“You’re really angry, huh.”
Edelmar said in a voice full of amusement.
What he said was true.
Her cheeks, barely visible, were wet with tears, and she looked slightly puffy.
‘So cute.’
Ian resisted the urge to poke her puffy cheeks with his finger and instead patted Rose’s shoulder.
“Rose, look at this. Uncle will show you something amazing.”
“Something amazing?”
Rose’s eyes turned towards Ian’s hand.
“Ta-da!”
Golden mana swirled in Ian’s open palm.
“Wow.”
Rose, amazed, opened her eyes wide, and the tears that had been welling up fell in droplets.
“Do you want to take a closer look?”
Rose glanced hesitantly, still sulking. She wanted to see it, but watching it without fully letting go of her mood felt unfair.
Just as Ian was pondering how to coax her further, Edelmar spoke.
“Rose, want to see this?”
At Edelmar’s voice, Rose flinched and slowly turned her head. Edelmar was holding a necklace with a large ruby attached to it.
The sunlight made the jewel sparkle, and even Ian had to admit it was beautiful.
“Isn’t it pretty?”
Rose hesitated but eventually nodded.
“How about we put some of that mana in here?”
Ian let out a dry laugh.
‘That guy.’
Infusing mana into the jewel was the first step toward creating an artifact.
“I think it will look pretty.”
“Right? Shall we give it a try?”
Rose looked back and forth between Edelmar and the jewel before gazing up at Ian.
“…Uncle.”
Ian, who had been glaring at Edelmar, suddenly softened and looked kindly at Rose.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Can you really put it in there?”
“Of course I can. Want to try?”
“Yes!”
“But for this to work, Rose has to help.”
Ian seated Rose facing Edelmar.
Rose’s body tensed in nervousness, but perhaps because Ian was with her, she didn’t try to escape.
“Say ‘Please’ to Uncle Edelmar.”
Rose hesitated.
She didn’t mind facing him, but speaking to him still frightened her.
Ian didn’t rush her.
The two of them used to be close. Their relationship had only drifted because of the trauma. Just one step forward, and they could be close again.
“Uncle.”
“It’s okay. Let’s try saying ‘Please.’”
Rose pouted her lips but, unlike before, she didn’t cry.
She glanced back and forth between Ian and Edelmar before finally squeezing her eyes shut.
Then, she stretched out her hands.
“Give me that, please.”
“Sure, here you go.”
Without touching her hands, Edelmar passed the ruby necklace to Rose.
“Wow.”
Rose’s eyes sparkled as she held the necklace, which didn’t seem too heavy for her.
“Shall we begin?”
“Yes, yes!”
Ian gathered mana in his palm once again. Golden mana swirled in the air.
Rose’s face flushed at the sight of such beauty.
Ian placed his hand over the large ruby.
“Now, Rose, you have to say the spell.”
“The spell?”
“Yes. When casting magic, you need to say a spell, right? You’ll be the one to say it this time.”
Rose looked up at Ian.
“What should I say?”
“Go inside, yap!”
Edelmar’s expression became strange.
Ian glanced at him and then gently patted Rose on the back.
“Shall we try?”
Rose whispered softly.
“Go inside, yap.”
Ian patted her head.
“That’s not how you do it. You have to say it loudly and with confidence.”
Rose squeezed her eyes shut.
“Go inside, yap!”
Ian chuckled and secretly moved the gathered mana.
“It’s done.”
Ian removed his hand from the ruby.
The ruby, now infused with the swirling golden mana inside, glittered beautifully.
“So pretty!”
Rose picked up the ruby. Feeling the warm energy from the mana, a smile spread across her face.
But only for a moment.
When she realized that the owner of the ruby was Edelmar, her expression became sullen.
“It’s a gift for you, Rose. I haven’t given you a present yet, so this one is for you.”
Rose’s eyes widened at Edelmar’s words.
“…Really?”
“Yes, we’re friends, aren’t we?”
Hearing this, Rose’s cheeks turned pink.
Rose, who was smiling shyly, looked at Ian as if seeking permission.
“Say thank you to uncle’s and take it.”
“Thank you.”
Rose bowed her head slightly, without a hint of fear on her face.
‘Did the gift work?’
Although it was a bit ridiculous, Ian was relieved, thinking that it was a good idea to assign Edelmar as Rose’s bodyguard when they head to the imperial palace.
“Grrrr.”
Fenrex, who had been observing the situation, bared its teeth at Edelmar.
“What’s with this damn mutt…”
Ian secretly kicked Edelmar’s shin and then motioned towards Rose, who was now in his arms.
Edelmar shot a frustrated glare at Fenrex, who was staring at him with a look that said,
“Don’t swear in front of the child.”
“Fenrex, quiet.”
At Ian’s warning, Fenrex drooped his ears.
“Ahhh!”
With a thud, the carriage shook. Ian quickly grabbed Rose, who screamed.
“Yan!”
Yan, who had appeared outside the carriage, reported,
“We’re under attack.”
“Under attack?”
“Monsters have appeared.”
Both Ian and Edelmar’s faces twisted in frustration.
Monsters did inhabit the Duke’s territory, but they mostly stayed in the mountains. The only time they came down was when food became scarce due to the cold.
That’s why they held the autumn hunts: to reduce the number of monsters descending.
However, because Ian’s personal situation caused the hunt to be held earlier than usual, additional training hunts for the knights were conducted afterward.
Therefore, no monsters should have come down, especially not along this carriage route, far from the northern mountains.
Edelmar smirked at Ian.
“Interesting things always happen when I’m around you. Stay here.”
With that, Edelmar darted outside.
Ian tried to calm the frightened Rose while peeking out the window.
“Reform the ranks!”
“Watch your sides!”
The knights, it seemed, had not wasted the training they received from Edelmar, handling the monsters more efficiently than during the hunt.
‘Something’s wrong,’
Ian thought as he watched, his eyebrows furrowing.
Monsters generally acted with murderous intent. If there were humans in sight, they would typically attack to kill.
But these monsters were behaving strangely.
“Block them now!”
“What are these things?!”
Despite the knights’ attacks, the monsters kept pressing forward, as if their target was the carriage.
“Fenrex, transform into human form.”
Fenrex’s body shifted, turning into a well-dressed boy. Rose flinched and clung to Ian.
“It’s okay. It’s just Fenrex.”
Rose glanced at him, then slowly nodded.
“Fenrex, come here.”
Fenrex sat down beside Ian.
“Er, come out.”
– Errr
With elegant grace, Ermenia appeared and landed lightly on the ground.
“Rose, stay with Fenrex.”
Rose clung to Ian’s shirt and shook her head.
“Where are you going, Uncle? I don’t want you to go.”
“I think I need to check on Uncle Edelmar.”
Outside, the monstrous roars and the knights’ shouts continued without pause.
It wasn’t that Ian didn’t trust Edelmar, who was a Sword Master.
But if the monsters were truly targeting the carriage as Ian suspected, they needed to be dealt with quickly.
“I’ll be gone just for a moment. You can play with the jewel, and I’ll be back soon.”
“Uncle.”
Rose’s face turned pale.
“Can’t you stay? Please?”
Seeing her so frightened, Ian bit his lip, then reluctantly kissed her forehead.
“Sleep.”
The mana-filled kiss made Rose’s eyes close quickly.
“Fenrex,”
Ian said, handing the now-sleeping Rose over to Fenrex.
“Ermenia, protect your master.”
– Errr!
***
As Ian stepped out of the carriage, the metallic scent of blood immediately hit his nose, and the chaotic battlefield came into view.
“Damn it.”
There were far more monsters than just a few attacking the carriage.
“Claude!”
At Ian’s shout, Claude, who was swinging his sword at a monster, rushed over.
“My Lord!”
“Guard the carriage!”
Just then, Edelmar, noticing Ian had come out, wiped the blood off his sword and asked,
“Why did you come out?”
“We’ll have to camp if we delay any longer.”
Instead of saying that the carriage seemed to be the target, Ian gave a different response and summoned Fragarach.
“How many are left?”
“Out of ten, seven remain.”
“I’ll take on five of them,”
“No, I’ll take five, and you take two.”
“Let’s see who handles five.”
Ian darted forward.
Edelmar smirked and followed, charging toward the monsters.
– Kruooookkk!
As an ogre swung its hand at a knight, a gleaming sword slashed through the air.
– Thud!
The ogre’s arm was sliced off in an instant.
The monster looked confused for a moment, as if it didn’t understand what had just happened.
But then, as the pain kicked in, it let out a deafening scream.
“You’ll wake the child,”
Ian said, lifting his sword and stabbing it into the ogre’s heart.
– Thud!
The ogre collapsed backward, its heart pierced. Ian pulled out his sword and glanced at the knight.
“What are you standing around for? Keep moving!”
“N-no, Duke!”
As the knight rushed off to assist the others, Ian dashed forward again.
With Ian’s help, the monsters were taken down even faster.
Ian’s sword strikes were clean and efficient, ending the monsters’ lives in one blow.
In no time, all seven remaining monsters were dealt with.
Edelmar approached Ian, who was wiping the blood off Fragarach, and asked,
“Do you have any enemies who might hold a grudge against you?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“The monsters were too weak. I don’t think they came from the northern mountains.”
Ian had the same suspicion.
Even though Ian and Edelmar had killed most of the monsters, the knights had taken almost no damage.
Moreover, the monsters had weak hearts that could be pierced without the use of aura.
“Hmm. Looks like I was right,”
Ian turned his gaze to where Edelmar was looking. Black mana was seeping out of the monsters’ corpses, reattaching their severed limbs.
And then—
– Kuargh!
The monsters stood up, looking as if they had never been injured.
“What the hell is going on with those things?”
Ian exclaimed.
“The monsters are back up!!”
One of the knights yelled in panic.
As the knights murmured in confusion, Edelmar commented,
“It seems like only we can see it.”
“It seems so,”
While the knights were shouting that the monsters had revived, only Ian and Edelmar could see the black mana animating the dead monsters.
“Is this revenge for the northern hunt?”
Without responding, Ian released the seal on Fragarach.
Edelmar’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the glowing sword.
“Isn’t unsealing it a bit excessive?”
“We need to finish this quickly,”
As he dashed toward the monsters.
– Kuoooorgh!
The monsters’ eyes turned black, and surrounded by the dark mana, their power surged.
The bloodthirsty monsters charged at Ian.
