Diana sat on the library sofa without saying a word for a long time.

“I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“That’s too much. This was really too much.”

“…You’re right. It’s all my fault.”

Raoul went down below the sofa and crouched at Diana’s knees, meeting her eyes. Diana’s heart melted at his plaintive gesture.

Raoul, with his guard completely lowered, was so gentle and affectionate that it was painfully beautiful, enough to make her heart ache.

So, even more… her heart felt heavy.

She couldn’t begin to fathom how much anguish and hurt this child, so full of affection, must have endured to grow up so sharp-edged.

Diana cupped Raoul’s cheeks with both hands and said:

“Raoul… There are too many reasons not to go into battle. You fell off a cliff not long ago, and you’re too young to be deployed in actual combat. I’ll ask one last time. Are you sure you can’t give it up?”

“Yes. I’ll return safely.”

Raoul’s attitude was very firm. No matter what reason she gave, Raoul’s answer remained the same.

In the end, Diana threw up her hands in defeat.

“Then promise me. That you absolutely won’t do anything reckless…”

“Alright.”

Raoul sat back on the sofa and embraced Diana’s body.

Diana sighed, carefully holding his still young hands.

Just holding him preciously in her arms wasn’t enough, and now he was going to battle… Her head was already aching.

She knew this day would come someday, but it was too soon, far too soon.

As the anger that had been rising to the brim subsided, only a poignant emotion remained, salty like salt.

Diana allowed him to stay in her embrace for a long time, even though she was sweating profusely from Raoul’s hot body temperature.

She would accept this kind of childish behavior as much as he wanted, if only he wouldn’t get hurt.

[This is the timeline separator]

On the day of departure, the atmosphere outside the castle was unsettled from early morning.

Diana visited Raoul’s bedroom from dawn to prepare for his departure, which no one else would take care of.

She packed a potion that would fill his stomach even with just a little food in case of any unforeseen stranding, and dressed him in thick clothes lined with quilted cotton.

“Do you need anything else?”

Raoul shook his head, sweating profusely.

“This is enough. I’ll be back soon, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

“Okay…”

Diana carefully wiped Raoul’s forehead with a handkerchief embroidered stitch by stitch.

“It may be hot now, but it will surely be cold when you climb the snowy mountains. Make sure to wear the extra clothes I gave you.”

Raoul nodded and smiled prettily.

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you wish me good fortune?”

“…Good fortune?”

“The handkerchief.”

Raoul’s gaze fell on the white cloth in her hand.

It is an old custom for a knight to receive a handkerchief from a lady wishing him good fortune when departing for battle.

“Ah…”

Diana hesitated for a moment.

‘I don’t really want to give it because the flower meaning is so sentimental…’

But there was no other handkerchief available at the moment.

“Here.”

Raoul fiddled with the piece of cloth placed on his palm, then handed it back to Diana.

“You can keep it. I have another.”

“That’s not it… I have to tie it for you.”

“Huh? Oh…”

Diana finally made a sound of realization and took the handkerchief.

She tied the handkerchief securely on his arm so as not to leave a scar on his young heart.

“May glory be upon your future.”

Light fell on her face, transparent and white. It was morning.

[This is the timeline separator]

After sending Raoul off, Diana was restless.

‘I wonder if he’s arrived by now and started climbing the snowy mountains.’

She looked up anxiously at Angela standing beside her and asked:

“Is there any news from Vincent…?”

“Not yet. It’s been three days already, but the assistant hasn’t said anything else either.”

The two of them sighed heavily at the same time.

‘Please, please, I beg you. Don’t get hurt.’

There was a separate reason why Diana was so anxiously worried.

Right now, the injured Ayla was hiding in the snowy mountains of the Homeren Duchy.

Another encounter different from the original story. Diana’s heart tightened anxiously.

[This is the timeline separator]

At that time, Raoul was searching for Dilaia in the snowy mountains.

Even Arnel’s soldiers, called the Empire’s Sword, were helpless in the face of nature.

The snow was piled up to thigh-high, making it difficult to take even a single step, and the fierce blizzard obstructing their vision made it hard to determine direction or location.

Vincent maintained the lead, boosting the morale of the soldiers.

“We advance until we find the duchess…! Maintain formation!”

“The blizzard is too severe…!”

“The enemy is escaping even at this moment. No time for whining!”

Just then, a huge shadow covering the sky fell behind Vincent.

“It’s a yeti!”

With a short, thick cry, the knights drew their swords from their waists.

The lawless beast of the snow fields that appeared in the blizzard boasted a size three times that of an adult male.

The monster, as big as a mountain, swung its arms roughly to protect its territory.

“Battle formation!”

The experienced knights moved quickly to exploit the yeti’s weaknesses.

When facing a large monster, the standard tactic was to move nimbly and attack vital points.

“The eyes! Aim for the eyes!”

The excited yeti roughly plunged its fist down on the knights’ heads.

The soldiers, with their feet bound, were in a frenzy, unable to take care of themselves.

Snow bombs exploded here and there, turning the scene into chaos in an instant.

“Use the crossbows!”

Vincent, with snow piled up to his waist, shouted.

Just then, a clumsy commoner knight hurriedly pulled out an arrow from his back.

Vincent’s eyes twisted roughly as he confirmed the sight.

“Biche! Stay still!”

But it was after the arrow had already left the immature hands and fallen on the beast’s thick forearm.

“I did it!”

Joy rose in the eyes that were foolishly gentle. However, to a monster as big as a mountain, such an arrow was merely a thorn that irritated its temper.

“Biche! Run away!”

A fist as big as a boulder rose high above the new knight’s head.

He was in a situation where he couldn’t move, his feet bound in deep snow.

With a tremendous roar, a snow pillar large enough to block the sky rose up.

The young knight’s body was obscured by the white snow dust.

“Biche!”

“I’m here!”

As the snow settled to the ground, the disheveled Biche raised his hand.

Behind him appeared a gray wolf spitting out pieces of a navy blue tunic.

Raoul, who had returned to human form, looked down at the crouching Biche and advised:

“The yeti’s fur is thick, so attacking its body is useless. If you’re going to use arrows, aim for the eyes.”

Just as the knights with bound feet were helplessly falling, Raoul slowly moved his body out of the monster’s line of sight.

It was a moment when Raoul disappeared into the blizzard and the yeti let out a pain-filled scream.

The young boy leaped down from the body of the yeti, which was covering its eyes and writhing.

“Took care of it.”

At that moment, a heavy sound began to shake the ground from somewhere.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The knights’ eyes anxiously intertwined in midair. Just as everyone held their breath, a man shouted like a scream.

“There’s one more! No, two!”

The parents of the fallen yeti charged across the snow field, mercilessly pounding their chests.

The two monsters were incomparably larger than the one Raoul had just defeated.

The situation reversed in an instant.

“Everyone, raise your swords! Don’t run away!”

But there was an even bigger problem.

“…This can’t be.”

Behind the charging yetis, a massive wall of snow was pouring down as high as a building.

“Avalanche! Evacuate!”

The foolishly open-mouthed yeti was hit by the snow and fell forward.

The soldiers tried to turn and flee, but before they could take three steps, the curtain of snow closely pursued them.

“Stand next to me!”

Biche cried out desperately, but it was already too late.

The world turned dark, and at that moment, Raoul’s body was enveloped in a stinging, naive mana.

He was thrown out of the snow, surrounded by an opaque air membrane.

Thud.

As he fell to the ground, his head hit a sharply protruding rock.

‘Damn it…’

A hot and unpleasant liquid flowed down over his head. His body stiffened and his vision darkened.

No matter how hard he tried to regain consciousness, it was useless.

[This is the timeline separator]

When the young wolf woke up from sleep, everything around was already frozen solid.

His heavily closed eyelids twitched.

Raoul blinked his sticky eyes several times, trying to clear his vision.

When he touched his stinging forehead, he found hard blood clotted there.

He straightened his back and looked at the surrounding scenery with clearer vision.

The world, frozen white, was so clean and quiet that one might believe it was heaven.

There was no trace of human presence to be found.

He kept digging through the ground, searching for the man he called master.

But the frozen snow was hard, and no human scent remained.

Raoul’s pupils shook uncontrollably.

‘Why am I the only one who survived?’

He closed his eyes and sharpened all his senses.

Someone might still be alive.

Then, from very far away, came the faint scent of blood, almost unnoticeable.

‘Is there someone still alive?’

He moved his steps, following the traces of someone who might be a kidnapper or a stranded person.