What are you talking about? Pregnancy would be good, seeing an heir and all. Hehe. Sisou still mumbled while voraciously stuffing stew into his mouth.
“Sisou, I’ve always wondered. Is your head just for decoration?”
Huh? At the dull response, Evernight waved his hand dismissively. He briefly glanced at the deathly quiet carriage and furrowed his brow.
“Since he’s a prince, there was no justification to refuse, and since His Majesty clearly dislikes the North’s development, he came up with this shitty ploy. A lowly Northerner like me can only understand that much.”
While saying so, Evernight grinned. Just then, the dagger he threw toward the darkness flew swift and true, striking a passing wild animal. Kwut. The animal’s scream echoed through the still night air.
“Let’s add some meat to the stew.”
Evernight softly whistled, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.
Evernight was the rising hero of the North. The North had no noble lords who had settled there since ancient times. Because of that, it had always been barren and slow to develop. Most of the people living in the North commonly died from freezing in subzero temperatures, starving, or being slaughtered by monsters.
Nevertheless, the Emperor didn’t arrange even a single relief measure. Instead, he ordered the Dark Lions—a knighthood in name only from the North—to expand the territory beyond the Wall. In other words, it meant that the lowly people of the North should stay buried in that hellish abyss without even thinking of crawling out.
‘I accept your command.’
When everyone rose up saying they would leave the North and become freemen rather than follow the cruel Emperor’s command, Evernight stepped forward. He knelt before the administrator who came on behalf of the Emperor and recited a pledge of loyalty.
And a few years later, Evernight drove out the dead things beyond the Wall as if to prove something. It was a long war that lasted a full four years.
The Wall—which had been repeatedly patched for hundreds of years whenever it was punctured or cracked, and yet had claimed countless Northern lives—had reached the end of its lifespan and collapsed into history. The Northerners held their breath at the unknown continent beyond the Wall. Shortly thereafter, a territory about the size of a city fell into the hands of the Northern hero.
It was a place where, since ancient times, the ruler of monsters, the dead, and all evil things had lived. It was not a land suitable for humans, with endless snowfall, but unexpectedly, rare ores and ancient relics were buried there.
Evernight, concluding the war, ordered a new wall to be built. Even now, a new wall made solidly of rock and stone was being constructed.
“Then will the Commander be the first Duke to have a male consort? Indeed, the Emperor is a difficult man. Despite all this hardship…”
Karen continued his words cautiously but soon grew excited.
“Honestly, I think this achievement is comparable to the deeds of the great ancient heroes. I mean to say that he shouldn’t be treated like this.”
Realizing he’d gotten too excited, he looked at Evernight’s face, deeply shadowed across the campfire. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. He seemed annoyed at the Emperor’s decision yet obediently followed his commands. Evernight was always like that. He seemed like an honest man, but ironically, the emotions he displayed were more like a solid mask.
The Emperor never trusted the commoner-born knight from the North who had perfectly executed commands impossible for any human. Rather, the Emperor decided to bestow the title of Duke on the Northern hero while simultaneously imposing eternal disgrace upon him.
Imperial noble society considered it dishonorable to have a male as a consort, and even if they indulged themselves wildly, they wouldn’t take one as a concubine. Moreover, children born from males couldn’t inherit the family name.
That was one of the few disgraces and shames for imperial nobles with high reputation and wealth. Once every few decades? Stories of some noble who did such a crazy thing because they fell in love circulated at social gatherings, but it was unknown if they were true.
“Commander, did you have a taste for men too?”
Thwack! Karen grabbed the wooden ladle and hurled it straight at the back of Sisou’s head.
“Why don’t you shut up and just go to sleep?”
“What! Karen, have you said all you wanted to say?”
“You need to develop something called tact, youngster.”
Noisy banter went back and forth across the campfire. The deep, cold night was passing.
***
Unfortunately, while everyone was resting gathered around the campfire, Anya Claicer was not asleep. He was little different from a corpse with its eyes open. His whole body was drenched in cold sweat, and he had trouble sleeping due to the nightmarish scenes that appeared whenever he closed his eyes. His thighs were covered in bruises from pinching them so much to keep from vomiting inside the bumpy carriage.
He was so exhausted that he was tempted to swallow the pill the mage had given him, but soon shook his head and wiped his sweat-soaked forehead with his sleeve. Whenever something rose in his throat, he fondly caressed that round, smooth object.
‘Let’s just call it a favor.’
The hand of kindness extended to him for the first time in his life miraculously gave Anya superhuman strength. The mage’s warm gaze created a gentle ripple in the boy’s heart. The journey was more difficult than death, but upon careful thought, not only the mage but the knights here didn’t directly hit or bully him either.
That man too… though he disliked him, he didn’t hit him. Rather, he just pushed his forehead lightly as if dealing with a child. If he had been annoyed, he could have easily struck his head like his brothers did. For that alone, the boy offered prayers of gratitude to the First Goddess.
Once his thoughts reached that point, he wanted to make a good impression on them. He had read in books that the North was a barbaric region governed by the logic of power. Yet somehow, those rough Northern knights were far more humane than the palace people. A strange hope sprouted.
Even though he was a half-wit, even though he had lived a worthless life where he could die at any moment—in truth, Anya had a stronger will to live than anyone. That’s why he could avoid hanging himself in that lonely, cold annex.
Gurgle.
The will to live strongly induced hunger. Come to think of it, he hadn’t eaten properly before leaving. Since the servants always secretly diverted the food rations allocated to the annex, Anya often endured by breaking hard bread into small pieces and soaking them in water. On days when even that wasn’t possible, he would peel tree bark or crush edible berries or herbs to eat like porridge.
“Hungry…”
Anya wiped the sweat from his forehead once more and lay sideways on the carriage seat, as if collapsing. His eyes drowsily closed. As they headed north, the temperature dropped progressively, and coldness rushed over the thin fabric of his clothes. Coughing erupted from the boy’s mouth. The round pill was clutched tightly in his small hand like a lucky charm.
***
Lorea, one of the Dark Lions, could be considered somewhat more delicate compared to the other knights. He was also the only one of noble birth in the knighthood. Of course, being a bastard, he lived a life hardly different from a commoner, but he did not forget his roots and identity.
Lorea, while putting wood logs into the dying campfire, recalled the existence he’d forgotten. Come to think of it, due to hastily bringing the prince, they hadn’t paid attention to his clothing. Now, having left the South far behind, the midnight temperature was quite chilly.
Evernight was lying on a wide rock with his hands clasped behind his head. It seemed the Commander would be taking the night watch. The mage had already gone to the tent and was in bed, and the other knights were also yawning widely as they crawled inside.
“Commander.”
“Speak.”
Evernight had his eyes closed, but he was indeed not sleeping. Though he appeared insensitive, he was more perceptive than anyone and rarely slept during missions.
“I think I should give a blanket to His Highness the Prince, as the night temperature is cold.”
Evernight’s head turned toward Lorea. The man’s blue eyes shone strangely. Perhaps it seemed more so because it was dark all around.
“I’ll go. Rest, Lorea.”
Expecting him to object, instead Evernight promptly jumped down from the rock and snatched the blanket Lorea was holding. Evernight was a superior who strictly separated emotion from reason, public from private. Putting aside his personal feelings toward the Emperor, if the prince were to die a violent death on the way, it would be quite troublesome.
Evernight opened the carriage door abruptly without knocking. The carriage interior, untouched by the warmth of the campfire, was chilly. He soon spotted a round silhouette curled up and huddled in the corner. He threw the blanket over it.
“…”
The small creature showed no particular reaction. Something felt wrong. It was an instinctual feeling that came from being a knight. The cool sensation felt when a life is fading. Evernight cursed softly and immediately climbed into the carriage and turned over the boy’s body, which was curled up tight.
Harsh breathing and groans faintly escaped from his slightly parted lips. The damn youngster’s body was as cold as a dying corpse. Evernight grabbed the blanket that had fallen aside and wrapped it tightly around Anya’s body, then lifted him up. His weight was surprisingly light.
At that moment, something fell to the floor. It was obviously a pill made by Riario. Evernight couldn’t understand Anya Claicer, who had foolishly endured without taking the medicine he’d been given. Evernight despised stupid things. Without hesitation, he stepped on the pill. It broke easily with a crackling sound.
