“Your Highness. You need to relax your body and use the rebound from your waist and pelvis.”
Anya immediately tried to relax his stiffened body. He attempted to move naturally with the rhythm of Mil’s clip-clop steps, but the unfamiliar posture made him unconsciously tense his waist.
“It’ll get better once you’re used to it.”
Sisou’s blond hair became disheveled in Tildyen’s rough, bleak wind, as if someone had pulled at it. Anya’s long hair also fluttered about. Both of them simultaneously let out a “pfft” of laughter. When Sisou burst into audible laughter, Anya also relaxed and laughed out loud.
“Seeing you laugh so heartily… it’s a first.”
Sisou said, wiping away tears from his eyes. Anya felt awkward and straightened his tousled hair with his hand. He had been unwittingly intoxicated with the joy of accomplishment.
“I-I laughed b-because you l-laughed first.”
“So it’s my fault?”
Anya fidgeted with the reins in his palm, feeling the roughness of the leather. Brown, sensitive eyes peeked up to gauge Sisou’s reaction. Sisou scratched his head and quickly spoke.
“It was a joke… why are you so intimidated?”
Anya’s ears turned red.
“Shall we ride together to that tree over there?”
Anya nodded hastily. Sisou and Tion led the way, and Anya and Mil carefully followed behind. The snow had melted, making the ground muddy. Along with the sound of hooves came the distinctive sticky, squelching noise that etched itself in Anya’s ears. Even that sound seemed sweet to Anya. Keeping balance on the saddle was much harder than expected and far more uncomfortable than a carriage, but to Anya, this moment felt like a dream.
Tildyen’s winter wind blew, cooling the beads of sweat on his forehead. Before he knew it, he no longer felt the cold. Rather, he was grateful for it, as it cooled all his heat.
“Well done. Let’s dismount and rest for a moment, then I’ll teach you about trotting.”
Though Sisou was the youngest among the senior knights, he was notoriously strict when training junior knights and apprentices. But even Sisou couldn’t be harsh with Anya. He hadn’t disliked the imperial prince with the Claicer surname, whom everyone else criticized, from the beginning. He didn’t know why. He wasn’t one to analyze the reasons behind his actions.
“By the way, who gave you that sword?”
A thin sword dangled precariously from Anya’s waist. Ah… Anya hesitated as if troubled. Sisou shrugged.
“If you don’t want to say, there’s no need.”
Anya didn’t want to disappoint Sisou of all people. He carefully drew the sword from its scabbard.
“L-Lord Evernight… g-gave it to me. D-during the honor d-duel.”
Sisou’s gaze transformed. He moved closer and examined the sword in Anya’s hand from different angles. His eyes were extremely fierce and sharp. Anya gulped.
“It’s a treasure sword.”
The weight of the words “treasure sword” made Anya’s mouth slightly open. The sword’s handle was rusted in places, and the scabbard was plain without any decoration. It was obviously an old sword, possibly hundreds of years old. Moreover, the sword was thin and light, seemingly unsuitable for cutting someone.
“Did you know the Commander was a gladiator in Redcoast?”
This was news to Anya. Redcoast was an island in the southern part of the Western Continent. Though formally under the rule of Emperor Luksus of the Western Continent, there were no lords or guards there. It was truly a lawless area. A city where all kinds of entertainment, pleasure, and delight gathered. There, anything one desired could be achieved if one had money.
“G-gladiator…?”
Anya hadn’t known Evernight’s name, so naturally, he didn’t know about his past. It felt odd to even think that Evernight had a childhood.
“Ah… yes.”
Sisou scratched his head, seemingly wondering if he had misspoken.
“The Redcoast gladiatorial contests are quite famous. Valuable swords were often offered as prizes. This must be one of those swords. The Commander doesn’t particularly care for possessions.”
Anya looked at the oddly-colored sword in his hand. The semi-transparent blade now made sense.
“Anyway, it’s quite worn out. Would you like to go down to the village to have it repaired and practice at the same time?”
* * *
Two horses descended the steep stairs at the entrance of Tildyen Rock with rhythmic 4-beat hoofbeats. One was large, one was small. Tildyen’s winter sun rose late and set just as early. By the time they finished training, the sun was already casting a red glow as it descended behind the Beriela Mountain Range. Darkness approached rapidly in the North, and the temperature dropped sharply. The sweat shed during training had already completely evaporated. The cutting wind of Tildyen, which had felt refreshingly cool, now seemed to bite through the robe.
“Is this your first time going down since then?”
The night, approaching with stars appearing one by one, made everything especially quiet. This made one listen more intently to the voice of the person beside them.
“Y-yes.”
When Anya first arrived in Tildyen, he was surrounded by those called the Dark Lions in front of hundreds of steps and was scared out of his wits. The boy stroked Mil’s fluttering mane, newly feeling the passage of time. Now he no longer looked awkward sitting on horseback. Though his thighs were sore, he felt good thinking of it as a badge of honor.
“Though it’s a small city, it has everything one needs.”
As they approached the city walls, Sisou spoke with an excited voice, moving his cheeks. He somehow seemed to be watching Anya’s reaction.
“When it’s upgraded to a duchy, it will develop brilliantly.”
Anya knew exactly what response he should give.
“It’s a-already q-quite impressive.”
A moment of silence passed between them. Having descended all the rough stone stairs of Tildyen Rock, they now tread on the damp forest soil as they continued forward.
“…You can be honest, Your Highness. After all, what matters is development, isn’t it?”
Behind Sisou, who was touching his forehead, Tildyen, claimed to be the largest city in the North, could be seen below. Tildyen, faintly visible, was hard to describe as “impressive” even as a white lie.
“The p-people of T-Tildyen are s-strong, so I’m sure it will d-develop impressively.”
When first passing through Tildyen’s gates, the people here had looked ragged but strong. It wasn’t just empty words. That image had been quite impressive at the time. Sisou looked at Anya with teary eyes.
“Your Highness!”
As he approached with arms spread wide as if to embrace Anya, Anya became frightened and spurred Mil’s side. Startled, Mil began to run quickly. Anya’s brown hair fluttered in the red sunset. Gaunt trees whizzed by.
“Your Highness! Are you alright!”
Sisou’s horse, Tion, chased quickly behind. Though his heart raced, Anya gripped the reins and tried to remain as calm as possible. Yet somehow, a smile kept escaping.
“Lord Sisou! I’m r-riding!”
Anya shouted in an excited tone. Childlike exhilaration naturally permeated his young voice.
“Just keep riding straight to the outer wall!”
Sisou, equally excited, laughed and rode alongside him. Experiencing this sense of freedom for the first time, a clear laugh burst from Anya’s lips. The two rode to the outer walls of Tildyen, unconcerned about their hair flying in all directions.
* * *
As they approached the walls built of hard, rough stone, complete gray dusk was now settling. Anya fixed his tousled hair and slowed Mil’s pace. After the exhilarating ride, Mil obediently followed Anya’s commands, breathing heavily.
“Hey!”
Sisou waved to the guards on the wall. One guard who had been dozing off with a nodding head, startled and straightened his posture.
“It’s L-Lord Sisou! Open the gates!”
Soon the heavy wooden gates opened with a creaking sound on both sides. Anya entered Tildyen, stroking his chest to calm his excitement. The city was excessively quiet. As he had glimpsed before through the carriage window, there were only low wooden buildings clustered together with dim candles lit here and there. From somewhere came the sound of an animal crying. With the massive Beriela Mountain Range behind it, Tildyen gave a strong impression of a dark fortress, and while it might have been different during the day, it was not a lively city at night.
“Ahem…”
Sisou cleared his throat softly, covering his mouth with his hand.
“It’s somewhat… better during the day. While Tildyen doesn’t have many farmers or merchants, it probably has the most developed miners and blacksmiths guilds in the Western Continent.”
His voice trailed off at the end, as if he wasn’t entirely confident in what he was saying. Passing through the outskirts where common homes were gathered, they entered the square where sparse passers-by could be seen. Their faces, just finishing work and returning home, were deeply etched with the day’s fatigue. Their clothes were black, their stature short, and their bodies thin. They carried pickaxes larger than their bodies as they trudged along. The path they walked was a muddy dirt road where snow had melted, and in truth, everywhere was like this. Despite being the North’s representative city, Tildyen was the only city in the empire where roads had not yet been properly developed.
“Since Tildyen doesn’t have a merchants’ guild association… getting supplies is no easy task… so the Mage said…”
Sisou haltingly recited what he had overheard. The city was as dreary as the gray, gloomy interior of Tildyen Rock’s castle. Small windows attached to wooden buildings rattled as if about to fall off in the bleak winter wind. The distinctive creaking sound, mixed with the animal cries from afar, created an eerie atmosphere.
