Whether because they judged that their position had been exposed due to me, the assailants simultaneously began attacking the Royal Guard.

At that sight, I immediately threw the bomb I was holding in my hand.

Boom!

In an instant, a tremendous explosion erupted, flames surging skyward.

Through the thick smoke, I could see the spot where the assailants had been hiding—now sunken inward.

Since I had made it myself, I knew its power well. Judging by the intense blast, a considerable number of nearby assailants seemed to have been injured.

After that single explosion, the Royal Guard and the assailants became entangled in chaotic combat.

Though the assailants had initiated the ambush, the unexpected bomb had shifted the advantage decisively toward the Royal Guard.

My eyes followed only Ascan.

Unlike the other Royal Guards, Ascan immediately turned his body and headed straight toward where I stood.

From afar, I pulled out my K39 and shot down assailants approaching Ascan—feeling as though I were providing covering fire for him.

Somehow, Ascan’s eyes seemed to glimmer strangely as he looked at me, but the situation was too urgent for any exchange of words.

Before long, assailants appeared around me as well.

Whether seeking revenge for the earlier bomb, their eyes were filled with murderous intent as they stared at me.

At such close range, using a bomb was impossible—any misstep risked dragging me into the explosion as well.

I spotted Zen rapidly sprinting toward my position, but I had no luxury to wait for his aid.

Shweeeee!

In a flash, an assailant’s blade flew straight toward me.

I barely dodged, and the moment I aimed the barrel of my K39—

“Arrrrgh!”

Suddenly, crimson flames erupted, engulfing the assailant who had swung his sword at me.

At first I thought it was a single flame—but in the blink of an eye, seven fiery tongues began attacking the assailants surrounding me.

Ascan had appeared without warning, standing protectively before me, and murmured softly,

“Why did you follow me all the way here?”

“Me?”

Just then, I caught sight of an assailant preparing to strike Ascan.

Without hesitation, I aimed my K39 and fired.

Whoosh—

Though less powerful than Ascan’s undying flames, the fire shot from my K39 instantly flew toward the assailant targeting him.

“To do what I couldn’t do in the past.”

Ten years ago, I had helplessly watched Ascan leave. But now, things were different.

At my answer, Ascan’s eyes clouded with confusion. But we were hardly in a position for leisurely conversation.

Under relentless attacks from all directions, Ascan shielded me behind his back, fending off enemies.

Soon after, Zen arrived and began methodically taking down nearby assailants.

Possessing the Shadow attribute, Zen grew stronger at night—vanishing momentarily, then reappearing from unexpected angles to pressure his foes.

From a distance, it almost looked as if he were teleporting.

With Zen’s arrival, handling the assailants became significantly easier. At this rate, victory for the Royal Guard seemed inevitable.

That was when—

I spotted an assailant in the distance, drawing his bowstring, aiming squarely at Ascan.

I swiftly aimed my K39 at him—but pulling the trigger produced no shot.

The mana stored in the magic stone had run out.

‘Of all times…!’

I hastily reached for another magical engineering weapon—but the assailant’s arrow had already been released.

Swheeeee!

I saw the arrow, fired by the assailant, speeding toward us.

The sight of that arrow—about to pierce Ascan—erased all thought from my mind.

My body moved first.

I quickly wrapped myself around Ascan.

In that fleeting instant, Ascan, sensing something amiss, turned to look at me—and our eyes met midair.

It seemed we were about to be struck by the arrow—but Ascan’s eyes twisted with urgency as he grabbed my shoulder and rolled us both to the ground.

We tumbled together, entangled—and somehow, Ascan ended up above me, bracing himself with both hands as though covering me.

Clang!

Immediately afterward, a metallic clang rang out—like steel striking steel.

In my vision, the sharp arrowhead distorted and clattered to the ground.

Glancing around, I realized the arrow had struck not me, but Ascan’s shoulder. Fortunately, since he was in his steel-hardened state, he appeared unharmed.

Perhaps due to the frantic rolling, Ascan’s mask had slipped off.

I hurriedly checked on him, asking,

“Are you okay?”

For some reason, Ascan replied with an expression of clear irritation.

“Is that really the question you should be asking me right now?”

“Let me see.”

His clothes had been torn by the arrow moments ago, so I quickly sat up to inspect the area.

But Ascan was faster. He roughly grabbed my wrist and began dragging me away from the battlefield.

Since the situation hadn’t yet been fully resolved, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

“Where are you suddenly taking me?”

“To a safer location.”

“No, I can still help—!”

“Forget it—I have a mission to ensure your safety and deliver you safely to the Calua Empire. So please refrain from dangerous actions.”

Somehow, an unpleasant tone colored his voice—but it felt strangely new, and I found myself staring up at him.

This might have been the first time Ascan had openly used informal speech toward me.

Interpreting my gaze somehow, he furrowed his brow and continued in a low voice.

“Lady Brellof. My duty is to deliver you safely to the Calua Empire. Therefore, please restrain yourself from reckless behavior.”

“That sounds like you’re saying I was completely useless. Honestly, thanks to my bomb, the situation turned much more favorable.”

“I could have handled it even without your intervention.”

“If you mean I shouldn’t interfere, then no.”

I couldn’t just stand by like some unrelated spectator when it came to anything involving Ascan.

By now, we had moved quite far from the battlefield. Occasional clashes of swords echoed faintly, but no one else was visible around us.

Ascan, who had been leading me by the wrist, suddenly stopped. He turned to face me with solemn, lowered eyes and asked,

“What’s your reason for going this far?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you pretending not to know? Or do you genuinely not understand? I’m referring to when you tried to take the arrow meant for me.”

“If you’re about to say ‘thank you,’ don’t bother.”

I had momentarily forgotten that Ascan could harden his body into steel—and that, as before, he could deflect arrows with it.

The moment I realized he might be hurt, I moved without thinking.

But even if the arrow had struck me, I wouldn’t have regretted it. I had no intention of watching him placed in danger again, as I had ten years ago.

Worriedly, I looked at Ascan’s torn clothing and asked,

“Are you really unharmed? Let me check.”

I knew Ascan rarely sustained injuries—but that didn’t erase my concern for him.

I unconsciously reached toward his shoulder—the one struck by the arrow—but he stepped back, evading my touch.

My hand, suddenly bereft of purpose, hung awkwardly in midair.

Ascan gazed at me with a complicated expression and said,

“Does your behavior have something to do with the memories I’ve lost?”

Caught completely off guard by the question, I was momentarily speechless. I never imagined he’d be the one to ask me this first.

Perhaps reading the answer in my startled expression, Ascan continued softly,

“I know there are gaps in my memory. Your behavior upon first seeing me, your knowledge of my name, and your actions now—it’s not difficult to deduce the connection.”

“That’s…”

Ascan had always been exceptionally sharp-witted.

As the novel’s ultimate antagonist, he had evidently deduced—from just a few clues—that I was connected to his lost memories.

Since things had come to this, there was no longer any reason to hide. I nodded.

“Yes. We knew each other ten years ago. And I owe you a debt.”

Ascan didn’t seem particularly surprised—he must have anticipated something like this.

“The me who escaped from the Calua Empire knew you…? It seems entirely unrelated. How did we meet?”

“You were my page. A slave of the Brellof household.”

“A noble lady and her slave? Doesn’t sound like a particularly good relationship.”

Anyone might think that.

My mind grew tangled—how should I even begin to explain?

“No. It wasn’t… like that.”

It hadn’t been merely a lady-and-page relationship.

The way Ascan had treated me in the past was anything but ordinary. I had never received such affection from anyone else.

But I didn’t know how to express it.

Feelings couldn’t be fully conveyed just by explaining them.

While I hesitated, Ascan spoke calmly,

“Was I someone precious to you? Did you… like me?”

…What?

It was true—I had longed for that version of Ascan for years. That’s why I had searched for him, unable to forget him even after a decade.

But admitting it outright felt strangely awkward—as though I’d been chasing him one-sidedly all along.

“Well, you liked me more, didn’t you?”

I found myself replying with what sounded like a cowardly excuse.

But it was the truth. He was the one who brought me herb tea every single day, ate the carrots I hated just because I asked, and—after I mentioned black suited him—wore black every day.

His words still echoed vividly in my ears, spoken while gazing down at me from a distance so close our noses nearly touched:

—May I kiss you?

Clearly, he had been the one to tempt me first. He had been the one to pour out deep affection.

But Ascan narrowed his eyes suspiciously, clearly not believing a word I said.

‘Ugh, this is maddening.’

I felt inexplicably wronged.

It wasn’t that I held no feelings for him—but somehow, I felt misunderstood.

Ascan said, in a displeased tone,

“Well, suppose that’s true.”

Suppose what? It is true!

It was obvious he didn’t believe me. But there was no surviving evidence proving he had been the one to like me first.

“I don’t know how much you know about me, but I don’t get injured easily. So I won’t tolerate reckless stunts like that again.”

“It’s my body. Whether I get hurt or not is none of your business.”

Annoyed and feeling unjustly treated, I snapped back more sharply than intended.

I expected Ascan to respond again with some line about his duty—but unexpectedly, he fell silent.

He stood rigidly, as if struck at his core, then spoke in a voice even lower than before.

“You said it before—that you’re interested in me.”

“…If you’re about to tell me to turn that interest off, don’t bother. I’ll handle it myself.”

In the distance, I spotted Zen—likely having come here searching for me.

Not wanting to cause unnecessary worry, I waved to signal my location—and just as I naturally began moving toward him,

“Ah!”

My ankle suddenly throbbed.

I had vaguely noticed discomfort earlier, but now the pain surged unmistakably—I must have injured it.

Apparently, I’d twisted my ankle while rolling on the ground with Ascan to dodge the arrow.

Noticing my uneven gait, Ascan asked with a hint of concern,

“Did you injure your ankle?”

“Seems like a slight sprain.”

As I limped toward Zen, my body suddenly floated into the air.

Startled, I turned my head—and saw Ascan holding me.

“As—!”

I nearly called him “Ascan” out of habit, but remembered his recent warning against using his name, and clamped my mouth shut.

Yet Ascan himself seemed entirely unconcerned.

Glancing cautiously at him, I said again,

“Put me down. I can walk.”

Ascan didn’t budge. He simply gazed at me with inscrutable eyes.

“I don’t know what grand memories bind us—enough for you to take an arrow meant for me—but I have no intention of being bound by a past I can’t even remember.”

I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. To him, with his lost memories, my emotions might feel burdensome.

I already knew this—but hearing him confirm it aloud made my chest ache.

The man standing before me was Ascan—the one I had searched for across ten years. Yet simultaneously, he was no longer that boy.

But he wasn’t finished.

“However… if your actions now are for the sake of the present me, not the past me… then perhaps I’d feel differently about it.”

I didn’t immediately grasp his meaning—I repeated his words in my mind several times. The more I thought, the wider my eyes grew.

To me, the Ascan of the past and the Ascan of the present were the same person. But he was drawing a line—as if they were different people.

Perhaps, to Ascan, the forgotten past felt like someone else’s life. Was he asking me to see him as he was now?

Confused, I looked at him and asked,

“What do you mean?”

Until now, I had never been able to decipher the look in his eyes when he gazed at me.

But this time was different. For the first time, his eyes—like gathered moonlight—looked down at me with unmistakable, clear emotion.

“I mean… if your interest is in the present me, unrelated to the past… then I won’t refuse it.”

It was interest—perhaps curiosity.

What was certain: something had changed.