“In a few days,” Pandora said, her voice low, “you’ll understand what I mean.”

  She paused, letting the words hang in the air.

  “But for now, what you should be thinking about isn't how to be a knight.”

  Pandora’s words took a turn, becoming something heavy, something Aurora couldn’t quite grasp.

  “Perhaps in a few days, even the word ‘knight’ will be meaningless.”

  “Things you don’t know, things even I don’t fully understand, are coming. They’re going to tear down everything we thought we knew.”

  “So, what you need to think about is this—how do you want to live?”

  She looked into Aurora’s increasingly confused eyes and said, word by word:

  “Forget being a knight for a second. Forget the duties, the spirit, all of it. What kind of person do you want to be? What kind of life do you want to live?”

  “Think about that, Aurora. Really think about it.”

  Pandora was talking about the “screening,” of course. The people behind this whole mess had set up a cruel system; it was unlikely they’d stop there. There would be a next step. And that next step would probably obliterate their past lives and drag them, kicking and screaming, into a new world.

  This was an unavoidable future. A freight train with no brakes.

  She hoped Aurora would be ready.

  However, her words didn't enlighten Aurora. They just threw her deeper into the fog.

  The word ‘knight’ becomes meaningless? What did that mean? Forget being a knight… what does that mean?

  Following My Liege, dedicating everything to her… wasn't that the whole point of being a knight?

  But… My Liege had just told her to forget it.

  So if she wasn't a knight, should she… should she still obey My Liege’s commands?

  Aurora’s head was spinning. She felt like she’d fallen into a logical trap with no way out. The more she tried to think, the more tangled her thoughts became.

  Pandora watched Aurora, who looked like her brain was about to short-circuit, and sighed internally.

  She had no intention of “enlightening” her further. She didn't have that skill. She was great at breaking someone’s world, but she had no idea how to put the pieces back together. She knew her own limits.

  So, for Aurora’s current state, she actually… had no perfect solution.

  Maybe comfort could fix the momentary pain, but it couldn't solve a lifetime of problems.

  In that case…

  all she could do was—

  tear it all down.

  Since she couldn't solve the puzzle, she’d smash it to pieces and flip over the board.

  Let Aurora build her own world from the rubble.

  It was a cruel thing to do.

  But, as they say~

  growth is cruel. It’s supposed to hurt.

  But it’s a process every living thing has to go through.

  A long pain is worse than a short one.

  “Alright, stop thinking for now,” Pandora said, waving her hand as if the world-shattering speech from moments ago was just a comment on the weather.

  “Let’s go back, have a meal, take a bath.”

  The corner of her mouth curled into a strange, unreadable smile.

  “Life, you have to find your own fun… ah, no, I mean, let’s go see if Betty has made us any ‘fries’ in the kitchen.”

  Lost in her chaotic thoughts, Aurora just nodded dazedly, not understanding the st, nonsensical thing her liege had said.

  Of course, even if she’d heard it perfectly, she probably wouldn’t have understood the muttering of a transmigrator.

  She just subconsciously nodded.

  By the time she snapped out of it, Pandora was already walking away without a backward gnce.

  Only then did Aurora hurriedly gather her wits and scramble after her…

  ………………

  By the time they got back to Dougs Manor, it was already afternoon.

  After a quick rest, Pandora led Aurora and Elsa through the heavy oak door.

  But they weren’t met with the emptiness Aurora expected.

  They were met with the smell of food.

  A rich aroma, a mix of roasted meat and spices so thick it felt like a physical weight, wafted from the dining hall, spiraling through the entire manor.

  Just as she’d said, Pandora had the kitchen pull out all the stops for a meal that could only be described as “extravagant.”

  And this feast wasn't just for her and Aurora.

  All the “newly appointed” servants and guards of the manor, as well as the two newly promoted knights, “Gabby” and “Thumbs,” were there.

  The long dining table was piled high with the best food the manor could offer, some of which usually only appeared during the grandest of celebrations, now id out without reservation.

  Smoked mb chops, sizzling with golden-brown, crispy skin; salted fowl, glistening with thick gravy, served on a huge silver ptter; and ale and wine, brought up from the deepest part of the celr, usually reserved only for the Viscount and his guests.

  The candles were bright, the air buzzing with conversation. The deathly silence that had hung over the manor since the world ended seemed to have been completely dispersed by this long-lost, lively atmosphere.

  However, if you looked closely, you’d see that beneath this facade of joy, everyone’s face held a touch of undisguised unease.

  The sheer extravagance of this dinner was enough to make any survivor believe… that tomorrow was the end of the world.

  They didn't understand why, at a time like this, Lady Pandora would do something so strange.

  Pandora didn't expin.

  Because she couldn’t quite expin the premonition herself.

  She just felt that this fragile stability wouldn't st. It wouldn't be ten days, or even half a month.

  The “Demon Hunter Academy,” the people behind this whole incident, would make their move.

  The purpose of the “screening” was to find the “winners,” the ones who could survive this disaster. If too much time passed, if the survivors settled down, started living normal lives, even thriving, then the results of the screening would be useless.

  That was definitely not something the people pulling the strings would want.

  Of course, this was just a guess. But Pandora had a feeling it wasn't far from the truth.

  So, she chose to give everyone… a final feast. A st meal.

  After the grand meal, the hot bath was not to be had.

  For no other reason than, just as everyone had eaten their fill, carrying that happy, tipsy weariness, and was preparing to disperse…

  Pandora stood up…

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