Chapter 6
He used to be the Holy Knight Commander. But when his body began to change, people called it corruption.
The proof? The monsters.
After the Demon Realm was sealed, some monsters were left behind. Instead of returning, they were drawn to the duke… gathering around his castle.
So, the North became known as land of monsters, and the great hero was now called the Fallen One.
The merchant shook his hands, warning Kyria:
“What good is being a war hero if your land is crawling with monsters? Miss, be careful. Don’t ever go into that forest.”
“Because of monsters?” Kyria asked.
“Yes, but also… I heard they’ve started kidnapping people.”
Kyria gasped.
“Some victims returned, screaming never to enter that forest again. Others… never came back.”
Cold sweat ran down Kyria’s back.
She had to enter the duke’s land if she wanted to gain his trust and find the cure for her brother.
‘Rian… please help your sister be brave.’
She thought of her little brother’s smile, then nodded firmly.
“Ten fire orbs, please!”
“That’ll be sixty gold.”
“…On second thought, never mind.”
She couldn’t afford it—she’d already spent too much on mercenaries.
So, she left for the village gate to meet the hired escorts.
When they reached the edge of the Black Forest, Kyria froze.
“Unbelievable… over there—poison herbs! And there too! Everywhere is poison herbs!”
Her eyes sparkled. The forest that terrified others looked like a treasure field to her.
In the South, poison herbs were rare and expensive. Here? They grew like weeds.
Even the mercenaries didn’t care—just another weird city girl picking plants.
“Miss, aren’t we going?” one asked.
“Ah! Sorry, I’m coming!”
Her bag now stuffed with herbs, Kyria rejoined the group.
The skinny mage in the party tilted his head.
“Miss, why are you really going to the duke’s castle? Didn’t you hear? He’s corrupted.”
“I heard.”
“Then why…?”
Smiling, Kyria pulled a wrinkled piece of paper from her bag.
It was a notice she had taken from the village wall:
[Wanted: Court Apothecary]
The duke’s castle seeks a personal apothecary.
Men or women welcome. High pay. Learn while you work.
We promise a warm, family-like atmosphere, in the name of God.
The mercenaries frowned. It looked like a shady, old scam.
The mage opened his mouth to object, but the swordsman beside him elbowed him: Don’t scare off our employer.
So instead, the swordsman just cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Anyway, our contract ends at the middle of the forest. After that, we return.”
“Yes, I know.”
Kyria smiled secretly.
She wasn’t only trusting the job notice. She also remembered the original novel’s events.
In the Black Forest, monsters often kidnapped people.
At first, the thought had terrified her… but she realized something important:
The monsters weren’t randomly kidnapping. They were bringing strong humans with mana to the duke.
That’s why she hired a mercenary group with a mage. Mages had plenty of mana.
If he got taken, she could simply follow along.
And in the original story, kidnapped people were always safe—the duke never harmed them.
“Any minute now…” Kyria thought.
Sure enough—
Screeeech!
A monster appeared: a wyvern, its body twice as big as a bull.
“Wyvern!” shouted the mercenaries, drawing their swords.
The wyvern swooped down toward the mage—
‘Perfect! Just like the novel!’
But then—
The wyvern sniffed. Its gaze shifted… to Kyria’s bulging bag of herbs.
And in an instant—
Whoosh!
It snatched her instead.
“…Eh!?”
Dangling in the air, Kyria screamed, “Help! Put me down!”
But the mercenaries quickly vanished from sight.
“…Wait, why me? I’m not even a mage!”
Her fear soon turned into resignation. Being carried like this… was actually kind of convenient.
“…I don’t have to walk. It’s faster than the train.”
Still, she felt sharp pain in her side. She looked down—
Blood!
The wyvern’s claws had pierced her waist.
‘At this rate, I’ll bleed out before even reaching the castle!’
Panicked, she spotted something: a small cut on the wyvern’s leg, likely from the mercenaries.
An idea flashed.
Kyria pulled out two herbs from her bag—Dulith petals (cause muscle cramps) and Numpis leaves (cause numbness).
Mixed together, they created a paralysis effect.
She chewed them into a pulp, ignoring the burning numbness in her mouth, then shoved the mixture into the wyvern’s wound.
“Eat this!” she shouted, voice slurred from the herbs numbing her tongue.
At first, nothing.
Then—
Screech?
The wyvern’s movements grew sluggish. It lowered its flight.
“Yes! It’s working!”
But… too well.
The wyvern lost control midair, twisting violently—
—and Kyria was thrown off.
“Waaahhh!”
She fell, the castle roof and courtyard rushing up beneath her.
‘I’m going to die before even meeting him!’
She squeezed her eyes shut.
But then—
Whoosh—
A gentle wind wrapped around her, slowing her fall.
Like invisible hands, the air carried her down until she landed softly on the ground.
“Ugh… my butt…”
Nearby, the wyvern crashed with a groan.
Kyria looked up. The grand castle towered above her.
And in a second-story window, she saw a shadow move behind the curtains.
Just before it vanished, she wondered—
“Was that person… the one who saved me?”
