The Prince’s Proposal
“Hmm.”
What was he supposed to do about this?
Seherbian rolled the cane in his palm, sinking into thought for a moment.
The sheer arrogance of treating a representative of the gods like prey was so absurd it almost became funny.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would have driven the man out without a second thought, but the situation was different now.
Varzian.
Varzian was an organization belonging to the Alferios Kingdom.
And their leader, Aiden…….
“……This is really annoying.”
「Huh?」
“Never mind. Lily, did you find out what that prince wants?”
When Seherbian mentioned his earlier order, Liliana answered cautiously.
「Actually, it looks like this visit to the temple was the prince’s own idea.」
“Not sent by the king?”
「Yep. Of course, First Prince Raynef is one of the leading candidates to be the next king, so I guess that’s basically the same thing! The problem is, Master—」
The guardian on the verge of getting to the heart of it hesitated slightly.
Even through the clear stream of telepathy, Seherbian could almost picture her trembling with indignation.
「That crazy bastard seems to be preparing for war!」
“……?”
Even Seherbian paused at that.
At the same time, a question he had long left unanswered finally clicked into place.
Right. If the reason he needs Winter Bell is war……
It made sense, then, why the royal family had come all this way to the Temple of the Winter Dragon, which they had ignored for so long.
Even if the guardian dragon was of no help to the kingdom’s prosperity, he would be an excellent means of crushing an enemy in war.
「Ugh, he doesn’t look like he’s going to leave quietly. What do we do? If we leave him be, I feel like he’ll just squat here for a month or two and keep bothering Kisha……」
“You’ve gotten quite close to Kisha, haven’t you.”
「Th-that’s not it! She’s the only dragon priest in the temple, so—! Humans are just too weak, and if I don’t look out for her, she’ll go all wobbly in no time……」
“Yes, yes.”
Seherbian answered absently. He didn’t need to pry to see straight through the guardian’s flustered excuses.
After fumbling through one explanation after another, Liliana glanced around anxiously and brought up the prince again.
「Should I just scare him off?」
“No. I’ll come over there.”
「Yes, un— Huh? Right now?」
Ignoring the guardian’s startled telepathy, Seherbian brought the cane down once against the floor.
Crack—!
Even in the cramped room, a Door was summoned without fail.
The portal, formed to the size of an ordinary wardrobe to fit the room, exhaled a blast of wintry air and snowflakes that instantly filled the chamber with a pale fog of cold.
Seherbian stepped through without the slightest hesitation.
His vision plunged into darkness, then brightened once more.
He emerged from the narrow, worn lodging into a pure white snowfield. He brushed past the familiar blizzard at his cheeks as white crows gathered around him.
Caw—
Caw, caw!
He paid the flock no mind as he walked on, and after a while his steps came to a halt at the entrance to the temple.
There was already an unusual commotion stirring within.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. The dragon priest is not allowed outside the temple under our regulations.”
One was Kisha Hartney.
“Ugh! This is maddening. I told you not to apologize! And you, Refrika or Rayos or whatever your name is—stop making a fuss and ordering our priest around for no reason!”
The other was Liliana.
From the thoroughly exasperated tone, it was easy to tell she had taken human form.
And finally, the source of the disturbance.
“My name is Raynef de Obelica Alferios. If you wish to address me more familiarly, I would recommend ‘Ray’ or ‘Nef.’”
“Kyah! Who said I wanted to call you anything like that? Quit talking nonsense and get lost!”
“Ho, the Guardian of Winter Bell has quite a sharp tongue. Truly, that seems fitting for a guardian who serves the Dragon of Destruction.”
“That’s not it! Who are you calling the Dragon of Destruction? No one could be kinder or more benevolent than our master!”
“Benevolent, you say…… How intriguing. So contrary to rumor, you truly do cherish humans?”
“Hmph, of course! If not, how do you think all these people got into Blanconia?”
“I see.”
Standing still and listening to the noisy exchange, Seherbian let out a low sigh.
……It seemed his faithful guardian and capable temple administrator was, this time at least, not much help at all.
First Prince Raynef. He’s the clever sort.
A human who simply relied on status and rampaged foolishly could be dealt with easily enough.
But even in that brief conversation, the prince had been provoking Winter Bell’s guardian while quietly gathering information and correcting the warped rumors one by one.
A two-for-one deal, really.
He was the type who never acted carelessly, who always laid calculations beneath everything he did.
Seherbian wore an expression of growing headache, then slowly started forward.
“Your Highness, then I’ll take my leave. If there’s anything you require, please make your request through the other knights who accompanied you……”
Desperate to end the exhausting back-and-forth, Kisha bowed her head between them first, but even that was useless. The prince caught her and kept her there.
“Wait a moment.”
“Pardon?”
“As much as this is the Temple of the Winter Dragon, isn’t it rather cold? You should stoke the brazier more strongly.”
“Ah, are you cold? I didn’t realize. I’ll bring more fuel at once……!”
The moment Kisha hurried to move, Liliana stepped in front of her.
“Why are you the one preparing it? If he needs something, let him handle it himself.”
“But, Lady Liliana, ordinary people can get hurt if they’re too cold.”
Kisha said it with a bright little smile, and Liliana scowled but could not bring herself to retort.
The prince’s status was the problem.
If a prince who had come to visit Winter Bell went back home sick from the cold, wouldn’t that only deepen Winter Bell’s reputation for cruelty?
Grr, this is ridiculous. It would be easier if I just smashed the whole place to pieces!
If Prince Raynef had intended to attack the temple, there would have been no more dreadful enemy than Liliana.
She was the most destructive and powerful of Winter Bell’s guardians.
That was precisely why she had even been given the title of temple administrator, but in a situation like this—when the other side was slithering around and acting all falsely friendly—such strength was utterly useless.
Heartbroken, Liliana’s silver wings drooped low.
Taking advantage of the guardian’s silence, Prince Raynef hovered behind Kisha as she busily tossed more fuel into the brazier and kept pressing his case.
“Come to think of it, the people here don’t merely tolerate the cold—they seem almost unable to feel it at all. Surely that too is Winter Bell’s influence?”
“And what would you need to know th—”
The irritated retort was on Liliana’s lips when she snapped her mouth shut. The prince had turned to look at her with a puzzled expression.
“That’s right.”
Crack!
The floor froze over in an instant, forming a clear sheet of ice. The temple’s temperature plunged without the slightest regard for the brazier blazing away at full force.
As a cold so fierce it seemed to freeze even one’s breath rolled in, Prince Raynef’s ever composed expression finally stiffened.
The temperature fell so abruptly that even his earlier complaint to Kisha about the cold now sounded ridiculous. Despite being wrapped in thick furs, gooseflesh rose all along his spine. The brazier that had been burning so brightly moments ago seemed to lose its heat as well.
“So your wish isn’t to stop feeling cold, then.”
At that moment, a soft chime came from the corridor opposite, drawing everyone’s attention.
He wore the white robes of a priest, but everyone could tell at a glance that he was no priest at all. It was easy enough to guess his identity from the cold billowing off his entire body and the silver scales that surfaced between his skin.
Those drowsy sunset-colored eyes settled on one person.
“Raynef de Obelica Alferios.”
“……!”
“Why have you come to see me?”
Raynef, having had his name called, swallowed hard. Few could address the royal family’s full name so casually.
And if there was anyone who could wear such an arrogant expression while doing it……
……Winter Bell.
That was what the prince thought with a groan in his mind.
Winter Bell was known as the Silver Dragon, but there was one more trait that had been passed down among the Alferios royal heirs.
That crimson hair!
At a glance the red hair didn’t seem all that special, but in truth it was unlike any common red one might see anywhere else.
If Raynef’s hair was carmine red, then Winter Bell’s was magenta red.
The Winter Bell known to the thousand-year history of House Alferios was a silver dragon with a mane of crimson.
What’s more, the silver scales glinting like ice chips on the back of his hand, exposed beyond the long priest’s robe, only confirmed it further.
Thud!
Prince Raynef dropped to one knee at once.
“I greet the Regulator of Winter.”
“Master!”
Instantly energized, Liliana flapped her large wings and fluttered to Seherbian’s side in a rush. When Seherbian looked at his guardian and held out a familiar hand, she rested her head against it like a docile cat and visibly relaxed.
Seherbian patted Liliana once before turning his gaze to Kisha as well. Startled, the brown-haired priestess who had already been standing there with both hands clasped shut her eyes tight.
“Lord Seherbian. I…….”
“You did well, Kisha.”
At his gentle voice, the brown-haired priest opened her eyes wide.
Seherbian was smiling, and it was unmistakably the smile of genuine praise.
“Y-yes……!”
For a brief moment Kisha went blank, then she held back the tears welling up inside her and quietly stepped back.
From here on, it would be the moment for Seherbian and Raynef—Winter Bell and the First Prince of Alferios—to speak.
The girl’s judgment was correct.
Seherbian let the smile fade from his face and stared straight ahead, expressionless.
The petitioner who had come seeking Winter Bell.
First Prince Raynef had lifted his strangely heated golden eyes and was looking up at him.
“Thank you for answering the plea of this unworthy royal scion of Alferios.”
“Enough with the thanks.”
Seherbian asked again, sounding indifferent.
“What do you want?”
Even with Winter Bell standing before him, the prince smiled faintly. It was a boldness befitting royalty. For a fleeting instant, Seherbian thought those straight golden eyes resembled someone else’s.
“Please contract with me!”
“……?”
It was a request from nowhere.
Not to win a war, or to destroy an enemy nation?
Seherbian tilted his head slightly, arms folded.
“Hmm. You did come to the right place, didn’t you?”
“Of course.”
“I’m not a spirit or a demon.”
“Yes! You are Winter Bell, the sacred guardian dragon of winter.”
The two simply stared at each other.
When Seherbian still gave no real response, Prince Raynef kept his smooth demeanor and asked, “May I inquire whether you know that the Hestallion Empire has already contracted with Asubell?”
“…….”
In truth, he didn’t know.
Only Mimir realized, from behind that composed expression, that he was bewildered.
The white cane, chiming softly, quickly supplied an explanation.
「About twenty years ago, Asubell formed a contract with the Hestallion Emperor.」
What kind of contract?
「A guardian contract. The Hestallion Empire apparently gave the entire country in exchange for Asubell’s protection.」