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“What on earth is going on here?”

Brinden, the treasurer, shouted at Vivian with a face redder than a tomato.

This wasn’t something to say in the lord’s office, especially to a retainer.

While I could see just how furious Brinden was, it also revealed just how much he disregarded Vivian.

“You’re looking for talent… among commoners? Is this some kind of joke?! Do you want to tarnish the Rondore family’s reputation?!”

Vivian remained unfazed by his rudeness.

She felt a bit scared but more relieved, to be honest.

It was easier to deal with someone like him if he laid it all out there like that.

“Don’t raise your voice.”

Vivian warned quietly.

But Brinden ignored her warning altogether.

“What are you trying to do?! Are you seriously going to let a lowly commoner set foot in this castle?”

“It’s just a talent search, that’s all.”

“Profit…!”

Brinden threw the ledger he was holding onto the floor.

– Thud!

The heavy, dull sound made Vivian flinch for a moment.

No matter how much she tried to act tough, such loud noises always brought out the scared little girl inside her.

“Do you think I have no idea what this action means right now?”

“What do you mean?”

A man with thinning white hair spoke through red eyes.

“You’re trying to push me out.”

“…”

“You want to replace me… or another retainer’s position with someone who’s just a puppet for you, don’t you?!”

“I’m just looking for talent. Why do you think like that?”

“Enough with the nonsense! Just because we speak the truth and you get uncomfortable, you want to get rid of us? You think your precious lies can help you develop?”

“…”

“And Vivian, I’m the one who taught you about the economy…! You learned from me, and now you want to betray me?! Is this how humans should act?”

Staring at Brinden who was shouting like a banshee, Vivian gracefully lowered her head.

– Shiver, shiver…

Her hands, hidden under the desk, trembled.

She still feared the yelling of adults.

If they really got angry, she, not yet an adult, would definitely tremble.

She thought she was prepared, but maybe she was far from it.

Sometimes, you had to experience things to truly understand them.

Predictions and reality rarely flowed together smoothly.

“Our family will deeply regret this choice.”

Brinden warned.

The Trelli family near the river in the northwest of Roktana.

Vivian paused to think for a moment, then whispered quietly.

“Your family won’t care. In the end, you’re the one who’s married off.”

“What did you say?”

“Brinden, I’m just looking for talent. Maybe I’ll find someone who can support you by your side.”

Vivian continued to explain.

She wanted to remove Brinden right away, but she knew she needed a solid justification for such a drastic action.

If she started removing retainers without a good reason, they might all rise against her at once.

Rather than eliminating everyone without justification, she needed to create the illusion that they could survive as long as they were given a reason… This could sow the seeds of division among the retainers, buying her some time.

It was safer to remove them one by one; if she tried to overturn everything at once, they might unite against her.

“I don’t understand why offering to find someone to help you would make you this furious. Things in Roktana are tough; I’m sure you’re aware of that…”

“They’ll just be a hindrance. It’s best if I do this myself—”

“Haven’t you run out of time?”

Vivian shot back coldly, causing Brinden to fall silent this time.

“…”

“If you were going to bring change to this land… you should have shown it already. We’ve waited long enough.”

“…”

“I need capable retainers. I need people who will lift Rondore. That’s my decision, so if you respect me as the lord, please leave without saying anything more.”

“…”

Brinden’s face, which had been turning red, lowered, and he gathered the scattered ledger before leaving.

– Thud.

“…Haah.”

As he left, Vivian sighed and relaxed her tense body.

****

The war of politics had now begun.

Vivian was expanding her faction, centered around the Punishment Unit.

To recruit the soldiers of the Punishment Unit, she allowed them to go out and even paid them a small wage.

They all praised Vivian endlessly, calling her benevolent because of this.

Even those who had initially resisted swearing loyalty to her were gradually being won over by her kindness.

It perhaps stemmed from the fact that they realized that straying from Vivian would not lead to a better life once they paid their dues and returned to the city.

Most importantly, they had developed a bond simply by spending time with her.

Vivian had also been visiting the Punishment Unit so often by now.

And as a result, Burgor and his watch unit were becoming increasingly irrelevant.

How she would handle them was still uncertain.

However, as we had spent a long time with the watch unit… we hadn’t treated them as enemies either.

This could lead to the watch unit siding with Vivian instead.

I was patrolling the castle again today.

Though it was called patrolling, I was really just wandering around, hoping to accidentally overhear something.

Now that the Punishment Unit members were no longer cooped up in their quarters, they roamed the castle freely.

They were easily chatting with maids, tightening their watch over the castle, and intensifying the air of tension in the castle.

– Wink!

As I walked, Balron caught my eye and winked at me.

He was in high spirits lately and completely let loose.

It was gross, yet I couldn’t help but smile a little.

After all, they were acting to protect Vivian’s safety.

‘Keep an eye out.’

I once gathered all the members of the Punishment Unit and said:

‘If you hear anything bad about Vivian, report it all.’

Some had questioned my orders.

‘Hey, Kyle. But why do you care so much about Lady Vivian?’

Even after years, I still didn’t have an answer to that question.

In the end, I fumbled through another vague reply.

‘…If she dies, I die too. They’ll probably pin her death on me somehow, anyway.’

The Punishment Unit didn’t pry too deeply into my flimsy excuses.

I had also stopped obsessing over finding answers.

Whenever I awakened to the truth, I’d wake up; if I didn’t know, I wouldn’t know.

For now, my goal was simply to stay safe alongside Vivian.

“Kyle!”

At that moment, someone called my name.

Turning my head, I saw Martin and Willas along with a few friends rushing towards me.

The urgency on their faces was not good.

As soon as they stopped in front of me, I asked,

“…What happened to Vivian?”

Martin shook his head.

It had been a long time since his height shrank below mine.

His voice as he steadied his breath was laced with a calm that seemed forced.

It was as if he was trying to prevent me from panicking.

“…Don’t freak out.”

“Quit stalling. Just tell me!”

“…”

But Martin hesitated.

It seemed he wasn’t alone either. Glancing at Willas and the others, they all looked equally hesitant to speak.

“What is it?”

Finally, I pressed them.

Martin replied after much difficulty.

“A letter came.”

“…A letter?”

“…From your hometown.”

.

.

.

The white letter means good news, and the black letter means bad news.

It was an age-old tradition of the Allen family.

– Thud.

I entered Vivian’s room without a word.

Vivian didn’t even lift her head, knowing that it was me who entered the room.

I focused on the letter she was holding.

A black letter.

“…”

Since one doesn’t carelessly write black letters with bad news, I could sense that this news was more serious than I anticipated.

“…What does it say?”

I asked.

Vivian, her eyes unfocused, stared off into the distance, quietly responding,

“…Nothing important.”

Then, she dropped the letter like it was nothing and pretended to do something else.

“…Liar.”

I told Vivian.

Her demeanor stiffened at my words.

“…Don’t lie to me, Vivian.”

“…”

Even without the letter’s color, I could always tell when Vivian was lying.

The three or four years we’ve spent together might not have been long, but being stuck together every day changed that density.

I knew how we both had grown and changed; I could read her lies just by looking at her eyes.

“…”

When she didn’t respond, I took a step closer to her desk.

Vivian seemingly tried to hide the letter but I easily snatched the black letter from her delicate hands.

– Snap!

I immediately opened it and began to read.

…I recognized my father’s handwriting.

———————–

To Vivian Rondore.

My wife, Shoshana Allen, has passed away.

This news is a personal tragedy for me, but I know well that personal feelings cannot take precedence over the current situation.

However, I wish more than anything for our eldest son to see her grave at least once.

Shoshana had always cared for, loved, and worried about Kyle the most.

This is something I cannot disregard.

I know I’m not in a position to ask this.

Yet if you would grant the child even a moment to visit his mother’s grave, I will never forget that kindness.

I wish peace upon your domain and your future.

Jade Allen

———————–

My heart sank.

Strength drained from my hands.

My mind went blank as if frozen.

“…”

…Mother has passed away?

Just days ago, she appeared to me in a dream, full of life.

For a moment, I was frozen in thought.

I couldn’t wrap my head around what it meant for mother to have left this world.

She was taken from me when I was 14, and now I was 17.

In all this time, I hadn’t shown her a single bit of my growth or change.

She had told me multiple times how much she wanted to witness my becoming a man.

Even now, I longed for her embrace.

I wanted to tell her all about how I survived and how I defeated the dragon.

But… was it all going to be impossible now?

– Swish.

As I regained my composure, Vivian had stepped away from the desk and came forward, holding my hand.

Worry was clearly painted across her face.

Perhaps my own expression was looking like a mess.

With how anxious she seemed, it was clear she was concerned for me.

But despite Vivian’s little comfort, I couldn’t control my heart.

Suddenly, without thinking, I blurted out a spontaneous and reckless suggestion.

“…Let me go.”

“…Kyle.”

“Let me go to see my mother.”

For some reason, I could vividly picture my mother, who I was sure must’ve been waiting for me till the last moment.

It felt like if I didn’t go, she wouldn’t find peace.

More than anything, I wanted to see for myself that she had truly left this earth.

Vivian bit her lip, closing her eyes tight.

Then slowly opened them, looking straight at me and asked,

“If you go, will you come back to me?”

“…”

I couldn’t respond easily.

No words came out.

Vivian pressed me further.

“Answer me, Kyle. If I send you back home… will you return to me?”

…If there was a reason for me to return, it would be for Vivian alone.

I couldn’t leave without knowing how I felt about her all this time.

If I went back, would I have the courage to choose her over the comfort of home and family?

“…I’ll come back.”

Putting my complicated thoughts aside, I finally answered.

“Liar…!”

But at that moment, Vivian’s expression twisted deeply, and with a trembling voice said,

“…Don’t lie to me, Kyle.”

She returned my words back to me, firmly clenching her teeth.

She defined feelings I didn’t even know I had.

With her refusal hanging in the air, I tried to persuade her again.

“I’ll come back.”

“No. You can’t go. I’ve made up my mind.”

“I just want to see my mother…!”

“I told you it’s not allowed!”

“…Vivian!”

“Do you finally understand how I feel?”

Vivian shouted at me, her emotions boiling over.

Her determination to not let me go shone through in her voice, intertwined with her anger towards me.

“…What?”

“When our mother passed away…! When I was crying, what did you say? You told me I was weak for crying, didn’t you?”

“…”

“You said that back then. So why? Now that your own mother has passed, you can’t keep your own word?”

“…”

“Don’t be weak, Kyle. If you do, it’ll make all those words you said back then meaningless.”

Stuck in silence, I remained still, and Vivian stepped in closer, invading my personal space.

She stood right in front of me, looking up.

With each word, a fragrant scent, almost like flowers, enveloped me.

“…Why? Am I being unfair for asking something back after I did so much for you?”

Vivian’s voice was cold, yet her eyes flickered with emotions she couldn’t put into words.

Her expression revealed hatred, yet there was a precarious sweetness dripping from her eyes.

I couldn’t read the feelings she was showing towards me; it was a mystery.

But for whatever reason—maybe because of our connections—she didn’t shed tears even with that face.

“I told you clearly, if you expected something in return, you shouldn’t have helped in the first place. You said this was just your self-satisfaction. So don’t expect goodwill from me now!”

Her voice held more of an urge to defend herself than to accuse me.

Until just a little while ago, I had only hoped for us to get through this safely.

But with just a single letter, it flipped everything around, and our original relationship seemed to return.

Despite all my attempts to hide our resentment toward each other, maybe this was simply our bond.

Just as the past doesn’t change, neither would this relationship.

Before I knew it, I found my hands gently cupping Vivian’s face.

My hands rested against her jaw and neck.

This was a position where I could easily strangle her if I wanted.

But despite everything, I didn’t feel like doing that or that I could.

Even though I was angry at her and wished for her to hurt,

Still… she was strangely precious to me, making it impossible.

Vivian seemed to understand my wrath but didn’t pull my hands away.

It was as if she dared me to choke her if I wanted.

“…Go ahead.”

Unsurprisingly, she whispered this.

“Eventually…”

Her gaze bore into me through cold eyes.

Those tear-soaked, icy eyes seemed to grasp my throat in return.

“If you’re gone, I’ll die, too.”

Her words were concise, yet every bit of her sincerity was embedded in them.

Without thinking, I tightly shut my eyes.

“The bloodbath in Rondore castle has begun. If you leave during this turmoil, I won’t permit it. I’m putting my life on the line for this. Until I see the end of this bloodbath… you’re going nowhere.”

Her voice was cold and resolute, laden with a desperation beyond mere insistence.

I found it hard to express my anger against her now.

“…”

Why did my mother have to leave at a time like this?

Why did she have to depart when the storm was sweeping over us, just as Vivian said?

The painful reality that I would never experience her laughter and warmth again pierced through my heart.

But I also… could partially accept Vivian’s words.

How could I let a hostage go free without being certain they would return?

It was a mere fact that if I wasn’t there, she could die.

I gently brushed my thumb against Vivian’s cheek, and then touched my forehead against hers.

Vivian didn’t flinch.

“…Alright, you’re right.”

I spoke while holding back my pain.

“…I shouldn’t be weak.”

“…Kyle—”

– Snap.

I let go of Vivian’s face and lightly pushed away her hand that was reaching out to my heart.

For some reason, her face twisted with pain from just that action.

“…”

I stood there, quietly looking at her.

I found myself waiting for her to shed tears.

For this moment, I didn’t realize that I was desperately wishing for it.

“…Ugh.”

Vivian seemed to catch on to my desires, her expression crinkling as she composed herself.

In the end, she didn’t shed any tears.

I exhaled a long sigh and turned away.

As I stepped on the black letter lying on the ground, I walked.

At the moment the battle in Rondore castle began, a small rift developed between us.

Maybe it was a rift that had existed from the beginning.

 

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