By the time they reached the pier where the seagulls cried, the weather had turned clear and radiant. A fresh wind swept across the blue sky—the very wind that had once carried Hellingern Harbor to prosperity.

Liana, her hair cut short to her shoulders and a worn brown vest draped over her back, gazed at the shabby port.

Once, Hellingern had been the grandest harbor city in Ideana. But after its people abandoned it, the warehouses along the docks had emptied, left to weeds and dust, while the signboards of taverns once overflowing with sailors had crumbled into ruin.

And yet, the harbor’s central street was stirring back to life. Vitel ships, coming and going to deliver supplies to Castle Faradel, had brought with them faint traces of its old vigor.

It was a strange sight. What had drawn people back? What instinct had guided them? How could a land thought long dead breathe again so soon?

As the sound of the blue waves reached her ears, Liana’s thoughts drifted.

Just then, Greeta held out a slip of paper.

“Lea.”

It was the new name she would bear. Beneath it were written her basic details—identity, family relations, and a fabricated past.

‘Lea’ had supposedly grown up on a small island of the Sizzlon Archipelago under House Vitel, sometimes running errands for the family. The record had been arranged so the Vitel household could vouch for her past if necessary.

“Memorize it and burn it afterward?”

Liana asked, staring at Greeta. She already knew the woman would not answer, but she looked at her anyway.

And then—

“Of course, Lady Lea.”

A hand tapped her shoulder lightly. Startled, she turned to find a man in plain clothes: a cap pulled low, suspenders strapped over his shirt.

It took her a moment to realize it was Eclace Vitel.

How astonishing that a mere change of clothing could alter his presence so completely. At a glance, even she would not have recognized him.

“Congratulations on making it safely to Hellingern, Lady Lea.”

He spoke naturally, calling her by her new name, as he stood at her side.

“My lord, that appearance is…”

“Egon Benesch.”

“…Pardon?”

“My name, Lea—and Egon.”

He gestured between himself and Liana, introducing their new identities.

Eclace seemed intent on moving about with his identity concealed. This was Hellingern, a harbor now slowly revived under the hand of the Vitel Trading House. Which meant, of course, that most people here would recognize him. He had no desire to draw attention—nor to unsettle others with the news that the young Viscount himself had arrived.

Greeta, who must have witnessed him don such disguises many times before, stood by without the slightest flicker of surprise.

“Get used to your new name. From now on, Liana will cease to exist in this world.”

Eclace—no, Egon—guided her toward the inner streets of the town as he spoke. He reassured her that unless her acting was clumsy beyond measure, there was little risk of their forged identities being exposed.

“Our family takes pride in its identity-forging techniques. I dare say, they’re the finest in the Empire,”

It was hardly the sort of skill a count’s household ought to boast of. The practice was illegal, tied to countless other illicit dealings.

‘…Is there something I don’t know?’

Yet, in another sense, it felt obvious. The reach of House Vitel’s intelligence had always been so vast it was said to rival divine power. People often spoke of the “birds of Vitel,” carrying information from every corner of the world.

‘Those who gather such secrets must be moving about under these forged identities as well…’

If all the world’s knowledge flowed into Vitel’s hands, then surely such clandestine means were necessary.

Perhaps the “Vitel Trading House,” thought to be nothing more than a merchant company, was in truth closer to an underworld syndicate. To amass the Empire’s greatest fortune, their hands could not possibly have remained clean.

Liana rolled the unfamiliar new name over in her mind.

“I keep gaining more names…”

“Everyone does. No one lives with only one name.”

Egon replied easily, slipping an arm lightly over her shoulder as his eyes pointed toward the distance.

At the end of his gaze sat a middle-aged woman shooing flies outside a shabby fish shop.

“See that woman? Her name’s Joanna. But I’ve never once heard her called that.”

Joanna was more often addressed as “Paul’s mother,” “Madam Hans,” “the fish seller,” “auntie,” “that smelly woman.” Among the countless customers who had passed through her shop over the years, almost none knew her given name.

“People live with many faces. I do too.”

Egon smiled with Eclace’s familiar charm. It wasn’t about deceit or hypocrisy. A person could be a shrewd merchant, a timid sibling, a cheerful friend, or a stern parent—all at once.

“Luise, Liana, Lea—these are simply among the many names you’ll carry. Names change, but the essence does not.”

Spoken that way, the matter suddenly seemed trivial. After all, neither Luise nor Liana were names tied to happy memories.

And yet, foolishly, a lingering attachment remained. Perhaps because cutting the last thread that bound her to him was something she still could not bring herself to do.

Liana lifted her eyes to the wide sea stretching far beyond.

‘Forget it, Liana.’

She let the salty wind sweeping in from the sea carry away the remnants of regret.

And then, willingly, she accepted the new name—Lea.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

Lea and Greeta followed Egon down toward the docks. There, moored against the worn piers of the small town, was a merchant ship far too large for such a modest harbor.

“Fortunately, Hellingern’s port facilities were left intact enough that with only a little repair, they’re still quite serviceable.”

In the past, when Ideana was at the heart of trade, ships the size of houses would sail in and out of this harbor every day.

“Do you see that ship?”

Egon pointed towards the largest vessel in the harbor. The name ‘Fedica’ was painted in white letters across its massive hull. Standing at nearly five storeys tall with sails spread wide like wings, the ship appeared capable of carrying an entire town away.

Although Lea had seen many ports in her travels, this was by far the grandest merchant vessel she had ever laid eyes on. At the top of its tall mast, a banner bearing the sigil of House Vitel — a hawk clutching silver scales in its talons — fluttered in the breeze. Undoubtedly, that colossal ship had brought the supplies and aid needed to rebuild Ideana.

“Liana Serpens will board that ship. It’s bound for the northern kingdom of Blancas.”

Blancas—a vast kingdom in the Empire’s north. Once dismissed as nothing more than barbaric nomads, in recent years they had quelled their civil wars, risen in strength, and forged a monarchy formidable enough to threaten the Empire itself. Shed’s countless campaigns—marching to the front lines and returning time and again—had all been fought against Blancas’s relentless provocations.

Most recently, they had even managed to isolate the Emperor, shaking the Empire to its very core—until Shed turned the tide by rescuing the Emperor himself. For this, he had been rewarded with dominion over Ideana.

And now here was Vitel, boldly dispatching ships of such scale to trade with a kingdom the Empire could scarcely call its ally. Lea could not help but marvel at the cunning of the Vitel Trading House.

“Then… am I to be sent to Blancas?”

“No. Our Lea.”

Egon replied, laying a firm hand on her shoulder before turning her gently the other way.”

“Will board that ship.”

Across the dock floated a far smaller vessel, rocking idly on the waves. To Lea’s eyes, it looked far too meager for any long journey, let alone for flight into exile.

“The big ships draw too many eyes. Too many mouths to silence.”

Egon explained in his usual smooth, unhurried tone.

“No matter how carefully you prepare, secrets always find a way to slip through the smallest of openings.”

For this reason, he had filled the small vessel with people he trusted implicitly.

“And where does this ship go?”

Lea asked. She had no idea what her destination would be.

Egon smiled.

“Not far. It’s always darkest beneath the lamp, after all.”

With an easy step, he sprang lightly onto the deck.

“You said you wanted a quiet, peaceful life, didn’t you?”

Egon’s smile broadened, warm and almost playful.

Before leaving Faradel, he had once asked her where she wished to live. Back then, she had quietly answered that she wanted a life of peace. She only wished to be free, cut away from everything.

“I’ll take you to the greatest paradise on earth.”

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

Perhaps it was the strain of fleeing so quickly, moving in constant fear from Faradel to Hellingern. For the moment Lea set foot on the boat, sleep claimed her. The waves rocked her gently, and she surrendered to the sea’s lullaby.

When her eyes opened again, there was no water—only a meadow drenched in sunlight. Warm rays spilled over grass that glittered as if brushed with silver dust. Above stretched a flawless sky, where soft clouds drifted like ornaments hung in blue. Between blades of tender green, white wildflowers bloomed in clusters, gleaming like fallen starlight. The air was so pure that every breath filled her with quiet joy.

Then—a bird fluttered before her eyes. Its feathers gleamed white, as though sunlight itself had taken wing. No larger than the palm of her hand, the little creature circled her, its eyes as fresh and green as spring buds. Spellbound, Lea reached out her hand. The bird’s wings beat softly, then it darted away, skimming across the meadow.

She followed, the grass whispering against her ankles with every step. The bird guided her up a gentle hill. At its crest stood a great lemon tree in full bloom, its branches heavy with blossoms white as snow. A sharp, sweet fragrance filled the air, tickling her nose. Never had she seen a tree so vast. Its canopy spread like a great zelkova, casting a shade wide enough to embrace her whole.

The bird vanished into the thick branches, wings stirring the blossoms as it went. Lea’s steps carried her to the summit.

And there—beneath the lemon tree—stood a man in a white shirt.

She knew him at once, even from behind.

Her heart lurched.

“Luise.”

As she stopped in her tracks, the man beneath the tree turned to greet her.

And on his cheek bloomed a smile—one she hadn’t seen in a very, very long time.