Based on that one fact alone, it was easy to guess that their end would be tragic.

He got a fiancée.

Those were the last words Theodora heard before breaking up with Maxim. His attitude had definitely been strange for the past few months. He intentionally reduced the time they spent together, couldn’t look her straight in the eye when talking, and gradually decreased physical contact.

Theodora intentionally ignored those signals, denied reality, deliberately avoided the conversation, and forcibly stayed close to him. But in the end, she couldn’t stop Maxim.

Maxim announced the breakup after the graduation ceremony.

“Why…”

She tried to convince herself that there must be a reason, that there must be a reason Maxim couldn’t tell her, but the answer he gave was one.

“From the beginning, I became a knight to succeed.”

Thanks to a good fiancée, he could succeed without having to struggle. That’s what Maxim said. Theodora couldn’t look directly at his expression. She didn’t dare to look at it. She felt like something inside her would break if she saw that expression.

“…Then can’t you just come to me? It was a joke then, but you can really stay at our house as a live-in son-in-law. Our family isn’t shabby, and we have a lot of money.”

Theodora said that as if squeezing it out. Did she cry? She was probably crying in an ugly way.

“I’ll… I’ll try harder too. I’ll become a knight who can create your success.”
“… I’m sorry.”

It would have been better if he hadn’t said he was sorry. Theodora couldn’t even remember what she said next or what she did. She probably poured out unimaginably harsh words.

That day, instead of something breaking inside Theodora, it changed.

The eyes that were full of life turned cold and chilly, and her soft way of speaking became stiff. The smile gradually disappeared from her face, and only occasional sarcasm remained. People whispered that Theodora had returned to her old self.

The first place Theodora was assigned to was rough. It was in the north, and except for summer, it was always covered in snow. The snow-covered mountain valleys were crawling with monsters. It was one of the kingdom’s frontiers. There, she created achievements that could only be described as legendary.

Legend, or ghost story. A river of blood and a mountain of corpses. Theodora killed monsters as if possessed by a ghost. There was no such thing as a day off. She went to the front lines every day without fail and massacred the monsters.

In just 3 years, Theodora became the hero of the Kips region and the Sword Demon. The prestige of the Riant Empire’s new rising star echoed throughout the entire continent. Even the kingdoms farthest from it could hear Theodora’s name.

Those who proposed to Theodora were as numerous as the stars in the sky, and it was harder to find a family that hadn’t brought up a marriage proposal than one that had. However, she didn’t even glance at all those requests. At her words that she would take the sword as her companion and only look at the sword, the marriage proposals were abruptly cut off at some point.

The Bening family tried their best to change Theodora’s mind somehow, but her name had already surpassed Bening.

Theodora Bening of the Snowy Land. It was a nickname given to the noble and lonely Theodora.

The story about a change of workplace reached such a Theodora last spring.

“…The Raven Knight Order?”
“I don’t understand why they want to appoint someone of your caliber as the commander there.”

Lania Elga, the Snow Leopard Knight Order commander in charge of the Kips region, sighed and delivered the news to Theodora. With short-cut red hair as her trademark, she caressed the eye patch covering her left eye.

Theodora’s transfer would bring a huge loss of power to the Snow Leopard Knight Order. However, it was also true that she felt reassured at the thought of being able to send her, who had been so passionate to the point of seeming precarious, to the warm royal capital. Lania spoke in a voice mixed with half regret and half affection.

“The royal family’s influence must have been strong. They’re trying to revive the Raven Knight Order.”
“Can I… refuse?”

Lania found Theodora’s words both admirable and pitiful. What kind of experience must a person go through to change like this? Although she didn’t show it much in front of her, Lania always sympathized with Theodora.

“Since it’s a personnel order directly from the central government, as you may have guessed from the mention of the royal family… There’s nothing I can do about it either. Sorry, Theodora.”
“What does the royal family want?”

Lania shrugged her shoulders and began rummaging through the drawer of her office desk. Before long, her hand came up on the desk and held a stiff and luxurious envelope.

She flipped the envelope and showed Theodora the wax seal sealing the opening. On the bright red wax, a lion facing forward with a sword in its mouth.

“…Did the royal family directly send an imperial decree?”
“Yeah. It arrived a while ago. They didn’t say not to show it to you, so I guess you can read it.”

Lania carefully unsealed the envelope. Theodora carefully picked up the letter paper that came out of the envelope, which looked expensive to the point of being burdensome.

“…The glory of the Raven Knight Order was the glory of the Empire. I intend to grant the position of commander to Theodora Bening, the vice commander of the renowned Snow Leopard Knight Order and the Sword Demon of Kips, and entrust her with full authority over its reconstruction to achieve the flight of the Raven.”

Lania showed a faint smile.

“They say they’re going to completely overhaul the organization, and you can do it as you wish. They must really want to entrust you with a pivotal role.”
“…But it says not to expel those among the existing members who possess the will and skills.”
“Because if they change everything, it would be no different from creating a new knight order.”

Lania rested her chin and looked at the letter paper in Theodora’s hand.

“It means they have to maintain appearances.”
“…Is that so?”

Theodora fidgeted with the letter paper anxiously. Lania comforted Theodora.

“It’s okay. How glorious is this? You can lead the reconstruction of a knight order and have full authority over the process.”
“Honor and power are not what I desire.”
“You’re talking nonsense. Honor may be tiring, but it’s not just a burden. And power makes life very convenient.”
“For me, as long as I can swing a sword, that’s enough.”

A shadow briefly passed over Theodora’s face. She really seemed to dislike the personnel transfer.

“You were too passionate.”

Lania said with a sigh.

“You’ve done enough in the frontier, so now serve comfortably in the central region. I don’t know if the work will be comfortable, but it will be better than here. Stay there for a while, leave the Empire’s knight order, return to your family, and live happily. You deserve it.”

Theodora made a troubled expression.

“…I won’t return to my family.”
“Then make a name for yourself while staying in the central region. Don’t create a reason to go back to the frontier. I won’t accept you back here.”

Lania handed Theodora the paper with the personnel order written on it. As Theodora hesitated, Lania issued an order.

“Go and rest today, Vice Commander. Don’t try to secretly go on an extermination again.”

Even Theodora had no choice but to obey Lania’s strict words. She left the commander’s office with the fluttering paper in hand.

The royal capital, huh?

Theodora stared at the paper for a long time.

‘I thought I would never return to the royal capital in my life.’

Memories floated up like bubbles in Theodora’s mind. She dispersed the bubbles of memory by lightly shaking her head. But her eyes had already sunk.

‘If I go to the royal capital, I won’t even go near the place where the academy is.’

The memories with that person were too much of a salvation and a wound for Theodora, a sanctuary that couldn’t be touched and a purgatory that shouldn’t be entered.

Even when she admonished herself to forget, the damn memories wouldn’t leave Theodora alone. That touch, that voice, those lips, those eyes tormented her day and night. She endlessly immolated herself in the realm of the snow-covered mountain ridges, using that sorrow as fuel.

It had been three years since she had spent her time like that. Although she couldn’t say she had recovered, she could at least say that she had returned to a normal life, even though she couldn’t find a trace of her old self.

‘Let’s go.’

She could still swing a sword even if she returned to the royal capital. Because the only path left for her, who had become empty, was to become a seeker of the Way.

A week later, Theodora bid farewell to the north. Lania, the Snow Leopard Knight Order commander, privately met with the former vice commander, who was about to embark on a long journey. She stroked Theodora’s cheek, which had turned slightly red from the cold. For 3 years, she had given her affection like a younger sister.

“Take care of yourself. I’ll write to you, so write back.”

Lania abruptly hugged Theodora to hide her tears. In her arms, Theodora mumbled a reply.

“You should take care too, Commander.”

That’s how Theodora returned to the royal capital without even imagining what would befall her.

==

It was a day with rotten luck.

The messenger thought so. Of all days, he had to receive an errand from that loser knight commander of the Raven Knight Order and deliver a letter to the most promising knight in the kingdom.

Of course, delivering a letter to the most promising knight in the kingdom could be considered an honor. Still, the knight who received the letter now didn’t look too pleased. A chill pervaded the room. Although it was early summer, goosebumps from the cold rose on the messenger’s body.

“…Are you sure you brought the right one?”

That voice was like a blizzard. The messenger couldn’t even lift his head and froze in place. There was no way he properly heard that question.

“I… I’m sorry, but what did you sa…”
“I asked if you’re sure this letter really came from the Raven Knight Order.”

The messenger hurriedly nodded. Overwhelmed by her presence, he couldn’t even imagine that the question Theodora had just thrown was strange.

“Y-yes! I’m sure! I’m sure! I met the commander at the Raven Knight Order’s headquarters about an hour ago and brought it!”

Theodora’s expression didn’t change at the messenger’s words, but the pressure she exuded intensified.

“Eek…!”

The messenger unintentionally let out a small scream. However, Theodora’s pressure held his feet in place, not daring to move. The messenger swallowed his dry saliva. She wasn’t going to cut him down, right? He stared at the longsword hanging by Theodora’s waist with trembling pupils as if an earthquake had occurred.

Theodora folded the letter in half and placed it on the table beside her. When she raised her head, she seemed to have finally noticed that the messenger hadn’t left the room yet.

“You may go. Good work.”
“Yes! Thank you!”

The messenger opened the door and ran out without looking back. He even forgot the fact that he had to close the door. But whether the door was open or closed, Theodora didn’t notice such trivial matters.

“…Sigh.”

A sigh escaped from her lips. She picked up the letter and read it again. She read it two, three times, wondering if she had read it wrong. But the name of the vice commander written in the middle of the letter didn’t change.

Maxim Apart.

The name of a person she thought she would never see again was clearly written there. Theodora looked at the clock. Less than 30 minutes remained until the promised visit time. She got up from her seat and approached the full-length mirror standing in the corner of the room.

“It’s okay.”

She had to maintain her composure. Theodora composed her expression. She mustn’t waver. Theodora kept repeating to herself endlessly and adjusted the collar of her gray Snow Leopard Knight Order uniform. Beyond the open door, the presence of two soldiers who had arrived to escort her was felt.

“Commander?”

Theodora left the room. The two soldiers took the lead and began to guide the way.

The streets of the royal capital flashed by. Countless people’s gazes stuck and fell. But Theodora’s gaze and mind weren’t in the same space as them. Gradually, the crowds thinned, and they had already entered the uphill path leading to the knight order headquarters.

Theodora fully opened her senses to reduce her agitation before seeing Maxim’s face. Her senses, honed in the snowy mountains of Kips, were able to locate Maxim before long. At that overly familiar feeling, the desire to cry and hatred simultaneously rose within Theodora.

It’s okay.

Theodora deceived herself like that. She cut off all her feelings and emotions as if cutting with a sword.

The hill gradually became gentler. The two-story building of the headquarters entered Theodora’s field of vision. And the figure of a person standing in front of it also entered her sight.

It was the moment Maxim Apart appeared before Theodora after 3 years.