Laila steadied her breathing and tried to calm her racing heart.

She had never been afraid to wield a sword before, but today was different.

Nevertheless, her decision was already made. There was no turning back and no room for regret.

After taking a deep breath, she put on her armor, securing each piece.

Once everything was in place, she slowly looked around her room.

For seven years, it had been her quiet refuge — a place where she could rest and feel safe. Leaving it behind affected her more than she had expected.

“……I should go.”

With no time left to delay, she opened the door.

Waiting outside were the knights of Carlo’s order.

“Ah…….”

“We came to see you off, my lady. No—”

The vice-captain smiled awkwardly and straightened his posture. “—we came to give you all our good fortune.”

“Your skill surpasses all of ours combined. But even so… please be careful.”

A faint smile touched Laila’s lips.

“Thank you.”

“And… well, this is…….”

Looking somewhat embarrassed, the vice-captain stepped forward and held out a folded handkerchief.

“What is this?”

“Ahem… we, uh… embroidered it ourselves…….”

“What?”

Laila blinked, caught between surprise and disbelief.

At the mention of embroidery, Laila carefully unfolded the handkerchief. The moment she saw the design stitched into the fabric, a small smile escaped her.

“I-It is rather clumsy, I know. But every one of us took a turn adding a few stitches.”

Their faces flushed with embarrassment, as though they were painfully aware of how uneven their work looked. Yet to Laila, it was beautiful — perfect, even.

Presenting an embroidered handkerchief to a departing knight was a long-standing gesture of goodwill, a prayer for their safe return. This particular handkerchief bore the heartfelt wishes of every knight in the order.

“Thank you. When I return, I will tie it to my sword.”

Her quiet promise caused several of the knights’ expressions to crumple as they struggled to hold back their tears.

“Take care of yourselves.”

She added, gently patting the vice-captain’s shoulder.

They had always regarded her as their commander and their pride, but she now saw them as something far more precious. She had once believed that Carlo and Theodor were her only family. How mistaken she had been.

After bidding them farewell, Laila headed toward Carlo’s office to offer him a formal goodbye before departing for the front.

But just as she raised her hand to knock, the door abruptly opened—and someone pulled her inside.

“Laila…….”

Carlo’s voice trembled faintly as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her as though he had known the exact moment she would arrive.

“I am sorry about last night. You must have waited for me for a long time.”

“…….”

Laila remained silent. The words refused to come, and she did not even know what she ought to say.

Carlo merely tightened his embrace, his voice quivering with remorse.

“Laila, I do not want our time together to end like this.”

His voice was soft and pleading, almost pitiful. Laila quietly exhaled.

Yes, she was angry. She was disappointed. But she didn’t want to leave him like this, either.

No one knew when the war would end or who would survive it.

If this was to be their last moment together, she didn’t want to spoil it with resentment.

“……All right.”

Laila slowly raised her arms, as limp as a rag doll’s, and wrapped them around his broad back.

The familiar warmth of his body and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat filled her with a mixture of comfort and bitterness.

She had spent the entire night resenting him for not returning sooner. Yet, as her heart raced in his embrace, she felt foolish.

“Thank you, Laila. And I am sorry… for sending you to such a terrible place.”

Carlo gently cupped her face and gazed at her with eyes overflowing with honeyed affection—eyes that seemed to hold no one but her.

“Keep your promise. You must.”

Laila reminded him of their promise once more, her pleading eyes silently imploring him, Please, do not disappoint me this time.

“Of course. I will keep it.”

At those words, a faint smile curved Laila’s lips. Then they shared a long, lingering kiss—one that felt at once like a solemn vow and a final farewell.

***

By the time Laila departed the capital with the Imperial Knights, Carlo had already arrived at Duke Crussian’s estate.

“Your Grace, I was told that you wished to see me.”

Carlo greeted him with a respectful bow while carefully studying the Duke’s pallid face.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“Think nothing of it, Your Grace.”

The dark circles under the Duke’s eyes and his pale complexion made one thing clear: he hadn’t slept at all.

While most people might have assumed that concern over his daughter’s recent s*icide attempt had kept him awake, Carlo knew better.

‘He must feel as though he is walking upon thin ice, Carlo thought. After all, Crown Prince Theodor himself is searching for Crook Zegner.’

“Ahem… regarding the man you mentioned. Crook Zegner…….”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“I will find him for you.”

It was exactly as Carlo had anticipated. The Duke’s offer sounded generous, but it was merely a pretense—an attempt to conceal the man while appearing cooperative.

“Thank you, Your Grace. I am deeply indebted to you.”

“Oh, nonsense. I am the one indebted to you. You saved my daughter’s life, after all.”

The forced smile upon his face was almost pitiful, little more than a fragile veil concealing the anxiety beneath it.

“I will be certain to inform His Highness, Crown Prince Theodor. He will be pleased to learn that you are assisting with the search.”

“N-No! That will not be necessary!”

The Duke’s sudden outburst was sharp enough that Carlo feigned surprise.

“……Your Grace?”

“Ah—what I mean is that there is no need to trouble His Highness over such a minor. Finding a single man should not prove difficult. There is no reason to disturb the Crown Prince when he is already so occupied.”

Carlo tilted his head and frowned as though puzzled by the Duke’s reaction.

“I understand your concern, Your Grace, but His Highness specifically instructed me to report everything concerning this matter—without exception.”

A bead of sweat rolled down the Duke’s temple. His composure was beginning to fracture.

Carlo offered the Duke a reassuring smile as the older man nodded repeatedly. Then he departed the estate in high spirits.

‘I should send a letter to His Highness immediately.’

He thought as he settled into the carriage and recalled his meeting with Theodor several days earlier.

“Even if we capture Crook Zegner, Empress Scarlett and the Duke may escape responsibility. They are cunning. If they sense the noose tightening around them, they will surely have contingencies prepared. Once Zegner is captured, they might even silence him before anyone can uncover the truth.”

Theodor’s warning had been reasonable. Despite Empress Scarlett’s countless crimes, none of her wrongdoing had ever come to light. She was both meticulous and powerful. Disposing of Zegner without leaving a trace would hardly be difficult for her.

“So you are suggesting that we use him?”

“Yes. If the Duke learns that I am searching for Zegner, he will become anxious. He will either use you to discover how much I know—or attempt to draw you over to his side.”

“So I am to act as the Duke’s spy while pretending to be a lovesick fool. But what if the Duke informs Empress Scarlett?”

No matter how thoroughly they deceived the Duke, Scarlett would not be so easily fooled. If she discovered the truth, all their efforts could amount to nothing.

“Or perhaps their relationship is not as strong as we assume.”

Theodor said. According to the documents he had uncovered, they were not allies in the conventional sense. Their relationship was more akin to a vicious food chain than a true partnership.

Empress Scarlett knew about the Duke’s illicit enterprises and used that knowledge to blackmail him. In return, the duke had gathered evidence of Scarlett’s crimes. They each possessed leverage over the other, exploiting and threatening one another in a precarious and dangerous struggle.

“Therefore, the Duke will want to free himself from Scarlet’s grasp. If we manipulate him properly, we may be able to catch her.”

Carlo exhaled and rested his head against the carriage wall. Where might Laila be now? As commander of an army, she was probably still marching towards the front. The thought of his vengeance drawing ever closer filled him with exhilaration, despite the anxiety and restlessness gnawing at him.

‘I must finish this before Laila returns.’

He needed to bring this terrible chapter of the past to an end if he and Laila were to have any hope of beginning a new life together.

“Once this revenge is over… perhaps Laila will finally be able to breathe more easily.”

Recalling Theodor’s hollow expression as the Crown Prince thought of his younger sister and crumpled beneath his helpless grief, he murmured.

For a moment, Carlo wondered if he should have told Theodor everything. A familiar sense of guilt stirred within him, tugging him back towards the past, but he firmly shook his head.

“Laila said that I am all she needs.”

He was her only family. Pushing aside his guilt, he told himself to hope only for her safe return. He did not want to drag Laila, who had no memory of her past life, back into it and confuse her by associating her with the sins of another person. All she wanted was a happy life with him. Once she returned, he would give her exactly that.

‘Yes. That will be enough.’

Carlo reassured himself. Although guilt still weighed on his heart, he chose to turn away from it. Otherwise, he would never be able to face Laila again. Above all, he would never let the Adelina imperial family take her from him.