At the word “opportunity,” Ludmila closed her eyes tightly. What exactly is meant by opportunity?

One man risked his life for her, and lost it. What use is such a conversation when the one she wants can no longer receive opportunities?

Ludmila pulled her hand free and turned her body. A sigh fell and lingered briefly before disappearing.

With footsteps, the door opened and closed. In the silence that settled, Ludmila looked out the window, her eyes filled with golden sunlight were deeply pained.

That man is no longer in this world.

It was a color that seemed to make that fact even more painfully clear.

“Welcome back, Master.”

Salom, who had been worried after hearing the news, rushed out breathlessly to greet Aden as he dismounted from his horse.

Benjamin glared at the stubborn man who had ignored his advice to rest more and boarded the carriage with his body not yet recovered.

Beressa, who came out next, looked at Aden with concern before turning to Benjamin. Benjamin briefly tucked his chin and turned to approach Beressa.

While the two went off to talk, Salom silently watched him before realizing one person was missing and letting out a low sigh.

“Um, Master…”

Salom carefully called out to Aden as he passed by and entered the castle.

Watching Aden stop and stretch his back, Salom bit his lip and let out a slow breath.

“There are some items Lady Ludmila left behind. May I bring them to you?”

A suggestion born from concern, already knowing well how his master would feel.

Though offered thinking it would be helpful even if not joyful, Aden turned with eyes colder than the frozen tundra.

“Later. I’m tired and want to rest now.”

With those final words, he disappeared, leaving Salom watching with deep worry in his eyes.

Beressa silently watched Aden attending to piled up work as soon as he returned, then sighed and left the room.

Salom and Benjamin, waiting outside the door, cast expectant glances at Beressa, but she only shook her head slightly.

The two let out slow sighs. It had already been four days. This situation had continued since Aden’s return.

Benjamin, who needed to return to the capital soon, had hoped Aden would return to normal at least a little before he left, but it seemed unlikely he would see that before departing.

As he scratched his head in annoyance, debating whether to open the door and enter, Beressa stopped him.

“Benjamin, you were like that for a month too when you broke up with Melena.”

“I, I was?”

“Don’t you remember wandering around the castle like a corpse, saying you would die?”

Benjamin quickly covered Beressa’s mouth as she cruelly dug up a past nightmare he had already buried deep in his memories, but there was no real need to do so.

No one inside the Black Walls was unaware of that fact.

As Beressa stared at him intently, Benjamin bit his lip in embarrassment and slowly removed his hand.

Clearing his throat, Benjamin looked awkward as Beressa turned her waist slightly to look at the door.

“He’ll need some time.”

She didn’t know exactly what had happened between the two.

However, just from the fact that Aden didn’t bring Ludmila back, she could somewhat guess what kind of ending they had met.

But for Beressa, Ludmila’s choice was questionable.

Even from another woman’s perspective, Ludmila clearly held feelings for Aden beyond that of ordinary affection. She was a good person.

Kind and devoted, capable and responsible, and also beautiful. If such a woman were to meet Aden, it would have been most welcome.

Her changed thoughts from the past, when she had urged him to leave this place as time passed, were clear proof of this.

That such a Ludmila had chosen her husband.

Was she a woman unable to give up wealth, power, and the glamour of the capital, despite appearances? Though she didn’t know her well, at least the image Ludmila had shown here was certainly not like that.

The sense of liberation she showed when galloping across that vast land with her horse was certainly real. It seems there must be some misunderstanding.

A small button.

Just a trivial misunderstanding that could be resolved by simply undoing it.

But sometimes, when you fail to resolve such a small misunderstanding and end up buttoning everything to the end, you reach a point where you have to revise everything when you could have fixed just one thing.

That’s why the hardest part was undoing the first button of a misunderstanding.

In the end, all problems tended to stem from one incorrectly fastened button.

If only she knew what it was, she could help.

Aden’s silence was frustrating, but she couldn’t press him. In any case, all of this was his choice and his decision. Those around him couldn’t tell him what to do.

“For now, let’s wait a bit longer.”

Beressa could only wait for Aden to open that door and come out on his own.

When he came to his senses, the setting sun was seeping in from behind him. As he raised his head, the room was tinged with a rosy hue.

He had certainly sat down while bathed in golden light, but somehow quite some time had passed.

The food brought by the butler was still in the same state, now cold, with only the water glass slightly emptied.

Creeak-

Leaning back in his chair, Aden reached out and grasped the water glass.

Closing his stiff eyes, he moistened his lips with water and let out a small breath. After setting down the glass, he silently looked up at the ceiling, the color in his eyes incredibly dull.

Staring silently at one spot with lifeless eyes, he then lowered his gaze to look at one side of the floor.

Suddenly, the scene of giving artificial respiration to save Ludmila who had collapsed there came to mind.

Then again, under the white plum tree, in the moonlit sunroom.

The memories that had been gently washing over him like waves shattered like fragments when the image of Ludmila’s red eyes as she blocked Kedilen’s path arose.

Aden pressed his eyelids gently as he rose from his seat.

His body, not yet fully recovered, screamed in pain, but as if unaware of this, he calmly left the room.

Barhan, who happened to be passing by the door, greeted Aden with surprise, but as if he hadn’t heard, Aden turned and walked away.

Slow steps wandered through the quiet castle.

In the past, there would have been an unnecessary number of servants crowding every path, but now they were appropriately placed for essential needs, making the inside of the castle sparse.

Thanks to all the curtains being drawn back, the corridors were bright with light, ill-fitting for a place called the Black Walls, and red carpets were laid out.

Aden’s footsteps walking on them created a rhythmic sound echoing through the castle, like a regular harmony.

After walking for quite some time, Aden’s steps gradually came to a stop. With that, the sound also disappeared.

It’s quiet. As that thought occurred, an emotion with indescribable meaning welled up.

This emotion, strangely tickling his chest, was certainly familiar, but now he couldn’t even remember it.

Frowning and biting his lip firmly, Aden turned his head.

An empty room, perhaps in the middle of cleaning. Deep darkness had settled inside.

Aden, who had been silently staring at that place, began to move his feet again. Striding.

Though without a destination, he walked.

He passed through the corridor, turned around the cloister, and when he reached the entrance, quite a number of people recognized him and bowed their heads.

Even as he passed them and stepped onto the stairs, Aden didn’t know where he was going. Just wherever his feet took him.

With that single thought, Aden had reached the 3rd floor.

Silently looking at the place where the rosy light had lengthened, Aden ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

He could now understand why he had come here. Should he go back?

After pondering for a moment, Aden hesitated briefly before moving his feet again.

The final destination of his lengthening steps.

It was Ludmila’s art room, which was too modest to be called a study and now known by a different name.

The bookshelves that had been standing were cleared away, the curtains were replaced, and necessary items were arranged. It was his direct order.

At that time, not knowing what was needed, he had ordered it to be cleaned and simple tools to be brought in.

Every time he had come to see it, it was empty, and he thought it was such a vacant place, but now looking at it, it was filled with various objects.

As if speaking to what kind of temperament the person who used this room had, despite the arrangement that could easily become cluttered, the art room was neatly organized.

On one side were canvases and easels, on another brushes and paints, and necessary water containers and tools.

As Aden, who had been scanning the objects each in their place with his eyes, entered inside.

Amidst the smell of oil paints that filled the room, suddenly a different scent seemed to be mixed in, but it quickly disappeared.

Aden silently rubbed his finger on top of the table, then picked up a palette that caught on his fingertips.

As if she had left in a hurry, unable to properly clean up the paint, it had hardened stiffly. Was she painting with this paint?

In this quiet and tranquil place. The owner of this empty study that no one visited was painting every day.

What thoughts did she have while sitting here? The moment Ludmila’s face came to mind, silently looking at the canvas without even being able to ask if she could paint, his lips closed tightly.

“Master?”

It was just as he was putting down the palette and turning to leave the room again.

Salom, who had entered, carefully called out to him.

“Were you here? The local lords of the Sardic region are requesting to see you.”

Unlike the capital with many ears and mouths, the clans of the Send Plateau had not yet heard the news of his accident.

There was also Aden’s order not to specifically inform them, but being a closed-off place, they could calmly request a meeting with him, unaware that Aden had been in an accident.

Annoying fellows. Aden let out a brief complaint, but thought it was rather fortunate.

There was nothing better than work to erase unnecessary thoughts.

“I’ll go right away.”

Aden nodded and passed by Salom. It was just as he was hurriedly moving his steps to leave the art room.

“Ah, Master. If that’s what you’re looking for, it’s over there.”

“…That?”

As Aden stopped and turned around, Salom smiled and walked to one side.

Unlike the other canvases hanging on the easel, there was one covered with a pure white cloth.

Salom lightly pulled on the cloth. Inside the cloth was a canvas with a completed painting.

A night scene with the Milky Way and a beautiful crescent moon embroidered above the vast plateau. And a man standing on horseback there.

Aden slowly turned and walked towards the painting.

It couldn’t be called a masterpiece, but it was certainly a well-done painting. From top to bottom.

As Aden’s eyes, slowly scanning down the painting, reached a spot where the letter ‘P’ was engraved.

Ludmila Perez. It was a painting she had completed.