A woman strolled down a dark alley.
This was the slum area, out of sight from the lord’s gaze and a blind spot for the guards.
However, there was no sign of fear on her face, as though nothing could happen to her.
The woman, Elia, was wearing a shabby hooded cloak, which was unusual for her.
No, more accurately, she was dressed in her usual unassuming attire.
If she dressed like a noble, “prey” wouldn’t dare approach her.
“Hey.”
Men sitting at the edge of the alley began to saunter toward her.
“Where do you think you’re going? This is our turf.”
“Turf?”
“If you want to pass through safely, hand over some money. If not money, then something else will do… Oh, are you a woman? You’re covering your face.”
One of the men pulled back the hood Elia had tightly drawn over her face.
Her violet hair and eyes, along with her pale skin, stood out starkly against her shabby attire.
The man, seeing this, licked his lips.
“You are a woman. Your face is clean, but judging by your clothes, you don’t seem to be a noble.”
“I am a noble.”
“Liar. If you were a real noble, you wouldn’t be wearing such filthy clothes or speaking to us so politely. Where’s your servant?”
“That’s…”
“See, you can’t even answer.”
The man grabbed Elia’s wrist.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!”
“Come on, let’s have a little chat somewhere private. You’ve got time, so hang out with us for a bit.”
“I said let go! S-someone, help—Mmmph!”
“Shh! Keep this up, and I’ll kill you. Just follow along quietly, and I won’t kill you. At least not yet.”
Elia struggled to shake him off, tried to scream for help, but the man clamped a hand over her mouth.
In the end, she stopped resisting and, as if resigning herself, let the men drag her into the shadows.
Snap. Crunch. Crack.
From the darkness came the sound of something breaking and twisting out of shape.
Among the grotesquely contorted bodies of the men, like broken wooden dolls, Elia sat calmly, her expression unchanged.
“Today wasn’t very fun.”
Maybe it’s because I’ve done this too many times.
It doesn’t give me the same thrill as it did the first time.
Or maybe it’s because of the bad luck I’ve had lately.
For example, failing to kill Lumia again.
How could I fail once more?
Her plan to poison Lumia’s family, to kill them slowly, had failed.
Even when she personally intervened, the outcome was disastrous due to unexpected complications.
“Sigh…”
Lumia Sorel.
Every time she saw that annoying woman acting close to her precious Kalian, it felt like her organs were twisting.
What should she do?
How could she kill that woman?
How could she ensure no one but herself remained by Kalian’s side?
As she pondered deeply, Elia realized the root problem, the one she needed to deal with first.
That problem was Wade Silverlane.
Kalian’s longtime friend, who always stuck by him and blocked other women from getting close to him.
Yes, that’s it.
He’s the problem.
At first, he hadn’t been so bothersome.
After all, he was a man.
He wasn’t romantically involved with Kalian and was just a friend.
Moreover, his habit of keeping other women away had been rather useful to her.
But recently, her perspective had changed.
It was Wade who had cured Lumia’s family of their rare illness and cleared their debts.
If it had stopped there, she might have let it slide… but Wade had crossed the line.
That man had the audacity to say he would bring Lumia and Kalian together.
He spoke as if he intended to make them a couple.
When Wade first brought up the idea, Elia had to suppress an intense urge to tear his body apart on the spot.
Lumia, of all people.
Of course, she wouldn’t tolerate any other woman either.
“Kalian and that filthy woman… together?”
Even now, just thinking about it made her blood boil.
She had planned to use this opportunity to kill both Lumia and Wade.
Thanks to their decision to split into groups, she had the perfect chance.
But she failed.
Why?
Was it because Lumia, who she thought was powerless, displayed unexpected strength? No.
Lumia had potential, but it was still unpolished.
Once again, it was Wade.
Normally, she would’ve toyed with them, let them flounder, and killed them when they had lost all hope—relishing their despair in their final moments.
But Wade was different from ordinary people.
When most people face death and realize the futility of their strength, despair is inevitable.
Yet even in such dire situations, Wade never faltered.
Despite his weakness, he kept speaking boldly—claiming he would protect his friend, saying he wouldn’t back down.
“Pfft…”
Recalling it now, Elia couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
That pathetic man—spouting hypocritical ideals even on the brink of death.
He must’ve heard some heroic tale and tried to mimic it.
In reality, no one behaves heroically like that.
If they do, they’re either extreme hypocrites or hopeless fools.
Elia etched this memory into her mind.
When she came back to kill him someday, she wanted to see if he would say the same things again.
“Well then, I’ll be off!”
“Sure. By the way, Lumia, something good happen to you lately? You seem much brighter.”
“Yes, something very, very good!”
After finishing her work, Lumia bowed to her employer and headed home.
In the past, her steps would have been heavy with dread, but not anymore.
She felt no such burdens now.
For the first time, she was enjoying a happy and peaceful daily life.
Her parents had recovered from most of their illnesses, and the family’s debts were entirely cleared.
She was grateful that she only needed to work part-time instead of all day.
And she no longer had nightmares—those horrifying dreams of watching her friend burn to death in flames.
The nights of crying herself awake and struggling to fall asleep were finally over.
Of course, she had no intention of forgetting the mistakes she made in the past.
But even so, wasn’t this a good sign?
“Yes, he said he wanted cake.”
She thought about her benefactor—the one who had brought about all these changes.
Not only had he approached her as a friend, but he had saved her family and revived her soul.
No matter how she repaid him, it would never be enough, but she wanted to show her sincerity.
What if she made him a five-layer cake—or better yet, a ten-layer one? How would he react?
Since his recent injuries were healing quickly, she decided to make the celebratory cake once he fully recovered.
“Pfft…”
She chuckled, imagining his surprised reaction to a giant cake.
Still, aside from the cake, was there anything else she could do to repay his kindness?
As she walked, lost in thought, an idea struck her.
Markelion.
He had once said he would test her before accepting her as his disciple.
What had happened with that?
She had probably failed—after all, instead of protecting her friend, she had been the one protected.
But even so, she wanted to meet Markel again, just once.
Before, she had only sought him out because she needed someone to rely on.
But now, her reasons were a little different.
“Markel… where are you? Please, just once… come see me.”
“Did you call for me?”
“Huh?”
The words she had muttered out of desperation were suddenly answered from right beside her.
When she turned her head, she saw a familiar masked man standing there.
Lumia screamed in shock.
“Ahhh! Why are you here?!”
“You asked me to come. So I came. Why are you so surprised?”
“Well, yes, I did… but I didn’t think you’d actually show up! And right next to me, no less! How long have you been standing there?”
“I just got here.”
Lumia took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
This is no time for hesitation. What matters now is kneeling and begging to become his disciple, no matter what it takes.
With a determined expression, Lumia opened her mouth.
“Markel, as you already know, I failed your test. Instead of protecting my friend, I had to be protected by them.”
“No, you passed.”
“But even if I don’t have the qualifications, please give me another chance—what? What did you just say?”
Lumia stared in confusion at Markel’s reply.
Adjusting his mask, he repeated himself.
“I said, you passed.”
“Huh? But… why?”
“Why? Are you unhappy about passing the test?”
“No, that’s not it, but… I assumed I was unqualified. I did nothing while my friend was in danger. Even when I tried to act, without Kalian’s help, we would’ve all died.”
Thinking about it again, Lumia bit her lip.
If she didn’t, she felt like she might burst into self-directed ridicule.
Honestly, even if Markel mocked her for her incompetence, she wouldn’t have been able to argue back.
“But you fought for your friend.”
Markel shook his head slowly.
“At first, you were too scared to do anything. But in the end, you didn’t just sit there, did you?”
“Still… if I had fought from the start, my friend wouldn’t have gotten hurt so badly. I’m just a coward.”
“What’s wrong with being a coward? Did you think I was looking for someone fearless?”
“What?”
Lumia stopped in her tracks, startled by his unexpected words.
Meanwhile, he kept walking and continued speaking.
“Not fearing death means not valuing your own life. Why would I bother teaching someone who doesn’t even cherish themselves?”
“I don’t want someone fearless. I want someone brave. And bravery… that’s something only cowards can have.”
His words were unlike anything she had ever heard before.
They were the opposite of the typical sayings: knights must not fear death, cowards are worthless on the battlefield, and so on.
But these unexpected words made Lumia’s eyes sting.
As tears threatened to form, Markel glanced back and spoke.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
“Ah, yes! Yes, I’m coming!”
She quickly wiped her eyes as if nothing had happened and hurried to follow him.
From that day forward, she resolved to change completely.
No matter the trials she faced, she vowed to become someone Wade would not be ashamed of.
Her training began immediately.
And the training was… climbing a nameless snowy mountain barefoot and barehanded.
Without even having the time to question how Markel had transported her to the mountain, she trembled violently in the extreme cold and absurdity of the situation.
Later, in tears and sniffling, she protested to Markel.
“What does this have to do with becoming stronger?”
“Hmm, well… don’t you think it’s related?”
“I’ve never heard of such ridiculous training before. I quit! Take me home! My hands and feet are freezing!”
“Nope. Not happening. Not even thinking about it.”
“Someone, save meee!”
Unable to endure any longer, Lumia screamed for help.
But on the blizzard-swept mountain, there was no one to come to her aid.