instructor Samantha shattering that barrier… it would have been a disaster of historic proportions."

Her eyes grew dark.

"Do you realize who was in that park, Lucien? The heirs to the Solmere, Eisenwald, and Vermillion families. The heads of the Merchant Guilds. Minister Valerius's wife."

She looked at me grimly.

"The political dynamics would have changed overnight if anything were to happen there. If those people had lost their lives… the power vacuum would have triggered a civil war. No one knows how much worse it could have been."

I nodded slowly.

In the game, that's exactly what happened. The Day of Shattered Glass broke the Empire's spine.

"Yes," I said, my voice low and pragmatic. "It is sad, and it sounds cruel to say… but in the grand scheme of things, it is fortunate that only the commoners and staff died."

Ariana flinched beside me.

"It's terrible," I continued, not softening the blow. "But commoners can be mourned. Dead Dukes? Dead Ministers? That leads to instability. Chaos. And chaos kills millions."

The carriage fell silent again. It was a cold, aristocrat's truth. One that made the air feel heavy.

Seeing Ariana shrink into herself, and the atmosphere turning gloomy, Lyriana shook her head and shifted the topic.

"But," she said, her voice brightening slightly as she looked at the girl beside me. "Little Ariana was exemplary back there."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"You were busy fighting at the front, so you didn't see," Lyriana smiled warmly. "While we were barricaded, she didn't just cower. When the injured managed to crawl to the VIP area, she was there."

Lyriana gestured to Ariana's stained purse.

"You know, her potions came in so handy. Who knew this girl was carrying a portable pharmacy with her? High-grade healing potions, stamina draughts, even a calming elixir for a hysterical Baroness. Is she farsighted, or just paranoid?"

I looked at Ariana, surprised. "You had all that?"

On her praises, Ariana became shy. She tugged at a loose thread on her ruined lavender dress, her face turning pink.

"I—It's not like that," she murmured in a low tone. "I… I often make potions to practice alchemy. I hate throwing away failed—I mean, test batches—so I always end up with many in my bag. It just… happened to be useful."

"Modest too," Lyriana chuckled. "You saved at least three people from bleeding out, dear. Take the credit."

Ariana looked up at me, seeking validation.

I gave her a small, tired smile.

"Good job, Alchemist."

Her ears turned red, and she looked down again, hiding a smile.

****

[Ashborne Capital Estate]

The carriage slowed to a halt on a gravel driveway.

We stepped out in front of a massive mansion—not as large as the main territory castle, but still imposing, with manicured gardens and white stone pillars.

The front doors opened before we even reached the steps.

An elderly man with graying hair slicked back perfectly, wearing a tailcoat, bowed with practiced precision.

"Welcome home, Countess. Young Master Lucien."

He paused, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly as he took in our state—covered in soot, dried blood, and dust.

"Sebastian," Lyriana nodded. "We have had… a day."

"So I see, My Lady," the butler replied smoothly, recovering instantly. "Shall I summon the physician?"

"No need. We are uninjured, mostly."

She swept into the hall, pulling off her ruined gloves and tossing them onto a silver tray held by a maid.

"Sebastian, prepare the baths. Immediately. For everyone."

Lyriana stood in the center of the foyer, barking orders with the precision of a general. She pointed at me, then at the soot-stained Ariana.

"Hot water. Essential oils. And burn these clothes. I don't want to see this suit ever again."

"At once, My Lady."

Sebastian clapped his hands, and the house staff scrambled into action, vanishing into hallways to execute the commands.

Lyriana wasn't finished.

"And also, prepare two rooms in the East Wing. They will be staying here tonight. Also, get them some spare clothes. Something silk, something breathable."

"Yes, My Lady."

Turning to us, she softened her expression just a fraction.

"Go clean yourselves and come down for dinner when you are human again."

"Ok, Mother."

"Yes, Lady Countess."

We replied in unison, voices heavy with fatigue.

Nodding, Lyriana turned on her heel and marched toward the master suite, her posture never faltering despite the chaos of the day.

A maid guided Ariana toward the guest chambers, while Sebastian personally escorted me to a suite I remembered from my childhood memories.

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