‘I need to stop the bleeding quickly.’

Lea became anxious as her shoulder became soaked with his blood.

She supported Terran with her body and walked only on the path overgrown with lush vegetation. Fortunately, she wasn’t bad with directions and remembered exactly the path she had seen once.

“I didn’t know there would be bandits.”

“Th…ose damned escaped slaves.”

Although in pain, Terran answered Lea’s question.

But the rain started to fall harder than before. It was still early spring, so cold enough to make teeth chatter.

“Just a little further.”

Finally, the two emerged from the forest and arrived at a wide meadow.

“Let’s… go to that hut on the hill over there.”

Lea’s voice trembled, seemingly out of breath. It was understandable, having supported a large man like Terran for over an hour with her small frame.

Lea used all her strength to climb the hill with Terran.

Though gasping for breath, she tried her best not to let him notice.

Opening the crude wooden door, fortunately there was a space to shelter from the rain. However, all that was inside were wooden planks and an old blanket.

“Sit… here.”

Lea sat Terran on the planks and quickly removed his clothes. Soon his bare body was revealed, and as expected, his right shoulder was covered in blood.

“The bullet went through.”

That was fortunate at least. It meant she wouldn’t have to dig into his flesh to remove the bullet.

Lea looked around.

‘I need bandages.’

Of course, there were none. Even some cloth would do to wrap Terran’s shoulder.

Then she remembered the layers of petticoats she was wearing, and hurriedly took off her clothes.

“What… are you doing?”

Even in the midst of his pain, Terran seemed surprised by Grace’s actions.

But she didn’t answer, instead tearing her petticoat into strips to make long bandage-like pieces.

“I’ll stop the bleeding first.”

Lea used the cloth to stop the bleeding from the wound. But she was startled to see Terran’s complexion pale and his lips turning blue.

‘His body temperature is dropping.’

After stopping the bleeding, Lea took out whiskey from the bag she had brought from the carriage.

“I’ll disinfect it before bandaging.”

“Where… did you learn this?”

“When I attended girls’ school.”

“Girls’ school, did… Grace go to school?”

“I misspoke. I saw it in a book.”

Lea hurriedly made an excuse to cover her mistake.

Lea had attended a girls’ school run by a convent until she was fifteen, where she learned basic first aid.

Of course, that was Lea Hamilton who attended. She didn’t know if Grace had gone to school.

‘Shut up, Lea.’

She couldn’t make any more slips of the tongue.

She bit her lip and wrapped bandages around the wound that had stopped bleeding.

Terran silently watched Grace as she worked.

‘She’s like a completely different person.’

Quick judgment, calmness, and patience that were never seen in Grace before.

Not only that. Her fingertips were very nimble in treating the wound. Above all, it was strange that she wasn’t crying in fear.

“Gr…ace, give me some alcohol.”

Terran was thirsty.

“It’s not good for the wound.”

“It’s fine. Alcohol was medicine on the battlefield.”

He had experienced injuries like this countless times and knew well that he wouldn’t die easily.

Lea reluctantly handed over the bottle. Terran immediately drank the whiskey straight from the bottle.

Meanwhile, Lea looked around to see if there was anything to make a fire in the hut.

‘Of course there isn’t.’

She felt like tearing down this hut to make a bonfire.

Lea hurriedly shook out the old blanket and wrapped it around Terran’s body. Perhaps due to the alcohol, he fell asleep.

‘He’s asleep, but…’

Her eyes were drawn to his half-naked body. The firm chest and defined abs.

Even in this situation, his appearance didn’t lose its luster and captivated Lea’s gaze.

Belatedly realizing she was staring at him as if entranced, Lea shook her head to clear her thoughts.

‘I’m the problem.’

Her outer clothes were soaked through and unwearable.

Now all she had was a corset and the tattered petticoat. It might be better to just take them off. At least she had long underwear, which was fortunate.

‘Ugh! It’s cold.’

At this rate, she might freeze to death before Terran. Lea took a deep breath and looked for a solution.

* * *

Allen got up from the bed and put on a silk robe. He poured alcohol into a crystal glass and headed towards the window.

‘Terran Courtois, I heard he collected Lea’s belongings while recovering her body.’

It was something the bishop had told him on the day of the funeral, after Terran and Grace had left.

That belonging must be the necklace. With it, he would completely own the Hamilton merchant group.

‘Did he not consider me as Lea’s family? That look in his eyes was quite irritating.’

Eyes as fierce as a black panther. The intimidating aura that made people cower was infuriating.

Above all, he read wariness towards himself in Terran’s face.

‘Damn it! Of all people, why did that necklace have to end up in his hands?’

Allen gulped down his drink.

In fact, he had long known about Terran’s reputation. He was a hero of Rubeck, from the highest noble family, with astronomical wealth.

‘Grace Bizac, I heard she was his fiancée.’

His expression changed in an instant. From irritation to something more… lascivious.

Honestly, he had been quite surprised when he saw Grace. A rare beauty, with refined speech and rich sensibility, her very existence was like a freesia in full bloom on a spring day.

Yet she also had a charm that strangely stimulated a man’s instincts.

‘I should look into her more.’

It was the first time in his life he had felt desire for a woman.

Lea Hamilton was clever, but how to put it… too strong-willed.

Her appearance didn’t meet his standards either. She had too much in her head and, taking after her father who was the head merchant, was also well-versed in the flow of politics.

‘That’s why I disliked you, Lea. You arrogantly tried to surpass me.’

Allen’s gaze turned to Sara lying on the bed.

‘It’s not fitting to keep such a lowborn as a mistress. Someone like Grace Bizac would be more suitable for my status.’

He thought he should create an opportunity to meet Terran and Grace again.

* * *

The white gunpowder smoke rising, mountains of soldiers’ corpses, the stench of blood permeating the air was truly nauseating.

Even as he moved the bodies of his subordinates, Terran did not grieve.

‘What right do I have?’

He only felt pity for the soldiers who had such an incompetent commander as himself.

Terran saw a world entirely tinted gray.

‘Hell is not far away.’

Where he stood was already hell. Then, a blood-stained hand grabbed Terran’s foot.

‘Save us! We died because of you!’

Countless corpses reached out their hands, ensnaring Terran’s body. No matter how much he struggled to break free, they would not let him go.

‘Why must only we die? Why did you send us to hell?’

The cries of the dead soldiers mercilessly trampled Terran.

At that moment, Aiden stood right in front of Terran. He was covered in blood, missing one leg.

‘Terran, did you deliberately send me to my death?’

‘No! Aiden!’

Terran screamed. Then the corpses piled like mountains rose and approached Terran, reaching out their hands. They strangled Terran’s neck.

“I didn’t mean for you to die!”

He shouted towards the sky full of dark clouds. But was it a miracle? Light began to break through the dark clouds.

“It’s not Lord Courtois’s fault.”

A voice breaking like sunlight was very comforting.

Terran faintly opened his eyes. Grace was cupping his face with both hands.

“The death of your subordinates is not your fault. War is not fought by one person alone.”

“Gr…ace.”

“Peace came to Rubeck because of your and their sacrifices. If you hadn’t fought, more people would have died. Children, women, the elderly, and the heads of households protecting them.”

“But… because of me, Aiden…”

“That was Aiden’s choice, not Lord Courtois’s fault.”

Her hands wiped away the tears that had formed in Terran’s eyes.

“Lord Courtois fought with all his might and restored peace. So don’t blame yourself.”

Terran looked at Grace with a dazed expression.

At first, he thought it was a dream, but he could still hear the sound of rain outside, and they were both naked, wrapped together in a blanket.

Only then did he realize that he had been screaming while having a nightmare.

It was the first time someone had caught him in such a vulnerable state. Without even seeing, it was clear that he had blurted out everything in his sleep.

“I know it’s rude, but we have no choice if we want to survive tonight. Please bear with the discomfort.”

Lea wrapped herself and Terran in the blanket and pressed her body close.

At present, only their body heat could keep them alive. Soon her small head gently rested on his firm chest.

That wasn’t all. She wrapped her slender arms tightly around his waist.

‘Ah!’

Terran felt as if a knot deep in his heart had suddenly burst. Soon his lungs, which had been filled with stuffy smoke, cleared.

His soul had always been trapped in a battlefield filled with murky smoke, but now it felt as if it had finally burst out.

But he didn’t know why his nose stung and sorrowful emotions welled up.

To think this tiny woman would comfort him. It was healing he had never received from anyone, anywhere.

Come to think of it, he had never wished for grand encouragement.

He had simply endured alone.

Words that no one dared to say because his very existence was intimidating. What he had desperately wanted in the end was sincere comfort.

Terran tightly embraced the white dove that had flown into his arms with his left arm, as if afraid it might fly away.

“Lord Courtois is a good person. You’ve never harmed anyone.”

Lea had unintentionally discovered his anguish. But her heart that comforted him was sincere.

Terran had never made anyone unhappy. He too was a victim of war, and because of it, a patient with a deeply wounded heart.

‘The real sinner is Lea Hamilton, who blinded by love, not only killed herself but also sent her father to hell.’

Words she could never say to him. Lea unknowingly shed tears.

“Don’t cry, Grace.”

Terran’s low, cracked voice enveloped Lea.

‘I don’t deserve to cry. But it’s so hard to endure the pain.’