There was a man who climbed alone up the hill of Deirmar.
Despite the elegant attire he wore, the man's hands were filled with cleaning utensils.
Vlad, noticing that the sunset had lengthened as the day grew shorter, stopped in the middle of the hill and set down the cleaning tools.
"I didn't come to see you today."
-----?
It was a white serpent wagging its tail toward Vlad, who was approaching, but today Vlad didn't come to see her.
He had come to tend to the Hainal family tomb located in the middle of the hill.
"It seems Alicia has been very busy."
Although it was another family's cemetery, he couldn't help but feel sadness when he saw the tombstones covered in moss.
In reality, there wouldn't have been time to worry at all.
It was a time when the living were too busy trying to survive while thinking of the dead.
"I suppose I should clean it before heading back."
Vlad pulled out a bunch of straw soaked in water from among the tools he had carelessly left behind and began cleaning the tombstones with the rough side.
Looking at the tombstones, which were too many for some but none for him, Vlad kept his mouth shut and began removing the moss.
"…First of all, I survived without any injuries."
I'm grateful to have survived as it was an intense battle.
Some people express their gratitude to God, others to their ancestors, but Vlad had no one worthy of it.
Unlike the people in front of him, his mother, who was buried without a tombstone, was now fading even from Vlad's memories.
"Thank you. For looking after me."
However weak, it won't disappear.
Although they belonged to someone else, Vlad used the tombstones in front of him as bridges and began to sing towards the distant sky.
"Wow."
Cleaning the graves of Alicia's parents.
The parents of those parents.
Vlad, murmuring a word in his mind as he continued to clean one by one, finally found one of the oldest tombstones.
"It's this person."
The name Hainal, the oldest, was written between letters worn by time.
He is the person who passed down the yellow amber stone to Alicia and the first head of the family who planted the tree that now houses the white serpent.
'…'
He didn't know it when he first found it, but now he knows.
The first lord of Hainal is clearly someone related to the voice.
There was clearly something in common between the first head of Hainal, who planted a tree with spirits, and the voice that visited and protected the spirits, and at the top of that common point was the name Sword Master.
"What are you doing here? Lord Vlad."
"…Ah."
Vlad, who had been lost in his thoughts for a moment when he heard the word "sword master," quickly turned his head at the sudden sound of a voice.
"Lady Alicia."
"You're more straightforward than I am."
There was Alicia smiling, holding her hair in the wind.
Is it because I've finally regained my senses?
Her water-colored hair waving with the vivid glow of the sunset.
Seeing the colors suddenly turning so dark, Vlad felt a little dizzy.
"They say knights shouldn't get caught carelessly. Aren't you too absorbed in that?"
"You're right. There's no room for excuses."
It was clearly a joke, but Vlad couldn't help but laugh.
What Alicia said was true, and it was also true that he couldn't feel her presence.
But perhaps Alicia would have realized if she had approached Vlad from the front instead of from behind.
While Vlad thought of the word Sword Master, his eyes automatically drew his own world.
"Listen."
After confirming that Vlad had done everything and had no cemetery to take care of, Alicia casually sat down next to Vlad as if there was nothing else to do and silently began to look downhill.
"You did it again. Like last time and this time too."
Vlad, who resisted being alone, naturally sat beside her and looked at Deirmar along with her.
"Thank you."
"…Thank you." It was just an exchange of words, but it contained many emotions.
He protected her from an illegitimate heir and protected Deirmar from West's usurpers.
In the process, the boy became a knight and finally achieved his goal of reaching the moon.
In the end, neither Vlad from Soara nor Baron Alicia from Hainal would have existed without each other.
"To this city... I definitely want to come back."
That's why Vlad's voice now contained sincerity.
A man named Vlad was born in Soara, but Knight Vlad began here.
"I'll welcome you as much as you want."
Alicia, who was hugging her knees, smiled at Vlad's words and silently looked at Vlad's face colored by the sunset.
Because she wanted to see his face when he leaves tomorrow.
They were two people who simply looked at what they wanted to see without saying a word, but it didn't feel uncomfortable at all because there was a passing wind.
The white serpent on the hill watching the two of them raised its head to the warm wind blowing.
***
"It was nice meeting you."
"It was nice meeting you too. Knights of the humans. Vlad."
Autumn rain was falling.
The cold rain, which was neither the welcoming spring rain nor the fresh summer rain, still beat down on the shoulders of the men gathered in front of Deirmar.
"There will be a chance to see you again someday. I was already planning to investigate the northern part of the country."
Varadis's gaze focused through the raindrops falling towards Noir, who was standing next to Vlad.
A black horse, the son of the prairie.
Noir, who surely has unicorn blood, is definitely something the elves should investigate at least once.
"Don't worry too much about the revelation I gave you. If you keep it in your heart like a talisman, the day will come when you recognize it with your intuition." "It's okay."
After hearing Varadis's words, Vlad casually touched the image of the priestess on his arms.
The yellow bird, himself, and the black colors surrounding him sinisterly.
It was clearly a painting that contained the meaning of a warning, but the priestess who delivered the painting said she didn't remember any additional meaning.
Perhaps it was scattered among faded memories, like a dream I had last night.
"Ready!"
Upon hearing the words coming from afar, Vlad turned his head with a small smile.
Vlad may leave, but the elves will remain here in Deirmar.
For them, the human world was like an unknown sea, so they planned to stay for a while in a place called Deirmar, which they had barely found.
"I'm ready. Lord Joseph."
"…Alright. Let's go."
Joseph's complexion was pale as he rode in the carriage.
His chronic cough was sensitive to temperature, and he had to be especially careful in such weather.
"It's okay."
Vlad nodded at Joseph's permission.
The one responsible for this return procession is none other than Vlad from Soara.
Although it was still a bit early for the inexperienced Vlad, Joseph entrusted him with the direction of this return procession, and Vlad returned his trust with the present spectacle.
"Troops at attention!"
Someone's voice echoed along with Vlad's gaze.
With that voice, the Bayezid flags, heavily soaked with water, began to line up in front of the walls of Deirmar.
Although they are exhausted and wounded, they are now winners.
Therefore, even though it's a disheveled flag, it will be worthy of being raised.
"…"
Alicia noticed that blue eyes under the castle walls were watching her.
Vlad's eyes told her that it was time, but the reason she couldn't keep her mouth shut was because of her inevitable regret. "…Thank you to all who came to save Deirmar from the crisis."
But now is the time to leave and let go.
Alicia's voice trembled slightly as she had to bid farewell with her own mouth.
"We will never forget the peace we've established with your blood."
Soldiers who arrived in summer but departed in autumn.
Alicia raised her voice with all her might for those who had just fought the fiercest battle of the war against West.
Alicia was doing her best to make her death a small source of pride for them.
"Deirmar will welcome you back anytime."
However, the last words she says are solely for one person.
Alicia's eyes were looking at everyone, but in that moment, they were watching Vlad standing under the flag.
Her eyes told him he could come back to her at any time.
The war is over.
Now is the time to return.
Although the soldiers stood like defeated soldiers in the autumn rain, each of them had a small smile on their face.
***
"Zemina! Zemina!"
At the edge of the city. A street where the sun does not shine.
As it was not yet night, someone's voice began to resonate loudly with a smile on Rose's face as she was not ready to open the door.
"...That boy doesn't do as he's told."
Zemina, who had been raising her head for a while with a small pin in her mouth, frowned when she heard a loud buzz coming from below.
Unlike her predecessor, Chopal, the newly hired boy this time was not to the liking of young Zemina.
Buzz! Buzz!
"Zemina! Are you in there?"
A voice calling mercilessly to the lady's bathroom as if manners didn't matter.
Otar's younger brother, Ned, was relentlessly pounding on Zemina's room.
"What?"
"...There's something."
However, unlike last time when he was in a hurry, Ned couldn't help but shrink a bit when he saw Zemina, who had just opened the door.
"What's going on in this mess? If it's nothing, leave me alone."
It wasn't just because of her fierce eyes.
Makeup wasn't finished yet, but even if only the freckles were covered, there were flowers blooming there.
Red hair gathered with colorful hairpins.
The red color and the slender nape were enough to catch the boy's attention.
"Ah! This isn't it!"
Ned, who had been mesmerized by seeing Zemina for a while, began to clap his hands together and recall the purpose of his arrival here.
"All the priests from the church are rushing out the door right now!"
"Why?"
What's going on with the church?
Perhaps due to her experience in the convent, Zemina became especially cynical about the church.
"They said even the bishop has left. That newly appointed person!"
"...Even the bishop?"
However, although there were no good feelings towards the church, unusual signs had to be detected.
Because now, Zemina had become the person leading Rose's smile.
"Why are you doing this? That's why he's causing this mess now, isn't it?"
When Zemina's big eyes narrowed, Ned involuntarily swallowed.
Although it's said that a place makes a person, the current Zemina didn't resemble the Zemina from the past.
It felt like a shrunk Marcella was standing there.
"He'll be here in a little while... They said the soldiers who went to Deirmar are coming back and everyone went out to greet them."
"...What?"
However, in the face I see now, it seemed as if I was seeing my old self for the first time in a long time.
"The soldiers who went to Deirmar have already returned."
From Ned's words, I could feel the traces of the person who had been waiting for so long.
"Vlad too?"
"Maybe?"
At that moment, bright lights began to flicker in Ned's eyes.
A halo of light sent by a pair of earrings hanging from Zemina's ears.
The earrings were a gift from Knight Vlad to Lady Zemina before leaving Soara.
***
"Why are they like that?"
"Because they're not Vatican priests."
Cheers began to resonate along the procession as they saw Soara ahead of them.
It's understandable that soldiers are excited because they've returned from a long deployment, but Vlad is currently in charge of leading this procession.
Because Vlad was like this, he couldn't help but seem cautious rather than happy when he saw the priests filling the front of the castle gate.
"Is this how the Northern Orthodox Church arises?"
"Not necessarily."
Joseph was a little paler than when he left Deirmar, but he had a small smile on his face.
Although Vlad was on guard as was appropriate, Joseph knew well why they were like this.
"If it seems suspicious, go ahead and check it out. Isn't that your mission?"
"It's okay."
Vlad, suspecting the visions of the priests he had never seen before, walked alone towards Soara.
My hometown, which I haven't been able to see for a long time because I was exiled.
However, the current Vlad was not a miserable outcast hated by the church, but a commander leading Bayezid's army.
"Who's that?"
"You look very young."
"It's Vlad! Vlad of Soara!"
The soldiers in front of the castle gate began to murmur as they saw Vlad slowly approaching.
Because the flag he was holding showed where Vlad was now.
"...No."
Vlad alone reaches the castle wall.
However, unlike him, who was very cautious, there was a priest standing there with his arms open as if welcoming him.
"Now you're back. Vlad of Soara. Are you injured somewhere?"
Priest Andreas now wore a red bishop's robe instead of a white robe.
His face was filled with laughter as he greeted the man he had given a name to.
"Priest!"
"Haha! You're taller now too!"
Vlad, who finally recognized Andreas, ran towards him and hugged him.
The embrace that embraced Vlad after walking the exhausting path was as warm and fluffy as the white wheat bread he had tasted for the first time in his life.
The twilight today falls on the priest and the boy embraced.
The blue moon that had been reached but couldn't be surpassed rose again in the night sky.
The boy who fell with the tears of the girl returned today with the blue moonlight.