Nora brought Dan to the infirmary attached to the girls’ dormitory—a place staffed full-time by her personal physician.

  It was already past 10 PM, but Nora insisted. She wasn’t taking no for an answer—he had to receive proper care, from her.

  “Luminus knights only know how to slap on a bandage over a cut, Mr. Dan. That’s the limit of their medical expertise.”

  After a thorough check-up, Nora’s personal doctor diagnosed the injuries as external. No signs of brain trauma or internal damage—just bruising.

  The princess of Snowhaven sat beside him, unwrapping white, medicated gauze and tending to Dan’s wounds with gentle care. It painted a strange picture—even the doctor was surprised to see the princess personally caring for a boy, sacrificing her rest and tending to him with such attention.

  Well, the doctor couldn’t really blame her. If someone had harmed your benefactor this badly… it was probably for the best that Nora hadn’t marched off to declare war on the knight division.

  “Why would you let yourself be humiliated like that, Mr. Fury?!”

  “Oi! Nora, easy—don’t press there, it hurts!”

  The bruises would subside in six hours. Nora’s doctor had already cast a healing spell before departing.

  “This is exactly what Luminus people are like… and you're right in the middle of them, Mr. Fury. It might be too much. Maybe it’s time to walk away?”

  “It’s too late for that. I made my decision, and I’ll see it through.”

  “What Rafinya did to you—it was disgraceful, Mr. Fury. Why would you just sit there and let them treat you like that?”

  “They weren’t insulting me... They were insulting Dan.”

  “...What?”

  Nora froze, still holding a cotton swab with metal tongs in midair.

  “What do you mean, Mr. Fury?”

  “I know exactly why I’m here.”

  He said it plainly.

  “And I don’t care about these little things.”

  “What if next time, the insults are worse, Mr. Fury?”

  “Compared to what these people have given me? This is nothing.”

  Dan leaned back against the wall. Nora listened closely.

  “They’re covering my tuition. Giving me access to library archives I’ve never seen. Showing me the potential of the next generation... What I experienced today felt like time travel—like peeking into the future leadership. Weigh that against a bruised chin? I’d say I’m getting a good deal.”

  “Well, I guess…”

  If you thought in terms of benefits, she supposed it made sense. Fury was thinking like someone who saw the upside.

  “But is it really necessary to get beaten up like this, Mr. Fury?”

  “I didn’t exactly enjoy it either.”

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  Of course he didn’t.

  Fury wasn’t immune to feelings. He felt those stares around the ring. He heard Rafinya’s cutting words.

  “But like I said, it depends on who you believe you are in here.”

  He tapped his temple with a finger.

  “Someone once told me… identity is a construct. You have to be aware of your own mind, because the mind always attaches itself to identity when you’re not watching.”

  “Mr. Fury… Are you saying Dan Burn is just a mask you wear?”

  “Exactly.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. You’re still you, aren’t you? Whether it’s Fury or Dan—it’s all the same person, right?”

  “No, Your Highness. Not even close. You’re misunderstanding.”

  “Then what is identity, really?”

  “Second question already, Your Highness?”

  Dan gave a faint smirk, tilting his head down.

  “Identity is what we think we are, Nora. If I thought I really was Dan Burn… then I wouldn’t be able to endure what happened out there, just like you said. But I can. I can detach my sense of self from Dan Burn.”

  Then he started explaining.

  “...I actually have a nickname, you know.”

  “What is it?”

  “Casca calls me ‘Little Pig.’”

  “!”

  His gaze drifted forward as the metaphorical camera slowly zoomed in on his face.

  “I have many names. Each one is a different identity. I’m talking about the inner self—the real you. And I want you to remember this, Nora… because someday, you might need to understand it.”

  “Yes, Mr. Fury.”

  “Fury is the identity your rulers see. Little Pig is the identity Casca sees. Dan Burn is what the students here see. These are all masks we wear in different times. I can separate them clearly. I know that my true self is none of these three. Dan Burn, to me, is like… that paper water bottle.”

  He picked up a small paper bottle.

  “This is Dan Burn. And this…”

  He picked up a glass one.

  “…is Fury.”

  “These two are roles I take on depending on the time. But if we awaken to the truth that identity is just a construct… the true self is emptiness. The true self never existed in the first place. So no matter how dented this paper bottle gets…”

  He crumpled it and tossed it into the trash.

  “I feel nothing. Because I can let go of that identity. The one that matters more to me is…”

  He raised the glass bottle.

  “This one. Fury.”

  “But you just said identity is emptiness. So wouldn’t Fury also be empty?”

  “Exactly, Your Highness. Exactly. But… real life isn’t that simple. I’m not a monk, shedding identities without a second thought. I still feel things. I just understand the concept.”

  He set the glass bottle back down.

  “One day, you’ll face something like this too. You’ll wear the identity of Ophilis the Fifteenth, and face all the burdens that come with it… All the false hopes, the flattery. It’ll all come crashing down on Empress Ophilis XV—but not on Nora, the girl dressing my wounds right now. Do you understand?”

  Seeing the mental ‘loading screen’ still spinning behind her eyes, he didn’t press.

  “This answer might be hard to grasp today, but when the time comes, you’ll get it. By then, you’ll have at least two identities: Nora and Empress Ophilis XV. Maybe even… Mother Nora, the gentle one. It depends on which identity you value most.”

  “And what about you? You said you’ve had many identities… Which one do you value the most, Mr. Fury?”

  “Ten years ago? Probably the crown prince… But not anymore. ‘Grand admiral Fury’ isn’t who I prioritize either.”

  “Then who?”

  Dan just smiled as a reply. He did not answer that question verbally. It left Nora to grasp for herself.

  “...What about your human identity? Don’t you value that at all?”

  “As I said, Dan... he’s just a paper cup. They can mock him all they want. I couldn’t care less—because that’s an identity I don’t value at all.”

  “…Is that really a good thing, Mr. Fury?”

  “When I was your age, I didn’t think so either. I thought I had to prove myself. Had to make people see. But after the war ended, I realized—I don’t need to make anyone see anything if I don’t have to. The best outcome will come out the method with best efficiency, sometime that efficiency is doing nothing. I know my own worth. I’m not wasting time on people outside my circle. It’s pointless.”

  “You’re saying those knights… aren’t even worth your time, Mr. Fury?”

  The young man gave her a small, polite smile.

  “All I care about is staying in the scholarship program. That’s it. That’s my priority.”

  He stood.

  “Thanks a lot, Nora. The swelling’s gone down quite a bit.”

  “Not at all, Mr. Fury…”

  Nora also stood up,

  “Thank you for insightful answer you shared tonight.”

  “Think on it.”

  Dan reached out and patted her shoulder.

  “Head back to your dorm and get some sleep.”

  “Yes, Mr. Fury… Before you go—”

  Nora pulled something out of her book bag: a thin notebook.

  “These are today’s lecture notes.”

  “Aren’t those yours?”

  “You can read them first, Mr. Fury. I still remember everything.”

  “Thanks a bunch, Your Highness~”

  “It’s nothing, compared to everything you’ve done for me, Mr. Fury.”