Episode 15
Then, Richard suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace, holding me so firmly I couldn’t move an inch. Maybe he meant to stop my hands—my arms were completely pinned.
“Please, stop this. Why are you treating yourself so carelessly? Value your body a little more.”
He looked at me with eyes full of pain and concern, as if I were something precious.
I had come into his cell on my own—why did he look like he was the one forcing something on me?
I was the one who kept making things difficult for him, yet he never pushed me away harshly. How could someone be so… kind?
My chest tightened strangely. I stared at Richard in a bit of a daze.
“That’s the first time anyone’s ever said something like that to me. I’m not a noble lady, I’m a scammer. No one treats me like I’m worth anything. Even Kyle said he’d let me go if I became his woman.”
Richard was the first person to treat me like this. And it confused me. Was I really that unattractive to him? That thought stung.
Richard buttoned my shirt and fastened the collar neatly.
“That’s enough. Please get off me.”
He looked like he was struggling to pull himself away from me, like even being physically close was exhausting.
Honestly, his legs were more comfortable than a wooden bed. Reluctantly, I climbed off and sat at the edge of the bed. His jaw clenched, and a slight frown crept across his brow.
“So… did you accept the warden’s offer? Are you okay with just any man as long as it helps you escape?”
“What do you take me for? I said I was okay with you, not just anyone!”
I snapped, even though I had been trying to seduce him moments ago.
But seriously, wasn’t it obvious? I turned down the easy route with Kyle because I wanted to escape with him.
Richard stared at me with a hard expression.
“What’s different about me?”
“Well, you…”
I hesitated, suddenly embarrassed by my own actions. I fidgeted with my fingers before continuing.
“You probably don’t remember, but we’ve met before. At the fountain in the plaza. You gave me bread back then.”
“Oh… Did I?”
I glanced at his confused face.
“You even turned your back while I ate so I could sit in the shade. You don’t remember that?”
“I remember now! That was you?”
Richard’s eyes widened slightly. Knowing he remembered made me unexpectedly happy, so I got a bit sulky.
“Then why did you give me bread back then? I wasn’t even a kid.”
He kept his gaze fixed on me. After a brief pause, he answered:
“…You looked like my first love. That’s why I was drawn to you.”
“…!”
A woman…?
Richard thought back to his first love. It had been a particularly bright, sunny day.
The clamor of training echoed over the temple walls—trainee knights preparing for a visit from the Archbishop and the Saint candidates. But Richard wasn’t among them.
He stood alone in an empty hall, broom in hand, watching the training grounds from a window.
“Don’t go wandering around. Stay out of sight. If the Archbishop sees those ominous red eyes of yours, it’ll disgrace the temple. Understand?”
He silently nodded and accepted the broom the priest handed him.
Even if they hadn’t given him cleaning duties, he wouldn’t have been allowed to train. Swordsmanship was forbidden to him.
Because of his glaringly red eyes.
The priests discriminated against him, and naturally, so did the other children. Though Richard had been raised in the temple since infancy, he was always ostracized.
Can’t I even watch from a distance? I want to know how Roze has grown up…
He looked longingly as lavish carriages stopped in front of the temple.
He’d grown used to being treated unfairly at the temple, but he had been looking forward to this visit. One of the Saint candidates—Roze—was supposed to be among the guests.
He hadn’t seen her in ages, and the thought of seeing her again had kept him up at night for days.
But it seemed even catching a glimpse from afar was all he’d be allowed. As the Archbishop and his entourage climbed the temple steps, Richard gripped the broom tighter.
Once they disappeared from view, he tried to distract himself by swinging the broom in sync with the distant shouts of the trainees—just like he usually mimicked their training in secret.
Clap clap clap.
“W-Who’s there…?”
Lost in thought, he jumped at the sudden sound of applause and dropped his broom.
He turned around—and there she was, standing at the door with the Archbishop.
Roze.
She looked a little different, but there was no mistaking her.
Richard couldn’t take his eyes off her taller frame and more mature features. She stared back, and only then did the startled faces of the priests come into view.
He was definitely going to be scolded.
Being humiliated in front of Roze—his vision darkened with dread. He quickly bowed his head to hide his eyes.
“Your form is impressive. Is he a trainee knight too?”
Roze stepped closer and looked directly at him as she asked. Her gaze lingered on his red eyes, then turned to the priest.
“He isn’t learning swordsmanship. Looks like he was just messing around with the broom, haha. The real trainees are training below—shall we go watch?”
“If he moves that well without training, he must have a gift. Shouldn’t you be teaching him?”
“Well, the boy has… problems…”
The Archbishop, who had been quietly observing, spoke in a calm voice:
“Those burdened by sin must work harder to repent. Let the boy serve the Order by learning the sword.”
Richard couldn’t speak. He just looked at Roze.
The girl he once thought of as someone he needed to protect—now stood before him, rescuing him.
A wave of emotion swept over him like the sea. That was the moment his feelings for her turned into a budding love.
From that day forward, Richard was allowed to train in swordsmanship. Whether by fate or talent, he improved faster than anyone.
Soon, the priests began to favor him. Even the other children changed how they treated him.
He had one wish—to become a Holy Knight and meet Roze again, now a Saint. He wanted to stand by her side, worthy in both skill and status.
“Your first love must’ve been a beauty. It’s rare to find someone as pretty as me though,” I teased, jutting out my lip and flipping my hair.
Richard was pulled back to the present and smiled faintly.
“She was. Like a Saint from a painting—golden hair and shining blue eyes.”
“Tch. So why didn’t it work out?”
His face darkened as he recalled the past.
“I went to find her… but I couldn’t see her.”
After he was appointed as a Holy Knight, Richard had tried to find the girl he’d kept in his heart. But the woman who greeted him at the temple was a stranger.
Roze had been cast out, he was told. No one knew where she had gone.
Devastated, he wandered into the plaza with a heavy heart. And on impulse, used all his money to buy bread—and began handing it out to children. That was how it started.
That day, while distributing bread at the fountain, he saw a woman sitting on the ground.
“Roze?”
For a split second, he thought it was her. But no—it was someone who just looked like her.
The woman carried a somber air, like someone weathered by life. She watched the children take bread with a sad, weary expression.
Her face was hidden under a worn shawl, but her golden hair and blue eyes shone through, catching his attention.
What was I expecting? Roze wouldn’t be here… He swallowed his disappointment.
Still, Richard found himself approaching her and offering bread.
“…It’s too bright.”
She looked up at him with a sorrowful gaze, and he had to clench his hand to stop himself from wiping away her tears.
He turned his back so she could eat comfortably, even as the hot sun beat down on him—hoping time would slow just a little.
Even if she wasn’t Roze… even if she was just a stranger named Veronica.
“Whoever she was, I bet she regretted rejecting you later,” I said, patting his shoulder.
He chuckled at the absurd coincidence of meeting that woman again—here, inside Fortress Prison.
“I hope she didn’t. I just hope she’s living well somewhere, that’s all.”
