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“First, just go back.”

Vivian, after a long deliberation, spoke up.

It was all too sudden for decisions to be made today.

Elena seemed to understand this and didn’t push Vivian any further.

That nonchalant attitude was somehow spurring Vivian on, anyway.

From the witch’s perspective, it felt like there was really nothing to be sad about.

Elena retraced her steps back to the window.

She swung her legs over the edge, unbothered, and looked back.

“Vivian, what’s left is just your choice.”

“…”

“If you’ve made up your mind, hang something by the window as a signal. I’ll come back then.”

-Snap!

At the same moment, the witch snapped her fingers.

The candle she lit extinguished with the sound.

In an instant, the room darkened, and Vivian blinked in surprise.

And just like that, the witch vanished.

…

-Grrr…

“…”

Three days after Kylo left.

Vivian was reaching her limits.

Her stomach was growling, and she felt utterly drained.

She’d tried to eat, but everything was a complete failure.

If she were a witch, would she know if the food was poisoned?

Could she quickly identify those who were after her?

As she grew weaker, the temptation from the day before loomed larger.

Vivian headed to the river to drink.

Sometimes the mud was gritty or tasted fishy, but still, nature’s water soothed her the most.

“Ahh…”

Vivian kept the guards at a distance and drank from the river alone.

Nothing could fill her empty stomach like water.

She was waiting for Kylo.

She realized she could only eat when he was there.

Luckily, this wait would come to an end today, as Kyle Allen was expected back soon.

Thinking about him made her curious.

Had he succeeded in this expedition? Or was he more pathetic than others?

Vivian recalled the first expedition of her older brother, Lois Rondore.

He was hailed as the future of Rondore, going on his first monster hunt at just 16.

And he succeeded in wiping out the goblin chief, a hobgoblin, in that very first hunt.

Would Kylo Allen achieve something similar?

“…”

Of course, she knew comparing them was pointless.

Lois Rondore had the support of retainers and was 16 years old.

On the other hand, Kylo Allen was alone in the Punishment Unit, just 15 with a smaller build.

Just coming back alive would be fortunate.

Suddenly, Vivian realized how much her perspective toward Kylo Allen had changed.

When he was assigned to the Punishment Unit, she had hoped he would die in the mission.

But now, she was in a position where she was waiting for his return. How weak could she be to lean on her enemy… Vivian couldn’t fathom.

“Vivian!”

A familiar voice called out to her.

Vivian wiped her mouth and moved away from the river.

Scholar Krellyn was running toward her.

He said, “The knights have returned.”

****

We trudged back to the castle.

Our steps were heavy, and the scent of blood lingered.

The clanging of cheap armor clashed about awkwardly, resonating with the fatigue pressing down on the Punishment Unit’s morale.

Some injured were carried back on stretchers, while others were barely walking, relying on a comrade’s shoulder.

Balron had to be supported by Willas and Martin too.

I, too, felt unwell, using my dual swords like a walking stick as I trudged along.

But no boy soldiers laughed at my pathetic state.

We were all in similar situations, and this battle had earned us some level of respect.

Crossing the gates of Rondore Castle, I removed my red bear-shaped helmet.

I wanted nothing more than to wash up, tend to my wounds, fill my stomach, and sleep.

It had been a long time since I wanted to act purely on instinct without such complex thoughts.

My body was at its limit.

Burgor, who had guided us to the Punishment Unit’s quarters, shouted, “Injured soldiers to Scholar Krellyn! The rest of you, wash up and gobble down the food ready inside. I’d also like to manage the equipment and put it away in the storage, but… I’ll leave that for tomorrow. Wash, fill your bellies, and rest. That is all.”

The boy soldiers of the Punishment Unit moved sluggishly as ordered.

Some seemed too exhausted to hold on anymore, heading straight off to sleep.

I let out a long sigh and continued on.

It had been a long three days.

-Thump!

At that moment, someone grabbed my shoulder.

Suddenly facing Coleman, Burgor’s aide, I found it hard to maintain my composure.

“Why, what is it now?”

“You’re going to report to Burgor along with Kylo Allen.”

“…Hah.”

“Follow me.”

Coleman seemed not to allow for any argument and headed toward Burgor.

Part of me wanted to ignore them and just go, but the thought of seeing Vivian’s face after a long while shook me a little.

In the end, I obeyed Coleman. It was an order, after all.

…

The door opened, and with Burgor, Coleman, I stepped into Vivian’s office.

The first thing I noticed was Vivian’s red hair.

She flinched when she saw my blood-soaked, messy appearance.

Her crimson eyes lingered on me for some time, unable to look away.

This was the first time I showed her such a tired face, and it felt somewhat embarrassing.

“Burgor Winsley, we returned after completing the monster hunt as ordered by the lady.”

Burgor began to speak.

Vivian nodded in response.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes. We defeated a total of seven hobgoblins and 179 regular goblins, so you needn’t worry about the northwestern part of Roktana near the Lyos River any longer.”

-Spin.

“…?”

Suddenly my head spun, and the world seemed to spin too.

I stumbled slightly but managed to regain my balance.

I blinked twice, trying to focus on what was in front of me.

As the world turned dark, it gradually brightened up again.

“…What?”

As I looked ahead, I noticed Vivian had stood up from her seat.

She was gazing at me with an expression I had never seen before.

That expression was so unfamiliar, I wondered if she was looking at something else.

Burgor, having loosened his neck, gripped my shoulder and steadied me.

I, too, took a breath and set my legs firmly. Clearly, I was more tired than I thought.

Vivian sat back down then.

Burgor continued, “Vivian, I have something to discuss regarding this hunt.”

“…Go ahead.”

“I apologize, but I’d like to request appropriate rewards for the soldiers who contributed this time. Our watch unit merely observed, while it was the boy soldiers from the Punishment Unit who actually finished the fight.”

“I’ll prepare a feast worthy of a reward for them.”

“Also, I’d like to grant special privileges to the boy soldiers who defeated the hobgoblins. I want to promote them to mid-level commanders who will lead the other boy soldiers.”

Vivian nodded at this as well.

“Is that so? So does that mean there will be a total of seven new mid-level commanders?”

“Not quite.”

Burgor cut in decisively. “The boy soldiers who brought down the hobgoblin number only four.”

“B-but you just said seven were defeated…”

“Kylo Allen here caught four of those seven.”

At those words, Vivian froze in place.

Burgor tightened his grip on my shoulder, and Coleman let out a short sigh.

In another moment, it wouldn’t have mattered, but there was something prideful about seeing Vivian’s expression now.

I wanted to smile at her with a face that said, “See?”

But again, my vision went dark.

Before I completely lost sight, I saw the ground rising up to meet me.

I crashed face-first into the ground, completely confused.

‘…Allen…!’

‘…Get Scholar Krellyn!’

‘F-first…!’

Everything around me buzzed like I had cotton in my ears.

I tried to piece together what was happening, but fatigue overwhelmed me.

I thought I could feel chilly little hands cupping my cheeks… But I was way too tired, so I just fell asleep first.

****

Kylo Allen lay in bed, all bandaged up.

Scholar Krellyn said he had no idea how he managed to walk here all alone.

He had lost a lot of blood and was collapsing due to exhaustion.

But since he wasn’t in danger of death, he told not to worry too much.

That was during the day. Now it was late at night.

Vivian hadn’t left Kylo Allen’s bedside, and Scholar Krellyn said, “Lady Vivian, really, it’s okay now. His breathing has stabilized, and the wounds have all been treated…”

“…”

Vivian didn’t move, not even a little.

She didn’t want to get up. She just watched Kylo with eyes half-closed, lightly snoring.

Vivian had no idea how startled she was when he collapsed.

In fact, the whole castle was in chaos since Kylo Allen’s death would have meant the downfall of Rondore.

There’s a vast difference between tormenting someone and taking their life.

Of course, Vivian wasn’t just startled because of that.

If it were, she wouldn’t have tormented Kylo Allen so persistently all this time.

The reason Vivian was shocked was… she seemed to have viewed Kylo as someone invincible.

Having overcome all sorts of trials and adversities, she likely never considered his humanity.

His scene of collapsing like a decayed tree was still vivid in her memory.

Witnessing someone she thought would never break, breaking, gifted her a peculiar fear.

It made her appreciate just how frail humans could be.

No one was immortal.

If someone as strong as Kylo were to die, wouldn’t her own weak existence’s death be inevitable too?

“…”

But was it really just that?

Was she shocked only because someone she thought wouldn’t fall had fallen?

Could there be another reason why her heart felt so uneasy?

Was it because she thought there’d be no one to check if her meals were okay if Kylo was gone?

She wanted to believe that, but it felt too far off, considering her stomach, which had been so hungry, wasn’t feeling famished at all now.

Vivian couldn’t tell.

Perhaps the faint bond she thought was weak was clearer than she thought.

In his lonely suffering, she may have seen herself shamelessly reflected.

It seemed she realized that only after he had collapsed.

Scholar Krellyn urged again, “Lady Vivian, it’s getting late now. Why don’t you go get some rest? Staying here won’t change anything.”

“…”

Vivian wasn’t ignoring him.

She was listening, considering, and finding a conclusion each time.

“I’ll stay here.”

In the past, Kylo Allen had once protected her.

His words, advising her not to think of escaping through death, rang clear.

Vivian rationalized her being here in the same way.

She wanted to capture his struggling face in her mind.

Vivian looked back at Scholar Krellyn.

“Please leave now. I don’t need advice.”

With that firm tone, Krellyn averted his gaze, bowed his head low, and exited.

-Thud.

Alone, Vivian looked at Kylo through the flickering candlelight.

“…”

Seeing the faint sweat beading on his forehead brought forth complicated thoughts.

But soon enough, Vivian used a cloth to gently wipe the sweat from his brow.

Though she didn’t know why she did it, she didn’t want to find a reason either.

Her feelings were so strange.

If he were to die like this, it might actually feel relieving.

Vivian still couldn’t forgive the Allen family who had killed all her family members.

Especially if she could deal death to the undefeated knight, Jade Allen, she wouldn’t ask for anything more.

If Kylo Allen, son of the undefeated knight, who had insulted her family for their weakness by dying first, wouldn’t that be the funniest thing of all?

“…”

But she also had a wish for Kylo not to die.

This feeling was hard to put into words.

Yet undeniably, it was a clear thought, bright and vivid, sitting firmly in Vivian’s heart.

-Gently…

Vivian carefully wiped the sweat from Kylo’s brow.

In that tender gesture, Kylo whispered softly as if he was dreaming.

“…Mother…”

“…”

His whisper tightened Vivian’s heart.

Seeing him, who had always appeared so strong, longing for his parents was quite strange and, at the same time, sorrowful.

Each of his words tugged at her heart with weighty compassion. Unknowingly, she brought her hand more cautiously to his forehead.

In his longing for his mother, Vivian saw a reflection of herself.

Knowing the struggle, she wiped the sweat off Kylo as if soothing herself.

‘…You’re having a hard time too, huh?’

Vivian thought. It seemed that all the pain he had been hiding behind bravado was finally bleeding through.

Just like Vivian had suffered because of the Allen family, Kylo was also suffering due to the Rondore family.

Though he was filled with loathing, his wounds were not a matter apart from her own.

Realizing they were bound together in mutual suffering, her vague worry toward Kylo deepened.

Eventually, Vivian, unable to suppress the flooding compassion, whispered.

“…Wake up.”

She had thought to disturb him, in case he was having a good dream. But as she spoke, her voice betrayed the undeniable worry and concern she felt for him.

 

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