‘It’s all right…. It’s all right….’

After cutting down an enemy who charged at her viciously, Laila looked around. Many soldiers of Circlezia had fallen.

At this rate, even more soldiers would die. With that thought, Laila leaped down from her horse.

“Aaaaargh!!!”

The moment her feet touched the ground, she tightened her grip on her sword, gritted her teeth, and braced herself as enemy soldiers rushed towards her.

Fighting them was easy. Their movements were sluggish and their swords were slow. However, the sensation of cutting through flesh beneath her blade was horrifying.

“Stop that soldier!! Kill her!!”

As more and more soldiers fell around Laila, the enemy forces began to recoil in shock.

“Gasp…!! It’s… it’s Laila Grant!! The Ancient… the Ancient Sword…!!”

Laila’s reputation as the reincarnation of the Ancient Sword was formidable even in other empires, making her an enormous threat on the battlefield.

“She must die! K-Kill that knight at all costs!!”

At their superior’s command, dozens of knights—nearly a hundred—began charging toward Laila.

“Whew… It’s all right.”

With so many enemies descending upon her at once, Laila began moving swiftly. The murderous intent bearing down on her was just as overwhelming.

“Die!”

“Just die!!”

“Aaargh!!”

“Ghk…!!”

Laila began to waver more and more. The sword in her hand flawlessly carried out its duty in its master’s stead, but her mind was deteriorating.

Another voice overlapped with the shouts of the soldiers screaming at her to die, flashing through Laila’s mind.

“You worthless wretch! Die! You deserve to die!!”

It was the shrill voice of a woman—a fragment of her sealed memories.

“Ah…. Gasp!”

As the memory constricted her heart, Laila clutched at her chest. The chaos around her faded away, and she could no longer hear anything. Fixated on the images of the past flashing before her eyes, Laila forgot to breathe.

“You lowborn filth!”

A hand came flying toward her along with the verbal *buse. Blood burst from the young Laila’s mouth, and wounds covered her entire body.

A trampled soul. A ruined body. That was a piece of the past Laila had forgotten.

“I-I’m sorry…. Please spare me….”

The same words that Laila had spoken long ago escaped her lips.

She would be beaten again. She would bleed and writhe in pain, alone. She would die alone, with no one beside her.

She truly did not want that. ‘Please, spare me.’

Through her terror-filled eyes, she suddenly saw an enemy soldier standing right in front of her. Driven by her instinctive desire to survive, she swung her sword.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

“…!!”

Laila’s eyes began to tremble violently. When she came to her senses, she found herself on the battlefield. Before she could grasp what had happened, the enemy soldier collapsed in front of her.

He had been impaled by the sword she had swung and died without even closing his eyes.

“N-No… Hngh….”

Laila dropped her sword. She rubbed her bloodstained hands against her armor, trying to wipe them clean, but she felt as though she were only becoming more drenched in blood.

“Dame Laila!!”

Even when someone called out to her, Laila could only weep in shock.

“Hngh… No….”

Laila was falling apart. The pain of her past had suddenly engulfed her, and the guilt of having killed someone meant that she was no longer in her right mind.

Feeling as though the ground were collapsing beneath her feet, she looked up and saw a blade hurtling towards her.

‘Ah, I’m going to die.’

Laila thought this was the end. The sharp blade would cut her down, and she would finally die.

“Sir Laila!”

At that moment, a man stepped in front of Laila.

Tall, with long orange hair tied behind him, the man fought to protect Laila, who had fallen to the ground.

There was something familiar about him.

“Pull yourself together!”

The man easily subdued the enemies and approached Laila. Strangely, she could not take her eyes off him.

“Are you all right?”

“….”

When Laila was unable to respond, he held out a sword to her. It was the same one she had dropped on the ground.

As her gaze fell upon the blood-soaked blade, he wiped it clean with his cloak before offering it to her again, as if to tell her to forget this terrible nightmare. This small gesture gradually began to calm her.

“Can you endure it? If you are afraid, close your eyes and follow only me. I will escort you until we reach somewhere safe.”

“I’m all right. I just….”

Despite her words, Laila’s voice was still trembling violently. She could not easily shake off the shock of having killed someone.

“The battle is nearly over. So you will be all right now.”

The man’s clear green eyes met Laila’s. With his unwavering gaze, he began to calm her.

“I know you are afraid. But you are not alone, so do not lose heart. Did you not come to this war because there is someone you wish to protect?”

“….”

She wanted to protect someone.

Yes, she wanted to protect Carlo. That was why she had decided to sell her soul.

Gradually, the shock and fear clouding Laila’s eyes began to clear. As her trembling subsided, she took hold of her sword again.

The man before her raised the corners of his lips in a radiant smile. In the midst of a battlefield filled with pain and desperation, his smile seemed wholly out of place; yet it was refreshingly pure.

Laila would never forget that moment.

She would never forget the man who had appeared at the moment of her death, saving and comforting her.

She would forever remember the day she reunited with Nathan, the man with whom she would share a deep bond.

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it.”

Taking Nathan’s hand, Laila rose to her feet and readjusted her grip on her sword, feeling considerably calmer.

“Are you certain you will be all right?”

“Yes.”

When Laila responded firmly, Nathan smiled and charged towards the enemy once more.

She was sure she had seen him somewhere before, but she didn’t have time to think about it. The enemies were already charging towards her.

To escape this horrific nightmare, Laila moved faster and with greater precision.

The first battle ended in victory for the Circlezian Imperial Army. Many of the soldiers rejoiced, crediting their victory to her extraordinary performance. However, Laila considered herself a failure.

“You accomplished a great deal today. Although it must have been your first time meeting him, you also worked remarkably well with the Adelina Empire’s commander.”

The Circlezian commander praised her for her efforts, but Laila could not bring herself to respond. She merely wanted to be alone and soothe her tormented heart.

“At this rate, we should win the war with ease. Tomorrow’s battle will be fierce as well, so go and rest.”

“Yes.”

Laila nodded hurriedly and left. The knights showered her with praise on the way back to the barracks, but she kept her gaze fixed on the ground and paid them no heed. Only once she had reached a secluded spot away from the encampment did Laila finally raise her head.

“Haah…”

It had indeed been a long and brutal day. Despite having washed herself several times after the battle ended, the stench of blood still clung to her.

“I killed someone….”

Although it had been unavoidable amid the chaos of war, her stomach still churned. She felt both miserable and pathetic. After killing the enemy soldier, she was consumed by such a profound fear that she was unable to move. Had she remained trapped in that state of panic, she would undoubtedly have become a burden to everyone.

Laila clutched her short, golden hair with both hands.

‘How many more people will I have to kill?’

She wanted to see Carlo. She missed him desperately and longed to rest in his embrace.

“Ah, what a shame. It seems you’ve taken my spot.”

As Laila struggled in the depths of despair, someone approached. It was the voice she had heard earlier.

“Ah…!”

It was Nathan, the man who had saved her.

His orange hair swayed in the breeze. He was a beautiful man, with a fresh smile that complemented the upturned corners of his lips and the dimples in his cheeks.

“How did you find this perfect spot?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s a place where no one else will notice you and you can rest in peace, isn’t it? It’s quiet and beautiful too. A place utterly unsuited to war.”

“Ah….”

Only then did Laila look around.

Just as the man had said, it was a beautiful place filled with lush trees and flowers swaying in the breeze.

Her heart was in hell, so she had failed to notice the beautiful scenery around her.

“If you do not mind… may I sit here?”

Ordinarily, she would have refused out of discomfort or yielded the spot to him, but Laila readily nodded.

Perhaps it was because of the distinct air about him that put people at ease.

“Thank you.”

After sitting nearby, the man unexpectedly said nothing and merely admired the scenery.

His gentle smile, different from the one he had worn earlier, his seemingly guileless eyes, and even his perfectly straight posture made him seem like a steadfast man.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Pardon? Ah… yes. Thanks to you.”

When the man, who had been intently admiring the flowers, turned his gaze toward her, Laila answered in surprise.

‘Come to think of it, I never thanked him. He saved my life…’

“Thank you for saving me earlier. I owe you my life.”

As she bowed her head and expressed her gratitude, Nathan smiled and spoke.

“Did I truly save the woman known as the reincarnation of the Ancient Sword? What an honor.”

His playful expression and tone brought a smile to Laila’s lips. Yet she still could not shake the feeling that she had seen him somewhere before.

“Are you a knight of Circlezia?”

“Ah, no. I came from the Adelina Empire. I am leading the knights sent here as reinforcements.”

Ah, she remembered hearing that the Adelina Empire’s crown prince, Princess Lenoa’s fiancé, had sent reinforcements.

She recalled what the Circlezian commander had said earlier. Of course, she would never forget the commander of Circlezia’s knightly order.

‘So he’s from the Adelina Empire.’

Laila nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps she had seen him in the Adelina Empire. Most of the memories she had lost were from the time she had lived there.

‘Since Carlo and I came to the Circlezian Empire together from Adelina, perhaps we knew each other in the past.’

Laila wanted to ask whether he knew her.

But after the cruel memory of her past that had resurfaced moments ago, she could not bring herself to speak. She could not be certain, but her past must have been filled with cruel and painful memories.

“You do not remember me.”

“Pardon?”

Had they truly known each other in the past? Laila’s heart began pounding.