Chapter 17

“Did I throw you?”

Hilda shrank her neck and nodded slightly. Erich and Liam turned their heads sharply to look at her.

Their faces were filled with the question: What on earth did you do?

Instead of offering excuses, Beatrice nodded slowly. Surviving perfectly well from that height meant Hilda was sturdy… Thinking back, her stealth skills were above expectations too.

“As expected of Schwert’s warrior. Please take care of my disciple.”

“No… I’ll do my best not to be a burden.”

Beatrice considered whether those two would work well together.

One had a rebellious streak, stubbornly staying despite being told to leave, while the other was gentle and shy. They seemed like a good match.

She nodded in satisfaction.

* * *

Liam Heisel and Hilda Enning departed the next morning.

Before they left, Beatrice firmly instructed them: If they ever saw a <Sand Scorpion>, never confront it—just escape.

The young warrior and sorcerer nodded quietly at the advice that, above all, their partner and their lives were most important.

Erich spoke briefly to Liam.

His dark blue gaze gently enveloped Liam’s youthful green eyes.

“Your master is a person with very high standards. And she acknowledged you. Don’t forget the weight of that praise.”

“…Yes.”

“Take care.”

Liam nodded with a determined face.

Dimensional teleportation circles were installed only in certain places due to their complexity, danger, and importance.

In front of the Imperial Palace. At Schwert’s ducal residence, the warriors’ base. At the Ivory Tower, the sorcerers’ cradle. In the capitals of the North, West, South, East, and Central regions.

When Liam and Hilda entered the teleportation circle at the ducal residence, bright light surged from the floor and wrapped around them. When the light faded, the two figures were gone.

They’d arrive at Roen, the western capital.

Even after they vanished, Beatrice stood motionless for a long time. She let the inevitable uneasiness coil around her tongue.

Her mouth felt dry.

She sincerely, truly swore on her soul, hoping there would be no <Sand Scorpion>. She hoped her prediction from three years ago would turn out to be a ridiculous mistake.

Erich, waiting right beside her, slowly took out a cigarette. Beatrice flicked her fingers and lit it for him.

“So kind.”

“Not as much as you. I didn’t expect you to say that to Liam.”

“One gold coin.”

“What?”

“My kindness is pay-on-delivery. Please pay up, Tower Master.”

Words were ridiculously expensive. Beatrice frowned and protested.

“Is it okay for nobles to take money from commoners?”

“Isn’t that a noble’s main job? Living off their bloodline, taking money from commoners, and living in luxury.”

Someone at the pinnacle of nobility spoke so sharply…

Beatrice laughed softly and shook her head.

“I lit it for you. Let’s call it even.”

“Hmph.”

“How many cigarettes is that now? I told you those have side effects. Smoke in moderation.”

“Why, do you want to have my child?”

“…Then, smoke as much as you like!”

Erich took another drag and chuckled quietly.

Beatrice shook her head again, looking from the man to the teleportation circle, then back to the man. She slowly rubbed her forehead.

Perhaps seeing those two leave at such a young age… Or maybe because this place was Schwert’s ducal residence, where she spent her childhood.

She was recalling the brightest days of her life.

Even if she felt nothing now, Beatrice had once been happy, without a single doubt.

Even during war.

Love was such a powerful feeling that, even facing death tomorrow, one could be happy in the arms of a beloved in that moment.

Beatrice shrugged lightly and shook off the memories.

She never wanted to repeat those days. They were more beautiful because they were preserved. They would forever be brilliant because they could not be repeated. That’s what memories are.

“You’re thinking about the same time I am, aren’t you?”

At Erich’s gentle voice, Beatrice nodded.

“Correct.”

Erich’s dark blue eyes stared at her. His gaze held a hint of surprise that she admitted it.

“Why are you looking at me like that? That time was beautiful for me, too.”

“…I didn’t expect you to say that. That’s all.”

“Is there any reason to speak negatively about past love? It would be like spitting on my own face. Whatever the ending, that time was the most beautiful in my life.”

“……”

“You were the greatest gift of my life, and I’m just stating a simple truth. Whether I want to repeat that time is a separate matter.”

Erich von Schwert slowly smoked his cigarette. Magnolia-scented smoke billowed from its tip. He made donut-shaped rings and nodded slowly.

“…I’m glad you remember it beautifully.”

“What, you don’t?”

“No. You seem able to call that time beautiful regardless of the ending, but I can’t.”

“……”

“You were the greatest gift of my life, but in the end, I lost it. Whatever the case, our ending was terrible, and I’m just stating a simple truth.”

His voice sounded as if wounds were torn open. Was blood flowing from those wounds, or not?

Unable to find the answer, Beatrice couldn’t bring herself to speak.

So only silence settled between them.

Suddenly, discomfort swept over her, making her fingers twitch. The emotions in the man’s hoarse voice stabbed at her heart.

Erich’s dry laughter echoed in her ears.

“That’s enough. As you said, it’s all just love that’s gone by. What’s the point of reminiscing?”

“…That’s wise.”

Beatrice barely managed to scrape out her voice.

* * *

Beatrice lay sprawled on the sofa in her bedroom at Schwert’s ducal residence, tapping her toes. Erich von Schwert’s expression was clearly etched in her mind.

It was so complicated she couldn’t describe it with her own words.

“You seem able to call that time beautiful regardless of the ending, but I can’t.”

‘Ending’—Beatrice mulled over that short syllable.

It was best not to care what expression he wore when he said it. There shouldn’t be emotions in this relationship.

But—

“That expression is unfair…”

Beatrice sighed deeply and scratched her head. The past, coming from beyond her consciousness, was trying to break open her mind.

They broke up right after Beatrice’s master and the Ivory Tower’s first Tower Master, Lawrence von Bruyere, died in battle.

Their breakup was, in a way, inevitable.

It was hard to maintain love in the face of humanity’s loss of great power. Truly, they separated to survive.

…That was the reason.

It was never because of the rumor Maximine once mentioned—the nonsense that Erich von Schwert contributed to Lawrence von Bruyere’s death—or because she resented Erich von Schwert, even less so.

Other sorcerers from the Ivory Tower may have sent blame and resentment, but Beatrice never resented Schwert for any reason. She always gave him unwavering support.

So what emotion was behind that expression earlier?

“He’s such a difficult man.”

Beatrice scratched her head again. Just then, a coin popped out of her pocket and delivered Maximine’s voice.

– Marquis Mecklen also replied that he doesn’t have those three materials. Instead, he requested the Ivory Tower to build a musical fountain.

“Leave it to Elder Paul.”

– Understood. I’ll pass it to him. And, Tower Master, it seems those three materials…

“I’ll have to procure them myself, right?”

– For now, that seems fastest.

Beatrice tapped her knee. After calculating her schedule, there was only one solution.

“Alright. I’ll be away for a while.”

– Are you leaving right now?

“Yes. I’ll take care of it all at once.”

– Understood. If anything urgent happens at the Ivory Tower, I’ll handle it as best I can, and if not, I’ll contact you.

“Just contact me…”

Maximine laughed on the other end of the coin.

– I have no intention of interrupting lovers’ honeymoon.

It’s not like that…

– I’m keeping a close eye on Elder Oliver, but still can’t get a clear read on the situation.

“I see. Thanks always. Just a bit more, please.”

– Bring back an expensive gift.

“Alright.”

She promised lightly.

Walking down the corridor of Schwert’s ducal residence, Beatrice glanced out the window.

Under the sunlight, the ducal residence stretched wide. She counted five iron gates and shrugged.

As a child, living outside the gates, she used to wonder about the noble people inside the mansion.

So Erich von Schwert becoming her first love might have been as inevitable as their eventual breakup…

Arriving at the Grand Duke’s office, she knocked. When permitted, she entered. He was reading documents with glasses on.

Through the glass, his eyes sparkled quietly. Even knowing Beatrice was approaching, Erich didn’t look up.