“You’ve been coming more often lately.”

“I’ll be busy soon, so I wanted to come while I can. Autumn is always full of work.”

It was the season of abundance, and as winter drew near, trade within the merchant company only grew heavier. Once the cold set in, it would be difficult for him to make time.

Eclace cast a wistful glance toward Eve’s room, where she lay fast asleep.

“Each time I visit, she’s grown. Like a new sprout in spring.”

He recalled how much more articulate she had become. The last time, she had only managed to string together a few simple words.

Lea agreed with him. The tiny child who had once fit into her palms now walked, ran, and spoke with ease.

“Not long ago, she started trying to do tumbling—pressing her little hands to the ground as if she could flip herself over. She seems to be developing faster than other children her age… Could it be our Eve is a genius?”

Egon stroked his chin, adopting an exaggerated air of seriousness. After all, it was no small thing for a three-year-old to speak with such fluency. Hadn’t she climbed a tree recently, too? She was growing up much faster than most children.

Seeing how doting he was, Lea let out a soft laugh.

“That must be it. I was never so lively myself, but she’s healthy—just like her father…”

The words slipped out before she realized her mistake. She stopped short, knowing she had spoken of Shed in front of Egon.

She knew he disliked hearing his name, and yet…

“I’m sorry, Egon.”

At times, when she looked at Eve, she could not help but see Shed’s shadow overlap with her daughter’s features. Especially the way her lips curved when she smiled—it hurt to see how much it resembled him.

“You know… I think it’s a blessing that Eve resembles you so closely. Those round, beautiful eyes, and her hair as well.”

Egon gently brushed a hand through her hair. Thanks to the dye he continually provided, Lea kept her hair brown, yet he knew the truth of the golden locks hidden beneath.

Beneath his long lashes, his crimson eyes burned with something unspoken.

Lea averted her gaze, unable to meet his for long.

At some point, he had begun to draw nearer, more and more often. His presence was steadily filling her life.

This island, this house, this family, this peace, all of it belonged to Eclace Vitel.

And so did Eve.

To her young daughter, he was no different from real family.

Lost in thought, Lea finally parted her lips heavily.

“Lord Egon…As I told you before, you don’t need to go so far as to look after us directly.”

Her voice was earnest, her hands clasped tightly together.

She didn’t dislike him or find his presence burdensome. Quite the opposite, in fact. She was deeply grateful for all he had done for Eve and for her.

But she never forgot that “Egon” was, in truth, “Eclace.”

“One day, this relationship will have to end… and I think keeping some distance will be better for you as well, my lord.”

“Lea.”

“I know it’s selfish. But I don’t want Eve to be hurt.”

The thought pierced her heart like a thorn: what if Eve grew up believing that Egon was her real father? She had been afraid of that possibility ever since. Although she was grateful, she therefore always tried to keep her distance from him.

“Is that why you refuse to use the allowance I send?”

“…What?”

“I mean the money I provide for your living expenses.”

Egon’s eyes fell on her roughened hands.

On Janna Island, there was no need for Lea to work. Everything here was under Eclace’s control. Whenever she needed anything, he had given her more than enough to live comfortably.

But she had saved every bit of the allowance he sent, choosing instead to scrape together her living through odd jobs in the village.

“…Even without the allowance, I already owe you far too much, my lord.”

Lea smiled awkwardly.

Regardless of the allowance, the support she received from him was immense.

Because Janna Island was so isolated, Eclace had a monopoly on the marketplace. Goods were sold at a fraction of their true value — sometimes even given away for free. This was House Vitel’s way of supporting retired birds.

And every time he came, the gifts he brought far exceeded what she could spend in a month.

So yes, earning her own living was almost meaningless. But still—depending on him entirely felt wrong. She wanted, at least in some small way, to sustain herself.

“If you’ve thought of everything I give you as a debt, then I must admit, I’m a little hurt…”

“…What?”

“There’s no debt between family. We simply live together.”

Egon’s face carried quiet disappointment as he looked at her.

Lea brushed her hair awkwardly behind her ear, smiling faintly.

And in moments like this, she felt the gap between them all the more. He often spoke as if they truly were a family.

“But the contract ends in just a few years.”

Lea reminded him that the contract was about to expire. There was less than a year left. Immediately, his expression hardened. Lea knew why he looked like that. So she quickly changed the subject.

“I just… if I live only on money without doing anything myself, I feel powerless. Useless.”

Egon’s hand came down gently over hers.

“Lea, I truly raise Eve as if she were my own.”

“But someday, you’ll have a real family of your own, my lord.”

She slipped her hand free from his.

He was the Viscount of the wealthy House Vitel. One day, he would inherit the title and establish a household worthy of his name. He would have a ‘real family’, with children to continue the Vitel bloodline.

She could not rely on his affection forever.

“Lea.”

“Is there any news of Lord Lester?”

Pretending not to hear him call her name, Lea shifted the subject.

The moment Shed’s name was mentioned, Egon pressed his lips together. He knew full well she had raised it deliberately.

Whenever she forced herself to face reality, she always spoke of Shed Lester. She knew such words would wound Eclace, yet she said them anyway. It was her way of keeping distance between them.

But he was too seasoned a merchant, too skilled at dealing with people, to be shaken by such small struggles.

“They say he’ll be back from Blancas soon. I suppose he thinks it’s time he started attending to his domain again.”

Egon’s voice was steady as he relayed the news of Shed.

Four years ago, he had marched into the war with Blancas. The conflict dragged on for more than a year. At the Emperor’s command, Shed Lester seized one major city after another across Blancas. The title of “undefeated hero” did not falter, not even in that war.

‘There had been a few crises, of course.’

After being cursed with black magic, he lost the ability to use his aura. Perhaps because of this, he asked Eclace to gather information on black magic. Yet he never managed to regain it.

In Blancas, they realised that his condition was unnatural and exploited that weakness. In order to take down Shed, they sent three Swordmasters against him.

Cut off entirely from the Imperial army, he was left isolated. His life and death were unknown for nearly a month.

‘I thought he was dead… but he returned with the enemy general’s head in hand.’

Half a month later, he stumbled back in a state close to collapse, carrying the head of a Blancas general.

He limped on a rotting leg, left untreated too long. No one knew how a man who had neither eaten nor drunk properly could still manage to bring back the head of a general.

Some even whispered that his isolation itself had been part of his plan.

‘No aura, and yet he faced three Swordmasters alone? Who would ever call that a strategy?’

It was an absurd notion.

And yet, Eclace could not completely dismiss the thought. Because Shed Lester had often done incomprehensible, reckless things.

‘…To find Liana Serpens.’

Eclace’s gaze drifted to the woman sitting across from him.

The head Shed had returned with after half a month in near-death. It had belonged to the general who had orchestrated the seizure of the Fedica. The very ship Liana Serpens was said to have boarded.

‘Relentless.’

Eclace found his relentless pursuit extremely irritating.

Even after returning in a shattered state, he rose again. As soon as the priests had healed his body with their holy power, he threw himself back into the battlefield. He was truly monstrous.

By the end of the war, the Empire had conquered Blancas completely.

But even then, Shed Lester did not return.

He offered himself to the Emperor as governor of Blancas, clinging to a single piece of information—that Liana might be there.

With the intelligence Eclace supplied and his own mobility, he scoured every corner of Blancas.

And thus, once more, he devoted long years to that land.

Egon’s crimson eyes quietly fixed on the woman before him.

She knew nothing.

Nothing of why Shed Lester had hurled himself into the war with Blancas.
Nothing of why he had seized Calais Port before the capital.
Nothing of why he had named himself governor of Blancas.

All she knew were Shed Lester’s blazing victories, the radiant glory of the young governor.

“He is returning…”

Lea whispered softly, recalling the brilliance of his triumphs.