A bit mentally exhausted, Pandora didn’t notice the change in Betty at this moment.

  Her words were heard not only by the miller’s children, but by Betty as well.

  Betty’s gaze drifted, the words “you will no longer be… and can become…” echoing in her heart.

  Did she have to be “the daughter of the cook and the stable hand”?

  Could she also become… for example, someone like Elsa, a respected handmaiden by all the other servants, someone who belonged exclusively to Lady Pandora?

  But when she thought of the requirements to become a handmaiden, Betty’s cheeks ached just from thinking about it!

  To become someone like Lady Elsa… it was just too hard!

  The little kitchen maid’s life crisis went completely unnoticed by Pandora.

  She took one last look at the silent mill, then turned her gaze toward the town, still invisible in the distance. “Let’s go. It’s time to see my father.”

  Elsa nodded silently, resuming her position at Pandora’s side.

  The blood-colored sword hung low, the flash of killing intent from moments ago seemingly never having existed.

  ………………

  The setting sun hung low in the sky, painting a lone cloud in a melancholy orange-red.

  On the forest path, the light from the sunset stretched their three shadows long. The shadows, one large and two small, belonged to Pandora and her companions.

  Now, Pandora looked up into the distance.

  Far away, at the edge of her vision, was the familiar outline of the town. The pointed steeple of the church, the low-slung houses, the stone clock tower in the central square…

  Everything seemed… normal?

  She could even see a faint wisp of smoke, rising gently into the sky, dyed by the colors of the sunset.

  “It’s smoke from a chimney! My Lady, look, it’s chimney smoke!” Betty exclaimed excitedly, pointing into the distance, a survivor’s joy on her small face. “There are still people in the town! People are still alive! The Viscount must be there! He must have protected the town!”

  Elsa, too, rarely showed a hint of relaxation, her grip on her sword lowering slightly. “This subordinate has always believed that with the Viscount’s prestige and the power of his loyal knights, even if caught by surprise, he would surely be able to stabilize the situation and protect the land.”

  Elsa spoke calmly, but her expression held the certainty of near-religious faith.

  Pandora listened to their words, saw the hope ignite on their faces, and her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing.

  She wanted to tell them not to be too optimistic, that things might not be so simple.

  There was only one wisp of smoke, all alone. Like a thin thread that could be snapped by the wind at any moment, incredibly fragile. The phenomenon itself was the greatest ill omen.

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  But the words died on her lips.

  Why bother?

  Let them enjoy a moment of peace before they faced the final truth. Even if that peace was just a false illusion…

  In the silence, Pandora retracted her gaze, roused the two of them, and they continued on their way.

  The outline of the town grew clearer and clearer in their vision.

  Closer.

  And closer.

  Just then—

  “Wait!”

  Pandora shot her hand up, stopping the two in their tracks.

  Her senses had alerted her to an unusual disturbance. This was different from the low groans of zombies; it was more violent, and it was approaching fast!

  Frowning, Pandora strained to listen, her voice a low whisper: “Hooves. More than one horse. They’re moving fast, coming right for us!”

  “What?!”

  Betty’s small face was full of confusion, but under the solemn gazes of Pandora and Elsa, she realized the gravity of the situation and instinctively hid behind Lady Pandora.

  Elsa’s expression was no longer relaxed; it was taut, her gaze razor-sharp. The blood-colored sword rose without a sound, held horizontally before her, her body leaning forward slightly in a high-alert defensive stance.

  Three pairs of eyes stared at the end of the forest path.

  A cloud of dust!

  A figure burst from the cover of the trees!

  It was a fully armed knightess.

  Her armor was stained with blood, and the warhorse beneath her was frothing at the mouth, clearly at its last gasp. One hand was pressed firmly against her abdomen, where the blood had already stained her leather armor and clothes a dark red. Her other hand still gripped the reins tightly, desperately spurring the horse on, trying to go faster.

  Most of her attention was focused on what was behind her, as if she were being chased.

  When her gaze happened to skim over Pandora and the others not far away, her eyes, already bloodshot from exhaustion and pain, suddenly flared with a look of utter shock!

  “Lady Pandora?!”

  The knightess froze for only a moment, as if to confirm the face. Then, after confirming Pandora’s identity, she used all her strength to scream, her voice so distorted by urgency it was barely recognizable: “My Lady! RUN—!!”

  “Arthur… Arthur has betrayed the Viscount!”

  Arthur?!

  Who was that?

  A question surfaced in Pandora’s mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

  Because, almost at the exact same moment the knightess screamed, three more figures burst from the depths of the forest path!

  The one in the lead was also clad in knight’s armor, also stained with blood, but the bloodstains were clearly not his own, most likely belonging to those he had wounded.

  Pandora saw it clearly. The man’s faceplate was half-raised. Beneath it was a face twisted by killing intent, looking especially ferocious.

  She knew this face!

  It was the knight squire—“Ugly Kid” Rod!

  “Traitor! Don’t even think about running!”

  “Ugly Kid” Rod raised his long sword high, a cruel smile on his face as he spurred his horse to accelerate.

  “Aurora! Stop now, and you can still come back with us!”

  The two knights behind Rod also spoke up, but their voices lacked the same killing intent, instead tinged with a hint of hesitation and reluctance.

  In fact, this hesitation and reluctance were also reflected in their actions.

  Pandora had a pretty good idea why.

  Aurora, these two, and even “Ugly Kid” Rod, were all the Viscount’s “knight squires.” The underage recruits training to become knights. Aurora was the only girl among them.

  Pandora had seen her during training sessions and had even spoken with her. What was more rare was that she hadn’t entered the squire ranks through connections, but through genuine skill that was in no way inferior to the boys her age. Pandora had always admired that.

  She never expected she had survived, too.

  But now was not the time to be celebrating.

  Aurora’s warhorse couldn’t hold on any longer!

  With a mournful whinny, its forelegs buckled, and it collapsed to its knees!

  The knightess was thrown from her saddle like a kite with its string cut, hitting the ground hard with the weight of her armor. She rolled a few times before finally coming to a stop at Pandora’s feet.

  “Aurora!”

  Pandora rushed forward immediately, helping the grievously wounded knightess up.

  Aurora’s face was already as pale as paper. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. It seemed the fall had caused internal injuries. The wound on her abdomen was deep enough to see bone. The continuous bleeding, combined with severe blood loss, and the multiple injuries piled on top of each other, her gaze was already beginning to drift…

  And yet, she still clung to a thread of life, desperately grabbing Pandora’s sleeve and hissing with all her remaining strength: “My Lady, run! Arthur… he’s gone mad! He…”

  “Silence, you traitor!”