"Rachel!"

"..."

"Rachel! I'm done!"

Thomas pulled Rachel's skirt and shouted loudly.

"I memorized everything!"

Rachel then looked at Thomas over the newspaper.

"Oh, you're done."

Although Thomas had already called several times, Rachel was so absorbed in the newspaper that she had just heard his call and hurriedly closed it.

"Then shall we take the test?"

"Um... but Rachel."

"Yes?"

"...Do you feel bad?"

"Huh? No. Why would you think so?"

Rachel hurriedly shook her head, as if puzzled by Thomas' question.

"But you look tired. Your eyes are like this."

Thomas said, rubbing my eyes with both hands. Thomas looked up at her with worried eyes, and Rachel shook her head once more.

"Really? I'm not tired, but I slept late yesterday, so I'm a little sleepy."

"Rachel, you should go to bed early. It is not good to sleep late."

"Yeah, I'm going to bed early today."

Rachel smiled, embarrassed, that she had caused concern, and raised her hand to touch her eye.

"Now, let's take a test."

Rachel changed the subject by touching Thomas's head, but he still looked at her, as if he was still unsure of something.

"Yes... "

Thomas pouted as if he didn't like Rachel messing up his hair, then nodded.

***

When Rachel and Thomas came down from the hill after a day of study, the autumn sun was still shining brightly in the sky.

After studying hard, today's class ended earlier than usual.

But for some reason, Thomas didn't seem to enjoy studying at all.

"The sun is still shining, but I don't want to go already. I want to play at Rachel's house longer."

"Do you want to do that?"

"Yes."

Thomas grabbed Rachel's empty hand, not holding a picnic basket, and twisted his body shyly.

"Okay, then let's do it."

"Yes! It's gonna be fun."

Rachel thought for a moment, then nodded her head. She couldn't refuse the child's request at the sight of Thomas's cute tone and gestures.

Besides, she enjoyed spending time with the cute Thomas, so she thought for a moment if she might have a snack for the child at her house.

"Huh? Horse!"

At that moment, Thomas raised his hand and pointed it somewhere.

Rachel's gaze followed Thomas's finger.

A black horse was really standing where the child's finger was pointing.

When she confirmed the horse, Rachel could understand at once what Thomas was surprised about.

Even from a distance, the well-balanced, muscular body black horse that reflected sunlight as if it had been applied with oil were not something you would see in this small town.

'Why is there a horse in this place?'

At a glance, it was clear that it was a good seed.

It was not something one would see in Ravenna.

Rachel frowned at the black horse that didn't suit this place. Even the horses that pulled wagons in the capital were not as good as that horse.

For some reason, an unknown sense of crisis tightened her chest.

She didn't feel good.

"Wow, I've never seen such a great horse before."

Thomas let out a small sigh of admiration.

"But why is it in front of Rachel's house?"

"... "

Rachel couldn't answer Thomas' question because she didn't know it herself.

"Thomas!"

Thomas, who was waiting for Rachel's answer, realized that the answer he wanted was not going to come from her, so he let go of her hand and ran towards the horse.

"Thomas! It's dangerous, don't run!"

Rachel waved her hand and shouted loudly behind Thomas' back as he ran towards the horse.

He staggered as if he was about to fall, but he ran straight without a single fall and approached the big, black horse.

Rachel belatedly found that the black horse wasn't tied up and hurriedly followed after Thomas. At that moment, Thomas, who was running hastily to touch the horse, suddenly stopped in place.

"Thomas, come here!"

"Huh?"

Frightened that the horse might hurt the child, Rachel gasped and shouted. However, Thomas stood tall despite Rachel's call, staring intently at the horse.

"Thomas, be careful!"

She grabbed Thomas' shoulders, who was less than half her size, and pulled him closer.

"The horse is loose. It might be dangerous, let's go inside."

"Rachel, but...."

Thomas still wasn't looking at Rachel, so Rachel turned her head towards where her child's gaze was. Shiny black shoes and black pleated trousers.

For some reason, it took a long time for her to raise her head.

"Who is it?"

The moment she finally lifted her head and looked at something like Thomas, Rachel was speechless, as if she had lost her voice.

A tall man in uniform stood next to the horse.

A handsome man with silver hair that shone as bright as the skin of the black horse.

His purple eyes, darker than violets, were looking down at Rachel with indifferent eyes.

No, the slightly wrinkled brow seemed a little angry.

Ian Dakendov.

Rachel knew immediately who he was.

He was someone she had seen in the newspapers for years. She was reading about his story just a while ago, so she couldn't help but know. Because she couldn't forget a single moment.

The emperor who led the war to victory, the emperor was loved by all the people of the empire, Ian Dakendov. He was in front of her.

6 years.

Ian Dakendov's indifferent gaze at Rachel was the same as that of six years ago.

Whoosh.

A cool autumn breeze blew Ian's hair.

Was it because of the wind tickling his forehead? He frowned a little and approached Rachel.

His long legs quickly closed the distance between them.

"Ouch.... Rachel?"

"Why...."

Rachel gave strength to her hands, which involuntarily grabbed Thomas' shoulder as Ian came closer. As the distance narrowed, her legs trembled.

She wanted to sit down, but even that didn't go her way.

As if everything was broken, she couldn't think of anything other than fear.

"..."

Ian's eyes passed Rachel and turned to the little child as she was grabbing him.

Rachel couldn't calm down even for a moment, even though she escaped Ian's cold gaze. Because the child's tremors felt through her hands made her more anxious.

Rachel instinctively pulled Thomas towards her.

The child stumbled on Rachel's foot as if it had broken while being pulled by a strong force. Her legs shook as if she was about to fall, but fortunately she didn't fall because Rachel was standing behind Thomas' back.

"Who is this child?"

Ian paused for a moment and asked.

Ian's face hardened as Rachel acted as if she was trying to protect the child from him.

"Haaa....Haaa..."

As Rachel ruminated over Ian's words several times to understand his question, she could hear her gasping breaths.

"Waaaaa!"

Suddenly, Thomas could not overcome his fear and began to cry loudly. At that cry, Ian's expression grew even colder.

Those purple eyes turned to the child again.

Rachel finally realized that Ian was annoyed by the child's cries.

"Thomas, it's okay."

"Waaaa!"

"Don't cry and go home. Quickly!"

Rachel hurriedly knelt down on her knees and asked Thomas. Her hands, wiping Thomas' tears, trembled with fear.

Her voice speaking to Thomas was quite firm, even though her eyes looked like she was about to cry.

Rachel bit her lip as she pushed Thomas.

But the child didn't move his legs and only shook his head.

Whether it was because of fear or he didn't want to leave Rachel by herself, Thomas kept shaking his head without leaving.

"Rachel? Thomas...?"

At that moment, a man's voice was heard.

Rachel looked up to confirm the owner of the voice, but couldn't see his face hidden behind Ian's body.

But she could tell who it was immediately because of the familiar voice she had been hearing for years. He was Thomas's brother, Dean.

His voice calmed Rachel down a little.

Now Dean could take Thomas back.

"Come on, go to Dean, Thomas."

Rachel said as she cleaned Thomas's face, which had been messed up with tears. However, Thomas still shook his head.

"Hey, who are you...?"

Dean approached Rachel and Thomas very slowly and spoke to Ian in a cautious voice.

There was fear in Dean's trembling voice.

Ian Dakendov.

He was such a man.

The emperor of the empire who gave fear to his opponents just by his presence, even if he didn't say anything.

Rachel didn't want Dean to get caught up in this horrific storm.

Biting her lip hard, Rachel stood up, hugging Thomas.

Ian was now looking at Dean, and at first glance, Ian's face looked very angry.

"Dean."

Rachel forced her trembling legs to reach Dean, and the fact that she had to keep Thomas away from Ian moved her.

"Take Thomas."

"Huh...? Oh, I got it."

Dean seemed surprised or nervous. But even so, Dean obediently followed Rachel's words and accepted Thomas.

It was a little difficult to get Thomas apart as he had held her tightly, but eventually Thomas was transferred from Rachel to Dean.

"Go quickly."

"But... Rachel, you..."

Dean hesitated, looking at Ian and Rachel in turn.

He couldn't understand what the situation was, but somehow he couldn't leave her here by herself.

"Hurry!"

Rachel pushed Dean's arm. Dean's eyes widened as if startled by Rachel's shouting.

"Okay, okay."

Then, Dean, who had alternately looked at Rachel and the stranger, left. The sad Thomas' cries were getting smaller and smaller.

Rachel just stood there until Dean and Thomas disappeared around the corner.

She had kept Thomas away from Ian, but now she no longer knew how to act.

She couldn't do anything because she didn't know how Ian came here or why he came here.