Chapter 06
After Adrian left for the Black Knight Order, Nina scraped together every coin he had given her and paid the price for her freedom. The kitchen maids wished her well as they saw her off.
The very next thing she did was volunteer for the Black Knight Order.
The Order suffered such horrific casualties that they accepted practically anyone who enlisted. Of course, many of those recruits would be carried out as corpses the very next day.
Ironically, joining the Order even came with a payment.
Ten small gold coins.
That was the price of her life.
Even so, they hesitated to accept someone as young as her. In response, Nina simply rolled up her sleeve and revealed her wrist.
The mark of a spirit contractor.
The spirit crest wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet, and the recruiting officer immediately stamped her application as approved.
Although it was called a knight order, the first six months were less about knighthood and more about training recruits as ordinary soldiers.
Nina proved to be surprisingly talented, and her instructor regretted seeing such ability wasted.
He even secretly offered to pay back her enlistment bounty himself so she could leave.
Nina politely declined.
Everyone assumed she was a boy.
She never bothered correcting them.
Six months later, Nina officially joined the Black Knight Order.
During that time, she had heard every rumor imaginable about the Violet Forest.
A forest where everything was dyed violet.
The stories all sounded something like this:
In the heart of the violet forest stands a pure white cube-shaped structure. Each of its six faces is embedded with jewels, and every jewel is a Spirit Relic. No one knows who built it or when, but the structure itself serves as a great barrier.
According to ancient legend, when the Creator entrusted the world to the Great Spirit and crossed the Glass Sea, one of the Spirit Lords rebelled against the Great Spirit. The rebellion was crushed by the other Spirit Lords, and the corrupted Spirit Lord was shattered into countless fragments that fell to the earth.
From those fragments were born the corrupted creatures known as Bellaks.
The white structure proves that this legend is not merely a myth. A fragment of the Fallen Spirit Lord is sealed within the barrier, and the reason the forest turned violet is because it has been tainted by the poisonous miasma leaking from that fragment.
Some recruits laughed the story off, scoffing that no such violet forest could possibly exist.
But Nina knew.
Every word of it was true.
To Meet Once Again.
Setting aside the fact that the title had almost nothing to do with the actual story, the novel she had read confirmed that everything in those rumors was real.
That was precisely why she had believed in spirits—and formed a contract with one.
The only requirement for contracting with a spirit was faith.
To believe spirits existed.
To believe they would answer your call.
The difficult part was the believing itself.
Who would leap off a cliff simply because they believed the Spirit of Wind would catch them?
That was why spirit contractors were extraordinarily rare.
It was only after her older sister and older brother died that Nina realized this world was the same one as To Meet Once Again.
By then it was already late.
Still, she managed to form contracts with spirits.
Her spirits were North Wind and Frost.
Adrian, meanwhile, had contracted with the Spirits of Shadow and Darkness.
Like a flock of sheep being herded by a shepherd, the new recruits of the Black Knight Order finally reached the Violet Forest.
Fear spread through the ranks as the recruits stared at the ominous forest before them.
Meanwhile, the veteran knights merely laughed among themselves, placing bets on how many of the newcomers would die.
Amid the commotion, the recruits lined up in formation.
Then the young commander stepped onto the platform.
Whispers immediately erupted again.
The moment Nina recognized his face, however, she shot her hand into the air.
“Young Master!”
The expression on Adrian’s face…
Breaking Adrian’s calm smile was no easy feat.
Nina secretly took great pride in the fact that she held nearly every record for accomplishing exactly that.
Even among them, this moment easily ranked near the top.
“Why… are you here?”
His face practically said those words.
Standing beside him, the vice commander, Louis, barely managed to salvage the situation before Nina was immediately dragged into the commander’s office.
She had never seen Adrian so furious.
Yet Nina stood there confidently.
If I’m not here… then who will stay by your side?
Seeing her grin so boldly, Adrian rubbed both hands over his face.
“So…”
“You have no intention of going back?”
“No.”
“You intend to stay by my side?”
“Of course.”
“You said that yourself.”
“I did.”
“You can’t take it back later.”
“I won’t regret it.”
She answered proudly, shoulders straight.
Adrian stared at her with an unreadable expression.
After a long silence, he sighed.
Finally, his usual gentle self returned.
“Nina.”
He called her name so warmly that tears welled up in her eyes.
“I missed you.”
Her voice trembled.
“So did I.”
Adrian answered with a helpless smile.
From that day onward, the Black Knight Order changed rapidly.
Adrian reorganized the entire Order from top to bottom.
Meanwhile, Nina ran tirelessly from place to place, doing everything she could to unite its members.
Nothing major would happen for a while.
Still, it was best to prepare for everything while they had the chance.
Then again…
Just as the kitchen maids had always said, most of the people in the Black Knight Order weren’t exactly sane.
Even so, Nina’s sincerity reached them.
And Adrian’s strategies worked just as well.
The most important thing was making this place feel like somewhere people could actually live.
“If I lived in a place like this, I’d probably wish to die tomorrow too.”
Filthy bedding.
Terrible meals.
A place and people completely devoid of hope.
That had to change.
Although it was called the Violet Forest, not every part of the forest was actually purple.
The area surrounding the barrier at the center was nearly black with deep violet, but the farther one traveled toward the edges, the lighter the color became.
Most of it looked like an ordinary forest.
There just happened to be an overwhelming number of Bellaks roaming through it.
Nina and Adrian agreed on one thing immediately.
Cleanliness.
And order.
Everything had to be washed.
Everything had to be scrubbed.
Rules had to be established.
And everyone had to follow them.
“Good food is important.”
Nina insisted on preparing warm meals whenever she could.
The ducal household only supplied low-quality rations.
Fortunately, the forest itself was rich with food.
The venison and rabbit stew she cooked quickly became everyone’s favorite.
Delicious food brought simple happiness.
A full stomach made people kinder.
Before long, a new rule spread throughout the camp.
No dinner unless you ________.
The blank changed depending on the day.
Clean.
Run.
Do laundry.
Train.
As the rule became routine, everyone grumbled—
Yet still worked hard for the sake of Nina’s delicious dinners.
The regulations Adrian established were fair, practical, and free of unnecessary complications.
Whether because of Adrian’s leadership or everyone’s combined efforts, the Black Knight Order flourished over the next two years.
Its mortality rate fell into the single digits.
The entire Order became organized and disciplined.
Those who had enlisted in exchange for bounty money, like Nina, were free to leave once they had repaid the debt with their service.
By any standard, it resembled a mercenary company more than a traditional knight order.
Most people left the moment they earned their freedom.
A small handful…
Chose to stay.
It was a peaceful, deeply satisfying time.
Most of all, Nina treasured being able to speak openly with Adrian.
They no longer had to hide.
They could face each other.
Talk whenever they wished.
She had never realized how precious such an ordinary thing could be.
Sometimes, just like children their own age, the two of them would sneak off together to play in the forest.
Naturally, it was always Nina who grabbed Adrian’s hand and dragged him along.
She even built a secret treehouse.
Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a Bellak, leaving her utterly heartbroken.
Because Nina behaved more like a boy than most boys, everyone naturally assumed she was a young male knight.
When the members of the Black Knight Order eventually discovered she was actually a girl, they were completely dumbfounded.
Then they looked back and forth between Nina and Adrian.
“…Ah.”
“No wonder.”
Nina puffed out her cheeks.
“It’s friendship, you know. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
The knights only grinned wider.
The members of the Black Knight Order respected Adrian.
And they adored Nina.
If days like these could continue forever…
Perhaps, one day, standing before the Glass Sea, she would be able to say she had lived a peaceful and happy life.
Then—
The news of Gerald’s death arrived.
