“Will it… be okay this time?”
"With their commander and strategist gone, the monster army is falling apart.
A sizable troll army is still camped to the north, but this war should end soon."
The creases between Maxi's eyebrows refused to go away, despite the princess's comfort.
Also looking uncomfortable, Agnes shrugged.
“It appears that you have completely lost confidence in the coalition army.”
“I-It’s not that I don’t trust them…”
The princess gave him a mischievous smile.
"Don't worry.
Being completely tricked by the monsters has caused the coalition army to touch each other.
And maybe it's because they've seen how devastating a White Dragon knight can be, but even the Baltonians have been quiet lately." The princess grimaced.
"Still, I doubt anyone would be dumb enough to anger Riftan now.
I've never seen him like this, not even during the Dragon Campaign..."
Pressing his lips together, Maxi slipped his hand into his pocket and fumbled with the copper coin.
She immediately grabbed it from the corner the moment Riftan walked out of the tent.
His heart ached as he remembered how he threw an object he had carried with him for over a decade with such apathy.
Seeing Maxi's gloomy expression, Princess Agnes tried to brighten the atmosphere.
“For now, you should stop thinking about the war and focus on getting better,” she said happily.
"You've done more than enough, Maximilian.
Let yourself rest."
“Thank you… for everything, Your Highness.”
“There’s no need for that.”
With a gentle smile, the princess pulled the blanket up to Maxi's chin.
Maxi blushed.
It made her ashamed that everyone was treating her like a mortally wounded patient.
After all, countless soldiers had suffered injuries greater than hers.
Compared to those who had lost limbs, a dislocated shoulder and fractured ribs weren't as serious.
His body had been extremely slow in recovering energy.
They had infused her with restorative magic several times, but she always felt tired.
Perhaps it was a side effect of mana depletion.
Maxi rubbed his throbbing forehead.
Moments later, he heard a loud scream outside the carriage.
“We’re ready to go!”
Princess Agnes left to inspect the returning party for the last time.
Soon, a trumpet blast signaled departure.
When the princess returned to the carriage, she complied with Maxi's request to be supported with a pillow.
Maxi looked out the window for Riftan, but he was nowhere to be found.
Maxi bit his lip.
Was he going to let her go without saying goodbye?
Fear and disappointment filled his heart.
His anger was understandable.
His current state was thanks to his reckless actions, directly defying his orders.
Still, if she hadn't done what she did, Eth Lene's Castle would have fallen to the monsters.
And she survived, didn't she?
Wounds can be healed with magic.
Getting a little hurt is no reason to worry…
Maxi's face fell.
Remembering the pain in Riftan's eyes made her feel guilty for having such thoughts.
Her shoulders slumped as confusion and disappointment suffocated her.
Just then, she saw someone running towards the carriage.
Maxi's eyes widened in surprise.
Running alongside the slow-moving carriage, Ulyseon said through the window, "My lady, I wanted to ask your forgiveness before I left.
Please forgive me for failing to protect you."
Maxi stared at the squire in shock before waving his hands.
"That...
isn't true.
I'm here now...
because of your protection, and Garrow's.
I would have suffered a worse fate if it weren't for you two."
“My lady…”
Ulyseon bit his lip, his brow furrowed.
Her expressive purple eyes glistened with tears.
Confused, Maxi forced a bright smile onto her face.
"Don't make that face.
I'll be… back to full health before you know it.
So… you should also return in good health, Ulyseon."
Ulyseon's mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something, but eventually he lowered his head.
Maxi's expression turned worried when she saw how guilty he looked.
The young man was seventeen years old.
Even though he was a genius swordsman, he was still just a boy.
And yet, he had protected her so gallantly.
She was about to say this to him when the carriage abruptly sped up.Maxi rocked on his makeshift bed.
Ulyseon tried to keep up before stopping abruptly.
Maxi stared at his helpless figure until he disappeared behind the crowd.
Princess Agnes came to his side and pointed out the window.
“The people there also came to say goodbye to you.”
Maxi looked the other way and saw the clerics gathered on a hill.
Idsilla was waving her arms at the front of the group, a scarf fluttering like a flag in one hand.
Maxi's lips curved into a small smile.
The girl had refused Maxi's offer to go out with them, saying she would return with her brother.
Saddened that this might be the last time they would see each other, Maxi waved until the female clerics disappeared into the landscape.
When they finally passed through the city gates, Princess Agnes made Maxi lie down again.
"Since the southern route has been completely blocked, we will pass through the northern valley and then go around the rock face.
The White Dragons have agreed to protect us until then.
The chances of a monster attack are as small as the sky splitting in half, so stay calm and try to sleep."
Maxi closed his eyes, relaxing when he heard that Riftan would accompany them.
She didn't know how long she slept, but she was woken up by someone shaking her shoulder.
Princess Agnes helped her up and pointed out the window.
"This is where we say goodbye to the White Dragons.
Do you want me to call Riftan for you?"
Still with sleepy eyes, Maxi looked at the knights lined up on the golden-brown field.
At the head of the group, Riftan took off his helmet and held it at his side.
The wind whipped her black hair.
She waited for him to ride to the carriage, but Riftan remained motionless atop his imposing black horse.
He just looked impassively at the carriage.
Remembering his violent shaking the night before, Maxi couldn't bring himself to ask to call him.
She shook her head slowly.
"N-No.
We already...
said goodbye."
The princess watched her for a moment before lowering the blind and signaling the group to leave again.
Maxi tried to record her retreating figure in his mind.
As he grew more distant, Maxi felt a deep shadow envelop her heart.
You'll come get me soon, right?
She asked him sincerely with her eyes, but saw no answer on his face.
Maxi held the copper coin.
For a brief moment, she thought he would come after her like he did Levan when he gave her the coin.
This time, however, Riftan remained as still as a stone in the field.
Maxi tried to blink away her tears.
A cool breeze that smelled like autumn tugged at the White Dragons' cloaks.
Before he knew it, the stormiest and most painful summer of his life had come to an end.
It seemed that the coalition army had actually managed to drive the monsters north this time.
The returning party was not attacked once on their journey back to Levan.
Looking back, Maxi could simply have missed an ambush.
She had slept like a corpse the entire way.
It was a new day every time she opened her eyes.
However, his tiredness seemed to persist no matter how much he slept.
She felt as helpless as a newborn.
Magic couldn't cure the symptoms of mana exhaustion, so there was nothing she could do other than wait for her body to recover on its own.
After more than ten days of doing nothing but eating and sleeping, she was well enough to walk when they arrived in Levan.
As soon as she got out of the carriage, she went straight to retrieve Rem from the basilica.
The mare had been neglected for nearly two months; she stamped her hooves on the ground as soon as she saw Maxi.
Ursuline walked over to take the reins.
"She's probably upset from being locked up in the stables for so long.
Try to keep your distance until she calms down."
Maxi nodded and stepped back.
The ice knight no longer looked down on her, but Maxi still found their interactions difficult.
Ursuline deftly calmed the agitated horse and then looked at Maxi's skin tone.
"As the weather is good, I think we will be able to sail back to Wedon without delay.
Is there anything else you would like to take with us?"
“N-No…”Maxi swept his gaze around, trying to think.
Although she wanted to say goodbye to the noblewomen who remained in the basilica, she had told them that she had gone to stay with Idsilla in one of her family's villas.
Not wanting to cause any problems for the girl, Maxi chose to leave as discreetly as possible.
They took a carriage to the port, where a ship with the royal crest of Wedon awaited them.
Maxi came aboard with Elliot's help.
Princess Agnes was supervising the soldiers carrying the luggage and ran up to Maxi as soon as she saw her.
"Maximilian!
You look pale.
You could have asked the soldiers to fetch your horse for you..."
"I-I'm fine.
Leaving her… was weighing on my mind the whole time."
Maxi gently stroked Rem's mane.
The mare grunted and shook her head, clearly still in a bad mood.
A small smile appeared on Maxi's lips as he watched the horse.
Agnes pulled Maxi towards the stairs in the center of the ship.
"Now, come this way.
The servants will take your mount to the stables.
It's time for you to take your medicine and get some rest."
“But… I’ve just been sleeping.”
Maxi's brow furrowed slightly.
She didn't like being treated like a child.
The princess smiled as if to reassure her.
"You're not just suffering from mana exhaustion, Maximilian.
You've even used up the mana you were born with.
In short, you've drained your life force.
It will take a while for you to fully recover.
You shouldn't exert yourself for now."
Elliot, who was standing quietly next to Maxi, seemed to agree.
"You should do as His Highness suggests, my lady.
You are not well."
With a sigh, Maxi obediently went downstairs.
The princess led her to a luxurious cabin fit for a king.
After eating a small portion of porridge and drinking an infusion of mandrake root, Maxi lay down on the bed.
Shortly afterwards, a blast of a trumpet announced their departure.
Maxi reflected on the events that had occurred over the last season.
Everything seemed like a prolonged dream.
Her life at Croyso Castle, Calypse Castle, and on a campaign… it was overwhelming for her to realize how dramatic her stagnant life had become after her reunion with Riftan.
“Only after meeting you did I learn what it was like to be alive…”
Riftan's pained expression suddenly came to Maxi's mind, and she quickly brushed it away.
She didn't want to think about anything at that moment.
She was simply very tired.
It was as if he had aged decades in the past few days.
Maxi made a concerted effort to focus on the distant sound of the waves before falling asleep again.
Drachium, the capital of Wedon, was in the north of the kingdom.
As it was much closer to the port than Anatol, it only took them five days to reach the ports.
The city seemed to be moving into autumn.
Maxi looked at the magnificent view and thought to herself that it was truly a place worthy of Rosetta's love.
His sister had always appreciated grandeur.
They passed through the imposing gates onto a road wide enough for eight carriages to travel side by side.
Sophisticated stone buildings lined both sides of the road.
Princess Agnes began to give an introduction to the city while Maxi watched the scene distractedly.
There was a theater, an armory, a horse racing stadium and so on.
Maxi nodded and offered halfhearted answers.
Although all the structures were impressive, she found herself strangely unimpressed.