With their parents nowhere to be seen, the children were war orphans. Selina had learned through the war itself what fate awaited children who were left without protection.

‘These children will be in danger too.’

They were highly likely to die unnoticed and uncared for. Even if they survived, they would probably spend the rest of their lives drifting from one slum to another.

‘…That doesn’t mean I can help them.’

Selina regarded them with cold eyes, then turned away.

Three years had passed since Thalia lost its leader and began to collapse almost overnight. Those three years were more than enough time for someone who had once been timid and painfully shy to undergo a complete transformation.

“Is this everyone who remained inside the castle?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

She lifted her head and surveyed the people before her. There were no more than a few dozen of them, and they were all either injured or sick, or too young to have fled.

The Thalian soldiers who had originally defended the castle had abandoned the elderly, the wounded and the weak in order to flee for their own safety.

‘With this, it’ll be hard to get the information I want.’

After surveying the survivors, Selina let out a quiet sigh. What she needed was someone with authority, someone of fairly high standing among those trying to protect Thalia. They needed someone who knew exactly who belonged to these remnants and where they were.

During the war, there had been several occasions when castles were seized or prisoners captured, but each time it had led to a dead end. However, because Visalante was a military stronghold, Selina had allowed herself to hope that this time would be different. But it seemed there would be little to gain here either.

“Vice Commander Selina.”

At that moment, a soldier who had been watching the situation cautiously approached and spoke.

“It would be best for you to wrap things up and return for today.”

“Why? It doesn’t seem that late yet.”

“Well… Commander Waldemar has arrived.”

At those words, Selina’s expression hardened.

Even after all this time, there was one thing she had never grown accustomed to: Waldemar’s presence.

She could easily guess why he had come. He claimed to be there to celebrate the victory, but he was actually using that as an excuse to get what he wanted.

“If I don’t go, won’t he just leave on his own?”

“You already know.”

He replied, shaking his head instead of answering outright.

True enough. If it were him, he wouldn’t move unless she confronted him directly. The best way to deal with a nuisance is to get rid of it quickly rather than dragging things out.

“I understand. Then we’ll wrap things up for today and return to the barracks.”

Just as Selina turned away, she seemed to recall something and spoke to her subordinate.

“Oh—and bring those children to the barracks separately.”

She gestured toward the boy who had dared to lash out at her moments ago, and his younger sister.

With a cool, unreadable smile, Selina added.

“They should be punished for daring to bare their fangs at me.”

The siblings’ faces drained of color at once.

Selina stepped into the barracks.

The moment she crossed the threshold, the sharp scent of tobacco filled the air. She had encountered the smell before, but it made her uncomfortable this time.

She lifted a hand and fanned the air lightly to disperse the lingering scent.

“You’re late.”

The man who had been standing with his back to her spoke as though he had sensed her presence. His voice was unusually low and sounded as though he had swallowed ash.

“What brings you here, Commander?”

Selina bowed toward him with formal courtesy.

“You sound stiff today. Between the two of us.”

Waldemar remarked, sounding faintly irritated by her businesslike tone.

Since Selina had come under his authority, the balance of power between them had quietly shifted in his favor. He had told her that she did not need to speak to him so formally, but she had refused, preferring to address him with deliberate respect.

Her gaze drifted to his black hair, which was now long enough to brush his shoulders. For some reason, she recalled hearing that he was currently considered the most desirable bachelor among the women of the Empire.

A man with hair that long was not her type, but it probably seemed melancholy, or even alluring, to others.

“I came to praise you. You managed to take this place just fine—even without me.”

“It’s thanks to the help you’ve given in many ways.”

It wasn’t just politeness. Taking this impregnable fortress would have been difficult without Waldemar’s help. Cutting off the castle’s supply routes was particularly decisive.

When Selina bowed once more, Waldemar let out a light sigh, clearly displeased.

“Are you still uncomfortable around me, Lady?”

The word ‘Lady’ stabbed her in the chest, sharp and unwelcome.

Over the past year and two months, Marquis Bryson had been rewarded for his merits with a ducal title. As his daughter, Selina’s status had risen accordingly — she was now a duchess.

By all rights, she should have been the Grand Duchess of Thalia. However, following Thalia’s downfall, she had been completely cut off from it.

No one in the Empire dared to speak aloud of Selina’s ties to Thalia. This truth undoubtedly existed, yet it had quietly become taboo.

“I wouldn’t say I’m uncomfortable. I simply prefer not to form personal relationships with anyone I meet in an official capacity.”

It was a reasonable answer, but Waldemar did not look satisfied.

“Have you given any thought to the proposal I made before?”

“Ah…”

Selina hesitated, deliberately leaving the question unanswered. As if he had expected that, Waldemar stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“There’s no need to drag this out. If you’re willing, I’d like to hold the ceremony within the year.”

“…I think I need more time to consider it. I still have many duties to carry out.”

She took a small step back, gently distancing herself from him.

About a month ago, Waldemar had proposed to Selina.

The man, hailed as the Empire’s most sought-after bachelor, had proposed to a woman who had already been married once.

It certainly wasn’t for romantic reasons, such as love. Selina knew well enough that love wasn’t a prerequisite for marriage.

‘But I still don’t understand why.’

Waldemar had little to gain from marrying Selina.

Few Thalians viewed her favorably. If his goal had truly been to win over the remaining factions, it would have been wiser to take a stance against her.

Nevertheless, regardless of his intentions, Selina was not in a position to reject his proposal outright.

“Taking too long won’t be the best option.”

Waldemar said, the corners of his lips lifting into a faint smile.

“I know that better than anyone.”

Waldemar lifted Selina’s chin, his expression hardening into a chill.

“You’re not doing any of this willingly.”

“……”

“You’re just enduring—chasing the shadow of a dead man.”

Selina instinctively held her breath.

Yes. That was precisely why she could not treat this man lightly.

Selina herself had volunteered to join the knightly forces tasked with eliminating the remnants of Thalia.

“I regret the days I spent as Thalia’s Grand Duchess. Even now, I wish to earn merit and rise to a position as high as my father’s.”

She played the role of a marquess’s daughter, blinded by ambition and seemingly driven by a newfound hunger for honor. In truth, however, Selina had a very different motive.

She had wanted to act in secret, but Waldemar had discovered her plan by chance.

“As you know,” he said, brushing his fingers lightly along her cheek as he smiled, “Calix Silas is dead.”

Her heart dropped.

Hearing his name still made her chest pound violently. When someone mentioned his death, there were times when she felt as though she had heard blasphemy — something so unbearable that she thought she might lose her mind.

Time had passed, yet she had never grown used to it.

“I know, I simply want to confirm it with my own eyes.”

Waldemar watched her with cold eyes for a moment before replying,

“Fine. If that’s what you want, you could spend the rest of your life searching for Calix’s corpse.”

Then he added quietly,

“As long as you accept my proposal.”

After issuing that sharp warning, he took a step back and left the barracks.

The praise he said he had come for was clearly an afterthought. As expected, he had come to put pressure on her. With Thalia’s imminent collapse looming, he probably wanted to hold the wedding before it was too late.

“…How shameless.”

The bitter taste returned to her mouth as she remembered how casually he had said Calix’s name.

If there were two people Selina could never forgive, her father was one of them.

The other was Waldemar.

They had both done more than anyone else to bring about Thalia’s downfall.

‘Calix is…’

As always, her thoughts faltered at that point.

She clenched her fist tightly.

While others spoke lightly of Calix’s death, she had never once uttered that word.

Calix was not dead.

Even when Waldemar held out his blackened, charred arm before her, Selina refused to believe he was gone.

‘It’s still glowing—faintly.’

A bracelet set with a small stone hung around her wrist. Once, it had been a vivid crimson jewel, but now it looked like an ordinary rock that could be found anywhere.

Yet Selina could still see its true color.

A faint light was still seeping out from the moonstone.

The fact that this moonstone, which was said to reflect Calix’s condition, had not lost all its light meant only one thing: he was not dead.

‘I’ll find you, no matter what.’

That was the reason Selina had remained here, deceiving everyone and behaving like a completely different person.

‘Everyone will be busy celebrating by now. While they’re distracted, I’ll go meet people.’

She had no way of knowing how many people in the castle knew where Calix was. But when you’re drowning, you clutch at straws.

Desperately searching for Calix, Selina had to grasp at anything — anything at all.

Just as she turned back towards where the others had gathered—

“Ah—so this is where you were.”

At that moment, a hesitant, awkward voice reached her ears.