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Balron, Willas, and Martin had entered the grand hall of the Castle of Rondore.

A long dining table was laid out with various foods.

Soups, fruits, meats, vegetables, and drinks galore.

But the food remained untouched, just as it had been served.

Not a single movement came from the owner of the food sitting at the table.

“What on earth is wrong with her?”

“If I knew, would I be sitting here?”

Balron whispered to Martin in a voice barely audible.

It had already been days since Vivian had sat there without touching her food.

From what they had seen, it was the eighth time now.

As the warm soup lost its steam and the once tender meat turned cold and hard, Vivian sat still, silently rising to leave without even a glance at the food.

They had no solution, as they were just as clueless about why Vivian was acting this way.

Though they had grown close to her, all three remembered well that approaching her awkwardly was not an option.

It was like sitting on a bed of nails, and it felt like nothing could come from her starving herself.

“What the hell is Kyle making us do…?”

Balron muttered with a sigh.

The request Kyle had made three days earlier still echoed vividly in their minds.

‘Keep an eye on Vivian for me.’

‘What? Just like that?’

‘From today, take good care of Vivian. Got it?’

Kyle had simply left after that, without any explanation.

According to Yanes, Kyle had started acting strangely too.

He would pick flowers from everywhere and send them floating down the river…

Martin had made some rough guesses.

It was probably bad news from a letter that had come from his hometown.

Something about a family member passing away.

It was a plausible theory.

Kyle had been coming back to their accommodations late and briefly resting before disappearing again early the next morning.

Perhaps he was going through his own grieving process.

Because of that, it felt awkward to talk to Kyle, who had placed such a duty on them.

Still, it was hard not to consider the feelings of a friend they had spent over three years with.

After all, he was also a comrade who had saved their lives on every expedition.

…So, while mourning was mourning, why was Vivian acting this way?

Why was she refusing to eat and going days without food?

Balron couldn’t understand the reasoning behind this outcome.

-Tap tap.

Willas elbowed Balron in the side.

“…?”

Looking at Willas, he was pointing at the maidservants, signaling something.

One of the lovely maidservants was gesturing with a worried expression.

With their gestures, Balron felt a surge of courage and determination rise within him.

‘Why?’

Balron mouthed the question.

The maidservant continued to gesture between Balron, Vivian, and the food, mimicking the action of eating with a spoon.

‘Are you telling me to get her to eat?’

The maidservant nodded.

It seemed they were worried about Vivian, who hadn’t eaten in days, but lacked the courage to say something.

With the maidservant’s words in his ear, Balron took a deep breath.

He felt a desire to show off a bit.

He hesitated and walked over to Vivian, whispering a suggestion.

“Um, Lady Vivian. Your food is getting cold. Why not have just a little?”

“…”

“How many days has it been? You’ll only hurt your health like this…”

“…”

However, Vivian didn’t budge.

Even if a fly had buzzed by, it would have gotten a better reaction.

She was completely frozen, as if not hearing anything at all.

She didn’t even throw Balron a single glance.

Feeling embarrassed, Balron shuffled back to his place.

‘What are you doing!’

The maidservant looked at Balron with an exasperated expression, as if berating him for his actions.

‘You do it then! This is ridiculous…’

Balron ultimately gave up on making a good impression on the maidservant and started whispering in frustration.

-Squeak…

At that moment, a faint sound echoed from the entrance of the hall.

-Whoosh!

Vivian’s head turned at that minute, responding to the sound even though she hadn’t reacted to anything else.

But there was no one at the entrance. It seemed just the sound of wind passing by.

“…Sigh.”

Finally, Vivian let out a deep breath.

This was the first sound she had made since sitting there.

She slowly stood up from her seat.

“…Please clear everything away.”

The maidservants, unsure of what to do, ultimately followed Vivian’s command and started cleaning up.

Then Vivian turned and walked straight towards the trio.

The three immediately straightened up, tensing in her presence.

Who could blame them, given the irritated look on Vivian’s face?

“…I’ll give you one command.”

She said.

Balron nodded.

“Whatever you say.”

Vivian bit her lip for a moment. The muscles in her jaw twitched subtly.

Then, with a furrowed brow, she spoke.

“…Don’t let Kyle Allen have any food. If he’s eating in the camp… don’t provide him with anything at all.”

“…”

“If he’s hungry, tell him to come here to eat.”

At the same moment, the three exchanged glances, sensing something was off. Vivian seemed to pick up on it first.

“…What’s going on?”

“Well…”

Martin swallowed hard and responded.

“…Kyle hasn’t eaten for several days already…”

Vivian’s frown loosened.

For a moment, a flicker of concern crossed her face, but Balron quickly dismissed it as just his imagination.

“…”

Vivian fell silent, turning away.

The trio followed her lead.

****

Today too, I plucked flower petals and sent them floating down the river.

It was our unique way of mourning my mother’s death.

Originally, in the northern lands, flowers were as hard to find as anything could be.

So, when someone precious passed away, we would gather cherished flowers and sprinkle petals from the high cliffs of snow-capped mountains to honor their memory.

The fortunate thing was that in this distant southern land, flowers were quite easy to find, but the unfortunate part was that I wasn’t in a position to seek those high mountains.

So, to let the petals drift far away, I had spent the entire day scattering flowers by the riverbank.

I clicked my tongue in frustration.

By now, would my mother forgive me? I had scattered so many.

I only felt remorse for not being able to visit her.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely my fault, but still, as her child, I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“…Sigh.”

Today too, having scattered flowers, I leaned my back against a nearby tree, letting out a sigh.

“…”strong>

…What the heck am I doing?

For a moment, I felt pitiful looking at myself.

What was making me look like such a fool?

Was it me, whining about Vivian after boasting so much, or was it me, the idiot who has protected Vivian all along, with no expectation of anything in return?

I saw it coming, but the shock of the situation was something else.

After all, I hadn’t been whining around her for any reward.

It wasn’t for a reward that I had provoked her sorrows, nurtured her, taken on the role of executioner, eaten her food in her place, and saved her from the fire as well as from the dragon.

Everything—all of it—was done without expectation. After all, moving my body was my only option.

However, as things lay out like this, I couldn’t help but feel pathetic.

Did I really act all that way just to get this kind of treatment?

Is that why I walked around with the disfigurement of a terrible burn on my upper back?

…Still, no matter what… between us…

“…Sigh.”

I laughed at myself, pressing my forehead.

…What “between us” are you talking about?

Formally speaking, we were simply enemies, neither more nor less.

Vivian had always made that very clear.

The one who had been turning a blind eye to the truth had been me.

These days, I hadn’t gone to see Vivian either.

Seeing her face would only make me hate her more.

Vivian likely had nothing to say to my face anyway.

“You seem deep in thought.”

At that moment, someone spoke to me.

Turning around at the strangely familiar voice, I found someone standing there that made me want to laugh.

It was the maidservant.

The one who had been passing notes to me, the hidden servant of the Rondore family.

“Long time no see, Kyle.”

With her brown hair and petite stature, her face was quite ordinary.

I tried to suppress a laugh but ended up exhaling a sigh instead.

They certainly didn’t give me a moment to breathe; they only piled more burdens on my plate.

“Sigh.”

“It’s rude to sigh after seeing a lady’s face.”

“…”

How could I not sigh? It was obvious she was here to deliver more bad news.

I glanced at her hands.

Her right fist was clenched tightly, as if to hide something.

It was probably a note from her “master” meant for me.

I expected it would come.

With the storm starting to brew, how could it not?

With people targeting Vivian, it wouldn’t be surprising at all.

…But.

“…Go back.”

I told the maidservant.

“If it’s about Vivian, I don’t want to hear it. I’m done now.”

The maidservant tilted her head, seemingly confused.

“…What do you mean done?”

“I’m not interested in protecting Vivian anymore.”

“Why’s that?”

It was a comment made in anger, but facing her offhand question made me lose my words.

How could she ask something like that and feel no shame?

After battling with my anger for what felt like hours, I shouted.

“…Why should I keep doing this when there’s nothing left to gain? How much longer did you expect me to be a fool?!”

The maidservant didn’t waver in the slightest as she replied.

“Ask Lady Vivian for something in return.”

As if that were the simplest solution in the world.

“…”

I was momentarily speechless, but soon the emotions I couldn’t suppress came bubbling back up.

Shifting the subject, I pressed her.

“Really, I’m an enemy of Vivian. Tell your master to get a grip. What kind of help does she expect from me? Tell her to stop lurking and just face me…! This is cowardly…!”

The maidservant shook her head.

“…My lady is distinguishing between traitors and those who are not… She can’t just act recklessly.”

I scoffed.

“How many years is this going to take? Stop making excuses. She’s just hiding because her position is ambiguous.”

“…Maybe. But she’s truly trying with great effort.”

At that demoralizing remark, I lost the will to be angry.

Emptiness and fatigue replaced that feeling.

I spoke to her.

“Enough. Go away. I don’t want to hear it. Your problems are not my concern.”

“…Kyle.”

“Think it over. You think it over. Why should I be doing this? Why should I risk my life to protect Vivian?”

“…You have a clear reason.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that line.

That this girl knew a reason I didn’t was beyond believable.

After all, I had only seen her three times at most.

How could she possibly know what was in my heart?

How conceited could she be to think like this?

I asked her.

“Oh really? Let’s hear it. What could that reason possibly be?”

The maidservant replied.

“…You love Lady Vivian.”

That short statement pierced my heart like a sharp arrow.

“…What…?”

My whole body felt like it had frozen.

I forgot to breathe, my mind went blank.

I didn’t even have the thought of retorting or cursing at the maidservant.

Something swirled up from deep within my chest.

It was neither simple denial nor realization.

In this complicated situation, the maidservant seemed intent on making my heart even more chaotic as she continued.

“…You love Vivian.”

Her words sounded like a cruel curse.

“Isn’t that enough of a reason?”

 

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