"What's wrong with the boy?" asked Equs Lileproof, from the shadows.

   "The very clumsy one has cut himself in one of his pranks and his wound became infected," Answered someone close to him, looking askance over his shoulder, scrutinizing the darkness. "Another proof that he is nothing more than useless. You know that the Asís are immune to almost any ailment."

   Equs Lileproof nodded smiling.

   "Of course, of course," he assured. "We know that he is not the heir." And, does anyone know anything about the paila?

   "You have to answer that for me, idiot!" His voice became more aggressive and harsh.

   The stable keeper trembled a little at those words.

   "I'm working on it..." he assured.

   "You can't tell!" The voice said, walking away. "There will be no reward if you don't achieve it. But there will be punishment! Uselessness is more serious in the eyes of our King than betrayal itself."

   Equs bowed awkwardly and, taking a few short steps back, stammered:

   " I will fulfill my mission, even if it costs me my life."

   And with that, he disappeared towards the stables. His interlocutor saw him leave, came out of the shadows and resumed the path towards the abbey. But before he could reach an ascending staircase, a female voice stopped him:

   "Professor Evans! Here is the! He was looking for it."

   "Rémona, what's happening?" He said, somewhat surprised, approaching her.

   "I have made the mixture to heal Tthor's wound, just as you told me. But we have run out of red lily petals."

   Professor Evans automatically turned his eyes toward the sky. The full moon shone in all its splendor.

   " It is an auspicious night for the harvest. "But getting to the top of Horacum will take me all night," said the Professor, rummaging through the pockets of his black cloak.

   It took him a few seconds, but he finally found what he was looking for. He took out a small triangle-shaped piece of parchment. He rolled it up and placed it in a small bag. He closed it, pulling on a red cord that was attached to one end. He handed it to Remona, who asked:

   "Is this the treatment you had told me about?"

   "Yes, my colleague, Doctor Serenus Sammonicus, has prepared it especially for this occasion. It is a powerful enchantment. If this fails, we run out of alternatives."

   Rémona turned pale when she heard Evans' words.

   "Have you had new visions?"

   The young woman gave a negative answer with an almost imperceptible movement of her head.

   " I notice you are worried...I mean...for Tthor's health...I know but...is there anything else I should know?"

   "The enemy is close. I can feel it. And Tthor is vulnerable."

   Rémona turned paler.

   "I will be outside for several hours, you must make sure that no one approaches his room," said Professor Evans, looking for the illuminated window on the second floor.

   Rémona breathed nervously and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. A slight blush warmed his cheeks after hearing her warning. But the Professor didn't notice. He bowed slightly to the young woman and headed, in obvious haste, to the side exit of Warghost.

   Evans' last words still echoing in her head, Rémona stood there, trembling and with her eyes fixed on the figure walking away from her. When she couldn't see him anymore, she reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a handful of crimson petals. She rubbed them hard to smithereens and tossed them aside.

   "I'm sorry, Professor," she said, visibly nervous, "But it will be tonight...

   And at an accelerated pace, she walked to the stables, dragging her green gauze dress and her silver cape, stopping near the only kerosene lamp that illuminated the place.

   " Equs! " Rémona called with a firm voice. " Equs!"

   Equs Lileproof appeared from the background, quite surprised.

   "Hey, Professor Evans told me that you can go and rest tonight. You won't need to cover the night guard. He will do it personally."

   Lileproof's face visibly brightened. He had been here and there for several days, doing assignment after assignment for Professor Evans. He was glad to know that he had the entire night to rest. Without wasting time, fearing that young Rémona would change her mind and assign him some last-minute task, he stammered a “good night” and quickly disappeared.

   Rémona made sure that Lileproof didn't come back, she took a torch that was hanging on the wall. She lit it in the flame of the lamp and headed out with the torch held high. She crossed the gardens and moved to the edge of the drawbridge that had just been deployed.

   It was quite dark but she could still see a shadow, advancing quickly. She felt that her heart would come out of her mouth because she had started beating so fast. The feelings that she had wanted to bury so long ago were now exploding in her chest, with the same force as before; She felt that the years had not passed.

   Her mouth went dry and her torch began to shake in her hand when his dark figure was only a couple of meters away from her. Rémona took a breath of air and, raising the torch to see better, she pronounced with a hard voice:

   "Murk, hurry up, it must be tonight..."

   "Hello to you too..." young Murk greeted her, with a hint of irony.

   Rémona looked at him, without being able to control herself, from top to bottom: his face tanned by the sun, his cape covered with frost, his boots with wide buckles, his manly bearing and his eyes, which seemed younger than she really was. possessed.

   "How is Tthor?" Murk asked, with evident tension in his voice.

   Rémona looked down and her eyes began to water.

   "Pretty bad. The Professor has tried everything from herbology to magic. Right now I must place this amulet on him," said the young woman, showing him the crimson bag.

   "And the paila? Hasn't it been revealed yet?

   "If we had the paila, he would already be cured," Rémona said displeased, lowering the torch.

   "Good to see you…"

   "Not me!" The young woman muttered and began to retrace the side path towards the fortification.

   Murk watched her, for a few seconds, as he walked away from her.

   "Some things are... a real shame..." he said almost in a whisper.

   And he followed her at a quick pace, looking around, making sure that no one was around her.

   They entered the dark abbey and passed through the east wing. They continued down a long hallway and accessed the stairs that led to the second floor. Remona stepped forward. She opened the door and approached, trying not to make noise, to Tthor's bed.

   Although it was not the first time she had seen him, his pale face and extreme thinness impressed her greatly. And she, for a few seconds, stood paralyzed, with the torch in her hand, trembling with fear and not knowing what to do.

   Murk peeked out from behind her and she didn't realize he was there until she spoke to him:

   "Rémona…, are you okay?"

   The young woman seemed to come to her senses and she hurriedly placed the amulet around her neck. But her dexterity with her left hand was not good since she held the light with the other. Murk understood what was happening and gently pushed her to the side of her. He took the red bag from her, brushing her hand. Rémona shivered at that touch. Murk stretched the cord as far as he could and placed it gently around Tthor's neck.

   Just as he placed the young man's head on the pillow, a threatening voice came to them from the half-open door:

   "Murk! Traitor! What are you doing here? Stay away from him! Now!!!"

   Rémona tried to speak but Murk stopped her, making a gesture with her hand. He took several long steps to the door and came face to face with Professor Evans.

   "In this story... I am not the one who should be called a traitor."

   Persseus Evans looked at him defiantly and tried to look intimidating, even though Murk was two or three heads taller than him.

   "What... are you doing... here?" He snapped, lowering his tone of voice, but without losing his harshness.

   "Tthor is my friend. But of course, I don't think you know the true meaning of that word."

   "You are a traitor...And you are too, Rémona. You sent me to look for petals for the potion, but I remembered that just yesterday I had given you a freshly harvested handful," Professor Evans spoke with quite a bit of contempt.

   "She only did what I asked her. Neither you nor anyone can stop me from seeing Tthor."

   "Are you a doctor perhaps?"

   "No...," Murk responded calmly. "And you...?"

   " I…!"

   But Rémona cut off the discussion, standing between the two.

   "Professor, leave him with Tthor for a moment. He's not going to hurt him," the young woman begged with a sob. "He brought him on the "Storm and Impulse" when they missed the train. And they became friends.

   "Actually, Tthor and I have been closed for a long time..."

   Rémona did not understand Murk's words but also she continued:

   " I saw it in my visions. I warned him this would happen. It is written that they are together. Destiny has great things in store for both of them. And you can't stop it."

   Professor Evans knew that Rémona was right but she had a hard time admitting it. The hatred he felt towards Murk and his people was too strong for him to think clearly. He looked at them both reproachfully and walked away, slamming the door behind him.

   Murk, wasting no time, approached Tthor's bedside. He leaned over his chest and looked at him, totally moved.

   "Tthor..." he said with a broken voice. "If I could help you, friend." But I don't know how...

   Murk drowned in his own tears. Rémona, on impulse, approached him and placed her hand on the strong back of the young man, who had buried her face in Tthor's chest.

   And there he remained, motionless, sobbing, feeling deep within himself a pain that he did not know how to explain and that he could barely bear. She remained standing, very close to him, contemplating the scene, as moved as she was when she had perceived it in her visions.

   And outside, in the cold night air, moistened black eyes and a dark, tense face could be seen through the closed window. Young Lee-Won was crouched, sitting on the windowsill. And he would remain there all night, trying to ignore the cry of the banshee that came from the deep forest and that crossed every wall of the abbey and had woken up every person who lived there, making it impossible for anyone to fall asleep again. , until sunrise…