Bataly and Valentina—
a brother and sister who, despite being siblings, shared nearly identical hair color and features, to the point people often mistook them for twins.
They were among the most famous figures of the Yuta Kingdom.
In the early days of the civil war, when everyone mocked Yekaterina as a foolish princess drowning in luxury and indulgence, the two knights remained by her side. Their loyalty alone was enough to define them.
Their skill was also among the finest in the kingdom—top-class knights even back then.
And now, both had reached the realm of Master.
Their androgynous looks, their unshakeable devotion to Yekaterina, and their remarkable skill as knights—
with all this combined, there wasn’t a soul in Yuta Kingdom who didn’t know them.
But the siblings themselves never cared for fame.
Their only desire was the wellbeing and peace of the master they served—Yekaterina.
They were, in every sense, extreme queen loyalists.
Wherever the needle went, the thread followed.
Wherever Yekaterina went, the siblings followed right behind.
Even if both couldn’t accompany her, one of them always did.
During the Night of Mysteries, it had been Valentina who accompanied her.
So encountering them here wasn’t coincidence—
it was inevitable.
“Pulling swords first without even confirming who it is... your habit of charging blindly whenever something concerns Yekaterina hasn’t changed.”
Even with swords at his throat, Ludger remained calm.
Because he knew they wouldn’t swing.
And even if they did, he was certain he could deal with it.
“You are...?”
Bataly, the older brother, narrowed his eyes.
His delicate features, identical to his sister’s, revealed recognition the moment he heard Ludger’s voice.
“No way... Machiavelli?”
“That’s what I went by then, yes. Brings back memories.”
“So you are... Professor Ludger?”
Valentina also recognized him now.
She’d only seen his back earlier—hence the delay.
“You two! Calm down!”
Yekaterina, finally understanding the situation, rushed to stop them.
The siblings immediately withdrew their swords.
“O-Our apologies! We thought he was an enemy attempting to ambush Her Majesty!”
“How many times have I told you to confirm before you react?!”
“But Your Majesty... for an extraordinary woman such as you, any man who dares approach must surely be doing so with impure intent.”
“Can you not say it like I only attract bad men?!”
Yekaterina sighed sharply and turned to Ludger.
“Please say something to them too.”
“Hm. I actually understand Bataly. If I encountered someone here, I’d be on guard just the same.”
“You see, Your Majesty? You deserve that level of vigilance.”
At his shameless response, Ludger couldn’t help but laugh.
He really hadn’t changed at all since the civil war.
At this point, arguing with him would be pointless—better to just accept it.
“But still... it’s good to see you both again. Familiar faces.”
“Yes. Indeed. Back then, we had no idea you were once our comrade.”
Valentina recalled the first time she met Ludger.
The Night of Mysteries.
She had accompanied Yekaterina to build connections with influential magicians—but instead, they were dragged into the chaos when the First Order of the Black Dawn Society, Leslie, caused a leyline outbreak.
“Now that I think about it... you saved us twice.”
“Oh! That’s right! I almost forgot all about that incident!”
Yekaterina shouted with a startled expression.
Ludger stared at her in disbelief.
Forgetting that incident? Really?
Sensing his unspoken criticism, Yekaterina hurried to defend herself.
“Running a kingdom is... very mentally taxing! And the Holy War was happening right after that, so things were even more chaotic!”
The Night of Mysteries had been serious, but not the worst.
There had been casualties, yes—
but no massacre.
They had managed to stop the leyline’s runaway.
But what about the events after that?
The war-like conflict at Isla Machina.
The sleep-plague that affected both Seorn and Lederbelk.
And then—the Demon King’s Resurrection and the Holy War.
It was widely known how, during the Demon King’s emergence, the vast power the Lumenis Church had gathered vanished in an instant.
Two mages of the Colors had joined the battle.
Elite mercenary groups and various experts had assembled.
And with them came the military forces under a Cardinal.
Their power alone was enough to topple a nation.
Yet they lost.
Lost to a single man.
The site of that battle—once a land of death—had expanded so drastically from the clash that the continent’s maps had to be redrawn.
A legend manifested in the present age.
People named that day—
The Demon King’s Return.
And the Demon King—captured alive and transported to the Holy Kingdom—
raised his army of demons and initiated the Holy War.
Disaster after disaster swept across the continent.
Compared to those world-threatening events, the Night of Mysteries had indeed faded into the background.
“Hm. I suppose that makes sense.”
“And how can you of all people say that so casually?! You were connected to almost all of those disasters!”
But Bataly and Valentina were unfazed.
They had already heard the truth from Yekaterina.
Valentina asked:
“We didn’t expect to meet you here. What brings you to the Yuta Kingdom?”
“You must have heard the news—about my return.”
She nodded.
The news that the Demon King had returned, then been executed, was something no nation’s leaders could miss.
“But as you see—the one executed was a fake. And I survived. As Ludger Cherish, former Seorn instructor, not as the Demon King.”
“And so you /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ came here? Because you regained your freedom?”
“I began thinking of old comrades. So I’ve been visiting them one by one. Yuta was simply next.”
Ludger looked back at the snowy forest path he’d walked.
“When I arrived, I learned today was Memorial Day. I became curious—what happened to the comrade who stood with me that day?”
Had he been honored as a true hero?
Ludger wanted to confirm it with his own eyes.
“In that forest, I happened to run into this one.”
He pressed down on Yekaterina’s head with his palm.
She yelped, but he ignored it.
It was a light scolding—for wandering alone in a dangerous place as a queen.
Naturally, even the devoted siblings who adored her said nothing.
Only Bataly’s eyes sharpened—just a little.
“But... I’m satisfied.”
As if to prove it wasn’t empty words, Ludger smiled.
A clear, unmistakable smile.
Yekaterina, who had been ready to complain about her head being pushed, froze—
staring blankly.
As if thinking:
So he can make that kind of face.
“They honored him properly.”
Ludger recalled the simple grave Yekaterina had made.
Crude and rough—barely distinguishable from a pile of stones unless told otherwise.
She was royalty.
Before the civil war, she had never dirtied her hands.
She had certainly never built a grave.
Especially not with such delicate hands that had never even held a proper sword.
So the grave was clumsy. Poorly made.
But to Ludger—
it was not pitiful at all.
For the comrade who had fought for him, Yekaterina had created that grave with her own hands.
A queen of a nation had personally honored an unknown hunter whose name was scarcely remembered.
How could he belittle that?
To him, that stone grave shone brighter than any emperor’s grand mausoleum.
“I didn’t expect to meet you like this again. I was wondering how I’d visit someday, but life takes strange turns.”
At Ludger’s warm words, Bataly and Valentina also smiled.
They, too, had never expected this reunion.
“What a shame. Had we known in advance, we’d have prepared properly.”
Yekaterina muttered with a disappointed sigh.
She had wanted to greet him with full honors.
“Don’t worry about it. What matters is meeting—not how we meet.”
“I wanted to treat you as a state guest! Otherwise, I don’t feel like a proper queen!”
“That would only burden me. This is fine—ordinary is fine.”
And he meant it.
He preferred this—the quiet forest, the absence of spectators—far more than a grand banquet.
“At this level, it’s not bad,” Bataly added.
“It reminds me of the old days.”
He meant the era when they had too few people and had to gather volunteers.
When they moved in small groups, struggling desperately.
It had been terrifying then.
But looking back... it was all a memory.
And memories weren’t made only of good things.
Even the painful, exhausting moments became memories because they overcame them together.
“Let’s reminisce properly.”
Ludger flicked his fingers.
Branches buried under the snow floated up, gathering into a neat pile.
A spark ignited them instantly.
Despite being wet with snow, the fire roared—the moisture had evaporated instantly from his mana.
Then Ludger stomped lightly, and the earth trembled.
Four stone seats rose around the fire.
Seeing this, Yekaterina and her knights couldn’t help but admire it.
They had known Ludger was a mage—
but his skill still surprised them.
Even Yekaterina and Valentina, who had witnessed his magic at the Night of Mysteries, felt differently now.
This wasn’t the dazzling combat magic he’d shown that night.
This was... something else.
Something even more impressive.
Crafting a moment of shared memory with magic—
it felt almost sacred.
“Come. Tell me how you’ve been.”
As Ludger sat, the others naturally took their seats.
The meeting had been unplanned—
so much so that even now, sitting here felt surreal.
But as they exchanged small talk, the awkwardness melted like snow.
Soon enough, they were reminiscing about the past.
Yes. It had been like this back then too.
They’d worried for the future—
yet had still marched forward.
And on that day, the snow had fallen.
Just like now.
The snow then and the snow now were the same—
cold, indifferent.
But there was one difference.
Back then, they hoped for a future they did not yet have.
Now, they could speak of the future they had earned.
Yes.
Like the torch Yekaterina had held high to lead a kingdom in chaos—
that flame still burned among them.
* * *
Yekaterina and the Bataly–Valentina siblings departed.
Even if Memorial Day meant a day without state affairs, they couldn’t be gone for too long.
The snow had stopped, and the sky was growing dim.
Yekaterina urged Ludger to stay the night, but he declined.
There was someone else he needed to meet.
She was disappointed, but did not insist.
Even parting now, she knew they would meet again.
–Then, see you next time.
–Yes. Until next time.
Their meeting had been sudden, and their farewell simple.
But that was fine.
They had enjoyed their reunion well enough.
Ludger added wood to the dying fire and spoke quietly.
“You waited long.”
“Heh heh. This old man appreciates being shown such consideration.”
Since when had he been there?
An elderly man with a staff stood before Ludger, as if he had been present from the beginning.
“You don’t need to say more. I’m grateful you even gave me this chance.”
“Is that so.”
Ludger looked at the old man—
long beard, gentle smile, the image of a sage from old legends.
“May I sit?”
“Of course. I saved that seat for you.”
The old man sat down, groaning softly as he lowered himself.
“Ahh... perhaps it’s my age, but walking has become difficult.”
“So why has Lord Clinton—who should be in the Empire—come all the way to the Yuta Kingdom?”
At Ludger’s question, Clinton’s smile deepened.
