“I think this should be enough for today, right?”

As Karin wiped the sweat from her brow and stood up, Roel also rose to her feet.

“At first you were fumbling, but now you’re doing well! Soon I’ll be able to trust you completely with the work.”

“Really?”

“Yes! You used to seem like you had no talent for farming at all. You’d cover the soil sloppily, and when sorting leaves you’d pick perfectly good ones… Anyway! Now you’ve developed some skill. You’ve become proficient earlier than I expected.”

When Roel smiled awkwardly, Karin laughed heartily. At that moment, Teron appeared in the distance.

As Teron waved his arm once or twice to signal his arrival, Karin said in a low voice:

“But really, are you sure?”

“Huh? About what…”

“What else! I’m asking if you’re really not in that kind of relationship with Teron!”

At Karin’s words, Roel shook her head with an embarrassed laugh. Because she talked with Teron so often, the people living here sometimes suspected there was something between them.

Among them, Karin showed particular interest, and these days she would seize any opportunity to ask if there was something going on between Teron and Roel, her eyes sparkling.

“You and Teron don’t seem to have much of an age gap, and you two would be perfect together… No, at this age you should be getting married, married! Isn’t it about time for you to get married, Roel?”

“Well, marriage is…”

Once again, Roel could only laugh awkwardly.

After all, if you thought about it, she was already married in all but name.

“Well then, I’ll go ahead first, Karin.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

Karin laughed heartily and quickly disappeared. Roel hurriedly walked towards Teron, who was standing in front of her house.

“Why are you in such a rush?”

“No reason.”

Unable to say that she was bothered by Aunt Karin’s recent increased urging for her to marry Teron, Roel just shook her head once and entered the house.

As she opened the door, a cozy and homely atmosphere was revealed inside.

Roel’s house was a modest single-story dwelling with just a small bed, a dining table, and a wardrobe.

From the checkered cloth covering the small window, to the tiny potted plants on the windowsill below it, the neatly arranged books on one wall, and the small garden next to the house – the small cottage resembled the little house in Beliata that Reus sometimes imagined.

However, Roel’s face wasn’t as happy as in those imaginings. Though it wasn’t an unhappy face either.

“Shall I make you some tea?”

“Sure, why not…”

Teron watched Roel’s back as she prepared the tea, his expression complicated. He was reminded of the proposal he had made to Reus on his own accord not long ago.

It wasn’t his fault that Roel couldn’t go to Beliata, but since he was the one who ultimately brought her here, he couldn’t help but feel even more burdened.

The island where Roel was now settled was a mysterious place whose location was unknown even to Teron, who had first discovered it.

Teron had discovered this island around the time when the guild’s operations had somewhat stabilized.

While wandering here and there on Anas business, he had chanced upon a box full of ancient treasures, from which he obtained a golden compass.

He had thought it was just an antique compass, but it turned out to be a magical tool that would naturally change the space and transport one to the island if held at the place where the treasure was found.

Teron had not revealed the existence of this ancient artifact to anyone. And he used this island as a place to hide people whose lives were in danger from the Emperor or who had nowhere else to go.

When Teron took on the responsibility of hiding the victims, Reus didn’t ask where it was, and Teron didn’t bring it up either.

This was because both of them always kept in mind the possibility that the rebellion might fail.

For various reasons, this island was the only place Reus couldn’t reach, which was why Teron had brought Roel here without much planning.

Even though it was a place completely cut off from the outside world, Roel had followed him here without a single complaint.

However, the process of Roel settling on the island was by no means easy. When Roel first came to this cottage, it was hard to tell what she was thinking; she just stayed cooped up in the house, staring blankly into space.

Then, thanks to Teron’s constant visits, she gradually began to regain some vitality, and later, with the help of all the islanders, she was able to difficultly return to her former self.

It took over half a year for her to return to her current state.

It hadn’t been long since Teron thought Roel had finally found some peace…

And he had been on the verge of ruining it all. Just because of his own selfishness, he had nearly wagered Roel’s whereabouts to Reus.

His conscience stung terribly, but looking at the innocent Roel, Teron couldn’t bring himself to confess what had happened recently.

At that moment, Roel spoke in a very anxious voice.

“Did something happen…?”

“…No.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

After hesitating for a moment, Teron asked Roel.

“Is it… okay living here?”

It was a bit strange that he was asking this question several months after she had arrived on the island, when he hadn’t asked it when she first came, but Roel answered nonetheless.

“It wasn’t where I originally intended to go, but I think it’s nice. The people here are kind, and the island is peaceful.”

In truth, she couldn’t say she was living comfortably because thoughts of Reus would come to her just when she thought she was starting to forget. She had just been perfectly hiding it because she didn’t want to worry Teron.

Seeing Teron’s somehow complicated expression, Roel once again smiled appropriately as if to say not to worry.

“Teron, would you like to try this?”

Roel then offered him some bread she had baked yesterday. She used to burn the bread or bake it as hard as a rock, but this time it tasted quite good.

“You’ve improved a lot.”

“Right? Karin said the same thing. She also said that what she ate before was really inedible… Was it that bad? I thought it was somewhat edible…”

Teron quietly agreed with Karin’s words in his mind as he cleared his plate. All the while, he struggled to ignore the constant prickling of his conscience.

But then Roel suddenly asked.

“Is… Reus doing well?”

This was something Roel never failed to ask whenever she saw Teron. For some reason, today this question weighed especially heavily on his mind. Teron momentarily failed to control his expression.

Of course, Reus was not living a particularly peaceful life. He had no interest in revenge, and since you left, his mind had been going back and forth like a madman.

He often collapsed suddenly while seemingly fine. Sometimes he confuses dreams with reality and frantically searches through the Grand Duke’s castle.

But as always, Teron couldn’t show any sign of this.

He couldn’t tell the whole truth to Roel, who had just now started to escape from the shadows and live a normal life. Of course, this time it included the conversation he had had with Reus.

Finally swallowing the words he was about to say, Teron answered casually.

“Well, he’s… managing.”

Then he quickly rose from his seat.

“I should go now. The food was good.”

“Oh, it was nothing.”

He was about to leave just like that, but in the end, his conscience held his feet, and Teron turned back.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

“I might not be able to come for a while, so don’t wait for me unnecessarily.”

At Teron’s ambiguous response, Roel stood still for a long time, unable to move. Although she had heard this occasionally before, for some reason, today an inexplicable anxiety lingered longer than usual.

Another day passed, no different from any other.

I start my morning by opening my eyes to the sunlight streaming through the half-open curtains and having a simple breakfast. Then I quickly wash up and tidy the house.

At lunchtime, I leave the house to help with Aunt Karin’s farming, spend the afternoon doing some work, and return home when the sun starts to set.

I thought I would be tired of this monotonous routine, but it seems I’ve adapted to this life faster than I expected.

‘Though that doesn’t mean I’m enjoying it.’

Not a single day has passed peacefully since I left Reus. He’s quite an emotional man, I hope he isn’t suffering too much after I left.

He used to only fall asleep when I was there, I hope his insomnia hasn’t gotten worse…

‘Ah, thinking about Reus again.’

I consciously tried to divert my thoughts and recalled Teron, who had left with some puzzling words not long ago.

‘When he said he couldn’t come for a while, surely he didn’t mean… that they’re proceeding with the rebellion?’

What did he mean by saying sorry?

Just as I was sighing softly due to my complicated feelings, Aunt Karin tapped my arm.

“Roel. There’s someone in front of your house. It’s not Teron… who is it?”

Everyone living on the island knows each other’s names, so they never refer to each other as “someone.” But as Karin said, there was indeed an unfamiliar person standing in front of the house.

‘Surely, after saying he couldn’t come for a while, he didn’t send a new person…’

But as I got closer to the house, I could make out the identity of the large figure.

I dropped the basket of crops I was holding, my strength leaving me.

“Oh my! How could you drop all of this! The crops are all bruised now…! This… Roel?”

“…”

“Are you okay? Why did you suddenly stop?”

Karin’s voice was no longer audible.

Because the person standing in front of the house was Reus.