The once-high castle walls had collapsed miserably. As if someone had forcibly broken through an impenetrable barrier.

The full moon was especially bright tonight, illuminating the ruined garden clearly.

‘It looks just as broken as I am now.’

I closed the curtains and sat down wearily at my desk, opening the drawer where I kept the letters from Jenald.

There weren’t many.

I had sent most of the letters first, and Jenald, being busy with manual labor, couldn’t reply often.

The letters that used to arrive weekly when we first parted became bi-weekly the next month. By the third month, it was once a month.

And the last one was the letter the postman delivered last time. Gathered like this, there weren’t even ten.

Though I hadn’t been able to send any recently, I still diligently sent five or six whenever I went down to the village.

I opened the last letter I received from Jenald.

[Latieana! How much money have you saved? You know my birthday, right? Let’s meet then and calculate together! It’s been a while. I’m looking forward to that day!]

The content was surprisingly short compared to the first letters I received, perhaps because he had been very busy.

But it’s Jenald’s strength to be honest about such things without hiding them.

I could almost hear Jenald’s bright and affectionate voice from the letter.

I unfolded the rest of the letters in order.

“At first, he wrote quite a lot.”

[Latieana. Did you arrive safely in the East? Did you find a job? I’ve settled in well. For our future, I’m working hard… omitted.] [Latieana. It rained today. It also rained the day we first met, and I’m writing this letter remembering that. By the way, it’s really lucky that your workplace pays such a high salary… omitted.]

.

.

.

[Latieana. Work is so hard. But I have to earn diligently. How much have you saved? I’ve saved less than I thought… omitted.] [Latieana! I’m so happy to hear you’ve saved a lot! Take care of your health!]

The next letter was about meeting on his birthday, and that was the last one.

Looking at them all at once, it seemed like Jenald had only been asking about money lately, but that was unavoidable since we needed to check our expenses for leaving the Empire.

I too had been staying here, dreaming of a future living outside the Empire and enjoying saving money.

Staring blankly at the letters, I recalled my first meeting with Jenald.

The day I jumped off the carriage after saying goodbye to Ivy, I really twisted my ankle.

Still, thinking it wasn’t so bad that only one leg was injured, I was walking towards the nearest village when it started raining and I got lost.

‘Are you okay?’

Jenald appeared.

‘Oh my. You’re badly hurt. Huh? You seem to have a fever too… Just a moment.’

Jenald, with his dark skin and gentle expression, quickly offered me his back. Even though my clothes were a mess from the rain.

Without a single complaint.

‘Get on! We’re going to the hospital, right now.’

That’s how I was saved by Jenald.

As it turned out, my aching leg wasn’t just twisted, but the bone was broken.

At that time, Jenald was staying in that village for work at a log cabin construction site, and hearing that I had nowhere to go, he arranged for me to stay at the site dormitory auntie’s house.

It wasn’t a high salary, but the auntie hired me so I could get by.

I, who had no one to rely on, seemed to have opened my heart completely to Jenald at that time.

Like a newborn duckling imprinting on the first thing it sees as its mother. I unknowingly came to trust Jenald infinitely, the first person to help me in this strange place.

Because even before I died in my previous life, there was no one who had been this kind to me. It was all just people looking down on me and trying to use me. So Jenald’s kindness meant a great deal to me.

And now that I think about it, I pretended to be nice back then. I wanted to be seen as a good person, so I didn’t use strange speech patterns and acted a bit like a proper lady. Perhaps that’s why Jenald was especially kind to me.

No matter what I said.

‘Sure. Okay.’

‘Let’s do that.’

‘Do as you like.’

‘Your thoughts are right.’

‘I think that’s correct too.’

He would always nod and take my side unconditionally. To the point where I wondered if there could really be such a kind man.

Sometimes I thought he might be responding too soullessly, but on days when Jenald would bring me even a wildflower, I was just happy even if it was insincere kindness.

After about 2 months like that, rumors started spreading that the temple was searching nearby villages for Saint candidates. It was before Ivy was announced as the Grand Saint, so they were still looking for candidates.

That’s when I first decided to leave the Empire.

It was just as the log cabin construction project Jenald was involved in was coming to an end.

‘You’re leaving the Empire?’

‘Yes. How much money do you think we’ll need?’

I immediately asked Jenald for help. I had some money saved up, though it wasn’t much, so I was thinking of going to another kingdom to look for a new job.

‘Shall we look into it?’

‘Can you really do that for me?’

‘Yes. Let’s leave together.’

‘…What? Are you serious?’

‘Of course. I’m serious. I can do that much for you.’

To be honest, I was a bit surprised at this point. I didn’t expect him to suddenly offer to leave together. But Jenald really did find out how we could go to another kingdom a few days later. He walked long distances on my behalf since my leg hadn’t fully healed yet.

‘Getting there isn’t difficult, but obtaining citizenship seems not easy. But there’s a way.’

‘What is it?’

‘We can get married.’

‘…Marriage?’

Unlike me who was shocked, Jenald spoke with his usual kind face.

‘There’s a system that grants citizenship to newlyweds with a clear identity after an engagement period. But we need an engagement certificate.’

‘Certificate? How do we get that?’

‘We just need to sign some documents and submit them to the city hall. It will cost some money, but you have that much, right?’

‘Money… I don’t have much. Will I be able to pay?’

When I worried, Jenald smiled brightly.

‘Latieana. Don’t worry. I’m here. You’re not paying alone. Let’s split it half and half. Hmm. And moving expenses… taxes for getting citizenship… We need to fulfill a 6-month engagement period first, so how about we work hard and save up during that time?’

Jenald’s plan was so natural and perfect.

But since I hadn’t even received a confession, I asked Jenald:

‘But is it okay? Jenald?’

‘Huh? What is?’

‘That… It means you and I will get engaged and then married.’

‘Yes. Why?’

‘Do you like me?’

To be honest, I didn’t have romantic feelings for Jenald. It was more like affection or friendship rather than love, and he was just the only person I could rely on. And to be frank, I wasn’t sure if Jenald thought of me romantically either. We hadn’t made any progress other than occasionally holding hands.

To my question, Jenald smiled kindly as usual and said:

‘Of course. I like you. How about you?’

With the brightest smile I had ever seen, he asked back, and I smiled and said:

‘Yes. I like you.’

It wasn’t love, but wasn’t Jenald the person I could feel the closest emotion to love with? If we tried, it would probably get better in the future. There’s no way a future with such a kind man could be unhappy.

More than anything else, if I got engaged to Jenald, I could leave the Empire.

‘Latieana, let’s save a lot of money!’

‘Yes!’

After that, I signed the engagement certificate and handed over all the money in my wallet to Jenald.

Jenald immediately went to the city hall and brought back the confirmation certificate, and we’ve been apart since then.

‘There’s still some time left, but since we have the engagement certificate, I think we can fulfill the remaining period after going to the kingdom.’

I put the letters in my bag while mentally calculating the engagement period and the days left on my work contract at the castle.

Then I skimmed through the memo with my bank deposit records.

It’s a bit disappointing that I couldn’t save more, but this amount isn’t small.

‘When I go this time, I’ll tell Jenald everything… and we need to leave right away. This might be the last chance.’

It might be sudden, but Jenald has always gone along with my opinions, so he’ll surely agree this time too, right?

After all, this was the reason we were saving money. He said it was for me.

They say if you have just one person you can trust in the world, you’ve lived a successful life. I’m so grateful to have Jenald in this bleak situation.

Suddenly, the kiss with Edan flashed through my mind, making my chest sting with guilt…

Even if you think it’s an excuse, I didn’t initiate it.

‘I’m sorry! Jenald! I’ll be good for the rest of my life! I really mean it! I’ve saved this much money!’

I heard there’s a huge terminal-like place in the capital that gathers portals leading to other kingdoms.

If we move from there, neither Edan nor the male leads will be able to find me easily.

Maybe because I was using my head, the more I thought about it, the more I felt my mind clearing up after being drained by Hillstain.

Then the pain in my wrist that I had forgotten started again.

As reality set in, I grew increasingly angry.

Why is Ivy looking for me? Doesn’t she know what happens to other Saint candidates now that she’s become the Grand Saint?

Should I have told her not to look for me when we parted? No matter how I think about it, there’s no reason for her to look for me.

I want to shout in Ivy’s ear. I’m not going! I don’t want to go to the temple! Don’t look for me! Focus on your own life!

‘It’s futile. What’s the point of shouting alone? I should just wash up…’

The thought of sleeping with that creepy Hillstain’s blood on me made me want to vomit, so I sighed deeply and went out into the hallway.

But, eek! Edan was standing in front of the door, having returned at some point.

“Ma-master?”

My heart started racing wildly, feeling as if I had been caught thinking about various things in the room.

How long had he been there? More importantly, I didn’t unknowingly mutter to myself or reveal my plans, did I?

All sorts of worries flooded my mind, and I unconsciously gulped.

“Where are you going?”

“I-I’m going to wash up.”

I spoke as usual and then watched Edan’s reaction.

Did he meet well with Ivy at the ball? Did he find out why Hillstain tried to take me away?

“Want me to wash you?”

“…I’ll pass.”

It seems he didn’t hear anything from Hillstain. Edan was the same as usual.

You never know. Hillstain’s head and body hit the floor so hard earlier, he might have passed out while being dragged away. Yeah. That’s a relief. At least I’ll get through tonight safely.

“Then good ni-”

“Hand.”

“…Pardon?”

“Give me your hand.”

Before I could even answer, Edan gently took my hand, which had turned dark blue from Hillstain’s grip.

Then, looking down at my wrist still covered in blood, he muttered to himself as if crushing something:

“Hah, that XX bastard.”

It was the first time.

That a curse word came out of Edan’s mouth.