The preparations for heading to Iprose Island were finished quite quickly.

There wasn’t much luggage to begin with, and in reality, Cassian didn’t have to lift a finger, which made it even quicker.

This life where servants packed all his luggage and belongings even when he just stood still was the typical life of a great nobleman.

And now in 6 months, it would really come to a conclusion.

Whether that life would continue, or be cut off.

As soon as morning broke, Cassian slowly boarded the carriage.

Behind him, only the minimum entourage followed.

If by chance the fact that the heir had a strange ailment became known, it was clear that the Blanchet family would be turned upside down.

Of course, at the center of it would be Uncle Alton, with his eyes bloodshot.

After traveling through the city for quite a while, the carriage stopped at the dock, leaving the distant view of the capital behind.

Cassian, who got out of the carriage, looked at the undulating sea and boarded the ship.

The ship swiftly swam through the waves, heading towards Iprose Island.

After going against the waves for a while, Iprose jutting out in the distance came into view.

The scenery with red roses blooming here and there under the sparkling sunlight was truly spectacular.

Cassian, who disembarked there again, followed the attendants towards the villa located in the center of Iprose Island.

Along the way, roses well-managed by the Blanchet servants were placed here and there.

Cassian, who was looking at the flowers that had bloomed with the brilliance of life, stopped abruptly in front of a purple flower.

It was because he was reminded of that girl who always smiled when looking at it.

Plucking it as if crushing it, Cassian put it inside his chest and moved again.

The few knights following him had their eyes wide open.

Meeting eyes, they asked each other, ‘Has the young master gone mad?’

Of course, it was a question without an answer.

The one who opened his mouth among them was Lord Winslet, the only one who could freely speak to Cassian.

“Why did you pluck such a thing?”

Tiobe Winslet.

He was a friend of the same age who had been close to Cassian since childhood.

In reality, a member of the Winslet Viscount family belonged to a class that would never see someone as high as the young master of Blanchet in their lifetime.

Tiobe would have been the same if he hadn’t joined the Blanchet Knights.

He caught Cassian’s eye when he stood out after joining the Blanchet Knights.

One knight who tried to push out the outstanding Tiobe and take his place by the young master’s side attempted to eliminate him during a hunting competition.

At that time, the person who blocked the poisoned sword instead was the young master Cassian right in front of him.

It was unknown why he had made such a choice.

However, from then on, Tiobe vowed to become Cassian’s only sword.

Having lived solely as his guard for several years like that.

Tiobe prided himself on knowing his master well.

A person who speaks little, says only the minimum necessary, never says anything unnecessary, and has sold off any emotion to some star.

Tiobe, who had been by his side continuously except for the year he went down to Alphonse, was certain.

That this time, the lord had plucked the flower to torment it.

But a gentle smile was spreading across his face as he looked at that flower. That couldn’t be.

“Did you… like flowers?”

The Cassian that Tiobe knew was the type who had no interest in useless things like flowers.

As if acknowledging it himself, his brow furrowed for a moment as if he had heard something absurd.

“You were smiling, so I thought so.”

“Smil…ing?”

Could it be that he doesn’t know what expression he’s making right now?

The past year. In that time that seemed short, the lord had shown more changes than in the past several years.

‘What on earth did you experience to…’

Well, when you reach the threshold of death, everything including your values tends to be turned upside down.

The lord, who originally never lost the characteristic gentle smile of the Blanchets, had shown behavior befitting a true heir of Blanchet.

In other words, it means he was a person skilled at outwardly displaying smiles and not revealing his inner thoughts.

He was also someone whose inner thoughts were unknowable outwardly, to the extent that one might wonder if there could be anyone who restrains their emotions as much.

That’s why everyone feared him, and sometimes even I, who had always been by his side, often didn’t know his inner thoughts.

Such a person now… was wearing a genuine smile.

Alphonse. What on earth happened there?

The lord left for Alphonse, leaving behind all important things.

Not even allowing me, who had always guarded his back, to follow.

As if he had made up his mind to face the end alone.

At that time, the young master was clearly preparing for the end.

He always said he didn’t want anyone to see such an unsightly end.

So it must have been heavenly fortune that allowed the young master to return to the capital.

Now that a cure has been developed, the young master has been given a new life, so what greater fortune could there be? So it’s natural for him to smile like that.

But… Tiobe didn’t think the lord’s smile was just because of that.

He had clearly changed something.

Though I don’t know what caused it, for now, it seems quite positive.

Although it’s a somewhat dangerous change, isn’t it good that it’s good anyway?

Tiobe simply interpreted and summarized the situation like that.

Anyway, he was curious.

Who could have changed him in just a year when he had lived without any change for several years?

Cassian’s time passed slowly as he entered the annex with the purple flower in his chest.

In the midst of boredom with nothing to do, he often read letters.

Letters that were worn to the point of being read over and over again.

As he did so, time seemed to flow little by little as if it wasn’t flowing.

Cherry blossoms bloomed and fell, then became a forest full of green foliage, then red autumn leaves dominated the space, and finally, on a cold but cozy winter night.

As Yuriel’s letters piled up, Cassian’s treatment continued without rest.

For some reason, the developed treatment didn’t work properly for him.

The attending physicians examining Cassian looked particularly gloomy today.

Tiobe, standing behind them, urged them.

“Didn’t you say it would take half a year originally?”

Among the stiff physicians, the one who stepped forward was Dioner, who had been with the Blanchet family the longest due to his excellent medical skills.

“That’s what we thought, but…”

Cassian turned his head for the first time towards Dioner, who trailed off.

“But?”

“It seems more time will be needed.”

Dioner, who lowered his head in shame, reported quietly.

“It could take… even several years at most.”

Several years. A sound used to count an indefinite amount of time.

Cassian nodded towards the physicians who had lowered their heads.

After the physicians disappeared as if fleeing from the dismissal, Cassian stared blankly out the window.

Suddenly, such a thought occurred to him.

Perhaps, just perhaps, God might side with Uncle.

And thus, he might die and disappear from this world.

No, maybe that was already a predetermined fate.

Cassian, who had come out for a walk as advised by the doctor, stopped at the purple flower bed as usual.

The petals, which had met the harsh season, were drooping down more than usual. Some were staining the ground with a purple color like blood.

The appearance of Cassian standing on them somehow resembled them.

“If I die.”

Cassian’s head slowly turned.

Tiobe, who was guarding behind him as usual, was standing there.

“That won’t happen.”

Tiobe’s appearance, gripping his sword tightly, was resolute to the point of being determined.

“You’re not naive enough to think that those with Blanchet blood flowing through them have long lifespans, are you?”

Cassian’s face, which had disparaged himself as a ‘tribe’ in a bored tone, turned back to the flower bed.

The purple flower buds rippled over his characteristic red eyes. The afterimage of purple dyeing over the red color somewhat resembled a certain color of the sun setting over the sea.

He added in a tone so bored it was hard to believe he was talking about himself.

“If something happens to me, you deliver it directly to that girl in Alphonse.”

“In the same way… you mean?”

The same way. Referring to my crude method of giving one pill a month.

Cassian closed his eyes tightly and then opened them to stare at him with red eyes.

“No.”

“…”

“Give her all of it.”

After I’m dead, that much mercy should be fine.

An indecipherable smile appeared on Cassian’s face.

Tiobe pondered as he looked at that appearance.

Over the past time, Tiobe too had heard about ‘that person’ from Alphonse.

Of course, it was just basic information that her name was Yuriel and she had red hair.

Ah, he did guess that she must be extremely beautiful.

Otherwise, she couldn’t have captured the difficult young master in less than a year.

Anyway, what was certain was that the young master had her in his heart.

He didn’t know how big it was, whether it was simply to torment her or if it had a different meaning.

But even so, this order was unexpected.

Tiobe stuttered for a moment.

“You mean… all of that precious medicine?”

“Yes.”

Since coming to Iprose, the lord had been constantly spending a lot of money to scrape together that useless medicine.

He even showed the strange behavior of giving out exactly one pill of that medicine each month.

Not only that.

He was also the one who created that girl’s ridiculous job.

Even receiving reports separately while receiving letters like that was the same.

When it came to that woman, he became unlike the young master of Blanchet.

Tiobe felt like the puzzle of their relationship was finally coming together a bit.

By the way, wasn’t that woman said to be a commoner?

Somehow seeing the ending of this romance story, he clicked his tongue inwardly.