A faint energy spread throughout my body for a moment, and tension of unknown origin prevailed. Then, as I slowly turned away, a chill down my back that reminded me of a rake scratch, a person whose face was hidden by the light behind them had a mace over their head.

Thwack–!

“Ugh!”

Without a chance to evade it, the mace slammed into my head. I groaned at the sudden agonizing pain and fell to the ground. The mace fell with a loud thud. The pain came next.

My mind became dull, and I continued to feel the pain of the weapon striking my head. The rough surface of the soil scratched my face, and my scalp felt like it would tear, as if someone had grabbed my hair. I didn’t like the feeling of the hot liquid flowing through my forehead, drenching my hair.

Takan, lying next to me, must have felt like this, too.

I couldn’t lift a finger, but suddenly my body turned over and I saw the sky filled with black smoke. Someone’s hand slipped into my pants pocket.

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“D*mn it! Where is it!”

The hand rummaged through my pockets and pulled out the necklace. I heard the rustling of metal, and my trouser pockets felt lighter.

“Stop.. it..”

I grabbed the wrist slowly moving away, but when the stranger shook off my grip, my hand fell helplessly. I narrowed my eyes and stared at the man examining the necklace. He was one of the guards who had abandoned Carje and ran from the fire.

“I’m glad I worked underground..!”

He ran away in the opposite direction of Quetray forest, leaving the mace behind. The footsteps faded, the pain in my head intensified, and my vision flickered.

“Haa, haa–” I panted.

As my head fell to the other side, I saw a girl running toward the unquenchable fire. I couldn’t help but laugh helplessly at the sight. I wanted to help her put out the fire.

In the end, I didn’t even set foot in the woods and only pursued an illusion. Did I keep anything from Carje just to make this situation?

The memories I wanted to forget were overlaid with even worse memories, and the tangled thread that I thought would be released if I lost my memory was not resolved.

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What changed? I slowly closed my eyes in helplessness, then lifted my eyelids with all my might at the last blurry figure I saw. There, Takan’s brows furrowed, and his eyelashes trembled. Yes, Takan. I saved him.

Fortunately, Takan surviving brought comfort to me. He wouldn’t have gone through this if he hadn’t followed me. The guilt I felt was indescribable.

He said he would atone for his sister’s death.

How heavy would his atonement be if measured by weight? Would this empty feeling resolve all his atonement? I closed my eyes slowly and opened my eyes at the thought that suddenly hit me.

No, it didn’t solve anything at all. What’s more, if Kyle was about to attack this place, would he be able to see her sister? I had to meet Kyle and tell him about what happened here, but Tarkan’s absence wouldn’t have much of an impact.

I reached out to him. My fingers swept the hem of his robe tantalizingly.

“Ugh. Takan..! Takan!” I called out to him, my voice hoarse. “Takan, wake up!”

As my mind went blank and my voice faded, my head throbbed, and my vision turned dark. In the chaos, Takan raised his trembling eyelids, and I let go of his hand in relief.

As the broken sunlight penetrated through the leaves, I couldn’t bear the rush of light and lost consciousness.

The fire, which had risen beyond control, was stopped at the inn due to the people’s efforts. The inn, which managed to maintain its shape, was barely spared from being burnt down.

The survivors scrambled around the inn, losing their minds and falling to the ground. Only the girl went back and forth between the lake and the inn.

Tap, tap–.

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As the girl headed back to the lake, her footsteps resounded. When the girl shaded her hand to avoid the scorching sun, she saw a man through a crack in her hand.

As the man pulled the reins, the horse raised its front paws and stopped.

The girl stared in awe at the man atop his horse, his flowing black hair fluttering and his back against the sunlight. People faltered and stepped back as knights flocked to the inn, but the girl only looked blankly.

“Stop!”

Some tried to attack the knights while others ran away in confusion, but they all stopped at the voice of the coercive knight. Soon, they sat down in surrender and exhaustion.

As the man atop the horse went down, the girl’s eyes widened when she saw him up close.

It was the first time in the girl’s life she had seen such an overwhelming and beast-like energy. The unusual man had a complicated expression, as if nervous and anxious.

The girl was accustomed to the many men around her who made such expressions. Her stepfather, who beat her and her mother, the butcher with a foul mouth, and men with nasty tempers always made such scary faces. Each time, she would fall into her mother’s arms and tremble in fear. But why?

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She was mesmerized by his appearance, and the moment she looked down, she realized it. An overbearing man, twice her height, was anxious like a child who had lost his mother. He looked contemplative as he looked around with eager eyes, unable to breathe.

“Are you the only one left?”

The girl couldn’t answer the man’s question, knowing it was directed at her. The girl, who hesitated a little and nodded, was suspicious that the man who only looked straight ahead would understand her intention.

The man turned around blankly and gave a simple order. “Extinguish the flames completely and capture all the people involved! Then, the rest of the forces will search for the Tigger and the culprits!”

The knights moved swiftly. The girl looked into the man’s eyes as she was dragged by the ruthless hand of the knight. Eyes stained with despair that were too deep to fathom.

Kyle hurriedly passed the people who were being suppressed by the knights. He looked at the faces of the people, then ran toward the inn in despair.

‘Aelle.’

Aelle.?Kyle whispered her name so softly that it was barely audible.

“Your Grace!”

The commander stopped Kyle and stood in front of him. For a moment, he hesitated to block the path of his master but was glad he did when he saw Kyle’s face. Upon seeing Kyle’s sullen look, he had a hunch that his reason was cracking.

“The fire is still there so it’s dangerous. The inn may collapse, so please–”

“Move,” Kyle growled in dismissal. Kyle gently pushed him away, keeping his gaze fixed in front of him.

The commander didn’t give up and continued to block Kyle’s way, his arms wide open.

“Your Grace, calm down, and leave Madam to us,?urk–”

Kyle grabbed him by the collar and threw him, the commander flying and falling to the ground. The commander furrowed his brows and said, “Your Grace–”

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“If you stop me from this, I will understand that you are prepared for death.”

Kyle shook his head, walking away without a single glance. While the commander closed his mouth, Kyle had already disappeared.

As Kyle arrived at the inn, the knights extinguishing the residual fire frantically retreated. Kyle approached without hesitation and smashed the charcoal-scorched wooden plank with his bare hands. The planks were wet enough to dampen his skin.

Surely, surely, she must be alive.

Kyle kept saying things that even he couldn’t understand. He didn’t know if he was praying for the first time in his life or wishing for Aelle. Even though he knew a person couldn’t survive just by looking at the state of the inn, he stubbornly repeated his actions and entered the entrance.

After removing the damp wooden planks, he went into the inn and shouted, “Aelle!”

Her name didn’t resonate as loudly as it did in his chest. Burnt corpses were mixed with boards, their hair gone but their body still intact.

“Aelle..! Aelle!”

Kyle threw away the planks, shouting her name like an inertia from within. The boards, which flew mercilessly at his touch, rolled over. He looked at the body regardless. He looked for her in the pile of corpses, trying to find her outline, vivid in his mind, drawn with his eyes closed.

He acted like an insane man and continued until all the bodies hidden under the boards were identified. How long had it been?

Kyle repeated his actions regardless, and when he saw a body of similar build, his eyes widened.