A Silent Absence
The fortress city buzzed with restless energy the next day.
The maids huddled together in the corridors, their faces pale with terror as they whispered about the night’s events.
The first to hear every detail was Cynthia, the senior purifier who had befriended Irene.
She hurried straight to Irene’s chamber.
“Irene, we must talk. Michael and I have much to discuss.”
Irene had blocked the doors to everyone else.
In the halls, the maids whispered behind their hands.
“It seems Irene has grown much closer to Sir Michael lately.”
Michael, once the solitary Holy Knight who roamed the fortress alone, had begun appearing at gatherings.
Cynthia had watched him from afar many times, entering dungeons alone.
Even when she had joined the party that time, she had seen him up close.
“He was so cold.”
As a Holy Knight whose name echoed through the Temple, he treated everyone with respect—regardless of rank.
People praised and revered him for it.
Yet Cynthia always sensed an icy distance beneath his courtesy.
A man fair to all.
That meant he cherished no one above the rest.
The faithful said it was because he had given everything to the Goddess.
Even among those he grew close to through dungeon raids, he kept a polite boundary.
But this year, watching him with Irene, Cynthia felt something stir inside her.
No matter how tightly they were paired, this was the closest she had ever seen him to another person.
She had nearly urged Irene to attend the gathering, hoping to loosen that wall.
The result was exactly as she feared.
Michael, who had never joined any private meeting, appeared the moment Irene’s gathering began.
From that day, Cynthia had assumed the two grew closer.
But when they returned from the dungeon, they seemed even more intimate than before.
The clearest proof was the name Irene now used.
Before, Irene had always addressed him politely as “Sir Michael” in front of others.
Now she simply said “Michael.”
Cynthia had once believed the distance between them was Michael’s formality.
‘Sir Michael seems to cherish Irene more now.’
Yet Irene still drew the line.
The first time Cynthia had seen that wall broken.
Michael was a man everyone envied.
If Irene disliked such men, perhaps no one in the world would be able to stand beside him.
But Irene kept the distance.
‘She must not like him at all.’
The world had many tastes.
If Irene preferred men without everything, that might explain it.
Or perhaps she simply disliked blond hair, blue eyes, or a sculpted body.
Either way, something had changed.
Michael now clung to Irene’s side like a shadow.
“Michael? He said he would return today… I’ll let him know you’re here.”
She no longer needed the title when speaking to him.
And every evening she stood at the window, waiting for his arrival.
“He must have endured many things inside the dungeon.”
A month felt like nothing in the outside world, yet they had returned together.
‘Did he have feelings for her all along?’
But Cynthia’s heart felt heavy with doubt.
‘Sir Michael is a Holy Knight.’
A man the Scriptures themselves called blessed.
Even in this raid period they remained paired, but once the contract ended…
“There are many who watch Sir Michael’s every move…
What if Irene gets hurt?”
Suppressing her worry, Cynthia knocked and stepped inside.
“Oh, Cynthia. You’re here.”
Irene rose hastily from the table, clearing documents.
“Dungeon reports? Leave them.”
“Actually… I just wanted to talk.”
Irene smiled awkwardly and finished organizing the books.
Cynthia noticed the titles on the cover.
Western Continent Map, Basic Guide to Arzans Mountains and Surrounding Cities, Top 180 Scenic Views of Southern Coastline.
“Irene, are you planning a trip?”
These were all books about the empire’s famous landmarks.
Even introductions to each kingdom’s attractions.
Looking at them, one might think Irene intended to see the entire continent.
“Not exactly a trip… I’m trying to decide where I’ll live once the raid period ends.”
“Ah, the place you were adopted into.”
Irene never spoke of it, but the young attendant who sometimes visited her seemed to have a distant, cold relationship.
“Do you have somewhere in mind?”
“I’m still undecided. There are so many things to consider… and I can’t decide alone, so I should ask him too.”
Irene stopped mid-sentence, hurriedly straightening the books, and changed the subject.
“By the way, what brings you here? Is it about a gathering? Did another participant join?”
Cynthia wanted to ask who.
After a moment of thought, she decided to keep her questions to herself.
“I’ll tell her later.”
Irene now introduced Cynthia without hesitation as her friend.
“By the way, did you hear the rumors spreading through the fortress today?”
“Rumors? Which ones?”
“The ones about Wilhelmina.”
“Wilhelmina? She was reported missing—has she been found?”
“Not exactly found, but a maid reported seeing her in the purifiers’ dormitory last night.”
“That doesn’t make sense. If she was missing, how could she still be inside the fortress?”
“A maid saw her at the end of the hallway. She was standing with her back turned. When she slowly turned around…”
Cynthia trembled.