The morning passed quietly, but Emily wandered through the castle corridors with distracted steps and a persistent knot in her stomach.
Ever since the previous night, when Lusian had told her that he would be leaving for the duchy in three days, she had been unable to sort out her emotions.
She had grown accustomed to him.
To his presence.
To that quiet sense of security that seemed to follow him everywhere.
And now that he was leaving...
There was an uncomfortable, almost painful emptiness in her chest.
Emily sighed as she turned into the corridor leading to the wing where Lusian and his escort were staying.
Then she heard something unexpected.
CLANG!
The metallic sound of two swords colliding.
Then another.
CLANG!
And another.
BOOM!
Emily stopped.
A woman's voice could also be heard through the open windows.
—Come on, my lord! You can beat him this time!
Emily blinked.
Adele?
Cheering?
That was probably even more surprising than the fight itself.
She approached the training yard and carefully peeked inside.
What she saw left her frozen.
Albert stood in the center of the courtyard.
The strongest swordsman in the kingdom moved with terrifying precision, wasting not a single motion.
Facing him was Lusian.
His sword moved far more fluidly than it had weeks ago.
He had improved.
A lot.
But the difference between them was still enormous.
—Haaah!
Albert advanced.
CLANG!
Lusian's sword was knocked aside.
The young man staggered backward several steps, lost his balance, and fell onto the dirt.
He rolled.
Then immediately got back up.
He raised his sword again.
Albert smiled.
—Again.
Lusian nodded.
—Again.
Emily frowned.
Why does he keep getting back up?
The next exchange was even more brutal.
Albert attacked.
Lusian blocked.
Deflected.
Counterattacked.
Albert easily dodged and struck him in the side.
THUD!
Lusian was sent flying.
He landed on one knee.
Took a deep breath.
And stood up again.
Emily clenched her fists.
Is this really training?
Meanwhile, Adele seemed completely different from the calm woman Emily knew.
Her eyes were shining.
—That's it! Again, my lord!
The white tiger remained beside her, swishing its tail with every exchange.
Emily could hardly believe it.
How can she be enjoying this?
Then Albert attacked again.
Lusian managed to block the first strike.
The second.
But the third broke through his defense.
Albert spun and delivered a direct blow.
CRACK!
His fist struck Lusian's face.
Blood immediately appeared at the corner of his lips.
Adele's smile disappeared.
The air around her changed.
Mana began to gather.
The white tiger raised its head, and a deep growl spread across the courtyard.
Emily didn't even think.
She ran.
She hurried down the steps and reached Lusian just as he was trying to get back up.
—Lusian!
She knelt in front of him.
She took his face in both hands and tilted it toward the light.
—Are you all right?
Blood slowly trickled down his lip.
Lusian blinked.
—Yes.
Emily stared at him in disbelief.
—Yes?
—Yes.
—You were just punched in the face!
Lusian wiped the blood away with the back of his hand.
—It's training.
Emily turned toward Albert.
—That doesn't mean you have to kill him!
Albert sighed.
—I wasn't trying to kill him.
Adele stepped forward.
Her hand was already resting on her spear.
—You went too far.
The white tiger bared its fangs.
Albert looked at the animal.
Then at Adele.
—It was only one punch.
—A punch to the face.
—Exactly.
Adele narrowed her eyes.
—Do you want to take one?
Albert smiled.
—Not particularly.
Before the argument could continue, Lusian raised a hand.
—Enough.
His voice wasn't loud.
But everyone stopped.
—I'm fine.
Emily looked at him again.
—You don't look fine.
Lusian smiled slightly.
—That means the training is working.
Emily opened her mouth.
She couldn't think of a response.
Albert folded his arms.
—He needs to learn how to take a hit without losing concentration.
—And for that you have to break his face? —Emily asked.
—If an enemy is going to do it anyway, I'd rather he learn here.
Emily fell silent.
The answer made sense.
She didn't like it.
But it made sense.
Albert walked several steps away and sat beside Garet, who had been silently watching the fight.
The old man glanced sideways at his companion.
—You went a little too far.
Albert smiled.
—Just watch.
Both men turned their attention toward Lusian.
Emily was still holding his face in her hands as she finished healing the wound with light magic.
Garet raised an eyebrow slightly.
—Ah.
Albert's smile widened.
—Exactly.
Meanwhile, Emily concentrated her mana on the wound.
The light slowly spread across Lusian's cheek.
—You shouldn't push yourself so hard...
—I have to.
—But...
Emily lowered her voice.
—Your own subordinates beat you like you're a training dummy.
Lusian let out a small laugh.
—They're not my subordinates when we train.
—That doesn't make it any better.
He smiled again.
—I'm fine.
Emily finished closing the wound.
But when she looked up, she found herself staring into Lusian's eyes.
And then she realized it.
She was still holding his face between her hands.
Her cheeks immediately flushed.
She let go.
—I-It's done!
She stood up far too quickly.
—My parents want to speak with you.
Lusian blinked.
—Now?
—When you're finished.
Emily avoided looking directly at him.
—They're waiting for you.
Before he could say anything else, she turned around and practically ran out of the courtyard.
Lusian watched her leave.
Why did she come running?
The question appeared in his mind.
He couldn't help but smile slightly.
Adele approached then.
Without haste.
She knelt in front of Lusian and carefully examined his face.
First his cheek.
Then his lip.
Then his neck.
Lusian sighed.
—Adele, I'm fine.
She didn't answer.
She continued inspecting him.
Finally, she looked up.
Her blue eyes locked onto Albert.
She didn't say a single word.
She didn't have to.
Albert pretended not to notice.
Garet let out a small laugh from the other side of the courtyard.
—I think you just made yourself an enemy.
Albert shrugged.
—I already have enough.
Adele tightened her grip on the spear slightly.
Crack.
The wooden shaft creaked between her fingers.
Albert stopped smiling.
—...Perhaps I should apologize.
Lusian rubbed his forehead.
—You definitely should.
That afternoon, Lusian barely trained again.
The next morning, he would leave Carter.
The dawn of the day of departure arrived beneath a clear sky, tinted with a faint bluish glow, another sign of the rising mana in the atmosphere.
Lusian stood in the central square, looking over the county's newly formed troops one last time.
They had made tremendous progress in barely a month.
But they still had a long way to go.
He had done everything he could.
What happened next would depend on the discipline and determination of those men.
Behind him, the supply carriages stood open and completely filled.
There were enough provisions for three months: grain, preserved meats, and purified water, all carefully distributed among various magical preservation artifacts.
Lusian would take none of it with him.
Everything would remain with the county.
Thanks to the reforms he had implemented, Carter was no longer entirely dependent on the fields outside the city walls.
Inside the walls, an extensive area of protected farmland had been established, and they had also begun using Arcane Greenhouses, an adaptation of one of the game's advanced technologies.
The count and his advisers still looked upon those facilities with amazement.
On the roofs of houses, towers, and warehouses, climbing manavid plants were growing.
Their thick leaves and nutritious fruits thrived thanks to the increase in mana. The plants coiled around elevated structures and covered the buildings with a green mantle that made the city look like an enormous living hill.
From a distance, the buildings could barely be distinguished.
If it weren't for the watchtowers, anyone might have thought that a forest had grown around the walls.
And more than thirty thousand people lived there.
Lusian looked over the scene with a mixture of satisfaction and nostalgia.
In the game, those systems had appeared far too late.
By the time they finally became available, many cities had already fallen.
People could no longer leave to farm.
They couldn't hunt, either.
And hunger ended up claiming more lives than the monsters themselves.
But this time was different.
He still had time.
Perhaps he could prevent Carter from going down that same path.
The carriage that would take him back to the duchy was already prepared.
Adele stood beside him, straight as a spear, observing everything with the stoic expression that characterized her whenever she was acting as his escort.
Lusian turned.
He was about to take his first step toward the carriage when he saw Emily waiting beside the gate.
The young woman kept her gaze lowered, her fingers intertwined in front of her.
Weeks had passed since that first awkward dinner.
And now she seemed like a different person.
Stronger.
More aware of her position.
And, at the same time, far more confused about what she felt.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Emily took a deep breath.
She had prepared those words for days.
Now, however, they all seemed to have vanished from her mind.
—Take good care of yourself —she finally murmured.
Lusian smiled slightly.
—You too.
Silence returned.
Emily raised her eyes.
She seemed to want to say something else.
She couldn't.
Instead, she stepped toward him, gently grasped the collar of his cloak, and pulled him closer.
Lusian barely had time to react.
Emily kissed him.
It wasn't a timid kiss.
Nor was it a stolen one.
It was brief, but firm.
Determined.
And beneath that determination was fear.
Lusian remained motionless.
Trying to understand what this meant.
Emily.
The same Emily who, in the original story, would eventually become one of the people responsible for his downfall.
She had just kissed him.
When she pulled away, her cheeks were completely red.
But her eyes remained steady.
—I'm sorry...
Emily took a deep breath.
—But I'm not going to give up on who I am.
She clenched her fists slightly.
—I'm your fiancée.
Lusian didn't respond.
—And I'm going to claim that place —she continued—. No matter who else is by your side.
Her voice wavered slightly.
—Even... even if Princess Elizabeth has already claimed your heart.
Lusian felt that last sentence weigh far more heavily than the kiss itself.
Elizabeth.
The engagement.
Their families.
The future.
Everything mixed together in his mind.
He lowered his gaze for several seconds.
He didn't want to answer impulsively.
He couldn't.
He had learned too well that an apparently small decision could alter entire events.
Emily watched him.
For a moment, she seemed to wait for an answer.
But eventually she understood that she wasn't going to get one.
—It's all right.
She smiled weakly.
—You don't have to answer now.
Lusian raised his eyes.
Emily took a step back.
—I just wanted you to know.
Those words struck him harder than he expected.
Lusian breathed slowly.
I don't know what to do with you, Emily...
He had thought that keeping his distance would be enough.
But now he understood that it was already too late to pretend that this relationship meant nothing.
Emily stepped away from the carriage door.
—You can go.
Lusian watched her for several seconds.
He wanted to say something.
Anything.
But no words seemed appropriate.
Finally, he climbed into the carriage.
The door closed.
The horses began moving slowly.
Lusian looked through the window.
Emily was still there.
She stood watching him disappear into the distance.
Then, several meters away, a figure moved among the shadows of a partially rebuilt tower.
Alejandro.
His gaze was fixed on the carriage.
He had seen the kiss.
He had heard the words.
And now he was gripping the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
The carriage continued to move away.
Alejandro did not move.
Inside his chest, something dark had just taken root.
It wasn't only jealousy.
It wasn't only hatred toward Lusian.
It was the feeling that he had lost something he had considered his until that moment.
And that feeling...
he would not forget.