Looking at the faded letter in the young lady's hand, I bit my lip.

"...."

Because I didn't know what to say.

It was a letter written a long time ago.

A letter written with the thought that the end of life might be approaching. At that time, I was impatient and gave my last farewell to the young lady.

-...I hope you wake up soon.

I was a coward who felt fear while looking at the young lady who couldn't open her eyes.

When a precious person is sick, even the strongest-hearted person is bound to be afraid.

I had thought dozens of times that it would be better if I were sick, and hundreds of times that I wished I was the one with my eyes closed.

Although it was so painful that my whole body felt like it was being torn apart, enduring that time was a greater pain for me.

-Please...

It was a letter written at that time. The letter the young lady is holding now.

A letter written with the wish that she would forget me and meet a new connection, and that she would only keep the good memories instead of forgetting my existence.

"This..."

It was the letter in the young lady's hand.

The young lady looked at the faded letter silently and asked me. Why I had written this letter.

"Why did you write this?"

I knew the reason, but the reason wouldn't come out of my mouth. Because it was something that shouldn't be said.

"That... that's."

Unable to utter the answer the young lady wanted, I closed my lips tightly and swallowed my dry saliva. It didn't seem right to say that I had written a will to end my life.

'...You foolish bastard.'

I had forgotten.

That I hadn't removed the letter I had tucked into the diary.

-From now on, Olivia is not a person of Desmunt.

-Lord...!

-You are the same. You too must leave Desmunt immediately and return to the academy.

-...

-The tuition will be paid by the family, so you too should sever your ties with Desmunt and live your daily life.

-I cannot do that.

-Ricardo. Desmunt has lost its power now. We barely managed to block the emperor's order to exile you and Olivia to the frontier.

-...Thank you for your consideration, but I cannot follow your words, my lord.

-Ricardo!!!

-Because it is not a butler's virtue to leave their master behind.

As soon as the young lady regained consciousness, we were kicked out of the capital's mansion, so there wasn't enough time to remove the letter. Let alone the letter, there was no time to pack our belongings.

"..."

Yes, this situation was a disaster.

My situation of being caught with a dark history I had forgotten.

"I'll explain everything. So, this is...."

The young lady, who had lowered her head, looked at me and asked.

"Why did you write a letter like this?"

"..."

"Is it even a letter...?"

At the sudden silence, I squeezed my eyes shut. It seemed like the young lady had probably already read that letter.

Knowing the contents of the letter.

The young lady, who also knew the situation, probably asked to see the diary to ask about the letter I had written in the past.

"..."

Every time I see the young lady's lowered head, my lips go dry.

"That's..."

I know. The wise way to resolve this situation is to be honest without lying.

That I was having a hard time back then.

I knew that the wise solution that wouldn't escalate the situation was to be honest and say that I had written my last farewell in a letter because I thought I would be leaving for a place where we couldn't meet for a long time.

Since the young lady now knew what had happened that day, I could end the argument by just once saying how I felt back then.

"..."

However.

"It's nothing."

I, a coward, didn't have the courage to hurt the young lady's heart. Because I am a cowardly person.

"...What do you mean, it's nothing!!!"

The young lady, who had been lowering her head for a long time, raised her head, looked at me with trembling eyes, and shouted. Angrily asking what was nothing.

"Why... are you saying that."

The young lady, whose fists were trembling, looked into my eyes and began to express her sorrow.

Why are you saying that.

Aren't you even resentful?

She was chiding me for being a fool and pouring out her sorrow at my frustrating appearance.

"Why... are you saying it's nothing."

"..."

"Do you know... how surprised I was when I saw this letter?"

"...I'm sorry."

"Don't say you're sorry!!! What are you sorry for!"

The young lady clenched her hand holding the letter and said. There was anxiety in the young lady's voice, which was trembling like a frightened little kitten.

"It's an old letter. It's a story from over two years ago."

The young lady rubbed her reddened eyes with the back of her hand and looked at me.

"It's a will."

"..."

"It's a will that Ricardo wrote."

"That's..."

The young lady began to speak the contents of the letter with a tearful voice. With a tremor that suppressed her anger.

"Why are you telling me to forget...?"

"..."

"If you say that, how am I supposed to forget."

"..."

"Is Ricardo a pushover? Why do you just let yourself be taken advantage of... Why are you so good to me."

"..."

"You should be asking for praise when you've done something good! Why are you trying to live like a fool, like a pushover."

"But... hasn't it gotten better now?"

At the optimistic answer, the young lady clenched her fists, opened her sharp eyes, and threw a cold retort at me.

"What would have happened if I hadn't seen Ricardo's scar."

"..."

"The hard, hardened scar...."

"..."

"That scar, cracked like tree bark... if I hadn't seen it, you would have...."

A fact that she herself knew better than anyone.

"That's..."

At the young lady's question, I was at a loss for words, mouthing my lips and closing my eyes. Because I couldn't guess the answer to that question right now either.

"Maybe I..."

"..."

"Maybe..."

If the young lady hadn't seen the black scar, maybe I would have never heard a single word of apology until now.

Whether it was death.

Or daily life.

The young lady, who knew this fact better than anyone, looked at me and said with a trembling voice.

"I might have still hated Ricardo...!"

"..."

"Without knowing that I was alive because of Ricardo... I might have resented him for becoming a cripple!"

"..."

"If Ricardo had died...."

",,,"

"I wouldn't have even known that Ricardo died because of me... I wouldn't have even known that he was in pain because of me!!! I would have just lived my life without a care in the world!!!"

"..."

"Why didn't you write a single word..."

The young lady looked at me with trembling eyes and let a tear fall on the letter.

"Why didn't you write a single word... about yourself..."

"..."

"'I did this so you could live.', 'The reason you're breathing now is because of me.', 'If it weren't for me, you would have... died...!' Why didn't you write any of that!!!"

At the young lady's words, which were deeper than I thought, I was at a loss for words for a while. I had never expected to be scolded for the contents of the letter, rather than being resented for irresponsibly leaving a letter behind.

"..."

So I think I was very surprised.

Because I never thought the young lady would scold me for my foolish appearance.

The young lady's eyes shone with sadness as she clenched her fists.

"How can I forget...?"

"..."

"How could I forget someone like you?"

The young lady's expression, which I had seen when I first showed her the black scar, was overlapping with the past.

"...Why are you saying that."

I don't want to see you cry.

"You must have been scared!"

"..."

"You must have been so scared and wanted to run away!"

Especially if it's someone I love.

"...I don't know."

I didn't want to see her sad.

"I..."

I held the young lady's hand and pulled her into a small embrace.

"Let go!"

I could hear the young lady's complaint, telling me to let go, but thinking that the young lady's healthy wriggling was also a relief, I held her tightly with a selfish heart to stop her complaints.

A fist hits my chest.

"You fool...!"

A tiny and the cutest fist in the world hits my chest and lets out a low complaint about the unexpected discovery of the letter.

"You idiot!"

The feeling of holding her seemed to grow stronger with the young lady's tiny touch, which tickled my sorrowful heart not as a hero who had saved my life, but as a single connection.

"Mutt! Sea anemone! Octopus!"

"Pfft..."

"Don't laugh!!!!"

It's a serious case when even her scolding seems cute.... It seems there's no cure for me, who thinks that even the snot on my clothes is a form of fun, as if I've already caught an incurable disease.

"I don't know, my lady."

I pressed the young lady's cheeks with my palms and made her look into my eyes.

"Oobu."

The young lady, whose cheeks were squished, looked at me like a goldfish and was mouthing her lips. If I had my way, I would want to kiss her....

"Oobubububu"

Because I'm a cowardly man, I can't make a manly choice, so I just smiled as I looked at the young lady's carp-like lips, which were squished.

"Oobubu..."

"Why... did you write a letter like that?"

"Oooobububu...!"

"I don't know."

"Bubu..."

"Because I'm a foolish pushover, and I didn't want to blame you, my lady...."

"Oobubu..."

"Or maybe it was because I didn't want to see the most beautiful person in the world cry, but."

"Bubububu..."

"What's certain is that it's because I have a feeling deeper than friendship... ."

"Oobu?"

"A foolish young lady like you wouldn't notice, though."

I smiled slightly and flicked the young lady's cheek with my finger.

"Because you're a fool, my lady."

-Sniffle.

The young lady, who was wiping her tears, looked at me with tearful eyes and complained.

"I thought you were disappearing. Really...."

"..."

"I thought you were running away because you hated me...."

"Why would I run away? Leaving behind such a cute young lady."

"Because I'm a bad person."

"...Pardon?"

The young lady placed her clenched fist holding the letter on her chest and began to take out the inner thoughts that had caused so much trouble.

"Ricardo told me to be a good person, but I couldn't."

"..."

"No matter how many tens... hundreds of times you told me, I didn't change... I thought you would run away because you hated me for being like that."

"...No. You've changed a lot."

The young lady shook her head and said conscientiously for the first time in a long time.

"This isn't a change."

Without realizing that she was making the cutest expression in the world.

"I complain all the time and shout when I'm annoyed and curse."

"Pfft."

"But what can I do if I'm angry! What can I do if I'm annoyed! I know it's good to be patient...! But... but..."

My eyes keep going to her fidgeting fingers. The young lady is definitely scolding me, but my eyes keep going to those small, delicate fingers.

"What can I do if I'm a bad person."

Like a fool.

I calmly made an excuse to the tearful young lady. Being a bad person was from the young lady's perspective, but from my perspective, who had seen the original work, she was no different from an angel, so I didn't acknowledge the young lady's words at all.

"What does it matter if you're bad. As long as you're good to me, that's enough."

"I'm not good to Ricardo either."

"Still, it's fine. I prefer a tomboyish young lady to a meek one."

The young lady smiled brightly and nodded her head.

"Mhm!"

With a bright smile.

"From now on, I'll be a good person only to Ricardo."

"Of course."

"And I'm not a fool."

The young lady said with a coy look in her eyes.

"Something deeper than friendship is..."

-Gulp.

"Loyalty."

"...Haa."

"Hm?"

Looking at the young lady's innocent smile, I stuffed the bread on the plate.

Of course.

-Gag!!

In the young lady's mouth.

"You're a fool. Really."

It seemed like my romance was still far away.

"Eeeek!!!"

To woo that clueless woman.

Luin lifted his trembling head and looked at the woman in front of him.

"Pleased to meet you, student Luin."

"..."

"I believe this is the first time we've greeted each other like this."

Because he didn't know why an apostle of the heretics was here.

It didn't make sense that she, who had brainwashed countless students and put them in danger, was standing in front of a sign that said 'Siege Team.'

Above all, he was afraid of what the sign in front of him, which said 'Siege Team,' meant.

"Hmm..."

The apostle of the heretics, who seemed more composed than anyone, let out a low sigh and muttered to herself.

"I drew lots, and... what a siege team. This has become a headache. I thought it would be fun if I got on the defense team..."

"..."

"Ah, right!"

Elysia, who had muttered incomprehensible words, clapped her hands with a 'clap' as if nothing had happened and said with a smile.

"Ah, right! I should introduce myself. I should..."

"..."

"Pleased to meet you, everyone! I am Elysia, an instructor who teaches the Healing Department."

"The Healing Department...?"

Hans.

Ricardo.

And...

"You?"

At the reality that an apostle, the top power of the heretics, had come to teach the academy students, an awkward smile kept escaping Luin's lips.

'Ricardo, that son of a bitch...'

How did he attract only such monstrous people? Luin was seriously curious about what was inside Ricardo's head.

Elysia lightly ignored Luin's question and began to explain the content of the class to the bewildered students.

"This class is a siege battle that will last for 3 days."

'...Siege battle?'

A siege battle with so few people.

He could understand a sparring match, but at Elysia's words of having a siege battle with just a little over 15 people, Luin snorted. He wasn't a young student, and he thought the sight would be ridiculous.

'Isn't this too forced?'

Besides, the siege team would be overwhelmingly advantageous over the defense team defending with a small number of people, so Luin sneered at Ricardo, the supervisor of the class, for planning a flawed class in the first place.

'I think it would be more efficient to catch orcs at this time.'

The other students' reactions were also pessimistic, but Elysia steadfastly continued her introduction of the class.

"From this time on, the 16 students are divided into a defense team and a siege team. The 9 people here, including myself, are the siege team. On the other hand, the defense team, including the instructor of the Magic Department, consists of 9 people."

"..."

"From now on, our siege team will win if we take away the symbol that the 'king' chosen by the defense team has. On the other hand, the siege team will lose if they fail to take away the defense team's symbol."

"..."

"Of course, teachers cannot be the 'king,' and we will participate with some restrictions, so you don't have to worry."

Elysia took out a golden towel from her pocket and, showing it, said that this was the symbol of the 'king.'

Folkner, who was listening to the story, raised his hand and said what Luin was thinking in his mind. No matter how you look at it, isn't this a game where the defense team is overwhelmingly disadvantaged?

"Isn't the siege team overwhelmingly advantageous in attacking an empty castle?"

"Ahem?"

"Even if it's a mock siege battle, if it's a siege battle with 9 people, I think the siege team attacking an empty castle is advantageous."

"Are you student Folkner?"

"That's right."

"The point you're making, student Folkner, is that the defense team should be given a handicap."

Folkner, who loved equality, nodded his head and expressed his agreement with Elysia's summary. He didn't show it, but he thought that the balance of the siege team was better than the defense team.

From 'Histania Hanna,' the pride of the Swordsmanship Department and the youngest aura awakener, to Mikhail, who had won second place in the ranking match.

And 'Mira Silvaren,' who had shown her fame in the Healing Department.

And even Luin of the Magic Department and 'himself,' who would one day become the world's greatest magician.

'Yuria' and the 'senior director' who were not here were a hindrance, but Folkner thought he could easily beat the other students.

Because his magic, of all things, was a magic that exerted a great effect in one-on-one battles.

"Student Folkner."

"Yes."

"Have you ever participated in a siege battle?"

"What? Of course, in the academy classes..."

Elysia shrugged her shoulders and answered the question as if she had heard a trivial question. Drawing on her own experience.

"Generally, a siege battle takes 6 to 7 months. If it's delayed, it can last up to 10 years."

"..."

"In fact, if we look at the history of the war with the Qing Dynasty, which had a conflict with the empire about 20 years ago... it took about a year just to capture a small castle."

"...That's."

"Of course, it was a long war because the Qing Dynasty dispatched talented individuals and the empire's Sword Master couldn't easily leave his position..."

Elysia smiled faintly and said.

"In a siege battle, the advantageous side is the defending side."

As an experienced person who had experienced war.

At Elysia's words, Folkner shut his mouth and his face turned red. Because he was embarrassed to have brought up a common sense story that everyone knew.

Elysia, knowing Folkner's thoughts, also said something to pull him together once more.

"Student Folkner, it seems you said this because you were satisfied with the composition of the siege team rather than the defense team."

"..."

"I think you need to think a little more deeply."

Folkner nodded his head with difficulty and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Understood."

A desolate atmosphere flowed.

Perhaps because they had just been scolded, they were reluctant to step forward, looking at each other's faces.

Luin was the same.

'But it's true that we're at an advantage. I don't know the exact location, but you need a lot of people to manage a castle...'

He just suppressed his inner thoughts without letting them out.

'No.'

Luin, who had finished thinking, let out a hollow laugh and shook his head. He thought that it was unlikely for a castle to appear in a class for students anyway.

At most, it would be a wooden castle. Luin thought he had made too much of a fuss.

Luin let out a long sigh and, walking into the middle of the silent students, said in a low voice.

"We don't have time to be like this, do we?"

"Green algae?"

"Hey, Histania Hanna. You don't call me green algae either."

"...Yes."

"So who's going to be the leader?"

Everyone's gazes looked at each other, lost.

"Hey..."

Luin ruffled his hair as he looked at the students showing a passive attitude.

"It's obvious that the losing team will suffer like dogs, so can we be like this?"

"..."

"We have to win, don't we? Don't you think so, teacher?"

At Luin's words, Elysia smiled faintly and kept her words to herself. Frighteningly so.

"Let's choose a leader."

"..."

"And let's win. Honestly, everyone wants to get one over on the senior director, right?"

"That's right... we're suffering like dogs because we were tricked by the senior director..."

Luin, who smiled faintly at the students' reviving eyes, was about to look at Mikhail and pass the leader position to him.

"Then I'll recommend Luin as the leader."

Mikhail raised his hand and began to say words that passed the troublesome task to Luin.

Luin smiled awkwardly and shook his head. No matter how you look at it, it was very strange for 'me' to do it.

Nevertheless.

"Me?"

Everyone's gaze was on Luin.

It wasn't because he was reliable.

"Haaah..."

Hanna, who let out a drowsy yawn, found it troublesome to be the leader.

"Is Ricardo sick somewhere..."

Mikhail, who was disturbed by Ricardo's absence today, had passed it on to Luin.

Luin looked at each other with a bewildered expression. Telling everyone to say something.

"Hey, Folkner."

"I think it's good for Luin-sunbaenim to do it."

"Silvaren, you're smart, so you..."

"I think sunbaenim will do a good job."

"Haa..."

The moment Luin's sigh sank deep into the ground.

-Whoooosh...!

Luin smiled awkwardly as he saw a red stone coming towards them, drawing a line in the sky.

"Wait a minute."

What is that?

Elysia said with a pleased smile.

"Students."

While pointing her finger at the fireball falling from the sky.

"A meteor is falling."

----------------------------------------

At the same time.

The defense team, led by Malik, was understanding the current situation.

"As the magic professor said, the 8 of us, including myself, are the defense team."

"If you include me, the teacher, that makes 9."

"I see... may I ask one thing?"

"If it's something I can answer, I can answer anything."

Malik, sitting in a castle that looked like a noble with a decent title would live in, said to the smiling Hans.

"What are the restrictions on the siege team's professor?"

"Hmm... I can't tell you the other team's restrictions, but I can definitely say that they won't use space-time magic."

"Then what can the magic teacher do?"

Hans, who thought that actions were more convenient than words, looked at the empty air and flicked his finger.

And at that moment.

-Craaaaack!!!

Along with a blue barrier that enveloped the entire castle wall, the inside of the castle began to be filled with dolls in black armor.

Hans, feeling Malik's bewildered gaze, smiled brightly and flicked his finger.

"What I can do is provide buffs to increase magic efficiency and support the soldiers needed for defense. I can also use a certain degree of barriers."

"...Then the other side's power is the same, I suppose."

"I can't tell you."

"So even if it's not a buff, you can support them with an army."

Hans didn't flinch at Malik's bait and just showed a smiling smile.

"If an apostle can't stand on the front line..."

Malik smiled and clenched his fist.

"It seems worth a try."

Malik smiled and said.

"Then the king is..."

Hans nodded his head at Malik's words and answered.

"...going to be you?"

"That's right."

At the same time as the king was decided, Malik nodded his head as he looked at Shuen.

"Unleash it."

To crush the enemy camp.