“He gathered wizards and attacked me and my subordinates. Because of them, a massive gate opened, and we were sucked into it. It was one gate when we entered, but when we were about to exit, it split into dozens of smaller gates.”

“So you were separated from your subordinates.”

“I had no choice but to lose them helplessly. As soon as they turned into birds, they lost their reason and were beyond my control.”

Yoon Tae-ha stared at the place where the birds had disappeared. Only faint silver fragments floated forlornly in the air.

“A long time has passed. I searched tirelessly, hoping that some of my subordinates might have survived... but there were none.”

Raphael, who had been looking beyond the lake with cloudy eyes, turned his body. He noticed Yoon Tae-ha’s dark expression and offered a bright white smile.

“Put away your clumsy sorrow. I have no lingering attachment to the kingdom. If I were to return, my elder brother’s children would try to kill me. This place is my second home.”

“Is there not a single person left in the kingdom who is on Raphael’s side?”

“That’s right. And my elder brother’s children will probably resent me enough to tear me to pieces.”

What reason would they have to resent someone they had already driven out? Yoon Tae-ha asked with a serious face.

“You, the second prince?”

Raphael, who had paused for a moment, smiled bitterly.

“Because I stole their father from them.”

“You killed the first prince.”

Raphael shook his head. His white hair, like the hem of an angel’s robe, swayed gently.

“Regrettably, I couldn’t kill him.”

The cold tips of his fingers touched Yoon Tae-ha’s chin. The hand that lifted her chin was arrogant. Feeling repulsed, she slightly frowned.

“My elder brother and I crossed over here together. We were both out of our minds during the battle.”

As if recalling the fierce battle, Raphael’s eyes took on a warlike gleam. The fingers that had been lifting her chin fell away with a light recoil.

“The first prince’s intentions will be different from mine. He will try to reopen the rift and return to our homeland.”

The Raven’s Garden. The war between the first and second princes. The subordinates who were already dead. Soon, Yoon Tae-ha thought of a certain man.

Gray hair and red eyes.

It was natural to think of the man who had attacked her using crows. Had he read her thoughts? Raphael brought up the story of the very man she had in mind.

“If you find a man here with ash-gray hair and eyes as red as this lake, be suspicious. That is the color of the first prince.”

The fact that an Orca executive was this man’s brother was shocking enough to leave her speechless, but both of them were royalty.

Moreover, their relationship seemed very bad. It was as if they were about to have a war for the throne on another planet.

“I cannot know what the first prince is doing. But one thing is certain: he cannot be sincere towards the humans here. According to our order, beings who are not royalty are merely...”

His sky-blue eyes rolled to the side as if in trouble, as if searching for a suitable explanation that wouldn’t offend the other person.

“Close to insects.”

But he failed. Even being generous, she was just an insect? Yoon Tae-ha sighed and walked to the edge of the island. Raphael followed.

Standing at the boundary, she concentrated as much as possible to see what was beyond the lake. However, there were no shapes visible in the water mist.

“Is something very valuable hidden in Lethe?”

“The first prince’s crown is there.”

“Can you do something with the crown? Please tell me it has no function other than bestowing dignity.”

However, Raphael lightly dashed her expectations.

“If the crown is completed, we might be able to reopen the rift. My elder brother was a great wizard.”

The color drained from Yoon Tae-ha’s face. A foreigner with no restrictions on using their power. Wizards, paladins, magic swordsmen, spiritists, whatever they were, beings with ‘sa’ at the end. They were formidable opponents.

“Don’t worry too much.”

Suddenly, an emerald the size of a thumbnail popped out of the empty air. The delicately crafted jewel shone brilliantly even in the dim space.

“The crown is incomplete. Without this.”

The green jewel fell into his hand. Raphael held it up with his thumb and forefinger.

“I will use this to lure out my elder brother. And then I will safely destroy the crown.”

*

Raphael and Yoon Tae-ha returned to the camp.

A considerable amount of time had passed, and it was already dusk. Moving between spaces was still unfamiliar. She wandered around the field behind the camp to calm her queasy stomach.

Raphael bluntly threatened to kill her if she leaked any secrets to the company. With the consideration that she could include a guide in the work if she wanted.

‘Do it together? Something this dangerous?’

Yoon Tae-ha swept back her hair and sank powerlessly to the ground.

The sun, touching the horizon, was dyeing the wide field red. A silk-like sunset also descended on the fortress walls. It was undoubtedly a luxurious scene to enjoy alone.

She faced the sun alone for a long time, like someone whose feet were tied. But the blazing sphere only fueled her emptiness.

Where secrets are planted, secrets grow. She kept faltering because of the secrets and lies she had planted herself. Since she had chosen it herself, she couldn’t blame anyone.

She sat in the field, hugging her knees, and let time pass for a while. And how much time had gone by? A familiar voice called her from behind.

“Found you.”

The sound of soft grass being stepped on with steady strides reached her ears. Uniform rhythm and even force applied to the ground. Steps that showed no sign of being out of place. She raised her head weakly.

As expected, Cheon Geon-young was there.

“What are you doing here.”

His gaze felt warm today. The sunset light on his lips was dazzling. Thanks to the sun being at an angle, she could see how beautifully the man’s features could be shadowed. Even the shadows were pretty.

“I was thinking.”

“Weren’t you thinking about the person waiting for you?”

He sat down beside her without hesitation. Along with a grumble about how long she had been out in the cold. She had expected him to urge her to get up. The unexpected Cheon Geon-young only stared at the fading sunset and didn’t speak again.

Feeling awkward because of her misjudgment, she said quietly,

“The sunset is over.”

It was time for darkness to return. The elegant deep blue sky was approaching from far away.

“I guess so.”

The sun soon disappeared below the horizon. The faint stars, as if they had been waiting, gradually increased their brightness. The lights above her head grew more and more numerous.

Cheon Geon-young noticed that the map Yoon Tae-ha was holding was slightly crumpled, and that there was red soil, different from the soil here, on the corners.

There was no reason for her, who had gone out to get the map, to return so late. She also wasn’t one to handle work-related items carelessly.

Cheon Geon-young had been searching for Yoon Tae-ha since noon. The woman who had vanished without a trace had finally appeared in the evening, as if teasing him. He quietly watched Yoon Tae-ha, who was playing with the tip of her shoe.

In the future, they would have to meet like this. A relationship where they could show their wounds but couldn’t talk about the time spent apart. Pretending not to know that the other person was hiding something.

If so, until when? The question from the morning finally caught up and made his voice sharp.

“Should I ask where you’ve been?”

“Is that a question?”

“Yeah.”

“What kind of question is that? What will you say if I answer no?”

“I’ll say let’s go eat dinner.”

Then they would go back to how they were before. Yoon Tae-ha’s mouth felt parched. She gripped the map. Not being aware of her own strength, the sturdy paper crumpled miserably.

It felt like they couldn’t go back to the way they were.

“And you won’t ask anymore?”

“Because that means you want me not to know.”

His voice was frighteningly firm. He might not give her another chance. The fear buried deep within her raised its head.

I don’t want to do it alone.

The emotion that had crawled up from a dark and damp pit made her lips twitch. Cheon Geon-young waited for her with deep patience.

“Help me.”

As soon as he heard the answer, Cheon Geon-young stood up. He held out his scarred hand.

The two moved to a place a little less conspicuous. Yoon Tae-ha laid out Raphael’s proposal.

Except for one thing.

She absolutely couldn’t reveal the fact that she was related to Professor Yoon.

If Cheon Geon-young was also a victim of Professor Yoon’s madness... He might hate Professor Yoon. Perhaps his entry into ARC was also due to some kind of experiment he had undergone.

After finding out that she was involved with such a Professor Yoon, would he still look at her like this? The affectionate look he showed might completely disappear. Yoon Tae-ha was completely terrified.

If her feelings for the other person changed, the guiding would also be affected. She had always been pathetic and cowardly in the face of death.

The fact that she could live with a body that wasn’t in pain like now was entirely thanks to Cheon Geon-young. Because he had discovered her usefulness. If he changed his mind, she would be left alone.

“You were going to do something like this alone? Something that requires you to evade both the company and the anti-government forces at the same time?”

“It’s dangerous.”

Cheon Geon-young, his voice filled with anger, took off his jacket. It was after he saw Yoon Tae-ha habitually stroking her right arm.

“Wear this. You’ll catch a cold.”

“I’m not cold.”

“I’m hot.”

Even though he had said he didn’t get hot easily. In the end, Yoon Tae-ha slipped her arms into the large jacket, which was bigger than what she usually wore.

The owner of the jacket even pulled up the zipper for her. Only Yoon Tae-ha’s eyes barely peeked out from the jacket. She looked like she had been swallowed by the clothes. Cheon Geon-young finally relaxed his expression when he saw that.

“I’m glad I brought it.”

“Why are you smiling? I just practically proposed that we become criminals together.”

“Is it a family tradition? It’s not scary.”

He pulled Yoon Tae-ha closer and hugged her. Having done it several times now, he was used to putting his arm around her shoulder.

“There’s no guide who sends an esper to a dangerous place alone, they say.”

Their footsteps alternated on the quiet night field where even the insects seemed to be asleep.

“But why were you going to do it alone? Don’t you trust me?”

“No!”

At the answer that came out as if he had been waiting for it, he mischievously raised the corners of his lips.

“It seems like you don’t trust me. That’s why you’re trying to exclude me from the mission.”

“Geon-young, it’s really not like that.”

The camp came into view in the distance. As soon as Cheon Geon-young saw the building, he pulled her closer and hugged her more tightly. He asked as if whispering a secret.

“You don’t want me to get hurt?”

At the too obvious question, she foolishly couldn’t speak for a few seconds.

“Of course. I don’t want you to.”

“I don’t want you to be sick either.”

His voice was gentle and firm.

“I don’t like it when you have a fever, or when you can’t get up all day. I don’t like it when you keep taking medicine that looks hard to swallow. So don’t try to take responsibility alone.”

The night air wasn’t cold at all, but strangely, the tip of her nose felt numb. Had she ever heard the word “no” sound so pleasant? Yoon Tae-ha had to try quite hard to keep her voice calm.

“That’s touching. I just received a year’s worth of touching moments.”

A low chuckle sparkled and broke near her ear.