“I have never shown it in public.”

Derl frowned and answered immediately. However, he couldn’t find a proper response to Damion’s following words.

“Not yet.”

“……”

“In this environment, the line between public and private matters often becomes blurred. I must lead this war to victory, and I hope that in Marelle, where you were, they won’t even know the color of the Lezen army’s uniforms. I believe you share the same goal as me, Captain. What do you think?”

Of course, Derl felt the same way. He wanted Ansi and his mother to live peacefully without being involved in the war.

So while he nodded in agreement with Damion’s words, he couldn’t fully accept them.

How could he be sure that those words weren’t all just a ruse? The thought that Damion might have pretended to care only for Ansi in the same way made Derl’s stomach churn.

“I won’t do anything to harm you, Lieutenant Colonel.”

In the end, Derl gave a short salute and turned around.

Damion, who had been watching him calmly, turned and walked away.

Kardian crumpled the newspaper he was reading. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in and out, and suppressed his emotions. Every day since the war began, he couldn’t stand the irritation welling up inside him.

The area under Kardian’s command was close to the capital. It was quite far from the frontlines where Lezen was currently confronting the enemy, so this place was only on standby and had not yet engaged in combat.

It was a natural right.

How foolish of Damion to not enjoy that right and rush to the frontlines like a madman obsessed with war.

However, the results of those actions were greatly offending Kardian.

“A war hero……”

Kardian recited the evaluation of Damion written in the newspaper.

He had once tried to get rid of Damion because he hated people talking about such a childish nickname.

It was Kardian himself who created and implemented policies for the people of the empire. Yet, the one whose name was spoken with admiration by the people of the empire was Damion. He thought it was wrong.

But now, just like then, the people’s attention was on Damion. His name appeared regularly in the newspapers and magazines distributed every day.

Damion was getting on his nerves again.

He seemed to keep taking away the things Kardian possessed.

Because of that, every day recently had been a series of irritations. There was nothing he liked.

The fact that Chelsha, where Sovel Vio was located, was included in the area occupied by Lezen.

The fact that Damion was being recognized as Lieutenant Colonel Orphe, not as the duke’s younger brother. The fact that the emperor was pretending to be a good person and implementing support policies for refugees from the north…

Where could Ansi be?

If he knew that, it seemed like this irritation would disappear like bubbles.

Kardian stood up from his seat, picked up his coat, and called for his adjutant.

“I’ll be away for a few days. For an important matter.”

Seeing him leaving his post during wartime, the adjutant was quite perplexed, but in the end, he couldn’t argue and bowed his head.

Kardian smiled pleasantly and left the room. Now that Damion was distracted by the war, he intended to look for clues at his house.

Kardian hummed as he searched the empty study.

Outside, Damion’s butler and servants were fidgeting nervously, but as Damion’s elder brother who had come to retrieve an item he had left behind for a while, no one could stop him.

Kardian ran his hand over the telephone in the study.

Damion seemed quite confident that he really hadn’t contacted Ansi. Then did he use the telephone? There was no way to trace the location or number where Ansi was now…

‘But rather than a place where a telephone could be used… There’s a high possibility she’s hiding somewhere deeper.’

Kardian turned away from the telephone and went to Damion’s desk. He sat in the chair and rummaged through the drawers, but there were no particular traces of Ansi.

His patience was starting to wear thin.

“Hmm.”

He casually picked up the unopened letters piled on the desk. They seemed to have arrived after Damion had left for the battlefield.

Kardian briefly examined the rather thick envelopes and was about to throw them in the trash can.

Among the various envelopes with dried flowers or colorful sealing wax attached, a plain envelope caught his eye.

“……”

Kardian opened that envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper, folded neatly without any frills.

He unfolded the paper. The content, so short that it was questionable to even call it a letter, was written in neat handwriting.

I keep waiting here, thinking about what memories you made in this place when you were young. I hope we can meet in good health.

The content of the letter was vague, and the sender’s name was not written anywhere on the envelope or the letter. But Kardian could tell. That this was Ansi’s handwriting.

Kardian tapped his finger on the desk.

Soon, he curled up the corners of his mouth. A joyful smile filled his face.

“Marelle…?”

Of course, someone who didn’t know would think the place filled with young Damion’s memories was somewhere in Sovel Vio or the capital… But Kardian clearly remembered that he had come from Marelle.

He had first learned of the existence of such a region through Damion.

A humble but quiet area with little communication with the outside world. It was also the perfect place to hide.

Kardian got up from his seat.

He didn’t know for sure if Ansi would really be there, but there was nothing to lose. Before his short vacation ended, he planned to visit Marelle.

“Where are you going?”

“…To the port.”

Several soldiers followed Ansi as she walked. When she stopped and turned around to stare at them, they gestured ahead.

“We’ll follow quietly, so don’t mind us and go.”

“You don’t have to come. I’m just going for a walk.”

“We’ve told you many times… We know it’s inconvenient for you. But we have to follow orders.”

Ansi sighed. However, she had already realized through several confrontations that she couldn’t get rid of them. In the end, she gave up and started walking again.

The soldiers were different from the mercenaries who had accompanied her when she went to find Kardian last time. While the mercenaries had followed Ansi like shadows, whether she knew it or not, these men had no intention of hiding their presence at all.

Nevertheless, Ansi could understand why Damion had sent them instead of mercenaries.

His purpose was to prevent Ansi from leaving Marelle.

However, those who are hired for money tend to disperse if the client doesn’t provide regular compensation. Especially in times of social unrest due to war like this, there is no guarantee that they will fulfill their role until the end.

But soldiers are different. They move according to official orders. Moreover, in the midst of this war, there would be no one who could create a safer boundary for them than these men.

Ansi bit the inside of her lip.

She had sought an opportunity to escape from Marelle every time, but she couldn’t deceive the eyes of five men who were watching her alone, even if it was one or two.

Then what other way could she find a gap in their vigilance? Ansi was pondering that.

“I knew you’d be here.”

Ansi’s expression hardened.

In an instant, a cold sensation ran down her spine.

She slowly turned her head to the side.

“…Kardian.”

Kardian de Orphe. That bastard was here.

Ansi stared at him without even blinking.

Kardian smiled at her, his eyes crinkling in delight. He approached Ansi with steps as light as if he were walking on water.

“Aren’t you happy to see me, Ansi? It’s been a long time.”

“How… did you know?”

“You kindly provided the answer. With your own hand.”

Kardian raised his finger and pretended to write letters. Could it be…? Ansi narrowed her eyes.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know your handwriting, Ansi?”

Ansi’s gaze wavered. She had thought it might be dangerous when she wrote that letter. But even knowing that, she ended up sending the letter due to the anxiety of not knowing how Damion was doing.

It was a mistake.

In the end, the letter didn’t reach Damion, and instead, it brought Kardian here.

“Shall we leave right away? Or we can look around Marelle a bit more. But… who are those guys?”

Kardian stared at the soldiers standing a short distance away. They bowed to Kardian.

“Under whose orders are you here?”

“Lieutenant Colonel Raonil, sir.”

At the soldier’s answer, Kardian narrowed his eyes, lost in thought. Then he soon commanded them.

“I will take care of this woman. You may return to your posts. I will inform Lieutenant Colonel Raonil myself.”

“But……”

“That’s an order.”

“……”

“I’ll say it again. I will inform the lieutenant colonel. So you can go back.”

“…Understood.”

In the end, the hesitating soldiers bowed their heads.

Ansi’s gaze slowly moved from Kardian’s face to his clothes. Only then did she realize. Kardian was wearing a military uniform.

A glint flashed in Ansi’s eyes. A small thrill appeared on her face.

Soldiers follow the orders of soldiers.

That was the gap in the method Damion had used.

Kardian, the bastard she hated and hated again… He had squeezed through that gap and created an opportunity for her.