“Yes, you look easy. But there’s an easier way. If I go there, the problem will be over.”

“It’s because it’s difficult that I’m doing this, Roti! It’s because this is the hardest thing for me that I’m doing this, you cruel woman!”

His anger exploded. He grabbed Roxiana’s shoulders tightly and spoke threateningly.

“The princess is in the Lily Palace, and since those bastards touched a guest who came to the Lily Palace, this is my problem. Even if it’s the princess’s problem, I’ll take care of it. No matter how the princess feels, this madman wants to protect the woman he loves with his own hands.”

Overwhelmed by his outpouring of emotions, Roxiana was at a loss for words.

“So the princess should just do what the princess needs to do. Don’t worry about this.”

“How… How can I not worry?”

“Just solve those worries filling your head. You have a lot of them, don’t you!”

Floyd stood up abruptly and walked away before she could stop him. Even after he left, Roxiana gasped, suffocated by the lingering intensity of his emotions.

It felt like her heart was being torn apart.

Right now, solely because of Floyd.

Even though she knew this wasn’t the time to be swayed by such things, her heart couldn’t help it. Her love for that man, who had loved her for so long, who said letting her go was the hardest thing, overflowed and was difficult to stop.

Even after her gasping subsided, Roxiana stared at the place where he had been sitting for a very long time.

+++

The large black eagle, after watching Roxiana from atop a tree, flapped its wings and took off. The eagle headed towards the garden of the Lily Palace, where an otter and a wolf were by the garden pond.

The eagle landed in front of them and said,

“Humans have intense love quarrels.”

The otter flicked its tail, splashing water, and retorted,

“This is all because of Rit. It’s clear that Floyd’s personality became like that because of Rit.”

The wolf sighed briefly, then asked the eagle,

“What about Ranian?”

“I’m not sure… I caught Ranian’s scent very briefly. But it was too short…”

“Wait, you caught Ranian’s scent?”

The eagle nodded at the otter’s question. The otter’s eyes widened.

“Then does that mean Ranian is alive? Undead don’t have their human scent, right?”

“But I’m not certain. It was very brief. It shouldn’t have been that short… It was very faint and brief.”

“Could it be black magic after all? Maybe black magic is surrounding Ranian, preventing us from sensing his presence. Right, Well?”

The wolf thought for a moment and then asked,

“Where was this?”

“Gania. Near the capital city of Atanta.”

“See, Well? I told you it must be black magic. Lucas has a black mage with him, right? The black mage must have hidden Ranian with black magic. Probably to turn Ranian into a black mage too. We should tell Roti about this.”

The wolf stared at the eagle.

“Mine, are you sure? Was it definitely Ranian’s scent?”

“I think… it was certain…”

“You need to be sure. If it’s wrong information, Roti will collapse. Humans suffer the most when budding hope is crushed.”

“Well… if you push me to be that certain, I’m not so sure anymore…”

The otter sighed at the eagle’s lukewarm attitude.

“Mine, this is an important matter. Even if just Ranian comes back alive, Roti would be more at ease than now. Think hard and quickly. How was it? Was it Ranian’s scent?”

The eagle waddled on the grass and then said,

“Yes, I’m certain. It’s Ranian. Ranian is alive.”

+++

Roxiana borrowed a horse from the stable and left the Grand Duke’s palace. She wanted to get away from the place filled with Floyd, even for a moment. So she headed to the bustling streets, where people recognized her and greeted her, taking off their hats. Even in the brightly smiling faces of strangers, Floyd was present.

Come to think of it, nowhere was as permeated with Floyd as the bustling streets of Selchar City. Cheerful people, lively streets, orderliness amidst the hustle and bustle, and magnificent, clean buildings. And the cool sea breeze that filled the streets.

Roxiana ran quickly, as if fleeing from his scent, and entered the teahouse Forget-me-not. His scent couldn’t follow her into the teahouse filled with flowers and grass.

Today, too, the teahouse was crowded, and although she was the actual owner, she couldn’t find a seat right away and looked around before finally spotting one. Jiloa, who was acting as the teahouse manager, personally brought the menu.

Jiloa, being perceptive, didn’t say anything and waited for her order. Roxiana ordered a set of black tea and cookies and quietly caught her breath.

The shop was doing well. There were many customers, and both drinks and desserts were selling well. Soon, they were planning to export across the continent through the Karan merchant guild. With names like ‘health drink’ or ‘stamina recovery drink’.

The road construction that started from Selchar City was progressing well towards various regions of Torkan, the neighboring country of Keldran Kingdom, and the Enilta Kingdom. Once completed, they would also receive a portion of the toll collected for using this road.

But she felt like she didn’t care about any of it.

‘This is dangerous.’

It wasn’t something to be indifferent about. When dealing with Lucas and Elise, who possessed so much, having financial power was a basic necessity. The money earned would become a solid foundation, providing weapons to face the enemy.

In reality, it took money to mobilize various information or spread various rumors.

Yet she felt indifferent. Whatever happens later, just for this moment.

−”This madman wants to protect the woman he loves with his own hands.”

His voice clung to her ears and wouldn’t let go. Hearing words of love from the person you love hurt more than being betrayed.

His desperate gaze and plaintive voice etched themselves more deeply into her heart than ever before. The reality of not wanting to be his pain, yet inevitably becoming his pain, was excruciating.

If we hadn’t met like this, if at least I wasn’t in this situation, could we have become ‘us’? Could we have lived as ‘us’ without worrying that my reality might hurt you?

A terrible picture was painted.

You and I, holding hands and smiling brightly at each other, while father and mother watch fondly and siblings tease mischievously. You and I, sitting side by side in the always beautiful garden, whispering words of love before heading to the dining room where family members wait for dinner.

The dreadful scene that would never happen unfolded before her eyes, making it hard to breathe. She blinked slowly, feeling the heaviness in her eyelids, and picked up the teacup.

Only after drinking the half-cooled black tea did she realize she had been indulging in vain hopes for quite some time.

‘Why am I here doing this?’

When she realized she loved him, she had no energy to spare for such emotional consumption and decided to let things flow. Thinking he would never love her, that he would never embrace a woman who had lost everything and was full of hatred, she left her flowing feelings alone, intending to either neatly fold them away or take them to her grave when everything was over.

Because there was no future where he would love her, her thoughts and worries grew instead. These thoughts and worries became cold blades, stabbing the heart of the one she least wanted to hurt.

She remembered his furrowed brow, his reddened eyes on the verge of tears, his tightened lips holding back anger and sorrow. She didn’t want to make him wear such expressions. She didn’t want to see him suffering because of her, the one who had given her everything.

‘The best thing would be to leave.’

Going to the Great Temple with the Holy Knight Order to plan for the future would be the best choice.

As bodies grow distant, hearts naturally grow distant too. At first, he might get angry and maybe even cry, but as time passes, he will smile again. When Roxiana lifts the darkness cast over Torkan, he will smile brilliantly like the sun again.

−”I told you not to be hurt.”

But those words bothered her.

Something that was nothing to her, a fragment of memory she could barely recall after much effort, he remembered as if it happened yesterday.

From that moment until now, he had held that day in his heart so deeply that he recognized her instantly when he saw Roxiana trapped in that narrow, dark box.

Would someone like that forget me just because time passes? Would he forget me and smile brilliantly?

−”This fellow, I hear, waits for me all day at the front gate when I go out. They say he doesn’t move until I return.”

She recalled what Arsen once said, pointing to one of the dogs he raised, a black dog.

−”Dogs always wait for their owners in that place, even if the owner abandons them and runs away. Even if kicked by the owner, even if starved by the owner, when they see the owner, they wag their tails and approach. I like dogs because of such loyalty.”

Although Floyd wouldn’t act like that, she couldn’t shake off the thought that he might.

Like a dog waiting for its owner, like a dog wagging its tail even for an owner who stabbed it, she feared he might wait so faithfully, so painfully, so sorrowfully, endlessly waiting.

That frightened her.

“Haa…”

A deep sigh scattered. Roxiana was about to put down the teacup she had been holding for a long time when she realized someone was sitting across from her and looked up.

An unfamiliar face was sitting in front of her.

Short, rough red hair, narrow and fierce eyes, and a few freckles on the bridge of the nose. The face looked feminine, but the large build and broad shoulders made it difficult to guess the gender.

Sitting across from her as if they were companions, but no matter how she looked, it wasn’t a familiar face, so she cautiously asked,

“Who are you?”