Upon receiving the captain’s order, a member immediately brought Preet here.

Although only a few days had passed since our last meeting, Preet appeared gaunt when we met again.

Contrary to my worries about the captain treating him poorly, the captain remained quiet.

He simply guided Preet and me to the table without a word.

As I felt relieved, Preet, sitting across from us, let out a shallow sigh and finally brought up his business.

“Duke Habicht. I still remember your warning. You told me not to appear before you again. However, despite that, I have come to see you after much deliberation because I have something I must tell you.”

Hearing Preet’s words, I immediately turned my head to look at the captain sitting beside me.

When I silently asked with my eyes if he really gave such a warning, he avoided my gaze with a flustered expression.

Then, without giving me a chance to question him, he promptly asked Preet:

“What is this important message you must convey?”

“I’ll get straight to the point. His Majesty the Emperor is pursuing Lord Schneestearn. With numerous soldiers.”

Upon hearing this, I asked in shock:

“His Majesty? But… but doesn’t His Highness roughly know? I jumped into the rift right before His Majesty’s eyes. So he must be uncertain of my fate, right?”

“Well, it seems there was a spy in the Great Temple. That’s the only way I can explain it, though it’s a bit extreme to say so.”

“A spy…? Is that true? Could you tell me more details?”

With a long sigh, Preet finally revealed the truth I didn’t know.

“On the day you lost consciousness inside the rift in the barony, I stayed in that forest for a long time. Blaming myself for not properly protecting you.”

“…”

“I’m not sure how long I stood there. When the sky turned pitch black, I came to my senses and returned to the baron’s mansion. I wanted to inform them that you had closed the rift. But—”

He paused to catch his breath before continuing.

“The state of the baron’s servants was strange. They were all trembling in fear. Especially the butler, who had signs of beating all over his body, to the point where there was hardly an uninjured spot.”

“…!”

“Surprised, I immediately asked them what had happened, and that’s when I heard. That His Majesty had visited the baron’s mansion to meet Lord Schneestearn.”

“And then he left the mansion to chase after me? Leading soldiers?”

Preet nodded at my question.

“That’s right.”

“…”

“His Majesty knew everything. Even that we had visited the baron’s mansion and left through the rift. Since he doesn’t have precognitive abilities like me, he must have planted a spy in the Great Temple to receive reports on our movements.”

After saying that much, Preet bowed his head respectfully towards me.

“It was clearly my oversight not to have detected the spy earlier. Therefore, I felt responsible and came to warn you to be careful of His Majesty’s pursuit.”

“…”

“Fortunately, it seems I found you before His Majesty caught up. Or perhaps he’s already watching you nearby. Being a cautious person, he wouldn’t reveal himself easily.”

Ernant had discovered the fact that I was alive.

That I had been at the Great Temple—

That I had visited Ketrenburk—

He even knew that I had gone to the rift.

Just how far does he intend to monitor and pursue me?

Suddenly, fear crept in and I shuddered.

The captain then wrapped his large, firm hand around my trembling shoulders and said to Preet:

“This news isn’t particularly surprising. My brother is annoyingly quick-witted. I thought he would have figured out that Yulia was alive quite early on.”

Crossing his legs as he sat, the captain continued:

“And with his leech-like tenacity, it wasn’t difficult to predict he would pursue… So, is that all the news you have to share?”

The words were too provocative, so I gave the captain a sidelong glance, but Preet didn’t seem to mind.

Instead of responding sharply, he faced the captain with a calm expression.

“Duke Habicht.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Be careful.”

After giving that brief warning, Preet spoke again.

“You are strong. That’s a fact everyone acknowledges. But too much power breeds arrogance, and arrogance soon becomes a fatal weakness. Carelessness due to arrogance can lead to unexpected death, like an arrow skillfully piercing between the eye slits of a helmet.”

Unlike me who was startled by that chilling warning, the captain, who was the subject, instead burst into laughter.

“Did you glimpse a future where I die with that great precognitive ability of yours?”

“No. I didn’t use my precognitive ability. I sensed it, that you might be in danger.”

Saying so, Preet showed a faint smile to the captain for the first time.

“Even if it’s just a hunch, you’d do well not to ignore it. My intuition is as good as my precognitive ability.”

Afterwards, he stood up from his seat.

Then he bowed his head to us and left the tent.

It seemed he thought there was no need to stay any longer, having said all he needed to say.

I quickly excused myself to the captain and hurried after Preet.

When I called out to him as he was leaving the tent, he opened his eyes wide in surprise.

“Lord Schneestearn…?”

“Are you returning to the Great Temple now?”

Preet nodded with a slightly bitter smile.

“My role is finished.”

“Your role?”

“To protect you until your true partner appears, and to warn you of any dangers thereafter… I believe that was the extent of my role.”

“…”

“Staying by your side from now on will be that man’s duty, not mine.”

Preet, who had said he loved me, was now saying he would leave because his role was over.

I couldn’t bring myself to offer any casual words of comfort in front of him.

Because I knew how difficult and painful it was to sort out one’s feelings for someone and leave.

So I just cautiously asked:

“May I visit you from time to time?”

I asked even though I knew Preet might not want to see me anymore.

Though it might be a selfish thought, I wanted to continue our relationship as friends.

Despite being betrayed twice by those I trusted, foolish me still desired relationships with people.

As expected, Preet didn’t answer right away.

He hesitated for a long while before finally opening his mouth slowly.

“It might be difficult for now. My feelings aren’t completely sorted out yet.”

“…I see.”

“But someday, after the seasons have changed three or four times, it might be alright then.”

With a kind smile on his lips, he continued to ask:

“If you haven’t forgotten me by then, would you come visit?”

It was a question that didn’t require hesitation to answer.

I immediately nodded to him.

“I will never forget. In three years, within three days of the first snowfall, I will certainly come visit you.”

To this, Preet responded with another smile before turning his back and leaving me.

I stood there watching as he got in a carriage and disappeared.

For now, I had to let him go.

For now, we couldn’t be together as friends.

But as long as we both lived, there was no such thing as a complete farewell in this world.

When white snow piles up softly, and new sprouts emerge from the water of melted snow seeping into the ground, and those leaves wither and return to the earth again… After that great cycle repeats three times, we would be able to meet again.

We would be able to be together as true friends, not in a relationship where one side unilaterally loves or uses the other.

After seeing Preet off, things became hectic.

The first thing I did was send some money, potions, and antidotes effective against monster poison to the Ketrenburk baron’s mansion.

They had suffered for no reason because Ernant was chasing me.

So I wanted to help in whatever way I could within my means.

I could only hope that what I sent would help improve the condition of the baron and the old butler, and bring vitality back to the mansion.

After taking care of Ketrenburk, I then prepared to leave.

I had promised to soon depart with the captain to search for the Awakened.

It would have been nice if that was all I had to do… but I also had to mentally prepare a letter to send to Karl’s hometown.

His family must not know what has happened to Karl now.

If I didn’t inform them by letter, they would just keep waiting endlessly for Karl who would never return.

So currently, I was filling up stationery while holding a pen that felt particularly heavy.

I didn’t bother writing about the detailed memories with Karl.

Since remembering and mourning him was the family’s role, I simply wrote the truth in a matter-of-fact manner.

– He was a person who possessed the wisdom to know what is truly precious in life, and the courage to willingly give his life for those precious things.