Rurhy kept holding Velt, gently stroking his hair, as if she were trying to calm him through touch alone.
“Rurhy…” Velt said suddenly.
“Yes?” she replied, not letting go.
“Would you still love me if I had been a bad person?” he asked quietly.
Rurhy tensed for a brief moment.
“Why would you say that? Did you remember something?” she asked, worried.
“…” Velt stayed silent for a few seconds.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know… but I’m afraid I did.”
“Velt, look at me,” Rurhy said, cupping his face and gently forcing him to meet her eyes.
“I don’t know what you remembered or what kind of person you think you were, but let me tell you something.”
She moved a little closer, standing face to face with him.
“The Velt I know is not a bad person. He’s more human than many humans I’ve met. Maybe this is the Rurhy who loves you speaking, but I say this with absolute certainty: you would never hurt someone of your own free will.”
Her voice didn’t waver. She was completely convinced.
“Velt, Rurhy… are you ready? It’s time,” Ky’s voice came from outside.
“Yes, Ky. Just give us a moment,” Rurhy replied.
“Alright, but don’t take too long,” he said before walking away.
“Shall we go?” Rurhy asked, looking at him with a calm smile.
“Yes. This isn’t the time to talk about this,” Velt said as he stood up.
“Velt,” she called before he took a step.
“You know you can always count on me… and on Rosa too.”
“Yes, I know. And I’m grateful for that,” he replied with a faint smile.
Then he extended his hand toward Rurhy.
“Right now, I need your help to save Rosa’s home. Will you help me?”
Rurhy didn’t hesitate for even a second. She firmly took his hand.
“Of course. You don’t need to ask.”
Outside, the others were waiting next to the carriages.
“Good morning!” Dash greeted them with his usual enthusiasm.
“G-good morning…” Rosa followed, a bit nervous.
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“I hope you’re ready,” Jack said calmly.
“Good morning,” Velt and Rurhy replied in unison.
Velt looked around and frowned.
“Where’s Luke?”
“There,” Dash replied, pointing at one of the wagons.
Inside, Luke was sitting with a defeated expression.
“Why do I even have to go? I don’t even have family there… and it’s way too early,” he muttered irritably.
“Wow, he really doesn’t do mornings well,” Velt commented.
“Leave him alone, he’ll get over it,” Dash said.
“Alright,” Velt replied as he climbed onto the wagon.
“It’s time. I hope everyone’s ready.”
“Of course,” Dash said confidently.
“O-of course… I’ll help however I can,” Rosa added.
“I’m ready,” Jack said.
“Can we wait until the sun’s a little higher?” Luke complained.
“We’ll help too,” a firm voice said.
Turning around, they saw Alex in armor, weapon in hand, accompanied by several men.
“Hey, old man, are you sure? It hasn’t even been a day. You should still be weak,” Velt said with concern.
“Don’t worry. We’re better now,” Alex replied.
“We can’t let a bunch of kids do everything while we hide behind bandages and wounds.”
His men nodded, shouting in agreement.
“Alright, if you say so. But don’t blame us if you end up hurt again,” Velt said, washing his hands of responsibility.
“Hahaha, what kind of man would I be if I blamed someone else for my own weakness?” Alex replied, laughing.
“Good. Let’s move out. Everyone prioritize your lives. If a fight turns bad, run. It’s not worth taking unnecessary risks. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” everyone replied in unison.
The carriages set off toward the city.
In the city, some guards were cleaning up the destruction Dash and Luke had left in the plaza.
“Damn, I’m exhausted,” one of them complained.
“We’re almost done. Just hang in there a bit longer,” the other replied.
“Those bastards killed way too many of our people…” he muttered, looking at the corpses.
“Relax. They say Lord Eivan sent Gold after the culprits.”
“I hope so… though hey, did you see the dark elf? She was cute. I hope they bring her back alive.”
“Yeah, but the princess probably won’t let anyone touch her. She always does that.”
“What if we do it in secret?” the first one suggested.
“Hey, if we get caught, they’ll cut off our heads.”
“I’ve got a drug at home. We can keep the elf dazed. And if a fellow guard finds out, we let him join in for his silence.”
“That might work…”
“Alright, let’s finish this quickly. I’ll go get the drug.”
Suddenly, a dull sound echoed.
When he turned around, he saw his companion lying on the ground, bleeding.
“Hey… what happened to you…?”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
An arrow pierced his neck. He collapsed, bleeding out.
“Rurhy, don’t you think that was a bit much?” Rosa said, appearing beside her.
“No. I did the right thing to those despicable pieces of trash,” Rurhy replied, barely containing her anger.
“I understand…” Rosa said, then murmured,
“Rurhy, do you think I did the right thing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Confessing to Velt… I feel like, because of the situation, we forced him to accept me,” Rosa said uneasily.
“Relax. I know Velt accepted you because he wanted to,” Rurhy replied.
“Yeah… I think you’re right. I’m just nervous.”
“When all of this is over, Velt will prove that he didn’t choose you out of pressure.”
“Okay… I just have to wait.”
But Rurhy wasn’t as calm as she seemed.
In her mind, the image of Velt crying when he woke up lingered.
It’s fine… I know Velt is a good person, no matter what he remembered, she thought.
“Rurhy, are you okay?” Rosa asked.
“Yes, don’t worry,” she replied with a smile.
“Let’s keep going. We need to regroup with the others.”
“You’re right.”
Elsewhere, inside the castle, several guards gathered in a hurry.
“My lady, the intruders have returned,” one of them reported.
“Perfect. We can eliminate them once and for all,” Sarha said from her throne.
Then she looked behind her.
“Don’t you think so, Father?”
Her eyes settled on a body that appeared lifeless.
“Alright, let’s move toward the castle,” Velt said as he advanced with the group.
Sarha… it doesn’t have to end like this, Rosa thought as she stared at the castle gates.
