“What. Kid, you can’t just come in here.”
Karen blocked the open area where magic tool fragments were positioned with his body and sent the kid away. Anya, who had been transferring magical power to the orbs, suddenly jumped to his feet. The orbs that had been placed on his knees tumbled down onto the floor.
“Wait, wait… Master Mage!”
“Hey! Your Imperial Highness, do you know this kid?”
The kid pushed past Karen and ran to Anya. Fortunately, thanks to Riario neutralizing him in advance, the kid was able to safely reach Anya’s arms. The kid clung to Anya’s robe and sobbed.
“My sibling… disappeared.”
It was Joel.
* * *
“Do you know who this person is?”
Riario grabbed the kid by the nape and pulled him away from Anya.
“Duke Evernight’s… mage, aren’t you?”
Joel answered while rolling his eyes. Since the kid was meeting Riario and Karen for the first time, he hesitated about whether it was okay to reveal Anya’s status.
“You fool, that’s me.”
Riario gave Joel a head flick.
“This person is Duke Evernight’s partner. The new mistress of Tildyen.”
Joel widened both eyes and ‘pretended’ to be surprised. Anya was inwardly surprised by Joel’s thoughtful consideration and pulled up the corners of his mouth awkwardly. Though his relationship with Joel was by no means shameful enough to hide, somehow it had become that way and his heart felt bad. But this was completely unimportant right now. Seeing Joel’s deathly pale face, something must have definitely happened.
“B-But what do you mean your s-sibling disappeared?”
Anya repeated the shocking news Joel had delivered. Even as he spoke the words, his throat felt uncomfortable, as if a thorn was stuck in it.
“After finishing work yesterday, I went home…”
Joel’s voice trembled miserably.
“Your Imperial Highness. We don’t have time for this right now.”
Im… perial… Highness…?
Joel’s body flinched noticeably and he glanced up at Anya. It was a bigger reaction than when he learned Anya was the mistress of Tildyen.
“Ah…”
A hopeless sigh escaped Joel’s mouth. The kid seemed to be greatly shocked by the fact that the person he’d trusted and followed comfortably all this time was that terrifying Claicer imperial family member. According to the adults’ stories he’d always heard at his bedside, the Claicer imperial family dragged young children to the Wall, handed them over as food for the dead things, and laughed as if delighted.
“J-Just a moment. It’ll only take a few minutes, Riario.”
Oh no. Things always get tangled when you come here. Karen shrugged and gave Riario an awkward smile.
“R-Right. It’s okay, so k-keep talking.”
Joel seemed flustered and confused by this situation, and finally began to cry at the top of his lungs, hiccuping.
“D-Don’t cry, Joel.”
Anya reached out his hand to comfort the crying Joel. But Joel flinched in surprise and moved his body back. Anya’s hand, suddenly left hanging in midair, clenched into a tight fist.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were a Claicer prince. I’ve committed a mortal sin. P-Please spare me.”
Joel’s words were buried in tears and couldn’t be heard clearly, but everyone could quickly grasp the situation.
“N-No. Joel. It’s not like that at all!”
Anya raised his voice in panic. Joel, seized by terror, began to step backward one step at a time. Then he soon turned his body completely and ran away.
“Joel!”
Anya immediately tried to follow the kid but was held back by Riario.
“Your Imperial Highness. How about giving him some time?”
Riario rubbed his brow with a troubled face. It seemed there had been a problem with the form of address. Still, the title of ‘madam’ for someone whose gender was male felt quite awkward and wasn’t familiar on the tongue.
“This is my oversight. The people here are afraid of the imperial family.”
“…It’s, it’s unfair.”
Anya muttered while staring blankly at the scattered magic tool fragments.
“I, I didn’t even do anything…”
These were people he’d truly approached with sincerity, and a sense of injustice washed over him enough to die from. And at the same time, he was scared. What if the madness in my bloodline manifests someday like my siblings? What if I eventually go mad and hurt people too?
“I’m sorry.”
“N-No. What does Riario have to be s-sorry about?”
Though he said that, Anya was clearly dejected at a glance. After that, they focused on completing the magic tools in quiet silence.
“As expected, having two mages makes the work end much faster.”
Was it because they worked silently without saying anything? They completed all the magic tools faster than expected. When night came, the snowstorm became even fiercer. Anya’s nose tip had already turned red. When he was training, this cold just felt refreshing, but now he was very cold and his nose kept running. Perhaps it was because his heart was completely empty too.
“We should head back soon. Tomorrow we need to install all these magic tools on the Wall. Since we need to load them on carts, we’ll need the infantry’s help.”
Karen spoke while looking at the pale sky. Riario agreed with those words and looked back at the prince, who was still somehow dazed. Just then, an owl flew over, covering the sky, and circled above them.
“Huh…?”
It was a familiar appearance. A glimmer appeared in Anya’s dazed eyes for a moment. The owl that had been circling the sky quickly descended and sat obediently on Riario’s shoulder. Riario let out a small groan, then forcibly extracted the message tube the owl was holding with fingers shaped like pincers.
When he opened the message tube, a small scrap of paper was inside. He read it all at once.
“The Commander says he’ll look around the outskirts briefly and return to the inn. He’s telling us not to stop by the barracks but go straight to the inn. Especially…”
The owl fluttered once. Riario waved his hands rapidly while making a face and spoke toward Anya.
“His Imperial Highness is told not to stray onto any other path.”
Yes. It was an obedient answer, but the prince’s gaze was still fixated on the owl.
“It’s a messenger owl.”
Karen explained from the side.
“A messenger owl? D-Don’t people usually say messenger pigeon? I th-thought it was pigeons or h-hawks…”
“Where do you think this is, some ordinary land?”
As Riario rotated his shoulders that were becoming heavy, the owl spread its wings with a flutter. Karen took out dried jerky from the pouch hanging at his waist and offered it to the owl. The owl quickly snatched the jerky. As its golden eyes flashed and looked at Anya, somehow a chill rushed in.
“It’s a special bird strengthened with magic. We need it to hear news from beyond the Wall. Of course, it’s my work.”
It was a bit strange to call a living creature a ‘work,’ but Anya didn’t raise any more objections. Though it was true he felt curious since it was a bird he’d been seeing since Tildyen Rock, when he recalled Joel’s face from earlier, his head immediately began to hurt.
“Let’s clean up and return to the inn.”
A while later, they moved on horseback in a single line along the Wall. Pitch-black darkness and fierce winds guarded every path they took.
* * *
“My lords, you’ve returned.”
The innkeeper greeted them warmly. The innkeeper had always had a bright face toward the party originally, but after learning Anya was a mage, his face seemed to have bloomed even more.
Anya wondered if he too would turn his back like Joel if he learned he was imperial family, so he strode inside without even making eye contact. Fortunately, the innkeeper wasn’t offended at all by Anya’s behavior. Anya let out a sigh of relief inwardly and sat down in a chair as if collapsing, making a thudding sound. Though he had exhausted his energy making magic tools all day, more than anything, he was in a very mentally exhausted state.
Moreover, his head kept throbbing. As if he had forgotten something significant.
“Commander.”
Riario, who was sitting across from him, nodded toward beyond Anya’s shoulder. Anya hurriedly straightened his upper body that he’d loosened languidly.
“Riario, how did the magic tool installation go?”
Evernight asked as he sat in the seat next to Anya.
“We haven’t completed the installation perfectly, but we’ve finished installing them at most of the important checkpoints. But why do you ask?”
Evernight murmured lowly while stroking his chin.
“The signs aren’t good.”
“Pardon?”
“The goats in the barn were slaughtered. Someone dug out and ate only the hearts.”
Anya drew in a gasp. It was a horrifying sound, enough to raise goosebumps just from hearing it.
“How… We haven’t touched the end of the Wall yet, but the ancient magic tools are still operating, so in reality, anything below troll-class can’t enter. It doesn’t make sense.”
Riario was someone with natural talent in magic. He had never once doubted his own qualifications, and not once had the magic he implemented ever failed. Especially when it came to magic formulas related to his attribute of ‘death.’
“Do you think it’s a monster? Commander, that doesn’t make sense. No matter how weak the defense at the end of the Wall may be, if those things invade from there, it would easily take several days to reach Northernmost.”
