The deepest dawn was buried in darkness.

Within it, Aden’s gaze, unable to sleep, fell upon a single painting.

A villa by the riverside and a tree. A man standing under that tree.

Every time Aden looked at this painting left by Ludmila, a burning thirst arose.

It didn’t take long to realize what it was.

This was an unfinished painting. The beautiful river, villa, and tree. Everything was perfect, but the number of people looking at it was lacking.

Perhaps it wasn’t just him who felt this way. Aden didn’t love this painting. That’s why he didn’t look at it.

When he looked at this painting, new appreciation and emotions bloomed, and as he swam along with those emotions, the face of one person naturally emerged, tearing his heart to shreds.

Three months.

Ludmila was a woman who lived in moments both fleeting and eternal.

She had stayed by his side for three months, and it had been three months since she left his side.

Surely it was the same amount of time, yet when they were together it felt as short as a moment, but now he had to swim through an eternal flow to forget her.

Every day, he had to suppress his desire to find Ludmila.

When his shameful desire to call Beressa and find out Ludmila’s whereabouts surfaced, he couldn’t bear it without falling asleep intoxicated.

Was this really the right thing to do? Even asking himself, there was no answer. But he could clearly know what he wanted.

This burning thirst was proving it.

It was when the distant chime of a clock rang that Aden took his eyes off the painting.

Turning his gaze to look out the window, the sky was staining a dark blue.

Aden reached out and grasped the coat hanging on the chair.

As always, slightly distant from neatness, but with that raw charm imbued in it, he turned around.

Aden left when dawn was being torn by a red light.

Beressa, who had been waving her hand watching Aden quietly leave the castle on horseback, slowly withdrew her smile when he disappeared from view.

Only then did her tightly closed lips part and a long sigh flowed out.

It was a breath so long that even Salom standing beside her could have heard it if the wind that happened to blow hadn’t taken it away.

“Will it really be alright?”

When the red sun rising over the road where Aden had disappeared came into view, Salom cautiously spoke up.

Beressa, who had examined Salom biting his lip anxiously, once again rolled her gaze forward.

“It’s a crucial time. The master will be needed, but if others find out he’s disappeared like this…”

“If it was going to crumble easily without just Aden, this kind of thing wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“But…”

“I’ve conveyed the situation to the clan leaders including Neser and obtained their consent. Moreover, it’s already decided what needs to be done. We just have to carry it out. We’re just filling Aden’s vacancy for a very short while. Let’s consider it giving him a short vacation in advance since he won’t be able to rest once the war breaks out.”

Salom nodded briefly, but the worry etched on his face didn’t disappear.

Beressa knew well that what Salom was worried about wasn’t that.

It wasn’t concern about the situation that would unfold while Aden was gone.

He must be assuming the worst.

What if, what if.

What if Aden meets Ludmila and doesn’t return? What should they do if he chooses to live there? The Kahn clan needed a central figure.

There was no one to replace that. Even with Aden, they were at a disadvantage in the war, but if he disappeared, the possibility of winning the war would vanish completely. That’s what Salom was worried about.

“Don’t worry. He’s a man with a strong sense of responsibility, so he’ll return.”

“…I suppose so?”

Salom, still unable to shake off his worry, gave a weak smile.

“Don’t think like that and prepare to send a messenger. I need to send a letter to Anar Baldin.”

Beressa, who nodded briefly, jerked her chin as if to say go and take care of it after giving the instruction.

Beressa, who had been following Salom with her eyes as he returned to the castle with a bow, swallowed a sigh and turned her gaze in the direction Aden had disappeared.

The red light was growing deeper. The deeper it grew, the more Beressa’s confusion deepened. She didn’t think the answer she had chosen was right.

As Salom said, there was a possibility that Aden might not return. Of course, it would be infinitely low.

He wasn’t a man to neglect his clan. She certainly thought he would return.

But if by any chance he doesn’t return.

If he ignores the clan, covering his eyes and blocking his ears, what would they do then?

Beressa hadn’t found the answer to that question yet. Whether Aden is there or not, the war will break out. Even objectively, it was a war they couldn’t win.

That war would eventually be completed with Aden’s death.

“Rather, if he doesn’t return.”

There was no need to invite death. Aden’s entire life had been sacrifice, dedication, and loss.

That man who never indulged in greed had finally found what he wanted. And instead of putting it in his hands, she had taken it away and thrown it far away.

Yet Aden didn’t resent her. As if he understood, as if her choice had been the right answer, he had just nodded.

She certainly knew that was the right action to take for the sake of the clan. But was it so for the man called Aden?

Aden, who never once came to ask her where Ludmila was.

Unable to fully understand the pain of taking sleeping pills to find sleep, Beressa could only swallow the bitterness.

“If he runs away with Ludmila…”

Beressa, who had been muttering in a self-deprecating voice, closed her mouth when such assumptions became futile.

In the end, Aden would return. Because he was that kind of man. Because he was a man who knew no other way to live.

Beressa had chosen the best she could do for that man.

Until Aden returns, they must increase their chances of winning the war. Beressa neatly arranged her clothing before turning around.

The sun that had already risen was dyeing the black castle red. As if hinting at their future that would soon unfold, in a very red color.

The map-making was almost complete, but paint was running short towards the end.

Unlike Habertz’s art shop which was always well-stocked, she had to procure what she needed herself.

It wasn’t difficult to get the items since she had received money, but it was inconvenient to have to go to the neighboring village.

At times like this, she missed the well-prepared art shop, but soon realizing such emotions were meaningless, she erased them cleanly.

Ludmila dressed in neat clothes and got on her bicycle.

As she pedaled hard, a cool breeze swept by quickly. The deepening summer mood and hot weather were approaching in full force.

Despite the cool breeze blowing, sweat was beading up. While wondering if she should start shortening her clothes, she entered the outskirts of the neighboring village.

The festival was now just a day away.

Not only Tenant village preparing for the festival, but this place too seemed unsettled with the festival approaching.

Housewives and young people chatting with flushed faces. Children’s noisy laughter. Ludmila stopped her bicycle and entered the general store to buy paint.

She didn’t need a large quantity. As she came out with a paper bag adequately filled, a fragrant flower scent wafted over.

Turning her head, what she saw was a huge tree. Blooming on it were pink plum blossoms.

Hadn’t the buds formed a month ago, yet flowers were still remaining? Ludmila was puzzled, but recalling that summer had started a bit late this year, she briefly nodded in understanding.

Anyway, plum blossoms. Ludmila silently gazed at the pink-dyed petals before letting out a laugh.

The face of that person who always came to mind when seeing plum blossoms suddenly felt missed.

The founding festival must be over by now. Did he enjoy it? Or was he cooped up in the castle this time too?

It would be nice if he forgot about me and found a new partner.

As Ludmila’s thoughts reached there while putting the paper bag with paint into her bicycle basket, her hand suddenly stopped.

A new partner. The bitterness brought by that casually thought of word made her lips draw into a straight line.

But that didn’t last long either.

Ludmila, who had tried to shake off the unworthy thoughts rising by shaking her head, pushed the kickstand of her parked bicycle.

“Miss Ludmila?”

Ludmila, who was about to put her foot on the pedal to return home again, holding the handlebars of the rattling bicycle, raised her head at the voice coming from right in front. It was the son of the elementary school teacher whom she had met a few times in passing. His name was… Hans.

“Hello, Mr. Hans.”

As Ludmila recalled his information from the hazy memory and smiled while returning the greeting, the man’s expression immediately brightened.

He rolled his eyes to check Ludmila’s luggage and then raised his gaze again.

“Are you going shopping?”

“Yes, for now. But, what can I do for you?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much, I just wanted to ask you something.”

At his words that he had something to ask her, Ludmila’s head tilted to the side.

Hans, seeming nervous, bit his lip and hesitated for a moment before putting strength in his eyes as if he had made up his mind.

“Do you have a partner to participate in tomorrow’s festival with? If not, would you like to go with me?”

At his proposal, strength entered Ludmila’s hand.

But with a calm expression, not forgetting her smile, she silently looked at Hans and then rolled her eyes to look beyond his shoulder.

She could see the faces of men watching this way.

Among them were mixed men who had suggested participating in the festival together with her a few days ago.

For a moment, Ludmila’s face hardened at the unpleasantness of feeling like she had become a plaything.