After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

There are many empty rooms in the village, and an oil lamp is the most luxurious thing in the room.

The black bread was cold and hard, but luckily the old man who took them in cooked a bowl of hot soup with a little salt and some unknown vegetables.

Lucas broke the bread into pieces and soaked it in the soup until it was completely softened before feeding it to Isolde spoonful by spoonful.

"That duke of the Northern Territory once said, 'In this life, none of us will have an easy time.'" Isolde sat up in bed, lowered her eyes, and looked out at the quiet night.

Life drained from her body, and the miracle bestowed by the goddess vanished completely. But she had no regrets, not because of how much she loved Lucas, but because finally someone would grieve for her departure.

It's really hard to explain a person's life.

A child who doesn't care about your parents, doesn't love your husband/wife, and wishes you would die soon.

People always like to praise hard work, as if hard work can solve all problems. However, this absolutely meaningless statement will eventually become a materialistic principle in the distortion of reality.

Money and power can solve all problems.

Or rather, money and power can help you escape most problems.

But Isolde didn't like absolute correctness. She obtained power from the goddess and used that power to continuously gain more wealth and higher status.

But this life experience is both real and unreal. After all, before this, she was just a nun in a small church in a small town; that was her origin and her true self.

The Great Sage's plan gave Isolde the illusion that she could control the fate of others.

Until she met Lucas, a young swordsman who was supposed to grow stronger, make a name for himself, and finally face the Northern Army, his performance in several wars against the Northern Territory was hard to describe.

But that's reality. Forget replicating the hero's story; the hero himself is barely hanging on. If the goddess could mass-produce powerful warriors, would she need Isolde to spread miracles?

As a guide, Isolde quickly abandoned her illusions after meeting Lucas.

The absolute correctness of money and status can no longer move her; only the kind of love that the world despises is what she should pursue.

Everything about her is fake; she is also afraid of being alone.

Now, the goddess has reclaimed the miracle and power... and Isolde, sitting on the bed, turns her head with a smile, never having felt so satisfied as she has today.

Even if she will never see the sun rise tomorrow.

"There's only one bed here, Lucas." Isolde raised her hand, the gesture somewhat amusing. "Come here and let me lean against you for a bit, just a little while."

She quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. As soon as Lucas got into bed, Isolde almost immediately snuggled into his arms. After a long silence, Isolde finally spoke.

"Forget me, Lucas."

"We've only known each other for less than two years."

"Then don't forget me."

Lucas awkwardly reached out to support the girl's waist, but all he touched was a cold surface. He thought, whatever this experience may have been, it's over, it should be over.

The thick darkness of night was an unyielding sorrow. In the woods outside the village, the girl and Nicole rustled through the fallen leaves.

Hearing the tender whispers in the wind, the two gazed at the faint light in the house, neither taking another step forward.

"Nicole, are you still conscious?"

Seemingly offended, Nicole gave him a cold look and said, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"At least remember my name. My name is Sylvie, or you can call me by my old name, but the pronunciation there is a bit of a hassle. To be specific, it's..."

"Just say what you want to say." Not wanting to pay too much attention to the chatterbox beside her, Nicole took out a crumpled cigarette from her pocket, hesitated for a moment before lighting it, and then silently put it away.

Lucas and Isolde ultimately failed to escape the chessboard.

This is the price the two kids pay for their mistakes. Young people make mistakes, but even a prodigal son can't erase past errors.

"Why don't you go and try to persuade them first? What if she agrees?" Sylvie smiled calmly, a smile that sent chills down Nicole's spine.

"There's no need to go to such lengths."

Nicole put the cigarette back in her mouth, trying her best to control her expression, appearing completely calm and collected.

Sylvie nodded. She always felt that Nicole was wary of her. Even though they could have taken this opportunity to become close comrades, Nicole couldn't even remember her own name.

Besides, she's not that bad; she just suggested that Nicole say goodbye to them.

After the brief conversation ended, the two figures in the woods remained motionless, as if both monitoring and bidding farewell.

As the moon slowly disappeared and the sky was covered with a dark blue-gray veil, Nicole finally heard the sob.

She lit a cigarette, feeling an uncontrollable chill run through her body.

Isolde's death was a relief for her; but Lucas's suffering had only just begun.

Nicole exhaled smoke into the wind as she watched Lucas emerge from the house alone. He didn't say a word, but simply picked up the axe leaning against the wall and strode towards the woods.

"What is he doing? Has he spotted us?"

Sylvie spoke in surprise in a low voice, but the more she acted this way, the more annoyed Nicole became.

Can't you even understand this? Isolde is dead. Does that mean Lucas should just leave her body on the bed and do nothing else?

Lucas began felling trees, choosing a large, straight one to make a coffin.

Midway through, some villagers who heard the commotion came to persuade him, saying that the trees here were over a hundred years old and belonged to noblemen, and that touching them would cost him his head.

"Let them come then, I'm not afraid of losing my head."

The rough, rusty axe blade swung only a dozen times before cutting down the tree, the sound of the falling tree startling a rooster to crow.

Taking out the best section, Lucas carried the several-hundred-pound trunk on his shoulder and returned to his cabin without a word.

Sylvie breathed a sigh of relief; she had just thought she had been discovered.

Nicole, stubbing out her cigarette, watched as Lucas took off his shirt and used various tools to work with the wood, soon creating the basic shape of a coffin. She couldn't help but recall a quote from Wolf.

"If I die out there, please, miss, you must bring me home."

She wiped her dry lips and glanced discreetly at Sylvie, who was still examining the handmade coffin with great interest.

As the coffin grew smaller and smaller, Nicole roughly knew what Lucas was planning to do.

If Nicole were here alone, she would definitely help Lucas out, but that damn guy is here watching too...

Perhaps she should help Lucas one more time.