In the morning, Fritten Lenoir hurriedly left the castle, and the postponed inspection tour proceeded with consecutive tasks for the day.

There was a custom for the lord and lady to conclude the final inspection together with the inspection team. That was why Selene toured the territory with the inspection team and Boreas.

From the outskirts of Canon and Brala to the final inspection site, Mount Bactor. There weren’t many places to look around. The inspection ended with examining the river in the Bactor forest. After parting with the inspection team at the final location, the ducal party returned to the castle by carriage.

Retracing the path they had taken, Selene organized the issues raised at each location in her notebook.

‘There’s more to address than I thought.’

The biggest problem was water quality. Water quality management was a crucial area, and it received a poor score in that aspect. As she read through the items written in her notebook, deep in thought, the carriage jolted roughly as it passed through the Mount Bactor mountain road.

Suddenly awakened from her reverie, Selene’s gaze turned to the window. The sky had already spread with the colors of the sunset.

It was evidence that quite some time had passed, even though they had only visited a few places. Turning her head, Selene now looked at the person sitting opposite her.

Perhaps due to being too immersed in work. The few hours of devotion to official duties had slightly alleviated the awkward emotions. Enough to properly distinguish between public and private matters.

Boreas, resting his chin on his hand while looking outside, seemed to be lost in thought. Recalling the content of the meeting, Selene cautiously brought up a topic.

“About the water quality.”

A quiet voice carefully broke the silence in the carriage. In response, Boreas shifted his gaze to the front. As their eyes met, Selene continued speaking.

“The water entering the estate goes through a purification device, right? The meeting earlier concluded that there was a defect in the machine. But I don’t think it’s simply a machine problem.”

Quite interested, Boreas uncrossed his legs, signaling her to say more. Selene flipped through her notebook and shared her views.

The importance of water quality management and the significance of energy resources came up as topics.

“In my opinion…”

Her eyes gleamed with intelligence as she sought solutions. Boreas quietly observed the woman passionately offering her opinions.

The reddish sky light penetrating through the window seeped into the woman’s face. That color suited her intelligent eyes quite well.

Suddenly, the woman seemed unfamiliar to him. When was the last time they had faced each other like this and exchanged work-related conversations…? It must have been a long time ago. Unable to clearly identify the cause of the unfamiliarity, Boreas understood his feelings that way.

The unfamiliar woman continued talking with sparkling eyes. Her cheeks were as fresh as new buds blooming in spring as she shared the solutions she had earnestly thought of.

His gaze did not leave that face tinged with the fading colors. The woman seemed unaware of the stare fixed upon her, deeply immersed in her thoughts.

Quietly observing the woman, he found himself unable to hear at some point. It was after her bright, non-hostile eyes met his gaze.

It was just an ordinary conversation. Yet this moment was precious. Things that would be ordinary and unremarkable to others were precious to them. To the point where even the air felt different.

Amidst all senses becoming dull, only one person, his wife Selene’s presence, was distinctly felt.

“…so, hmm?”

Momentarily in a daze, he awoke to the voice calling him. Quickly erasing the newfound sentiment, he immediately focused on the conversation.

“Magic stones are highly effective but rare, so they’re expensive and the amount that can be supplied at once is limited. Instead of that, how about using a more common resource even if it’s less effective?”

Using magic stones in purification devices was like a long-standing convention. Suggesting the use of other resources was quite an innovative idea. Boreas rested his elbow on the window frame.

“You mean using mana stones?”

“Yes. The Cambridge mine owned by Adrian is currently excavating large quantities of mana stones. Even though they’re less effective than magic stones, using mana stones might be better.”

The difference between mana stones and magic stones comes from their origins. Mana stones are rocks with condensed mana, while magic stones are sediments formed from the remains of magical beasts or creatures.

“Moreover, mana stones are relatively common minerals, so they’re cheaper.”

As Boreas thought with his hand supporting his chin, Selene continued speaking.

“I think we need to find an alternative even now. If we can produce the driving force ourselves, we can plan the amount we can use and reduce transportation costs.”

As she finished speaking, Boreas nodded in agreement with a deeper look in his eyes. Just as he was once again overcome by the feeling of facing an unreal being, at that very moment.

Bang, boom!!

Strange loud noises intruded into the ongoing conversation.

Thud!

Following the ear-splitting enormous boom, the carriage began to shake as if an earthquake had struck. Selene’s body lurched forward, losing balance.

Cradling the back of her head as she nearly fell over, Boreas urgently opened the window curtain.

Shouts erupted all at once from the knights surrounding the carriage.

“Assailants! Take cover!”

What, assailants?

Startled by the sudden news, Selene quickly surveyed the situation outside through the window.

‘What? Who are those people?!’

Visible through the clear window were masked assailants wearing black. Even with clothing covering all their skin, one could tell at a glance how massive their builds were.

What in the…

As Selene tried to calmly assess the situation, a conversation she had heard a few days ago suddenly replayed in her ears. Realizing something, an astonished exclamation burst from her lips.

The rebellion of the ethnic minority in the Bactor mountain range!

The final inspection site, Bactor territory, was located on the edge of the border between the Empire and the former Helte Kingdom. Decades ago, there was a war between the Empire and other kingdoms, and the small kingdom of Helte was a country that perished at the hands of the Empire at that time.

She had heard that loyal knights of Helte origin occasionally caused disturbances in Mount Bactor, transformed into assailants, and it seemed that now was such a time.

Hastily grabbing Boreas’s sleeve, Selene asked a question.

“Are those the ethnic minority you talked about before?”

Having grasped the situation, Boreas nodded up and down.

The sound of swords clashing leaked through the door cracks. A fierce battle had begun outside.

Had there been something like this in her previous life? How did it turn out then?

The calmness she had barely regained crumbled easily the moment the smell of blood flowed in through the door cracks. Reason had evaporated long ago, and her head circuits weren’t functioning properly as if broken.

It’s okay.

It’s okay, Selene.

Whispering as if casting a spell, Selene patted herself, smoothing down her chest. As she tried to straighten her tilted body while suppressing her body’s trembling, it was then.

“!”

Sensing something, Boreas hurriedly grabbed Selene and pulled her back into his embrace. At the same time.

Crash!

A sharp arrowhead pierced through the carriage window. Discovering the arrow stuck in the wall, Selene shuddered at the sudden sense of reality.

She had nearly died.

‘If it had been just a little later, that arrowhead would have been in my neck instead of the wall…’

“Ugh.”

As she imagined the arrow piercing her throat, a hallucination of water rising up to her chin suddenly surged. Selene quickly wrapped both hands around her neck, feeling the pain of her throat being constricted.

“Sele…, are you al…”

He seemed to be saying something beside her, but nothing registered in her ears. It felt like something was stuck in her airway, and the sensation of blocked breathing did not easily disappear.

At that moment, Boreas embraced her, pressing against her body. It was because her body was swaying here and there due to difficulty breathing. Firmly fixing her upper body, he examined Selene’s condition.

“Dan, dangerous. We need to, get out of here.”

Her face was completely terrified. Averting his gaze from her, Boreas looked outside again. The knights were fighting quite far from the carriage, but they were struggling.

No, staying inside the carriage might be better.

Boreas quickly made a decision. Although he was concerned about leaving Selene behind, it would be better to go and deal with the situation quickly.

Boreas brought a blanket sprawled on the sofa and wrapped it around Selene’s trembling shoulders. Meeting her eyes, he spoke calmly and firmly.

“Cover your ears and count for exactly 5 minutes.”

Though afraid to be alone, Selene followed his words, covering her ears with both hands and squeezing her eyes shut. After watching Selene close her eyes tightly, Boreas patted her trembling shoulder once before turning his back.

However, the moment he turned his back, a scene from her previous life flashed through her mind.

‘…Come… immediately…!’

Pools of blood and piles of corpses.

Knights fallen and bleeding.

Crowds gathered around them.

‘It’s urgent… They’re dying!’

‘No time… dying…!’

And in the middle of the puddle of blood was a man…

‘Your Grace!’

It was Boreas.

As the ear-piercing voice spread through her mind, Selene’s eyes flew open.

“No!”

Her hand urgently grabbed Boreas’s clothes.

About to leave at the sudden cry, Boreas looked at Selene with questioning eyes. Thinking she was afraid to be alone, he grasped both her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“No. Absolutely not. If you go, I’ll follow you.”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Stay here. By my side… stay by my side, please.”

“…”

Selene whispered desperately, shaking with her head bowed. The hand that was about to shake her off and leave hesitated at that sight.

The desperation conveyed was too full to refuse. As if she firmly believed that if he left now, he would die or be driven to the brink of death.

“Please, please don’t go.”

Quietly looking down at Selene, he began to peel off her small fingers clutching his clothes one by one.

With each finger removed, the remaining fingers clung even more tenaciously to his clothes. But he eventually managed to pry off even the last finger stubbornly refusing to let go.

Did her earnest plea not work in the end?

“You can’t… If you go out like that…”

As her damp voice vibrated and dispersed into the air, it was then.

“!”

A warm temperature enveloped her pale hand. Selene looked down with wide eyes. A large, firm hand was holding her whitened hand.

Gazing intently at her moist eyes, he reached out his arm. Covering one of her ears that she couldn’t block while grabbing him, he mouthed the words:

‘I won’t go. I’ll stay by your side.’