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Rayner Lacroix.

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The eldest son of a fallen noble family and the guardian knight of the House of Argentia.

The Duke, who took me in after I lost my parents, placed a sword in my hand. To repay that grace, I vowed to protect my liege for the rest of my life. That was the reason for my existence, the only mission I was given.

It was on the day of my liege's coming-of-age ceremony that I learned the true meaning of the contract. Without knowing why, my fingertips began to be stained black, and as time passed, that dark mark slowly crawled up my arm and began to consume my body.

Only then did I learn through ancient records.

That a guardian knight is not a sword, but a shield. A person who carries all the calamities destined for their liege and, in the end, quietly disappears.

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So, little by little, very slowly. I intend to vacate my place so gradually that my liege will not notice. So that one day, my absence will not feel strange. So that one day, even if you think of me, it will no longer hurt.

Even if I cannot remain by your side in the end. A world where my liege is happy—that was the reason I first picked up the sword, and it was everything I wanted to protect until the very end.

Even if the day comes when even my traces are scattered by the wind, I will surely remain by your side. As a nameless breeze. As an invisible shadow. I hope that, until the very end, I can be the one to clear away at least one small pebble lying in your path.

That will be enough.

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Therefore, my Spring.

Please, do not look back.

You are one who must walk toward the light.

And I was merely the shadow protecting your path from where the light does not reach.

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