Footprints were imprinted on the white snow. And along the path Raoul had trodden, vivid bloodstains continued.

It was not his.

“…Are you the princess of the Homern Principality?”

“Yes, I am. You are the reinforcements from Arnel.”

The girl with blue hair flowing down to her waist, wearing a white dress that looked like it belonged in a temple, was kneeling with her hands covered in blood.

She looked like an ascetic meditating under a carved cliff.

Her calm eyes without expression stared at Raoul.

“How are you so sure I’m the reinforcements from Arnel?”

“Well, I am a saint. My ability is precognition. You didn’t know, I see.”

“I heard about it roughly. I just didn’t know you could see such near future.”

Behind her, a girl taking shallow breaths was visible. Raoul’s brow furrowed deeply at the familiar silhouette.

“What happened?”

“We were attacked by demon beasts. Only this girl and I survived.”

Raoul approached the girl.

‘I barely managed to save her.’

Raoul’s brow furrowed.

Blood was continuously seeping from her bent waist.

“The bleeding…”

“I’ve already tried. The wound is too large to stop.”

Her composed face was as calm as someone unaware of the gravity of the situation.

However, her wet hands and torn dress hem spoke of the girl’s struggle.

Raoul let out a faint sigh as he pulled out a medicine bottle from his tunic pocket.

“It has an effect of healing wounds. You apply it for her.”

Diana raised her eyebrows as she inhaled the finely ground herbal scent.

“Fairy grass. It’s quite an expensive item for a young knight to possess.”

“I’m not a knight. And it was given to me.”

Raoul muttered as he turned his back.

Diana spoke as she applied the medicine to Ayla’s wound.

“Whoever gave it must be quite wealthy. Fairy grass is a high-grade medicine used to treat nobles.”

“I know. Just apply it.”

Raoul said so while recalling a face as fair as the snow field.

He still desperately missed those small hands that kept looking around and packing belongings.

“It’s done. You can turn around now.”

Raoul slowly turned his head. Ayla was breathing evenly, leaning against the wall with a more comfortable expression than before.

“A blizzard will be coming soon.”

Diana closed her eyes briefly to predict the near future.

Raoul also nodded slightly, feeling the ominous wind.

“We’ll move as soon as dawn breaks. Get some rest until then.”

The winter night was tediously long. They needed to conserve energy.

[This is the timeline separator]

Unable to sleep, Diana calmly revealed the details of her kidnapping while sitting against the wall.

“So the one who kidnapped you…”

“That’s right. There were five at first, but now they’re all dead except for this child called Ayla.”

Raoul’s eyes narrowed as he sat across the campfire.

“Then why did you spare her? Don’t tell me you’re planning to take her back for punishment?”

“No. That child was the only one who protected me from the demon beasts. Though she’s a kidnapper, I should spare her life once. Above all, clergy cannot take lives.”

A chill ran through her blue eyes as she looked at the fallen girl.

“…Why did they kidnap you?”

“Because I’m a saint with precognition abilities. If they use me, they can find the location of undiscovered holy relics. Of course, precognition comes to me, not something I can seek out.”

Raoul nodded slightly and asked.

“What can be done with holy relics?”

“They can rule the world. The legitimacy of both the Hamel Empire and the Holy Nation stems from holy relics. The rebels probably believe the goddess’s sword can provide the justification needed to open a new world.”

Raoul frowned and muttered quietly.

“So they’ve become rebels after all.”

Diana asked calmly without any change in expression.

“Do you two know each other?”

Raoul’s body stiffened.

“That’s impossible.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It has nothing to do with me.”

“That’s the truth.”

The girl’s face seemed devoid of even a hint of emotion. Staring at that calm visage, Raoul spoke.

“How can you assert it’s the truth?”

“Those with strong holy power can see through the truth of words. You are innocent.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Diana’s gaze fell on Raoul’s arm.

“How curious that you already have a lover at such a young age.”

“What’s a lover?”

“A person you love.”

Raoul pretended to be nonchalant as he stroked his arm. But he couldn’t hide his reddening ears.

“That handkerchief was given by your lover, wasn’t it?”

“Why do you ask?”

“To tell you to treat her better. Forget-me-nots are embroidered by women who beg.”

The hand caressing the handkerchief stiffened.

“…She begs?”

“The meaning of forget-me-nots is ‘don’t forget me.’ So, a beloved woman would never embroider them. It could make her seem like someone anxiously fretting that her lover might leave her for another woman.”

“…This isn’t a handkerchief embroidered for me. It couldn’t possibly hold such profound meaning.”

“In any case, it’s not embroidery a young girl would do.”

“It’s just a coincidence.”

Raoul shook his head firmly.

‘There’s no way I could forget Diana.’

The matches to light the campfire and the fairy grass to treat Ayla were all Diana’s heart, carefully prepared for Raoul.

He had neither the desire nor intention to commit the despicable act of running to another woman, leaving Diana behind.

Raoul turned his back on Diana, who was muddying his heart with vulgar words.

Glancing over, he saw Diana had also closed her eyes, trying to sleep.

Raoul sat against the stone wall with one knee raised, looking down at the distant mountain below.

The way down was immeasurably long, but somehow his heart felt uneasy. The missing Vincent and Diana waiting for his return came to mind simultaneously.

[This is the timeline separator]

Ayla opened her eyes to a cozy warmth.

‘Where am I?’

Through hazy vision, she saw the back of an unfamiliar boy. She startled and flinched.

At that moment, the dark-colored robe wrapped around her body slipped down past her shoulders.

Her side was wrapped in white cloth, and the scent of expensive medicine wafted up.

‘Have I been rescued?’

The relief was brief as Ayla quickly came to her senses.

The first rule learned upon becoming a rebel: Trust no one.

She took small breaths and approached the boy’s back, minimizing any noise.

‘You never know. I must subdue him in one go if necessary.’

Just as she drew a dagger from her bosom.

The face of the boy watching outside appeared, backlit by sunlight.

Ayla was so surprised she threw the dagger to the floor.

Clang!

A trembling, frail voice called out the name of the savior who had appeared again.

“Raoul…! I missed you.”

Ayla’s body shook. She embraced the neck of the boy she had longed for even more deeply.

If there was such a thing as fate, it must surely refer to a connection like this.

[This is the timeline separator]

Raoul frowned in great bewilderment.

“What are you doing?”

Despite his words, Ayla showed no signs of letting go and tightened her grip on his neck even more. At that moment, Diana came to mind.

The girl standing blankly in the forest stared at Raoul as if her soul had left her body.

‘Diana!’

As Raoul tried to approach, the startled girl backed away, avoiding his gaze.

Just imagining it made his chest tighten, so he quickly detached Ayla from his embrace.

“Get off!”

He couldn’t understand why this filly-like girl kept throwing herself into others’ arms.

As Raoul was about to sincerely scold her, suddenly Diana, who he thought was asleep, sat up rigidly as if having a seizure.

“What’s wrong?”

Raoul approached Diana to check her condition.

Diana muttered as if possessed by something.

“…A saint… is born… Both people… must be saved…”

Pale irises suddenly appeared between her heavily closed eyelids.

She inhaled desperately, her chest heaving greatly like someone who had emerged from underwater.

Diana looked up at the clear sky while catching her breath.

“I’ve received a revelation. From now on, I shall serve you both.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Raoul had warned Ayla, who had been following behind him, several times already.

“I have no intention of neglecting my mission.”

“I know. Neither do I.”

The two were in the midst of a battle of wills with Diana between them.

Raoul wished Ayla would please give up on Diana and leave.

Even if she was a kidnapper, she was just a 12-year-old girl.

She had done it reluctantly on the orders of her master Eledore, and above all, Diana wanted to let her go.

“Don’t you hear me telling you to leave? I said I’ll forgive you. When I say I won’t punish you, why do you keep following? If you insist to the end, I’ll have no choice but to take you down right here.”

Ayla chuckled softly as she passed by Raoul’s side.

“That’s ridiculous. You, taking me down? Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

Raoul completely lost his patience and gritted his teeth.

‘How many more times do I have to repeat this broken record conversation?’

He stopped Diana and approached Ayla to give a final warning.

“I won’t bother asking nicely anymore. I’m only going to carry Diana and run, so follow if you want.”

“I’m the one who’s injured… Have you forgotten?”

Just as Ayla pouted with teary eyes, Diana murmured in a low voice.

“It’s coming.”

Snow dust rose from the mountaintop.

As visibility became hazy, Raoul’s heart began to pound.

He positioned Diana behind him and roughly cleared his throat. Blood rushed quickly through his entire body.

This wasn’t fear.

It was the signal of the beast within preparing to hunt.