Raoul dug through the frozen snow.

“Are you sure it’s here?”

“Yes, sir.”

No matter how deep he dug, there was no human scent.

As Raoul anxiously dug through the snow, a loud banging sound came from below, as if someone was hitting a solid wall.

“Here! We’re here!”

Murmuring. The noisy male voices increased from one to two, two to three, growing in number.

The ground where Raoul stood shook violently, and a transparent membrane appeared underneath.

As he brushed away the snow, soldiers surrounded by an air barrier cheered.

“We’re finally saved!”

It took over half a day to dig out the ground widely and extract all the soldiers.

Some limped from frostbite, while others were unconscious from hypothermia.

Still, there were few casualties. It was unexpected.

Raoul belatedly realized that the air barrier that had thrown him far away was actually a protection spell cast by Biche, the clumsy new knight.

Biche, young even among the knights, kept bowing his head to Raoul and expressing his gratitude.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, we would have long lost our lives to the Yeti. And to think you rescued the princess alone…”

In his eyes was hidden admiration for the Lycan.

A knight standing behind Biche scolded him, ungrateful for the help.

“If you have time to thank a slave, go take care of your comrades.”

He looked down at Raoul, whose clothes were all torn, with narrowed eyes.

“A Primo fool and a Lycan, what a fine pair.”

He snorted and kicked the ground. Snow flew up onto Raoul’s clothes.

Delia, who was holding the knights’ hands nearby, saw this and approached to check his condition.

“Shall I bless you?”

“What difference does it make if you just hold my hand?”

“It does make a difference. Magical beasts fear holy power.”

“I’ll pass.”

His gaze moved to Vincent, who was checking on his comrades’ condition.

A human with a sincere and pure heart. All Raoul wanted to protect was his loyalty to his master.

He didn’t really care what happened to the others.

Still, the Primo boy caught his eye. He had indigo skin and large, purple eyes like a cow’s.

Raoul asked with a thoughtful expression:

“Do you know about the Primo?”

“That man is a Primo. Deep purple eyes that make you dizzy and a small build are the physical characteristics of the Primo. They are human like us, but have a history of rebelling against the Empire. Discrimination is severe in cities, so most of them live in forests. This is my first time seeing one in person.”

“You mean humans discriminate against each other?”

“Yes. Not just humans, but in all social systems, there are those who are marginalized. Because of different appearances, exceptional abilities, unusual personalities, conflicting interests. The reasons are diverse.”

“…Don’t speak as if everyone, including other races, is like that.”

“Not all humans are discriminatory. Those who serve God, like myself, treat everyone equally. Though rare, there are even cases of people loving discriminated races and giving birth to unaccepted children. Not all humans are enemies of other races.”

At that moment, Vincent, who was organizing the ranks, caught sight of Raoul.

He strode over on his long legs and hugged his disciple tightly.

“Thank you for finding the princess first. You’ve been through a lot… When we return to the castle, I’ll feed you my share as well.”

Raoul pushed away the thick arm and turned around.

He already knew. But no matter how much he loved his mother and Diana, the wounds inflicted by countless humans couldn’t be easily erased.

He glared at both Vincent and the Primo man simultaneously. Perhaps he could open his heart to those two.

He didn’t want to say he loved Diana while hating humans.

After all, Diana was human too. He wanted Diana to love herself comfortably.

He didn’t want her to think there was even a small part of her that he hated.

For that, Raoul too had to gradually change.

“100 boxes of gold bullion, 50 horses, 10 ponies, and even a first-class magic stone. I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“You saw correctly. This much is only natural as a reward for rescuing Princess Delia.”

Vincent patted the young knight’s shoulder while contentedly looking at the fully loaded return carriage.

It was more than twice the promised reward.

Even last night, the soldiers received excessive hospitality.

Mountain vegetables and summer fruits, rare to see in the Winter Kingdom, and horse meat, a specialty of the Homern Kingdom, were served endlessly. The fruit wine to warm their frozen bodies was sweetly flavored and higher in alcohol content compared to the cheap beer they usually drank, quickly knocking people out.

After partying and eating all night, everyone was out of their minds with hangovers.

Except for just one person.

“How much did you drink?”

“Sorry. Are you upset because you only had fruit juice by yourself?”

“…I can’t believe this.”

He glared at Vincent while sitting on a pony, his arms and legs tightly wrapped in bandages.

Last night too, the drinking party that started with laughter eventually turned into a fistfight.

Raoul, who was eating meat, clicked his tongue and left early.

The meal attended for bonding ended up in human hatred.

Above all, Raoul was very displeased now.

The handkerchief Diana had given him as a gift disappeared during the battle. He rummaged through piles of corpses for a long time but couldn’t find it.

Moreover, his battered arms and legs would take days to recover.

‘I broke my promise. I promised not to do anything reckless.’

It was obvious Diana would be upset.

Still, thinking about her looking at him with teary eyes wasn’t so bad.

He could use that excuse to spend all day with Diana.

As Raoul held the pony’s reins and tried to control his smile, Delia, who came out to see off the army, approached him.

“Why are you smiling to yourself?”

“I wasn’t smiling.”

“You must have been thinking about your lover.”

Raoul was startled and narrowed his eyes.

“What do you want to say?”

“I received a revelation last night. The goddess told me again to help you.”

“Do I look like someone in trouble right now?”

“Be loyal to the guide by your side. Even if you die and come back to life, they will serve only you.”

“…What are you talking about… Speak so I can understand.”

“We’re departing!”

The tightly closed gates of the principality opened their mouth.

“In the end, a pure heart will lead the world to light. Please continue to make progress.”

Diana stood on the castle walls overlooking the gate, waiting for Raoul.

Soon after, the heavy gate opened its mouth, and about ten knights and a young boy appeared through it.

Raoul, riding a cute pony among the large black horses, turned his head busily.

‘He definitely left riding the same horse as Vincent…’

His transparent eyes wandered here and there before finally landing on Diana standing on the castle wall.

Light entered his expressionless face, and his eyes quickly softened.

However, Diana’s face looking down at him wasn’t entirely bright.

Raoul, who received a 3-day rest period, busily unpacked his luggage, thinking of receiving Diana’s affection all day.

As he was sorting out what to throw away and what was still usable, he felt a familiar presence outside the bedroom.

Knock knock.

He carelessly threw aside the clothes in his hand and opened the door with an excited expression.

Seeing the fair face he had missed, the fatigue of the past few days melted away.

Without delay, Raoul pulled Diana inside the door.

“I’m back.”

A warm and sweet scent like wildflowers blooming on a spring day filled his lungs.

Raoul closed his eyes, feeling rewarded for his efforts over the past few days.

As Diana, nestled quietly in his arms, gently placed her small hands on his back, all the morning’s unpleasantness was erased.

‘I’m happy…’

It was worth trudging through the snowy mountains for days without proper food or bathing.

‘I missed you. I only thought of you.’

As soon as he saw Diana’s face, the words inside came out as they were.

“I missed you.”

“…Me too.”

But the face he met wasn’t entirely bright.

Her cat-like sharp eyes drooped, and her fine eyebrows were curved like a crescent moon.

“What’s wrong…? Did something happen?”

“Your arm…”

Raoul then remembered the promise he couldn’t keep.

“I’m sorry. I promised not to do anything reckless.”

Feeling apologetic, Raoul awkwardly bit his lip and watched Diana’s reaction.

Kind Diana, instead of getting angry, slowly circled around Raoul.

“Is everything else okay besides your arm? Tell me if anything hurts. We need to treat it.”

“Everywhere else is fine.”

Just then, Diana’s thin fingers touched the back of Raoul’s neck. Raoul flinched at the ticklish sensation.

“What’s wrong?”

“…A mark appeared.”

At the dazed voice, Raoul raised his hand to the back of his neck with a bewildered expression.

He felt a mark about the size of a thumbprint on the swollen flesh.