The Winter Wolf's Howl
Serian's silver hair caught the light as she stared blankly at Kaion, the Second Prince of the Empire. What the hell was this guy even saying right now?
'You must come with me.' Was that it?
'…Has your brain finally snapped?'
Just moments ago, he'd been wearing the most serious expression imaginable, spouting all that nonsense about respecting your opinion and whatever. Yet the second someone mentioned an Astra envoy showing up, he flipped his attitude like a coin and suddenly decided she had to tag along?
'You said you respected it! You literally said you'd respect my wishes!'
Of course, her whole speech about 'a sword is only valuable when kept in its sheath' had been nothing but fancy-sounding bullshit designed to wriggle out of politics and quietly disappear. Still, the prince had seemed to understand her polite refusal perfectly. So why was he now insisting she come with him? Apparently the word respect had a shelf life of about ten seconds in his head.
'Go? Why the hell would I go there?'
There being the incredibly hostile situation where an Astra Empire envoy was currently throwing a tantrum. Just thinking about it made Serian's skin crawl with goosebumps.
"Chief Developer Elhardt?"
Completely unaware of her inner turmoil, Kaion called her name with clear impatience. His eyes burned with urgent demand and an inexplicable, sticky anticipation.
Ah, this is actually going to drive me insane.
Serian swallowed a sigh, then suddenly froze.
'…Wait a minute.'
Whatever his intentions were, this wasn't necessarily a bad situation for her.
The reason the prince wanted to drag her along was obvious. He planned to prop her up beside him like a fancy backdrop and essentially say to the Astra delegation: 'Hey, you Astra bastards. See this? This is our empire's proud genius who smashed your skulls. You don't have anyone like her, do you? Jealous? Doesn't it sting?' He wanted to seize the initiative and teabag them psychologically.
In that case… what if she stepped onto that stage and caused a massive, spectacular disaster right in front of everyone?
The prince's carefully prepared stage for asserting dominance would be completely destroyed because of her. His pride would be utterly humiliated, and he'd direct all that rage straight at her, wouldn't he?
'The crime of ruining an important imperial diplomatic event. The crime of smearing shit all over the prince's face.'
Could there be a more perfect reason for dismissal?
A cunning, intelligent gleam flashed through Serian's previously empty blue eyes.
This was the perfect stage for her complete exit, personally laid out by the prince himself.
She instantly transformed her expression as if nothing had happened and spoke with grave determination.
"…Understood, Your Highness."
Her voice carried forced loyalty and solemn resolve.
"If Your Highness truly desires it, then I shall accompany you."
At her answer, Kaion's face brightened like the sun. Firmly believing that his 'comrade' had finally accepted her true role, he gave her shoulder a satisfied pat.
"Good. Then let's go meet those Astra bastards!"
The heart of the imperial palace, the Grand Audience Chamber where all authority converged and dispersed. As the massive doors opened, the waiting attendants bowed their heads in unison.
Kaion strode straight toward the throne without even glancing back. Serian had no choice but to follow behind him.
The moment she stepped inside, an icy atmosphere stabbed at her skin. She mechanically took the seat she'd been guided to.
Right beside the prince.
The absolute worst position, where every single gaze would be focused.
'Damn it, I'm way too visible here.'
Serian grumbled internally.
The seats arranged in a semicircle around the throne were occupied by generals known as the Empire's stars and elderly ministers who'd supported the empire for decades. Yet for some reason, every single one of their faces was ashen.
All eyes were fixed on one place only: the two foreigners standing at the center of the audience chamber.
'…What is this?'
Something felt off. It was true that the war with the Astra Empire was reaching a dangerous phase, but there was no reason for the empire's core figures to be this tense over a single enemy envoy.
Serian's gaze turned forward. Only then did she begin to dimly understand the reason for this suffocating atmosphere.
One was a man wearing a smile as cunning as a snake. His luxurious but somehow sinister dark blue silk robes marked him unmistakably as the Astra Empire's envoy.
The problem was the man standing beside him.
A massive figure that made it hard to tell if he was a bear or a human. The murderous mana permeating the entire audience chamber was all flowing from him.
Her innate mana detection ability was screaming danger.
Mana carried more than just strength or weakness; it contained a person's beliefs and the environments they'd survived. Right now, this man reeked of the north's biting winter winds.
Beyond his tightly fastened armor, beyond his sun-blackened skin, an arctic chill that could freeze a person to the bone radiated outward. A blood-scented cold mixed with the sharp scent of conifers.
A sense of déjà vu, as if she'd felt this somewhere before. Serian's eyes narrowed.
Ah, this feeling was—
"It's been a while, Bjorn."
Kaion's low voice from the throne broke the silence. It was filled with wariness toward an old enemy he'd clashed with countless times on the northern battlefields.
"What brings you all the way here?"
Bjorn. The Grand General of the Scadia Principality. The strongest warrior of the north, known as the Winter Wolf.
The moment she confirmed that name, Serian realized it.
'—I'm completely fucked.'
A vivid memory from her past life flashed through her mind.
Lost Empire. The first page of the Grandia Empire's destruction scenario in that game. The beginning of all tragedy started with the betrayal of the northern Scadia Principality.
And the man who had fired the signal flare for that betrayal was standing right before her eyes.
Kaion silently stared down at his palm. A faint sheen of sweat had formed there.
Though he sat upon the throne appearing composed, cold sweat was running down his back.
'This is the worst.'
His gaze shifted to the two envoys standing across the audience chamber. One was Marquis Marcini, the Astra Empire's envoy with his snake-like cunning smile. And beside him...
'Bjorn.'
Kaion bit his lip. This combination was far more vicious than he'd anticipated.
"It's been a while, Bjorn."
Kaion forced a relaxed smile.
"For you to come all the way to the imperial capital. It seems some ill omen has befallen Scadia?"
Bjorn didn't move a muscle. He simply answered in a voice mixed with the rasp of iron.
"I came to confirm whether our 'god' is well."
God. The term referred to the Frost Griffin, which Scadia Principality worshipped as divine but which had now become the empire's trophy. It was the only leash holding back the northern wolves. The empire used their sacred artifact as a hostage to forcibly suppress their ever-threatening rage.
Kaion, who knew better than anyone that this leash was on the verge of snapping, found this visit even more ominous.
As expected, one of the ministers sitting in the corner suddenly shot to his feet and shouted.
"How rude! To barge in without prior notice and dare speak such blasphemous words before His Highness! It seems the northern savages haven't even learned basic etiquette!"
"Enough."
Kaion stopped him in a low voice. This wasn't the time for foolish pride.
"Grand General Bjorn, I guarantee the safety of the sacred artifact. For now, I must first attend to the Astra envoy, so please withdraw."
But Bjorn did not retreat. Instead, he took one step forward, his overwhelming presence crushing the entire audience chamber.
"I cannot trust those words. Our shamans say they heard our god screaming in pain. Until I confirm it with my own eyes, I will not take a single step from this spot."
At those words, Kaion's heart sank with a heavy thud.
'As I thought… they knew.'
The Silver Horn Fortress recapture operation. The fact that the Frost Griffin had been injured during that mission was supposed to be top secret. Yet how had they learned of it…?
His question was soon answered.
The Astra envoy standing beside Bjorn, Marquis Marcini, cut in with his serpentine smile.
"Please calm yourself, Your Highness. The reason we came with Grand General Bjorn was for a very specific purpose. We heard that recently, at Silver Horn Fortress, your sacred artifact suffered serious injuries."
The moment this top-secret information spilled from an enemy envoy's mouth, the ministers' faces turned deathly pale.
Marcini continued, clearly enjoying their reaction.
"Our Astra Empire could not simply overlook the desecration of a neighboring nation's sacred being. Therefore, we informed the Scadia Principality of this unfortunate truth and have 'protected' their delegation as they came to verify the facts. In a way, we are benevolent mediators seeking to resolve the misunderstanding between two nations."
'Mediators…'
Kaion ground his teeth. It was disgusting hypocrisy. This cunning snake had used Scadia as a shield to obtain the perfect justification for holding a blade to the empire's throat.
Having perfectly set the stage, Marquis Marcini smiled with satisfaction and delivered another blow.
"We express our deepest regret regarding the unfortunate incident that recently occurred at Silver Horn Fortress. However, our Astra Empire desires no further bloodshed. Therefore, we have brought a 'gift' to this place for the sake of eternal peace between our two empires."
At his gesture, attendants carried a massive chest to the center of the audience chamber. The heavy lid opened.
"T-that's…!"
One minister shot up from his seat.
"How dare you… in this sacred place!"
Inside the chest lay a shattered helmet with the empire's crest clearly engraved upon it.
The entire audience chamber froze instantly.
Marquis Marcini watched the scene with a satisfied smile and spoke as if reciting a tragic epic.
"This is a relic of your hero from the 'Iron Wall Knight Order' who fell at Silver Horn Fortress ten years ago. We have kept this relic with great care and have never forgotten the tragedy of war for even a single moment over the years."
It was not a gift. It was a blatant mockery, a raw threat.
'Did you really get so excited over reclaiming a single fortress? Don't forget. This is the miserable end your hero met.'
A chilling message. The imperial nobles' faces flushed with rage, but none dared step forward recklessly.
Their eyes inevitably turned toward the northern beast standing beside the Astra envoy—Bjorn.
His silence was equivalent to the north's consent to the insult Astra had thrown.
This was a meticulously orchestrated play. Astra provoked, and Scadia lent weight to that provocation through silence. If the empire, enraged by this insult, laid a hand on the Astra envoy, it would give Scadia the perfect justification to break their oath.
They had no choice but to swallow this humiliation. The price of preserving their pride would be two blades simultaneously piercing the empire's throat.
Marcini savored their humiliating silence before finally revealing his main point.
"Now, it is time to sheathe our swords and discuss true peace. Our conditions are simple. First, immediately return the Silver Horn Fortress and the western border territories that you have illegally occupied. Naturally, this includes releasing the Scadia Principality's sacred artifact."
He raised another finger.
"Second, as a gesture of respect for our noble efforts in maintaining this great peace, offer a portion of the empire's annual total production as a 'peace maintenance fund' to Astra every year."
Finally, he spread his hand elegantly and delivered the finishing blow.
"And lastly, to proclaim this eternal pact across the continent, Your esteemed Emperor must personally travel to our capital and sign the peace treaty before our great Emperor."
"Preposterous!"
One elderly minister could no longer hold back and shouted.
"To hand over territory, pay tribute, and even lower the dignity of the imperial family! That is no different from surrender!"
Though wrapped in diplomatic rhetoric, the content was clearly a vassal state treaty. Cede territory, pay money, and bow your head. In essence, it was telling them to tuck their tails between their legs and crawl beneath Astra's feet.
It was a perfect checkmate. You are the barbaric nation that abused a sacred artifact, and we are the righteous advocates speaking for the victim. If you do not accept our demands, we will allow the northern wolves to tear out your throat.
Kaion could say nothing.
But then—
A clear, pure voice broke through the suffocating silence.
"How strange."
All eyes turned toward the owner of that voice.
Serian Elhardt. She rested her chin on her hand, wearing a bored expression as she looked at the envoys.
"Our little white one is in pain? He was just rubbing his head against my lap and acting all cute before he left."