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nThree days after the envoy left,

nWhen he was ready to leave the lordship, Luke stood in front of the wagon and shook hands before departing.

n“Butler Hans. I appoint you to be the lord’s representative, and I ask you to look after the estate while I am gone.”

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n“Don’t worry, please go safely, young Lord.”, responded Hans.

nHans eyes were red.

nHe had raised and cared for Luke since his childhood on behalf of the former lords.

nHe was about to explode into tears as it was like sending his own son into the battlefield.

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n“Isn’t it nice to take more escorts?”

nRogers was anxiously asking Luke while shaking his hands.

nLuke’s only escort had been Philip.

nLuke shook his head at the concern of Rogers.

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n“One more knight in the estate means another person to look after the place. Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself.”

nIf he could do what he wanted, Luke would have chosen to leave Philip as well.

nHowever, the retainers would be completely against it, and that was why he decided to take Philip.

nAnyway, he greeted the retainers and the last one was Princess Reina.

n“I will be back.”, said Luke.

n“…”

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n

nAt the parting statement of Luke’s, Reina’s lips wanted to speak but couldn’t say anything.

nShe had heard at the Victory banquet that Luke was going to enlist.

nHowever, he himself hadn’t spoken about it and devoted himself to work.

nAnd as she had noticed that Luke had taken his decision to leave, she didn’t want to disturb his time which he invested in planning the estate.

nShe thought that doing what Luke had entrusted and directed her to do would make her mind feel much easier.

nBut when Luke was about to leave, her sadness, regret, and unhappiness burst out.

n“Young Lord, I actually wish that you don’t leave.”

n“Reina…”

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n“I got a nice life thanks to you, young Lord, a new opportunity as well. And now the young Lord is leaving. If anything goes wrong…”

nReina’s words stopped right away.

nLuke pulled her into his arms.

nHe gently wiped the tears from her eyes.

n“You are a woman with a spirit. And you are much stronger than anyone.”

n“Young Lord…”

n“Just believe on the day that I come back. Please believe and wait for me.”

nLuke had entrusted Reina with all of Kirillov’s merits, the mines, and the Gigants.

nBecause she knew her past struggles, she was a more reliable candidate than the retainers.

nReina saw the eyes of Luke which showed faith, she soon pulled something out of her sleeve.

nIt was a small necklace with a locket in the shape of a small shell, in that enclosed shell was a silver hair strand that belonged to Reina…

n“This?”

n“It is my country’s custom. The women of Volga are said to make this in order to guard their lover. It is said that the hair contains will and hope.”

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nReina handed the guarding chain to Luke.

nAs soon as she handed it over, Luke felt something very powerful pervade him.

nIt wasn’t mana, nor was it some divine force.

nIt was something indescribable that he had felt in Reina before too, the force of nature.

nHe had not yet figured out why such a strange force could be felt in Reina at times.

n‘I need to figure it out once I come back.’

nLuke smiled and hung the guard that Reina had given. He kissed the back of her hand and got into the carriage.

nAfter the last greeting, the wagon moved and started to speed up.

n“Lord, have a nice time!”

n“Come back safely!”

nLuke kept on waving until Reina and the retainers were invisible.

nAnd as the friendly faces disappeared from his gaze, he looked to the north where he was heading to.

nThe Baroque Imperial family and the Veritas Magic Tower.

nHis eyes landed on the enemies; eyes were shining ever more brightly and most radiantly than it ever had.

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