Is there really no way to be happy like this?

Is there no way to escape from all those bleak fates, whether it be the Dark Shadow or war?

If only I could have his strong arms and unwavering gaze by my side, then I wouldn’t be afraid of anything.

It wouldn’t matter if it were deep in the mountains or a small village by the distant sea. If only I could be held in his embrace like this without caring about anyone else’s eyes on us.

As Kasha thought this, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. It was too sad that such a thing was impossible.

There were too many people suffering besides Kasha and Leon to turn a blind eye to everything.

Leon and Kasha’s families, innocent children who would be sacrificed by the Dark Shadow, innocent Holy Knights who would lose their lives in the Holy Grail War.

A miracle like Kasha’s probably wouldn’t happen for them. The miracle of returning from death and living a new life.

So she, who had this miracle in her hands, had to do anything.

Leaving behind this moment of perfect happiness, she had to move forward.

Leon, seeing Kasha’s tearful eyes, tightened his arms around her. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but he didn’t open his mouth.

‘You’ll wait until I speak first, won’t you.’

Because you’re that kind of person. Thinking that, Kasha buried her face in his shoulder as if clinging to him.

Taking a deep breath, his familiar scent seemed to fill her deeply to the pit of her stomach.

‘I promise, Leon.’

Kasha vowed inwardly.

‘I won’t ever leave you alone and run away. I’ll confess everything, accept any blame or curses, and then leave. So please endure a little longer. This me who is being so selfishly.’

Kasha, having made up her mind, slowly got down from his lap. Leon didn’t stop her. Instead, he laid his white handkerchief beside him so she could sit.

It was the handkerchief he had wrapped around Kasha’s neck when they first met after the regression. It was also the item that had covered Kasha’s wound from the glass. That pristine white handkerchief that she had washed and returned to him someday, he now laid it under her again.

Kasha sat next to Leon and looked at the sunrise. And as she collected her emotions, she opened her mouth.

“Have you… been here before?”

Leon nodded.

“I once got lost in the desert while on an expedition near this area.”

“All the way out here?”

“The Holy Knights are often deployed to conflicts big and small. We have to show that God is always on the side of the people.”

“……”

“At that time, the archbishop I was serving under pushed me to find the way, so I wandered and ended up climbing all the way here. As luck would have it, dawn broke then. Fortunately, I found the direction of the village, but I didn’t go down right away and sat here for a while.”

“Why?”

Kasha asked, though she felt she already knew the answer.

“Just. Because sometimes I think my life is too hard if I can’t even enjoy this kind of beauty.”

Kasha smiled softly at his frank answer. Leon, quietly looking at her, added.

“I wanted to show it to you.”

“Why? Because my life looked too hard?”

At Kasha’s playful question, Leon replied impassively.

“Because the expression on your face when you looked at the sea in Elor Bay was so beautiful that I couldn’t forget it.”

In that moment, looking at his face shining like a sculpture created by God, Kasha felt the urge to kiss him first for the first time.

Her face flushed red at the soft, constricting feeling in her stomach. As if he could clearly read her desire in his unwavering eyes on her, Kasha turned her head away in a hurry, flustered.

Four days later, the expedition arrived at the entrance of the Arakti mountain range.

They were now only a day or two away from the nearby territory where monsters were reportedly rampaging.

It was also the point where they had to become seriously tense and make full preparations.

However, Kasha was captivated by a strange feeling beyond simple tension as she looked around at the surrounding scenery.

This place was none other than near the village where Kasha had spent her childhood with her mother.

The rough and pointed peaks covered in perpetual snow. Looking at the clouds slowly flowing around them, one would sometimes get the illusion that time had stopped.

The image of her young self spending boring times gazing at that sight vividly came to mind.

The hut where Kasha and her mother lived was deep in the mountains, but the village they frequented the most was very close to here.

‘Is it all still the same?’

Shivering slightly at the noticeably lower temperature over the past few days, Kasha muttered inwardly.

It was still vivid. The quiet forest path to the village.

The coniferous forest that grew so tall the sky couldn’t be seen, the moss-covered rocks, the nameless mountain birds she would often encounter there. When winter came, they would be isolated in the mountains for a month or two due to the huge amount of snow piled up.

Even though she was stoned by the children every time she went to the village, Kasha always looked forward to the days she went to the village.

Because things like looking at the warm and soft bread sold at the only bakery in the village or borrowing books from the shabby library were the most exciting activities for her at the time.

Of course, if the mischievous little kids locked her in the warehouse or knocked her over into the mud, ruining the borrowed books, that day would quickly become the worst.

Especially the village chief’s son named Yarson had tormented Kasha so terribly. So much so that she still remembered his spiteful freckled face.

‘Are those kids still living in that village?’

She suddenly became curious. Not that she particularly wanted to go to that village and check on those kids’ well-being.

Leon’s broad shoulders leading the procession a little ahead came into view.

He kept moving Kasha’s position within the ranks, giving various reasons. And now, this spot where she could see his back figure directly had become Kasha’s fixed position.

At the beginning of the expedition, he seemed to be trying his best not to reveal his relationship with Kasha, but now he seemed to have given up on that too. After all, it was all useless when all the knights knew about their relationship.

Just like before in front of the nobles, his attitude now was truly transparent. And that consistent transparency both startled and reassured Kasha.

It was when she had been staring at Leon’s upright back for a long time and turned her gaze back to the coniferous forest.

Suddenly, the narrow mountain path they were walking on became noisy. A knight who had been placed at the front as the advance party was rushing this way on horseback with a strange man.

Even from a distance, the man’s appearance was miserable. His clothes were torn and bloodied everywhere, he was wearing only one shoe, and he was even crying pathetically.

Seeing this, Kasha instinctively became tense.

‘Could it be that the monsters have already invaded this far?’

The knight first put the man down in front of Leon. The man lay flat in front of Leon, trembling and sobbing. He seemed to have received some shock and couldn’t even speak properly.

“What happened?”

Leon’s voice in response to them was sharp and urgent. The knight who had ridden the horse quickly replied.

“There are about twenty villagers gathered up ahead. There are also many injured among them. This man seems to be the village chief.”

“Injured?”

“A few hours ago, monsters appeared in the village where they live.”

“Monsters?”

Unfortunately, the ominous premonition turned out to be true. A taut tension flowed over Leon’s back.

“Yes. Out of about a hundred villagers, only around twenty managed to escape.”

“What about the rest?”

“Most of them died… But, well…”

“What is it? Speak.”

“The children are hiding in the village warehouse. When the monsters first appeared, they gathered the children and told them to hide there, but in the chaos of escaping, they couldn’t take care of the children.”

“My son Toby is still there! Please save him, my lord!”

As if his words had finally been unleashed, the man called the village chief raised his head and began to plead, rubbing his hands together. But then, when Kasha saw the village chief’s face, her eyes narrowed slightly.

‘That person, could it be…’

He was much taller and had a protruding belly, but that freckled face and orange mop of hair were definitely……

“Yarson?”

The name that thoughtlessly popped out of Kasha’s mouth made both Leon and the village chief turn to look at her.

“Young lady, h-how do you know my name…?”

Seeing the noble young lady looking down at him on a white horse, dressed in luxurious travel attire, the man suddenly bent his waist flat.

“Young lady. I don’t know who you are, but please save our Toby. If you just save our son, I’ll do anything.”

Kasha looked down at Yarson groveling with her mouth closed. How should I put it? A mix of emotions crossed her mind.

Yarson, the nightmare of her childhood who had once toyed with her helpless self like a plaything, was now begging her for his son’s life in such a miserable state.

He looked truly powerless now. His wretched appearance was so pitiful that she couldn’t even feel a sense of exhilaration.

Kasha looked down at him with cold eyes and asked.

“You left the child in the village and escaped alone? You call yourself a father?”

“That, well… When I suddenly saw the terrifying monsters appear in a horde and kill people, I lost my mind and accidentally.”

Kasha’s lips twitched slightly as if in a spasm.

“I wonder… if I should call it fortunate.”

“Pardon?”

“Judging from the fact that you abandoned even your child and ran away, your cowardice… seems to be indiscriminate of the target.”

“I, I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Indeed, my hardships back then were not my fault. It was because of your cowardice and vileness.”

“Excuse me… Do you know me by any chance?”

Kasha saw the fear settling in Yarson’s eyes. It was the shadow of karma that falls upon those who have lived cruelly and despicably all their lives.

Even though he couldn’t fathom how he could have wronged this noble young lady, his instincts made him wary because he had committed so many sins.

Then Leon, who had been watching silently, turned his horse’s head and gazed at Kasha.

“Kasha. Do you know this man?”

Kasha suddenly came to her senses. Now was not the time to be distracted by the likes of Yarson.

“No. Will you… go and save those children?”

“Since our goal is to exterminate the monsters anyway, I was thinking of going to assess the situation.”

“Then I’ll lead the way.”

“You?”

Everyone who heard those words, including Leon and Yarson, made puzzled faces.

“Yes. I know well where that warehouse is.”

“How on earth…”

“Once you’re trapped inside, it’s a place you absolutely can’t escape from on your own. Let’s hurry.”

“Kasha.”

“Children are… innocent. No one can… choose their parents. Right?”

Kasha suddenly cried out like that.