Zion, who once wished for death, barely remembered.

His tasks, debts to repay, the man’s last request to protect Ivy.

So, Zion gathered the shattered pieces of his heart with difficulty. With the determination to accomplish at least that, he stood up again.

However, unlike the man’s plea, Zion could not go directly to Ivy. It was because of the sudden death of his father.

Many nobles visited this place as the Grand Duke committed suicide in the hall. There was no time to escape from the complicated situation. Moreover, there was no mental capacity for that.

Zion, who had been deeply submerged, suddenly recalled Ivy’s face after receiving the man’s memories for about two weeks.

“Should I go to find her now?”

The face of the girl who clung to the man and cried suddenly flashed in his mind.

Instantly, he felt anxious. Now that he remembered Ivy, it felt like the man was reproaching him.

But there was absolutely no condition to leave the hall.
The man had said not to expose Ivy’s existence to Tienda or the Tower. So, at the moment, Zion couldn’t avoid the eyes of the Deputy Commander, who was observing his every move.

Moreover, it was time to prepare again for Amanecer’s awakening.

The crazy dragon’s sleeping time was about a month. So, once Amanecer fell asleep and two weeks passed, the hall began preparing for battle again.

It was a situation where it was difficult to withdraw in any way. So, Zion suppressed his uneasy feelings, thinking about Ivy being in a safe place.

‘Because I asked Lady Marso, it should be okay for about a month.’

In the end, Zion decided to go to Ivy right after the next battle.

But even this didn’t go as planned.

Zion inherited the man’s experiences in full. So now he thought he could easily subdue Amanecer as he did.

However, when he faced Amanecer again with the vibrations of the eastern sky, Zion couldn’t do anything.

Meeting the dragon sober for the first time was itself a distant despair.

So, Zion froze, forgetting everything, and was thrust into the most desperate battlefield ever.

Zion repeatedly stood up and sat down to confront the dragon. The dragon relentlessly crushed the boy.

It was an endless hell for the boy.

Their confrontation continued for over 50 days, and after a long battle, the boy finally managed to defeat Amanecer. However, he was severely injured and couldn’t wake up for a long time.

Zion opened his eyes again after a full month had passed.

During that long time, Zion dreamed.

It was Ivy’s dream.

Ivy, whom he had not yet met but was filled with memories, was a beautiful yet ruthless lady. At the same time, she was a lovely and cheerful little girl.

When Zion, who had just opened his eyes, chased Ivy’s lingering image, an urgent voice woke him up.

“Your Excellency, are you awake?”

It was the Deputy Commander’s voice.

“You need to wake up. Amanecer will wake up soon!”

It was an immediate call to go out and fight. A cruel demand, but Zion wasn’t angry. He accepted it willingly as his own situation.

So, he understood even more.

The man who said that woman was his everything.

The pathetic human who considered a handful of pity obtained in the empty world as his everything.

Still, I won’t become like you.

Zion repeated this to himself and got up with his still unhealed body.

And this time, he defeated Amanecer in just three hours.

The boy who overcame fear was left with only the memory of killing the dragon, and now there was nothing in the world that could stop him.

Zion subdued the dragon and went straight to Ivy.

However, when Zion arrived at the village with a wheat field, Ivy was not there.

It had only been a week.

Ivy had disappeared from that village just a week before Zion went looking for her.

In the vacant spot, Zion was filled with fear as he searched for Ivy.
However, searching this vast continent alone to find the girl was impossible.

If he could command the watchers like foot soldiers at that time, he would have ordered them to scour the continent.

However, the cursed viscount was nothing more than a weapon, not a target of loyalty. In the end, Zion, unable to trust anyone, desperately wandered alone to find Ivy.

And after three years of such desperation, unfamiliar news came from Tienda.

It was the story of Ivy Ariatera, the girl loved by Manya.

Zion closed the report. Then he stood by the window and glanced at the watchers in the training ground.

The watchers under Zion’s command were the largest in history.

They were the only group that could freely move between Tienda and Viss, and they only served Zion.

With this, preparations to conquer the Tower were complete.

“The only remaining problem is taking Ivy away….”

Zion clenched his fist and remained silent, contemplating.

Ivy Ariatera, who insisted on becoming a saint and endured to the point of death, was someone he planned to quietly kidnap and imprison. However, a variable arose.

“Do you know about things that will happen later, Viscount?”

This variable was Ivy’s insight that surpassed expectations.

Thanks to that, Zion was once again conflicted. Whether to dominate Tienda and destroy the Tower or wait for Ivy to uncover his secrets.

Zion tapped the window frame with his fingertips and calculated the pros and cons of the two decisions.

If Ivy unraveled his secrets, a new path would open up for Zion. A more peaceful path without resorting to force in Tienda.

However, that was just a possibility. To firmly achieve the goal, it was better to stick to the original plan. He was well-prepared, and he had already resolved to be called a traitor or a tyrant.

So, there was no need to hesitate now.

“I understand the preciousness of everyday life. So, I will protect your daily life, Viscount.”

Zion grimaced in annoyance at the voice that spontaneously came to mind.

After a short conflict, Zion murmured, leaving behind the feeling of being violated.

“If you’re late, I’ll imprison you first.”

In the man’s memory, Ivy in a yet-to-come time was already a saint of the Tower.

That Ivy, blessed by the gods, deserved to be praised and died twelve times.

In the desperate memory handed over by the man, Zion closed his eyes.

Then, as if reproaching Zion for returning too far, the man’s last plea came to mind.

“So, this time, please protect her until the end.”

Zion, of course, had already intended to do so.