The messenger arrived just as Lusian was reviewing the camp maps.
The tent flap suddenly opened.
A young man covered in dust stumbled inside. His breathing was ragged, and several patches of dried blood stained his armor.
"My lord..."
Lusian looked up.
The messenger fell to his knees and placed a small package on the table.
It was wrapped in white cloth and sealed with the Douglas crest.
"Duchess Sofia sent this for you."
Lusian blinked.
"My mother?"
The young man nodded.
"It is her birthday gift for you."
For a moment, all the tension disappeared from Lusian's face.
He took the package and carefully broke the seal.
Inside was a simple gift.
Nothing luxurious.
But it had been prepared with care.
Lusian ran his fingers over the fabric.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Mom..."
The word left his lips effortlessly.
Without thinking.
And that made him pause for a moment.
At first, he had been forced to call her that.
It was part of the role.
He wasn't really Lusian Douglas.
He was Erwin.
A player trapped inside a character.
Sofia was simply the mother of the body he had inherited.
Or so he had thought.
But as he looked at the gift, he remembered all the little things that had happened since he arrived in this world.
She had been there when he understood nothing.
When he didn't know how to behave.
When he made mistakes.
When he was afraid he wouldn't be able to live up to the expectations of a duke.
Sofia had never stopped protecting him.
She had scolded him.
She had supported him.
She had trusted him even when he himself didn't know what to do.
And, without realizing it...
He had begun to love her.
Not as Lusian's mother.
As his mother.
Lusian slowly lowered his gaze.
"Mom..."
This time, the word sounded different.
More natural.
More real.
Then he remembered something.
The game.
A scene he barely remembered.
Sofia Douglas.
Dead.
Lusian felt his chest tighten.
He didn't remember when it happened.
He didn't remember who killed her.
He didn't remember exactly how.
He had played for so many hours...
Skipped so many dialogue scenes...
Read so little of the story...
"No..."
His hand slowly tightened around the package.
No.
It couldn't happen now.
Not her.
He had spent so long thinking that the deaths of the characters were simply part of the story.
He had watched characters die.
He had let characters die.
He had even thought that if the heroes ever became his enemies, he could simply kill them.
But Sofia was different.
Not her.
The messenger was still kneeling in front of him.
His expression made Lusian raise his head.
The smile was gone.
"What happened?"
The young man swallowed.
"My lord..."
His voice trembled.
"The Duchy is under attack."
Lusian froze.
"What?"
"Several cities have come under simultaneous attacks. There are demonic cultists infiltrating them. The barriers of some cities were destroyed from within."
The package remained between his fingers.
"And my mother?"
The messenger lowered his gaze.
"The duchess left for Norvind."
Silence.
The world seemed to stop.
"When?"
"Several hours ago."
Lusian felt a chill run down his back.
"And why the hell am I only hearing about this now?"
"The routes were cut off. We had to travel through the forest."
Lusian stood.
The chair fell behind him.
"Where is she?"
"In Norvind, my lord."
"How many enemies?"
"We don't know."
"How many soldiers does she have?"
The messenger began to answer.
But Lusian barely heard him.
His thoughts kept returning to the same memory.
Sofia died.
He knew it.
He didn't know when.
He didn't know how.
But he had seen it in the game.
And now events were beginning to draw far too close to that part of the story.
Lusian clenched his teeth.
"No."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Not this time."
Mana began to stir around his body.
The candles inside the tent trembled.
The messenger stepped back slightly.
Lusian took the gift and placed it inside his luggage.
Carefully.
As if it were something extremely precious.
Then he raised his gaze.
There was no doubt left in his eyes.
"Prepare the men."
The messenger swallowed.
"My lord?"
Lusian picked up his gloves.
"We're leaving."
A dark pressure began spreading throughout the tent.
"To the Duchy."
He paused.
His fingers clenched tightly.
"To Norvind."
And this time, he wasn't a duke worried about his territory.
Nor was he a player trying to survive inside a world he knew.
He was simply a son.
Who wasn't willing to lose his mother.
The others arrived soon after.
Alejandro entered first.
"What's going on?"
Leonardo appeared behind him.
"Why are they preparing the army?"
Lusian didn't even bother looking at them.
He continued giving orders.
"Five hundred soldiers. Heavy cavalry. Support mages. Reconnaissance units."
Albert had already begun organizing the men.
"Understood."
Alejandro frowned.
"Wait."
Lusian stopped.
"Are you abandoning the campaign?"
"Yes."
"You can't do that!"
Lusian finally looked at him.
"My territory is under attack."
"But people are dying here too!"
Lusian clenched his teeth.
For a moment, anger surged through him again.
But he took a breath.
And calmed down.
Sofia had taught him something far more important than any strategy.
Think before you act.
"The kingdom's campaign has other commanders," he finally said. "My Duchy has only one duke."
Alejandro opened his mouth.
He had no answer.
Lusian picked up the gift from the table and placed it inside his luggage.
"I don't know what's happening there."
His voice lowered.
"I don't know how many enemies there are."
He looked at the messenger.
"I don't even know if the defenses are still functioning."
He paused.
"But my mother is there."
No one argued again.
Emily stepped forward.
"I'm going with you."
Lusian looked at her.
"Emily..."
"It doesn't matter whether you're the duke or not."
She tightened her grip on her staff.
"If your family is in danger, I'm going to help you."
Lusian remained silent for several seconds.
Finally, he nodded.
"All right."
Kara appeared behind her.
"I'd go too."
Lusian looked at her in surprise.
Kara shrugged.
"Don't make that face. I'm not doing it for you."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"I want to see what kind of monster can make an entire Duchy go to war."
Lusian said nothing.
He looked toward the exit.
The soldiers were already beginning to form up.
Thunder neighed outside.
Umber raised his head.
The entire camp had sprung into motion.
Lusian adjusted his gloves.
Then he looked one last time at the small package he had stored away.
His expression hardened.
"Hang in there, Mom."
And he mounted Thunder.
The Douglas army began to advance.
Toward the Duchy.
Toward Norvind.
Toward the battle Lusian did not yet know would change his life forever.