Death Can’t Sleep - Chapter 108
Amarion tried to avert her gaze. It wasn’t hard to tell the truth, but she didn’t know how to say who she was when she was returning with a Southerner in a dress. Besides, she didn’t want to hear jokes like from the mercenaries.
They made a fuss.
“No, what are the men doing? They still haven’t taken such a pretty girl!”
“If Sir Pandragon finds out, there will be an uproar.”
When the story of the Lord of Siland, Pandragon Siland came out, the young people all shook their heads. Pandragon, who was now approaching 70 years of age, had been a great knight since his youth, and even now maintained a dignified appearance. But he had a flaw in that he couldn’t help but pair up unmarried young people.
‘Come to think of it, what is Sir Pandragon doing? Is Muriel fighting so much?’
“How is Sir Pandragon doing?”
Suddenly, their faces darkened.
Ivan wiped his mouth with his sleeve and smiled bitterly.
“You must have been really far away. Didn’t even hear the news.”
“News?”
“Pandragon passed away this spring.”
Amarion was startled and dropped her wooden spoon.
‘He died? That person died?’
“Was he injured? Was he sick?”
The healer woman shook her head.
“I can’t pinpoint what kind of disease it was. He just lost his energy. He had been working since he was young.”
“He was old. He had fought his whole life in the North, and it was a miracle that he endured that much.”
Amarion squeezed her soup bowl.
She lost count of the shocking news she had heard since she came back here. When Amarion was there, the North was difficult, but it was a boring land with no incidents. In half a year, one Lord died, a young boy became a Lord, and the number of monsters doubled.
‘This wasn’t what I imagined, why…’
Ivan let out a deep sigh.
“Amari will be very different from what you knew. After “White Knight’ left…”
“The White Knight?”
Victor, who had been quiet the whole time, asked. Ivan nodded his head.
“The Lord of Amari, that’s what we call Lady Amarion. She always worked alone instead of her incompetent family members.”
“She is phenomenally strong, so Muel and Siland girls flocked to Amari to learn how to wield a sword.”
“I saw her.”
A man blurted out.
Amarion was surprised and quickly lowered her head. His low voice continued.
“One winter day, I went to the mountains and ran into her. When I first saw her, I thought she wasn’t human. Too many monsters died too quickly.”
“…”
“She… is not just strong. I’ve never seen anyone so strong. Even if a dragon appeared, she could kill it.”
“I heard that she goes hunting with ten swords on her back. The monsters cannot stand it.”
“I heard that if her sword breaks, monster’s teeth or bones are removed and she uses them as a sword. There were a lot of great swordsmen in Amari, but I don’t think there was anyone like her in history.”
Amarion lowered her head even more. Even though everything they said was true, she couldn’t raise her head because she was embarrassed. Even after hearing the news of Muriel and Pandragon, she felt that way even more.
‘I’m not as great a person as they think.’
Amarion barely squeezed out a few words.
“That… is exaggerated.”
“What! The ‘Wizard Queen’ or ‘Walking Death’ would be no match for her.”
“And what if it’s true?”
The healer woman said bitterly.
“People like us need heroes like her. What else do we have?”
Amarion was speechless and stared at them.
The travelers returning to Muel were exhausted. A cloak that had been torn and mended several times, old shoes, and a heavy pocket on the shoulder. The healer woman held grass in her hands, and the swordsmen and spearmen were covered in old scars with flimsy fur armor and bandages.
That was a northerner. Those who remained in that barren land with only a sense of duty.
Amarion bit her lip and turned her head.
Ivan spoke quietly.
“Anyway, you have to be prepared. Amari is now a land without a Lord.”
Amarion couldn’t answer and just nodded. Then she stretched out a blanket and lay down near the fireplace. Her heart hurt.
It was the first time she had ever heard anything about herself like this. Of course, she had heard compliments and thanks, but had never been able to take them seriously. She thought that the incompetent heir who couldn’t even protect the people of her territory had no right to hear such words.
Even now, when she realized that she was quite strong, she felt like an incompetent Lord.
‘But what if I wasn’t really? What if my existence was more important here than I thought?’
Amarion closed her eyes tightly.
She had to check it out. To those who knew her and the North better than anyone else.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next day they woke up early. It was already snowing up to the top of their feet. Because the weather in the North was cold and the snow froze easily, they quickly packed their things and exited the cabin. Amarion handed them all their provisions.
“What are you guys going to do?”
“We are fine. I have another idea.”
Ivan looked at her in surprise, then nodded his head.
“…I’d like to decline, but I’m not in a position to do that. Thank you.”
“Go with caution. Glory be to Lord Muel.”
“I hope we can get through the cold winter without freezing.”
They said their greetings and disappeared down the road.
Victor, who had been standing behind her the whole time, opened his mouth.
“Marion, I have decided not to complain about your actions.”
He pointed to a large sign. The sign said that going straight down that road would lead to Amari, Muel, and Siland.
“To get to Amari, shouldn’t we follow that road too?”
“There is a faster way.”
Amarion said quietly.
A way that could clear her doubts and get her to Amari very quickly. It was absurdly dangerous, but it was a path that Victor could follow.
Victor didn’t ask anything else. He just climbed on top of his reindeer and headed where she pointed. Amarion followed him and rode her reindeer into the field.
The northern plains were a vast white. As the snow piled up on the almost treeless land, it became dazzling like pure white silk. Except for the footprints of the reindeer, everything was pure white. It was a sight she was used to, but Victor couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“It is quiet here.”
His sun-like eyes reflected snowy mountains. He turned to look at Amarion.
“Would you hate it if I told you that the cold here is beautiful?”
“No. I think this place is beautiful, too.”
It was a barren land that was difficult to farm, but she always thought the North was beautiful. Even if the cold made her flesh dry and the blood on her sword freeze, the smell of the cold wind made her feel alive. That was how she endured the solitude of hunting.
“Of course, it is a difficult place for people to live. People are always hungry. It would be nice if they could eat the monsters.”
Amarion bowed her head.
She hated monsters. Most monsters were poisonous and could not be eaten, and snow golems melted when they died and disappeared into a pile of snow. It was as if they were created out of malice to harass people. She hated hurting people, coming down to the village and attacking them, and that no matter how much she killed the monsters, they could not be used as food.
“So I always thought I wanted to set fire to the Black Mountains.”
“…”
“My friend scolded me for saying this.”
Victor replied quietly.
“I understand.”
“Really?”
“Wouldn’t I understand how you feel after wandering the battlefield for revenge?”
He smiled bitterly.
“And you are absolutely right, Marion. What else should we set fire to?”
It was sincere, not even a joke. Amarion shook her head with a smile.
“Stop it, my friend will be really angry.”
“…It’s the first time you’ve talked about your hometown friends.”
“Yes. I only have one childhood friend left… You will be able to meet soon.”
Before Victor could ask further, he saw a forest of black birch trees at the end of the snowy field. Amarion quickly ran towards them.
＊ ＊ ＊
Strangely enough, the trees on the Black Mountains were all black. Like monster creation, it was for an unknown reason.
This forest was the beginning of a black mountain range. Amarion stopped in front of the birch grove. As they got closer, they saw a small trail. It was so gloomy just looking at it that she was reluctant to get close to it.
But this was the ‘entrance’.
“This is the road used by bandits.”
Victor raised an eyebrow.
“If it’s bandits, they are…?”
“Yes. The inhabitants of the Black Mountains.”
Surprised, Victor turned his head and looked down the trail.
In general, bandits were those who hid on the roads and attacked travelers, but to those who knew about the Black Mountains, the meaning was a little different.
They were the masters of the Black Mountains. Closed-minded people who roamed all over the mountains, hunted monsters, and lived self-sufficiently in a fortress on top of a mountain. Even the Emperor could not touch them because no one could find them. Those who were believed to have originated in the North lived there for generations and called the best of them the ‘king’.
The place they would travel to now was their city.
***