Even the man who was like a fierce beast was a docile lamb in the face of deep sleep.

The man who had been tossing and turning for a while with his eyes closed and breathing, soon fell into sleep.

The firm arms that seemed like they would never let go easily loosened once he fell asleep.

It was to the point of feeling deflated after worrying about how to get up without waking him.

Ludmila, who had comfortably laid Aden down with the bedding she had instructed the servant who brought food to bring, gazed at him intently before letting out a small laugh.

He hadn’t slept for three days.

It would be hard enough just to keep his eyes open, but Aden had endured the grueling schedule of riding a horse and evading the pursuit.

She was not unaware of why he had exerted himself to such an extent.

Why Aden was so blind, what he yearned for. And what he worried about the most.

Something had changed between the two of them. It was indescribable, but undeniable.

They could never go back to the past. Just 3 months.

It might not have been too difficult to break down and rebuild that short time. But while breaking down was easy, rebuilding was difficult.

It was too short a time to fully remember its form.

She had clearly loved this place and liked this quiet and tranquil scenery.

The time spent here had been cozy and made her heart feel at ease.

Although nothing in the space had changed, something fundamental was different.

The fact that they couldn’t go back to the past also meant that she couldn’t stay here.

“Aden.”

How can I protect you? You who would even give up your life for me.

The desire to stay here grows more desperate. But I knew.

If I follow and pursue my desperation, it will eventually lead you to death.

Ludmila still didn’t know anything.

She didn’t know why the painting of the boy she thought was dead was hanging here, nor how he had turned back time.

And why he had gone to such lengths for her.

How did she appear to Aden?

After passing through the times when she only craved survival, and the season when she was finding herself while staying with him, she recalled herself being blindly focused on revenge.

As her thoughts reached that point, Ludmila felt that she didn’t know how to define the Ludmila Perez standing here now.

She was filled only with the blind desire to stay by Aden’s side, like a hungry ghost greedily chasing after food.

The image of walking her own path without caring about others’ gazes or criticism also seemed like a martyr immersed in religion.

Even martyrs only pretended to be noble; in the end, their essence was nothing more than greed to focus only on themselves.

Ludmila slowly bent down and kissed his sleeping forehead.

She stared for a long time at the unfamiliar sight of him quietly closing his eyes and being consumed by deep sleep.

What signaled the end of that seemingly endless voyeurism was the chiming of the clock announcing midnight.

Ludmila, who had pulled up the edge of the blanket to make Aden’s bed cozy, quietly turned around.

Leaving the sleeping Aden behind, she turned the handle of the office door. The door opened and closed again.

Once outside, Ludmila let out a small sigh.

In the deep darkness that had fallen at dawn.

Ludmila, who turned her gaze to the end of the corridor where the soft light of the lamp hanging on the wall barely drove away the pitch darkness, quietly smiled.

“Did you wait long?”

With that calm and gentle voice, her gaze turned to where Beressa was.

Beressa, who had been leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, shook her head as she adjusted her posture.

Ludmila, who had been staring at that sight, smiled slightly and then turned around.

“Shall we go?”

Beressa’s legs moved to follow Ludmila, who moved first.

The front of the office door they left behind was quiet. As if protecting the peace of its sleeping master inside.

As if to chase away the silence that came after the door closed, Ludmila immediately opened the window.

As the air circulated, the sound of trees and grass shivering in the winter wind pierced through the open window.

As the stuffy air dissipated, Ludmila took a small deep breath to refresh her mood and turned around with a slight smile.

There, Beressa was leaning against the door.

Ludmila, who had been staring intently at that sight, suddenly laughed.

At Beressa’s puzzled head tilt, Ludmila shook her head slightly.

“It reminds me of the old days.”

Her first meeting with Beressa hadn’t been very good.

She had entered her room, rummaged through her belongings, and didn’t hesitate to secretly peek at the notebook she was hiding.

The sharp expressions and words she threw at her afterwards made her first impression of Beressa the worst.

“Did you call me an… idiot?”

As if the word was unfamiliar in her mouth, Ludmila smiled slightly.

Back then, she thought they would never face each other and laugh like this.

Ludmila let out a small sigh at the gap between the memories created by the time that had passed and the reality she was facing.

“How about now? Do I still look like that to you?”

Ludmila straightened her posture at the eyes staring intently at her.

The noble lady who pretended to be dignified and pure, swallowing her fear and only watching others’ reactions, was nowhere to be seen.

Beressa smiled slightly as she appreciated that somewhat selfish and ordinary appearance.

Beressa, who had substituted an answer with just that much of a smile, took a step closer.

As if to say it was time to stop beating around the bush and get to the point, her smile disappeared.

Instead of opening her mouth right away, Ludmila turned around and closed the window.

It was then that she noticed the white plum tree that had been visible from the window was no longer there.

The birthday gift Aden had given her. Like a scent fading over time, the white plum tree that should have been there was gone.

All that remained were a few darker holes clearly visible even in the darkness. Aden had erased her.

He had tried to let her go. But he came back and took her hand.

She could see how desperate and urgent his sincerity was after a month of wandering.

Ludmila, who had been biting her lip intently, quietly closed the last window.

Silence returned. Ludmila turned around to face Beressa, who was staring at her.

Speak.

Even without saying it out loud, her eyes and attitude were speaking.

Beressa, who hadn’t missed this, closed her eyes tightly and opened them slowly.

“Three months ago. I’d like you to fulfill the promise you made here.”

Three months ago. Here, Beressa and she had made a promise while exchanging drinks. And after that day, she had received help from Beressa.

She had helped her adapt to a place that she once worried was too bleak to stay in, and had helped her in dangerous situations.

It was also Beressa who first suggested horseback riding.

When her thoughts reached that point, Ludmila recalled the promise she had made to Beressa.

“I said I would leave here when the time came. I want you to keep that.”

“…”

“I won’t tell you to return to the Imperial Palace or go to your husband. It would be no different from telling you to go die. But your time to stay here is over.”

Beressa loves this place. It was her hometown and her home where her only brother was.

She had been a temporary guest there, but now she wasn’t even that anymore. An uninvited guest.

As one of the things she thought had changed brushed past her head, Ludmila smiled bitterly.

“I won’t ask anymore about what kind of relationship you have with Aden. Or what the two of you have been through. What’s important, Ludmila, is that if you continue to stay here, it will endanger Habertz and the clan. I don’t want to see that.”

A selfish proposal that could be made out of love for one’s clan. That’s why it was so ordinary.

Even though he leads the clan, it’s Aden who’s strange for throwing them into the pit of danger.

“Aden is a responsible man and the leader. He has no intention of endangering the clan. But Ludmila, he has even less intention of giving you up.”

He can’t give up being the clan leader, nor can he give up being an ordinary man who wants a woman.

Then what can that man choose?

The conclusion reached at the end of a brief thought was simple.

No, there was no need to call it a conclusion now. Because she already knew.

“Aden intends to take on all the crimes and be exiled. That would be the future where he can save the clan and be with you.”

As a quiet breath flowed, Beressa pressed her palm to her forehead.

“But it shouldn’t be like that. Aden is the legitimate leader of the clan. He’s fundamentally different from a sibling like me. The Kan clan needs Aden. They need his bloodline. They also need his innate leadership and charisma. If he disappears, there will be no one to lead the Kan clan. He might try to hand over his position to me, but the clan won’t acknowledge me as the leader.”

In the end, the conclusion was set.

Aden cannot leave this place. He can’t endanger it either. Then there was only one set answer.

“Ludmila. There’s only one way for everyone to live. So now is the time for you to fulfill the promise you made to me.”

Beressa, who approached with a voice wet with emotion, took Ludmila’s hand.

“Give up on Aden.”