When you became a paladin, what kind of feelings did you have? How many tears of despair I had to spill to let you go.

But you don’t have to be so happy.

Damia’s childhood was always lonely. She was always left alone in the big mansion, waiting for her father to return from his business trips.

She always had to be a good child, that way her dad wouldn’t have to worry about leaving her behind.

The little girl endured her loneliness by clenching her fists, holding her chin high, like a lady. Even if it was something adults couldn’t bear.

However, it was Kael who broke down that precarious wall and warmly threw out the tension in her tightly clasped hands.

‘Dami, you’re reading a book alone, again. Aren’t you bored?’

No matter how much I pushed you, you came closer and grabbed my hand.

‘Come on! Let’s go out and play. Since today is a happy day because the sun is up!’

Your face that smiled as you looked at me was brighter than the sunlight that occasionally rises in the north.

‘So I… … .’

I liked you. You were irreplaceable. I’ve never had anything shiny or warm enough to exchange for you in the first place.

But Kael seemed to have found his own light elsewhere. And completely forgot about the girl who he had left behind.

Crush-

‘I don’t think it’s necessary to read the rest.’

Damia crumpled up a letter she didn’t want to read anymore of. Rather than becoming even more depressed by thinking of her first love she was thinking of going back to the audience chamber.

But Damia’s plan didn’t go as planned. It was because an unfamiliar woman appeared in front of her as she turned around.

‘Who is it?’

The other side looked at Damia and hesitated as well. She ran into another guest who came to appreciate the garden.

‘You’re dressed in an unusual way,’

Damia thought, spotting the strange woman.

Unlike herself, who dressed to meet the Crown Prince, she was dressed in a black robe from head to toe.

There were no emblems engraved on her black robe, as if it were absorbing the light. So Damia could not guess her identity.

Bow—

The moment their eyes met, the woman bowed briefly. At this, Damia also gave her a nod after returning her eye contact without much thought.

But before that, a woman spoke to her.

“… … Hi. —Ello.”

It was awkward, but what she said was clear.

Damia stopped walking at the unexpected greeting. Then the woman approached her.

The woman was taller than she thought. She wasn’t as big as a man, but she seemed to be at least half a span taller than her. Faltering, Damia, asked in her defensive manner,

“Do you have anything to do with me?”

When she came closer, the woman hesitated at those words. It was bright daytime, so Damia could see the woman’s face exposed under her robe.

She was a woman of classic beauty. Her black hair, reaching to her shoulders, was thick, and her eyebrows that were slightly raised at the tip gave a strong and elegant feeling. She was very skinny, but her nose was pretty, and her eyes glittered with a soft water, giving it a feminine feel.

“Uh… … I am waiting for someone.”

Contrary to the cold expression on her face, the woman stuttered and looked away.

“Yes, is that so?”

Is she trying to ask her for directions?

Damia waited for her next words with a puzzled expression. Then the woman took a deep breath and let out an unexpected request.

“I’m a little nervous about waiting by myself, but… … Could you be my companion for a moment?”

… … what? Is this social etiquette in the capital? Or is this just another royal metaphor she doesn’t know about?

Damia was a little bewildered. She glanced in the direction of her audience hall, yet she had not yet seen Magda’s shadow. It looked like it wasn’t her turn yet.

‘What do I do?’

Damia glanced at the unfamiliar woman. Then the woman begged again in her strangely desperate tone,

“It’ll only take a second.”