The longer Tarja was on the Caspedile Road, the more livid she became. In her mind’s eye, she saw only the face of that black knight. So twisted, so cruel, so driven—yet something about it plucked the most sympathetic of her heartstrings. In that man’s face, she saw a particular reluctance that was being smothered by a vicious hate. That man had wanted to save himself. And then she turned her flared thoughts to that dark hawk she saw in the sky. She remembered how clearly she could see its ruddy feathers etched faintly against the ethereal night sky. Tarja threw a disparaging leer at Artturi.