Chapter 66. A Chilling Gaze
“Madam, you should go to bed now.”
Julie, who had already finished tidying the bed, called out to Bianca.
“Yes, I’ll be there soon.”
“You must come quickly.”
Both the one urging and the one responding knew that this was the fifth time they had repeated this exchange. And they both knew that Bianca would not actually go to bed right away.
It was late at night, and she knew it was time to sleep.
Yet, Bianca couldn’t bring herself to step away from the window.
Outside, with the curtains slightly drawn, was nothing but pitch-black darkness.
“Madam.”
“Yes, I’m coming.”
Bianca instinctively nodded at Julie’s call, but at the next words, she finally turned away from the window.
“Are you worried?”
She had no answer to that.
The day after Jillian left for battle, she had immediately sent a messenger bird. But no reply had come yet.
“It’s normal… Responses don’t come quickly.”
She knew. She understood that he was far too busy.
He was facing far worse than wyverns, dealing with much more on his own.
Expecting a response was unreasonable, her mind understood that.
The fact that he had returned right after she sent the bird last time was nothing more than a stroke of luck.
Bianca didn’t need to ask to know that.
But maybe because of what had happened during the day, she suddenly found herself longing for Jillian. She missed him so much it was unbearable.
She wished he would return right now and hold her in his arms.
She wanted him to embrace her tightly without hesitation and whisper words even stronger than his embrace.
‘This place is your home.’
‘My queen.’
She wanted to see those sun-like eyes, filled with warmth as they entrusted every decision to her, as they endlessly cherished her.
She knew it was a childish wish.
“I must be going crazy.”
“Pardon?”
Julie, startled by Bianca’s self-deprecating whisper, widened her eyes.
“Nothing. I just thought I was being immature.”
“What do you mean, Madam?! You just got here and are already facing the Wave. Handling it this well is more than admirable!”
‘No, it’s not.’
This wasn’t composure.
I was just being childish.
She couldn’t bring herself to admit that to Julie, so she simply let out a bitter smile.
‘You don’t have to hold back. It’s not like you wanted to come here.’
‘I’ll take you away from here.’
That man’s words echoed unpleasantly in her mind.
Someone was trying to shake the very place that had taken her in—the place she had chosen.
She had swiftly cut him off before things could take root, but the unease remained.
Bianca had good instincts.
Especially when it came to bad things.
Her heart churned, seeking Jillian.
At that time, she had been too shocked to properly process his words, but now that she replayed them in her mind, she realized just how dangerous they were.
‘I’ll take you away from here.’
He hadn’t spoken in possibilities.
He had spoken as if, the moment he decided, taking Bianca away was a given.
Such certainty only came from ability.
And in Baloch Duchy, of all places, how many people could be so confident in their abilities?
This meant he wasn’t just some ordinary fool.
Of course, it could be the mad boasting of an unusually deranged man but there was no harm in being cautious.
“Julie, from now on, you will sleep in this room.”
“Pardon?”
“Sleep here. Whether you bring in another bed or find some other way, I don’t care.”
Bianca’s voice was more resolute than ever.
“From tonight onwards, stay with me. Do not leave my side.”
It was a chaotic time, both inside and out.
She didn’t want to stir up unnecessary fear by telling people about that man’s words.
Right now, their focus had to be on the Wave.
“Sir Rappin, I apologize, but I also need you to stay close to me from now on.”
“Is something the matter?”
“Until Jillian returns.”
“…”
Both Julie and Rappin’s faces stiffened with tension.
Bianca smiled at them.
“Because I’m lonely.”
It must have seemed suspicious, but she didn’t know how else to explain it.
***
“This is unbelievable!”
Selene clenched her red, frozen hands in frustration.
“Say that again! What did you just say?!”
“What do you mean…?”
The young maid, who had been fetching water, shrank back at Selene’s angry outburst.
“What you just said! What was given to the commoners again?!”
“Ah…”
Finally recalling her words, the young maid clasped her hands together and whispered,
“You mean the Giant Rabbit pelts?”
“Yes! Why do you keep asking question? Was there something else you said? Are you absolutely sure they were given out from the ducal estate?”
“Y-Yes.”
The young maid, still not fully grown, flinched as Selene, who was over two heads taller, as glared at her and raised her voice.
Had she done something wrong?
Her colleague, who had come to fetch water with her, had long since thrown down her bucket and fled.
Maybe she should have run too.
But her legs had frozen in fear, leaving her trapped here.
“When did this happen?!”
“Huh?”
“Are you going to make me ask twice every time?!”
The maid jumped at the sharp yell, scrambling to answer what little she knew.
She had no idea why this was suddenly an issue.
The duchess had given out the pelts a while ago.
And wasn’t it the duchess’s maids who had cut them from the storeroom’s stockpile?
Selene was a maid too, why was she interrogating a mere servant about it?
Had she been on leave that day or something?
‘Why am I so unlucky?’
It was just common knowledge, so she had mentioned it offhandedly, not realizing it would get her dragged to the courtyard for questioning.
Tears began to well up at the sheer unfairness of it.
“So you’re telling me that every single immigrant received a Giant Rabbit pelt? That precious material?”
“Y-Yes.”
“And the Duke knew?”
“Of course. He was there that day.”
“The Duke was present, and this still happened? What the hell is going on?!”
Selene was so furious that she felt like her head was about to explode.
At first, she couldn’t comprehend what the maid was saying.
But the more she heard, the more absurd it became.
She had been punished for just a few careless words.
Despite being a maid, she had been assigned to the laundry—work even servants avoided—just for that.
And it wasn’t even a lie.
Yet while she suffered in ice-cold water all day, they had freely handed out priceless pelts to mere commoners?
She was freezing her fingers off, and meanwhile, those lower than even the maids were being wrapped in warm fur?
Her teeth clenched in rage.
Selene hated the cold.
She hated how her breath came out in white puffs, clouding her vision.
She hated how the freezing wind made her skin crack at the slightest exposure.
And worst of all, she hated how, because of these endless layers of thick clothing, she had never once been able to show off a proper silhouette like the ladies of the capital.
There was no elegance in waddling around in multiple layers.
There was only bitter resentment.
But then, one day. That day, as always, she was grumbling about this relentless cold in the backyard.
‘If you hate the cold so much, why not leave the Baloch territory?’
‘Easy for you to say. Leaving a territory isn’t child’s play. One would need a house and settlement money. Do you think it costs just a few coins?’
‘Well, then, what if I give it to you?’
At first, Selene thought it was a joke. But it wasn’t.
‘How could a princess, born and raised in the capital, possibly endure the North? Just help her return, with a little effort.’
The hooded figure spoke in a grating, unpleasant voice and handed Selene a pouch filled to the brim with gold coins.
‘I-I-I can’t do that! I don’t have that kind of ability. I’m not a knight!’
The pouch she had thoughtlessly taken was so heavy that her hands nearly dropped it.
Shocked, Selene refused, but the person only smiled and did not take the pouch back.
‘This isn’t something that requires a knight. Not at all. Just spread a few rumors. Make sure everyone knows that the princess is struggling to endure the life here.’
‘Rumors?’
‘Yes, rumors. It could be slander, it could be pity, or even criticism. There are plenty of ways, aren’t there?’
The chilling laughter felt like it was tearing through her eardrums.
‘Right now, what would make the people of Baloch react the most?’
With their hatred for Termina at its peak, the answer was obvious.
‘She’s a pitiful woman, abandoned even by the Imperial Family. Just help her get out of here alive or rather, help her get thrown out. Just a little effort is all it takes.’
She had thought it would be difficult, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy. So easy that she wondered if she even deserved that money.
Until she got caught by the head maid, after being tripped up by a bold little girl.
‘If the princess leaves Baloch, I will give you ten times what you received today. That should be enough for you to leave the North and live comfortably anywhere.’
Selene never forgot the weight of that pouch of gold.
So when the head maid sent her down to the laundry room, she endured it.
But no matter how long she waited, there was no sign of her returning to her original position.
Her anxiety reached its peak, and today’s news shocked her.
“They locked me up in this miserable place, and yet they’re giving something to commoners?! Acting like she’s some kind of duchess!”
For Selene, who had been born and raised a noble her entire life, this was the ultimate insult.
“Hey!”
Still seething, Selene called out to the maid. But when she looked around, she realized she was the only one left in the backyard.
Sometime during her moment of distraction, the maid had bolted.
“****, just like a filthy little rat.”
‘One should never deal with those without noble blood.’
She was gritting her teeth in pure malice when…
“You there. Let’s have a little talk.”
“What?”
A massive shadow loomed over Selene from behind.
The snow fog, thick and suffocating, enveloped her like a tightly woven prison.
***
Jillian silently swallowed the stench of blood and burning flesh as he walked forward.
The snow was piled up to his waist, but it didn’t hinder his movement.
It was as if he were striding down a well-paved road.
Just as he reached the 5th fortress…
Boom. Boom.
Amid the relentless pounding of the Grace Worms against the fortress walls, a faint noise caught his attention.
It was a thin, cracking sound.
“Hah…”
The 7th fortress was completely collapsing.
For a moment, everything turned white, an explosion of snow bursting like foam and the world trembled violently.
When the swirling snow fog settled, what greeted him was a Grace Worm, now closer than before.
Boom. Boom.
They had burned the 4th fortress to drive them back, reducing their numbers slightly, but there were still seven left.
Boom.
The creatures slammed their bodies against the 6th fortress.
Their steady, methodical destruction made it seem like they were searching for something relentlessly.
Boom.
As the ground-shaking tremor reached his feet…
Their eyes met.
In that instant, a grotesque voice echoed in his mind.
“Found you!”
