Not even once.

Is there really such a flawless person who has never made a single mistake in their entire life?

Misha Kalstein thought there wasn’t.

Even the greatest saints must have made mistakes at least once while living. Even with good intentions, things could have gone wrong and produced bad outcomes.

Surely… they must have hurt someone too.

Yes, that’s why it can’t be helped.

Even such great people must have made mistakes once in a while, so it’s obvious that someone like me, a half-breed, would too–

“I…”

Misha Kalstein quietly murmured to herself.

“What on earth am I doing…”

It was a routine repeated for days.

If only she had been fighting monsters and exchanging blows, it would have been different.

But locked alone in her room, there was not much she could do in a day.

She just wanted to live without thinking about anything, like a dead person, but that wasn’t something she could do just because she wanted to.

So, throughout the long day, she thought and thought again.

Her thoughts varied, but they were always similar.

She would resent someone, then hate herself, and sometimes, like today, she would try to rationalize herself.

Ah, of course, the end of those thoughts was always the same.

“Let’s leave.”

Leave Clan Anabada.

No, she was never officially a member of the clan. That made leaving even easier.

So, after this expedition ended and she returned to the city, she would leave. Disappear from Bjorn Yandel’s side and never appear before him again.

He would… want that too.

After hundreds of worries, hundreds of times arriving at this conclusion.

The moment she reached that conclusion once more, Misha curled her body and grabbed her chest with both hands.

“Ah…”

It hurt.

Her chest was tight and it was hard to breathe, but more than that, it really hurt.

If she closed her eyes tightly and stabbed something sharp inside, maybe the pain would lessen — that much pain.

But Misha Kalstein couldn’t bring that imagination into reality.

Not because she lacked courage.

She simply knew.

‘That’s not allowed….’

That kind of ending was not what he wanted.

All the memories they shared would darken and fade into terrible recollections that would torment him.

‘Dwalke….’

Suddenly, he came to mind.

The noble mage who saved everyone’s lives in the labyrinth but gave his own last breath. Misha knew the feelings that mage held toward her.

Not from the start, but after Dwalke left her side and a long time passed, she heard it from the dwarf warrior Hikurod Murad.

He had always adored me…

At first, she couldn’t believe it. If he really felt that way, why had he hidden it from her?

Even until the last candle went out.

It was incomprehensible.

If it were her, she would never miss the last chance and would have confessed those hidden feelings.

But Hikurod, when hearing her doubts, answered like it was obvious.

[Isn’t it obvious what he was thinking? He didn’t want to remain a dark shadow.]

A guess, uncertain but plausible.

She accepted that explanation.

Not because she truly empathized, but because she thought that might be how it was if it were him.

At least until today.

“So… that’s how he must have felt…”

Strictly speaking, she and Dwalke were different.

He sacrificed his life to save everyone, and she was just struggling under the weight of her mistakes, trying to find a way to run away.

If only this place weren’t inside the labyrinth.

If only she had no hope that he might forgive her–

She would have run away long ago.

Knock knock knock.

At that moment, a voice came from beyond the firmly closed door.

“It’s me, Misha. Can we talk for a moment?”

It was Bjorn.

Joy and fear surged together at his visit. But she forced herself to calm down and do what needed to be done.

She couldn’t show him this state.

She washed her hair and quickly cleaned her face. Then swiftly tidied the messy room.

Luckily, since she hadn’t done anything inside the room, there wasn’t much to clean.

“May I come in for a moment?”

As soon as she opened the door, he stepped briskly inside.

Her heart somehow started pounding.

Thump–

Why did Bjorn come?

Was it just because he worried about her?

Would the room smell weird?

Though she had been withered like a wilted flower in this dark room until just moments ago, somehow, from the moment he came, vitality returned to her body.

“Before we start talking, I want to turn this on first. May I?”

She wished he had come just to see her face and said something trivial like that, but Bjorn got straight to the point as soon as he entered the room.

In his thick hands was an object she knew well.

Broken Trust.

The name on that object made her uncomfortable as if it was proving what was currently between them.

But also, it made her happy.

This was an opportunity.

That day when he turned away coldly, he gave her a chance.

A precious chance to undo all mistakes and return to how things were.

…And maybe Bjorn secretly also wanted to go back to how things were.

“Then… alright. Let’s start.”

Because of that, Misha was determined not to miss the opportunity.

After all, how had things come to this?

She decided to honestly answer whatever Bjorn asked.

Clenching both fists tightly, Bjorn’s questions began.

“After I disappeared from Parune Island, how did you end up following Ibaekho?”

He started with a question she had already answered before, then fired off questions that could be answered only yes or no, and Misha answered all truthfully.

Bjorn now was like the watchmaker she saw before.

Like a watchmaker who took all the parts out to find the cause of a broken watch, Bjorn wanted to check everything, even trivial details.

“Did Ibaekho… do anything bad to you?”

“Bad things…?”

“Like, for example, touching your body without permission…”

“…No, never! I swear that’s not true!”

Some questions made her feel unfair but also glad, but it didn’t matter.

“Did you really not know that using the Resurrection Stone causes memory loss?”

“I didn’t know…”

“Then why did you hide it from me?”

“As I said back then… I thought bad things would happen if you found out…”

That was the part when Bjorn’s emotions flared up.

He had gotten angry like a storm, asking if she had trusted only Ibaekho and hidden it from him.

Remembering that suddenly, Misha quickly interrupted before he could say anything.

“I thought it was worth a try!”

“…Worth a try?”

“I didn’t know it caused memory loss back then… No, even if I had known, it would have been the same…! It’s better than you dying…”

“So that’s why you believed him?”

“…Ibaekho, he’s strong. And somewhere deeply broken.”

That was the real reason she accepted Ibaekho’s proposal.

She didn’t know what he might do if she rejected it. Maybe that’s what he meant by “bad things” happening.

So she took the Resurrection Stone and came back to Bjorn. She thought having an item that could save her loved one wouldn’t be a loss.

But…

“Phew… so that’s all?”

There was one thing left unsaid.

How could she say it?

If she spoke it, would everything really end?

Unsure, she closed her eyes tightly and opened her mouth.

“I… agreed to give information in exchange for the Resurrection Stone.”

“…Information?”

“To watch over you…”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand! I haven’t given any information yet. We haven’t met even once since we parted.”

“What if he had come looking for you? What would you have done then?”

“…I don’t know. I thought I’d just get through the situation first and think about it later.”

After answering, Misha felt her excuse sounded weak and hurriedly added.

“But… I probably would have given something. Of course, just trivial things everyone knows…!”

“Hmm…”

Bjorn listened to her weak excuse and exhaled deeply, stroking his chin.

Luckily, he didn’t seem very angry.

He just nodded a few times as if he understood and moved on to the next question.

After some time passed,

“This is the last question.”

Bjorn looked into Misha’s eyes and said.

“Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?”

A comprehensive question covering everything.

No.

She told the truth about everything.

That’s how she should have answered, but somehow her lips twitched without making a sound.

“…”

The atmosphere that seemed to slowly heal the broken relationship was soon replaced by a silence too uncomfortable for words.

Bjorn muttered just two words.

“Alright…”

“…”

“So you have something.”

It sounded like a resigned murmur, as if he was mentally prepared.

Misha, choking on her breath, hurried to speak.

No.

That’s all I have told you.

There’s nothing else I’m hiding.

She tried to say that, but her mouth wouldn’t open.

Why?

Had that device broken?

Truly having nothing to hide, Misha was genuinely baffled.

But…

‘Ah…’

She realized.

Broken Trust was normal. Not broken and still working properly right now.

The only reason she couldn’t speak was one.

She still had something she wanted to hide from him.

“Words…”

Amid the suffocating silence, Bjorn spoke again.

“Is it something you can’t say?”

She instinctively felt it.

If she stayed silent at this question, everything would end.

“…I… don’t have anything to hide related to Ibaekho.”

“Then?”

Seeing Bjorn’s gaze, still not giving up hope on her, Misha took a breath.

“Then you’re hiding something else, right?”

“Yeah…”

Nodding like a trance but full of hesitation in her mind.

Could she really say this?

While she was gone, his side had become filled with much better people.

And there was also a promise with them…

Maybe it would be better for Bjorn if she just disappeared.

“I…”

Yet, her mouth moved on its own.

Her lips that had been frozen moments ago now opened, and she spilled her heart stained with long regret.

“I lied to you before, Bjorn.”

“…?”

Bjorn’s eyebrows furrowed at the word ‘lied.’

Come to think of it, Bjorn always hated being deceived.

Besides, wasn’t this a situation where hiding something meant you had to speak?

Yeah, so…

‘This isn’t cowardice.’

She wiped away the last lingering regrets and continued.

Originally, she had planned to say this on Parune Island.

She had tried to kill her feelings for him but thought she might confess in case he died.

“I said it would be better if we just stayed as comrades.”

Though it took such a long time to say it.

“That was a lie.”

They say the best time is when you think it’s too late.

Hadn’t she said something like that before?

“Come to think of it… I never gave you any answer back then, right?”

Misha lifted her head, met his eyes, and carefully pronounced.

“Bjorn Yandel. I… like you too.”

That day, when she first confirmed his feelings, she was too flustered to answer.

No reply came.

But she kept going.

“That day you said it to me, it was like that.”

“Even before you said it.”

“And…”

With a barely audible voice like an ant crawling, she clearly said.

“Even now…”

That was the only thing she had hidden from him.

Sometimes there are days when feelings are strangely peculiar.

The day is bright and sunny, but somehow dark clouds gather and threaten a sudden downpour.

For Elwen, today was such a day.

“Sir! You’re awake… huh?”

Early in the morning, excited, she ran to find him, but the room was empty.

From then on, Elwen felt an inexplicable foreboding.

She searched everywhere in the mansion but Bjorn was nowhere to be found.

“Are you talking about the chief? Well… he didn’t say anything about going anywhere… He’s probably still inside the mansion.”

“…Really? I’ve checked all other rooms but couldn’t find him.”

“Hmm, then maybe he just went outside for a while on some errand…”

Auyen Rockrove, Anabada’s navigator, tried to reassure her it was nothing.

But Elwen’s lips kept drying.

In fact, there was one room she hadn’t checked yet.

‘Misha Kalstein.’

The reason she hadn’t checked that room was simple.

She didn’t think Bjorn would be there. Lately, something seemed off between them.

Since then, Misha had been sulking, locked alone in her room every day, as if protesting.

But it was a mystery.

Step, step.

Though thinking Bjorn couldn’t be here, Elwen naturally headed there.

Even though it made more sense, as the navigator said, that he probably just went out for some errand.

Why did a terrible feeling keep rising that he was here?

Step.

Among those unpleasant feelings, Elwen arrived at her destination. A room on the third floor of the large mansion in a corner. The door was firmly shut.

She thought about knocking, but stopped, feeling it would be awkward if Bjorn wasn’t inside.

‘There’s no magical power detected.’

No sound-blocking spells or barriers.

Meaning, if she wanted, she could hear every sound inside.

Elwen deliberately opened her hearing wide as she usually kept it closed during daily life.

Then–

“Bjorn Yandel. I… like you.”

A familiar voice came to her ears.

She instantly recognized the speaker, but the words were hard to understand.

What… was she saying?

Was she mistaken? She listened more carefully.

“That day you said it to me, it was like that.”

“Even before you said it.”

“And… even now…”

Her mind still couldn’t comprehend.

Because this was a confession of love.

One she herself had never made in her life…

‘Not knowing my place…’

It was ridiculous. Anger welled up.

The woman who vanished without any vengeance as soon as she heard he was dead.

The pure and kind Bjorn was taking care of her out of old feelings, but she still hadn’t forgotten.

But…

[Bjorn Yandel. I… like you.]

That one phrase she first heard kept ringing in her ears.

Elwen finally noticed something strange.

‘”I… too?”‘

The catlike beast of the Akmyo tribe said “I too” liked her.

And “I too” is a phrase used to express agreement when the same words are heard.

Meaning that phrase implied–

‘…The chief said it first?’

It was such an unbelievable story.

Her once heated mind suddenly went cold.

As the heat in her head cooled down, the situation became much clearer.

She chuckled.

Pfft.

It was all that woman’s delusion.

She was trapped in a fantasy, talking to the chief.

As proof, after that phrase, no conversation was heard from inside the room.

‘Still… it’s a pity.’

It was a strange behavior hard to understand for most, but Elwen herself had done something similar when mentally troubled, so she could understand a little.

‘Sigh… then where on earth did the chief go…’

Elwen turned around as if she regretted having heard something she shouldn’t have.

Then she tried to restore her hearing to normal from the wide-open state.

Or rather, she tried to.

“…I see.”

A familiar voice was heard from inside the room.