HWWRC Chapter 09

Chapter 9 

Ash pressed his forehead for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. Meanwhile, Charlotte gently shook her head as Aria asked if Ash was her father. But once the group of men started, they bombarded Ash with questions like a rapid-fire machine gun. Ash closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again and tried to calm them with a hand gesture—but it was useless.

“If you have such a beautiful wife and daughter, you should’ve told us!”
“I don’t.”
“Is that all our friendship means to you, Duke? That’s too much!”
“I said I don’t!”
“But she even matches your personality, Duke—”
“Quiet!”

The men finally shut their mouths as Ash raised his voice. He sighed deeply and said sharply:

“All of you—turn around.”

The men obeyed without question. With their backs to Ash, he turned to Charlotte and quietly apologized.

“I’m sorry, my lady.”
“It’s all right. They’re quite funny.”

Charlotte found it embarrassing that she’d been scared of them earlier based only on their rough appearance. Now, seeing them act so comfortably with Ash, it was kind of nice.

“We are kind of funny.”

One of the men whispered, but Ash glared at their backs in silence. Feeling his sharp stare, they went quiet again. At that moment, Aria, who had been hiding behind Charlotte, ran toward the big man holding the cage.

“Mister!”
“Oh, hello there.”

Aria hugged the man’s leg and pointed to the cage he was carrying.

“Mister, what’s this?”
“Aria, don’t do that. Come here.”
“It’s okay. Let’s see… You’re Aria, right? I’m Pedro.”

Charlotte tried to stop her, but a child’s curiosity is hard to stop once it begins. Pedro gently patted Aria’s head and looked toward the cage. A small beastly sound came from within.

“That’s a Northern Fox.”
“A Northern Fox?”
“Yes. It’s about the size of a child, with fluffy white fur. But it tends to attack people, so we’re taking it back to the snowy mountains.”

Aria stepped closer to the cage but then hid again behind Pedro’s leg. He let out a big laugh. His broad shoulders shook—and so did the cage. It shook a bit too much. One of the many locks on the cage suddenly came undone.

“Mister, that one came loose!”
“!”

The moment Aria pointed it out, Pedro’s expression changed.

He quickly set the cage down with a loud thud. At the same time, several sharp-eyed men rushed to hold the cage steady. It shook violently—so much that it made one doubt if there really was just a fox inside.

Ash moved Charlotte behind him and grabbed the sword at his waist. But just as suddenly as it started, the cage stopped shaking. The tension lingered in the air as the men exchanged serious glances. It looked like there was something they needed to discuss privately.

Charlotte picked Aria up in her arms.

“Duke, I’ll head to the salon first. Aria’s feeling cold.”

It wasn’t really that cold—but she had goosebumps. That sound—too sharp, too loud. It wasn’t a fox’s cry. Aria, also shaken, clung tightly to Charlotte’s sleeve.

Ash gave a brief glance at the cage, nodded, and handed her the brooch from his cloak.

“That’s a good idea. I… seem to have work to do. I’ll visit you later.”

After getting directions from Ash, Charlotte left quickly with Aria.

***

After reaching the underground prison of the territory, Ash finally spoke.

“That wasn’t a Northern Fox.”
“I tried to hide it in front of the child, but yeah…”

Pedro scratched the back of his head and threw the cage toward the empty cell. It rolled across the stone floor with a loud clang. Then, with a click, the lock broke and the cage door swung open. Something dark and fast shot out, darting across the floor and hurling itself toward Ash—only to be stopped by the iron bars.

“This is…”
“Looks like it, huh?”
“Never thought I’d see the day we captured a monster.”

It was a Northern Fox—but a monster in that form.

Ash frowned as he watched the creature scream and thrash.

“It’s been over 50 years since we wiped out the black magic army stationed in Nostrie. Ever since I became Duke, I’ve kept guards posted everywhere to prevent any future intrusions. So why is there a monster now… where did it come from?”

Monsters didn’t occur naturally. They were artificially made by combining black magic and living beings—only black mages could create them. If one was found in the snowy mountains, that meant black mages had been there.

“Any other monsters?”
“None.”
“None… or none that left evidence.”

Who knew when or where more might appear? This one was captured, but if it hadn’t been, it could’ve attacked the village.

“Should we evacuate the villagers?”
“No. Just make sure no one finds out we caught a monster.”

There was no need to cause unnecessary fear—not until they were certain black mages were involved.

***

Thanks to the brooch Ash gave her, Charlotte easily entered the salon. Unlike the capital’s salons, which were noisy and packed with chatty young women, this one was calm and warm despite the cold weather. Most of the ladies here were older.

Charlotte found an empty table a bit away from others and sat with Aria. She gave Aria a cookie, which the child took in like a bunny.

‘I suppose I should meet Viscountess Rossi soon.’

Charlotte was tired of dealing with people. But since Ash had said she was a good person, she decided to give it a chance. Hopefully, he was right.

Not long after, Charlotte heard someone walking toward her—quiet but with a slightly dramatic pace. She looked up to see Anna, looking deeply upset.

“My lady! Why are you here? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you? You’re so mean!”

Anna kept her voice down but was clearly emotional.

“I’m sorry. I forgot.”
“How could you forget me? That’s so mean!”
“Don’t be mad—come have some cake.”
“If you thought I’d forgive you just for strawberry cake… you were right! I love strawberry cake!”

Charlotte smiled and pushed a slice toward her. Anna trembled in joy and sat down, staring at the strawberries on top. The moment she bit into one, her cheeks turned pink.

Charlotte glanced fondly at Aria, who was still holding onto her sleeve tightly after being frightened by the cage. Even now, Aria wouldn’t let go.

“Anna, I met Duke Valiant earlier. Did you not see him?”
“The Duke? No, but I saw the mountain search party.”
“Mountain search party?”

Charlotte adjusted Aria in her lap and gave her another cookie.

“This territory has knights in the castle, but also a special group who search the mountains and the region. That’s them.”

‘So they left as soon as we moved out of the way… What was in that cage?’

Anyone could tell it wasn’t a fox. Pedro must’ve said that to avoid scaring Aria. Maybe it was one of the beasts that attacked her…

Charlotte didn’t notice Aria tugging her sleeve for another cookie—too lost in thought.

Then Anna took a spoonful of cake and fed it to Aria. The girl’s eyes sparkled at the taste of cream and soft sponge. But suddenly, she pointed at something in Anna’s pocket.

“Sister, what’s that?”
“Hmm? Oh! My lady, a letter came for you!”
“A letter?”
“It’s from the Marquis of Blanche!”
“Really? Could you read it for me?”
“Me? Okay!”

Charlotte wiped the cream off Aria’s cheek and waited as Anna began.

“To sum it up…”
“Yes?”
“He says the Saint is half-dead now, so it’s fine.”
“…What?”

Was that really a summary?

***

In the Agent Empire, where they worshiped gods, ordinary people couldn’t enter the temple freely. Even priests had to remove all accessories and be accompanied by someone carrying a holy energy stone, to prevent black magic attacks.

But Marquis Blanche was different. Everyone in the temple knew him and had seen his divine power. He was one of the rare few allowed in without question.

Since retiring, the Marquis rarely visited the temple unless it was an official event. So when he showed up, all the priests came out to greet him.

“Marquis, what brings you here?”
“Where is the High Priest?”
“The High Priest? Oh, he’s in the prayer room…”

At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed off the marble floor. The Marquis looked past the priest’s shoulder.

A man with light sky-blue hair and pure white eyes—High Priest Silbert, known as the Messenger of God. His aura was almost tangible, giving off a mysterious and overwhelming presence. Even though he was the same age as the Marquis, he still looked like he was in his twenties.

Silbert smiled kindly and gently tapped each priest on the shoulder. Wherever he touched, a soft glow appeared.

“It’s been a while, High Priest.”
“Indeed. It’s rare to see you here. Have you been well?”

The Marquis nodded and quickly got to the point.

“High Priest, I need your time.”
“Oh? Well, a friend’s request is one I cannot refuse.”

The High Priest smiled warmly and looked closely at the Marquis.

“Come, I’ll take you to the reception room.”