The crackling of fire.

It quickly consumed what lay within.

It was a letter from Anette.

Precious letters that Hertian had carefully saved over five years.

Observing this, Osen felt his blood run cold. His body uncontrollably shivered, knowing how much emotion Hertian had invested in those letters.

“Quick, put out the fire! Get up, all of you!”

Osen hastily woke the knights. Several of them, now alert, rushed to smother the fire in the cave with their cloaks. The fire was soon extinguished, but the letters were irretrievably burnt.

“Hu, hu.”

Osen sifted through the ashes, hoping to salvage something. The ash stung his nostrils, and he broke into a cough. These were letters Hertian cherished. Anger swelled in him at those who had so easily stolen and burnt them.

“This is an affront to our lord. How long will you tolerate this mistreatment!”

Osen’s voice had noticeably darkened, dropping heavily. The knights of Blanche knew the significance of the letters to Hertian, so none questioned Osen’s insolence.

Hertian said nothing.

He simply collected the remaining letters, restrained the knights, and burned what little was left intact. Osen, watching this, hurriedly tried to dissuade Hertian.

“How much will you regret this later…”

“I’ve memorized them anyway.”

He said in an indifferent tone.

“Even if you have, didn’t you used to say that each time you read them, it was like the first time? You once left a letter in enemy territory and refrained from raiding them again.”

Osen knew better than anyone what Hertian was feeling right now.

His life had meaning because Anette was in it.

Then, a loud explosion resonated from the opposite side of the cave.

The boulders blocking the cave shattered, and a bestial roar echoed from beyond.

“Your Grace! Numerous monsters are approaching through the breach!”

Hertian, observing the frantic knights, turned to Osen.

“Do you remember when the 503rd letter from Anette arrived?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Osen hesitated, but then replied upon seeing the change in Hertian’s eyes.

“I do. The battlefield was a sea of blood for nearly a week after that.”

The 503rd letter had mentioned that Anette was dating Serdis. Hertian had taken a while to recover from the shock of that letter.

“Do you also know why I didn’t capture Anette then?”

“Wasn’t it because you wished for Her Highness to be happy?”

“No. The plans I had in place to ensure her utmost safety fell apart in an instant.”

The reason he had been building his power while waging war was not for his own safety, but for Anette’s.

Anette, as described in the letters, always seemed unstable. As if on the brink of death. Therefore, he had hoped that whoever was by her side would not make her feel insecure.

He had been reluctant about Serdis, but he believed that Serdis’ background could ensure Anette’s safety. That’s why he had planned to let her go.

“Of course, I immediately regretted it when I read in the next letter that she was looking for a contract marriage partner.”

Whatever Serdis had done to her, she had abandoned him and chosen Hertian.

“Anette has already chosen me. She chose someone in the most perilous position in the Empire.”

Hertian recalled that moment and steadied his resolve once more. All this time, he had been preoccupied with investigating Anette’s mysterious illness, neglecting the present.

What had it all led to? Not only had he failed to win her heart, but he had also lost her precious letters. Passivity had gotten him nowhere. As now.

“My lord…”

Osen’s expectant voice was cut off by another monstrous roar. Hertian drew his sword, as if making a vow.

“Casian is now gone.”
Not only Casian, but now there was no him hiding to avoid the royalty. For the first time, he threw away a shell.

(This is a time separator.)

A bird cherry branch drooping heavily.

When we reached the palace covered with green moss, Habel’s mouth gaped open. A mysterious bug swiftly flew into it, stinging his throat.

“Ptui, Ptui!”

Habel coughed while clenching his throat, his face flushed.

“Are you saying you’ll stay here? Seriously, not a joke?”

“Yes. I slept at the top floor of this palace. The water was warm, so I slept well.”

I spoke casually.

“And the servants?”

“There was a maid who brought me water laced with poison in the morning, so I kicked her out. It’s better to do my own makeup than to have my skin ruined, right?”

I found it easy to speak with the childlike Habel.

“Poison? Are they insane! How dare they offer poison to Your Grace! They should be torn limb from limb immediately.”

“The one who ordered it is someone else. Catching a maid won’t change anything. Besides, I won’t easily fall for such a trick.”

Habel stared at me longingly. When I looked back, he quickly averted his gaze.

“Your Grace is… stronger than I thought.”

“Maybe dying once makes something like this not a big deal.”

I had the experience of dying without doing anything, and after struggling to survive, this was nothing.

‘I won’t die just for sleeping here.’

I wouldn’t die even if I swallowed the poison whole.