Chizuru had forgotten to breath from the moment she stared at him.

"Well, what do you think, my lord? It's just like I said. If you put her a nice piece of clothes, you'll be stunned by how she looks!"

　When Rodolgo got off the horse and approached him(lukrov), he suddenly turned to Chizuru, as soon as she saw that, her throat felt like it had a knot. She tried to breathe repeatedly to try to maintain a normal heartbeat.

　'Still ... I can't see his face'.

　The helmet made of silver armor covered the knight's head and half of his face, and only the lines of his mouth and chin could be seen even if he came so close. His face was hidden in the shadow of the setting sun, and was hidden behind his stubble, which might have been formed in a few days, so she could only clearly see the shape of his lips.

'But I don't think this is someone else.'

　Even before she heard his voice, it felt like his tone tickled Chizuru's ears.

"Lukrov ...?"

　Chizuru's mouth was calling his name without permission.

"Is it lukrov ...? Do you Remember me? Chizuru ..."

　Then, it felt like the knight's shoulder, which hadn't been moved until then, shook.

　Before she knew it, Rodolgo was right next to her, and grabbed Chizuru's upper arm violently and pushed it forward, so that he could boast about the prey he had just hunted.

"Well, do you want to pay? Will you pay? If the duke doesn't pay, I'll sell this woman to another man."

　Rodolgo, who simply said that, didn't hear a reply, but still grabs Chizuru's upper arm and smiles challengingly. He was treating a person not like a person, but Chizuru was still fascinated by the knight in front of him.   T/N is she is in shock, or in love?

　Chizuru spoke in a laud voice to the knight: " Take off your helmet and show me your face."

　Rodolgo and Dorothy are suspiciously eye-catching the unfamiliar air around them, and are nerviously thinking if they have been disrespectful to the silent knight. Chizuru also began to get nervous because of the silence.

　'What if he wasn't Lukrov? She might be sold to a man with a strange habit.'

　But after a few minutes of immobility and silence, the man dressed as a knight finally moved his hand.

"All right"and shouts in a low voice, while sliding his hand around his waist.

　Although Rodolgo tried to get ready for a moment of confrontation, the knight had already thrown a leather bag in front of Rodolgo. Before Rodolgo could take a goos look at what's in the bag through it he could hear the precious metalic sounds.

　In a blink of an eye, Rodolgo and Drothy break in a run to get the leather bags. When their dirty hands clumsily open a bag in poor state there were many bright gold coins, dazzling to the eye. And Dorothy screams like animal delight. The tall knight, however, didn't even look at them. He just keeps staring at Chizuru and Chizuru continues to look at him. T/N I think they are having a blinking contest.

"Are you coming or not?"

　Next to Rodolgo and Dorothy, who were lying on the ground while being swarmed with gold coins, the knight spoke to Chizuru, who had been unable to move. It is as if he had given Chizuru the right to choose. Chizuru silently nodded once.

　'──It's Lukrov's voice, no doubt about it.'

　His voice may have been a bit more sharp than it used to be, and the brightness of it may have been lost, but his voice remains low and calm.

　Watching Chizuru's affirmation, the knight slowly approached her while riding on the horse, and when he reached a distance where he could reach her, he swooped Chizuru's body up and on the horse.

"Kyaa"

　Chizuru's scream disappeared as soon as she was pressed against the knight's chest. The squishy firmness squeezes against Chizuru's cheeks ... a nostalgic feeling.

"Lukrov ……"

　The knight grabbed the bridle and with a loud yelling voice commands the horse, overlapping Chizuru's murmur.

　The black horse turns at an amazing speed, and runs at glance according to the master's  order. At first, Chizuru felt no worries that she might fall, although she was swaying violently. After all, Chizuru is in Lukrov's chest now. Whether it's a year, two months, or fourteen years, there are things that don't change over time.

　The night came down early, and within one hour, the sky changed into a starry sky.

　'Perhaps he is knowledgeable about the geography around here'

Lukrov continues to drive the horse in a straight line without any hesitation. Through the trees rising high in the sky like a gale, down the hill, and after running for a while, the forest gradually opened up. At the same time, however, a heavy night fog began to cover the area, and the horse slowed down ...

　Lukrov did not scold the horse anymore and slowly stopped moving forward.

　Chizuru looks up as the horse stops.

"Here ... are you getting off?"

　He heard it, but he only gives one small nod to the extent that she doesn't know if there is a reply. Before that, he was silent all the time, and he kept his helmet on. However, the arms holding Chizuru on the horse were so strong and kind that she was not worried.

　Lukrov disembarked in a brilliant movement that seemed like he wasn't wearing any heavy chains or armor, and helped Chizuru to dismount with his hands and although he wore gloves, she felt a nostalgic and hot feeling as his hands hugged her. As it was, Chizuru moved a little in comparison with the swaying on the horse, as if she had just ignored gravity.

　Luklov's hands support Chizuru.

"Thank you."

　Even if she says thank you, Lukrov still only gave a slight nodding reply.

　After leaving Chizuru standing up, Lukrov hangs the horse's reins on a tree trunk, and uses his feet to squeeze the ground. Chizuru, who wasn't the first time she saw that knew immediately what he was doing.

　In less than fifteen minutes, Lukrov gathered dead trees and leaves on the ground and dexterously ignited them with a flint that he carried.

　If there are too many things to convey, the words may not come out well.

　Both Lukrov and Chizuru faced each other in front of the fire for a while without saying anything.

　Luklov sits down using a stone near him as a chair, and Chizuru sits down on the ground. It wasn't cold due to the gradually increasing fire, but there was a bit of wind and her back became cold.

　A red burning bonfire illuminates the outline of a man who was once known as the "Knight of the Fire".

　Perhaps he might have lost some weight ... she thought. However, his strong body, wide shoulder width, and tall body with a firm back did not change at all. And the powerful gaze that stares at only Chizuru also didn't change.

"Lukrov ... Um, let me explain."

　Unable to withstand the silence, Chizuru opened her mouth first.

"At that time ... I was told that my grandmother had a terrible illness, and I ... I went back to my original world without thinking. But it's been a little over a year now ..." Her voice quivered.

　As expected, Lukrov is a man who has only been praised as the best knight in the country, and even if he is silent, he gives off a powerful force that will overwhelm others. In that sense, it was was courageous of person to confess and apologize to him.

"I've never forgotten you. When I heard the voice that called me into this world, I asked him to let me return and he did that immediately, so now I am here. I came back to ... "

　Lukrov was still silent.

　All he did is just stare at Chizuru through the helmet and give a small nod this time. Chizuru had to bite her lips to stop the tears from overflowing.

"Why don't you take off your helmet?"

　When Chizuru spoke, Lukrov exhaled a short sigh.

　Then he slowly extended his arms to hold the back of his head and quietly took off his armor's helmet. You can see the jet-black hair arranged in a short line first, and Lukrov's neat face appears in front of Chizuru, lit by the light of fire.

　Chizuru smiled in tears.

　Lukrov.

　He was much more stern looking than the Lukrov, which Chizuru remembers, but it's still him.

　Black eyes that swallows you when he looks at you, deeply carved features, masculine chin lines, and lips that have a strong will. However, he is only a little thin, and wrinkles that have never existed before are beginning to be carved thinly on the eyes and mouth. And, on the right eyebrow, there was a line of a cut from the forehead to the temple.

　However,  his expression was icy cold. Or, he looked terribly angry. The coldness and heat, temperatures that should be contradictory, seemed to pierce Chizuru as one arrow, which was painful.

"Lukrov ... I ..."

"Why now?"

　A low and sharp voice interrupted Chizuru's words. If not misunderstood, Lukrov's voice was a little quivering, like Chizuru's voice.

"eh?"

"Why are you coming back now? Why have you abandon me for more than 14 years and now you... come back?"

　Chizuru couldn't answer.

　"Abandon", "more than fourteen years" ....

　Chizuru's heart froze and her body did not move, as if she had even lost all of her breath.