Estella, who had sprinted out of Dolan’s house, hurried to her own parlor with the Squirrels. Where a decorative painting had once hung, a large map of Wintfall now occupied the wall.

It was a map marked with the locations of the magic stones they had extracted so far.

The moment they entered, Estella took the map down, spread it across the table, and pointed with her finger near the upper reaches of the Bran River. In the meantime—ever quick on the uptake—Ria fetched the chess pieces from beneath the table.

The Squirrels who had followed along naturally gathered around the table.

With the map spread out, Estella traced a circle over a specific zone with three fingers.

“Noctarum forms only underground where there’s lots of moisture and no light penetrates. So, if we use the Bran River as our axis, the places we need to examine narrow to three.”

She winked at Ria, who had so perfectly prepared the chess pieces, then set a Knight atop a narrow crack that ran along the mountain range.

“First is Shadow Gorge. It gets barely an hour or two of sunlight a day. There are dozens of small caves inside carved by wind; the deepest of those is the most likely place Noctarum is hiding.”

Her fingertip drifted slowly along the river and stopped; there she set down a Bishop.

“Second is the Carmora Cave. It’s connected to the subterranean waters of the Bran’s headwaters—always damp and dark. Noctarum is likely to be found in rock fissures where the groundwater runs. You can’t break it with ordinary pickaxes; you’ll need precise mining tools made of Nevrion steel.”

Ria diligently took notes in her booklet. As soon as this meeting ended, she would have to run straight to Dolan and commission the necessary tools.

Lastly, Estella tapped the wide, fanned-out stretch of river and placed a Rook atop it.

“Third is the Silverford Plain. It’s where the Bran crashes and sprays up silver mists; the riverbed is deep and there are crevices where sunlight never reaches. Riverbeds like this usually have a rock stratum called ‘stone shell,’ and Noctarum may lie beneath it.”

Casting a glance over the Squirrels—who looked slightly overwhelmed—Estella spoke with brimming confidence.

“In the end, these are the three to survey: Shadow Gorge, Carmora Cave, and the Silverford Plain. Noctarum looks as smooth as crystal and seems like it would shatter easily, but ordinary mining tools will never break it. It clings to rock fissures like barnacles. To extract it properly we’ll need tools made of Nevrion steel. And more than anything—”

Fixing each rapt face in turn with a meaningful look, Estella continued.

“Be careful. If you’re exposed too long to Noctarum’s energy while mining, your vision will dim and your heartbeat can turn irregular. Once we pinpoint a deposit, we’ll set strict hours and mine it little by little. Only three or four hours a day.”

The Squirrels were genuinely impressed by Estella’s unhesitating plan. Their beloved leader’s Squirrels were not only brave—they were gasp-inducingly smart. Needless to say, honey was dripping from Ciel’s eyes.

“We move as soon as the equipment is ready.”

At Estella’s words, those in the parlor quietly nodded. On the verge of yet another adventure, the Squirrels’ hearts pounded like children before a field trip. It really did feel right to have stayed in Wintfall.

When the Squirrels withdrew, only Estella and Ciel remained in the now-quiet parlor.

Ciel slid into the seat beside her at once, shrugged, and produced a small envelope—setting it before her as if showing off a precious treasure, mischief and pride mingling on his face.

“What’s that?”

Estella’s eyes rounded with curiosity. Judging by the clumsy, crooked handwriting on the envelope, a child had written it. But Estella had never heard of any child who would send a letter to Ciel, which only made her more curious.

“Who sent it?”

“Eren.”

Affection filled Ciel’s voice as he answered.

“Eren? Who was that again?”

At the name she felt she’d heard somewhere, Estella narrowed her eyes, reaching for the memory. Finding even that expression of hers lovable and cute, Ciel gently stroked her cheek and replied,

“The boy from Dunnwon. The one who lived in the hut by the well.”

“Ah! The freckled one, right? You got close with him?”

Estella, intrigued, opened the envelope. Inside, letters as adorable as the boy’s smile were written in a wobbly hand.

“He’s a bright child. While we stayed there I taught him his letters, and he picked them up in no time. So we’ve been trading letters so I could keep teaching him.”

When he wrote, Ciel had included stationery and envelopes so Eren could reply. Even if life was better than before, it wasn’t likely they could afford paper.

“He must be truly smart. He learned to write this quickly?”

Genuinely impressed as she read, Estella made up her mind.

“Once this war is over, we need to build a school for commoner children. So kids like Eren can study without fear.”

At Estella’s ambition, Ciel lifted her lightly and settled her on his lap. Embarrassed yet dreaming in his arms, Estella pictured the future.

“I want to make a domain where poor children can study to their hearts’ content. And I want to protect our people from any and all monster attacks.”

“You’ll do it well.”

As he answered, he brushed a light kiss on the nape of her neck. Estella squirmed at the tickle; not missing the chance, Ciel kissed her lips softly, then smiled and said,

“I’ll help you—so you can become the most splendid lord in the world.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll be the most devoted, most supporting husband in the world. And of course, so robust I won’t need any Noctarum.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Estella chuckled. The curve of her lips was so lovely he felt he could kiss those small, soft lips all day and whisper his love without ever growing bored. Every moment with Estella sent thrills down his skin—new and happy.

He was just sliding his hand to gently cradle the back of her neck to put thought into action when—

Knock knock knock!

“My Lady, it’s Ria. An urgent dispatch from Dunnwon.”

At the knock, and Ria’s urgent voice, Estella sprang from Ciel’s lap. At the word “Dunnwon,” Ciel’s face hardened at once.

“Come in!”

At Estella’s command, Ria hurried in with a small slip in hand. It was a carrier pigeon message from Dunnwon.

“What is it?”

Even as she asked, Estella unfolded the slip and read—and her face went cold in an instant.

—Dunnwon attacked. Village burned. Many casualties.

Bloodstains smeared the hastily scrawled note.

A force bound for Dunnwon was assembled at once.

Cassian wanted nothing more than to depart with Estella, but he had a duty to remain and defend Wintfall. Only the day before yesterday, a swarm of monsters had attacked the western wall and there had been a fierce clash.

In his stead, Cassian sent Lucius with Estella. Since Lucius cherished Estella as much as he did, the marquis felt sure Lucius would not let her be harmed.

“I’ll stake my life to protect My Lady—though I doubt I’ll even get a turn,” Lucius said to the deeply worried Cassian, glancing at Ciel, who never left Estella’s side.

Ciel had already saved Estella’s life multiple times, so Cassian’s trust in him was great. But Ciel was a man whose life the emperor coveted. Now that he belonged to the marquisate, Aslan had no way to strike at Ciel—but once the Centennial Oath expired, who knew what might happen. Thinking of that, the marquis burned with the desire to annul their marriage.

“Don’t worry. It wounds my pride to say this, but His Highness the Prince’s mercenary band is a match for a hundred of the Black Lily Knights.”

Hearing Lucius reassure him again and again, Cassian could only nod.

“Do not get hurt.”

At her father’s entreaty, Estella nodded as if to say not to worry, then urged her horse forward.

Estella, the Squirrel Mercenary Band, and roughly a hundred armed Black Lily Knights set out for Dunnwon with the marquis’s send-off.

When Luka learned—too late—that Estella had gone to the front, he stamped his feet.

“Mother, what if Sister gets hurt? They say Dunnwon was attacked by an unknown enemy—what if they harm her?”

Even Luka, who handled anything calmly and judged rationally, was on the verge of tears as he watched Estella and the column of knights recede. Leonora dabbed away his tears with a neatly folded handkerchief and spoke in a firm voice.

“Crying changes nothing. You’re still too young to fight at Estella’s side.”

At his mother’s words, Luka felt more and more despairing.

“So do what you can here. Spending this time crying and sapping your strength—wouldn’t doing something else help Estella more?”

Listening to Leonora, Luka swiftly regained his composure.

“I—I should go see the mage and the weaponsmith.”

At his resolute answer—having immediately found what he could do—a satisfied smile touched Leonora’s lips.

“Good. That’s my son.”

“Yes, Mother!”

As she watched Luka dash off, Leonora’s gaze stretched again to Estella’s procession, already a distance away.

“Haa…”

A sigh, heavy with worry, escaped her.

Back when Estella did nothing, shut in her room; when she wouldn’t believe it even if Leonora laid Katrin’s see-through schemes bare—and instead suspected Leonora; when even her husband looked at her with eyes full of distrust—then Leonora had left Wintfall without regret, using Luka’s convalescence as pretext.

No matter how hard she tried alone, nothing changed; worse, she was accused of slandering Katrin to make Luka heir. Estella’s lethargy—without even the will to change—seemed to seep into Leonora herself.

Then one day, a rumor reached her ears that Estella had changed. At first she thought it nonsense and paid no attention, but the news grew more concrete. Half in doubt, Leonora returned to Wintfall—and the moment she met Estella’s newly vivid eyes, she unpacked her bags again.

And now.

Everything had changed beyond belief, and Wintfall was whirling forward around Estella. At last, it felt like everything had returned to its rightful place.

“Are you very worried about My Lady?”

A maid, watching Leonora, asked. But Leonora smiled faintly and shook her head.

“No. She’ll do well anyway—there’s no need for me to worry.”

It was a very Leonora answer.

The sight of Dunnwon when they arrived at full gallop was horrific.

A village that had, only yesterday, rung with children’s laughter and the lively clink of pickaxes had turned to ash in an instant.

All around, roofs had collapsed; only char-blackened skeletons of houses stood bare, and ash drifted like midwinter snow. Fires not yet quenched flared intermittently from the wreckage with the crackle of burning wood.

Knights and soldiers dispatched from Wintfall—and villagers dead with hoes still in their hands—lay everywhere, the earth turned to mud by soil, ash, and blood all churned together.

“…How could anyone do this.”

Estella’s lips trembled with fury.

In the ruin where all was already over, Estella and her party tore madly through the village, desperate to find any survivors.

At last, when they reached the well, Estella’s knees gave way. There, at the well they had loved for its gushing clear water, small bodies lay heaped. Half-burned clothes and tiny hands and feet tangled into a scene that was hell itself.

Step, step.

Ciel slowly approached the well and lifted a child’s corpse into his arms. It was Eren—the boy who had learned his letters from Ciel and written him a careful letter.

Chapter 192

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