The convent of the Cold Winter Day.
The red-haired girl, who was able to reach this place with the help of an old blacksmith, discovered the pitiful sight in front of her.
"Head Sister! Please open up!"
A woman pounding on the tightly sealed door of the convent, as resolute as the cold winter day.
"It's Marcella! Please, open the door!"
Marcella's voice was as strained as her disheveled black hair.
And behind her, girls trembling with cold and anxiety.
They were young prostitutes, like Zemina, on the brink of debut.
"······Marcella?"
The door, which seemed firmly shut, creaked open.
An old nun was looking at the uninvited guest who came late at night with uncomfortable eyes.
"What brings you here tonight...?"
"Oh! Head Sister!"
Marcella held onto the old nun as if she had found light in the darkness.
"Please take care of these children. They are poor children."
"What is this...?"
The head sister frowned when she saw Marcella asking to take care of the children, not only because of her sudden visit.
This was not just a violation of etiquette, it was an act that went too far.
"You have spoken too much. Leave!"
When she wondered what was going on, it seemed like something had happened in the back alley.
Otherwise, the woman who always smiles leisurely would not cry as urgently as she does now.
"Head Sister! Please!"
"This is not a place for just anyone to enter!"
The Head Sister expressed her displeasure as she looked at the children standing behind Marcella.
Since they were children brought in by prostitutes, they must have been girls working in a dirty place.
This place is one of the closest to God.
They cannot house such dirty children here.
"No!"
Marcella desperately squeezed the nun's thigh through the closing gap of the door.
"These children are virgins. They are the ones the bishop has been watching over!"
"...."
Virgins prostitutes.
Contradictory beings created by Shoara's bishop, who abhorred pedophilia.
The Head Sister also knew those children well.
"Even so, accepting them so suddenly..."
"Why not! How much money have I invested here!"
Late at night. A harsh voice echoed in front of the quiet convent.
The nun was surprised to see Marcella, who had looked pitiful just a moment ago, but had suddenly changed.
"With that money alone, you could feed these kids for ten years and still have some left! Is it that difficult for you to do me this favor?"
Looking at Marcella, who had transformed into a lioness protecting her cubs, the Head Sister was momentarily overwhelmed.
"Step aside!"
At her desperate yet firm command, the Head Sister stepped back. Marcella opened the convent door wide and spoke to the girls behind her.
"Come in!"
"Madame."
"What are you going to do Madame?"
"Just worry about yourself."
Seeing the sobbing and hesitating girls, Marcella firmly grabbed their shoulders and pushed them into the convent.
"Let's use this to cover the overdue wages."
One by one.
Through the touch of the prostitute's hands, the children entered the embrace of God.
"Marcella..."
"Yes. You've worked hard."
Marcella smiled as she gently wrapped her hands around Zemina's face, shielding her from the cold wind.
"We've all got our own things to do. Men never tie up loose ends properly anyway."
Even when she ushered in the hesitating Zemina, the Head Sister seemed to block the way, as if she couldn't concede any further.
"Not you."
The embrace of God was vast, but one needed qualifications to reach it.
Marcella, the debaucherous prostitute, was not qualified to enter God's embrace.
"...I never really expected it anyway."
Marcella stopped in front of the rules set by humans, not god.
But having successfully sent the children in her care to safety, Marcella fulfilled her responsibility until the end.
"I entrust them to you. They'll do well."
"... ."
A pitiful woman who was helplessly left alone in the dark.
The greedy touch of someone had extended even to this place.
Between the gradually closing gap of the door, there was Marcella being pulled away.
Being dragged into the darkness of a cold winter day.
"Marcel... la."
That was the last sight of the outside world that Zemina saw.
※※※※
"Today, we will pray here with our children."
"... The chapel is spacious, isn't it."
Vlad followed Head Sister's guidance, but his gaze kept wandering.
He knew it was rude, but he couldn't help but hope to catch a glimpse of the familiar red hair among the novice nuns passing by.
"And there are people waiting to pray with the knights. Can we pray with them? Grace multiplies when shared, after all."
However, the girl he was looking for was nowhere to be seen, and there were only inappropriate guests waiting for Vlad.
'... So that's how it is.'
It seemed there had been intentions behind the delayed visit to the convent.
Vlad was still just a minor figure in the world of true nobles and knights, but to those looking up from the bottom, he was quite an appealing figure.
Perhaps they had arranged with the Head Sister to establish a connection with Bayezid.
"... Very well. It is an honor."
"Thank you for your consideration."
Although he didn't like the idea of being used, Vlad had no choice but to follow the Head Sister for now.
'Damn Gott.'
Vlad sighed inwardly as he thought of Gott.
Although he had muttered about having requested the visit, he had not mentioned his intention to bring Zemina.
'In the end, I have to do everything.'
That's why Vlad had to present himself as favorably as possible to the Head Sister.
To suddenly demand something unplanned, he had to show a somewhat positive demeanor.
"..."
Listening to the Head Sister explain the history of the convent, Vlad absentmindedly touched the unadorned sword hanging at his waist.
It was tolerable to endure this annoyance for the sake of the girl who had given him this sword, bought with her tears.
※※※※
A bustling morning at the convent, unlike usual.
Although it wasn't always the same, Zemina quietly washed the dishes, occasionally glancing at the familiar scenery she had sometimes seen before.
'I wonder who will come today.'
There were days like this occasionally.
Days when they prayed with visitors from the outside.
"Wow! He's so handsome!"
"And those blue eyes! Is he from a noble family?"
Due to the nature of the convent, where news from the outside didn't spread well, rumors of the visitors were clearly sparking the imaginations of the girls.
"..."
However, such talk was completely irrelevant to Zemina.
Having grown up in the back alleys, she knew the harsh reality better than anyone here.
She didn't want to waste time on fairy tales that the girls dreamed of.
"Why are you all still dawdling? Get ready to go to the chapel!"
Under the scolding of the supervising nun who entered the kitchen, the apprentice nuns quickly finished washing the dishes.
But where Zemina was, the dishes still piled up.
It was the result of nobody helping, and even subtly shifting the blame onto her.
"..."
The children of Marcella who had come with Zemina were watching nervously under the supervising nun's scolding.
But just as Zemina endured and persevered, those children were also doing their best to survive in a strange place.
Even if it is an act of ignoring Zemina.
"Finish all that and then come."
"······Yes."
Despite the instructions of the supervising nun and everyone else leaving, Zemina remained standing alone in front of the sink.
In the empty kitchen, the only sound was the splashing of water.
Zemina was painfully alone in this place.
"······Now there's no one to complain about getting eczema."
In the quiet kitchen with nobody around, the girl quietly reminisced about someone.
For her, the strength to endure each day came from remembering Marcella's sacrifice for them and the promise the boy had left behind.
※※※※
Except for one person, everyone gathered in the chapel.
On this sunny afternoon, the girls expressed their excited hearts through whispered words.
The knight of rumors. The squire of the Bayezid family.
Since the person who possessed all the elements that the girls of the prime age would be interested in was coming here, they buzzed with anticipation.
"Today, a special guest has arrived. He is from the Bayezid family and is also vouched for by Priest Andrea."
The girls murmured the name mentioned by the Head Sister.
Anyone living in the northern region, especially in Bayezid County, would know the name Andrea.
No matter how much effort one made, merely being a noble wouldn't create the current situation.
The girls nodded to each other, acknowledging that there must be a reason for this.
The man who came here now had brought excellent references with him.
"Let's pray."
As the Head Sister led, everyone present bowed their heads.
Seeing the blond man praying so naturally, the girls couldn't help but scream silently again.
Because his posture of prayer was so natural.
Just by looking at his posture, one could tell how devout he was. He didn't seem like someone uncultured who only pursued the sword. The girls' hearts raced at the sight.
'······Quickly, go and stand!'
'Sorry.'
Finally finishing the last of the dishes, Zemina hurriedly found her place in the corner, feeling the nuns' eyes on her.
'······Phew.'
Luckily, she wasn't too late. If she were late or absent for such tasks, severe reprimands awaited, so Zemina breathed a sigh of relief.
But what the girl didn't know was that the blond man who had been pretending to pray up there had been looking for her. And he had spotted the last red-haired girl entering the chapel.
After the prayer.
After polite greetings and laughter.
When all that remains is connection with people under the guise of lunch.
'Huh?'
Zemina, who had finally lifted her head after finishing the prayer, felt like she locked eyes with the blond man standing at the altar.
"······?"
And from the moment their eyes met, Zemina couldn't look away from the man.
While his flamboyant hair naturally attracted attention, it wasn't the reason Zemina stared at the blond man. It was because he resembled someone she knew.
"······Tsk."
Vlad, who was coming down the altar in step with the head sister and the guests she had invited, began to frown as if he had discovered something unpleasant.
"Is there a problem?"
When Vlad furrowed his brow with discomfort, the Head Sister asked with a smile.
"······She looks too thin. Are you feeding the kids properly?"
"What?"
The Head Sister was momentarily taken aback by his seemingly reproachful tone.
"Uh?"
"No······."
Vlad uttered those words and walked down from the altar alone, showing a demeanor that was contrary to his behavior moments ago.
The guests and girls, surprised, were taken aback by the man's sudden breach of etiquette.
Zemina felt the same way.
Though her sense of astonishment was slightly different.
'Huh, huh?'
The approaching figure of the blond man made Zemina feel a sense of unease, like someone from her memories was approaching.
Someone who shouldn't be here.
"······."
Vlad stood in front of the girl, his expression heavily furrowed, ignoring the gazes of everyone around him.
Regardless of who was watching.
He had come this far for this moment.
"······Hey."
Despite Vlad's curt call, Zemina only blinked her large eyes and made no other movement.
It was as if she couldn't accept the current situation, just standing there like that.
'Vlad.'
The words kept echoing in the girl's mind, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it.
'Is it Vlad?'
Though it was Vlad, the man in front of her didn't seem like Vlad at all.
The well-groomed black cloak, the expensive-looking gray leather armor, the shining blond hair, and the well-fed face were clearly different from the thin Vlad she knew.
'It doesn't seem like him.'
But there was a fundamental reason why Zemina couldn't recognize Vlad.
The Vlad in Zemina's mind was a boy, but the Vlad in front of her was a grown man.
Broadened shoulders, increased height.
And those blue eyes looking down at her...
"Are they not feeding you properly or washing your clothes here?"
"Uh?"
Zemina looked at the man who had suddenly disappeared from in front of her, bewildered.
"······Ha. Damn."
Vlad muttered with a mix of anger and frustration, kneeling down and wiping away the dirt on Zemina's apron.
It was the dirty residue she hadn't wiped away yet.
".....What's this?"
"Were you two acquainted?"
Everyone present was astonished to see a promising knight, who had caught the attention of the Bayezid family, kneeling in front of a plain-looking girl.
Especially the girls who had tormented Zemina until now were stunned beyond belief.
"What the heck is this? Hey, answer me!"
"······Yeah!"
Only after feeling the warmth of the boy's touch did Zemina realize who the person in front of her was.
"Sob! Sniff!"
Vlad frowned slightly as he looked at the girl with many tears gathering in her big eyes.
"······Enough with the formalities, let's leave right now."
Zemina gently stroked Vlad's head, who was still kneeling in front of her.
It wasn't a deliberate action, but it felt like something she had to do.
She had to feel it.
The sensation at her fingertips.
It was glossier, but it felt just like the boy from back then.
"Let's go home now."
"----!"
Despite her efforts to hold back, Vlad's final words struck the girl's heart violently.
"Sob-!"
In front of everyone, the red-haired girl couldn't help but shed tears that wouldn't stop, even though she tried to stop them.
Let's go home.
For the girl, who had no home, it was a phrase she had never heard before in her life.
The children from the back alley, with no home, no parents, and nothing to eat, were each other's home and parents.
Thinking back to that winter day when they wrapped each other in a single blanket, the girl shed tears.
In the silent chapel, her crying was the only sound echoing around.
But even if it was loud, today, even God had to listen to the girl's crying.
Because the girl was more grateful to God than any priest in this world.
The boy who went down in the trash heap had kept his promise from that day.
It was a promise that he would definitely come back.