The maids continuously brought out food. They quickly placed dishes of venison garnished with garlic and onions, freshly baked white bread, and mashed potatoes in front of Anya.
“This is wine aged in the underground cellar of the main castle.”
Gregos explained as he personally poured wine into the glass. Its aroma was entirely different from the low-quality wine they usually drank at the wooden dining hall.
“With you all gone, Tildyen Rock will be quiet for a while. But why aren’t you eating, boy?”
Shamefully, Anya had never learned table manners at the Imperial Palace. His brothers greatly disliked Anya spending time studying with scholars or receiving sword training from the captain of the Imperial Guard. They hated even being in the same space as Anya. Always busy tearing apart the hard brown bread meagerly rationed to him in the separate palace with his hands, he had never held properly arranged cutlery. There were as many as six utensils on the table, all looking similar, and he didn’t know which one to pick.
Anya’s eyes rolled around. The boy thought no one would notice his behavior. His hazel eyes keenly observed the utensils the knights were holding. But everyone was using something different. Confusion quickly spread across the boy’s face.
“……”
Unfortunately, these men were not so soft that they would fail to notice someone’s keen glance. From the moment Anya first sat down, they had been watching the visibly anxious young mistress.
“Just pick up anything and eat. Nobody here cares about such etiquette.”
Evernight said with a small sigh. Startled by her husband’s voice, Anya straightened his back and looked around. Everyone was staring at him. Embarrassment washed over him. With his head bowed low, Anya reached for the fork that seemed the most appropriate in size.
“Those of us listening feel offended. Don’t lump me together with Sisou.”
The corner of Riario’s mouth rose crookedly. Fortunately, because of this, attention quickly shifted away from Anya. Anya picked up a knife and fork suitable for his hand size and cut the vegetables. The mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes roasted on the brazier made a crunching sound as they were cut.
“But doesn’t the mistress of Tildyen visit the Wall?”
Sabelli asked, moistening his throat with wine. At this sudden mention, Anya, who was just about to put a potato in his mouth, froze in that position with wide-open eyes.
“That person can’t ride a horse. The path is too rough to go by carriage.”
Lorea’s words were correct. That’s why Anya had to borrow Evernight’s horse at the bottom of the Tildyen Rock stairs. Remembering that moment made him immediately depressed.
“Isn’t horseback riding a skill one can learn quickly?”
“Still, the path is treacherous. What if we encounter monsters on the way?”
The atmosphere turned hostile. Just thinking about facing the undead again automatically brought to mind the bizarre bone sounds and the chilling air that had made his hair stand on end. Anya’s confidence quickly disappeared.
“The boy is one who has won an honor duel.”
At those words, Riario tightly shut his mouth.
“What is the Commander’s opinion?”
Lorea, who had remained silent until now, asked Evernight.
“Northmouth will soon hear the news. Moreover, when the snowstorm blows, their morale will surely drop. In that respect…”
Evernight’s blue eyes rested on Anya.
“It would be good for you to go. Furthermore, if they hear that you use magic, it might greatly help boost their morale.”
He calculated various equations like a ruler moving pieces on the vast chessboard that was Tildyen. Anya felt as if he had become one of his chess pieces. The question was whether he could truly be a useful chess piece. But the boy had not the slightest intention to forsake his role. Though he was certainly tense enough to lose his appetite and his stomach hurt, he couldn’t deny the strange excitement and anticipation rising within him. Anya had never held any position and the corresponding responsibility.
“What do you think?”
A gaze evaluating whether the chess piece he possessed would be useful. Since coming to Tildyen, Anya had constantly felt as if he was on a testing ground. One side of his chest tingled strangely. Quite some time had passed since he arrived at Tildyen Rock. The thought of leaving this place for somewhere new made his hands tremble slightly.
“I, I…”
But can I really go?
Anya looked at Sabelli. Though rusted by the traces of time, his deep eyes seemed to support him. ‘Like flowing water, not resisting.’
“…I’ll go.”
Fortunately, the knights showed no particular reluctance. They simply silently returned to the starting point of the conversation and continued their meal.
“Who will teach him to ride? Karen and I need to finish working on the magical tools.”
“…As you know, I don’t have time because of the guard training.”
Riario, Karen, and Lorea were all busy. For Anya, that was actually good news. Anya had never even exchanged casual conversation with them. Anya cast a desperate glance at Sabelli. From Anya’s perspective, learning horseback riding from these awkward knights would be nothing short of torture.
“Hmm… boy, I am terrible with horses.”
Unfortunately, the old man was not good at riding. This somehow explained why it took him particularly long to travel to and from the village.
Sisou raised his hand high.
“I’ll do it!”
Sisou shouted toward Evernight, his eyes sparkling.
“Me? Me?”
“Do as you please.”
With Evernight’s permission, Sisou tore into a chicken leg while whooping. Riario sighed and quietly muttered.
“Ah, I really hate kids.”
* * *
After the meal, Anya sought out Sabelli. They walked slowly from the main castle across the courtyard to the edge of the forest.
“Dragcals…”
Anya told Sabelli the name of the flame he had heard during the honor duel. Sabelli had been pathologically obsessed with spirits and monsters for a long time. In his younger days, he had traveled extensively, exploring ruins related to spirits and collecting artifacts. Sabelli Nox’s damp laboratory, somewhere in the basement of Tildyen Rock, was full of strange and dangerous items that had been lying around ancient sites.
“They are souls that govern ‘fire’.”
Sabelli, captivated by reverence, stuttered slightly. Dragcals were fire spirits that had appeared in Tildyen folklore for ages. Once, in the Western Continent, there were chosen magicians who formed contracts with spirits and worked with them. But that all became history. Now, among magicians, only a very small minority understood the language of spirits.
“But I’ve been calling the name continuously since then, and it doesn’t come.”
Every night, Anya silently repeated the name Dragcals in his bedroom. But the flame did not respond to the call. For some reason, he could not see the flame even when visiting the forest.
“That’s because you haven’t formed a contract yet.”
Sabelli turned toward Anya. The old man looked at the small, plain boy standing before him. But the old man’s eyes were cloudy, as if reminiscing about a distant past.
Long ago, when the eternal night came, the dead feared fire. Watching those things that flew through the sky and breathed fire, the Northerners named these wondrous beings that protected them from the dead.
In the songs of poets and in stories, they were called ‘Dragcals.’
“It’s because your magical power is very weak, boy. You must continue training and grow as a magician. Then, there will be no more humans who disrespect you here.”
The eternal night returns approximately every 666 years. Because human lifespans were short, everyone treated Sabelli like an eccentric old man who spoke nonsense, but the old man firmly believed that in a few years, the eternal night would return.
* * *
“Welcome, Your Imperial Highness.”
Sisou greeted him cheerfully as he led two horses. The stable boy had managed them so well that the horses’ short fur seemed to glisten and shine. Of the two, one was large, but the other looked particularly small.
“This one here was born not too long ago. Since it’s your first time riding, a smaller one would be better, right?”
Sisou handed the reins of the smaller horse to Anya. The small horse was especially docile. Its round, clear eyes stared directly at Anya. The animal’s eyes blinked, and the horse’s characteristically long eyelashes twitched. Anya was immediately captivated by this gentle animal.
“First, you need to connect with these fellows. Horses are timid animals.”
Sisou approached his horse, which had particularly long legs even for Sisou’s height, and extended his hand. He gestured with his chin for Anya to follow suit. Anya, following Sisou, slowly approached the small horse that looked as naive as himself and extended his hand.
“You need to call its name. Tion.”
Anya didn’t know the name of this young horse. Sisou smiled at Anya, who was standing with his hand extended, not knowing what to do.
“That one doesn’t have a name yet. Your Imperial Highness could name it, and it would like that.”
Anya fell into deep contemplation for a short time. The horse’s brown fur reminded him of a wheat field, just like his own hair. Without time to put much thought into it, Anya intuitively named the horse.
“H-Hello, Mil.”
Sisou burst into small laughter beside him. Anya’s face immediately heated up, and he glanced slightly at him. But quickly following Sisou, he carefully stroked the horse. Mil, which had been making “neigh” sounds for a moment, soon became docile under Anya’s touch.
