The scenery of the room, entered after a long time, had not changed. Pure white sheets and a crimson blanket.

Besides that, the bag and other luggage I had left were neatly organized on one side.

The packed luggage bag, ready to leave at any time, was also placed in the same spot.

One month.

A deep sigh settled on Ludmila’s lips as she recalled the time it took to return here.

Although she knew it wasn’t that long ago, the time she was absent from this place felt incredibly long. That’s how much she must have missed this place.

The unchanged scenery filled her eyes, bathed in the quiet afternoon sunlight.

It wasn’t just this room. The black walls were the same too.

They stood here just as when she left. Just like that man.

In the end, only she had changed. Her status now was different from when she first came here.

From a noblewoman on the run to their guest, Ludmila.

Having become a noble lady again and now returning, what was she now? Could she be called a guest the same as before?

Ludmila could no longer tell what outcome her clearly changed status and circumstances would lead to compared to when she first set foot here.

Quietly sitting on the bed, she caressed the pure white sheets with her fingertips, then slowly collapsed onto it as if crumbling.

Her heavy eyelids gradually lowered, not having slept properly for two days. No, was that really all?

She couldn’t even remember when she had last slept peacefully and soundly.

At least since the day she thought Aden had died, after being dragged to the Marquis’s residence, nightmares visited her every day.

In her dreams, Aden was shot and died dozens of times before her eyes.

Each time, she woke up screaming.

When the heat from the extinguished fireplace disappeared and a chill set in, she realized he was no longer in this world.

A time of crying from piercing sorrow and falling asleep again, over and over.

Even when she gained the blind goal of revenge, that didn’t change.

But ridiculously, the moment she entered this room, she felt like she had found where she belonged.

She also thought she might not have nightmares anymore.

What was it about this room where she had only stayed for barely two months?

Ludmila’s eyes gradually closed due to the peacefulness and coziness she hadn’t felt in the room where she had slept for years.

Due to the approaching drowsiness, Ludmila couldn’t ask the many questions filling her mind.

As the faint red light soon disappeared completely, silence settled in.

In it, only Ludmila’s chest, quietly asleep, rose and fell regularly.

Peace after a month. At last, Ludmila fell into a deep sleep.

Faint fatigue showed on Aden’s face after he had washed briefly.

It was overwhelming just to stay awake for two days, but he had protected Ludmila, ridden a horse through rough terrain, and shaken off the pursuit.

It was amazing that he was standing like this without collapsing, when he hadn’t even eaten properly.

But he didn’t end his journey here.

“The imperial family will move.”

Aden’s voice, holding the cup of strong coffee Salom had brought, was as forceful as ever.

Despite the clear fatigue in his eyes and face, he acted as if he was properly handling his duties.

Seeing his stubborn appearance, Beressa gave up on trying to stop him further.

Instead, she hurried to help with Aden’s work so he could sleep soon.

“We’ve closed all the gates from the Muhalar Mountains to the Sender Plateau. For now, no outsiders except merchants with deals can enter.”

From the general mobilization order to the closure of the gates.

Things that had never happened since the Kan people were subjugated by the empire were occurring one after another.

War preparations. What they meant was too brief and clear for Beressa to even sigh.

War. Of course, the Kan people had never let go of their desire for independence since being subjugated.

There had actually been large and small conflicts before.

However, as these were issues of the clan leaders rising up, not the will of the Kan people, they couldn’t be seen as war.

Half a century was not enough time to subdue the savagery of barbarians, but it was sufficient to erase the desire for war.

“Is war really going to break out?”

Aden, who was taking a sip of coffee, rolled his eyes to examine Beressa.

Seeing Beressa looking at him with worried eyes, Aden lowered his cup and let out a short breath.

“We’ve just overcome the financial difficulties that have been plaguing Habertz. If we invest that money in the territory, many developments could be made, and we could even bring in all the clan members who haven’t settled in the Send Plateau yet.”

Creating a place for his clan members who were still wandering the plateau with nowhere to live was a long-cherished wish of Habertz.

As time passed, a big gap and divide were forming between the clan members wandering the plateau voluntarily or involuntarily and those who had settled here.

For now, there was no problem as the people who had faced the war era were still alive, but if more time passed, integration would become impossible.

That’s why this issue needed to be resolved as quickly as possible.

From his grandfather to his father Benito, and now to Aden, the leader of the clan always carried the task of resolving this division.

War, at the moment when they could finally take the first step to solve it.

Moreover, war with the imperial family meant facing the entire empire. The chances of winning were low.

No, they were less than low, they were non-existent.

When they had lost even with a perfectly united clan, facing them with only half would be suicidal.

“I have no intention of waging war. I’m just preparing for any possible situation.”

“That’s the same thing!”

Aden threw out words as if to reassure Beressa, but in the end, it was just another expression for war preparations.

While Beressa bit her lip, running her hand through her hair, Aden returned to his seat and silently looked down at the letter he had been writing until just before.

The method to restrain Jeffrey was written there.

When he receives this letter, he will likely try to back down. To him, the position of crown prince is more precious than his life, so he would surely endure the humiliation for it.

But the problem was Kedilen. That name, encountered again after going round and round, was once again the issue.

The man who had lost his wife would surely not act passively as before.

He would actively issue articles and create public opinion to criticize the Kan people.

With that public opinion, Jeffrey might be able to get out of trouble even after receiving this letter. Even if it became known that he had tried to remove him, he might face criticism from the parliament but could gain popularity among the public.

Jeffrey would know that. When his thoughts reached that point, Aden regretted his decision not to kill Kedilen after all.

Despite having two opportunities, he hadn’t been able to do it.

It was too stupid a judgment to simply call it a mistake. He had never hesitated or wasted time when faced with an opponent he wanted to kill.

Aden didn’t bother to deny that it happened because he wasn’t sure if killing Kedilen was really the right answer, even though he thought he should.

“Please calm down, Lady Beressa. War doesn’t break out so easily.”

Salom, who had been watching the situation from afar, tried to stop Beressa, but her excited face didn’t easily calm down.

It was natural, having heard everything about how this situation came about.

In contrast to Aden’s calm expression, Beressa, who had scrunched her face, closed her eyes tightly with a deep breath.

“…I like Ludmila. But I like our clan and this land more.”

Beressa, who had opened her eyes that she had closed tightly, took a deep breath to try to calm her excitement.

“I know Ludmila’s circumstances are pitiful, and I can understand why Aden had to act that way. But this is separate from that. I don’t intend to throw away the lives of the entire clan just because I like Ludmila.”

Salom, who had been watching Beressa and Aden’s expressions with anxious eyes, slightly backed away.

“Let’s send her back, Aden. Ludmila shouldn’t be here.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Think rationally. Are you thinking of leading the clan to the path of destruction because of just one woman?”

She was just a woman he had only met for two or three months at most.

They say that neither reason nor time matters when falling in love, but she was just one woman.

“Aden’s father, Benito, cherished and loved your mother like his own life, but he set aside his emotions for the sake of the clan. Yet, Aden, who watched this from the side, is it right to put the clan in danger for the sake of one woman? And not even a wife, at that?”

Beressa’s voice was desperate as she tried to persuade her stubborn brother.

War must be avoided. It was something that should not happen and should not exist.

If there was someone who could prevent it, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t her.

“Ludmila wouldn’t want a war to break out because of her either.”

She didn’t hesitate to cowardly put someone else’s uncertain thoughts into words.

And that was more effective than any persuasion or threat. Aden, who had been maintaining his composure, let out a rough breath.

“If you don’t want to send her back, send her far away. As you wanted, send her to another country beyond the frozen land. Then at least we could create a bargaining chip for the imperial family or the empire. So…”

“No, I have no such intention.”

“Aden…!”

“It was the same in the past and it’s the same now. I have no intention of sending Ludmila far away.”

Salom let out a deep sigh at his firm voice and attitude.

Beressa, who had been staring at Aden who was stubbornly acting unlike himself, turned around, thinking that verbal persuasion wouldn’t work.

Salom, who had been watching the door open and close roughly, carefully approached Aden.

“…Although Lady Beressa speaks like that, in the end, she will follow the master’s will.”

For the Kan people, the leader’s order was absolute.

There was no one who could overturn the leader’s decision.

“As soon as all the clan leaders and vassals enter, we will start the meeting, so prepare for it.”

Aden, who had put down the cup of coffee that had gone cold, threw his gaze out the window.

“We prepare for war.”

There, where the setting sun dyes the plateau of the western mountains blood-red.