The brush that had been moving slowly stopped when Aden’s head tilted slightly.

Ludmila, supporting Aden’s head with her hand, looked down at him intently.

She quietly exhaled as she gazed at Aden sleeping peacefully in the shadow created by her transparent form.

Already the second time. Aden had once again shown his careless and vulnerable side. It didn’t take long. Just a few days.

The perfect man who once approached with lightness, and at other times with gravity, had been driving himself to the edge of a cliff during this short time.

The more vulnerabilities revealed, the more they would become weaknesses that would eventually lead this man to his death.

The moonlight gradually faded. It seemed clouds were passing over the moon.

Ludmila, moving her brush again, silently gazed at the landscape depicted in the painting.

She hadn’t painted people in this picture. No, she couldn’t paint them.

Surely if she painted one person, she would paint another next. Perhaps she could even add a small person between them.

A willow tree standing by the river and a white plum tree settled beside it. A villa built facing the flowing river. Three people standing between them, looking at this peaceful night scenery.

As her thoughts reached that point, Ludmila wondered what it would be like to have a child with Aden.

Would it be a daughter or a son?

If it were a son, she hoped he would resemble Aden, a strong boy who would lead the Khan clan, and even if it were a daughter, she thought it would be nice if she resembled him.

Unlike herself, who was weak and cowardly, she wished for a brave child who could throw away their life until the very end.

Then suddenly, she thought maybe it would be okay to be a little cowardly.

She continued with countless assumptions and foolish thoughts.

At what point in the past could she have drawn a future where she could be with him?

When she first met Aden? Or when she stepped into Habertz with him? Or was it when he grabbed her and growled angrily? She alternated between smiling and sighing at the various images of Aden that came to mind.

She still had many questions for Aden.

Three months was too short a time to get to know him. I still have so much I want to ask you, Aden.

A man who cannot be defined by a single word.

I want to get to know you a little more. The reason why you brought me back to life, even turning back time.

What is the painting that contains your childhood, and what is its relationship to the child in my memories?

Numerous questions that caused thirst filled her mouth and faded repeatedly. Then, at some point, the brush stopped.

The moonlight that had been hidden by clouds returned.

When she came to her senses in that moonlight, there was a person drawn on the canvas looking at the river.

A tall man. He was standing alone, looking at the river.

The back view of a man whose thoughts were unknowable. There was no child, nor a woman who should be by his side.

Ludmila’s smile faded as she silently gazed at that figure with his hand placed on the white plum tree he had planted.

A wave of self-loathing came over her for not having the courage to be with Aden even in the painting.

Yet, a deep sigh escaped her at the fact that this was the sure answer that could save him.

Ludmila silently looked down at the sleeping Aden.

Aden’s lips were slightly curved upwards in a smile as he was deeply asleep. What kind of good dream was he having?

Ludmila, unconsciously reaching out to touch Aden’s cheek, hesitated.

Half a finger’s length. Stopping at that short distance, Ludmila soon lowered her hand.

She smiled with a sigh, as if resigned.

“I hope you don’t die.”

And I don’t want to be the person who kills you.

A love that tightens around each other’s necks the more they face each other. That’s why letting each other go was the best option.

From the day she asked him to kill her husband, the thread between them had tangled, and the clock hands moved towards the end.

It was as if she had ended up killing Aden.

She thought about whether there was a way to reset this twisted relationship with him to the starting point once again with foolish assumptions, but in the end, there was no answer.

Ludmila put down her brush completely.

A future she couldn’t paint. A future she couldn’t hope for.

Because she didn’t want Aden’s death, she humbly accepted her future of becoming a coward and a traitor.

Aden, who woke up early in the morning, cleared his foggy mind with a shower.

The cool morning air chilled his wet body.

As his hazy mind cleared, he recalled falling asleep leaning on Ludmila’s shoulder last night. Already the second time.

‘I hope you don’t die.’

Aden, who was smiling dryly at the thought of whether he had always been such a careless person, relaxed his expression at the dream-like voice echoing in his head.

After turning off the faucet, Aden’s gaze, which had been silently staring at the floor in the bathroom where only the sound of water droplets could be heard, rose.

Aden, who had been staring intently at his reflection in the mirror, quickly dried himself off and left the bathroom.

He shook off the moisture and dried his hair. As soon as he changed his clothes and left the room, his appearance was far from neat, but no one who saw him questioned this.

Returning to his office, Aden opened the farthest drawer of the desk.

Staring blankly at the several letters inside, Aden picked one up.

He opened the envelope and took out the photo inside. A photo of Ludmila conversing with Beressa.

Aden bit his lip as he silently watched that smiling face, wondering what was so good.

Another letter, and yet another letter.

It was around the time when golden sunlight began to flicker in his eyes that Aden raised his head after opening all the letters and looking at the photos until the last one.

A sky without a single cloud. Aden’s lips slowly parted at the brilliance of the golden light revealing itself above.

The arm holding the letter slowly dropped. Aden, who had been staring intently at that scenery, quietly closed his eyes.

As if thinking about something or enduring something. After taking several deep breaths, he approached the fireplace with the letters.

The fireplace, which was always lit and never extinguished, still had red flames burning.

Aden threw the letters and photos into it.

Aden clenched his fist as he watched the scene of them turning black one by one, charred by the fire. The pain in his bitten lips intensified.

Soon regaining his composure, Aden loosened his lips as he tidied his clothes.

He neatly arranged his disheveled hair reflected in the mirror.

It was time to start the day now.

The start of such an ordinary day with nothing special about it.

Aden had breakfast with Ludmila as usual.

More substantial than usual since he had to go far. While filling his stomach mainly with meat, he exchanged a few words with Ludmila.

That included yesterday’s events.

At Ludmila’s urging that it would be good to get even a little sleep if he was too drowsy, Aden quietly smiled.

He woke himself up with coffee and silently watched Ludmila eating.

Although there were probably people waiting for him by now as time was tight, that wasn’t important.

As always, like the start of a day no different from usual, Aden waited for Ludmila to finish her meal.

Ludmila, too, continued her meal calmly as usual. Impeccable noble etiquette.

The hand holding the cutlery was neat, and no sound came from her chewing mouth.

It was so quiet that if one wasn’t looking, they might not even know Ludmila was there.

He loved this morning quietness. Not the solitude that comes from eating alone, but the calmness that can only be felt when two people are present.

Surely, tomorrow and the day after. It was a peace that could be enjoyed even in the villa built by the riverside where tree shadows fall.

“Isn’t it time for you to go now?”

What awoke Aden, who was sipping coffee while lost in reverie of the gentle morning scenery, was Ludmila’s voice as she pushed away her salad bowl that was not even half empty.

Aden, who glanced down at his coffee cup that had somehow become empty, nodded slowly.

Aden put on the coat he had taken off. Ludmila also stood up.

As they left the dining room, the door opened as if it had been waiting, and Salom appeared.

He was about to say something but closed his mouth and retreated upon seeing Aden preparing.

Aden, who left the dining room with Ludmila, walked down the long corridor.

Until the end of the corridor that felt unusually short today, and until they passed through the entrance hall and out the main gate.

Those times passed so much faster than usual.

But it didn’t matter. Surely, when he returned from work, a day like today would unfold tomorrow as well.

Aden comforted himself as he grasped the reins of the horse.

He had to gallop across the vast prairie all day. The main purpose of today’s visit was a meeting on war preparation and stockpiling supplies.

It was important content, so it would be troublesome if he was absent.

However, the reason he felt so reluctant to go was probably because of the long distance he had to travel.

Aden, standing still while gripping the reins, raised his head with a deep sigh.

Perhaps for him who had to gallop across the blue highlands. The sky was this beautiful and peaceful.

As his feelings became more miserable, Aden gave up on further self-deception and turned around.

He saw Ludmila watching him from afar.

As their eyes met, Aden stepped forward at her smiling face that knew nothing.

But his body stopped before taking even one step.

Because he knew there was nothing he could do even if he approached.

Today had to be a day no different from usual.

Only then would that beautiful sky not cry until he reached his destination.

Aden bowed politely to Ludmila, who was looking puzzled, giving a gentleman’s greeting.

Up to here. It was the best greeting Aden could give, maintaining the line of what could be accepted even if different from usual.

Ludmila’s eyes widened in surprise, but she too maintained her lady’s duty and returned a courteous greeting.

After the greetings ended, they faced each other.

Standing there were not the master of a family, nor the mistress of a runaway marquis family.

An ordinary man and woman. Two unremarkable people.

The wind blows under the blue sky.

They looked at each other for a long time, as if imprinting each other in their memories, until that wind filling the gap between them ended.

At last, as if signaling that the time had come, the wind ceased and silence fell.

As if saying it was time to go now.

Not missing that moment, Aden turned around. As the red color he had been facing disappeared, Aden swallowed.

He mounted the horse, slowly sat in the saddle, and slowly gripped the reins. The horse moved and distanced itself from the castle.

Aden did not look back.

As if scattering the fragments of lingering attachment he had been suppressing with the sound of hooves and rough wind. Aden drove the horse more fiercely.

Until the castle was out of sight.