Chapter 37.

 Warning

Was that all — you swaggered just from this?

I was dumbfounded.

The casting of was absurdly slow, and the aim was off.

In terms of raw power, was somewhat acceptable, but its casting speed was just as slow.

Even considering that ice magic is normally slow to cast, Cedric’s magic was excessively sluggish.

If I had set my mind to it, dodging would’ve been nothing.

I had only thought it would be better to overwhelm him with stronger firepower to plainly show the difference in strength.

And yet…

“Why? You want to try some more?”

Cedric staggered to his feet and drew the sword strapped at his waist.

“If the North… shows hostility to the Icemaker… it’s as good as a death sentence—?!”

Before his words could go any further, I tossed a single at him as a warning.

Cedric quickly raised his sword to block the fireball, but…

Boom—!

He couldn’t stop the following explosion.

“Guh?!”

Dodging the flames and the blast, Cedric hunched over and scowled.

Huff— huff— whoosh—!

I fired after in quick succession.

No matter how frantically he swung his sword, he couldn’t block all the many .

With a series of explosions, the once-plain-white Cedric began to blacken and char.

“Ku— ugh…!”

Unable to open his eyes properly, he staggered as I detonated another against his thigh.

He kicked the air as if to rear-kick, then, unable to handle the recoil, he dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground.

A hideous thud.

“Ugh… uuuugh…!”

“Don’t get up. Just stay down.”

I dismounted while speaking to the struggling Cedric who was trying to rise.

I picked up his fallen sword and placed it atop his trembling shoulder.

Cedric lifted his head and glared at me with pale, white eyes.

I trained the blade at the pale nape of his neck with a menacing glint.

“Do as I say.”

“Gah—?!”

“Don’t answer back — just listen.”

I crouched and grabbed a fistful of his hair roughly with my remaining hand.

“Unless you want to die.”

I glanced over the guard members who flinched nearby, then subtly shifted Cedric’s head so the sword pointed in the direction I’d been aiming.

The guards who had seemed about to rush in slowly retreated one step at a time.

“You trained them well.”

I let out a short laugh, then wiped the smile from my face.

“As I said earlier, he killed because he tried to slaughter one of our men. It just so happened that the man he killed was someone I care about. That’s why I came. To give a warning.”

“……”

“From now on, send supplies monthly. Don’t attach useless inspectors or anything like that — just the wagons. If after the first week the wagons don’t show up, it won’t end with a warning. Understood?”

“……”

“If you understand, nod. I told you to keep your mouth shut, not to stay frozen.”

Cedric kept still for a moment, then slowly — just barely — nodded.

“You knew Captain Siruela couldn’t come down from the snowy mountain, didn’t you?”

“……”

He nodded again.

“In other words, everyone except Captain Siruela can come down. If I wanted, I could wipe this place out without leaving a trace. This time the others said they’d come, but I came alone. I didn’t want to make things bigger. If they had come as well, it wouldn’t have ended with just a collapsed wall.”

I yanked him up by the hair and whispered into his ear.

“They would all be dead.”

His throat bobbed with the stretch; I could see him swallowing.

Whether from fear or fatigue, Cedric trembled.

His pale eyes shook even more.

To see that noble brat — who arrogantly called people “dropouts” based on whether they bore an insignia — reduced to a frightened heap was something.

Should I have brought Ronan along?

I dropped his hair and stood up as if tossing him away.

“Stay put and behave.”

I threw the sword beside him.

It clanged and rolled across the ground.

“After I finish the real duty of Icewrack…”

I looked down at Cedric, who was lifting his head slightly, and etched the fear clearly onto his soot-streaked face.

“You’ll come down on your own.”

Esric Spelder rode back to the guard post.

The guards remained frozen until he vanished completely from sight.

Cedric, still lying face-down on the ground, was the same — motionless.

What on earth was this…

His clenched fist trembled with fear and fury.

This overwhelming power… somehow… brought to mind my father…

No, it couldn’t be that—

That dropout could not possibly be—

No matter how much I refused the image, the collapsed wall remained in my vision.

Clenching his teeth, he rose slowly.

“…Repair the wall.”

Cedric muttered.

“Right now…!”

For the first time, his voice rose in anger.

Only then did the dazed guards snap back to attention.

“A-are you all right…?”

“Captain…!”

“Repair the wall!”

He swung his arm as if to push away the approaching men and shouted.

“Now… immediately…!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Ah, understood!”

The frozen guards hurriedly moved.

The officer-level men yelled to clear the rubble, and the others hurriedly followed suit.

Only Cedric stood motionless in place.

Suppressing the urge to scream, he ground his teeth again and again.

A broken wall? Rebuild it.

Monthly supplies? Not hard.

But if the fact that he had been so utterly defeated became known back at the main house—

If Father were to find out…

Cedric trembled.

That thought was worse than Esric’s blade at his nape.

No — it couldn’t be.

As soon as his research was complete, he planned to leave this damned Icewrack behind.

He would inherit his father’s research, become the lord, and it would naturally be his turn to dominate the North.

One intruding troublemaker had bungled all that.

If his father learned of this, he might change the succession.

I will not let some puppet take my place.

Urgh.

He bit down so hard that a tooth broke.

Cedric spat out the blood and the broken tooth.

“The wall….”

He stared intently in the direction Esric had disappeared.

“…It needs to be built higher.”

There was a dark madness in his pale eyes.

“Higher…”

A commander ran up to him, panting.

“E-excuse me, Captain…? What about the wagons?”

“The wagons?”

“Yes… the— the supplies delivered to the guard post…”

Four wagons rolled in behind the hesitant commander.

They were all the wagons Marken had taken to the guard post.

“Bring the drivers here.”

“…Yes? Ah, right!”

The commander ran to the wagons among the rubble and soon brought all four drivers forward.

They stood awkwardly before Cedric.

“From now on… you will not leave the fortress.”

“What?!”

“W-what do you mean…?”

“What is this about?!” the drivers protested.

“Nothing that happens here today must get out. Absolutely not.”

“I will never speak a word! So please—!”

“I can’t! I have a wife and children at home—?!”

The second driver couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Kugh?!”

Cedric’s sword pierced his chest.

With a quick pull, a fountain of red blood spurted out.

“H-hey?!”

The other drivers shrank back in horror.

“Do I look like someone the Icemaker would ask for a favor?”

A crazed light flickered in his eyes.

“The victor of the North is the Icemaker — that is me!”

“Glory to the Icemaker!”

One of the remaining drivers dropped to his knees and cried out in submission before Cedric swung his sword again.

“I will obey your orders! Please! Lower your blade!”

“I will obey! Please spare me!”

The others followed, kneeling and prostrating themselves.

Thanks to that, no more blood stained Cedric’s sword.

“What… is your name?”

“Dike… Dike, my lord duke.”

“……”

Cedric stared hard at the back of Dike’s head as he lay face-down and wouldn’t even lift it.

Marken was dead.

He’d been stupid but loyal.

Still, he’d been clever enough to look after his own interests.

With that kind of sense, he might be useful.

“Get up.”

“Th-thank you!”

“You will be the ones to transport the supply goods to the guard post every month from now on. I’ll prepare lodging for you while you stay.”

“I’ll do my best!”

Dike answered the loudest and bowed his head.

The other drivers reluctantly followed suit.

“But before that…”

Cedric had taken a liking to Dike.

“I want to know what happened at the guard post. Tell me everything you saw and heard there.”

So he singled him out and said it with emphasis.

“No problem! I’ll tell you everything!”

If Cedric had known Dike was half-enchanted by Esric, he never would have chosen him.

“I’ll tell you everything!”

On the way back to the guard post.

“I wish he’d obey as easily as you do…”

I smoothed the mane of the white horse that slid steadily over the snow.

“He won’t listen quietly.”

I clicked my tongue and muttered to myself.

I had threatened him, but I didn’t expect Cedric to simply comply.

He was proud and arrogant.

He’d likely pretend to go along with my demands to buy time.

He’d use that time to prepare measures to fend off not just me but the entire guard post.

“…But why?”

A sudden question crossed my mind.

Why was the guard trying to check the guard post?

Was there any reason? Or just because?

It was odd that they had reinforced their own side of the wall to be higher and sturdier from the start.

I could understand the inspector’s attitude, but reducing supplies was even stranger.

They should want us to hold back the snowworms; that would put them at ease…

I turned the problem over in my head.

I eliminated unlikely possibilities one by one until only one plausible reason remained.

“Ah.”

Cutting supplies was clearly to restrain the guard post.

But making the wall higher and stronger wasn’t to check the guard post.

It was to prepare for a flood of snowworms.

“These bastards…”

There was no other reason.

“They were trying to kill us.”