The little boy and the little girl approached the corpse of Rozen, covered with a brown shroud.
(The Little Boy): "I feel remorse toward him."
(The Little Girl): "I feel nothing toward him at all."
(The Little Boy): "His screaming echoed throughout the city."
(The Little Girl): "He was nothing but a living body. His soul died a long time ago."
(The little boy) with a smile: "Rather, it was his body that died long ago."
They left, the little girl following behind him.
No sooner had they exited than an elderly man entered. He sat beside the table bearing the body of Rozen, removed the covering, washed him with rosewater, placed herbs into the mouth of the departed, anointed his forehead with musk, then covered him once more.
The room grew cold to the point of freezing.
The old man remained beside him for a week and a half.
He awoke to the movement of the shroud.
(The Old Man): "You took long enough."
The covering was lifted from Rozen's pale face as he rose from where he lay. Red shadows circled his eyes, blue veins visible beneath his skin. He turned toward the old man with a dead gaze, then lay back down.
(Rozen): "I will not prolong this. Finish what you came to do."
A chair emerged between the old man and the table, and he sat.
(The Old Man): "My son, there is no salvation for you here without attempting to persuade the Lady to pardon you. Despite your insignificance in the eyes of us all, you have suffered enough. Not everyone agrees with me. Try with me. Ask for her forgiveness."
(Rozen), staring at the ceiling: "I did not die to apologize for something I do not understand. I do not feel I wronged anyone. I was brought here from nothing barely a month ago, judged for a charge I cannot comprehend, deprived of food, and eaten alive as a reward for solving some riddle. And now I return after stabbing, crushing, and flaying, only to beg her forgiveness. Death is kinder than this."
The old man struck him hard. Silence fell between them. Rozen was severely emaciated and weak; his nose began to bleed. The old man wiped it with a tattered cloth.
(The Old Man): "Do not be foolish. I am not permitted to say much, but do not be foolish. Your pride has no meaning. You are like a fish that cried in the ocean. No one would see its tears. Lower your pride. Your dignity has already been violated. Be merciful to yourself and try."
(Rozen) with a faint smile: "There is no meaning in apology either. If she wished me well, this nightmare would have ended long ago."
(The Girl): "If I wished you harm, why would I keep bringing you back to life? You are right. There is no meaning in any apology. I am not angry with you. I only want to purify you, to return you as a young man of sound heart and pure soul. Leave this weak old man. He does not understand the depth of the bond between us. He thinks you are like the others. You are Rozen, my exceptional boy."
(The Old Man): "He will become one of your finest servants if you desire. I can train him and raise him. Just grant me some time."
(The Girl), laughing shyly: "This stallion does not deserve to be a servant. I have seen in him strength and pride worthy of a higher station."
(Rozen): "Silence, both of you. My worth ended long ago. I desire death now. Let the old man break my neck, and let us all be done with this torment."
(The Girl), playfully: "I agree to your death, but I have one condition. No one will interfere. Break your own neck, and I will guarantee your annihilation from this world."
(Rozen): "Do you not understand? I will never kill myself. You have no power to convince me. Even if you gathered every inhabitant of this palace to torment me endlessly, there is no path to suicide in my mind."
(The Girl), laughing: "My heart pounds with admiration for your manhood and resolve. Old man, break his neck."
(The Old Man): "My Lady, D…"
His voice was cut off before the name was completed. Flames consumed him violently as Rozen watched with profound focus, seized by a strange sensation upon hearing the first letter of her name.
(The Old Man), screaming as his burning hand closed around Rozen's neck: "I apologize, my Lady. I apologize, my Lady."
Rozen looked at him with complete calm as the old man broke his neck.
He continued staring as the flames crystallized through the distortion of his vision, until darkness swallowed everything.
The old man sat beside Rozen, burning in silence after his mind dried, until he was reduced to ash beside him.
A span of deep darkness followed, short in the mind yet long in time.
Rozen opened his eyes.
(The Old Man): "I am sorry for failing the previous time."
(Rozen): "No matter."
(The Old Man): "I have convinced her to allow you to become one of the closest servants. I will oversee your training to serve Her Majesty."
(Rozen): "Why?"
(The Old Man), something glowing in his chest: "Not everything has a reason. Let us simply relieve you of this tragedy."
Rozen closed his eyes. The old man understood this as consent, loosened his restraints, and summoned two maidservants, extremely thin, one with black hair and the other blond, both dressed in tattered black. He ordered them to wash Rozen and feed him until he regained enough strength to move.
As they carried him away, Rozen whispered:
(Rozen): "We will all die again, you wretched old man."