As the two walked towards the center of the square, they saw a troupe preparing for a puppet show amidst loud cheers.

From young children to the elderly, people were gathered cozily in front of the brightly lit stage.

“Shall we watch too?”

Raoul nodded.

Diana led Raoul by the hand and sat down on an old rug.

As the surroundings darkened for the puppet show, even the faces of those nearby became hard to see.

Diana gripped Raoul’s hand more tightly, fearing she might lose him.

“We mustn’t get separated.”

At her softly whispered words, Raoul’s earlobes turned bright red.

But Diana didn’t notice at all due to the darkness.

As the two smiled at each other, confirming each other’s presence, the shadows of puppets appeared amidst the lights to the beat of drums shaking the ground.

“This is a story from about 1000 years ago, when the Goddess Aiona first set foot on the continent.”

The story was about Goddess Aiona and the sacred relics, known to all continental people.

The goddess left behind three sacred relics: the Stone of Prosperity, the Goddess’s Sword, and the Tiara of Repentance.

The Stone of Prosperity is also called the Stone of Harvest. Regions blessed by the goddess endlessly produce luscious fruits and bountiful grain harvests.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the legitimacy and economic foundation of the current Hamel Empire were built on this first sacred relic.

Next, the Goddess’s Sword is a treasured blade made solely for humans.

It’s said that Aiona forged it from light magic ore, which no longer exists, to save the continent suffering from monsters. This legendary relic would later come into Ayla’s possession.

Lastly, the Tiara of Repentance.

This relic is currently kept in the Holy Empire, said to have been created to make cunning humans who often try to deceive repent.

Wearing the Tiara of Repentance makes one sincerely repent for all past sins, after which they become a servant of God, serving only the goddess.

Though Diana already knew the story, Raoul was quickly absorbed in the tale and the lively shadow play he was hearing for the first time.

He frowned adorably whenever the goddess was sad.

As Diana watched Raoul’s expressions instead of the masked play, the actor behind the tent gave a realistic crying performance.

“I gave you my all, yet you know no satisfaction! Ah, how am I to live on!”

It was the final moments of Goddess Aiona.

Tired of humans waging war over the sacred relics, she eventually departs for a desolate land devoid of people.

Wandering the world to leave the wretched continent, she again saves starving humans in barren lands.

But humans disappoint her unchangingly, and as her heart becomes tattered and weary, her tears form puddles, then ponds, then lakes, eventually becoming today’s seas.

As Aiona ascends again, ending the play, the actors came forward with their hats extended. Diana, grateful for their passionate performance, put in two silver coins.

Though people began to leave one by one, Raoul kept holding Diana’s hand, still gazing at the darkened stage as if lingering in the afterglow.

Finding his serious face so pure and cute, Diana playfully asked while squeezing his hand:

“Do you feel sorry for Goddess Aiona?”

“She’s foolish. She should have given up early on.”

‘If love could be given up so easily, would it be love?’

Diana replied with a bitter smile.

“When you truly like someone, it’s not easy to give up.”

Raoul stared at Diana’s profile before answering.

“…One-sided love is not good. It only ends up hurting oneself.”

Diana took Raoul’s hand and stood up.

As she naturally helped Raoul up and tidied his clothes, Diana said:

“That’s right. But she loved to her heart’s content, so she probably has no regrets? She’s probably living happily in heaven now. Finding a new life.”

“If it were me, I would have done well enough not to regret. If someone was so devoted to me. The humans in the play all seem foolish.”

Diana nodded with a broad smile.

“That’s right.”

‘Raoul would surely love without regrets. Because he’s so wonderful and kind.’

Now the highlight of the festival, the fireworks, was just around the corner.

As she pointed to the towering clock tower, Raoul followed her gaze upward.

The best way to see a magnificent view was up close.

Despite being a prime spot, there was a reason no one visited.

The clock tower was much higher than Diana had thought.

Without riding on Raoul’s back and resting several times along the way, the two were finally able to enjoy the beautiful scenery intimately atop the clock tower.

The view of the town, now small below the clock tower, spread out before them.

Even the noisy sounds of the crowd seemed distant from here, like white noise.

“It’s pretty. It’s even more beautiful from far away.”

Perhaps because the clock tower was so high, various events unfolding here and there could be seen at a glance.

From families holding hands to enjoy the festival to lovers taking off their masks and kissing in alleyways, everyone was enjoying the festival in their own way.

Diana looked at Raoul’s face beside her.

‘He’s so focused.’

His colorful irises were full of curiosity.

Diana took in the boy, filled with excitement as he held the rabbit doll to his chest.

It was beautiful. When was it? Diana from an unremembered past also wanted to give such joy to Raoul.

An ordinary daily life, carefree laughter, excitement for tomorrow.

In the end, she couldn’t achieve any of it.

Diana hoped Raoul would live enjoying all of this to his heart’s content in a world without discrimination.

‘You’ll be able to do that.’

The moment Raoul looked back at Diana, fireworks burst in the sky.

Red, white, yellow, green.

“Thank you. I’m glad we came out after all.”

Raoul smiled like a painting as he leaned on the clock tower railing.

At that moment, spring came to Diana’s heart once again.

‘Even in the hottest summer, you’re the one who gives me spring.’

How lucky she was to be able to feel such emotions.

Raoul, still looking at the sky, quietly intertwined his fingertips with hers without turning his head.

“I’m really glad I met you.”

As a faint smile spread gracefully across his lips, his face looked much brighter and clearer than the fireworks.

His presence was so immense that it felt overwhelmingly large and daunting.

Holding the hand of the boy who always seemed distant despite being close, Diana thought.

‘From now on, you’ll become a man so wonderful I can’t even reach you, right? When you experience the harsh reality, you might come to despise a greenhouse flower.’

Even so, please know this…

“I’m… really glad I met you too.”

Their eyes met, and they smiled simultaneously.

It was a night when emotions as beautiful as fireworks burst, burning away even the anxious thoughts lingering in their minds.

Benjamin was still hesitating about appointing the Lycan as a guard.

His mentor, Vincent, evaluated his disciple’s skills in one sentence without any flowery words.

“He’s ready for immediate deployment.”

Having observed the actual training sessions multiple times, his words were the truth without any exaggeration.

Benjamin lifted his monocle and let out a deep sigh.

‘It’s not about his skills, what if this guy develops ulterior motives towards the young lady?’

The Duke, who could cut down 1000 men with a single sword swing, might not care about the characteristics of other races, but it was different for Benjamin.

One of his main duties was usually to grade slaves and assign them to suitable labor sites.

Therefore, he was well-versed in the characteristics of other races.

Lycans are a race that can never be tamed.

The reason Lycans are rare is that they have no concept of surrender.

Even if lucky enough to capture one, they never lower their tails to humans.

Even the imprinting magic devised to tame Lycans didn’t work at all if they already had a mate.

The only ones who can tame them are their ‘mate’ or the ‘potential mate’ they’ve long since designated.

“Is it time to casually talk about falling in love or taming?”

Their mate is their sore spot, and if mishandled, it could even lead to a rampage.

If he had already recognized Diana as his potential mate, it would clearly not be easy to separate them later.

He glared intently at the back of the young boy swinging his sword in the training ground.

‘Annoying brat.’

It would be wiser to find another knight after all.

Just as Benjamin was shaking his head and about to leave the training ground, it happened.

Vice Captain Baihar entered the training ground after finishing his castle patrol duty.

Behind the man, subordinates covered in blood followed in a line.

Bouncy Ball Knox, One-Eyed Beltemere, Shield Arm Renee, and other familiar faces recommended by Benjamin to become knights were mixed in.

“We should have gone wolf hunting while in the forest. The young lady would have been so pleased if we had brought her a gift.”

Baihar raised an eyebrow as he wiped the blood on his face with his thick forearm.

The knights filling the training ground behind him snickered.

Even Beltemere, whom he considered somewhat loyal, agreed while his one remaining eye gleamed.

“Let it go. Didn’t you see the young lady then? She even knelt and begged to spare it, I almost cried it was so pitiful.”

Was that gesture of rubbing hands like a fly supposed to imitate the young lady? It was hard to believe his eyes.

“Haha! That’s right. It would be quite awkward if she kneeled thinking it was that guy’s corpse. Don’t you agree?”

‘You, you! Ungrateful wretches!’

Before Benjamin could rebuke their disrespectful mouths, the young Lycan moved first.

Clang!

With a loud noise, the real sword fell to the floor.

“Shut up.”

He pointed at the sword with his chin while staring expressionlessly at Vice Captain Baihar.

“Try it if you can. Wolf hunting.”

The knights who stepped up in place of Baihar’s honor instantly turned the training ground into chaos.

Even for a Lycan, the boy wielding only a wooden sword struggled against the swarm of knights.

He just blankly watched the scene until Vincent came to end the situation.

Not only was their skill poor, but it was shocking to see them joking about their lord’s daughter as if she were some neighborhood kid.

He searched the personnel department all night but couldn’t think of a suitable person.

They either gossiped about Diana behind her back, scared Diana, needed more training, or were discriminatory.

‘Damn… It would be easier to compile a list of those stripped of their titles!’

Morning was approaching, and soon it would be time to prepare Diana’s belongings.

He let out a deep sigh and carefully wrote down the mission details on the paper bearing the Duke’s seal.

In the end, after going round and round, it came down to this guy.