Chapter 15

It was late autumn or maybe early winter, just as the air was starting to turn cold—much like now. After more than a year of seeing each other, Edith, for the very first time, asked him to come to Berg. She’d worried he might refuse, but thankfully, he came to see her not long after.

“Would you like to take a walk?”

When Maximilian showed up, Edith suggested a walk through the streets, still wrapped in the chilly dawn frost. Instead of answering, he simply took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders—a silent yes. She tried to look as composed as possible, but he must have sensed that something about her was different that day.

“Have you been well?”

His casual greeting made Edith smile a little awkwardly. Then, for a moment, she fell silent. She’d made up her mind, but when the time came, she found herself a little afraid. It was nothing like her boldness at the start. Maybe, back then, she hadn’t really been brave—maybe it was just the opposite. She was terrified that this might be the end of them. That’s why she could push her way through when it came to the letters, but when it came to a proposal—something that could end everything—she couldn’t find the words.

In the long, stubborn silence, the crunch of leaves under their feet was the only sound between them. In the end, it was Maximilian who broke the quiet.

“My overseas assignment ends this year.”

The comment came out of nowhere—especially since she hadn’t asked. She couldn’t quite react, so Maximilian—rare for him—continued.

“Next year, I’ll be coming back to Berg. No, I will be coming back.”

“……”

“I’ve already bought an estate nearby. Once I move, we’ll be able to see each other much more often.”

Their steps, which had been gradually slowing, finally came to a stop. Facing the same direction, the two of them stood in the cold, early morning street, looking at each other. There was a hint of nervousness on his face.

“Edith.”

“Yes?”

His gaze, unusually deep and heavy, slid down her face. For some reason, Edith found it hard to meet his eyes, and she lowered her head. Then, his large hand reached out and lifted her chin. Their eyes met again, and the intensity of his gaze was so overwhelming that she couldn’t even think of looking away. She didn’t know why, but the feeling made her anxious. He spoke again.

“If what you’re hesitating to say is goodbye—and if the reason is the distance between us—then I want you to know you don’t have to.”

It took Edith a moment to fully grasp what he meant.

“Did you really think I was going to break up with you right now?”

“Weren’t you?”

Instead of answering, Edith let out a slightly louder laugh. The pale breath from her red lips hung in the air between them. Maximilian frowned, but her laughter didn’t stop. The fact that someone as taciturn as him was rushing to explain his plans, and that the reason was her, made Edith happy.

“What do you plan to do after you return to Berg?”

She had barely finished the question before she asked again.

“If you don’t have any particular plans… how about we…?”

“….”

“Should we get married?”

Edith could never forget the look on Maximilian’s face at that moment. The sigh that escaped him, the ring that immediately appeared from his pocket, and the teasing words he murmured as he handed it to her.

“If you’d waited just a little longer, I would have been the one to ask you.”

“…Liche?”

It was Gisela’s voice, tinged with awkward embarrassment, that pulled Edith from her long reverie. Only then did Edith realize her vision was blurred. It was because tears had welled up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

As she quickly lowered her head, a fat tear fell onto her knee. Memories of Maximilian always broke her down like this. Because they were such unbearably happy memories. Because he left her with those memories, making sure she could never forget him, and then was gone forever.

What hurt the most was that she didn’t even have a single photograph of him. When she returned home after fleeing during the war, her house had been completely destroyed by shelling. Every trace of him—his photos, his belongings—had disappeared with it.

And so, Maximilian existed only in her memory. He had never had any family to begin with. He was the only son of the Lindel family, and his parents had died in an accident long ago. The entire secret unit he had served with was missing, and the only ones who knew him, Erniel and Elise, had passed away as well. With every record of him now falsified, Edith was the only one left in the world who knew his real face.

That thought brought another wave of dull sorrow. She let out a long, shaky breath. Gisela waited patiently while Edith quietly reined in her emotions. Thanks to her, Edith was able to raise her head and smile again as if nothing had happened. Gisela’s eyes, which had grown cloudy with sympathy, soon returned to their usual color.

In the slightly awkward atmosphere that followed, Edith brought the conversation to a close.

“So why don’t you go first and talk to him about it?”

“Me, first?”

“Yes.”

“….”

“He might feel the same way you do.”

‘Just like… Maximilian and I did back then.’

***

It was already quite late in the evening when Edith parted ways with Gisela. Light spilled from the few shops that remained open, painting patchy patterns across the streets.

Though she was heading home much later than planned, Edith chose to walk along the main shopping avenue instead of taking the shortcut through the alleyways—just as Gisela had asked her.

Right before they parted, Gisela had said something that Edith couldn’t quite make sense of.

“Take the main road, Liche. And if a stranger tries to talk to you, don’t follow them, no matter what.”

When Edith gave her a puzzled look at the oddly out-of-place warning, Gisela hurriedly added,

“These days, you never know. The security in Belen has been terrible lately. Got it? Promise me, okay?”

Was the public safety in Belen really that bad? What she’d heard from Karon and Sasha didn’t quite match up, so Edith hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she could only nod. Gisela’s expression was just too grave to ignore—almost desperate, even.

Well, it was getting late. Maybe she was just worried. Edith tried not to dwell on it, but a faint unease crept up her spine, something she couldn’t entirely shake off.

That sense of unease took shape right before Edith’s eyes the moment she arrived at Sasha’s mansion.

“What… what happened here…?”

Edith stopped in her tracks, disbelief written across her face. From the window of the first-floor room—her own room—black smoke was seeping out. Flames flickered inside, and not far off, she saw a light on in the bedroom that Sasha and Karon shared. The shock hit Edith even harder.

“Sasha! Karon!”

Calling out their names, her voice thick with worry, Edith ran into the house without hesitation.

***

“It really is a relief that you found it so quickly.”

Perel, who had returned later, tried to comfort Edith, whose face was still clouded with guilt. She didn’t reply. She seemed completely lost in self-reproach.

There had been a small fire in Sasha’s mansion, and it had started in Edith’s room. Judging from the traces left behind, it seemed a kerosene lamp left on her desk had caused it. Fortunately, the fire was discovered quickly, so it hadn’t spread throughout the house.

“Is Lady Sasha all right?”

Sasha nodded, but her cheeks were ghostly pale. The shock hadn’t worn off yet.

Edith, who had been biting her lips anxiously, finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

“…I’m really sorry.”

Sasha frantically shook her hands in protest.

“No, really, Perel is right—if you hadn’t found it when you did, things could have been much worse.”

“I checked everything before I left…”

Edith tried to say more but bit her lip again. Any excuse—like, “I didn’t leave the lamp on,” or, “I checked everything before going out”—would sound like nothing more than a feeble excuse after an incident that could have been so disastrous.

“I’m sorry, Sasha. Karon. I’ll pay for the repairs and replace all the furniture that was burned.”

“Oh, come on, don’t keep saying that. What matters is everyone’s safe. But Edith, are you all right?”

Sasha asked, and Edith recalled what the fire had taken. Even though it hadn’t spread, everything in the point of origin—her room—had been completely burned: her clothes, some cash, her diary, all her personal belongings.

She did feel a pang for losing the baby photo of Leon, but Edith didn’t let it show.

By now, she’d grown almost numb to losing things.

“…Yes, I’m fine.”

A bitter smile tugged at Edith’s lips.