“Would you close your eyes and imagine the place where you are happiest?”

The place where she was happiest?

At Nathan’s quiet voice, Laila pictured the duke’s estate. More precisely, she imagined herself held in Carlo’s arms.

“In that place, there is no one who can hurt you and no anguished screams.”

Laila slowly nodded and exhaled.

“Let the pain in your heart gradually unravel in that happy place. Lay down all your guilt and anguish.”

“Whew….”

Laila’s ragged breathing steadied, and her tears stopped flowing. It was only her imagination, but merely picturing that happy place eased her pain.

“Are you feeling a little better now?”

When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw Nathan’s refreshing green eyes.

“Yes. Thank you.”

A gentle smile appeared on Nathan’s masculine face.

‘How strange. I feel calmer whenever I’m beside this man.’

Perhaps she had managed until now because he was always there to comfort and reassure her when she was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

This comfort felt unfamiliar to her because she had never received it from Carlo before, but she did not dislike it.

In fact, she was grateful to Nathan.

“The war will end soon.”

“Yes.”

Even after crying for a long while, Laila remained seated beside Nathan, gazing up at the sky, which had grown dark before they realized it.

“If you still find it difficult, please keep this with you.”

“What is it?”

Nathan drew out something he had been carefully keeping inside his coat. It was a bracelet. A transparent jewel the size of a fingernail hung at the center of a slender silver chain.

“Why are you giving this to me…?”

“When I was young, I traveled with my father to a country in the East. We remained there for several years, and I saw many fascinating and precious objects. This bracelet was one of them.”

The bracelet appeared ordinary, but Nathan held it closer and asked her to examine it carefully. Was it merely her imagination, or were his fingertips trembling slightly?

“Can you… see anything inside this jewel?”

“Ah, it’s a daisy.”

The moment that long-awaited word left Laila’s small lips, Nathan’s heart stopped.

‘Did she just say… a daisy?’

He thought his heart had stopped beating when he learned of the death of his first love. Now, however, it felt as though a boulder had crashed down on his chest, making even breathing painful.

Only one person in the world could see the daisy engraved on the bracelet: The princess who had captured young Nathan’s heart with her radiant smile and held on to it forever: Lailea — his first love and the source of his deepest, most aching longing.

Now, the woman before him was gazing into the jewel with clear, innocent eyes and seeing the hidden daisy.

The moment he had yearned for so desperately had finally arrived — of all places, on a battlefield filled with anguished screams.

How could this possibly be real?

Nathan lowered his head, hiding the tears streaming down his face.

“As I thought….”

“Pardon?”

When Laila questioned his quiet murmur, Nathan merely smiled at her with sorrowful eyes.

“Can you see a daisy?”

“Yes.”

“There is a legend about this jewel in Adelina. A different flower appears depending on the person looking at it.”

“What?!”

Laila peered into the jewel again. It unmistakably looked like a daisy to her, yet other people saw different flowers. Just as Nathan had said, it was fascinating.

“They say each person sees the flower they love most. And the power of that flower protects whoever wears the bracelet.”

“How fascinating….”

She did not know whether she should believe it, but Laila liked the legend. The idea that the power of her favorite flower, the daisy, would protect someone appealed to her.

While Laila remained lost in wonder, Nathan began fastening the bracelet around her wrist.

“Ah, I cannot accept this.”

“No. This rightfully belongs to you.”

“Pardon?”

“So from now on, you should keep it.”

Nathan said things that Laila did not understand. For example, he suggested that he had known she would see a daisy and claimed that the bracelet rightfully belonged to her.

The entire exchange left Laila feeling bewildered. However, for Nathan, it was the moment he had been waiting for all this time.

‘I have always wanted to give this bracelet to you, Your Highness.’

The jewel was imbued with a mysterious enchantment.

When memories of a loved one were placed within it, they remained there forever, visible only to the owner of the bracelet and that loved one.

Laila’s ability to see the daisy within the jewel therefore proved that she was Lailea, the princess who was believed to be dead. Having also confirmed the beauty mark on her neck and the scar on the inside of her arm, Nathan was certain that she was Lailea.

He gazed at the jewel glowing brilliantly on her wrist.

‘Your Highness, I will never lose you again.’

Concealing his thoughts, Nathan looked at Laila. At last, the bracelet had found its rightful owner.

Even after fastening it around her wrist, he did not let go of her. He never wanted to let her go again.

Just then—

“Dame Laila.”

Jay, Princess Lenoa’s escort knight, had arrived.

“What are you doing? Release her hand at once.”

“…What did you just say?”

Nathan’s brows furrowed at Jay’s threatening words. His fierce expression looked utterly unlike him.

Before the startled Laila could speak, Jay strode toward them.

“Do not hurt Dame Laila.”

He had said it purely out of respect for Laila as a swordswoman. He meant that Nathan should not grip her arm so tightly when it was so vital to a swordswoman.

But Nathan completely misunderstood Jay and found him irritating.

“Hurt her? Do you think you can just appear out of nowhere and say whatever you please?”

Laila flinched at his somewhat belligerent tone. She had only ever known him to be kind toward her. So he had this side to him as well.

Just as Nathan rose and strode toward Jay, Laila hurriedly intervened.

“Both of you, stop.”

At that moment, an alarm rang out from the barracks amid urgent shouts.

“We’re under attack!”

Laila’s heart plummeted. An attack? Had the enemy really invaded their camp in the middle of the night?

She grabbed the sword beside her and ran towards the camp immediately, with Nathan and Jay close by her side.

Their presence alone gave her immense reassurance. Recognizing Nathan’s skill, Laila tightened her grip on her sword and gritted her teeth.

She wanted nothing more than to end this hellish war.

The barracks had descended into chaos. Soldiers who had been resting were being cut down defenselessly while the enemy advanced at an alarming speed.

Laila quickly identified the enemy commanders. She knew that to turn the tide of battle, she had to eliminate their strongest commander first.

Leaping onto a nearby horse, she charged straight into the heart of the chaos.

“Dame Laila!”

Nathan called out from behind her, but she did not stop. She was consumed by a single thought: she had to end this now.

Leaping from the horse, she planted her feet firmly on the ground and faced the enemy. After drawing a short, steadying breath, she raised her sword.

‘If I must kill, I must strike down the enemy commander as quickly as possible.’

Without a commander, an army was little more than a defeated force. Laila was determined to kill the commander who was glaring fiercely at her.

“Hya!”

“Ghk!”

The enemy soldiers charged at Laila, but she remained calm.

Without moving, she confronted the enemy, embodying the Ancient Sword.

The enemy soldiers faltered in the face of the reputation they had only ever heard about. No matter how many opponents charged at her, she remained unshaken.

“Dame Laila.”

And behind her stood Nathan and Jay, though she had not noticed when they arrived.

“Be careful.”

“You be careful as well.”

After giving Nathan a brief reply, Laila picked up another sword that had been discarded on the ground. With a longsword in each hand, she looked no different from a harbinger of death.

The enemy soldiers instinctively understood. The moment those swords moved, death would descend upon them.

“I’m going after the commander.”

Leaving those words behind, Laila charged towards the enemy commander, who was fighting the Imperial forces nearby.

He was all she could see.

She had to kill him.

She was convinced that this war would only end when she took his life.

Although she was sickened by the darkness that was consuming her, the seemingly endless war was even more unbearable.

And she missed Carlo desperately.

“Hya!”

“Ugh!”

Laila’s fierce blade flew toward the commander. Moving swiftly, she wielded both swords.

The commander was far superior to her in stamina and physical strength, but he was gradually being driven back by Laila’s nearly invisible blades.

“D*mn it!”

The commander wanted to kill Laila, but she left no openings. All he could do was barely block the attacks that continued flying toward him at tremendous speed.

And then—

“Guhk!”

A sword was plunged deep into the commander’s heart and a chilling silence fell over the battlefield, which had been chaotic just moments earlier. Laila’s actions seemed nothing short of madness, leaving everyone speechless.

The commander collapsed with a heavy thud, fear plain to see on the faces of the enemy soldiers who had been watching him.

“R-Run… We have to run.”

The terrified soldier’s words caused the enemy forces to crumble helplessly. With each step Laila took, the screams grew louder and more soldiers were defeated.

Her eyes unfocused, Laila moved without pause. As though bewitched by her sword, she moved without emotion, fierce and merciless.

Just as no one dared to approach her, she was suddenly seized in an embrace from behind.

“That is enough. Everything is all right now.”

The low voice, laden with tension, brought Laila back to her senses. It was Nathan.

“Ah….”

Laila turned to look at Nathan. Then she took in the horrific scene around her.

It was already over. Having lost their commander, the enemy soldiers were fleeing, but the imperial forces were not letting them escape.

That was how the war was coming to an end. At some point, however, Laila had lost all awareness and continued to swing her swords.

Nathan, who had embraced her from behind swiftly, carefully took the swords from her hands.

“Sir… Nathan.”

Although Laila was not short, Nathan’s frame was considerably larger. He lowered his head slightly to her height and whispered softly into her ear.

“You may stop now.”

As Nathan reassured her with his warm touch that it was finally over, Laila lost consciousness in his arms.