~Chapter 39~
Khalid stood frozen, clenching his teeth.
Shuruel was Rivier’s younger brother—a man Khalid had accepted into the knight order at her request. His reputation and skill were impeccable, so Khalid had accepted him without hesitation.
At first, Shuruel had been suspicious of Rivier’s sudden warmth. But in time, like Khalid, he had accepted her change.
Rivier had only wanted to prevent her brother from dying a meaningless death at the border.
She had placed him in the knights so he wouldn’t be sent back to the front. It took time, but Shuruel eventually understood her intentions.
From that point on, he gave everything he had, eventually earning the rank of vice-captain.
He was a true knight—one even Khalid acknowledged.
“Why is Shuruel in a place like that?!”
That’s what made Khalid all the more furious.
The year Rivier’s memories vanished and Khalid’s past memories returned—Shuruel had tried everything to convince his sister.
Crushed by guilt that his sister had caused his master’s suffering, he eventually resigned his position two years later.
‘I’m thinking of returning to the border. I know helping Your Highness stop my sister would ease my guilt… but I can’t bear to watch Your Highness suffer anymore.’
‘Even if I ask you to stay… you’ll still go?’
‘I’m sorry, Your Highness. If I remain here, my sister will only use me as a hostage to trouble you.’
‘You Arfins… always slip through my fingers.’
At the time, Khalid couldn’t stop him.
He wanted to, but Shuruel’s reasoning was sound—so in the end, he hadn’t reached out.
It was ironic. The border seemed safer than staying at his side.
And yet, the one who should’ve been at the border… was here.
“Judging by the timeline, he must’ve been captured right after leaving Razan.”
“…”
“Then the letters Shuruel’s been sending…”
They had trusted those letters—believed he was doing fine at the border.
The handwriting matched Shuruel’s. It had seemed undeniable.
But it was all a lie.
He could only blame himself—for never checking the truth.
“No one could’ve seen this coming.”
“I know.”
“It’s not your fault, Your Highness.”
Zerman genuinely believed that. Back then, it had been a miracle their prince had simply survived.
Khalid silently closed his eyes.
He had believed Shuruel was safe. Believed he was strong enough to survive the border. And that trust had made him careless.
Khalid pressed his aching forehead.
His hand trembled on its own.
The fury… and his own complacency made him sick.
“It’s been three years since he left. There’s no way Shuruel stayed quietly captured that long. They must’ve done something to him.”
“I’ll investigate further.”
There was no longer doubt—the silver-haired champion had to be Shuruel.
A man who’d held the top position in the arena for three years? In the Empire, only Shuruel matched that description.
“Change the plan. I’m taking down the arena myself.”
“Your Highness…”
“Zerman, that was an order.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Even after Zerman left, Khalid felt suffocated.
He worried for Shuruel, who was likely suffering even now. But even more suffocating was the idea that Rivier had thrown her own brother into a blood arena.
Just remembering he once loved a woman like that was unbearable.
‘Did I… really misjudge her that badly?’
He could still picture the smile she used to give him—so vividly it hurt.
Her golden eyes that once felt like a blessing… that brilliant smile now felt like a lie.
He had loved Rivier when she seemed pure, kind, and lovely—not a woman who’d sacrifice her brother.
She had asked him to place Shuruel in the knight order herself, saying she worried for his safety.
Five years had passed, and the chaos still hadn’t ended.
He angrily opened the glass cabinet and downed a bottle of liquor.
The burning in his chest and the headache clouded his mind.
‘I didn’t misjudge. I just thought… now that I’m on Your Highness’s side, I’m not just anyone anymore. That’s what I believed.’
As the harsh alcohol went down his throat, it was Erdia’s face that came to mind—not Rivier’s.
Her calm black eyes that never left him—the way they shimmered in a hauntingly familiar way.
The way her eyes dropped slightly, hurt by his coldness, bothered him more than it should’ve.
That bitter smile she forced—that too looked strangely familiar.
He didn’t want to admit it, but…
It reminded him of the woman he once loved.
The trembling eyes trying not to cry, the wavering voice no one else seemed to notice…
Even though she didn’t resemble Rivier at all, Erdia’s expression stirred memories of her.
He kept noticing her.
Her thin body caught his eye. Her overly bright eyes made him uncomfortable.
But most of all, it was her behavior that irritated him.
That act of pretending everything was fine—when her heart said otherwise. Her lack of honesty annoyed him deeply.
If she had to fake it, why not just stop pretending? Her mixed signals felt like deliberate defiance.
Was she hoping someone would notice?
Or desperately hiding her pain?
He couldn’t tell.
Even the way she hesitated and watched others reminded him of how Rivier had behaved after losing her memories.
Her odd attitude had once made Khalid order Zerman to re-investigate her past.
But nothing new came of it.
Still, that faraway look in her eyes—like she remembered something only the two of them knew—brought him back to “that time.”
If all of this was a scheme to get close to him, then… maybe she had succeeded.
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, he emptied the rest of the bottle in one go.
He couldn’t even feel drunk—was it water or liquor?
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“Just heard something that shook me, and now I have to meet the woman who makes me uncomfortable?”
Regret surged over his impulsive decision to meet her personally.
But even while regretting it, his steps quickened as he walked to the meeting spot.
He’d just received a report from one of the spies assigned to watch Erdia.
She had successfully stolen the ledger—just as planned.
Erdia appeared at the meeting point in Aldin’s arms.
Like a sausage in a hotdog bun, she looked awkwardly squished into his chest. It annoyed Khalid.
Stumbling and gripping Aldin’s arm like a newborn fawn—she looked far too fragile.
‘She’s clinging to him unnecessarily.’
The closeness between knight and lady seemed too much, and it got under Khalid’s skin.
Unimportant things were bothering him more than they should—and he missed the perfect timing to reveal himself.
Erdia carefully opened the ledger in her arms and smiled with relief.
That smile—like it might fall apart any moment—made Khalid’s heart twist uncomfortably.
It was a strange feeling. The mission had been a success.
And yet… why did he feel so uneasy?
He pushed the feeling aside and finally approached.
She held a light book with both hands and blinked rapidly—something about it felt off.
Her face, always pale, now had a cold sweat on it. She clearly wasn’t well.
Khalid frowned—and at that moment, Erdia dropped the book.
“Wh… what’s happening…”
She mumbled and collapsed forward.
Without thinking, Khalid reached out and caught her.
His body moved faster than his thoughts.
