After washing up, Jens had already freshened himself and was scribbling something in a notebook in the hotel lobby. During their meal together, Aira couldn’t collect her emotions and merely pushed her food around with her fork, but Jens was considerate enough not to speak to her further.

Later, as she sat in a daze while having dessert, a bellboy whispered something to him. Jens nodded and called to her.

“Cadet.”

“Yes.”

“We should head back. It’s getting late.”

The sun was already setting. Aira brushed off her yellow skirt and stood up.

Gesturing for her to follow, Jens led her outside. They approached an automatic carriage where the bellboy was loading several large bags. It was an upper-class carriage pulled by an automata horse. Judging by the elaborate pattern engraved on its side, it appeared to be a private carriage belonging to a specific family.

“Me?”

Aira thought the carriage with the luggage couldn’t be meant for her, as neither she nor Jens had any bags.

But Jens directed her toward the door that the bellboy was holding open.

“Get in.”

“What about those bags?”

“They’re yours.”

“What?”

“Young master!”

Someone called out to Jens and came running from inside the hotel, having apparently just arrived. Aira’s eyes widened when she saw him.

“Mr. Kle?”

It was Kle, Jens’s personal secretary. He bowed politely to Aira.

“It’s been a while, Miss Til.”

While Aira hesitated at the awkward form of address, Jens spoke to him.

“Did you get everything?”

“Is it really appropriate to order me around like this when I’m busy preparing for your departure?”

“My subordinates handle my departure preparations. What do you do?”

“Really now. And who’s supposed to manage the estate while you’re away?”

Shaking his head, Kle abruptly handed Aira a paper bag.

“Are these your belongings, miss?”

Aira took it uncertainly and looked inside to find the small bag she had borrowed from her classmate.

Come to think of it, she had completely ruined all the items she’d borrowed from her classmates.

As she worried about what to do, the conversation between the two men continued above her head.

“I worked hard to get everything on short notice. Madam Broe’s dress was quickly altered using Miss Sharne Lu’s pattern. I also brought Madam Feia’s white shoes in size 3.5, Coste Boutique’s chiffon corset, and the purple hairpin series from Higros Accessories. Is that correct?”

“Wisteria?”

“Yes.”

Aira’s eyes widened. Could it be that the items Kle had procured were…

“Did you replace all my things? How? Even I don’t know where they all came from…”

Kle smiled mischievously at the bewildered Aira.

“Miss Til. You should know this. The young master can accomplish anything he sets his mind to.”

“What?”

“Of course, that’s by working me to the bone.”

Aira turned to Jens in astonishment, but he simply pushed her into the automatic carriage without concern.

“You must be tired, so get some sleep on the way. The driver is from our family, so don’t worry.”

“Um, well…”

“We need to hurry if we’re going to arrive on time. Goodbye then.”

“Wait a moment! Ah…”

Not knowing what to say, Aira stammered, then noticed the bandage wrapped around his forehead and blurted out:

“Thank you for today, and I’m sorry.”

To Aira, who bowed her head while half-perched on the seat, Jens spoke softly.

“If you understand, then take better care.”

“…”

“Don’t worry about the other matters. I’ll handle them.”

Though he didn’t specify the subject, he was probably telling her to be careful with her lifespan.

He knew everything—that she had used her magic to annihilate the terrorists in the front compartment. And he was saying he would take care of the aftermath. But it was too much.

“Why are you doing so much for me?”

The question came out impulsively. Jens paused as he was about to close the door.

He quietly let his gaze travel from the top of her head to her face, and down to the hem of her yellow dress before speaking softly.

“I probably won’t be able to return for several years.”

Though she had somewhat expected this, Aira’s heart sank.

“Letters too. Oculer and Conifer were fine, but Lüet is far away and there are many pirates, so correspondence is problematic. The Arctic is completely impossible. As your guardian, I can only provide indirect help from now on.”

“…”

“If you need anything, tell Kle. He can help with most things. And if you’re in danger, let him know.”

“So you’re really leaving.”

“Yes.”

Aira remembered why she had wanted to meet him. She still hadn’t received an answer.

Why. Why had his fate changed? Why had he abandoned the Elika Ter and chosen the Paul Nor?

“Why are you going to the Arctic?”

At Aira’s question, a smile spread across his face. With his back to the others, it was a smile only she could see.

Aira was entranced by this unfamiliar smile. Something vibrant appeared beneath his gray eyes, which she had thought contained only burned-out ashes.

He spoke in a small voice, sharing something precious.

“To find a ‘flower.'”

“A flower?”

“Yes. That’s also the answer to your question from before.”

Jens straightened up and closed the carriage door. Aira clung to the window. Jens reached out, appearing ready to pat her head, then withdrew his hand awkwardly.

“I’m going to fulfill my wish.”

Aira’s eyes widened. Seeing her expression, Jens smiled again and gestured for the carriage to depart.

“Take care of yourself.”

The carriage pulled away with Aira, who couldn’t say a word. Jens slowly let the smile fade from his lips.

They would probably never see each other again.

Without taking his eyes off the disappearing carriage, Jens quietly asked Kle:

“Is everything settled?”

“Yes. We found and disposed of the young lady’s dress fragments and chiffon corset before the ‘dogs’ could. All other small items too. The dress left at the hotel was immediately incinerated.”

“The witnesses?”

“Most testimonies were about the terrorists. Nothing else was mentioned about the front compartment.”

“The knife.”

“One of our planted agents secured and cleaned it thoroughly. But just in case…”

“Don’t worry unnecessarily. The information won’t reach the investigative agencies. I’m the military’s disgrace, after all.”

All this time, the military had carefully concealed the fact that Jens couldn’t hold weapons.

So the investigative agencies would believe without question that it was Jens, not Aira—merely a cadet of three months—who had dealt with the terrorists.

“Young master.”

“Ah, I almost forgot. Take this.”

Jens pointed to the pocket of his coat, which he had deliberately kept on after leaving Aira’s room.

Kle looked at him questioningly, but at Jens’s urging, reluctantly reached into the coat pocket.

He let out a short sigh at what his fingertips touched.

“You managed to keep it.”

“That woman. Damn…”

Jens turned away, unable to bear watching the revolver pass into Kle’s possession, and reached into his opposite pocket. Similarly, his hand closed around something that had belonged to his former fiancée.

He had already confirmed it when he found it on the train floor. Inside the aqua-colored magic stone, small jewel-like objects still floated, glimmering. Magic power remained within.

‘So she used up her own lifespan instead of using this. What kind of hell did she live through to…’

But Jens shook his head. He had done all he could for her as an adult and as a guardian. He had given all the advice he could. The rest of her life was her own responsibility; she would have to navigate it herself.

Fortunately for her, the Empire had no capacity to turn its attention toward her. Every day, civil wars erupted where princes and princesses washed blood with more blood.

And the 3rd Prince at the center of it all was fighting such a horrific war that he needed to leave his sister Aira in the Republic’s care for her protection.

So they would likely be unable to interfere with her until she reached adulthood, several years from now.

Meanwhile, the Archipelago’s movements were suspicious, but they were treading carefully to advance their relationship with the Republic. They wouldn’t dare touch a cadet who was Republic property and bound by treaty.

Though something felt unsettling, there was nothing more he could do. He had his own life to live.

The unexpected connection he had formed with the princess who had tumbled into his ship, the Nautile, would now end. Whatever life she lived afterward would have nothing to do with him as he departed for distant shores.

Jens blinked away the clear purple light imprinted on his retina and got into the carriage heading for Oculer.

* * *

“What did you say?”

“It’s a package from Commander Jens Will.”

Sharaan Schedel, who had been elegantly enjoying tea time with her mother at their mansion, widened her eyes.

Her former fiancé, who had run off from that chaotic train without permission, had given no news of whether he was dead or alive since then. And now, instead of coming himself, he had sent someone with this—not even a single flower included.

How dare he leave me all alone? Sharaan fumed inwardly.

“Sharaan. You absolutely must not accept it. No matter if he is the Will family heir, he was incredibly rude to you. Even if he comes begging on his knees, don’t give him a second glance.”

“That man would never do such a thing.”

Though Sharaan cut her mother off, she couldn’t help but harbor some hope as she turned away and opened the package.

“…”

Inside the package was the revolver she had given him, now thoroughly cleaned, along with a small note.

[Please refrain from illegal activities. – Jens Will.

P.S. To avoid misunderstanding, I’m returning this without adding any jewelry. Please understand.

P.S. 2. I sincerely recommend that you consider military enlistment.]

Trembling with anger, Sharaan picked up the object beneath the note. The ring, with its large jewel removed, revealed its ugly hollow interior.

“Jens Will, you bastard!”

As Sharaan bellowed in her loud voice—taking after her father with her large voice and crude language—her mother simply shook her head and silently left the room.