The Side Effect
Glacia Winterhart's mind went completely blank the moment she saw Werner Alton collapse without warning. Why? She'd been told it was merely a bracelet that prevented the use of magic, yet necrosis was already spreading across the skin around his wrist. When she examined his body with her mana, she discovered clumps of magical energy congealed and hardened throughout his meridians, starting from his heart.
It was supposed to be nothing more than a tool to seal magic. So why was this happening?
The suspicion that it might be her fault weighed heavily on Glacia's entire being. Knowing that Werner had never been frail or sickly before, she desperately searched for an explanation. Was it the effect of the magic-sealing restraints? The freezing temperatures of the North? Extreme stress? Or perhaps he had some underlying condition and hadn't taken his medicine on the journey here?
Glacia considered every possibility, but no matter which hypothesis she chose, the blame ultimately fell on her. She was the one who had placed the restraints on him. She was the one who had brought him to the North. She was the one who had forcibly kidnapped him and caused him stress. Every single thing was her doing.
In a panic, Glacia scooped Werner into her arms. She immediately released the restraints and called out to the nearby escort soldiers.
"Medic! Where is the medic?!"
The escort soldiers were shocked to see Werner suddenly collapse, but what stunned them even more was Glacia's expression. The woman who rarely showed any change in emotion was now panting heavily, her face flushed with urgency as she carried him. Her voice, too, was uncharacteristically frantic.
"...Did you not organize the entire escort as combat personnel instead of including non-combatants like medics, in order to maximize our travel speed?"
Only then did Glacia remember her own mistake.
She had wanted to see Werner even a little sooner—even one second sooner. That was why she had excluded medics from the escort and selected only those with exceptional combat skills. So that if any conflict arose, they could suppress it immediately.
But that decision had been the worst possible choice. Even if it meant arriving a little later, she should have brought a medic.
Her own greed and impatience were what had caused this situation.
Transparent tears welled up in Glacia's eyes. But she quickly realized that her own sorrow was not what mattered right now.
"How long will it take to return to the mansion in the territory...?"
"At a rough estimate, it will take two days of running..."
"That's more than enough."
Glacia began running with Werner on her back. Gathering mana at the tips of her feet as she raced across the snow-covered fields, she resembled a fierce predator. Her legs, faster than any ordinary carriage, carried her forward to shorten the time to reach the territory even by a single moment.
All for the sake of the only man she had loved since she was six years old.
As she continued running without pause, Glacia recalled that day—the day she had first fallen in love.
'A child born between a human and a vampire? How ominous...'
'The Grand Duke truly is something else, taking a vampire as his wife and even having a child with her.'
'I heard that daughter of his is such a coward she can't even catch a single bug?'
'I wonder if she even properly inherited the bloodline at all.'
That was what the humans on her father's side whispered behind her back, disparaging her.
'To think Her Majesty would marry a mere human and even bear his child...'
'I cannot accept that such a half-breed is Her Majesty's offspring.'
'With such frailty, could she even hunt a single demonic beast?'
'Hmph, she's clearly a useless little girl. Her Majesty will surely lose interest in her soon enough.'
Those were the things said by the people on her mother's side whenever they spoke of her.
Of course, the moment her father or mother learned of it, they would rip out the tongues of those who spoke such words and sever their heads. But Glacia knew the truth. She was a useless half-breed.
She had failed to properly inherit either her father's blood of a northern warrior or her mother's blood of a vampire. She was nothing more than an awkward, in-between creature.
Having accepted that fact, she always tried to live as quietly as a dead mouse.
For her birthday, her father and mother decided to throw her a proper party and introduce her to their comrades, so they took her to the Imperial Capital.
But at the time, Glacia had been extremely withdrawn. She simply entrusted her body to the rattling carriage.
Upon arriving at the villa in the capital, she said nothing and shut herself in her room, reading books. After all, there seemed to be no point in a half-breed like her standing before people praised as heroes.
She had read about half the book when a tremendous crash echoed from outside. Since the people gathered were fond of fighting, she assumed they had simply started brawling among themselves and tried to ignore it.
But then she heard the voices of the guards stationed in front of her door.
"...This area is off-limits, sir. If you continue like this, we will have no choice but to report this to the Grand Duke and Madam..."
"Could you please go somewhere else? The Grand Duke will be furious."
Curious, Glacia approached the door to hear what the person the guards were speaking to was saying.
The voice belonged to quite a young boy.
"Get out of my way if you don't want to die."
"But Lord Werner! If you insist, we will have no choice but to use force!"
Werner Alton. She had heard that name many times before.
He was a comrade of both her father and mother. Despite still being a young boy, he was a great mage who had developed countless spells. Several Tower Masters had even knelt before him in an attempt to recruit him, but he had rejected them all and taken the position of Court Mage. A genius among geniuses.
"You lot against me? Hey, you guys are pretty funny. Instead of causing trouble here, why don't you go outside and become clowns? You'd probably make better money that way."
"Sigh... Lord Werner, we did warn you."
"Seriously, wouldn't it have been so much better for everyone if you'd just stepped aside when I asked nicely?"
The moment he finished speaking, Werner's voice changed. It was no longer playful but cold and chilling as he began to chant.
"O ice, entwine and imprison them."
About five seconds later, the doorknob turned.
The Werner who appeared before her looked completely different from what she had imagined. One corner of his mouth was slightly raised in a smirk. His clothes were thrown on carelessly, as if getting dressed properly was too much trouble, with a robe draped haphazardly over them. His long, disheveled black hair and blue eyes were nothing like the image she had pictured. She had assumed that as a mage, he would be meticulous about both his attire and his expressions.
"Hey, are you the daughter of Brother Melchior and Sister Melissa? Your name was... Glaze Donut or something..."
"Yes. I am Glacia Winterhart, daughter of Grand Duke Melchior Winterhart. It is an honor to meet you, Lord Werner Alton, the Court Mage known as the greatest mage of our time."
When she greeted him according to proper etiquette, Werner yawned and waved his hand dismissively, as if such formalities were unnecessary.
"Hey, it's fine, it's fine. Who cares about that annoying etiquette? Just call me Werner."
"But..."
"I hate that stuff. Etiquette, nobility—it's all such a pain in the ass."
Werner sat down on the nearby desk and began flipping through the book she had been reading. The bookmark had fallen to the floor, so he had no idea where she had left off, but she couldn't possibly complain about something so trivial.
"Hey, this book is seriously boring. What kind of kid reads a history book for fun?"
"But I find it interesting."
"There's no way Brother or Sister would ever read something like this. Actually, have those two even read a book in their entire lives?"
It was true that her father and mother were far removed from the world of books. Her father's study was always covered in dust, and her mother had gone to war instead of reading during her pregnancy.
"Ah, my bad. I almost forgot why I came. Hey, hide me for a bit."
"Are you being chased by someone?"
Who in the world would have the nerve to chase after someone like him?
"Yeah. Those demonic old hags and the nagging older brothers."
"Pardon?"
"Not just your mother and father—every single one of the older brothers and sisters is going crazy trying to catch me."
"But why would they...?"
She couldn't understand it. She had heard that Lord Werner was close with all his comrades. Unlike a half-breed like herself, he was both talented and possessed an outstanding character. So why were they all chasing him? It made no logical sense.
"Ah, it's not really a big deal..."
"Yes?"
"There was a carriage accident on the way here. Some noble bastard was insulting commoners, so I showed off a little trick and now they're all losing their minds."
So he couldn't stand injustice and had punished a noble who was oppressing commoners? But if that were the case, her father and mother wouldn't have gotten angry.
"No, the guy was being so damn loud and annoying that I burned his clothes off with magic and hung him from the top of the city wall."
"...Pardon?"
Even so, that seemed a bit excessive.
"And then I found out he was related to the Empress. They're going absolutely insane trying to catch me right now."
At that moment, Glacia instinctively realized it. The person before her was nothing like the one she had imagined.
Then came the sound of heavy footsteps. Werner clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. Looks like the demonic hag found me."
The door opened, revealing Media with a terrifying smile on her face. The kind and gentle Media who had come to the North to play with her was now holding a mace in one hand.
"What kind of trouble have you caused this time, Werner..."
"That bastard was pissing me off!"
"Ah... is that so? Well, you're making me quite angry right now too..."
Media strode toward them with mace in hand. Werner looked around frantically before grabbing Glacia and shouting,
"S-stay back! If you come any closer, this child's life is forfeit!"
That day, Glacia played the role of a hostage for the very first time.