Suspicion and Reality
Claire loved reading. It was a hobby she'd cherished for a very long time. Even though her parents had passed away due to the Kobold Empire's invasion—cobbled together from flimsy pretexts—and she'd inherited the ducal title at a young age, her hobby hadn't changed. The only difference was her perspective on novels.
In the past, she'd dreamed of tender romance while reading ordinary love stories. Now, she read simply to relieve stress. It was because she'd come to grasp the cold reality. The thud of military boots on the soil. The deaths of those who trusted her. Fields of burning farmland. The world was far colder and darker than Claire had imagined—so much so that it was heartbreaking.
Anyway.
She could now read novels of various genres without burden—Black Star, Burning Hotly, Two Lives Beyond the Wall, In the Cabin, and more. In that sense, her hobby had deepened, allowing her to enjoy novels even more.
And lately, there was one novel she particularly enjoyed: The Beast That Came in Winter. As the intense title suggested, it was a story with quite a high level of spice. What made it stand out was its matter-of-fact tone in depicting the romance between a barbarian from northern Torgard and a noble lady.
Claire opened the book to the marked page.
It was a snowy night. The lady, out for a solitary walk, loses her way and encounters the fearsome barbarian for the first time. (Somehow, despite starting in the garden of her own mansion, she gets lost and meets the barbarian—details unclear.)
"W-Who... are you...?"
"Grrr... grrr!"
An innocent girl and a barbarian who doesn't speak her language. Their values differ, and they can't even converse, but the lady's heart begins to open little by little to the suspiciously kind, considerate (and brimming with wild allure) barbarian.
"......"
Claire, peering through her reading glasses line by line, furrowed her brow slightly.
She couldn't focus. Not because the author of The Beast That Came in Winter had dedicated no fewer than thirteen lines to describing the barbarian's thick chest muscles.
It was a more fundamental issue.
"Sigh."
Finally closing the novel, Claire let out a deep sigh and gazed at the woman dozing off with soft snores right in front of her.
"...Snore."
There was nothing particularly remarkable about her. No dignity or authority. Clearly just a commoner with no abilities. But the fact that the barbarian—Eden—treasured her was crystal clear, whatever the reason.
They don't seem like old acquaintances.
Claire recalled Eden's past demeanor. A nameless barbarian. She'd never seen him converse with other mercenaries. He simply kept to himself in solitude.
Her knowledge of him stemmed almost purely from chance. So she knew little. At most, his odd name.
"...Hmm."
No answers to her questions emerged. Feeling the jolting vibrations of the swaying carriage, Claire silently watched the two of them.
Eden awoke from sleep. The menu in his dream had been kimchi stew.
As he stepped down from the carriage, the unbalanced vehicle tilted and shook once.
Eden slowly surveyed his surroundings. The sun had long vanished, and a white full moon hung in the sky.
...Camp?
The carriage had stopped in an area dotted with numerous makeshift tents. Campfires and torches flickered here and there.
Of course. With the Duchess of Ksaruna here in person, it wouldn't be just one carriage and a handful of knights.
There had to be squires and maids for odd jobs, at the very least.
Noticing Eden's gaze, Claire approached and explained.
The height difference was so stark it looked like a child speaking to an adult.
"We can't stay in the city, it seems. Plenty of people still think the war's ongoing."
She might have taken offense at being left alone in the carriage without conversation, but her expression remained smiling.
Eden nodded at the explanation. Knowing the situation yet coming to find him anyway made Claire seem all the more impressive anew.
Not a compliment, mind you.
"Then departure..."
"At dawn tomorrow. It's gotten pretty late. Everything's prepared, so warrior, you can rest in the tent I'll show you. Oh, it'll take about three weeks to reach the Ksaruna region."
She answered his musing swiftly, even though it wasn't really a question.
Eden shut his mouth silently. Better to stay quiet.
"...Hey, look over there."
"The Duchess... and some guy."
Whispers drifted from the surroundings. Some knights, some squires, some servants. Pretty much everyone in the camp was eyeing Eden.
Their gazes were razor-sharp.
Hm, already wanna bolt.
Eden's identity wasn't widely known. In the war between the Kobold Empire and Ksaruna Duchy, he'd always acted without revealing his name. Even during his brief stint as a mercenary.
And even if others knew, most viewed the exploits of a barbarian negatively.
- "Pfft, a barbarian hero? Please."
- "Spreading all sorts of rumors just to skim merits."
- "It's just talk among slaves anyway, right?"
A nameless barbarian. War god. Fame known only among certain mercenaries and war slaves.
Unless you'd witnessed it like Claire, few truly believed in his existence.
Eden remembered a similar atmosphere back on the battlefield when he'd ignored the tailing Claire.
Anyway. Sensing the mood, Claire spoke to Eden cautiously.
"...I haven't given a detailed explanation yet. Just said we were looking for someone. And with so many new recruits, lots won't know who you are."
She continued hesitantly.
"I'll try to shield you as much as possible, but if anything unpleasant happens..."
"I'll endure it as best I can."
"No, just don't kill anyone."
"...?"
Eden stared at Claire in utter confusion. Was this coming from a duchess?
But having witnessed Eden rampaging on the battlefield multiple times, Claire couldn't help saying it.
Before talking to him, she'd thought he wouldn't even understand speech.
Claire hadn't forgotten the horrors of war. The time morale had plummeted so much she'd had to head to the front herself.
Unaware of that context, Eden could only reply awkwardly to her reaction.
"...Well, alright then."
Then, a man in polished armor approached the two.
Young and handsome. Eden's mood soured a bit.
"Sir Roton, what is it?"
At Claire's question, the young knight knelt and replied.
"Just reporting that preparations for dawn departure are complete."
"Got it. We'll depart as planned tomorrow. Pass that on to the others."
"Understood."
Knight Roton rose with his response. This time, he eyed the barbarian beside her.
"...And this is?"
Eden sensed a familiar emotion in those eyes. Like a 16th-century white man looking at a Black person.
But Claire, oblivious, smiled brightly and answered.
"The one I've been looking for."
"...I see."
Naturally, Roton's reaction wasn't good. The person his lady had sought so desperately was just an ordinary barbarian warrior.
Roton turned away sharply. No special greeting.
That was it. As if deciding to ignore him, he addressed Claire again.
"And one more thing to report."
Claire waited for Roton to continue, but the knight glanced at her warily, not speaking.
An implicit signal that it was hard to say here.
Should I step away? Eden started toward an empty tent with Neb, but Claire's angry voice cut in first.
"...What do you think you're doing? Didn't I just say he's the one I've been looking for?"
"That's true, but..."
"Then what was that attitude just now?"
Claire narrowed her eyes, scolding Roton.
"Report it right here. You're embarrassing me."
"...We spotted a few unicorns near the camp."
Eden, listening from the side, let out a low murmur of admiration.
Unicorns. Not mere legends like in the modern world, but still rare creatures.
"...Unicorns."
Claire muttered softly.
Medicines made from their horns could cure anything untreatable. Hence the exorbitant price—ten times that of equivalent gold.
She understood why the knight had hesitated.
Claire thought quickly. Ksaruna Duchy's finances weren't bad, but not great either.
"I'll go myself. Lead the way."
Unicorns were typically what noble ladies most wanted to avoid. Given their preference for pure virgins, many hid inconvenient truths.
But Claire's decision held no hesitation. Better than gathering uncertain maids.
Neb poked Eden's side, who'd watched it all.
"What."
"...Didn't you hear? Unicorns."
Her eyes brimmed with interest.
"This goddess adored those beasts. She even snuck down to the mortal realm a few times to see them. Even in this human body, I must behold one."
"......"
Not an unreasonable request. Eden asked Claire.
"Mind if I tag along?"
"This is an internal Ksaruna Duch—"
"Of course it's fine."
Claire's reply cut off the knight. No further objections.
The group headed into the forest with a few knights. Not far—practically nearby.
Soon, unicorns gathered at a pond appeared.
"...Oh!"
Neb exclaimed loudly. Eden was equally stunned.
Larger than most warhorses. Two of them. Their tall horns gleamed under the moonlight.
Real unicorns. Mysterious beings treatable as sacred animals or mere monsters.
Eden noted the knights grabbing iron nets. Seemed they planned to just cut the horns.
Narwhal horns didn't regrow once broken, but unicorns might be different. He didn't know.
Claire approached the massive unicorn without fear. It slowly moved toward her.
Neigh—.
The unicorn rubbed its head against Claire familiarly, careful not to let its sharp horn touch.
"......"
As Claire signaled the knights, eyeing the horn, another unicorn approached Neb from behind.
Like the first, it naturally tried to rub its head against her—then stopped.
Neigh...? Whinny?
The cry was questioning.
Eden could read the unicorn's expression. It was utterly bewildered.
"Haha, how cute."
But Neb, unaware, simply stroked its forehead peacefully.
The unicorn was in agony. Clearly a sacred being, but what was this stench wafting from somewhere? And then, Eden recalled his first meeting with Neb.
"...Hm."
He remembered the dream from that day.
The unicorn agonized and agonized. Normally, non-virgins should be kicked away and fled from, but somehow that felt wrong.
In the end, the unicorn made an irreversible choice.
Crack—.
As the splitting sound made Eden question, the unicorn's horn cleaved in two.
"...What the."
Everyone watching was dumbfounded.
And so...
The tragic unicorn was born.