As I sank into sleep, dreams poured down like water.
Amid snow-white foam, an unfamiliar landscape surfaced.
Whenever I glimpsed the memories of that man, they always carried this same atmosphere.
Loneliness and silence.
It was as though every source of sound that had once existed had vanished.
An afternoon in which budding life and even the setting sun held their breath without exception.
And so, the footsteps of two people became the entirety of the world.
Along with their quiet voices.
“Sir Ian.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The interval between the girl’s call and my response was exceedingly brief.
Considering the years I had lived as her trusted confidant, it was only natural.
Had I not spent the past several years roaming battlefields across the entire continent?
Compared to that, discerning my superior’s intentions was an easy task.
Which was precisely why I had no choice but to be even more careful with my actions.
Because I had already guessed the question that would follow.
“How is the war situation?”
“Not good.”
It was an answer I had already given hundreds of times.
In truth, there had not been a single moment since the war began when the situation had favored us.
Humanity was losing its lands by the hour, repeating the same powerless struggle like an animal merely waiting to suffocate.
Even though the ending had already been decided.
A miserable resistance.
And yet I still…