April’s feet stopped at Fabian’s shout. Then she turned around lazily and faced Fabian.

The expression on April’s face as she turned and faced Fabian was so cold that it was hard to believe he had ever seen her like that.

No. He had seen her face like that once… At the end of the first round, when Jeanne died at the time of the Demon King battle.

Of course, Fabian knew that April cared for Jeanne. But he didn’t know she could act so irrationally because of that.

It was frustrating to lose power to the Black Knights of all people.

For April, Jeanne was irrevocable, but she was too emotional.

Okay. He should take this opportunity to say something about it. Fabian thought and opened his mouth.

“What on earth are you…”

“Perfect timing. I also have something to say, Fabian.”

But April came first. She calmly continued to talk.

“I’ve been thinking about it, but now I’m determined.”

“What? What the hell is wrong with you? That you took the liberty of sending Jeanne to them, and that I deliberately stifled my anger because it was you. I’ve given you plenty of consideration.

“You don’t have to put up with this because of me.”

April responded coldly and heartlessly.

Fabian tried to keep his anger in check and speak favorably, but April was not the least bit sensitive to Fabian’s feelings.

“I’m going to leave the expedition.”

There was not the slightest hesitation as the guillotine fell.

Deca, who caught up with Fabian and April, looked confused, unable to adjust to the sudden atmosphere.

Deca looked at Fabian and April alternately, but the two glared at each other in spite of Deca.

Blue flames flared in Fabian’s eyes. Winding up tightly, Fabian shook his fists.

But he pretended to be casual and listened unconcernedly.

“Why? Are you going to join the Black Knights too?”

“No. I’m going back to my hometown.”

April’s sarcastic expression answering Fabian’s question was firm without a little backing down.

At that moment Fabian felt an irreparable crack between her and himself. It wasn’t something he could repair.

It was an instinctive realization.

At the same time, Fabian bent his eyes and smiled. It was a friendly and sweet smile.

“Sure. You’ve decided that, so there’s nothing I can do.”

“Fabian!”

Deca shouted in confusion. However, Fabian did not reverse. April also showed no signs of agonizing.

“It’s too much to pack right now, so I’ll leave this evening.”

“Yeah. It’s a shame that this happened, but there’s nothing we can do about it. First, go to the dorm and rest.”

Fabian pretended to be generous. April immediately turned around and headed for the accommodations.

Deca, who came to his senses late, shouted absurdly.

“Why are you both so natural? Am I the only one who’s flustered by this situation?”

“Calm down, Deca.”

“What do you mean, calm down! April is upset about what happened to Jeanne, so she’s doing that. How can you react to that right away?”

“It’s not a situation that can be persuaded. I did something wrong. I… was too mean to Jeanne.”

Fabian drooped his shoulders. His sullen face was full of sad feelings.But Deca couldn’t guess what Fabian was thinking at all. Unable to say anything more about Fabian’s drooping appearance, he was tongue-tied by frustration.

Confusion and resentment shook Deca, but he was the vice leader of the expedition.

Such a position to make rational judgments as much as possible. Deca groaned and asked.

“What are you going to do with the healers in our expedition? The healers we have in our service are low level.”

“For the time being, we have no choice but to raise our healer levels in parallel with holy water…”

“Phew, seriously…”

Deca shook his head. Everything was spilled water and returning seemed to be a long way off. Then, he had no choice but to do what he could now.

“Let’s go back to the rest area first. I’m sure all the expedition members were flustered. April will change her mind if she rests a little in her hometown.”

“…I hope so.”

Deca grumbled that April was too much and headed to the rest area.

Fabian’s gaze, left alone in the hallway, reached the place where April had disappeared.

A cold face where you had no idea what he was thinking about teased the space.

Deca, who had been moving ahead, turned suspiciously back at Fabian’s lack of pursuit.

“Fabian?”

“Yes, I’m coming soon.”

Soon Fabian turned his head toward Deca and smiled. Everything that had been lurking in his face until just now had disappeared.

April packed up right away.

April’s equipment would have been quite a fortune to sell, but she gave it to her usual close priests and wizards.

“This? This… Isn’t it precious? April, you even saved for a while to get this…”

“I don’t have any use for it anymore.”

They, who were anxious and regretful about the fact that she was leaving the expedition, did not refuse April’s distribution of equipment.

“I quit like this… but you guys are the strength of the Fabian.”

No matter how less affectionate she was, Fabian was still her best friend. She wanted to be of help in this way.

April smiled bitterly. After all, she was too weak to know the truth.

That night, as promised, April quietly packed her things.

She wondered how long she had walked out of the Imperial Palace without anyone knowing when a familiar voice stopped her.

“I’m here to say goodbye, April. Still, between us… We can’t just break up like this.”

“Fabian…”

April’s face, which had been standing so far, had eased.

Fabian approached April with a light step.

An old smile broke out from her best friend she hadn’t been familiar with for a while.

Come to think of it, they had been through everything together ever since they were born.

This was the first goodbye that had been placed between them. When she thought about it, April’s heart, which had been as sturdy as iron earlier, slowly began to crumble.

At that moment, hot and sharp pain penetrated April’s abdomen.

“Keuk!”

“Since we won’t see each other in the future.”

Fabian whispered in a low voice as he held April in his arms.

April was taken aback by surprise.

Incredulous, April groped her abdomen. She could feel the coldness of the sword blade that pierced her abdomen on her fingertips.

“It’s a lie that you’re going to your hometown, and you’re planning to go to the Black Knights, right?”As if he had changed suddenly, there was even resentment in Fabian’s gaze at her.

“As expected, you’re thinking of following them. Right? Like Jun and Jeanne… It’s not the first time. Do you think I’ll let them take you, too?”

April scratched Fabian’s arm, but there was no way she could overcome the mage’s power.

Fabian’s arm, which had been twisted by Meyer, was not as strong as it used to be, but it was difficult for a priest to overpower it.

Holding April tightly, Fabian pulled the sword from April’s abdomen and twisted it again.

Her eyes lit up with searing pain. This wasn’t just a stabbing pain. It was clear that he used poison.

April spat out reddish-black blood and stared at Fabian with bloodied, torn eyes.

“Ugh… F-Fabian!”

“I didn’t want to do this either, April.”

Fabian mumbled falteringly. His red hair was hanging down and his face was bloodless.

It was ridiculous to think of the Fabian of before, even for a moment.

The man in front of her was a stranger to April.

As she was stabbed to death, April struggled and managed to continue one letter at a time.

“Earlier… The reason why you said you’d just let me go is because… Was it because of Deca?”

“There’s Deca, too… It’s not easy to kill in the imperial palace. It’s easy to get caught.”

“Really… How did this happen, Fabian..”

The end of April’s voice was teary with regret and pain.

However, Fabian was just drunk on his own pity for killing his little friend with his own hands.

“I was always like this. You’re the one who changed. So why do you want to abandon me and go to the Black Knights?”

“You… You won’t be able to achieve anything like this.”

Fabian remained calm despite April’s curse-like sentence.

“That’s just the thought of a normal person like you.”

Rather, Fabian swept April’s blood-stained cheeks as if he truly felt sorry for her.

“I’ve been chosen. I wanted you to enjoy the honor of the end together… It’s a pity that this happened.”

April wanted to say something back. You are definitely not the one who was chosen… However, the poison took the tip of her tongue and made it firm.

April’s body immediately went limp.

Fabian caught April’s pulse. Her spark of life was almost gone.

Healing with holy power was not as easy as thinking.

It took a lot of mental strength and concentration, and in this state, she would die just by being left alone.

Fabian took April to a hole he had dug deep in the ground.

As far as he was concerned, burning it would be the cleanest way to destroy the evidence, but he couldn’t do that because it was night.

“If I do this, they won’t be able to take you away… Goodbye, April. Still, I’ll put your name in an honorable position later for our past friendship.”

Fabian, who buried April in the ground and handled it, hurriedly returned to his accommodation.

Deca, who was reading with the moonlight as the light, welcomed Fabian.

“It’s later than I thought. Did April see you off well?”

“Yes. I asked her to come back when she changed her mind.”

“Good. April is sensitive to Jeanne, but she may change her mind later.”

Deca shook his head. At the same time, his gaze was out of the window.

Fabian knew that Deca was secretly in love with April.

But Deca had kept that fact hidden, and Fabian had only pretended not to know because he didn’t think it would be a good idea for romantic feelings to interfere with the expedition.

And now he had to hide it even more.

As soon as Fabian, who had pledged to do so, tried to turn his foot to bed, Deca asked as if he was wondering.

“Have you changed your clothes, by the way? I can smell the faint scent of blood.”