Folk dances and campfires. The laughter and chatter of people enjoying the festival.

As they left the village of Tenant where the festival was in full swing, those sounds faded away and were replaced by the quiet sounds of insects and leaves rustling in the night breeze.

Walking with Aden along the tranquil night streets, Ludmila silently gazed at the man walking beside her.

The man who looked handsome in the burning light was also magnificent when wrapped in the radiance of moonlight.

This man was always like that.

No matter where he was, he caught the eye, shone brightly, and ultimately made his presence known.

His presence was so remarkable that the more she was next to him, the more she realized her own situation.

“Where shall we go tomorrow?”

A calm voice rang out.

Only then did Ludmila come to her senses and quickly shifted her gaze forward. A small laugh tickled her ears and disappeared.

“I saw children playing leisurely by the lake. Shall we go there tomorrow? Rent a small boat.”

Ludmila was momentarily speechless at his casual plans for tomorrow.

Today is the festival, tomorrow the lake. Then naturally, plans would be made for two days later and three days later as well.

There’s nothing strange about making plans every day, but if it’s with Aden, isn’t it a little different?

Ludmila still couldn’t understand Aden’s intentions. A man who came looking for her saying he wanted to see her.

A man who became her fiancé on the premise of a week-long temporary meeting. What exactly does he want?

Is this brief encounter that will evaporate really precious to him?

Aden was a man of great ambition. To the extent that he would throw away everything he had to obtain her.

She knew better than anyone that such a man would not be satisfied with just a week-long meeting.

“Is that all Aden wants to do?”

As Ludmila’s steps halted, Aden’s feet also came to an abrupt stop.

Turning diagonally a step ahead, Aden nodded with a slight smile at Ludmila’s intensely serious gaze fixed on him.

“Yes. That’s all.”

“Enjoying the festival, riding a boat, spending an ordinary and leisurely daily life. That’s all?”

Aden nodded briefly.

Ludmila felt confused by his calm answer, but she swallowed it down. After exhaling briefly, Ludmila nodded.

“Alright. Let’s pack a picnic and go see the lake tomorrow. As you said, it would be nice to rent a boat.”

Ludmila could have probed into Aden’s intentions, but she didn’t.

Just as Aden wished. Just act according to what he wants, that’s all.

‘Three days.’

Ludmila smiled gently at Aden, who was gazing intently at her, then took the first step.

With his gaze fixed on her back and moonlight seeping onto her face.

It was no coincidence that he woke up at dawn. Aden rose at the sound of tapping on the window and closed his eyes tightly.

After confirming that there was nothing to be heard above his head, Aden got up from his bed.

Leaving the room and opening the front door, Aden frowned at the humid air touching his skin as he stepped outside.

Is it going to rain again? He thought the lake trip tomorrow was probably off, but only for a moment.

Aden moved towards the distant bird calls.

Turning around the corner of the house into a quiet alley where people didn’t pass, Aden stopped when he saw two people waiting for him.

They were the ones making the bird sounds.

Aden flicked his hand as soon as he saw them.

Aden received the letter handed over by one person and unfolded it with dry eyes.

As he skimmed the contents in the dim moonlight, Aden’s lips twisted crookedly.

The situation was progressing too quickly.

He thought it would take about a month, but even that had shortened and now there was roughly two weeks left. No, maybe a little more than that.

When his thoughts reached that point, Aden realized that the one week Ludmila had proposed was quite reasonable.

Yes, it had always been like that.

Ludmila’s choices were rational and led to the right results.

That’s why he followed Ludmila’s words and respected her decisions.

The reason he didn’t hold her back even knowing she was leaving him was because he believed she was right.

And that belief went around and around and finally proved itself again.

With two facts: that Ludmila was not involved in this war and that she was unaware of this news.

“I’ll return in four days. If any other variables arise in the meantime, let me know immediately.”

“Understood. And one more thing.”

The man with the deep voice pulled out another document from his chest.

Aden’s eyes flashed momentarily as he unfolded it with dry eyes.

“This is the material you requested, Your Grace. It’s internal confidential information, so there are probably very few people who know this information besides the parties involved and those concerned.”

Aden’s lips slowly curled up as he listened to the explanation.

At times like this, it was truly grateful that Benjamin was holding out in that harsh imperial palace.

Aden rolled up the document and nodded briefly.

“I’ve confirmed it, you may go now.”

The two men bowed and turned to leave.

Aden silently watched them go, then lifted his head to the darkness seeping in above.

Dark clouds were rolling in to swallow the moon, as if trying to block even the faint moonlight.

Exhaling softly, he turned around. Leaving the dark alley, he returned to the house and opened the door.

At that moment, Aden stopped at the sight of red eyes staring at him.

“Where have you been?”

“Just a short walk.”

Ludmila silently looked at Aden’s casual face as he grinned, then nodded briefly and stepped onto the stairs.

Three days. And then three more days.

In the end, all that remained at the end of all the time spent here was Ludmila.

All he wanted to capture in his eyes was the beautiful sight of her smiling in different scenery day by day.

He didn’t mind if he was misunderstood as having strict thoughts and odd purposes.

Ludmila.

If only he could protect her.

“Yes, for you.”

He was prepared to face the death that would come from the cold plateau.

The sky was gloomy and looked like it might rain at any moment, but fortunately it didn’t.

Ludmila wondered if it was really okay to go to the lake in this weather, but Aden calmly packed their things.

Ludmila couldn’t bring herself to stop him as she watched his busy hands putting simple snacks and blankets into the basket.

As long as they didn’t launch the boat, it should be fine. She intended to go along with Aden’s stubbornness to a reasonable extent.

But when they reached the lakeshore and she saw him heading straight to the dock to rent a boat, Ludmila quickly grabbed his hand.

“We shouldn’t launch the boat. It’s dangerous if it rains.”

“It won’t pour, so don’t worry.”

This didn’t seem to be a matter of worrying or not.

Even if it was a calm lake, there was no telling how it might change in the rain.

It seemed Ludmila wasn’t the only one concerned, as the dock worker also cautiously tried to dissuade Aden. But Aden insisted it would be fine.

Knowing this man wasn’t one to be so unreasonably stubborn, Ludmila was bewildered, but the boat was already launched and Aden was on board.

“Please get on, Ludmila.”

Aden, transformed into a courteous fiancé, extended his hand to Ludmila.

Ludmila recalled Aden who said he had gone out for some air at dawn.

Even though she tried not to mind what he was hiding, she couldn’t help but think about it when she saw him like this.

Living an ordinary daily life, doing what he wanted to do.

Where was the reason for insisting on obtaining all these seemingly trivial things?

Ludmila knew when this kind of behavior appeared.

Terminal.

People facing imminent death behaved like this when putting their affairs in order.

They do things they couldn’t do before, things they always wanted to do. As if making a wish list and fulfilling it one by one.

When that thought first occurred to her, Ludmila denied it.

Instead of leaving, she had saved Aden with the most certain card she held. There was nothing left to threaten him.

So this thought was just an illusion.

She considered it as Aden’s untimely whim, or a problem arising from his special regard for her.

Yes, that must be it.

Because she thought so, Ludmila took Aden’s hand and boarded the boat.

Without any suspicion. Just going along with his lead.

As they slowly rowed towards the center of the lake, a cool breeze blew.

Ludmila tied her hair tightly to calm it from blowing in the wind and covered her knees with a blanket.

Meanwhile, the boat steadily moved forward.

The refreshing sound of the oar stirring the water’s surface. The cool sensation felt whenever water splashed onto the skin.

The trees swaying in the wind and the scenery of the green mountains visible beyond the blue lake in the distance.

“Come to think of it, it was a lake like this back then too.”

While watching the spectacle of water breaking with each movement of the oar.

At the low voice resonating in her ear, Ludmila’s eyes rose vertically.

“Back then?”

Aden quietly nodded. By now, the oar had slowly come to a stop.

As he let go of the oar he had been holding, it landed on the oarlock with a thud.

The stillness that came after the wind died down. Aden exhaled slowly as he looked down at the calm lake.

“The boy who couldn’t attend his mother’s deathbed when he heard she had died wanted to die, and the girl wanted to save that boy.”

His gaze passed over the lake, mountains, and cloudy sky, finally resting on Ludmila.

At that moment, a single memory arose and stimulated Ludmila’s lips.

“…Lake Florang.”

The scenery of the dark and pitch-black lake bottom that she wanted to forget rose up and engulfed Ludmila.