“What nonsense! Erin has barely held a sword. As long as I have eyes, such a thing will never happen! You know how fragile she is!”

“Why are you so angry? You never cared about Erin anyway,” Corelia replied, causing the Marquis to step backward. He carefully reached for his sword resting beside the desk.

As the Marquis grasped his weapon, Reken, standing beside him, drew his own sword and shouted, “My lady! Don’t move! I’ll attack if you come any closer!”

Ignoring his warning, Corelia approached the Marquis slowly, one step at a time. Reken was no match for her anyway.

“Don’t worry, Lloyd. Charlotte standing behind me is an exceptional black mage. Her puppet mastery is excellent too. Even if you disappeared right now, no one would notice.”

“…Reken!”

The Marquis signaled his knight to attack while trembling with the betrayal he felt from Corelia.

“Oh, by the way, did you know?” Corelia easily dodged the sword thrust toward her. Taking a blade handed to her by Charlotte, she continued, “Your daughter, Erin Liserth…”

“…”

“She actually received the Sword’s Blessing. Not Karon.”

“W-what?”

“Not that it matters anymore. Erin will never return alive from the western region. Even someone with Duke Asili’s skill would find it difficult.”

“What are you planning to do to Erin!” the Marquis shouted, pointing his sword at her.

Corelia tilted her head at the sight of the Marquis confronting her. “Shall I explain it simply? You will be imprisoned in the underground dungeon… and your daughter will soon die.”

“…”

“But don’t worry. If Erin dies, I’ll make sure you hear about it.” Corelia finished with a cruel smile.

* * *

While Ferdin was in his office with the knight candidates, Derek rushed in and exclaimed, “Is it true that Erin Liserth is going west for her promotion exam?”

At this question, Ferdin immediately sprang to his feet. As he hurried to find Erin, he recalled the day he first manifested his ability.

The first past he ever saw was his mother’s—the princess and saint of the Holy Kingdom conquered by the Empire, a woman forced to marry a man she didn’t love. In the past Ferdin witnessed, his mother had never once been happy.

He still couldn’t forget her reaction when he told her about his ability to see the past: her pale face and uncontrollably trembling hands. She had embraced him and wept for a long time. 

“Ferdin, you must never tell anyone that you can see the past. Trust no one except Hellix and Isis.”

From that moment, Ferdin became adept at lying. He grew accustomed to hiding his emotions to conceal the truth about his ability. Even now, only Duke Asili, Princess Asili, and his mother’s closest confidants from the Holy Kingdom knew the truth.

The fact that he possessed “Eyes That See Truth” remained a secret even from Derek.

‘If Ditrion had manifested this power, everyone would have celebrated,’ he thought. Sometimes, keeping a secret he couldn’t share even with his own people made his chest feel tight. He had occasionally wanted to tell someone the truth.

But the moment the Emperor learned that the ability had manifested in him rather than Ditrion, he wouldn’t survive.

‘I never even wanted this power.’

He hated his ability—or rather, despised it. The “Eyes That See Truth” were clear evidence that the Emperor’s blood flowed through him.

Yet in this moment, he was grateful for his ability. Before going to find her, he could recall fragmentary memories about Erin as his power activated. As always, he felt a headache like being stabbed with a sharp needle.

‘When I return, I must tell her.’ This was a thought he had had. Return from where?

But that wasn’t important now. Ferdin came to a fork in the road leading to the main gate and the back gate. Typically, knight candidates taking their promotion exam would leave through the main gate, receiving everyone’s encouragement. But Erin wouldn’t want that.

Though he couldn’t claim to know her completely, the Erin he knew was someone who silently walked her path while carrying all her burdens alone. Without hesitation, he headed for the back gate, where he spotted Erin as expected.

She was looking at him with surprise, clearly unable to believe he had appeared there

 ‘You were going to leave without saying anything.’

She had intended to walk that difficult path alone, to endure everything by herself again. He couldn’t bear the thought.

Ferdin approached her step by step.

“How did you…”

“Dame Erin, are you leaving for the west? Are you following His Majesty’s orders?”

“…”

“Don’t go, Dame Erin. You don’t need to obey such an unreasonable command.”

Like a hazy fog, his information was limited. But one thing was certain: Erin was pushing herself mercilessly, likely trying to twist the predetermined fate she knew awaited in the future.

“If you don’t want to go, I will help you,” he said. It was similar to what Ditrion had said, but the weight behind the words was different.

Erin felt her heart grow heavy.

* * *

Erin knew well how difficult it was for Ferdin to defy the Emperor’s words. As always, he was trying to sacrifice himself for her sake.

“No, I’m going. This is something I must do myself. Even if I were to abandon this mission with your help, His Majesty would simply assign another task—perhaps something even more difficult than going west.”

Ferdin looked down at Erin.

“Dame Erin, if I may ask, why don’t you reveal the truth?”

“…”

“You’ve already reached an incredible level. If you made that known, you could easily gain honor.”

“…”

“Every knight would likely admire you. You could even refuse His Majesty’s unreasonable commands. That’s the position a Sword Master holds.”

“…”

“So why hide that fact… and push yourself so hard?”

Seeing her reflection in Ferdin’s eyes, Erin stepped back hesitantly. What could she tell him? That he had died in the past? That she was certainly connected to his death? That she was going now to prevent it?

Could she say that?

The day after the party, Erin regretted being swept up in momentary emotion, behaving too eagerly to share everything with Ferdin. She disliked herself for it, feeling she hadn’t improved at all from her past self.

“I… I…”

Erin couldn’t continue. Ferdin firmly grasped her hand and looked into her eyes.

Startled by the sudden physical contact, Erin’s eyes widened. Yet Ferdin’s hand covering hers was surprisingly warm. His blue eyes held only her.

“Dame Erin, I have a secret I must hide even from those closest to me.”

“…”

“I can actually see the past. It’s an ability that manifests in those with strong Lexia Imperial blood.”

“Why are you telling me this…”

In the past, Ferdin had never told her about his ability. She had learned about it only after the Emperor had already discovered the truth.

“I apologize, Dame Erin. It wasn’t intentional, but I saw your past.”

His apology filled Erin with fear. Could the past Ferdin had seen be the moment when Corelia was telling everyone that everything was Erin’s fault?

“And in the inexplicable past I saw recently… I was clearly with you in that memory.”

“…”

“So the future you know… it’s actually a past you’ve experienced directly. Am I right?”

Hearing Ferdin’s words, Erin backed away, clearly wanting to escape. Ferdin couldn’t bring himself to hold her back.

“I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve been through or what you’re trying to change. But I… I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want to see you suffering.”