Perhaps it was the joy of nearing her ideal that clouded Hanna’s mind, or perhaps she just didn’t care that much, but it was only now that Hanna truly felt Ash was gone.
In reality, that was normal. They had been together for less than a hundred days, and Hanna had lived well in the more than twenty years before she met him. Love certainly didn’t hold as much importance in Hanna’s heart as her ideals did—otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken Ash to assassinate the Princess.
Although Hanna detested everything about Qinna, Qinna’s attitude of ’family above all’ deeply influenced her—identify what you truly want, and everything else can be sacrificed. That was the Law of the Six Emblems.
After all, how much weight did Hanna’s liking for Ash really hold?
Before the "Happiness List" was published, Hanna merely had a favorable impression of Ash, partly because of the Senheiser dreamscape and partly because Ash reminded her of Banjee—undoubtedly, being cared for and raised by Banjee deeply influenced Hanna’s criteria for choosing a partner. Subconsciously, Hanna compared every man she met to her housekeeper and found none of them appealing.
Ash and Banjee didn’t actually look much alike. After all, Banjee was a beauty whose appearance was constantly recognized and fixed by the Gospel, while Ash, having lost his ranking in the First Gospel, was still a zero-star nobody who hadn’t made it onto any lists.
However, being with Ash, Hanna felt a sense of security. Perhaps it was that Ash was different from others, or perhaps it was seeing his willingness to take care of Liss, who was unrelated to him. Hanna, unable to continue playing the child in front of Banjee, always liked to seek Ash out for some mischievous pampering.
Ash had another attractive trait—his laziness.
Hanna was the type who couldn’t sit still and was always looking for meaning in life. If she ever chose to live in seclusion to bear and raise children, she would definitely demand that they learn and progress every day, aiming to reach Silver by age ten, Gold by fifteen, and the Holy Domain by twenty, never wasting their lives, like moths must burn in the flame to fulfill their existence.
But she also envied those who could enjoy a peaceful life, not in the consumerist brainwashed way of Mongfera, nor in the completely indifferent manner of Vatican Mura, but in finding joy in the everyday, feeling a secure happiness from life—yes, Hanna envied Ash.
However, these aspirations and feelings of security were merely unformed affections, seeds waiting to sprout.
The real turning point in her emotions came when the "Funeral Ceremony" decided to plan the assassination of the Princess.
What she thought was a distant death suddenly became imminent, and Hanna, crushed by dread, urgently needed a vent to share her pressure, and Ash became her lifeline; thus, this affection, intertwined with dependency, evolved into an unwavering love.
Did she truly like Ash as a person, or did she like the security, dependency, and life she projected onto him?
Did she really want to live with Ash, or did she hope that Ash would experience the other beauties of life for her, so she could pursue her ideals without distraction?
Hanna gazed at the little Banjee in the cradle, whispering softly, "Fairy tales always end with the protagonists together—a beautiful conclusion that never delves into the trivialities of living together...perhaps, that’s for the best."
She returned to her room and found it filled with luggage—the underground city’s court servants had gone to the hotel and retrieved all the things the Funeral Ceremony had left behind.
Her clothes and shoes, Banjee’s daily necessities and notebooks, Harvey’s surgical tools and harmonica, Igula’s... wait, whose harmonica?
But soon Hanna’s attention was drawn to something else.