Cold-Blooded Irene
Irene's expression was stiff, but it wasn't just her.
The knights standing behind her, clad in the same white uniforms, adjusted their formation at a single glance from her and bowed deeply toward me.
"I expected you to arrive tomorrow evening at the earliest. I apologize for our lack of preparation; I did not expect you to arrive so soon."
"No need to apologize. We pushed through without resting, so it is entirely our doing."
"We will escort you from here."
Having said that, Irene cast a glance at the knights standing beside her.
In an instant, they parted down the middle, clearing a path for my carriage to pass.
Once we passed the checkpoint, she and her knights led the way, escorting us.
Lucia watched Irene riding her horse outside the window and quietly whispered to me.
"Hero, is she the new party member?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Oh... no, it's just... she seems a lot scarier than I expected."
The image of Irene kicking a soldier into the distance back at the checkpoint was clearly still fresh in Lucia's mind.
Whenever she looked out the window and accidentally met Irene's gaze, she would quickly look back at me.
I had expected her to have an unusual aura ever since I heard the moniker 'Cold-blooded Irene,' but seeing her command her subordinates with a single glance while on horseback confirmed she possessed an extraordinary charisma.
When we followed Irene into the Northern Army's encampment, everyone from the high-ranking commanders to the common soldiers was dressed in white uniforms.
Even while busy with their duties, the moment they spotted Irene, they stood at attention, saluting her in absolute silence.
"..."
I couldn't help but be impressed.
While it was common to see highly trained knights behave this way, seeing common soldiers—who rarely received proper discipline—standing in perfect, orderly formation alongside the knights was truly remarkable.
"This way."
Irene stopped the carriage in front of a large barracks tent, opened the door, and gestured for us to follow.
Even then, knights quickly lined up on both sides of our path, standing rigidly at attention.
"The quarters for you and Lady Lucia are still being prepared, so I have set up a temporary space here."
The tent Lucia and I entered had a large map hanging on the wall.
On the table lay another map with wooden markers scattered across it, suggesting this place was normally used as a war room.
"I heard reports of a fire in the elf forest. Are you alright?"
"Yes. Thanks to Lucia here, we were able to escape safely."
"Oh... I see..."
I gave all the credit for our escape to Lucia, who sat beside me.
Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and when she accidentally met Irene's gaze, she quickly bowed her head.
"Ah, let me introduce you. This is Lucia, our party member."
"Yes, I have heard much about you. A spiritist... Hello. I am Irene Alsmeyer."
Irene stepped closer to Lucia and offered her hand.
Still intimidated by Irene's stern expression, Lucia hesitantly reached out, and they finally shook hands.
"Oh? Your hands are so cold..."
Those were the first words out of Lucia's mouth upon touching Irene's hand.
"Yes. It is simply my constitution."
"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."
"No, it is fine."
Lucia, who had been holding Irene's hand for a while, felt the unusual chill and kept gently touching it out of curiosity.
Irene, maintaining her typical expressionless face, explained her constitution as if it were nothing.
"I'm Lucia! I look forward to working with you!"
Perhaps feeling guilty for holding Irene's hand so rudely, Lucia bowed deeply.
Irene acknowledged the greeting with a slight, indifferent nod before turning her gaze back to me.
"Hero, is it true that the Demon King's army is marching toward this desert? I have sent scouts half a day's journey out to monitor the area, but we have found no trace of them yet."
Irene asked for confirmation, seemingly skeptical of the information I had sent through Edwin.
"I haven't seen them with my own eyes either, but the information comes from a reliable source. You don't need to worry."
"I see... If you say so, Hero..."
"What is the size of your current force here?"
"Since I had to mobilize only those who could move immediately from the Northern Army, we have only five thousand men."
She said "only five thousand," but in any ordinary kingdom, they wouldn't have even finished preparing to march, let alone arrived before me.
The fact that they could keep a force of five thousand—originally stationed to guard the northern border of the empire—on standby like this was a testament to the Fiore Empire's latent military prowess.
"Impressive. As expected of the Fiore Empire, to mobilize so quickly..."
"The frozen lands of the northern empire are plagued by constant battles with monsters, so we always keep a reserve force prepared."
"But if the reserve force is deployed here, what about the gap left behind?"
"The imperial court has promised to send reinforcements to the north, so it is not a major concern."
Having finished speaking, Irene stared at me for a moment before rising from her seat with her usual indifferent expression.
"I will return once your quarters are ready. Please rest until then."
With a final nod to Lucia and me, Irene left the tent.
"Phew..."
The moment she stepped out, Lucia let out a massive sigh of relief, finally looking like she could breathe again after being freed from the suffocating atmosphere.
After leaving the tent, Irene did not walk away immediately.
She stood outside the entrance for a long time.
Though her face remained completely blank, she was secretly harboring a faint hope.
Would the Hero recognize me? Would he at least pretend to know me?
It had been ten years.
The Hero didn't seem to remember, but Irene remembered him vividly.
Back when she was Princess Irene rather than Grand Duchess Irene, the Alsmeyer Kingdom was under the influence of the Fiore Empire, but it had not yet lost its autonomy to become a mere vassal state.
Despite her young age, she was intelligent enough to attend foreign events and act as an envoy, earning great love and expectations from the royal family, the nobility, and the common people alike.
She loved her kingdom and her people more than anyone.
She was meticulous, constantly checking her attire, posture, and dignity to ensure her small nation would never be looked down upon.
Yet, into her guarded heart, another person had entered for the first time.
It was the Hero.
The two had first met at the Great Temple, where the appointment ceremony for the Hero, chosen by the Goddess's oracle, was held.
Due to a familial trait, Irene's body would turn as cold as ice whenever she overexerted herself, felt fatigued, or fell ill.
Consequently, she was constantly plagued by colds.
On that day, she had slipped away from the banquet hall of the Great Temple to rest in the garden.
"Are you alright?"
"Pardon?"
The Hero had approached her as she sat on a garden bench, trying to cool down from a fever brought on by a cold.
At the time, the Hero had only recently been appointed and was taking a walk to escape the unfamiliar social pressures of the banquet hall.
He had noticed Irene sitting on the bench, looking uncomfortable as she tried to cool her burning forehead with her hand.
"You look quite unwell. Are you okay?"
"Ah... yes..."
Irene insisted she was fine, but her flushed face, fever-glazed eyes, and teary gaze proved otherwise.
"My goodness, your complexion is terrible. Should I call a priest?"
"No, I am fine. It is just my constitution. Thank you for your concern."
"Then at least take this..."
The Hero took off his formal jacket and draped it over Irene's shoulders.
Startled, Irene felt her face grow even hotter.
"I... I am fine..."
"No, keep it on. It is warm during the day around here, but it gets surprisingly cold at night."
"Th-thank you."
With a bright red face, Irene clutched the jacket with both hands to keep it from slipping.
Although she couldn't see his face clearly in the dark, she could tell he looked deeply troubled.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I am not cold."
"No, I meant you, Hero... You seem to have something on your mind..."
"Ah... haha. It is just... the pressure, I suppose. Knowing that I am the Hero who must save the human realm... it makes me feel afraid."
The Hero scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed to have shared his inner thoughts.
Irene found his vulnerability endearing and covered her mouth to hide a small chuckle.
"You will do well, Hero. Someone as kind as you will surely be able to protect this continent."
"Thank you so much for saying that. Having someone as beautiful as you cheer me on gives me a bit of confidence."
"Pardon? M-me...?"
Hearing the Hero's words, Irene felt her temperature spike.
Her palms weren't enough, so she pressed the backs of her hands to her burning cheeks.
The more she looked at him, the worse her symptoms became, forcing her to turn her head away.
"Yes. If it isn't rude to ask, may I know your name..."
"Hero!"
The Hero tried to ask for her name, but his words were cut short by a priest who came running out of the building.
"Hero! What are you doing out here? The guests are waiting for you!"
"Ah... right. I will be right in."
"Hurry! His Imperial Majesty is still waiting in the banquet hall just to see you before he leaves!"
The priest grabbed the Hero's arm and pulled him toward the building.
Irene tried to return the jacket she was wearing, but the Hero had already vanished inside.
But then...
"Princess! We have a crisis!"
"Mary? What is it? Why are you running so fast?"
It was her maid, Mary, who had come looking for her.
Her face was pale, indicating that something terrible had happened, but she hesitated for a long moment, unable to find the words.
"A... a rebellion has broken out in the kingdom!"
"What...?"
Thud.
Irene finally let go of the Hero's jacket, letting it fall to the ground.
Without even a moment to pick it up or wait for the Hero, she had to rush back to her room to prepare for their immediate return to the kingdom.