Since he occasionally made plans to imprison her, it wasn’t that surprising. Just that the timeline had been moved up.

He sat down beside Rosé and looked up at the full moon through the window. With less than a year left, Lian’s given time would soon end.

If the tower really appeared, what should he do? Should he wait endlessly for his disciple to come out, like that day twenty-eight years ago? Or should he rather pray that he never comes out?

“Going home is out of the question this time too.”

He laughed bitterly. The reality hadn’t changed at all from his past as Lian’s master. Would it be strange to feel happy despite that?

He stroked Rosé’s hair as she began to groan, perhaps having a nightmare. He was already messed up. How could he feel glad about not being able to return to his homeland?

* * *

No! Dad, don’t go!

A child’s crying echoed through the labyrinth. The child, desperately reaching out, walked, almost crawling up the stairs piled with corpses.

In the distance, a bl＊＊d-stained cloak hem was visible. It was the back of her father whom she had been crying out for.

Dad, take me with you too! Hic, Dad!

The man seemed to turn his head but then focused ahead again. He headed upward. It was a high staircase that the child couldn’t climb.

You said you’d stay with me. You said we’d go back together. Huuugh……!

The child continued to crawl up the stairs, unaware that her knees were being torn. Climbing over corpse after corpse, her body became mottled with bl＊＊d.

It took a full day to reach the top floor. She was cold and hungry. Having desperately chased after the man, she staggered like she would die soon.

Dad……!

The child reached out toward his back that she had finally reclaimed.

In front of him, a sword fell to the floor with a clang. Still with his back turned to the child, he spoke toward the empty air.

God. My wish is……

Paat—!

“Are you conscious?”

Rosé opened her eyes with a start. An unfamiliar woman was looking down at her with concern.

“Where… am I?”

“You’re in the intensive care room inside the headquarters. Don’t you remember?”

Surprised by her own hoarse voice, Rosé frowned and shook her head. It still felt like she was in a dream. Her whole body was drenched in sweat. Like that child in her dream who was covered in bl＊＊d.

“You were lucky. I thought abilities wouldn’t work on you, but it seems you just take longer to respond. No pain now, right?”

When Rosé nodded, the woman lightly rose from her chair as if she had expected it.

“Go see Sir Emmett later. He’s been pacing outside the door since yesterday and only returned to the commander’s office an hour ago. I’ve never seen a grown man cry like that before.”

She could hardly focus on the woman’s words. The vivid voice from her nightmare lingered in her ears.

“Rest for now.”

The woman pointed out the location of a water bowl and some light snacks on the table before leaving the treatment room.

After staring blankly at the closed door, Rosé felt her face. She was just sweaty with no wounds. Unlike the child in her dream who was full of bruises and injuries.

“Dad……”

The voice flowed out as if in her sleep. Rosé flinched and closed her mouth, furrowing her brow.

It was strange. Though she occasionally missed her family, she had never called for her Dad since the possession.

Moreover, the Dad in her dream felt… somewhat different.

— God. My wish is……

‘Wish……’

The man who was looking up at the empty space with his back to the child. But she could only remember the large shadow cast on the floor, not his face.

From the moment she woke up, everything she had seen in her dream began to blur.

Her head felt heavy. Rosé pressed her throbbing forehead and looked into the mirror on the table.

— Draw your sword. I’ll reevaluate you myself. Rosé Mora.

‘It hurt so much.’

It was the first time she had lost so much bl＊＊d. The wound must have been quite large, but now her neck was clean as if nothing had happened.

‘Is this… ointment?’

An unidentified liquid was spread from below her ear to her entire nape. Unfortunately, its whitish color made her think of something. Should she say it looked exactly like s*men?

Like something that had been stored for a month or two……

‘s*men, really.’

Rosé snickered while wiping off the mucus with a towel. Despite her intimate relationship with s*men, the idea of it being medicine was ridiculous.

Saying it made no sense, she wrung out the towel, and the water in the bowl turned cloudy.

Rosé frowned and turned her eyes to the water pitcher. She would need to pour fresh water.

* * *

That afternoon, Rosé left the treatment room intending to report her condition at the commander’s office.

But no sooner had she stepped into the corridor than she met eyes with someone approaching.

It was Raiden. His usually neat hair was disheveled, and he looked haggard, perhaps due to his dark complexion.

Rosé unconsciously took a step back. Though it was an accident, she remembered the moment when the tip of his sword had touched her.

Looking at her with indecipherable eyes, Raiden spoke in a hoarse voice.

“……I heard from Lady Ellinia that the treatment was successful. Are you really alright?”

Rosé suddenly realized that the treatment room was behind her. Could it be that Raiden had come to check on her condition?

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

His voice lightened, perhaps from the momentary release of tension. Rosé widened her eyes when she saw the brief smile that appeared on his lips. The person seemed to have changed in the meantime.

“Were you heading back to the dormitory?”

“No.”

Rosé hesitated before adding.

“I was on my way to the commander’s office. I thought I should report my condition……”

There was nothing to hide. Reporting her physical condition to the commander was, in a way, only natural as a member of the order.

But was it the heavy atmosphere? She found it difficult to mention meeting Emmett to him. Perhaps because of that very expression Raiden was making now.

“I see.”

Raiden, feeling his expression freeze, raised his hand as if to wipe his mouth.

“Go ahead then.”

“Ah…… yes.”

Rosé passed by him with quick steps, as if she had been waiting for those words.

For a moment, Raiden’s hand floated in the air. Perhaps trying to hold her back.

He dropped his hand with self-mockery. His finger joints tingled with each breath, as if his heart were attached to his hand.

He could never become like Emmett. After questioning himself countless times during the sleepless night, the conclusion remained the same.

He couldn’t abandon Eliza. Therefore, he never had the opportunity to express his feelings to that woman from the beginning.

Unlike Emmett, who had never loved the Princess, Eliza was once a woman he had loved.

‘Please come to your senses.’

He kept telling himself as he turned away. The direction was opposite to Rosé’s.

* * *

When Rosé arrived at the commander’s office, commotion was in full swing inside. Urgent voices leaked through the door.

“Commander, please reconsider the Captain’s dismissal!”

“Please! Commander!”

“No knight has led the First Division longer than Captain Raiden. Don’t you know that, Commander!”

Rosé’s hand, which was about to open the door, retreated. First Division members were inside the commander’s office.

“Raiden endangered a new member’s life with reckless sparring. Whether intentional or not, the fact that he drew a real sword remains unchanged. My decision is final.”

‘Sir Raiden dismissed?’

The sudden news was confusing. Emmett’s voice sounded cold, unlike the person she knew.

‘But……’

Rosé bit her lip hard. What happened during the match that day was an accident.

His drawing a real sword was wrong, but it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t refused to accept defeat and recklessly raised her sword.

In the end, she had recovered. Though she lost consciousness for a while, she was now perfectly fine without even a scar.

‘Dismissal is too harsh.’

Perhaps a pay cut would be better.

After experiencing the misery of low wages and the jealousy toward colleagues who received higher pay for the same work for about a year, perhaps then Raiden would understand the Black Cloak’s feelings.

Rosé made up her mind and opened the door. The members who had been quietly engaged in a staring contest inside the commander’s office all turned to look at her at once.

Emmett, who had been giving them disapproving looks, did the same. He widened his eyes and rushed to her.

“Are you alri… Are you alright?”

He quickly corrected his speech, having almost used honorifics as when they were alone. She also awkwardly used formal language.

“I am fine. Thank you for your concern, Commander.”

“I should thank… thank Ellinia.”

Rosé nodded along with Emmett, then became conscious of the members’ stares fixed on her. Patrick was among them.

He looked at Rosé with a face mixed with apology and desperation. He seemed confused, torn between guilt for not stopping Raiden and the desire to save him nonetheless.

Rosé slowly opened her mouth.

“……Commander. Is it true that you are dismissing Captain Raiden?”

“Yes. I cannot keep a knight who threatens the lives of members under my authority.”

While speaking, Emmett avoided her eyes. Silence flowed between them for a moment. After a long while, Rosé looked straight into his eyes and spoke.

“I do not wish for Sir Raiden’s dismissal, Commander. Won’t you reconsider?”

Emmett’s eyebrows wavered for a moment. He tried to discern other intentions while pretending to examine her, but found no special meaning in her tightly closed lips.