/
As she covered him with a blanket, there was a happy expression on Yves’s face for some reason, even if he had fainted. Radis put on her cloak and checked her equipment for the last time.
And
 She really didn’t want to, but she picked up the 110,000-rupen haunted sword.
“Huhp.”
She swung it once as a test.
She didn’t want to admit it, but the sword suited her so well that it’s as if it was made for her.
Radis let out a short sigh as she sheathed it and attached its scabbard to her belt.
She then snuck out of the mansion and pulled out a horse from the stable. Before leaving, she looked at one darkened window of the mansion.
And Radis whispered softly.
“I’m sorry, Marquis. I’ll be right back.”
* * *
She headed for the campsite of the Imperial Subjugation Squad.
“
No, not yet a campsite.”
It was still just an empty clearing where there were no flags of the subjugation squad, and no signs of a campsite yet. As she stood in the middle, Radis looked around with a longing gaze.
‘That tree over there. That was the temporary table where the chessboard was placed, right?”
The image of Rusty and Thierry playing chess in front of her appeared like an apparition before her eyes. At this, Radis smiled.
‘Merrick also loved relaxing on the hammock that was hung there. Over here is the only place where we could boil and clean water. Every time Hardy came here, he kept scolding Laszlo to do that chore.’
Immersed in her memories, Radis suddenly felt someone’s movements through the night.
As she turned around, she saw that Robert was standing not far away, holding his horse’s reins.
With the moon so high up in the sky, no matter how much it glowed, it couldn’t compare to the bright expression on his face.
Radis approached him, slightly perplexed.
“Captain?”
Robert was tying the horse’s reins to a tree with somewhat stiff hands, but as she called him, he answered.
“How
 have you been? In the meantime
?”
“I’ve been well.”
“
Alright.”
What’s bothering him? Robert strangely seemed unwilling to look at Radis.
Of course, Radis could understand.
After all, she had lied to him for six years.
He told her that they should just leave it all behind, but that still didn’t change the fact that she had lied to him.
‘Captain, I’m sorry
’
Radis apologized to him in her heart.
‘But I can’t keep covering up such a big lie with mere words of apology. This time, I’m going to help the Captain.’
Robert said that he wanted to make up for his mistakes in his past life.
She wondered what those were, but Radis couldn’t bear to ask.
Perhaps he regretted leaving the subjugation squad in Radis’s care after he had gone to the capital.
If she were to hear him say this with his own lips, Radis really wouldn’t be able to raise her head in front of him anymore.
So, Radis made a firm promise.
‘Whether it’s about the subjugation squad or the fight against the dragon, I’m going to help the Captain.’
Making up her mind like this, Radis looked up at Robert.
“

”
Their reunion had been so wrought with emotions that Radis didn’t notice back then, but now, Radis realized that the Robert in front of her was a little different from the Robert in her memories.
‘Right. My first meeting with the Captain was supposed to be three years from now
’
The current Roebrt was much younger than the Robert in her memories. No, he was quite literally young.
‘Wow!’
As her eyes widened, she looked at this new Robert she had yet to know.
Most noticeably, the scar on his jaw had disappeared.
The white scar that ran over his lower lip and down to his chin was no longer there.
‘I don’t think that’s all either?’
The current Robert was a little shorter than the Robert in her memories.
Perhaps because he didn’t need to wear any heavy armor, his physique—which had once looked as sturdy as a rock—looked leaner now.
“
What’s wrong?”
His masculine face with angular lines was almost the same, but somehow, still kind of carried much of his youth.
Was it because his cheekbones were slightly red?
With a smile, Radis answered.
“It’s fascinating to see you during a time when I didn’t know you yet, Captain.”
“

”
Robert appeared to be perplexed by her words.
Dazed as he was, he wound the horse’s reins around a tree branch so many times that the head of the horse nearly touched the tree itself.
The horse started stomping on the ground with one front leg to show how disgruntled it was, but Robert didn’t notice at all.
“Captain, the reins.”
“

”
With stiff movements, he unwound the reins again.
Seeing him like that, Radis thought to herself.
‘I should refrain from speaking about personal matters with the Captain until his heart is relieved.’
She then spoke in a business-like tone.
“Captain, I’ve been thinking about it since then, but you’re thinking of going to the forbidden region now, aren’t you?”
“
Yes.”
“I know a shortcut.”
“A shortcut?”
Now looking at the reins that were finally tied properly, Radis said,
“Follow me.”