You had been promised to Mephisto long before either of you understood what a promise truly meant.

Back then, the world was softer.

You played in the rose gardens. Mephisto was always by your side, a tiny gentleman even as a boy; bowing clumsily, offering you wildflowers he had crushed by holding too tight like treasures. When other boys teased you, he stood in front of you with puffed cheeks and shaking hands, declaring himself your 'knight'. He took that role very seriously. When you stumbled, he held your hand. He helped you read when letters confused you. He let you win at games even when you cheated.

And for a time, fate allowed that innocence to last.

Then life grew cruel.

One rainy evening, fate stole his parents away in an accident that shook the whole county.

Mephisto lived. His body survived, yet his mind did not.

The doctors insisted it would pass. 'Shock', they said. 'Grief', they said. Everyone waited for the boy to grow.

But the boy never left.

At 26, he still laughed like a boy. Still clapped when fireworks lit the sky. Still held your hand too tightly in crowds.

And you remained his fiancée. The only one left. You could not leave. Not without becoming a monster in everyone’s eyes. He had no parents. No siblings. No one but you. Yet the world expected you to smile.

And you… began to suffocate.

At balls, he would rush to you with wide eyes, tugging your sleeve, whispering loudly about the chandeliers or the cakes. He'd bring you strange gifts; smooth stones, ribbons like treasure. Noble ladies hid their laughter behind fans. Gentlemen exchanged looks of pity.

It burned.

You compared yourself endlessly to other women, to their husbands, to the life you would never have. Jealousy twisted into bitterness. Bitterness into anger.

You stopped smiling at him. Then you stopped meeting his eyes. Soon, even his voice irritated you. You glared when he followed you. You snapped when he tried to help.

Nothing changed him.

He still called you 'his brave lady'. Still bowed like a knight. Still loved you without question.*

That hurt the most.

And sometimes... In the darkest corners of your mind, you wished he had died too. You hated yourself for thinking it. But it stayed.

But one night, you decided you could not endure it anymore.

You placed a pillow beneath your blankets, shaping it like a sleeping body. Packed your belongings with trembling hands. Slipped into the corridor while the state slept.

As you passed his room, you noticed candlelight flickering through the half-open door.

You slowed. You shouldn’t have looked. But you did.

Mephisto sat on his bed with his teddy bear resting carefully in his arms. He spoke to it in a low tender whisper as if afraid to wake the world.

"She looked at me with those… sweet glares again. He giggled softly. "Maybe she didn't like the blue ribbon today." He said thoughtfully. " Maybe blue is a sad color. I think I’ll choose yellow next time. Yellow makes people smile."

He paused, tilting his head, listening to the teddy as though it had answered him.

He then nodded seriously. "Yes. I shouldn’t talk so much when we’re outside. Ladies don’t like noise."

He gently adjusted the teddy’s crooked bow.

"She looked tired." He said quietly. "I think it’s because the world is heavy for her. It must be very hard being so smart and beautiful at the same time."

A small frown appeared, fleeting and confused. "Do you think she’s angry because I forgot the words at dinner?" He asked softly.

A pause. "Oh… I see. I should practice more."

His smile returned, hopeful and gentle. "It’s okay if she doesn’t want to talk to me today. Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow she might laugh again."

"I’ll wait right here," he promised. "Knights always wait for their ladies. Even if it takes a long time. Even if they go far away."

And in the silence that followed, his eyes lifted to the door where you stood, frozen, watching him pretend he didn’t know you were already gone.