Chapter 81
Kaien, who was smiling contentedly while thinking of Philome, turned his head at the feeling of being watched.
He then noticed the two staring blankly at him and cleared his throat to change the subject.
“Anyway, on the way to the basement, I contacted Sebastian through Gio. Have you, Mother and Father, received any recent reports on magicians?”
Theodore and Natasha were also keeping an eye on the movements of the magicians, but since there had been no recent reports, they shook their heads.
“This issue might take a little time. Oh, and what about the temple?”
It was something he had forgotten.
Long ago, during the time when monsters were rampant, the temple had been a great help. It could attack monsters with holy power.
Of course, it couldn’t deal damage significant enough to inflict critical hits, but the holy power of a high priest had an effect similar to that of a few royal knights facing a monster.
For this reason, even though the temple had lost its power, the Duke of Wintbell’s family had periodically compiled reports about the snowfield for centuries, having fought alongside them for a long time.
And since the slumbering monster had awakened, it was only natural to contact the temple.
He had simply been too preoccupied to remember it.
“That is…”
Natasha hesitated, her lips quivering as she continued.
“…there has been no response from the temple.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s exactly as Natasha said. We sent someone before you arrived today, so we have contacted them twice, yet there has been no response from the temple.”
Since they hadn’t mentioned anything about the temple first, he vaguely suspected that there was troubling news.
However, it wasn’t a rejection stating that they couldn’t provide support; there was simply no answer at all.
It was an utterly incomprehensible situation.
“When I was rejected the first time, I felt something was off and heard news from within about the temple. But it seems something is amiss with the temple.”
Kaien suddenly recalled something he had heard in the banquet hall.
He had completely forgotten about it due to the overwhelming news he received.
“I remembered. They said a prophecy was delivered to the temple.”
“Prophecy?”
“I only caught a glimpse of it while passing by, so I didn’t hear the whole thing, but it mentioned that the end has come.”
Theodore and Natasha quickly exchanged glances.
Even though they didn’t know the full content of the prophecy, it was clearly a troubling situation.
The prophecy stating that the end has come coinciding with the awakening of the monster was a connection that could not be ignored, and this realization darkened Theodore and Natasha’s faces with heavy clouds.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The next day.
After finishing breakfast together, Kaien and Natasha headed to the snowfield early.
Meanwhile, Philome went to find Theodore to discuss matters and completed the signing of the contract.
“I spoke with the Duke today. Sebastian will send the spirit scrolls along when he contacts us. This way, we can provide more spirit scrolls.”
Although that wasn’t written in the contract, since they were staying here, she thought it would be good to offer more help.
“Thank you for that. I will also ensure the contract payment is delivered immediately through my subordinates.”
Philome smiled faintly, seemingly satisfied with the rapidly progressing situation.
“Then I appreciate it.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful. The appearance of the monsters has made getting water from the neighboring village a problem.”
Hearing this, it seemed that if Philome hadn’t come with Harnen, it could have turned into a serious situation.
There were two ways to reach the closest village that could trade with the north. One was to use a portal, and the other was to travel to the village half a day’s journey on the opposite side of the portal.
The former was fast and safe, but since it didn’t handle exports from the north, the prices of goods were significantly lower, resulting in considerable disadvantages.
The latter method could secure proper profits, but it was quite dangerous as it required crossing the snowfield.
Since a monster had appeared, they couldn’t use the latter method, leaving only the option of continuing to incur losses in their trade.
After hearing this, Philome cautiously opened her mouth.
“Lord Theodore, may I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Is there a reason why the territory residents do not leave this place?”
Though she didn’t say it outright, Philome realized that they were using the Duke’s resources to maintain the north.
No matter how wealthy the Duke of Wintbell’s family was, it wasn’t feasible to continue supporting the north for hundreds or even thousands of years.
“Are you suggesting that it would be better to relocate to a safer place and live peacefully?”
If she hadn’t become accustomed to Kaien’s straightforward nature, she might have felt tense at Theodore’s question.
Philome calmly nodded without flinching.
“Yes. I don’t think you and Lady Natasha would welcome the territory residents living in danger and hardship. This isn’t your opinion, is it?”
Theodore blinked at Philome’s sharp words for a moment, then swallowed his admiration and nodded.
“That’s right. To explain this, we need to go back to when the monsters first appeared…”
The monsters had emerged nearly a thousand years ago.
Until then, the north had been a desolate land.
It wasn’t as cold as it is now; it was just a barren wasteland. The first life to appear in the lifeless north was the monster.
With the emergence of the monster, the north experienced sudden abnormal climate changes, and a long winter began that lasted all year round.
At that time, the Duke of Wintbell’s family had two transcendent beings, which led to them becoming the leaders in the war against the monsters at the emperor’s request.
“Can you imagine how many people moved to the north at that time? Even counting only the noble families, there were well over a hundred.”
As the war with the monsters gradually prolonged, people began to stay in the north for a long time, and the number of families that fully settled down increased one by one.
After several hundred years, at last, after the long struggle, the saint subdued the monsters.
At that time, the Duke of Wintbell suggested they return to the capital together, but no one wanted to go back.
“The monsters were merely asleep, not gone. The Wintbell family, known for their transcendent beings, had to protect the north, and they wanted to share this duty as they had for hundreds of years. That is what has continued until now.”
“So that’s how it happened…”
Philome murmured in a slightly dazed state upon hearing this story for the first time.
She realized that there were many more people protecting this place than she had thought.
“I truly wanted to eliminate the monsters. Even if I couldn’t bring the territory residents back with me, at least I hoped the north would be peaceful.”
Of course, Theodore hadn’t anticipated that the monster would awaken like this.
“By the way, I heard from Kaien that the young lady noticed the involvement of sorcery.”
“That was just a guess.”
“Even making such a guess is impressive. Oh, did Kaien show you to the castle yesterday?”
“Yes, I visited the greenhouse as well.”
“Since the situation isn’t urgent, take your time to explore a bit more. There shouldn’t be any issues.”
With that, Philome concluded the conversation and left Theodore’s office.
“Philome!”
At that moment, a familiar voice echoed from the distant hallway.
It was Liazell, wrapped in a thick cloak, holding hands with Harnen beside her.
“Liazell, were you sightseeing with Harnen?”
“Yes! I saw everything. The snow is so beautiful, isn’t it?”
Philome cupped Liazell’s rosy cheeks.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“I’m not cold at all. In the middle, Harnen even called the fire spirit for me.”
Philome squinted at Harnen as she turned around.
Since coming to the north, she had so much to do that she hadn’t been able to pay much attention to Liazell, but fortunately, Harnen had been taking good care of her.
Harnen, realizing the gratitude in Philome’s expression, shrugged her shoulders.
Then she added, “Oh, I saw that the Duke and Lady Natasha have returned.”
“Really? They came back early?”
Philome took Liazell’s hand.
“Shall we go greet them?”
“Sounds good!”
Despite having been out since morning, Liazell nodded eagerly, as if she still had energy left.
Together, they headed out of the castle towards the gate.
The gate was just about to close, and they could see the party dismounting from their horses.
“Duke, Lady Natasha, you’ve arrived!”
As soon as Natasha spotted Liazell, she smiled.
However, Philome noticed a tension in the air around them and approached Kaien.
“What’s going on?”
“I met with someone sent by Sebastian, but…”
“Is it bad news?”
Kaien’s expression was subtle.
Because of that, Philome couldn’t guess whether the news from Sebastian was good or bad.
Just as she was about to feel tense, Kaien spoke.
“The saint has appeared, Philome.”
