“From now on, assume all your opponents are knights from the Sanders grand duchy. If by chance… you recover my mother, please tell her that her unworthy son went ahead and is sorry.”

“What are you saying! You…!!”

— Snort, neigh!

Before he could hear the answer, a groom brought a new horse.

Pierre ran to the end of the tilt barrier, his starting position, to face Caleb. And the flag came down.

As he got closer to Caleb, he raised the tip of his lance slightly into the air. With the shape of his mouth saying, ‘Strike me!’

A solemn gaze… that was his choice.

Caleb closed his eyes tightly and struck Pierre’s torso precisely, sending him flying high into the air before he crashed to the ground.

If he had approached a little slower, he would have just dismounted and rolled; if he had properly positioned himself for the fall, the impact would have been less.

— Thud! Crack!

But the young man chose to fall with his spine twisted. He twisted his body to fall head-first as much as possible. That was the young man’s final choice.

Coming here wasn’t his choice, but he could choose where to end it.

“Don’t forget the pride you had as a Sanders citizen just to save one old woman.”

Pierre recalled his mother’s last words. His mother who remained dignified even as she was dragged away by Greg’s soldiers.

Being citizens of the Sanders grand duchy was a great source of pride for them. The Grand Duke’s family always stood on the side of the weak and worked to create a country where no one was hungry or sick. Unlike the rulers of other kingdoms, no grand duke in history had ever filled their own pockets.

Their land had always been prosperous and peaceful throughout its thousand-year history. Just being born in that land made them happy, and just living there gave them pride.

“Caleb……”

“Cal……”

Zeno and Rudbeckia, who had been concentrating, were dumbfounded. They were comrades who had traversed battlefields together, and moreover, Rudbeckia with her perfect memory vividly remembered even Pierre’s mother.

— Trudge trudge

Unlike a victor, Caleb held the reins loosely.

The horse walked slowly toward Rudbeckia, matching his mood. His eyes were rimmed with red. The ribbon that usually untied easily when pulled at one end seemed caught on something and wouldn’t come loose.

Tug, tug. No matter how many times he pulled, it wouldn’t untie.

It reminded him of his own breath. He wished his breath would stop right there. The cheers of the people increasingly sounded like mockery of how Greg was defeating him.

— Click click

Along with the sound of shoes came a voice thick with moisture.

“That’s for me, right?”

Having bowed his head for so long before raising it, his vision swam. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Rudbeckia had come right up to him, standing pressed against the railing.

A dark red blood-colored dress, a snow-white face. Golden hair shimmering in the sunlight. If there were flowers that only grow on battlefields, they would look like this.

“You’re supposed to hand it to me.”

Rudbeckia untied the ribbon from Caleb’s wrist and placed it in his hand. Then she opened her palm wide. She was smiling. So bright it was dazzling, chilling, and sad.

When Caleb placed the ribbon on her palm, Rudbeckia clenched her fist tightly and stretched out her neck to pull Caleb’s nape toward her.

“Kyaaaaa. It must be a proposal.”

“Oh my. It seems the lady has accepted.”

“How wonderful.”

All the women sitting in the stands screamed with envy. Some noble ladies held hands and shook them together.

“Your previous opponent was General Tally. He was poisoned. It seems they plan to poison you through a medic or attendant if you don’t die during the match like Pierre.”

Rudbeckia, who was lovingly hanging on his neck, whispered, and Caleb smiled lovingly without showing any reaction to her words.

To the eyes of people who couldn’t know the content of their conversation, the two were a lovely couple exchanging honey-dripping gazes throughout.

Caleb quietly tucked her fallen hair behind her ear. Then he gently brushed the back of his hand from her cheek to her lips before leaving the stands.

As if thoughts of his beloved kept lingering, he turned back several times.  

As the excitement in the arena stirred up by the couple’s actions began to settle, the announcer declared that today’s tournament would end here due to time constraints.

It seemed Greg had stopped because of those who weren’t moving according to plan. It was two days until the finals. In between, Greg had to use the remaining people to cut off Caleb’s breath.

* * *

“Cal!”

Entering Caleb’s room, she saw him sitting blankly without even removing his armor late into the night, and rushed to embrace him.

He looked so weak, as if he would collapse soon, it was hard to believe he was a man on a winning streak.

He is a kind person. A warm person who empathizes with others’ joys and sorrows.

How much would he be empathizing with the deaths of Tally and Pierre… how much would his heart ache…

For Rudbeckia, who had firmly locked one door of her heart since childhood due to Adele’s death, she couldn’t even dare to imagine.

She quietly separated and removed the parts of his armor. Then she placed both hands on Caleb’s knees, bent over, and quietly listened to his story.

On her wrist was the ribbon he had given her earlier in the day, beautifully tied.

“Rud. I see that just killing won’t be enough. Rebellion is the answer. Let’s kill the emperor and all his puppets. Then we’ll put Zeno on the throne, and you and I will support him from behind.”

“If that’s what you want. Let’s do that.”

Rudbeckia raised her head to face Caleb.

Under his high forehead, his dense, long eyelashes were wet with moisture.

His tear-filled eyes were like the sea. A clean, transparent sea filled with lapis lazuli jewels.

Between them was his straight nose, and below that, his clean-lined red lips were exhaling heavy breaths.

“Rud. Are you feeling alright?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Yesterday, when I knocked but got no answer, I thought you might have gone to bed early because you weren’t feeling well.”

Rudbeckia was reflected in Caleb’s eyes that were like an abyss.

‘Ah, even when your heart must be tearing apart in pain, you worry about me first……’

Rudbeckia felt it would be impolite to pretend not to notice these feelings. And among the many imaginings she had last night, the image of another woman standing beside Caleb was not to her liking.

No, she felt uncomfortable enough to say she hated it.

“Caleb.”

When she called his name rather than his nickname in a somewhat low voice, Caleb flinched and blinked.

“At a time like this, asking such a question… I know it’s inappropriate, but……”

“If you have something you’re curious about, you can ask me anytime. Nothing is inappropriate. What is it?”

Sensing it was an extremely serious question, Caleb quickly wiped away his tears and patted her shoulder reassuringly, as if to say anything was fine.

“So…… you need to answer truthfully, without lying.”

“Of course, when have I ever lied in response to your questions?”

What kind of question could it be that she was taking so long to ask?

Caleb began to feel a bit anxious.

“Do you have affection for me?”

“Aff… ection? Why so suddenly?”

He inhaled a shallow breath at the unexpected question.

“Answer.”

“I do. You know how much I like you. You like me too. And you like Zeno too.”

Fearing his true feelings might spill out, he slowly regulated his breath.

Keeping it as light, emotionless, and vague as possible, he then observed her reaction.

“Me and Zeno. Are the size and type of those feelings the same?”

“……”

Caleb’s mind was chaos itself, not knowing why she was asking such questions.

If he said they were different? It was obvious she’d ask how they were different. What if the words ‘I love you’ slipped out?

Feeling stifled even in his vision, he rubbed his face dry, rubbed his eyes, and scratched the back of his neck.

“Haa… Cal……”

Rudbeckia sighed. Then, drawing circular motions slowly on his knee, she spoke.

“What can suppress the memory surge is a kiss filled with affection. I found that out yesterday in the library. Of course, I found it in a collection of myths, but comparing it with the stories my mother told me, it must be true.”

Caleb could feel her chest trembling slightly against his knee.

“Cal, you calmed my surge on that day when I first entered the grand duke’s residence. On the day we first met. That means… you kissed me with affectionate feelings… Cal, did you fall in love with me at first sight?”

Rudbeckia bowed her head even lower.

Her golden hair trembled finely and escaped from her neck. With each gradual revelation of her smooth neckline, Caleb felt his heart being stripped bare as well.

‘Avoiding to answer here would be something only a fool would do.’

Instead of answering, Caleb lifted her up and sat her on his knee.

Suddenly lifted, Rudbeckia cried out in surprise.

“Cal!”

Caleb hid his face in Rudbeckia’s embrace and continued speaking quietly, as if afraid someone might hear.

“You were such a beautiful snowflake. A soft, white snowflake lying in the guest room. Wiggling your small hands like a rabbit. But you were mumbling something. Moving your lips. How could a snowflake speak?”

Like reading a fairy tale, softly and gently. He seemed to be pleading with Rudbeckia to listen to every word without missing a single letter.

“As though you’re trying not to lose to something, you were biting the inside of your lips hard. Your fists were trembling too. Those small movements looked so powerful. I thought you were about to have a seizure or convulsion—but you ended up winning.”