The color drained from Theodora’s face, and her lips began to tremble. Maxim gently pressed her shoulder, preventing her from trying to move. With a heavy sigh, Theodora lay back down, abandoning her attempt to sit up. Maxim looked down at her with a furrowed brow.

"Your injuries are severe, Theodora. For now, you need to rest..."

"What... what happened?"

Theodora asked, her face contorting in discomfort as she tried to adjust her position, the pain in her leg clearly troubling her.

"We were fighting the monsters when the cliff collapsed."

"I... I remember that much."

Theodora could still recall the sensation of her sword plunging into the Fenrir’s neck just as the cliff began to crumble beneath them.

"But where... where are we?"

Was there a place like this in the wasteland? Theodora glanced around, trying to take in her surroundings. Were they trapped together in the rubble? A rotting smell mixed with the stench of blood lingered in the small cave. The source of the blood seemed to be a crack that looked like the entrance to the cave.

"...We’re inside a hole in the cliff at the edge of the wasteland."

"A hole in the cliff?"

Theodora asked, puzzled.

"How did we end up here?"

"...At first, I planned to hide in the rubble and wait for rescue."

Maxim glanced toward the back of the cave.

"That was before I realized there was a Death Worm tunneling through the cliff."

"...What do you mean, a Death Worm tunneling through the cliff?"

Maxim sighed deeply.

"I don’t know how such a creature came into existence, but there was a massive Death Worm that had burrowed a hole through the cliff. It was getting closer."

Maxim turned his gaze back to the entrance.

"I figured there was no way I could protect you and hold out until rescue arrived. I found this small cave after escaping the rubble."

Theodora’s face grew grim.

"...This is bad."

"It is."

Maxim shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. The entrance was partially blocked by the bodies of monsters, and the light that filtered through was growing dimmer as evening fell.

"I’m sorry."

Theodora suddenly apologized.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"...If you were alone, you would have been able to survive."

Maxim scoffed and shook his head.

"No, that’s not something you need to apologize for."

"You should have left me behind."

Maxim’s face twisted with anger.

"Don’t say things like that, not even as a joke."

"I wasn’t joking."

Theodora looked up at Maxim with sad eyes. Her gaze, reflecting the fading twilight, turned a somber gray. The swirling clouds above mirrored the storm within her. Maxim, after holding her gaze for a moment, closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Theodora, don’t start thinking like that. We’re both going to survive and get rescued. Or we’ll make it out of this wasteland ourselves."

Maxim spoke with determination.

"Don’t talk like you’re a burden. If anything, blame me for not getting us out sooner."

"Maxim."

"Let me say this."

Theodora watched as Maxim’s expression grew more serious.

"If you don’t make it out of here, neither will I. If you die, I die too."

Theodora’s eyes trembled. Maxim, looking exhausted, leaned his head against the wall.

"…"

Theodora said nothing, staring up at the ceiling. She wanted to say thank you, but expressing gratitude seemed more difficult than apologizing. Maxim, sensing the need to change the mood, lifted his head from the wall.

"Let’s focus on figuring out how to get out of here and signal for help."

"Do you think they might assume we’re dead?"

"They might, but I don’t think so."

"Why not?"

"Because you’re a key asset to the kingdom and one of the most promising knights on the continent."

Theodora let out a small laugh despite herself.

"It’s been a long time since I heard that..."

She exhaled weakly, her energy drained.

"As for the rescue, I’m not sure if the signal flare case is still attached to my belt... Oh, here it is."

"You mean the signal flare?"

Theodora nodded, detaching a small pouch and opening it. Inside was a single-use signal flare. Maxim looked at it as she handed it to him.

"What about yours?"

"...I think I lost mine during the fall."

Maxim fumbled at his waist, but there was no pouch to be found. It was only then that he remembered the signal flare.

"So we only have one chance."

"That’s right."

Theodora summoned her strength and sat up, leaning against the wall.

"Don’t strain yourself."

"I’m not. But if I stay lying down, how are we going to fend off any monsters that come in?"

Theodora winced as she adjusted herself, her eyes drifting to her injured right leg.

"It’s completely ruined."

"Don’t even think about walking on it."

Maxim’s tone was firm, but Theodora shook her head.

"If I use mana to suppress the pain and strengthen my body, I’ll manage. Besides, you did a good job bandaging it."

She carefully touched her shin. Maxim watched her leg with concern.

"I’ll be fine. As long as we get out of here, I can get it treated right away."

Outside, the darkness had fully settled in. This was the time when the monsters would begin their nightly hunt. The sounds of growls and rustling filled the wasteland. The stench of blood and flesh grew stronger as hunting and fighting intensified.

"Do you think they’ve started searching for us?"

Theodora murmured, turning her head toward the entrance.

"Even if they did, they would have pulled back by now... Staying out here at night would be too dangerous for the search team."

Maxim adjusted his position to be more comfortable. The small cave barely had enough space for him to lie down, with just enough room for both of them to stretch their legs. Maxim relaxed, conserving his strength.

"We’ll have to stay here quietly for the night."

Theodora rested her right leg while keeping her left leg drawn up, looking at Maxim. He noticed the weariness on her face and spoke.

"I’ll take the first watch. Get some sleep if you’re tired."

She remained silent, staring at him intently. Maxim avoided her gaze, feeling uneasy under the scrutiny of her stormy gray eyes.

"…Maxim."

Theodora hesitated. Talking to him now, in this place, made her feel foolish. She wondered what their relationship even mattered when they were on the edge of life and death. But despite that, she found it hard to start a conversation with him.

What could she say to this tired knight?

She didn’t want to bring up the past, nor did she want to discuss the present. But she needed to talk. If not now, she feared she might never get the chance, and he might never answer her.

It was a foolish pride and a deep, fragile sense of resentment. Theodora felt a wave of self-loathing. Right now, she decided not to think about anything. She just wanted to talk—to talk about how they ended up like this, rather than trying to break the chains that bound them.

Maybe, since that night when she rejected Maxim and sent him out of her room, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking.

"Let’s turn back time."

Maxim lifted his head from the wall at her words.

"Let’s go back three years for a moment and talk."

Maxim looked at Theodora. She seemed to have made up her mind about something significant. The uncertainty of her resolution was evident in her trembling eyes. Maxim felt a strange emotion stir within him, something deep and impulsive.

"All of a sudden?"

"Yes, suddenly."

Maxim’s eyes flickered at her determined tone, but he quickly composed himself and tried to cut off the conversation she was trying to start.

"...It’s only going to hurt you."

"Yes. And I’ll probably be tied to that pain for the rest of my life."

Theodora buried her head in her knees before lifting it again.

"Your engagement. Was that something you wanted?"

Maxim closed his eyes at her question. He didn’t want her to see his eyes waver, fearing she might find something amiss. Avoiding her gaze, he gave a short, clipped response.

"Yes."

"And that..."

Maxim exhaled a weary sigh.

"It was a family matter, nothing more. I just accepted it without much thought."

"Maxim."

Maxim stubbornly denied it, pushing Theodora away. Her eyes, filled with emotion, didn’t change.

"That’s not the kind of answer I was looking for."

Theodora winced, seemingly bothered by the discomfort in her right leg. Maxim could not hide the fear that gripped his heart at her words.

"Theodora, if you ask me like that, I can only deny it. I’m just telling you the truth, whether you want to hear it or not."

Theodora looked at Maxim in silence. He realized he couldn’t endure this situation any longer. He had thought that being hated would be the end of it, but it wasn’t. Theodora was far stronger, more unyielding, than either he or her father had anticipated.

"Maxim."

Theodora called his name in a low voice.

"It was snowing that day."

She deliberately recalled the painful memories, describing the scene of their breakup.

"It wasn’t snowing heavily. It wasn’t sleet, just light snow falling slowly, like sugar. There was no wind, and the weather wasn’t particularly cold for winter, just the way I liked it."

As she spoke, Maxim could see the scene from that day in his mind.

"After you broke up with me, I don’t remember anything. What I said, what you tried to say in response... I probably just cursed you out and cried."

"Theodora."

Maxim tried to stop her, but she continued her story undeterred.

"Maxim, there are still so many things I don’t understand. Why you stopped using aura, why you ended up as a fallen knight, and why... despite having a fiancée, you’re so close to the vice-captain."

Maxim lowered his head, unable to meet Theodora’s gaze as she listed her questions one by one.

"I don’t understand, Maxim. I hate you, I really do..."

Maxim remained silent, a shadow falling across his face. Theodora sighed, seeing that he wouldn’t respond.

Time passed, each second dragging on like an hour. Theodora bit her lip hard.

"Theodora."

At last, Maxim spoke. His expression and voice were filled with emotions too complex to name. Theodora found herself staring at him, caught off guard.

"Let’s get out of here alive."

It was a sudden, unexpected statement, not at all a response to what she had said. But Theodora looked at Maxim, eyes wide with surprise. He offered her a faint, bitter smile. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything more after that.

Theodora rested her forehead on her knees. She had thought that speaking would clear her mind, but it only left her more confused. Since he had volunteered to take the first watch, maybe he would understand.

Theodora closed her eyes, and Maxim watched her in silence.

"You must be tired."

Maxim spoke softly, a bitter smile on his lips as he looked at Theodora, who had fallen asleep. His thoughts swirled like a storm, as memories and thoughts of the past and present collided.

The confessions and truths he couldn’t bring himself to voice tasted bitter on his tongue.

It was a luxury to worry about such things when they didn’t even know if they would survive the night or die here in this cave.

Maxim let out a soft chuckle.

Perhaps it was precisely because they were on the brink of life and death that these thoughts were so consuming. He placed his hand over his breastplate, feeling the heartbeat and the curse that lay beneath.

‘Maxim, in the end, the only person who can pull you out of despair is yourself.’

I wonder, Paola.

Maxim instinctively reached out to stroke Theodora’s hair but stopped himself, letting his hand drop back to his side.

He didn’t know how Theodora would have taken his words—'Let’s get out of here alive.'

Maxim looked toward the cave entrance, where faint moonlight was filtering in.

The howls of the monsters echoed endlessly, as if they would engulf the world. But in Maxim’s eyes, there was no despair, only the burning resolve to survive.