Arriving at the beach outside Poisson, Luna quickly found Arlecchino.
She was still gazing out at the sea.
"Peppy?" Luna called out tentatively.
"...So you've already learned everything, sooner than I expected." Arlecchino turned her head slightly to look at her.
Luna saw no change in her expression as she approached and asked, "Aren't you angry?"
"What?"
"Aren't you angry that I called you that?"
"There's nothing to be angry about. Peruere was indeed my past name, but I abandoned it long ago and haven't used it since."
It had been a long time since anyone had called her "Peppy."
Hearing it again brought back a sense of nostalgia. Except this time, the one saying it wasn't Clervie, but Luna, her daughter.
Luna stood beside Arlecchino, her hands clasped behind her back.
"You knew all along that Freminet was hiding Clervie, didn't you?"
Arlecchino nodded. "He's perceptive and would never abandon Clervie."
"Harboring a mission target isn't wise, but it's precisely because the children make their own choices that the House of the Hearth's blood continues to flow."
"Still, they need to be punished, right?"
"Yes."
Unsurprising.
Such is the consequence of breaking the rules. Even though Arlecchino had explicitly forbidden sheltering Clervie, Lyney and the others were bound to do it anyway.
Yet sheltering Clervie was a minor offense.
The real weight lies with the children who tried to tear fissures within the House of the Hearth, sowing discord and conflict.
"Filliol, Nanteuil... Their whispered words and clandestine actions did not escape my notice."
"I took them in, taught them survival skills and techniques. I don't seek their gratitude, but that doesn't mean I'll tolerate their betrayal of the House."
"Sometimes, a simple act of questioning can cost a life."
"The greatest danger often comes not from external enemies, but from internal chaos."
"They want to leave the House of the Hearth? Of course, they can. Anyone can leave, provided they pay the appropriate price—but they can't take our secrets with them."
With those words, Arlecchino strode forward.
"Let's go, Luna. The time has come."
Next was the execution.
Arlecchino made no demands of Luna, partly because she had already promised not to assign her any more tasks, but also because commanding Luna would be futile.
Luna would only act according to her own heart.
Arlecchino led Luna to a familiar arena—a ruin surrounded by crumbling walls, the very place where Arlecchino had previously dueled her.
"This used to be a Duel Arena. When 'Mother' still ruled, the children would slaughter each other here. The losers lost everything, and even the winners had no future to speak of."
"All the children were forced to pick up weapons and fight according to the rules, until the final 'King' emerged... a 'King' who would massacre all their 'family'."
Arlecchino turned around.
"And I became that 'King', personally killing Clervie."
Luna said, "Clervie said you were her best friend."
"'Friend'... yes, you could say that. In the House of the Hearth back then, only Peruere and Clervie understood the truth of our home and remained clear-headed."
"The other children were all immersed in the beautiful dream woven by the 'Mother', taking these things for granted and seeing the 'Mother's' cruelty as love."
"'This isn't domination, it's love!'
"Some children once said this to Clervie."
"But she never gave up, constantly rebelling, escaping, seeking help, and trying to expose the truth—all ending in failure."
"Even battered and bruised, she never lost her yearning for the sky."
Arlecchino closed her eyes.
"Yet after ten years, she still saw no hope of escape, no future of freedom."
"Killing 'Mother'? She couldn't bring herself to do it. Her reasons were twofold: first, the power disparity was too great; assassination had too low a chance of success, tantamount to suicide; second... though she never voiced it, it was clear she still regarded the previous generation of 'Knaves' as her mothers—after all, they remained bound by blood."
"Unable to escape or rebel, only one option remained."
"To liberate herself through death."
This was the truth of Clervie's death: a bird trapped in a cage chose suicide. Her talent and strength were undeniable, but her greatest weakness was her kindness.
She refused to harm her comrades, and she refused to harm her Mother.
To futilely cling to reason in a house driven mad was its own form of torment.
The only one she was willing to strike at was herself.
"Clervie was a very strong person," Luna admitted.
"...Perhaps," Arlecchino replied, her voice turning cold as she opened her eyes. "Sometimes, kindness is mistaken for cowardice—a reluctance to harm others that only invites harm upon oneself. Only with sufficient strength can one uphold their goodwill and crush all malice."
Over Luna's shoulder, she saw Filliol and the others being escorted in, including Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet.
"Only those who survive have the right to write the rules. That is the law of the House of the Hearth."
"Luna, I once asked you—could you see through and understand the common ground and the differences between us?"
Back then, Luna couldn't answer.
But now she could.
Because she had come to understand Arlecchino, and the true meaning of the word "King" within the House of the Hearth.
In the House of the Hearth, a home built by the homeless, only one thing remained unchanged through generations:
The rules.
Peruere, having been taken in by the previous Knave, had never known what a true home was like.
She only knew the House of the Hearth as it had been, everything about that "home" at that time.
So, when she took the name Arlecchino and established a new House of the Hearth, she could only construct this family based on the "home" she knew best.
Of course, she rewrote the rules, ensuring the House of the Hearth would no longer be steeped in blood and death.
Yet she, too, was bound by the rules.
This was the common ground between Arlecchino and her children.
The difference, however, was simple:
Strength.
"Maintaining rules requires strength, and rewriting them requires even greater strength. Clervie lacked the power to alter the rules set by 'Mother,' while I possessed it... That's why I ultimately killed 'Mother.'"
Arlecchino tugged at her sleeve.
"Eliminate the unreasonable, establish new rules, ascend the throne, and become your 'Father.' This is what I have done."
"Luna, if your eyes are sharp enough, keen enough, you'll see through me and recognize our shared origins—and what sets us apart."
"Then you'll understand that what you see as 'home' still falls short of being a true 'home'."
She repeated the words Luna had heard as a child.
This time, Luna understood completely.
"You're just another person bound by rules," Luna said.
Arlecchino smiled faintly. "Exactly. You finally understand. I hoped either you or Lyney could give me a fresh answer. Perhaps you can do so now."
Her gaze fell on the sword at Luna's waist.
The Azure Radiance of Hydrell, a blade imbued with the blood of heroes and the longing of family... Luna no longer wondered if she had been abandoned or might be abandoned.
Because she had been loved all along.
Meanwhile, Filliol and the others who had been brought in under guard arrived at the Duel Arena.