……Sympathy?

Natasha merely blinked, still unable to grasp the meaning behind the words.

The voice, now considerably hardened, eventually continued with the next statement.

“Natasha, that’s what you told me that day. That my love for you wasn’t real love, but a feeling born out of guilt.”

Faced with these words, Natasha confronted an abyss she had long forgotten. What the man mentioned was something she had carelessly blurted out when she was unaware of the unfortunate truth.

“……So you’re throwing my old words back at me? Is that why you’re speaking to me so coldly? Arbitrarily dismissing my feelings for you as guilt?”

The voice, filled with anger, demanded.

Sieghart’s lips suddenly quivered. Though he seemed about to explain that wasn’t his meaning, something made the man hesitate, and after a long pause, he stopped.

“Yes.”

What finally came out of his mouth was an affirmative answer that encompassed all meanings.

“What do you mean……!”

It was wrong.

It’s true that Natasha had felt sorry for the man’s past. It’s also an undeniable fact that, just like Sieghart, she too regretted her past words and actions.

However, it wasn’t because of such trivial emotions that she envisioned a future with the man. While his background may have extinguished her hatred towards him, it didn’t ignite new feelings.

Sieghart Asthart, who knows Natasha better than anyone, should have been aware of this fact, so why……

“That’s why I’m afraid.”

“……”

“I’m afraid you’ll only suffer while being by my side.”

“……”

“I’m afraid that even if I keep you by my side, content with those feelings, you’ll always be in agony, trapped in a pit while being with me.”

Why doesn’t this man know that fact? Why does he dismiss Natasha’s feelings as something fearful and scary?

Natasha had never properly gauged her own feelings of dreaming about a future with the man. Although she was aware that it was a new emotion, she deliberately avoided delving into its name and identity.

“That’s a lie.”

But now, she was forcibly made aware of its identity by that man.

“You told me to stay by your side even after you had plunged me into hell, into the abyss, into the snow fields.”

No, perhaps she actually knew but was deliberately pretending not to know.

“You said you’d give me everything I wanted if I just stayed by your side.”

Natasha approached Sieghart and finally grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards her.

The man, who wouldn’t budge an inch with her strength, came along obediently. His body, slightly twisted towards her, was rigid. But his gaze was fixed on Natasha Asthart.

“Then wait.”

A man who can be infinitely weak, yet becomes strong only for Natasha Asthart.

A man who can be infinitely strong, yet becomes weak only for Natasha Asthart.

“When our operation succeeds tonight, I’ll tell you the name of the new feeling I’ve discovered.”

“……”

“So wait. Enoch Callent.”

Towards such a lovable Sieghart Asthart, Natasha took courage for the first time.

It was a time when everyone was asleep.

A large object moved behind the Asthart duchy. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t an object, but a massive group wearing the same clothes.

In the center of the burly crowd, a man removed the robe he had been wearing. He appeared to be the leader.

He thrust his sword into the ground and shouted loudly.

“The hour of decisive battle approaches.”

Upon hearing the declaration, the knights’ faces began to harden. They gripped the swords at their waists tightly.

“We have only one goal.”

“……”

“The elimination of Kyle Letius.”

The condensed voice cut through the air.

Kyle Letius, the absolute ruler of the Letius Empire and the sun in the sky.

Despite the dangerous statement about eliminating such a noble figure, the knights didn’t even blink. Instead, they became more resolute, burning with fierce passion.

“The plan remains the same as before.”

Sieghart, the overall planner, pointed to a board set up behind him as he spoke.

A map of the imperial palace was attached to the board. Two ‘X’ marks and one ‘O’ mark were inscribed on the map.

“At X-1, I and the soldiers of the Kshant principality will be deployed, and at X-2, the shadows of Galonde and the Charliee military forces will be deployed.”

The hand in a black glove moved clumsily. The destination was where the ‘O’ mark was placed.

“The destination of X-2 is here, the exit of the secret room, which will be our entrance, connected to the Emperor’s bedroom.”

Sieghart’s head turned to the opposite side. At the end of his gaze was a small-framed woman, Natasha Asthart.

After briefly exchanging glances with her, the man quickly turned his head away.

“And the destination of X-1 is-”

The leader trailed off.

The knights, anticipating what would follow, began to swallow one by one. Despite already knowing the operation, they seemed quite tense to hear it again.

“The center of the imperial palace. We will confront the Letius Imperial Knight Order to prevent them from reaching the Emperor’s bedroom.”

Having finished speaking, Sieghart put on the helmet tucked under his arm. His intense face disappeared in an instant.

The man drew the sword he had thrust into the ground, sheathed it, and turned towards the knights.

“To reclaim our lost glory.”

“To reclaim our lost glory!”

Next, he shouted.

“We advance.”

“We advance!”

And the knights responded.

It was the signal flare announcing the decisive battle.

“We’re departing.”

X-2, the group heading to Kyle Letius’s bedroom.

Sir Dante, at the very front of the group, gestured forward.

A vast field lay before them.

No matter how dark the night was, or how lax the security of the imperial knights had become, they couldn’t brazenly invade the imperial city.

They planned to infiltrate as covertly as possible, minimizing their exposure to the outside.

At Sir Dante’s gesture, the knights began to lower their bodies. Then they took measures to close the horses’ muzzles to prevent them from making noise.

Sir Dante, who had also lowered his body, glanced to the side. The figure standing next to him had already crouched down without needing to be told.

“Then we’ll depart.”

Sir Dante whispered softly.

Natasha, nodding her head, moved first along with him.

Originally, Natasha was supposed to be assigned to X-1 and accompany Sieghart.

‘No, I’ll go with Sir Dante.’

‘……Natasha.’

‘Shouldn’t we leave at least one more dedicated person in case of unforeseen circumstances? Since our roles are different and we’ll barely communicate, having two people move together is a waste of manpower.’

However, due to her strong insistence that each team should have one dedicated person in case of the worst situation, the two ended up moving separately.

And above all, she had a wish that she absolutely had to fulfill, so she had to be assigned to X-2.

Thus, she moved together with Sir Dante, the Charliee Royal Knight Order, and the shadows of Galonde.

The group began to narrow the distance, taking careful steps.

In the silence, a languid heartbeat thumped. Despite trying to maintain calmness by collecting herself, it seemed impossible to avoid tension in a real situation.

She exhaled, pretending to be fine, expelling the tension rooted within her.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the end of the crops ready for harvest began to come into view.

Sir Dante, who had stopped for the next operation, raised his hand towards the crowd behind. Reading the signal, the knights halted their steps.

“We’ll move first.”

At the end of the field, there’s a path leading to the back gate of the Letius Imperial Palace.

No matter how carefully they move, if the entire group moves at once, their presence will be felt. It was decided that ten members, including Sir Dante and Natasha, would scout the back gate first.

Reaching the back gate, they hid behind a large tree to observe the enemy territory.

Two sentries were standing guard at the back gate.

They yawned repeatedly, their faces worn with fatigue.

“Ah, I’m dying of exhaustion.”

“To be on guard duty on a day like this, talk about bad luck.”

With the festival the very next day, preparations for training were in full swing. Having to stand guard with bodies already piled with fatigue was utterly miserable.

They repeatedly blinked their sleepy eyes, forcibly lifting their heavy eyelids. Though they would have performed their roles excellently under normal circumstances, these sentries seemed unusually worn out.

Sir Dante, after observing them, briefly returned to his position.

He took out a vial from his bag, applied the substance to the arrowheads, and then nocked the arrows to his bow.

Shortly after, two arrows flew swiftly.

“……!”

The guards, hit in the face and hand by the arrows, fell helplessly.

“Their mouths will be paralyzed as soon as they’re hit, so they won’t be able to scream.”

The substance Sir Dante applied to the arrowheads was a poison. As soon as it hit, the substance would penetrate internally, paralyzing the mouth and body with its vicious effect.

As he said, the knights lost consciousness without even being able to scream. Judging by their pale complexion, they didn’t seem likely to recover anytime soon.

Natasha’s and Sir Dante’s eyes met. He nodded with a satisfied smile.

It was a sign to advance forward.