Chapter 1: Those Who Are About to Depart
In the dead of night, torrential rain poured down.
A scream erupted from the bedroom of Duke Calis Grant.
Ron Boyle, the aide who was startled awake by the sound, hurriedly dressed and rushed to the duke’s bedroom on the second floor. As he reached the door, Hans, the butler, came running up from behind, panting and still in his pajamas.
“Did you hear the noise?”
Hans, catching his breath, asked Ron.
“I heard it.”
“What kind of commotion is this lately…?”
To the butler’s worried words, Ron gave no reply, his gaze fixed solely on the door.
For nearly a month, he had been surviving on brief naps, and his face was just as exhausted and tense as the situation demanded. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door to the duke’s room.
The room, shrouded by curtains, was pitch dark. Hans, standing behind, grabbed a lamp hanging on the corridor wall and illuminated the interior. The moment the light fell upon the bed in the center of the bedroom, both men could not suppress their shock.
“What… is this…!”
Duke Calis’s right shoulder and chest, as if stabbed by a blade, lay exposed with vivid red flesh, gushing dark crimson blood.
The wound was gradually widening, and the pooling blood gurgled irregularly. From the gash, bright red blood oozed out, trickling down his shoulder and ribcage, soaking the bed sheets.
Calis, wracked with pain, let out groans before unleashing another scream that seemed to choke the air.
“Argh!”
This time, his left shoulder began to tear open, revealing a deep gash.
“What in the world is this?”
Ron, stunned by the ghastly scene, stared at his young master. There was no assassin in sight, nor was there a visible blade, yet the duke’s body was being ravaged as if by an unseen assailant.
The exact same situation had occurred a month ago.
“I-I’ll call the doctor!”
As Hans turned to fetch the physician, Thompson, Ron quickly grabbed his arm and shook his head.
“Even if Thompson comes, it’ll be no use. He wasn’t any help last time either.”
Only then did Hans recall the image of Thompson, the physician, trembling in fear and unable to provide proper treatment.
“If we call him again, strange rumors might spread.”
“Then… what should we do?”
At Hans’s question, Ron furrowed his brow deeply.
This was not something a doctor could handle. Even if a doctor came and, by some stroke of luck, managed to treat the wounds, what then? If this situation repeated itself again? The mere thought was dizzying.
Ron stared intently at his master’s wounds. Then, he resolved to act on the plan he had considered when this first happened.
“We’ll call a healer. I’ve looked into someone. I’ll go fetch them quickly, so please take care of things here in the meantime.”
“A healer? In the middle of the night?”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. So don’t worry, just hold on for a bit.”
Leaving the bewildered butler with these instructions, Ron hurriedly exited the room. Time was of the essence.
Was it called the late summer monsoon rain?
The rain, which had been falling for a week straight, showed no signs of stopping.
“Did a hole open up in the sky or something? The rain just won’t let up.”
Tossing and turning in bed to the clamor of the rain, Reina Wind finally kicked off her blankets and got up. As she moved, her curly, pale purple hair cascaded over her shoulders.
Slipping on an old robe that hung over the back of a chair, Reina glanced down at the bags lined up neatly in one corner. Packed to the brim with belongings, the bags looked ready to burst.
‘I hope the rainy season ends soon…’
Leaving the bedroom and descending to the first floor, Reina mentally went over whether there were any more items she needed to pack.
“You’re still awake?”
Upon reaching the first floor, she saw Yanika stirring a large vat of medicinal herbs with a ladle. The rich, pungent aroma of the steeped herbs tickled Reina’s nose.
“The rain’s so loud, I can’t fall asleep for the life of me. Were you tossing and turning too?”
“Here, give me that. I’ll do it.”
Reina took the ladle from Yanika’s hand and began stirring the herbs herself.
“Oh… it’s fine, really.”
Yanika said this, but, perhaps exhausted, she sank heavily into a chair. The old wooden chair creaked under her weight.
Yanika brushed back the white, graying hair that had fallen over her forehead with her wrinkled, weathered hands, tucking it behind her ear.
“Want a cup of tea?”
“I’m good. By the way, we’ll have to move once the rain stops, right?”
“That’s right. The herbs can’t get wet.”
Yanika answered while glancing around at the herbs displayed in the shop.
“Are you… reluctant to go?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because I was the one who first suggested we leave for another territory. It feels like you only agreed because I said I wanted to go.”
“It’s been almost ten years since we started running the apothecary here. I’ve grown attached, but it’s about time we moved on.”
Yanika brushed off some stray grass stuck to her skirt with her hands and continued.
“Even if you hadn’t said anything, I’d been thinking the same thing. Don’t worry about it.”
At her words, Reina let out a sigh of relief. In Reina’s mind, the Grant territory no longer held any hope.
The Duchy of Grant, located at the northernmost tip of the Burkina Kingdom, was bordered by the rugged Crate Mountain Range, which stretched east to west and served as the frontier with neighboring countries.
In other words, it was a gateway that neighboring nations had to pass through if they were to invade the Burkina Kingdom.
Sure enough, five years ago, war broke out.
The northern kingdoms of Ruben and Tria formed an alliance and crossed the Crate Mountains to invade the Burkina Kingdom.
To halt the allied forces’ advance south, battles to seize and reclaim the Crate Highlands continued relentlessly, with the lord of Grant leading the charge.
As the war dragged into a prolonged conflict, Yanika and Reina had to half-abandon their livelihood, dedicating themselves to treating the flood of wounded soldiers and patients.
Most doctors had fled the territory out of fear of the war, leaving the apothecary constantly swamped with patients.
Yet, through their stubborn perseverance, a miracle occurred.
Defying expectations of defeat, the Burkina Kingdom emerged victorious after five years.
Not only that, but they seized territories beyond the border, and Duke Grant, in addition to his triumph in the war and territorial expansion, received gold, food, and slaves as war reparations.
The popularity of Calis Grant, who returned as a triumphant general, was truly immense.
The victory parade for Calis, the commander of the Burkina Kingdom’s First Army, held in the capital Wivre, drew enormous crowds, creating a spectacle. During the week-long welcoming ceremonies, delegations from various countries lined up to greet him.
‘We thought things would get better for us too. Sigh…’
A sigh escaped Reina’s lips involuntarily.
Despite his triumphant return, Duke Calis had not once come down to the village.
The hopes of the territory’s residents, who believed their lord would soon look after them, gradually faded. The five-year-long war had left their livelihoods impoverished, and the aftermath of the conflict was severe.
There were even rumors that he had stayed in the capital Wivre because it was comfortable and pleasant.
Exhausted from waiting for the village’s reconstruction, Reina had suggested leaving the territory a month ago.
Yanika, who initially had no intention of leaving, had recently changed her mind and was now packing their belongings one by one.
*Bang bang! Bang bang!*
“Oh my! You startled me!”
Reina, who had been absentmindedly stirring the medicinal herbs with a ladle, let out a yelp at the sound of someone forcefully knocking on the door. Yanika, equally startled, froze with her gaze fixed on the door.
Bang bang!
“Is anyone inside? Please open the door!”
“W-Who’s there?”
“I’m Ron Boyle, aide to the Burkina Kingdom’s First Army.”
At the booming voice of the man, Reina swallowed hard and glanced at Yanika. When Yanika nodded, Reina approached the door and unlatched the bolt.
The man, who had come through the rain, gave a crisp salute and apologized for startling them in the middle of the night. Rainwater dripped from his cloak, pattering onto the floor.
Standing at the doorway, he looked back and forth between the two women before addressing the older one.
“Are you Lady Yanika?”
“That’s me.”
Yanika, who had been about to offer him a seat, paused and responded.
“We urgently need you to come to Winter Castle.”
“Winter Castle? That Winter Castle?”
This time, Reina’s eyes widened as she asked for confirmation.
“Yes. Duke Calis Grant has been attacked by an assailant and is in critical condition.”
“Then you should call a doctor…”
“The condition is beyond what the physician can treat. We’re racing against time.”
Though his response was polite, the urgency and anxiety etched on his face conveyed the gravity of the situation.
“I don’t want to.”
The firm refusal came from Reina’s lips. In an instant, the man’s gaze, which had been fixed on Yanika, shifted to Reina. Irritation flickered across his face.
“I was speaking to Lady Yanika.”
“I know. But what can we do? As you can see, we’re about to leave the territory.”
Reina, her expression resolute and unyielding, nodded toward a corner of the shop.
There, in the direction she indicated, lay a large bundle of pre-packed belongings. Only then did Ron, grasping the situation, let out a low, “Ah!” of dismay.
“So, could you please leave?”
