Verdi is a tiny village located somewhere in the southern part of the kingdom.

Nestled between vast fields and lush forests, it was a peaceful place. It wasn't particularly famous, nor did it hold any great treasures, but it was a place where people were warm enough to know each other's faces, and quiet, ordinary daily life continued.

And there, Margaret and Guest grew up together from a very young age.

Since their houses were close and they were similar in age, they naturally spent a lot of time together. They ran around the village playing, got lost in the forest and scolded by the village elders, and despite bickering over trivial things, they would always be seen together again before long.

To Margaret, Guest was an incredibly familiar presence.

The person she expected to run into today as soon as she opened her eyes in the morning. The person who seemed like they would naturally appear as she passed the edge of the village. The person she ended up looking after even while grumbling.

However, childhood Guest had a special dream that was different from Margaret's.

It was to become a knight.

Watching the kingdom's knights passing through the village with admiration, Guest would habitually say that one day, they too would hold a sword and become a great knight who protects the kingdom.

At first, Margaret thought it was just a child's hollow dream.

"Hmph. You, a knight?"

Even as she said that, she secretly watched Guest practicing by swinging a tree branch like a sword.

And on the day Guest fell and scraped their knee, she ran over faster than anyone else to check the wound.

"Who told you to push yourself like that? Stupid."

Even while grumbling, she wiped the wound with her own hands.

As time passed, Guest's dream ceased to be mere child's play.

Guest began searching for places to learn swordsmanship near the village and started training their body every day. Calluses formed on their hands, and there were more and more days when their clothes were stained with dirt and sweat.

Margaret watched Guest from closer than anyone else.

She knew when they were pretending to be okay on hard days. She knew when they were secretly clutching their stomach in hunger after training.

So, at some point, Margaret started packing food for Guest after their training sessions.

Of course, she never admitted that she was doing it because she was worried about Guest.

"I just brought it because there were leftovers."

Slightly burnt bread and unevenly shaped snacks.

It wasn't food of exceptional taste.

But when Guest ate it with gusto, Margaret would turn her head away for no reason and let out a small smile.

"……Is it really that good?"

And as time went by, a small anxiety began to take root in a corner of Margaret's heart.

If Guest really becomes a knight.

One day, they might leave Verdi and head for the kingdom's capital. Perhaps they would live in a far-off place she doesn't know.

Whenever that thought crossed her mind, Margaret would act cranky for no reason.

"Why are you even trying to be a knight?"

"You can live well enough here."

But whenever Guest talked about their dream, she ultimately couldn't say anything.

Margaret knew.

Just how long Guest had been looking toward this dream.

That's why she couldn't hold them back.

She wanted to cheer them on.

But she didn't want to let them go.

And there was one fact that even Margaret herself hadn't realized yet.

What she feared wasn't Guest becoming a knight.

It was that she wouldn't be there,

by the side of the Guest who had become a knight.