After witnessing the tremendous sacrifices of war, he lost the will to continue fighting. He even felt skepticism.

Looking at the wasteland turning red in the sunset, Claude suddenly turned his head toward Flora.

“People, whether strong or weak, can die regardless of their will.”

His gray eyes, which sometimes appeared as transparent as snow beneath his thickly shadowed eyelashes, were more sunken than ever before.

“The same applies to you.”

Flora blinked blankly as she listened to his words.

“If you want to survive, don’t act recklessly.”

Claude said, almost like a sigh.

“You don’t need to live the way you have until now.”

He stood up with a face devoid of any emotion.

Flora looked at him with eyes that showed some difficulty understanding, but he had already turned his head away.

* * *

After staying at the stone castle for a while, they mounted their horses again only after the sun had disappeared behind the ridge.

Throughout the journey back to the capital, Flora’s mind was complex as she rode on the fast-running horse. It was because Claude’s final words disturbed her thoughts.

Did he mean she should live differently from now on?

Turning her gaze from the front, Flora glanced sideways at Claude riding with a posture that showed not the slightest disorder.

Considering that he had deliberately brought her all the way here, the hidden meaning was singular.

He was reluctant not only about her taking action but also about her using a sword.

He wasn’t scolding her. Though she shouldn’t feel hurt by his tone tinged with apparent concern, somewhere inside she felt a dull ache.

How long had they been riding?

“Let’s rest for a moment.”

Looking at the sky that was gradually darkening, Claude suddenly gripped the reins and stopped his horse.

The place where they stopped was near a forest exuding the peaceful charm of the countryside.

As Claude headed to the lake to water his tired horse, Flora also led her horse in that direction. As if recognizing its owner, the docile white horse followed her commands well.

After letting the horses freely graze on the grass around the lake, the two sat side by side on a fallen log in the middle of a flat clearing.

“Come sit. We’ll rest briefly and leave before the gates close.”

“……Can we make it back today?”

Flora asked, looking around at the dark surroundings. Though possible if they hurried the horses, the pace would be slower than when they came, given the darkness.

“We’ll be fine if we rest briefly.”

“Oh, I have what the butler packed for us before we left.”

Opening the package the butler had given her, she found sandwiches. It also contained plenty of jerky and dried fruits for a light meal.

“I’m fine.”

“Still, please eat. You didn’t have breakfast.”

Flora insistently handed Claude a piece of dried fruit despite his indifference. He silently looked at it before reluctantly accepting.

Putting a piece of jerky in her mouth, Flora looked ahead. The breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and fragrant flowers. On days when she was assigned reconnaissance, she would enter forests like this and breathe in the forest air.

“Evening primroses are blooming.”

Flora tilted her head at the sudden topic. Then, following his gaze, she looked at the quiet lake.

Flowers were blooming abundantly around the lake.

“……Evening primroses?”

Flora, her eyes shining like a child’s, looked at the yellow flower buds glistening in the soft moonlight. The sight of pale white and yellow alternately bursting into bloom was simply mystical.

Dewdrops that slid down the long leaves rippled as they hit the calm surface of the lake. The round shape of the moon reflected in the undulating water folded tremblingly.

“They resemble you.”

“……Do they? I’m not as delicate as those flowers.”

Flora tilted her head and replied to Claude’s words.

“To my eyes, you resemble them.”

The emperor had named her Flora, saying the moment she defeated enemies was like a red blazing flower, but Claude’s impression was the opposite.

She wasn’t like a fiery image, but rather pure and delicate like an evening primrose shyly opening to soft light.

Under Claude’s steady gaze, Flora unconsciously averted her eyes. Somehow her insides tickled, and she didn’t know how to respond.

After that, Claude didn’t speak, but the warmth transmitted from his body pressed close without gaps. Only the sounds of small insects intruded around the quiet lake.

It was a place that evoked romantic sentiments. Perhaps it was because she was with Claude.

Flora hesitated several times before speaking.

“From now on, I won’t use a sword without your permission.”

“Even if the emperor commands it?”

Claude, who had been listening quietly, asked with a slight smile.

Only then did his expression seem to soften a bit, making Flora inwardly relieved. Regardless of how things went, she had no intention of fighting with a sword elsewhere without him.

Flora opened her eyes wide as if to emphasize her sincerity.

“I won’t do it if you hate it.”

He was silent for a moment before speaking. His characteristically low voice scattered.

“……Why do you trust my words so much?”

“That’s because……”

About to answer “because you’re my master,” Flora suddenly felt her throat tighten and bit her lip.

Surely that couldn’t be the only reason.

The fundamental reason was that she didn’t want to be hated by him. At some point, Flora had come to feel that being by his side was natural, and she enjoyed being with him so much that she barely even recognized it.

But after he got angry and left, the emotion she experienced for the first time in her life was sadness. She didn’t want to experience that chilling feeling in her heart again.

“It’s because you practically saved me, master.”

Claude’s eyes narrowed. Flora looked directly at his handsome face and continued.

“What you said at the beginning…… You said you would make me into a proper person. Actually, I didn’t know what that meant back then.”

Flora slowly revealed thoughts that had blossomed within her without her even noticing.

“But…… I think I understand now. That you’ve been taking care of me.”

Though she had found his kindness strange, she never hated it. Furthermore, she found his attitude that showed preferential treatment compared to others curious, but not at all unpleasant.

Perhaps all those feelings she had dismissed as “not disliking” were actually liking.

“From now on, I’ll be obedient.”

Flora realized she was saying surprisingly unfamiliar words even to herself, but they were her true feelings.

She didn’t want to anger him. She didn’t want to add herself as another burden in his difficult life.

She only wished to continue being together as they had been until now. Right now, she simply enjoyed being by his side.

“I like how things are now.”

Their gazes quietly locked. Her blue eyes, resembling the calm lake, looked straight at him.

Claude looked at her clear face before shifting his gaze to the side. After a long silence, his lips trembled a couple of times as if about to speak.

“Flora……”

Just as Claude reached out his hand to say something, a rustling sound came from behind them.

Their gazes collided simultaneously.

Claude grabbed the scabbard he had set down and immediately stood up. Flora, rising with him, remained alert and vigilant of their surroundings.

Soon, dark figures sprang out from behind the massive tree trunks that grew densely. As figures continued to appear, Claude laughed mockingly.

“Seeing how you’ve come in a group all the way to this countryside just to kill me, your master must be quite desperate.”

“……”

Despite Claude’s provocative tone, the men remained silent. They simply drew their swords quietly as if there was no need to exchange words.

In other words, they were men who came with only one purpose in mind.

At a rough estimate, more than twenty men surrounded them in an instant. Claude frowned and glared at them.

After quickly examining the men’s attire—black robes covering their entire bodies—and their swords, Flora pressed close to Claude and moved her lips.

“I think they’re the same ones from before.”

“I didn’t sense their presence. Tsk, information has leaked. Use this.”

Claude, gritting his teeth, handed her a spare sword without taking his sharp eyes off them.

Though the situation was urgent and taking action was appropriate, the duke was so reluctant about using swords that Flora hesitated a little before asking.

“May I…… fight too?”

“If you don’t want to die, you have to fight, what choice do we have?”

Claude, speaking jokingly in this situation, glared at the enemies impassively without showing any sign of surprise.

“Kill them or spare them, do as you see fit.”

As soon as Claude finished speaking, blades gleaming in the moonlight flew at them simultaneously.

* * *

The savage noise of swords clashing echoed through the once quiet forest. Red blood splattered everywhere from the quick thrusting and withdrawing of swords.

While blocking attacks that came with the sole intention of taking her life, Flora kicked the stomach of a man charging from the side. The man hit a rock with his back and let out a groan, unable to withstand the impact.

The men who had initially rushed at Claude seemed inwardly confused by Flora’s unexpected skill.

“Kill that woman too!”

Seemingly having no choice, a man standing in the middle of the enemies divided their numbers in half to face each opponent.