Chapter 2. To the North
Anya’s arms and legs dangled limply as he hung like baggage over Evernight’s shoulder. Suspended upside down, blood rushed to his face, turning it bright red. Terrified like livestock being dragged to slaughter, Anya struggled with all his might. But his strength was so feeble it felt like a feather to the knight who had led territorial wars to victory.
“Commander, that person…”
A knight waiting on horseback opened his mouth as Evernight descended the stairs with his “baggage,” frowning. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly as if he had something to say, but soon fell silent when another knight interrupted.
“Let’s go quickly. All the palace food here is so rich I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
The knight with somewhat disheveled blonde hair pretended to vomit.
“Sisou. Despite saying that, your belly’s protruding like a mountain now. Rumors are circulating that you emptied and devoured the entire palace food storage yesterday.”
A man wearing an ordinary robe—the only one among the armored knights—spoke. He was smiling broadly, but his words were practically a rebuke. Sisou scratched the back of his head and muttered.
“Master Riario. I endured a hundred days among those ghost-like people. Toward the end, didn’t I eat nothing but gruel? So I had no choice but to stuff anything I saw into my mouth when my eyes rolled back!”
Indeed, he had a slim build for someone the mage had called out. Sisou yawned loudly and pointed at the small creature squirming on Evernight’s shoulder.
“Is that a prisoner?”
“You idiot. That’s the Prince.”
As the carriage door opened, another man appeared. He had a gentle appearance with freckles dotting the bridge of his nose, as warm as his brown hair, with a monocle over one eye as his distinguishing feature.
“…Prince? Then…”
The commander’s what? Unable to finish the thought, his mouth just hung open as Riario held his forehead and shook his head. Shut up.
“The carriage interior is all set. The defensive magic circles that will activate in an emergency have been carefully drawn.”
“Good work, Karen.”
Karen adjusted his glasses and lightly settled into the saddle.
Evernight passed through the busy group and opened the carriage door. Then he shoved Anya in as if crumpling him up. Toward the boy who was trying desperately not to go in, clutching the edge of the carriage, Evernight spoke in a sigh-laced tone.
“Hey. I won’t eat you.”
Anya raised his head and looked up at the man. His large, warm hazelnut eyes were reminiscent of a herbivore. Anya was trembling pitifully.
“It seems… His Highness doesn’t understand the current situation.”
Lorea, who had been silent until now, reluctantly spoke up. Is that so? Evernight touched the tip of his chin. Soon, his handsome lips curved into an arc, changing the impression of the man who had only looked frightening until now. Surprisingly, when he smiled, he looked rather mischievous.
“Listen, you damn kid. We’re married now.”
He suddenly raised his hand. Anya reflexively squeezed his eyes shut. I’m getting hit! As he instinctively tried to protect himself by wrapping his arms around his head, instead of pain, he felt a light touch on his forehead. The man’s long fingers lightly pushed Anya’s forehead. Even with that small contact, Anya fell flat on his back. From above, the man’s sneer could be heard.
“The Emperor sold you to me in exchange for giving me the title of Duke.”
A stinging pain rose from his elbow. A black shadow fell over Anya’s prone body. Due to the backlight, it was impossible to tell what expression the man was making.
“I have zero fucking interest in that weak body of yours, so just stay quietly buried in my territory.”
And the carriage door slammed shut.
***
A short while later, the carriage carrying Anya passed through the gates of the capital, Maneregia, at a rather brisk pace. Anya curled up in the corner of the bumpy carriage. Most of Maneregia’s roads weren’t dirt but stone—solid granite cut into uniform sizes and laid flat—and the faster they went, the more it jolted. Anya’s head banged repeatedly against the edge of the carriage wall.
‘Because I’m a half-wit… because I’m useless… Father sold me off.’
His mind was filled with the harsh words the man had spat out earlier. Anya tried to recall his capable siblings one by one. They were ruthless like the Emperor, but they had real abilities. In contrast, what about Anya Claicer?
The fortunate thing was that the man had no interest in him. It was closer to disgust.
‘At least he’s not going to kill me.’
Anya offered thanks to the First Goddess that the man wasn’t an assassin sent by his father. Nevertheless, negative thoughts endlessly gnawed at Anya.
‘If he realizes how pathetic I am, he’ll probably sell me off to someone else like Father did… I heard that a husband has the right to punish his spouse when they do wrong… What if I get beaten a lot…’
Once the floodgates of self-deprecation opened, it instantly plunged Anya into an abyss.
Waaaah!
At that moment, cheers erupted from outside the carriage. What’s that? Anya, who had been curled up with his head covered, carefully got up. And in somewhat slow motion, he looked through the small carriage window. Before his eyes, flower petals fluttered and countless imperial flags waved. Anya’s dark hazelnut pupils dilated at the sight he was seeing for the first time in his life. Thousands of imperial citizens who had come to see off the knighthood were cheering.
Anya, who had left the annex for the first time in his life, broke free from the negative thoughts that had consumed him until just now and filled his eyes with the rapidly passing scenery.
He was mesmerized by the pointed roofs that seemed to touch the sky and the splendid streets. Pink petals flying through the air brushed against Anya’s nostrils. Anya hesitantly reached out through the window.
‘Maybe… it might be good. If I don’t die…’
A tender petal settled on his palm. He looked up at the sky. A gasp of admiration escaped him involuntarily. Dozens of trees, each as tall as three or four people stacked together, swayed in the gentle wind, raining down flower petals.
‘If I don’t die… it’s okay. That’s enough.’
A small hope sprouted in Anya’s heart.
***
Cruelly, the First Goddess trampled his hope mercilessly in less than a few hours.
“Commander! A pack of ghouls!”
The carriage came to a violent halt. With the recoil, Anya pitched forward and slammed his forehead hard against the opposite seat. Ugh, for a moment his head spun and a groan escaped naturally. As he rubbed his reddened forehead and sat up, strange sounds echoed from outside. Crack, crack, like bones twisting—at the eerie sound, Anya froze.
“Riario, protecting the carriage is top priority.”
“I’ve already layered the defensive circles, so don’t worry!”
The knights shouted urgently. Simultaneously, the surrounding temperature began to drop strangely. Anya wrapped his arms around himself and his teeth chattered.
It was a bizarre phenomenon. The capital Maneregia, the most prosperous city in the south of the western continent, had warm weather year-round. When frost finally began to form on the gap of the carriage entrance, Anya realized something had gone terribly wrong.
Kreuaaargh!
Grotesque screams—not made by any living thing in this world—echoed from all directions. At the same time came the sounds of dull blows, flesh being sliced, and the distinctive clang of metal, regular and rhythmic. Anya hurriedly covered his mouth with both hands, feeling like he was about to vomit.
“This isn’t even near the barrier—why is there a pack of ghouls?”
The urgent voice of a knight leaked in from right beside the carriage. Ghouls? Anya recalled a passage he’d read in one of the many books he always kept with him, having no companions.
<It is known that the Absolute One beyond the Wall commands anywhere from dozens to thousands of ghouls and monsters.>
A hideous pile of corpses had been illustrated beside the passage.
Squeak. Squeak. A chilling sound, as if someone were scraping an iron plate with long nails, whispered right beside him. Anya rose convulsively and hurriedly covered both ears. It was said that ghouls tore off and ate the limbs of living humans raw. At that terrible thought, Anya’s body trembled pitifully.
Squeeeak.
Human curiosity is truly a terrible thing. Anya involuntarily glanced toward the window at the irritating sharp noise. And he nearly fainted. A blonde girl with vivid blue eyes was scratching the window with her fingernails, looking at him with a twitching smile. Through her mouth, which was torn up to her ears, rotting flesh was clearly visible.
Ugh, while covering his rising nausea with his hand, Anya scrambled backward on his rear. I’m going to die, I’m definitely going to die. As his entire body went numb with fear, suddenly the girl’s head was cleanly severed. Dark red blood splattered across the window like paint.
At that surreal sight, Anya finally collapsed backward, foaming at the mouth. Between his closing eyelids, he could see Evernight’s piercing blue eyes watching him through the window. The dark red blood and the man’s blue eyes formed a stark contrast.
