Fortunately, the breakfast appointment was not canceled.

Ludmila, who had been waiting at the restaurant in advance, lightly shook her head as she accepted the apology offered by Aden, who only appeared long after breakfast time had passed.

She hadn’t thought much of his tardiness, as she had anticipated something might happen from the moment Kurto appeared.

However, she was curious about what conversation this man, Aden, who apologized with an indifferent face, might have had with Kurto.

Aden, among others, was a man who was not favorable to the clan.

That man was also said to be from the generation that fought in the war, but he was an old man with less loyalty and more worldliness than anyone else.

Surely, he must have made a blatant proposal to Aden or irritated him, but Aden didn’t continue to speak about it.

Pretending as if it was nothing or as if he didn’t know.

Ludmila, who had seen him hide his true feelings behind a monotonous smile numerous times before, was bothered by this behavior of his, but she couldn’t press him to reveal more.

Aden maintained his usual demeanor. He held his cutlery, ate neatly, and engaged in ordinary conversation.

As if trying not to bring up too heavy a topic, he didn’t mention yesterday’s events, and Ludmila could only gratefully follow his consideration.

There were still unresolved issues and unanswered curiosities between Aden and her.

How did he turn back time, why did he go to such lengths, what was his relationship with the boy in the painting?

Many questions remained, but Aden was too preoccupied to solve them now.

And the same was true for her as well.

As they were finishing their delayed meal, Aden put down his cutlery and picked up his water glass.

“By the way, aren’t you going to ask?”

Ludmila tilted her head at the abrupt question. Aden, wetting his lips with water, let out a small laugh.

“The white plum tree. It should be where it originally was, but it’s not.”

Ludmila’s mouth opened slightly, not expecting him to bring it up first. It was a remnant of memories with her that Aden had removed.

Even if she had returned, putting it back in its place would be meaningless.

The wound from the day she had disappointed Aden still remained. Every time she saw that lump-like pit, she recalled that memory and reaffirmed.

That if she stayed here, she couldn’t guarantee how many more such holes would appear.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Why not? It was yours.”

“That may be true, but I’m not the one to decide how to handle it.”

This was his castle. It wasn’t for her to interfere, once a guest and now an uninvited one.

Aden, silently watching Ludmila smile neatly, didn’t continue speaking.

He too was unable to define their relationship that had somehow changed.

Like driftwood on a stormy sea, the two were being led by waves with an unknown destination.

It would be nice if someone could be an anchor to prevent them from drifting away, but it was already burdensome just holding onto each other.

In the end, all they could do was drift towards an unknown destination, unable to let go of each other’s hands.

As that thought reached her, a faint bitterness washed over her, but Ludmila maintained a bright expression as she grasped her glass.

“I heard there’s a meeting at lunch today.”

Aden nodded briefly in agreement, and Ludmila took a sip of water before smiling.

“I think it might be inconvenient if I’m here, so I’ll go out for a while. Is it alright if I go out with Beressa?”

“I thought Beressa was supposed to attend the meeting.”

“I asked her in advance. Beressa gladly agreed.”

“…”

Aden silently watched her as she smiled, seemingly asking if it was okay.

After a moment of silence, as if deep in complex thoughts, Aden let out a quiet sigh.

He put down the glass he was holding and chewed his words once.

“Do that.”

“Thank you, Aden.”

Aden, who had been gazing intently at Ludmila as she sighed in relief, stood up from his seat.

Picking up his discarded coat, Aden nodded to Ludmila, who was just standing up.

“Oh, and I’ve set up a new art studio.”

Ludmila, who was picking up her coat as well, raised her head in surprise at the unexpected words.

Aden, putting on his coat, was smiling with his back to the morning sunlight streaming in obliquely.

Ludmila paused at the sight of him, as if surrounded by a beautiful golden halo.

“I heard a lot of people say it’s not good to keep painting in the study. The ventilation isn’t good, and too much sunlight comes in. There was a suitable room in the castle, so I turned it into an art studio. I’ll show you when you come back in the evening.”

At his neat smile, Ludmila tightly gripped the hem of the clothes she was holding.

Soon after Ludmila nodded, Aden came around the table, lightly patted her shoulder, then turned and left the dining room.

Ludmila, following his retreating figure with her eyes, bit her lip slightly and shifted her gaze to the window.

The sunlight that had illuminated Aden just moments ago was gone.

Ludmila’s pupils trembled finely as if searching for remnants of that dazzlingly beautiful golden halo, but soon she closed her eyes and turned away.

Only the sound of wind blowing from afar could be heard.

It was a particularly lonely late winter wind.

As Aden entered the pre-prepared conference room, the sound of chairs being pulled back echoed.

The clan leaders, nobles, and vassals who had been waiting inside all stood up at once and bowed to Aden.

It was a courtesy shown to their rightful leader.

Aden seated them with a light gesture before taking his own seat.

After settling in, Aden slowly turned his head to survey the dozens of figures gathered in the conference room, swallowing a sneer.

Their expressions were dark. A general summons issued for the first time in 50 years.

They seemed to already know the topic for which they had all gathered here. Well, how could they not know?

The general summons was the prelude to war preparations.

A war to be waged again after 50 years. It was natural for those who hadn’t expected a war in their time to have gloomy faces.

“Thank you for responding to this sudden call.”

“Not at all, Your Grace.”

The man who would serve as Aden’s chief of staff and deputy commander in wartime. Aden’s maternal grandfather and the father of his mother, Olua. The leader of the Muniar clan, Neser.

At the words of Neser, Aden’s eternal ally, his followers, including his vassals and those friendly to him, nodded and displayed their loyalty.

“But, war so suddenly?”

The sharp, complainant voice rang out just as Aden was quietly smiling at them.

Aden’s gaze turned to where Kurto’s followers were seated.

Terpal Harua, a fervent devotee of Kurto, was the leader of two minor tribes.

He was also a beneficiary of the secular imperial culture, though he hadn’t received a noble title.

“Isn’t this too sudden? How long has it been since we regained peace, and now we’re talking about war?”

“War always breaks out suddenly, you know.”

As Neser interrupted Terpal’s words, all eyes turned to him.

Terpal, frowning deeply, leaned forward and bared his teeth.

“It’s been barely 50 years. Even the previous head, Lord Benito, endured and persevered through that unjust situation to prevent war. But for you, Your Grace, who watched all of that, to make such a light decision to wage war, I don’t think it’s right.”

“Mind your words. You don’t have the right to question the Duke’s will. The Khan clan follows the chief’s orders. If you’re to follow your argument about following the will of the previous generation, shouldn’t you refrain from complaining about the Duke’s summons?”

“That’s different from war. Over ten thousand clan members will die. It’s only now, after the war ended, that we’ve restored the number of young men. If war breaks out again, the clan will be ruined.”

“Even so, the fact that we must follow the chief’s orders remains unchanged.”

“There’s nothing more foolish than meekly offering your neck to an order to die!”

“Harua-!”

The raised voices that started with these two eventually turned the conference room into chaos.

It wasn’t that Aden hadn’t anticipated this situation.

Rather, he had gathered them knowing this, because their actions would be beneficial to him.

He wanted to have Ludmila. He wanted to be with her.

The conclusion derived from that and the events that would unfold because of it would lead to the worst outcome.

So if he couldn’t suppress this, he would have to choose the lesser evil. Him being driven out and stepping down from the position of clan chief.

For Aden, who was prepared to bear all the blame, this meeting was a suitable stage to achieve his plan.

“Come now, that’s enough.”

And Kurto Benard.

That fox-like old man would move according to his thoughts. As Kurto stood up to intervene, the noisy conference room gradually calmed down.

Kurto, who had risen from his seat, looked around the inner part of the conference room before shifting his gaze to Aden.

“In fact, I don’t think any of you gathered here want war. That goes for you Muniar, who would give your life to the chief’s orders, and for Harua here who’s so afraid of dying in war.”

“…”

“The clan has just begun to regain its strength. But it’s still weak. 50 years ago, when we became subjects of the empire, half of the clan is still wandering that plateau. No matter how much the incomplete Khan clan unites, there’s no guarantee we can win against the empire. Rather, defeat is the only answer we’d get.”

Aden swallowed the smile that was about to form as he watched Kurto calmly leading the situation.

Kurto would lead the game as he desired.

All he had to do was pretend to lose and follow along. All the preparations for this were already steadily progressing.

“Then, are you saying we should surrender as soon as the war starts?”

“Of course not. I’m saying we should look for a way to avoid war.”

“What’s that?”

“Isn’t it simple?”

Kurto shifted his gaze to Aden with his hands behind his back.

Aden frowned as all eyes turned to him at once.

Kurto released his hands from behind his back and stroked the beard grown on his chin.

As he was staring intently at that sight, the golden ring on Kurto’s finger caught his eye.

A ring engraved with two suns.

“The cause of this war, returning Lady Ludmila Perez to them.”

It was the seal of the Crown Prince’s palace.