Prince of Raynef
Prince Raynef I.
The heir to the throne with fiery red hair and deep golden eyes.
Behind him stood a host of knights, rigid as spearpoints. The lion crest glittering on the banners that snapped in the winter wind matched the one embroidered on the prince’s shoulder exactly.
Liliana planted her hands on her hips and snorted.
“That’s the door we set up in your village. You all acted like you didn’t know anything for ages, then suddenly show up now? It’s annoying, so I closed the Door.”
Thanks to Winter Bell leaving Liliana in charge of the temple’s management, she’d been able to bar the prince’s party from entry the instant she spotted them.
“They’ve been standing out there for three days already and not budging an inch! Ugh, they’re so irritating!”
Liliana gave her silver wings a brisk shake. Through the fluttering feathers, she could see the prince standing tall beyond the crystal orb.
“So I thought maybe you’d know, since you’re a noble too, Kisha. How long do you think they’ll keep waiting out there? Would it be better just to drive them off? What do you think?”
“W-well. I’ve never met anyone from the royal family before.”
Unlike Liliana expected, nobles in Alferios were even more sensitive to rank than most.
Being nobles didn’t mean they could talk to one another as equals.
Hartney Territory was a tiny, barren stretch of backwater land. Even its lord, in the eyes of other high nobles, was nothing more than a poor, minor house of low standing.
And compared with a prince who would inherit the throne, it was obvious how far beneath him they were.
Royal mage Oze Lobern, who had come by last time, had already been of a rank Hartney could barely cope with.
If Winter Bell hadn’t stepped in then, many people would likely have died, and Hartney itself might have been wiped out under false accusations of being the source of a plague.
“As far as I know, the royal family and Lord Winter Bell haven’t had any contact for a long time. The palace might pressure the people serving the temple to get what they want.”
After hearing Kisha’s explanation, Liliana let out a long, troubled sigh.
“So keeping them out of the temple isn’t the end of it, huh.”
“No, probably not.”
“……I guess I need to tell Master.”
In the end, Liliana quietly closed her eyes.
The guardians connected to their master dragon by soul had the privilege of sending a mental message whenever and wherever they wished.
Master, Master! Can you hear me?
Not long after she sent her thoughts, a reply came back.
Yeah, Lily.
Heheh. Master, are you well?
Just hearing his voice brought a look of ease to Liliana’s face. After a brief silence, his slow answer followed.
Uh, mm. More or less?
…Something’s troubling you!
With the seasoned intuition born of long years as a guardian, Liliana instantly sensed it, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. If he needed help, he would have called for her long ago. For now, the best thing was simply to report what she knew.
People from the Alferios royal family came to the temple. It looks like they’re here to see you, Master! They even sent a prince, but when I kept him out, they’ve been camped in front of the Door for three days now. What should I do?
Let them in.
The answer came back calm and casual, unlike Liliana’s worried tone.
Instead of opening the Door for them, find out what they want. And make sure nobody gets hurt if you can help it.
Yesss!
The moment the order came, Liliana activated the Door at once.
Outside, the people who noticed the change were thrown into a stir.
“Your Highness, the mana has started moving!”
“The gate—it’s glowing…!”
On the third day, the temple’s tightly shut gate finally opened.
Watching the Door, where immense mana churned like a storm, the corners of Prince Raynef’s mouth slowly lifted.
“At last.”
* * *
The seasonal guardian dragons, the Bells.
Unlike the holy power wielded by ordinary priests, they were Regulators who possessed authority that took precedence over every current and flow.
It was exceedingly rare for them to use their power for private reasons. They were expected to remain unmoved by personal feeling and to uphold their mission as the gods’ representatives at all times.
But it wasn’t impossible.
Crack….
Anything froze in the face of the absolute power of winter, which ignored every law of nature.
The volcano that had been boiling and spewing smoke only until nightfall now glittered in silence beneath the dawn starlight.
Seherbian watched the icicles splinter and fall away in emptiness, then casually hooked the white tasseled staff over his shoulder.
“Mimir.”
Yes, Master.
“This was a bit much, wasn’t it?”
Yes. It was excessive.
“Mm. I don’t actually know how to thaw it back out.”
Seherbian looked rather stuck after hearing Mimir’s blunt judgment—Mimir, who had no talent whatsoever for softening the truth.
As you wished, the ice should melt within a few days and there will be no major damage to the wyvern habitat. However, there is a high likelihood that other plants and animals unable to adapt to the sudden winter weather will perish.
That’s why Akibell always said you shouldn’t throw your power around carelessly outside your own territory.
It was rare, but even among the Bells, there were times when a young dragon would get swept up in emotion and overuse their strength.
The one who always ran herself ragged trying to stop that was Akibell, the Gold Dragon, who had lived the longest of them all.
Winter Bell, for his part, had been holed up in a corner of Blanconia, so he had been relatively spared her lectures.
But Akibell hadn’t known that there was a law true of every species without exception: children who grew up quiet and well-behaved tended to cause the biggest disasters when they were older.
In addition, I have detected three stranded persons.
“I heard the country was blocking the roads, so why are they stranded in the first place…?”
Seherbian let out a small sigh, looking down over the beautiful Wyvernnest Range, now transformed into snowy peaks. He had already forgotten that he himself had once tried to cross the mountains to avoid the soldiers.
“Still, I guess I should rescue them.”
Jingle!
“Mimir, go on ahead.”
Accepting the order, the staff gave off a bright ring and shone with light.
Seherbian watched as it swiftly transformed into a white crow and flew off somewhere, then turned back and retraced his steps along the way he’d come.
Even in the dark hour before dawn, it wasn’t difficult to find the party’s camp.
Aside from the volcano having frozen over, the edge of the mountain range had been untouched, full of warm spring air.
At a time when most were asleep and the world was quiet, one person alone stood watch with eyes wide open.
Seherbian landed lightly in front of her and greeted her as if they were acquainted.
“Oh? Deputy Commander, you’re still awake?”
“……”
Jin Veronica, Airen’s deputy commander in the Varzian order, stood there in perfect posture as though she had turned to ice.
“Were you waiting for me, by any chance?”
“……”
“Sorry, things got a little urgent. You could’ve gone to sleep first.”
Seherbian kept talking in his easygoing way, but Jin simply stared at him without a word.
Just as he began to wonder if she had fallen asleep standing up, her tightly sealed lips moved.
“……Did you.”
“Yes?”
“Was the urgent matter resolved?”
It wasn’t hard to hear the stiffness tucked beneath her low, subdued voice.
Her unusual use of honorifics was the same. While he’d been away, whatever she’d been thinking had already washed clean all the hostility from her expression.
Well, that’s understandable.
Wings appearing before her eyes and a mysterious staff that could transform at will.
Anyone who saw that would be shocked.
And Jin was the only sharp-eyed knight in Varzian who had ever suspected Seherbian’s true identity, wasn’t she?
Not only that, but she had never once spoken to anyone with respect except for her commander, Airen.
Seherbian could tell from her changed manner of speech and bearing that she was already certain who he was.
His languid sunset-colored eyes cooled slightly, then curved again into a smile.
“Yes, it was resolved. There are still a few minor issues, though.”
The stranded people had gone with Mimir to be rescued, and the ice would melt with time, so neither was a serious problem.
Jin, unable to infer exactly what Seherbian had been doing, only gave a small bow.
“It’s a little late, but would you like to finish what we were discussing earlier?”
Her tone was so gentle that Jin’s shoulders jerked.
“……”
“What are you curious about, exactly?”
“That is…”
At his persistent questions, Jin lifted her head. Her face was full of confusion.
She opened and closed her mouth several times before hardening her expression as though she had made up her mind.
“I know this is going to sound insane.”
“Go on.”
“Priest Servi… no, you are—”
Her voice, unlike before, had become exceedingly careful.
Beyond the thick branches, a hazy wash of sunlight broke through. In the darkness slowly receding, a spring breeze carrying tiny snowflakes brushed teasingly over the two of them.
“Are you Winter Bell?”
The morning was breaking over a sky already stained a deep crimson.
* * *
“Jin.”
“……”
“Knight Jin.”
“……”
“Ahem! Jin Veronica?”
Startled, Jin, who had been staring blankly into space, belatedly reacted at the sound of a cough beside her.
“Yes, Commander.”
“You’re not acting like yourself today. Did something happen last night?”
Airen had ridden up beside her and was regarding her suspiciously. Jin was usually the one calmly directing the unit, never missing even the smallest change and watching everything with keen eyes. For her to be so absentminded that she didn’t even hear someone calling her name, it had to be odd.
Only then did Jin realize that she had been so obviously spaced out that anyone could have seen it, and she hurriedly straightened the body that had been swaying limp a moment ago.
“Nothing happened.”
“Really? You look terribly tired. Didn’t you sleep well?”
Jin had, in fact, stayed up all night, so she answered with silence. Noticing the especially hollow shadows under her eyes, Airen clicked her tongue softly.
“If you’re tired, you can ride in the carriage, so don’t overdo it.”
“……I’m fine.”
“Don’t say that so quickly. Think it over. I’m worried you’ll fall off your horse if you keep this up.”
“Commander.”
“Hm?”
Meeting her lord’s gentle golden eyes, Jin bit her lip tightly.
Please keep this a secret.
Just before dawn, Jin had received a “request” from Winter Bell.
What’s here right now isn’t Winter Bell, but Priest Servi, so there’s no need to be on guard. Why did I follow you all? Hmm… let’s just call it a sort of amusement.
His smiling face and gentle tone had been as soft as a spring breeze, but there was no way she could possibly refuse that request.
The only blessing was that he had emphasized that he’d met them as a priest, not as Winter Bell.
At the very least, as long as they didn’t spoil the dragon’s amusement, the members of Varzian would be safe.
For a moment, Jin recalled what had happened at dawn and pressed hard at her throbbing head before speaking.
“……Do you have any regrets about recruiting Priest Servi?”
It was her last desperate attempt, because she could not bring herself to shout that they had, in truth, picked up something far more monstrous than they realized.
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