Omen
Omen
I stepped out onto the balcony, following Baek Wol-seon and Kim Yu-yeon.
It was night. Though the blizzard had rarely ceased, the cold air still found a way past the magic and bit at me.
"The snow finally stopped, for once."
The moment Baek Wol-seon, who'd leaned his arms on the balcony railing, murmured that, Kim Yu-yeon standing beside him smiled silently and nodded.
"The Changhae territory isn't a comfortable place to live. Don't you agree?"
As I approached, drawing the Sky Wing Feather that I wore like a cloak around myself, Baek Wol-seon lifted his gaze to the sky.
"The weather's severe, and the perpetually frozen ground is stubborn. Dungeons and monsters emerge for the slightest reason, and occasionally the mana coalesces and causes catastrophes on its own."
He grumbled, listing the faults of the domain he ruled.
Even so, the corners of his mouth turned up faintly, and a light laugh threaded his tone.
"But still, I was born and raised on this land in the end, so I can't just hate it. I think it's a pain, but I've got to put in the effort to make things work."
[You're absolutely right]
"Didn't say it to fish for compliments... ahem."
Kim Yu-yeon silently shook her head from side to side and offered him a cup of liquor.
Baek Wol-seon, who'd cleared his throat sheepishly, took the cup and let a faint cold aura flow into it. Chunks of ice bobbed to the surface of the drink.
"Your mouth must be getting bored too—would you care for a glass?"
Baek Wol-seon, having swallowed a mouthful, extended the cup to me.
The same red-colored contents he had drunk. But it wasn't liquor; it was a beverage.
"It's a drink made from the lingonberries we cultivate in bulk down in the southern part of the territory."
[Ah, thank you]
I'd been about to discreetly evaporate the alcohol with magic, but I brightened and accepted the cup. Baek Wol-seon chuckled and shook his head.
"Don't worry; I was threatened to never casually hand you alcohol. I won't offer any, for fear of the retaliation."
How many people besides Baek A-rin could threaten the head of the Changhae family with retaliation like that?
I laughed awkwardly and took a sip of the drink.
It was a cool, flavorless taste. But at least it had the crispness of chewing on ice chips.
[Has Miss Baek A-rin returned to her room?]
"She said she was especially tired today and went in ahead of us. After back-to-back friendly spars, I'm not surprised... though you seem quite different."
[I'm confident in my stamina]
"Stamina's not the only thing you're confident in, I'd wager."
Baek Wol-seon shook his head slightly and leaned his body further against the railing. Kim Yu-yeon, who had quietly refrained from joining the conversation, refilled an empty cup with more liquor.
Baek Wol-seon, who'd been staring at the sky, lowered his head. His gaze was directed at the view of the city spread across the lower ground below this spot.
It was a city that still held a lot of white even after the snow had been cleared. A cold and pitch-black night, yet warm light spilled out from the windows of countless buildings.
The blizzard had stopped and the fog had settled considerably, so the scenery would be clearly visible.
"I was the same, but A-rin doesn't much care for this land."
[Is that so...?]
Baek Wol-seon murmured, his gaze still fixed on the scenery.
At that, before we'd arrived at Seolgyeong—
I recalled the memory of riding Black Snow Horses around the area with Seo-yul and Baek A-rin.
The look in Baek A-rin's eyes as she led the Black Snow Horse familiarly and surveyed our surroundings.
...It definitely hadn't been positive.
With her mask, she'd been grinning, but deep inside the corners of her mouth had fallen, and her eyes had been utterly indifferent.
Though she'd smile brightly again whenever she looked at me.
"She's hated the cold ever since she was little. Even though her innate constitution is cold energy, and she possesses both ice-attribute resistance and affinity."
Cases where one's ability and aptitude don't match.
Ironic, then, that the Azure Sea ability manifested in such a Baek A-rin. With an enormous output—comparable to the founder, or perhaps beyond. And it was an Azure Sea specialized in ice, at that.
"So I worried a great deal, but... whether it's fortunate or not, she handled the Azure Sea truly skillfully. I was considered a genius too, but my daughter surpassed me. I'd teach her one thing, and she'd figure out the rest, blazing forward on her own."
Baek A-rin is a tremendous genius not only with the Azure Sea but in her own potential as well.
A superhuman who could master many talents to an above-average standard using the Azure Sea's versatility as her foundation, and respond to a multitude of situations.
They hadn't just made Baek A-rin the example for the All-Rounder for nothing.
I, already knowing this fact, nodded along, and Baek Wol-seon continued speaking.
Most of it was about Baek A-rin's childhood.
Now and then stories about her younger sister and younger brother came up, but their common topic was Baek A-rin.
"Still, how could I ever stop worrying? No matter how overflowing her talent is, she's still a child in the end, and my own daughter."
[That's true]
[Agreed]
[I empathize]
I had been listening intently, so when such a relatable topic came up, I bobbed my head vigorously.
No matter how exceptional she is, in the end she's still your child, isn't she?
Seo-yul may thump her chest and declare she's not a human but a Fairy Knight—
She insists she was born for battle, has a sturdy body, and has inherited techniques—but in the end she's a young child barely past one year of age.
It was only natural to worry.
"...Hm, right. You have a daughter too. Her name... was it Lee Seo-yul?"
[Yes, that's correct]
"The fact that you have a daughter alone is shocking, but for that daughter to be a Fairy Knight... it's beyond astonishing."
[?]
[Were you aware of Fairy Knights?]
I'd only introduced her as a fairy, not a Fairy Knight.
When I tilted my head, Baek Wol-seon shrugged as if it were nothing.
"When I was young, I visited the Taesan family's Protected Area and met one, and we lightly crossed blades."
[Aha]
I don't know exactly when "when I was young" was, but it would have been when he was an heir or had already ascended as family head.
If that were the case, it made sense that he'd been allowed into the Taesan Protected Area too.
[If you crossed blades with a Fairy Knight... did you win?]
"...It remained a valuable experience. Either way, the reason I sought to speak with you is this."
Baek Wol-seon, not uttering a word about victory or defeat, emptied his cup and changed the subject.
I, who had been anticipating a win/loss remark, also quietly nodded.
"I ascended early as head of the Changhae family, and I've fulfilled a family head's duties."
He cultivated a barren, harsh territory. He subjugated the monsters that harmed his people, and conquered the dungeons that sprang up across the vast lands.
Whenever a colossal threat like the Twin-headed Poison Dragon approached, he always placed himself proudly at the vanguard and led the troops.
"I think I've made plenty of clumsy, wrong-headed judgements, but I'm confident I've at least carried out my duty as family head."
Indeed, that was true.
Among those living in the Changhae territory, Baek Wol-seon's reputation was extremely good.
When I roamed around with Baek A-rin, the shopkeepers would press something into our hands and ask if Lord Baek Wol-seon was keeping healthy.
"But I can't confidently call myself a good parent."
Baek Wol-seon looked down at his empty cup. A bitter smile crossed his slightly tipsy face.
"Seol-ah was... congenitally frail. Even when I gathered mountains of precious medicine that she'd refuse, calling it burdensome, there was no significant improvement."
Cheon Seol-ah.
That is the name of Baek A-rin's birth mother.
"With such a body, she steadily convinced me that she wanted to bear a child. I firmly refused out of concern for her condition, but... she said she didn't have long left, and I couldn't bring myself to deny her wish to see her child with her own eyes."
This is a world where phenomena that would have been considered incomprehensible hundreds of years ago actually exist.
A place where people fly through the sky, crush buildings with their fists, and techniques exist to regenerate even lost arms.
Yet even so, there are limits.
Not long after giving birth to Baek A-rin, Cheon Seol-ah entered her eternal sleep.
[...]
"Ah, it's become such a maudlin subject after all."
As I kept my mouth shut and the Confession Necklace quiet at the heavy story, Baek Wol-seon gave a short laugh and shook his head.
"My point is this. She is a precious daughter who came into this world through such circumstances, but I wasn't able to do much for her as a parent."
Self-derision tinged the corners of Baek Wol-seon's mouth.
"Perhaps because of that... A-rin has never revealed the things she's been hiding all this time to me."
A secret.
At that word, I guarded the necklace even more carefully.
'If it's a secret, maybe it's about the Bitter Cold curse...'
I wasn't certain, but the possibility seemed high. It was a curse laid by a Tower Master who'd put all their focus into it, so like with me, there might be restrictions regarding speaking about it.
"But, it seemed to me that with you, A-rin hopes for something, and relies on you."
Baek Wol-seon, who'd been looking down at the city, turned back to me.
Within blue eyes very similar to Baek A-rin's, complicated emotions and thoughts were mingled.
"I don't know what it is that A-rin hopes for from you... but it seems to be something I can't fulfill for her."
[That's...]
"If you're asking if I want an explanation... haha, no, I do want an explanation. But I can't force you to dig up and hear circumstances that aren't favorable."
Shaking his head, Baek Wol-seon stared at me intently.
"My perspective is a bit narrow to completely judge a person in just a few days, but... I think you are extremely capable, and a good sort of person."
[...Thank you for seeing me in that light]
"Can I entrust my daughter to you?"
Baek Wol-seon said it outright.
When I lifted my bowed head, Baek Wol-seon with a serious expression was staring at me intently. Kim Yu-yeon, who'd kept out of the conversation beside us, was the same.
A cold wind blew across the momentarily silent balcony.
'Entrust my daughter to you.' Is there any request a parent makes that is heavier than this?
It's not a physical weight, but a burden far too heavy to bear.
[...That's something I already promised with Miss Baek A-rin several days ago]
However, it was a burden I had already placed on my shoulders.
I exhaled deeply and thumped my chest with my fist.
[No matter what happens, Miss Baek A-rin will be safe. I will make it so, and I have prepared for it. Absolutely.]
Strength filled the voice emitted by the Confession Necklace.
Having heard that voice, Baek Wol-seon's expression spread. A small relief settled over his face. He bowed his head with a faint smile.
"...Thank you."
"Thank you."
Smiling gracefully, Kim Yu-yeon also bowed her head.
- Thoom!
[......]
The vibration resounded at that moment. A strange sensation passed beneath my feet first, then struck my body.
The eerie cold energy made my fine hairs prickle and stand on end.
- Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
The vibrations continued to resonate. A sensation as though knocking on a door beat against my head.
"...What is this?"
"Dear?"
Baek Wol-seon's expression also crumpled. I couldn't read it exactly, but it seemed like he felt the warning his keen Aura sense and intuition were sending.
I knew the precise reason.
- Crash!
The door separating the banquet hall from the balcony was roughly thrown open.
The commotion from the banquet hall rushed in. A breathless man who'd thrown the door open—a Changpa Unit soldier, his face pale and terrified—spoke.
"At this moment, we have confirmed the omen of a Special-Grade Dungeon outbreak within the territory! It is on the verge of rampaging!"
Information too heavy to dismiss as a joke, and the danger signals sent by instinct.
Baek Wol-seon's face crumpled miserably.
"...Did I make that promise for nothing?"
The unwritten rule of this field:
An idle mouth invites disaster.
Of course, he hadn't let his mouth run idle, but Baek Wol-seon muttered to himself and tapped his own lips.
* * *
- Thoom!
Baek A-rin's eyes, which had been shut in sleep, opened.
- Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
Her consciousness flared bright at the sound resonating deep within her chest.
It wasn't a heartbeat. It was the sound of an artificially locked door being struck, gradually being forced open.
Every time the door shuddered, the cold energy that slipped through spread across her body.
The pure white ceiling. The switched-off lamp and its engraved patterns... gradually blurred.
The sensation of the soft, plush blanket receded. The tiny ambient noises died down, and only the signal resonating in her heart drew closer.
It was the cold energy she had so detested.
- Swoosh...
Just then, the Winged Garment that had been hung at her bedside moved on its own and wrapped itself around her body.
That sensation was not blurred.
The touch of the ring she hadn't removed even while sleeping also remained clear.
She could feel the gentle warmth they held.
"...Hoo."
Baek A-rin, blinking her eyes carefully, let out a deep sigh.
A cold chill leaked out.
* * *