Chapter 1

“Hah… hah…”

He stood alone in a moonlit field where nothing could be seen but the moon hanging overhead. It was a place he didn’t recognize—a land utterly unfamiliar to him.

Eliotts lowered his head and looked down.

One knee rested on the ground while the other leg barely supported the weight of his body.

He reached for the warmth spreading across his left side. His fingers found the wound at his waist, though he could barely feel it anymore. Blood was still pouring steadily from it.

Pathetic. So this is how it ends.

Even as consciousness slipped further away, Eliotts could still mock himself.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching.

At any moment, that bastard hiding in the darkness might step out and drive a knife straight through his heart.

Beneath the silent moonlight, his vision slowly faded.

Then…

He sensed shadows approaching from the distance.

They crept closer, one cautious step at a time.

Benderf…?

No.

Not one person.

Two… No, three…

With great effort, Eliotts dragged a hand toward his waist and wrapped trembling fingers around the grip of his pistol.

So this is where my life ends.

“Hey, Annette! I already told the Baron that all three of us are going together!!”

Karl laughed mischievously.

“I promised the children we’d finish their flower wreaths before then. How could I leave? You and Karen should go have fun without me.”

Annette chatted playfully with her friends as they walked along the riverside.

It was a beautiful spring evening. Cherry blossoms bloomed in full splendor along the river path, their petals drifting gently through the air.

They had been busy preparing for the festival for days, and now they were finally heading to Annette’s house with a bottle of wine to unwind together.

“Besides, I’m obviously going to be the star of this festival—”

Just then—

“Huh? Guys… shh! Wait a second.”

Karen suddenly grabbed both Karl’s and Annette’s arms, lowering her voice.

Startled by the urgency in her tone, the other two swallowed the words they had been about to say and looked toward where Karen was pointing.

“There’s… something over there by the road… Oh my goodness! I think it’s a person! Someone’s collapsed!”

Karen cried out, covering her mouth.

“You two stay here. I’ll go take a look.”

Trying to calm the frightened girls, Karl cautiously walked forward.

“Karl! What if it’s dangerous?”

Annette whispered, afraid that speaking too loudly might cause whatever lay there to suddenly spring to life.

It was useless.

Karl was already approaching the motionless figure.

Hidden behind a nearby tree, Annette and Karen clasped each other’s hands tightly, exchanging nervous glances.

If anything happens to Karl… we run over immediately.

Meanwhile, Karl reached the large shape lying beside the road and bent down for a closer look.

“Guys! Hurry! It’s a person!!”

“…!”

Karen and Annette raced toward him without another word.

The mysterious shape was a man wearing a military uniform, lying on his side.

“Sir! Wake up! Can you hear me?!”

Karl shook the man vigorously.

There was no response.

“B-Blood…”

Karen’s trembling finger pointed toward the man’s torso.

His uniform was completely soaked in blood.

Could he already be dead?

With shaking hands, Annette held her fingers beneath the soldier’s nose.

A moment later, she let out a breath of relief.

There was still the faintest trace of breathing.

“What do we do…? Isn’t he already dying?”

Karen whispered tearfully, her voice filled with fear.

“No. He’s alive! Karl, hurry and bring Sister Regina.”

Annette looked up at him.

“R-Right.”

Karl immediately turned and sprinted back the way they had come.

But after running only about ten steps, he suddenly stopped.

Then he turned around and ran back.

“Annette, you come too. You go get Sister Regina, and I’ll head to the police station. We should call the police.”

He had a point.

“Karen… can you stay here by yourself?”

Annette rose to her feet and looked at her friend.

“By… myself? No… I… I’m scared…”

Karen shook her head violently.

At that very moment—

The man, who had lain there as still as a corpse, too weak even to groan, suddenly reached out and grabbed Annette’s wrist.

“Gah!”

Annette stared at him in shock.

His lips moved.

But no sound came out.

“What?”

She leaned closer, bringing her ear beside his mouth.

“No… Don’t… let… anyone…”

The man’s tightly shut eyes slowly opened.

Though he looked as though he could die at any second, he suddenly pulled Annette toward him with astonishing strength.

Their eyes met.

Just then, the moon emerged from behind the clouds, illuminating his face.

His fading gray eyes reflected the silver moonlight.

They looked…

Like the eyes of a wolf meeting its death beneath the full moon.

In that instant, everything around Annette seemed to fall silent.

Karl and Karen’s arguing voices faded into the background.

Even the gentle breeze seemed to stop.

“Ah… um… but… your wound…”

Overwhelmed by those strangely beautiful eyes, Annette found herself speaking in broken fragments.

The man glared at her for a long moment before finally closing his eyes again, exhaustion overtaking him.

Even then, his grip on her wrist never loosened.

“You expect me to stay here alone with some dangerous stranger whose identity we don’t even know? Absolutely not!”

“Hey, then—”

“Wait a minute, you two. I don’t think we should call the police.”

“Why?”

Karl and Karen looked down in surprise. They had been arguing too loudly to hear what the man had whispered.

“Just bring Sister Regina. Quietly. Don’t tell anyone.”

It somehow felt like the right thing to do.

If a soldier who had lost enough blood to barely remain conscious used every ounce of strength he had left—not to ask for help, but to refuse it…

Then there had to be a reason.

She shouldn’t hand this man over to the police.

If they delivered him to the authorities while he was completely defenseless…

He might truly end up in even greater danger.

For now, he didn’t seem like a threat.

She would give it a few days.

Then she would decide what should become of him.

Having made up her mind, Annette persuaded the Lunare siblings and sent them both to the convent.

Karen insisted on staying with her, but Annette firmly refused.

If the people chasing this man come here… Karen could be caught up in it too.

Of course, she kept that thought to herself.

Silence settled over the empty riverside after the Lunare siblings departed.

Annette remained awkwardly seated beside the wounded soldier, her wrist still trapped in his iron grip.

Her back was beginning to ache.

She twisted her wrist, trying gently to pull free.

No use.

His hand refused to let go.

Using her free left hand, she carefully tried to pry his fingers loose one by one.

Suddenly—

The man, whom she had assumed was unconscious again, opened his eyes.

His grip tightened instantly.

“Um… it’s okay. You’re safe for now. You’ve lost a lot of blood… I want to help you. So please… let go.”

His gray eyes, shimmering beneath the moonlight, looked at her with heartbreaking sadness.

It was as though he couldn’t hear a single word she said.

“So please… let go of my hand. I can’t help you like this.”

Annette spoke in a gentle whisper.

The man gave the faintest smile.

Or perhaps… he had just muttered a curse.

Frowning deeply, he forced out a few broken words.

“…You… if I… catch…”

Before she could make sense of what he meant, he suddenly yanked her toward him.

Annette lost her balance.

Instinctively, she threw out her free hand to stop herself from falling on top of him.

She desperately tried not to touch his wound.

But in the end, her palm landed squarely against his abdomen.

“Ah… I’m sorry—”

Her words stopped.

Her hand came away stained with fresh, dark blood.

“…Ugh…”

The man’s pained groan made Annette immediately push herself upright.

Looking at the man who seemed to be hanging on the edge of death…

And at herself, unable to move because he refused to release her wrist…

She could only let out a long, helpless sigh.