Chapter 5

The man added an explanation.

“I call such slaves, who are nothing but empty shells, ‘the Consumed’ officially. They neither eat nor sleep, moving only for a single goal, so even if the consumption doesn’t progress to the very end, they mostly die of natural causes within a month.”

The Consumed.

Esdel mulled over the word the man had told her.

The fact that a name had been established in such a way meant that this phenomenon did not first occur in the County of Reinhardt. It meant that enough time had passed since the first discovery for a terminology system to be created, at least a few months to a maximum of several years.

‘But why have I never heard of it?’

If something like this had happened, it seemed she would have heard of it at least once as a rumor…

“Ah.”

Esdel belatedly recalled a story she had heard in passing in the past. Come to think of it, about 10 years ago, there was a rumor circulating through word of mouth. That the fall of the Blake Empire was not due to national debt or rebellion, but in fact because of unidentified monsters.

However, the Arpenta royal family had later announced that the ‘monsters’ they spoke of were a metaphor for a massive power.

She had never suspected it was a lie. Interpreting it that way was much more rational, and more plausible.

But if that statement was not a metaphor but the truth, it meant that the Unknown and its Consumed had existed on this continent for 10 years.

Esdel looked the man straight in the eye. Whatever reason it had been hidden until now, from now on, it could not be the same. Now that the Consumed had entered the Kingdom of Arpenta, soon everyone in the kingdom would know about the Unknown.

“Then what do you call those who, like you, possess the power of the Unknown but have not become slaves?”

“We call them ‘the Awakened of the Unknown’.”

“Then do all the Awakened have the same kind of power as you?”

“If that were the case, I think the continent would have been destroyed over ten times by now. The other Awakened are… probably stronger than ordinary humans. As many of them possess unique abilities.”

Though it sounded like a statement tinged with bravado, Esdel couldn’t possibly treat it as mere recklessness. How could she, when she had seen it with her own eyes?

Esdel took a deep breath.

The Unknown, consumption, awakening, and Lin…

Everything felt like an unfamiliar dream. It felt as if she went back down the stairs, Lin would greet her with a perfectly fine face. That she would get angry, asking where she was going, leaving her injured friend behind, and playfully laugh and throw a cushion.

But this was not a dream.

The cold air rushing up the stairs awakened her to the harsh reality.

The bloodstain she had wiped from Lin’s cheek a moment ago remained on her palm, not yet hardened. The Consumed, knocked away by the sword wielded by the man leading the way, were falling outside the railing of the spiral staircase, and their groans rang painfully in her ears.

Esdel clenched her fists tightly.

If it were a dream, all she would have to do is close her eyes tightly and wait. No matter how terrible the nightmare, it’s bound to end when morning comes.

But if it’s reality, turning a blind eye ends nothing. It was time to put aside the sorrow that burned in her chest for a moment and move tenaciously to survive.

Esdel stepped onto the last stair and looked down at the area below the castle wall. The number of Consumed below had increased, now reaching the hundreds. The ones that were initially scratching at the castle walls were now using each other’s bodies as stairs to climb ever higher.

There were only five knights who had followed her out for the search. Even if they had requested support and supplemented their numbers, most were just regular soldiers who couldn’t serve as proper fighting power.

There was no one who could stop them.

‘…Except for that man.’

One cannot solve everything alone. The ability to judge which person to bring in as an ally when cornered is also one of the important qualities of a lord.

The Reinhardt domain was now cornered, and she lacked the ability to resolve this situation.

In that case, she had no choice but to borrow external power.

‘And, the best among allies is…’

She looked back at the man who had been following behind her. He was a head taller than Esdel, who was about 160 centimeters. As for his face, well, it was more than perfect, to the point that her eyes had been drawn to it even when she thought he was a madman.

Above all, he was the only person who knew how to deal with the ‘monsters’ Esdel had encountered.

‘…a marriage alliance.’

Esdel straightened her posture. The man before her was no longer a murderer, nor a simple savior. He was a person she might spend the rest of her life with.

She asked in a calm tone.

“Is last time’s marriage proposal still valid?”

“It is.”

Despite Esdel’s sudden question, the man answered smoothly without a hint of hesitation.

“Then from now on, you must tell me the truth to the questions I ask. Because they are very important questions.”

“I will.”

“Are you a nobleman?”

“Not at present.”

“You’re not the heir to some territory, or a knight who has sworn a lifelong oath, are you? You need to be able to move your residence to the County of Reinhardt later.”

“That is not a difficult matter. If you wish, I shall move immediately.”

Esdel nodded. At a glance, it was a refreshing answer, but when she mulled over each one, none of them were answers that could help her grasp his background, and they even left a vaguely unsettling feeling.

A former nobleman, but currently unemployed.

Capable and handsome, but still unmarried.

Normally, they were suspicious conditions that she would not have even considered for a suitor.

But there was no other alternative. No matter how much she thought about it, this man was the only one who could properly handle this situation.

It didn’t matter if he was a murderer. If this man were to one day become a monster, she would endure it as the price for saving the domain.

Esdel squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. Amidst the flames that began to rise from near the residential area, the hazy smoke, and the noise of the Consumed scratching the castle walls with their hands, she finally opened her mouth.

“Alright. Then I will formally request your help. I will accept that terrible proposal from last time, so please protect the county. With all your might.”

“I will.”

The man took a ring box from his coat. One knee bent without hesitation and touched the cold floor. The ring box opened, and the man’s gaze met Esdel’s face.

“Will you marry me, Esdel Elizabeth Reinhardt.”

It was as if a cold wind blew.

The blue eyes he met hers with were staring straight at her. All the conflicting emotions floating in those eyes pierced Esdel’s entire body at once.

It was strange. Esdel and the man were strangers. Yet, Esdel could feel what the man was feeling with excruciating clarity.

The man was satisfied. But at the same time, he seemed to feel doubt. The man was happy. But he then collapsed into an emptiness that rushed in soon after. A single strand of hope that had sprouted in the middle of winter was helplessly broken by the wind and became part of the blizzard.

In a brief moment, collapse and restoration repeated countless times.

And finally, nothing remained in his eyes. Like a merciless winter night that leaves no footprints of those who came before. Like the surface of a lake that will soon become calm no matter how large a stone is thrown in.

‘Why…’

Why does this man look at a woman he hasn’t even properly introduced himself to with such contradictory eyes?

After looking at him for a moment, Esdel soon lowered her gaze. It didn’t matter for what reason this man wanted her. She would protect everything within her domain, no matter what. Even if it meant offering herself as a sacrifice for the price.

A calm voice flowed from Esdel’s lips.

“I accept.”

As she finished speaking, the man seized the hand she held out. He kissed the hand, held with a gentle yet inescapable strength. A moist breath settled over her ring finger, as if warming the place where the ring would go.

Esdel drew in a sharp breath. The breath that touched her finger was hot. As her finger flinched, the man removed his lips and smiled brightly. The contradictory attitude from a moment ago was gone, replaced by a perfectly handsome smile.

He swept his thumb once over Esdel’s finger where the warmth remained, then slid the ring onto it. It was a gold ring with a large diamond set in it. It was no ordinary ring, its size extraordinary at a glance.

“This ring is…”

“It is an item I inherited from my mother.”

“I see.”

To have inherited a ring of this level, his maternal family must have been a family of immense prestige.

The presence of the ring on her finger felt awkward. Esdel clenched and unclenched her ringed hand, then held it out to him. The man rose from the floor and took her hand.

Now that the alliance disguised as a marriage was formed, it was time to play the role of savior as the heir to the county.

👑🏰

And just ten minutes later, far from saving the domain, Esdel was half-dead.

She clutched her boiling head and panted for breath. The world was spinning, and she heard strange noises in her ears. It was similar to when she was bewitched by the Unknown below, but a little different.

‘The voice, it’s so much clearer.’

Unlike when the words were buzzing and faint, now every sentence was perfectly audible. When the Unknown whispered sweetly, her whole body would go limp and languid, and when it shrieked and screamed, her head would ache as if it would burst.

“This…”

‘So this is consumption…’

Esdel, who had been gripping the bricks of the rampart, finally couldn’t hold on and flopped down.

As if he had been waiting, the man supported Esdel’s body. He chose a flat spot, laid out his spacious coat, and lifted Esdel to lay her on it.

The entire series of actions was swift and skillful.

Esdel, groaning in pain, clutched the hem of his coat and asked.

“Ugh, you, you knew this would happen to me, didn’t you…”

“Yes.”

“This, ugh, the Unknown, you also knew how it’s transmitted…”

“Of course, I knew.”

“Then you must also know that I’m going to die soon… I’ll call off the engagement, so go find a new bride, Mr. Nameless Fiancé. Still, out of loyalty from having been engaged once, please help my domain. My parents and… the people of the domain…”

“It’s Theodore.”

The man uttered his name and stroked Esdel’s forehead. She felt her vision, which had been blurred by a cold sweat, clear for a very brief moment. He supported the back of her neck, clearing a path for her to breathe comfortably, and whispered.

“And, you will not die.”

“Ugh…”

“At least it’s not your time to die yet, so you can rest assured. I will keep you alive, no matter what it takes.”

Esdel curled up and clutched her head. She could see the man’s lips moving, but all his words sounded distant, as if her head were submerged in water.

In the midst of the head-splitting pain, Esdel asked with difficulty.

“We were both infected by the Unknown, so why do you think some people become monsters, and others gain power?”

“I, ugh, don’t know either.”

“To put it simply, think of it as raising a poisonous insect inside your body. That insect will grant you what you desire most, but in return, it will eat away at you.”

Esdel shuddered despite suffering from a severe headache.

How disgusting. The thought of an insect squirming inside her body was so revolting it felt like she would die. Did he really have to use such an analogy?

‘Still, if he’s speaking like that, he must know a sure way to survive…’

Esdel clung to a sliver of hope. She forced open her eyes, which could barely see properly due to the high fever. Her hearing wasn’t good either, so she intended to watch his lip movements to piece it together.

“Then, what now…”

“You just have to win. With your mental strength.”

For a few seconds, Esdel wondered if she had misheard. But the man, who knew her condition very well, repeated it clearly and slowly. There was no way she could have misunderstood.

Win. With your mental strength.

This, this absolute madman, I won’t let him get away with this…

Click. Esdel lost the thread of consciousness she had been barely holding onto. In her fading awareness, she heard the man mutter.

“There is no need to worry about the domain. When you wake up, everything will have been resolved.”

👑🏰

“…del, Esdel! Hey!”

Esdel opened her eyes to a sound that felt like it would tear her eardrums. Beyond her blurry vision, she saw swaying brown hair. Her eyes, which had been narrowed, flew wide open.

“Lin?”

The sleepiness instantly vanished from her languid body. Esdel shot up and grabbed both of Lin’s arms. She could feel arms like weapons, with not a single soft spot.

“What’s this, what’s with you all of a sudden. Still half asleep?”

Lin, with her short brown hair falling below her ears, could be seen grinning. The playfulness that followed the twitching corner of her mouth was clear.

Esdel smiled back in relief.

‘Yeah, who died? What kind of person is Lin?’

She’s the kid who learned to ride a horse before she could even walk properly. She learned how to twirl a dagger before she learned how to use a fork, and she knows more plants that will kill you than ones you can eat.

And above all, Lin was Esdel’s one and only friend. The world couldn’t be that cruel. There was no way it would take her away from her.

Esdel pulled Lin onto the bed.

“I had a bad dream.”

“What kind of dream?”

“I went to find you after seeing a distress signal… I couldn’t even save you, and I got hooked by a madman.”

“Oh…”

Lin let out an exclamation of admiration and leaned her face in close.

“So what did this madman look like?”

Lying side by side, Lin’s eyes sparkled. She had clearly ignored everything said before and only heard the part about being hooked by a madman.

Seeing that, Esdel felt a surge of emotion for some reason and bit her lip hard. Even if it was just a dream, her life was almost in danger, and the thing she’s most curious about is the madman’s face?

It wasn’t like Lin acting this way was a new thing, but today her anger felt particularly strong.

Unable to hold back, Esdel gave Lin a hard flick on the forehead.

“You… why do you only ever think about things like that? I’m telling you, you were in danger!”

“Ouch, ouch… The most threatening thing to me right now seems to be you.”

“Everyone else is an expert at cowardly hiding in the back, so why are you still like this! Be a little more careful, and don’t go to places you can’t handle. I’m telling you to survive by being a coward and being vile!”

“Ouch, ah! I get it! Stop hitting me!”

“You’re making a fuss over a few flicks on the head…”

“Hey, Esdel. Can’t you see the bump here?”

“I don’t know! I can’t see it! It’s all your fault! You, you…”

Esdel couldn’t finish her words and pressed her lips together.

It felt strange.

She had woken up from the dream now. Since she was awake, the things that happened in the dream should have become hazy. But the image of Lin with her eyes closed, a white rose placed on her chest, wouldn’t disappear from her mind.

The Lin in front of her kept feeling like she wasn’t real.

Was Lin the type of person to sit so quietly and listen to a scolding? Was she the type of person to act so gently, just whimpering in pain instead of hitting back even after being hit on the forehead three times?

‘…Lin?’

Esdel turned her head and met Lin’s eyes. She saw black letters flashing across Lin’s smiling brown pupils. At a glance, it looked like a shadow, but Esdel now knew what it was.

‘The Unknown.’

Her heart sank. Esdel whispered in a low voice.

“You’re not Lin, are you?”

Ah, you caught me!

Pop! The Lin in front of her burst like a soap bubble and disappeared. At the same time, the bed the two had been lying on, and the familiar furniture in the room, all vanished at once.

At some point, Esdel had returned to their hideout. She silently lowered her gaze and stared at the place where she had left Lin. There, bleeding from the neck and dying, was a still-living Lin.

“It hurts, Esdel, save me, I want to live…”

Esdel clenched both her fists tight. Lin was pulling at the hem of her clothes. The sensation of the fabric being pulled down was vivid, and the voice in her ears was wretched.

“Esdel, please…”

A languid voice cut in between Lin’s pained groans.