The caravan moved slowly through the main streets under Governor Arvian's guidance.
On both sides of the road, the citizens silently stepped aside.
Some watched the Carpathian knights with fear.
Others stared at the carriages loaded with food.
But many couldn't take their eyes off Lusian Douglas.
The governor's residence was the only building large enough to accommodate the royal entourage.
It had once been an elegant mansion.
Now, only remnants of its former grandeur remained.
The carpets were stained with mud. The curtains had lost their color, and several walls showed fresh cracks.
The air was heavy with the smell of medicine, smoke, sweat, and exhaustion.
It was the smell of a city that had been surviving for far too long.
Elizabeth stepped down from the carriage first.
She maintained a kind smile as she greeted the servants who bowed their heads as she passed.
Lusian stepped down behind her.
He didn't say a single word.
Even so, the atmosphere changed.
Even the imperial soldiers inside the residence straightened their backs when they saw him.
Arvian hurried forward.
"We'll prepare rooms for the princess, the four heroes... and, of course, for you, Duke Douglas."
Elizabeth answered before Lusian could.
"Lusian will stay in my sitting room."
Arvian blinked.
So did the four heroes.
Emily was the first to tense up.
Elizabeth continued with absolute calm.
"He is my designated protector. I want his room next to mine, and I want him to remain close while we're in this city."
The Carpathian soldiers bowed their heads.
No one questioned the order.
Arvian took a moment to react.
"Y-yes, Princess."
Lusian, however, seemed more concerned about something else.
He turned toward the knights.
"Check every entrance."
His voice was calm.
"I want constant surveillance throughout the night. No one enters or leaves without being registered."
"Yes, Duke!"
The soldiers dispersed.
Lusian followed them out.
The door closed.
The silence that remained in the hall lasted only a few seconds.
"You should let him rest."
Emily spoke without looking directly at Elizabeth.
"He's exhausted."
Elizabeth turned toward her.
"I know."
"And yet you keep him by your side."
"Lusian isn't here because I'm forcing him to be."
Emily let out a small laugh.
"Don't use duty as an excuse."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow slightly.
"An excuse?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
Elizabeth remained silent.
Emily took a step toward her.
"You went into his tent last night."
Elizabeth's gaze hardened.
"And?"
Emily swallowed.
"Do you really expect me to believe you only went there to treat him?"
The silence became uncomfortable.
Elizabeth took a step toward her.
"And you?"
Emily froze.
"Me?"
Elizabeth smiled faintly.
"Do you really expect me to believe you went there last night just to talk?"
Emily's face flushed.
"I'm his fiancée."
"I know."
"It's normal for me to—"
She stopped.
Elizabeth didn't need her to finish.
"I understand."
Emily gritted her teeth.
"Then stop acting like you're the only woman who can be by his side."
The smile disappeared from Elizabeth's face.
"Lusian is mine."
Emily stared at her.
"You say that constantly."
Her voice dropped.
"But you never talk about what he wants."
The words struck somewhere Elizabeth hadn't expected.
For the first time, she fell silent.
Emily also seemed to regret saying them.
But it was too late.
Elizabeth looked away.
"For now, we have a mission."
Emily slowly nodded.
"For now."
Both understood that the argument wasn't over.
It had only been postponed.
Later, Elizabeth summoned Governor Arvian.
The man arrived visibly nervous.
"Princess."
"Governor."
Elizabeth pointed toward the maps spread across the table.
"More than eight thousand refugees arrived with us from the nearby villages."
Arvian paled.
"Eight thousand...?"
"Most of them are women and children."
"Princess, we barely have enough resources to feed our own population."
"Carpathia will send enough supplies to last a month."
Arvian raised his head.
"A month?"
Elizabeth nodded.
"There's also a plant that can grow on the rooftops of houses. It produces fruit year-round and requires very little care."
The governor remained silent.
"It won't be food fit for nobles," Elizabeth continued, "but it will keep people alive."
Arvian slowly lowered his head.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Finally, he murmured:
"Thank you."
It didn't sound like a governor speaking to a princess.
It sounded like a man too exhausted to keep pretending he could endure everything.
Elizabeth understood.
"We're not finished yet."
Arvian raised his gaze.
"I know."
The Heroes
The makeshift infirmary was overflowing.
Improvised candles burned between rows of bodies covered with gray blankets.
The air smelled of blood, medicinal herbs, and melted wax.
The murmurs of the wounded mixed with muffled sobs and prayers.
Leonardo stopped in front of one of the corpses.
He was a young priest from the Temple of Lightning.
He couldn't have been more than eighteen.
His hand still clutched a small silver amulet.
A crumpled letter protruded from his robe pocket.
Leonardo recognized it.
He had read it days ago.
"Hero Erkhan, I will fight by your side. You will lead us to salvation."
His chest tightened.
"My army barely suffered any casualties..."
His voice trembled.
He looked at the bodies.
"And they..."
He couldn't finish.
Alejandro appeared beside him.
He looked over the corpses until his eyes stopped on one.
A red-haired boy.
Covered in soot and burns.
Alejandro recognized him immediately.
After every battle, that boy would run to him and ask for advice.
He said that one day he would become as strong as his hero.
He always talked too much.
He always smiled too much.
Now none of that remained.
Alejandro swallowed.
"He followed me because he believed I could protect him."
His voice broke.
Kara arrived shortly afterward.
None of her usual defiance remained.
She stopped in front of three bodies.
Three female warriors from her unit.
They had trained with her for years.
Kara knew their voices.
Their arguments.
Their jokes.
Their complaints during guard duty.
Now, only silence remained.
"They were the best I had..."
Her voice came out broken.
"The most disciplined. The strongest."
She gritted her teeth.
"And even that wasn't enough."
She covered her mouth.
"What kind of leader am I if the first ones to die are the ones who trusted me the most?"
No one answered.
Because no one had an answer.
Nearby, Emily cleaned the blood from the body of a child.
The child was missing an arm.
Her hands continued working with precision.
But tears fell onto the child's face.
"They prayed for us..."
Her voice broke.
"They believed we'd come to save them."
She closed her eyes.
"And now we can barely keep them alive."
A tear fell onto the bandage.
"Only to bury them afterward."
The four heroes remained silent.
For the first time, none of them looked like heroes.
They were simply four young people staring at the consequences of a war they couldn't stop.
And perhaps that was the true beginning of their growth.
Because in a game...
the dead disappeared.
In that world...
they had names.
Families.
Dreams.
And people waiting for them.
That Night
When night fell, Elizabeth finished organizing the residence's personnel.
Then she retired to her chambers.
Lusian followed her.
He closed the door.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Outside, voices could still be heard.
Shouts.
Footsteps.
Crying.
The city continued to suffer.
Elizabeth took a few steps forward.
Then stopped.
She placed one hand against the wall.
Her breathing became uneven.
"You almost died today..."
Lusian looked at her.
"I'm fine."
Elizabeth let out a small laugh.
But there was no humor in it.
"You always say that."
She turned toward him.
Her eyes were tired.
"And yet you keep throwing yourself into danger as if your life doesn't matter."
Lusian remained silent.
Elizabeth walked toward him.
"I don't want to see you like that again."
"It's my duty."
"No."
Elizabeth shook her head.
"That's what you tell yourself."
She stopped in front of him.
She held his face between her hands.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
"You're not just my guard."
Lusian looked at her.
Elizabeth swallowed.
"You're my man."
For the first time in a long time...
Lusian had no answer.
Elizabeth closed her eyes.
She rested her forehead against his.
"Today, I thought I was going to lose you."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"And I was afraid."
Lusian slowly raised one hand.
He placed it over hers.
"Elizabeth..."
She shook her head.
"No."
She hugged him.
Tightly.
As if she needed to make sure he was still there.
That he was alive.
That she could touch him.
Lusian remained still for several seconds.
Then he hugged her back.
Outside, Varendor continued mourning its dead.
The wounded continued fighting to survive.
And the war continued.
But inside that room, for a few minutes, Lusian stopped being Duke Douglas.
Elizabeth stopped being a princess.
There were no heroes.
No monsters.
No levels.
Only two people trying to find a little peace in the middle of a war that was far from over.