An ominous air hung over Thalia’s grand ducal castle. As if sensing the disturbance, not even small animals dared to venture out.

Calix lay hidden in the tall grass, accompanied by only a few soldiers.

There were two known routes into the castle. The south gate opened onto a vast, exposed plain, while the north gate led to a dense, shadowed forest.

However, there was a third route, unknown to ordinary people.

A concealed gate led directly to Lumos Gorge.

The terrain there was perilous: sheer cliffs plunged downwards, and far below, a deep river roared with an unforgiving current. Only Calix ever used this path.

The plan was simple in structure but ruthless in execution.

Once word spread that Alter had escaped from Holchester Prison, the soldiers stationed inside Grand Ducal Castle would inevitably move to respond. While the garrison was drawn out, Calix and a select unit of elite soldiers would enter through the secret passage. Their task was to swiftly subdue the key figures and seize control of the gates.

Only then would the forces waiting at the north and south entrances launch their direct *ssault.

Surrounded and under attack from all sides, the castle’s defenders would not be able to withstand the pressure for long.

On the surface, the plan appeared straightforward, but in truth it was a delicate balancing act. A single misstep would be enough to bring the entire strategy crashing down.

‘For now, I have to wait.’

Exercising the utmost caution, Calix observed the situation within the Grand Ducal Castle.

Because the passage leading to the gorge was located at a high elevation, it offered a clear view overlooking the castle.

‘The number of soldiers stationed inside isn’t very large.’

Come to think of it, Bryson had recently been pouring all his efforts into searching for the “elder.”

After realizing that the elder was the one rallying Thalia together, he seemed to believe that everything would end once that figure was dealt with.

‘It was a good decision to throw out bait elsewhere.’

By now, Bryson was probably exhausting himself searching for the Elder in the irrelevant location that Calios had directed him to. His ultimate goal was to eradicate Thalia’s remaining forces, so it would not be strange for him to pull Waldemar’s troops out of the Grand Ducal Castle.

‘If that’s the case, it explains why there are so few people inside the castle. But…’

A sense of unease crept over him. It was like a finely polished sculpture whose edge had been worn down just enough to escape notice — yet it was quietly crumbling away through that tiny imperfection.

Calix searched for the source of that discomfort.

Then, all at once, a face flashed through his mind: Violet eyes that always seemed on the verge of tears.

She looked as though she had something she longed to say, yet she never spoke a single word. She would either smile awkwardly or bite down hard on her lip, holding back tears. At one time, she could do nothing but those two things.

Yet she had changed so profoundly in the time he had not seen her that it unsettled him.

She was a woman who had once betrayed him without hesitation; now, however, she was offering her very life to help him, acting in ways he could neither predict nor fully comprehend.

For that reason, he found himself wanting to believe in her.

‘…Is she safe?’

He flinched.

Realizing that he had been unconsciously worried about Selina’s safety, Calix shook his head as if to dispel the thought.

After all, he was the one who had sent her into a death trap.

Was he regretting that decision now?

More importantly, now was not the time for such thoughts. Every second was critical. Focusing all his attention on the situation within the Grand Ducal Castle barely felt sufficient.

‘Focus on the present.’

Clenching his fist tightly, Calix forcibly pushed the thoughts of Selina out of his mind.

If she had risked her life to take on that role, then he had all the more reason to ensure this plan succeeded.

“Elder.”

At that moment, Karen, who had been watching Calix, stepped forward.

She had been placed under temporary disciplinary action for disobeying orders and allowing Selina to enter the underground labyrinth. However, given the critical nature of the recapture of the Grand Ducal Castle, it was impossible to exclude a former Knight Commander from the operation.

“What is it?”

“I suddenly found myself curious about something.”

She had remained quiet ever since arriving at the Grand Ducal Castle, which made her sudden question all the more unusual.

“Long ago, you mentioned that you once went to a secluded monastery, didn’t you?”

Since Karen’s story was so old that even the memory of it had faded, Calix had to trace it back to his boyhood, to the time when he had narrowly avoided death.

“Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

“…You said that a child you met there once saved you, Elder.”

At the mention of that child, Calix clenched his fist tightly, a tender ache rising in his chest.

“Yes.”

He had promised to return for the child, but ultimately failed to keep that promise, leaving without any guarantee that they would ever meet again.

He later returned to the monastery, but no matter how desperately he searched, he found no trace of the child.

He was more troubled by the thought of how the child must have felt after he left than by the child’s whereabouts.

‘After I left, she were alone once again. What was that child thinking, standing alone in that vast, empty place?’

‘Had she waited for me, believing without doubt that I would come back?’

As he considered the emotions the child must have experienced, a suffocating ache rose in his chest, forcing him to stop thinking about it.

But then — why was Karen bringing this up now?

“Didn’t you tell me to forget about that, Karen?”

“Yes. But…”

She hesitated before continuing in a cautious tone.

“With the decisive battle approaching, I suddenly found myself wondering. If you were to meet that child again, Elder—what would you do?”

It was a question he had never once considered in concrete terms. All he had ever wanted was to let that child live somewhere safe and comfortable—that was all.

Of course, given his current circumstances, he could not offer them the very best. Even so—

“I’d keep them by my side.”

That, at least, felt like the only way he could truly be at ease.

“…I see.”

After hearing his answer, Karen bowed her head.

She lowered it so quickly that Calix could not see her expression.

When she raised her head again, she spoke in an even, composed voice.

“I’ll go check the surroundings for a moment.”

“All right. In about two hours, some of the soldiers stationed at the grand ducal castle should move out, so don’t be too late.”

“Yes.”

After nodding briefly, Karen walked away.

Once she was safely out of sight, she took something out from under her clothes.

It was the letter that Selina had given to Calliope.

That morning, Karen had seen Calliope return to her room, clutching something in her hands. Knowing that Calliope had just met with Selina, Karen seized the opportunity to check what it was while Calliope was away.

After reading the letter, whose pages were densely filled with words, Karen could only stare at it in stunned silence.

She had always suspected that Selina’s involvement in the incident on the Day of the North Wind had been unintentional, so the explanation of her innocence did not come as a complete shock.

However, what truly left her shaken was the connection between Calix and Selina in the past.

‘The child Calix met at the monastery was Selina?’

She had always been grateful to the child who saved Calix, but had believed the child to be dead for a long time.

Furthermore, since Calix had only ever referred to the child as ‘a young child’, she had never imagined it could have been Selina.

“Ha.”

A hollow sigh escaped her.

It was enough to make her suspect that some god of fate truly existed, deliberately binding Calix and Selina together.

“That can’t be allowed.”

She was the one who had known Calix for such a long time.

She could no longer bear the thought of Selina — someone he had only met by chance — taking her place.

Karen left Calliope’s room holding the letter.

It was that letter she now held.

“…Just like it’s always been. Keep it buried deep in your heart….And please, die quietly.”

Murmuring Selina’s name, Karen took out a magical fire-starter and lit it.

She burned the letter completely, leaving nothing behind.

Now reduced to ash, the letter would never reach Calix.

Less than ten minutes after Karen left her post, an unusual shift was detected around the Grand Ducal Castle.

‘I thought it would take at least two hours before they moved.’

Calix narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the situation.

The soldiers within the grand ducal castle were mobilizing far sooner than expected.

‘Did something go wrong at Holchester Prison?’

This could mean only one thing: Selina might be in danger.

A sharp unease coursed through his body.

Nevertheless, he could not abandon his post.

This was an operation that only Calix could carry out; it bore the hopes and efforts of the people of Thalia squarely on his shoulders.

He watched the imperial troops withdraw with a keen gaze.

There were far more soldiers leaving the castle than he had anticipated.

“Sir, isn’t this our chance?”

One of the soldiers monitoring the movement asked.

“Not yet.”

There was still something that troubled him.

For a force dispatched merely to suppress Holchester Prison, they were armed far too heavily.

‘Are they simply being overly cautious… or is there another reason?’

Calix was in the midst of gauging the enemy’s intentions when—

“S-Sir! The soldiers stationed at the north gate are beginning to move!”

The troops hiding near the north gate revealed themselves suddenly.

They were soldiers under the command of Count Hollein.

Calix immediately raised a red flag towards the north gate, signaling that they should not advance.

In response, Count Holein’s forces raised their own flag.

When Calix saw its color, he frowned.

“D*mn it. They won’t listen.”

They raised a blue flag.

Advance!

If the forces at the north gate broke through first, the infiltrators would have no choice but to speed up.

“Move quickly. Infiltrate and subdue the remaining soldiers inside.”

With that order, Calix led his troops into the secret passage.