As soon as Terran arrived at Basel Forest, he divided the army in half and attacked.

[Luke! My troops and I will attack the thieves’ base.] [Your Grace, do you know where their base is located?] [North.] [Pardon?]

He thought he was ignoring Chainer’s words, but apparently not.

[Deal with the small fry and come north.] [Understood.]

Luke hid in the forest to prepare for the imminent surprise attack.

Meanwhile, Terran led his troops along a somewhat rough but shorter path. Even so, as they moved north, sporadic gunfights broke out, resulting in injuries and casualties.

However, as this was anticipated, there were no major losses. Terran never expected the band of thieves to attack in a normal manner.

[Look over there! Cabins!]

A village of cabins situated at the northern mountaintop, a location not easily found without serious determination.

As the army appeared, the thieves counterattacked.

Bang bang bang! As gunshots rang out from both sides, birds perched on tree branches frantically flew away.

[Kill them all! Don’t leave a single one alive!]

Terran shouted to his troops. In any war, the key figures of an organization are gathered at the headquarters.

To win the fight, this place had to be destroyed first. Soon, countless bullets were flying through the air.

Terran’s marksmanship was nearly miraculous. Not a single shot missed, and he hit the enemies with every shot fired.

‘Once we subdue this place, it’s over.’

As his long-forgotten battle instincts gradually filled his heart, he found himself standing in the middle of the battlefield, just like in the old days.

Loud gunshots and screams echoed from the forest where Luke was, reaching all the way to the north. Having been through countless battlefields with Luke, Terran believed he would not be defeated.

[How many are left?] [We’ve killed most of them. But the cabins and forest are intricately connected.]

Moreover, both sides had run out of bullets. To receive supplies, they would have to go back down the forest. Terran drew his sword.

[Are there any women, children, or elderly?] [None.]

It was truly a den of pitch-black thieves. Inside the cabins were numerous items they had plundered.

At that moment, thieves wielding knives appeared from all directions, and Terran subdued them one by one. Blood splattered everywhere, and screams filled the air.

But Terran made one grave mistake. He overlooked the fact that his opponents were not soldiers. Soon, they began to succumb to the hazy smoke that enveloped the cabins and forest.

[Ugh!]

Seizing this opportunity, the enemies poured out and attacked the soldiers.

[They’re the imperial dogs! Slit all their throats!]

As the enemies began to assault the disoriented allies in earnest, Terran desperately swung his sword while covering his nose and mouth.

Even as he watched his soldiers fall one by one right before his eyes, he clung to consciousness until the end.

‘A week is too long.’

Grace must be very worried by now, and the desire to end this as quickly as possible and return to her side welled up inside him.

[Argh…!]

Terran attacked the enemies with a terrifying roar. As his mind became increasingly hazy, he killed the enemies mercilessly like a murderous ghost.

Just then, Luke and his troops joined in, quickly subduing the enemies.

[Luke, are you alright?] [I injured my leg.]

Terran carried Luke on his shoulder and walked towards a tall tree. He tied Luke tightly with a rope and hung him from the tree.

[Rest here. I’ll take care of the rest of them.] [Your Grace, your nose and mouth…]

Luke lost consciousness right there, and Terran resumed his battle with the enemies. That was the last thing Terran remembered.

Though he didn’t lose consciousness, his cognitive abilities had significantly decreased, and he swung his sword indiscriminately, not knowing who he was fighting.

He fought like a beast trapped in a strange space between reality and dream, endlessly repeating the battle.

Even in the midst of this, Grace didn’t forget to call out to him.

‘Terran, you must come back to me.’

To not forget her, to return even a little faster, he desperately clung to the increasingly blurring thread of consciousness.

Her shining golden hair, sweet smile, feather-soft lips, and above all, her violet eyes flickered before him like a beacon of survival.

‘Let’s go back, Grace is waiting for me.’

Thinking it would be over if he could just defeat one more enemy, he became completely absorbed in the fight. He endured by continuously chanting her name like a spell.

* * *

James and Doctor Wilson wore grave expressions as they looked at the sleeping Terran.

“Did the Duke lose his memory from inhaling the poisonous smoke for several days?”

“Yes, we’ve given him antidote injections, so his memories should gradually return.”

“Won’t they come back all at once?”

“Hah! It would have been better if the Duke had lost consciousness quickly, but it seems he instinctively felt he might die. So he desperately tried to maintain consciousness, which ironically led to more severe poisoning.”

Still, Doctor Wilson shared more hopeful news. There were no external injuries, and with consistent antidote injections for a few days, he should return to normal.

“Grace…”

Just then, Terran called out for Grace as if sleep-talking.

“Even though he can’t remember the young lady.”

“It’s instinct. In fact, when in an unconscious state, one can retain all memories.”

At Doctor Wilson’s words, James heaved a deep sigh.

He couldn’t express how shocked he was upon hearing Luke’s report when he returned to the mansion. It was too devastating to even speak of, so he tried his best not to mention it.

‘How will the Duke handle it when he learns that he tried to kill the young lady?’

It was obvious that once Terran regained all his memories and learned of his actions towards her, he would once again fall into self-loathing and suffer as he had before.

Just as James and Doctor Wilson were about to leave the bedroom, Luke arrived, leaning on a crutch.

“How is the Duke?”

“The doctor says he’ll regain his memories after a few days of antidote injections.”

James answered on behalf of Doctor Wilson. However, Doctor Wilson had found it strange that the young lady was nowhere to be seen in the mansion from the beginning.

According to James, he had heard that she went to Basel Forest to find Terran. But there was no word after that.

“Luke, where is the young lady?”

Doctor Wilson, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, asked bluntly.

“Don’t try to find out. For now, I can’t say a word.”

“!?”

As Doctor Wilson looked surprised, James patted his shoulder and said,

“You’ll naturally find out when the Duke recovers.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Doctor Wilson looked back and forth between James and Luke.

At times like this, Luke found it quite awkward.

That night, it was surprising enough that Grace and Chainer had come to rescue them, but then Terran had caused such a commotion.

That wasn’t all. Soldiers in red robes had come to the cabin. The one leading them rode a white horse and wore a golden mask.

She surveyed the situation, shook her head, and approached him.

[I will protect the Bizac ladies for the time being.]

A woman’s voice, so familiar that Luke immediately recognized her identity.

[The fact that I took the two of them is a secret. This applies to Duke Courtois as well.] [But…! When the Duke finds out later?] [I said it’s a secret.]

The woman spoke gently, but her words were very firm.

She approached Luke, bent down, and whispered something in his ear. Luke’s eyes widened immediately.

However, Rapha and Sarubi, not knowing who they were, threatened to kill them.

[Rapha! Don’t block their way.] [Huh? How can we just let them take the young lady and our Chainer?] [If you want to die, go ahead and stop them.]

At the woman’s cold words, Rapha hesitated. And so, the red soldiers took Grace and Chainer away, and there had been no news since.

Later, he heard that even though the imperial family had offered to send reinforcements, Terran had adamantly refused, causing the Emperor and Empress great concern.

“Both the young lady and Chainer are fine, so don’t worry.”

Luke clarified to James and Doctor Wilson.

Even if they asked further, there was nothing more he could say. If he were to reveal anything, he might face tragedy as she had warned.

* * *

Lea stayed at the imperial palace with Chainer.

After being stabbed by Terran, she didn’t know how much time had passed or why she was here. When she came to her senses, her wound had been treated.

Vivian visited every day to check on Lea and Chainer. Chainer was busy roaming around the palace as if searching for Luke.

Vivian informed Lea that Terran was receiving good treatment at the ducal residence and that his lost memories would gradually recover.

“I thought it would be better for you to be apart from that guy, I mean the Duke, for a while, so I brought you here.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”

“Fortunately, the knife only grazed your side slightly.”

Lea believed that even that was Terran’s intention. Even if he didn’t remember her at the time, their bodies knew each other.

“That stubborn fool! We even sent reinforcements, but he sent them back, insisting on doing everything by himself.”

“Could it be because of his pride?”

“Even though he almost died meaninglessly because of his pride?”

“Many soldiers have been sacrificed in long wars, so Terran probably wanted to resolve it on his own.”

“I know. That’s why I’m angrier. He always tries to shoulder everything alone.”

Vivian said she had to step in because losing Terran would be a great loss for the Rubeck Empire.

Although Lea’s mind was entirely focused on the ducal residence, she decided to follow Vivian’s advice to stay at the palace and receive treatment until her body recovered.

Thanks to Vivian’s consideration, Lea received treatment from the palace’s dedicated doctors, and her wound healed quickly.

After Vivian left, Lea was left alone. Chainer, who had gone out to explore the palace, showed no signs of returning.

At that moment, clear tears welled up in her eyes.

‘I miss you.’

Her entire heart desperately yearned for Terran. Now that she had acknowledged her love for him, she had no intention of hiding or holding back anymore.

Before, she thought she just liked him because Terran was her benefactor. But this time, she realized clearly.

It was okay even if he didn’t recognize her. She loved him enough to be grateful just for the fact that he was alive.

‘Terran, if you had died, I couldn’t have endured.’

Until now, she thought she had been enduring with her desire for revenge against Allen and that passion.

But that wasn’t it at all. She couldn’t escape despair with just intangible emotions. It was Terran’s presence, his steadfast heart that had protected her weak self until now.

‘Get well soon, and come back to me quickly.’

When she meets him again, she can now proudly say it. That she loves him.