was dragged away.

Then both of her hands were released from their bonds.

The person tucked something into her belt. It was a cold, heavy piece of some unknown metal. Elisha held her breath, not understanding what was going on.

'Never—'

The man spoke in a low voice.

'Never appear in front of me again.'

He leaned over and whispered. He was so close Elisha could feel the heat coming off his skin. His body gave off the scent of masculine sandalwood.

It was a smell that was only acquired among the old-growth trees in the deep forests of the wild, well hidden away from humans.

Suddenly, there was a commotion around them.

'Who was that?'

Elisha took off her blindfold. She was standing at the back door of Marco's mansion. No one had captured her.

Then someone rushed past, almost bumping into her. Elisha realized that it was a young man.

'I'm here to take revenge on the Knights of the Temple. All you sons-of-bitches come out!'

Elisha peeked through the back door. There was a sea of blood on the man's path and splattered all over the man's body.

'It's Lapis of the Black Lion Knights! Everyone— run away!'

Elisha covered her mouth. The Seeds of the Black Lion Knights. The slender youth……. Elisha recalled a famous young wizard, Lapis. After that, a large man* with an overflowing battle spirit jumped in.

Corinne. This person was also a Seed.

[*t1v: oops seems like Corinne is a he, in Korean it didn't specify until now, and 'Corinne' is a feminine name, literally meaning 'maiden' in French, but #downwiththegenderbinary I suppose]

'A battle between two different orders of knights. The fact that the Seeds of the Black Lion Knights are here… … .'

Elisha fumbled with her belt.

What's inside her belt…? …

…. It was an ancient gold coin made of pure gold. It was a very precious thing.

Elisha staggered out into the street. There were chariots.

'This… … . Is this for the carriage fare?'

The fact that he gave her money to escape meant he knew who she was. He knew that Elisha wasn't Marco's subordinate and didn't belong there, so he gave her the means to go back.

'That man's voice… … . It was the voice of someone I knew.'

And Elisha realized the identity of the man who had set her free.

No way.

Even while she was second-guessing herself, deep down inside, she was sure.

Lucerne.

It was him.

***

When she opened her eyes, Elisha realized that she had been weeping.

'Why did I cry?' [t1v: b/c you were traumatized af babygirl, disassociation is a mf]

Maybe it was because she had a dream about long ago. Elisha rubbed her eyes. She let out a husky sigh.

'I see. That's what happened.'

Why had Lucerne taken pity on her? Why had he freed her from Arien's torment after she was caught?

In her past life, Elisha had wondered about it for a long time. However, when she heard his story today, her long-standing question had been finally answered.

'I can't see— my eyes—hiccup—Please… … . let me go. Please pretend you didn't see me.'

'I think I pleaded with them to save me. That my vision was dark… … . —Yeah, that's what happened.'

'But no one helped me. It was like paying expensive tuition for a lesson with blood and tears.'

Lucerne had seen his own childhood in Elisha while she had cried and pleaded with him on that day.

Some people turned a blind eye to their past. When seeing a miserable person similar to their past self, some trample on them, ignore or mock them. But, others… … . Don't look away when others resemble their past pitiful selves.

Elisha's expression was something similar to a self-deprecating, bitter smile.

Her past self in her previous life. That short shabby life was so miserably wretched.

There were only two possessions she had treasured and kept when she died futilely at Jacob's hands.

An old yellow handkerchief, and a long-held ancient gold coin.

If she had any debt to pay off in her previous life, it was only what those possessions symbolized because she had lived a life where she had never before experienced the beauty of sincere kindness and honest goodwill.

***