“Do you really think the antidote will sell at that price?”
Cecile asked with a worried face as she climbed into the carriage. She seemed concerned about the enormous price they had set.
“It’ll sell. It’s a medicine you can’t find anywhere else.”
Lady Ritz—Elice—answered calmly. She was confident it would sell because she was sure of its effectiveness.
Wasn’t her father, the Emperor, living proof of that?
The sight of powerful nobles swaying under the influence of a single dose of Solasanguis clearly demonstrated how valuable rare medicine could be.
Whenever she went outside, Elice always used the alias “Lady Ritz.”
She didn’t want to use the title “Duchess of Ernhardt,” which no one from the ducal household acknowledged. Nor was there any benefit in revealing herself as the Emperor’s daughter.
Fortunately, few people in the Empire recognized her face. She had lived mostly confined in a detached palace and had always worn a golden veil within the palace. Even at the grand wedding, watched by many, she had worn a wedding veil, so no one had seen her face properly.
“My lady, you’re really amazing. How do you come up with such miraculous medicines so easily?”
Cecile’s eyes sparkled. Having been with Elice for seven years since the imperial palace days, Cecile never doubted the effectiveness of her medicine.
After all, it was Elice’s medicine that had instantly cured her brother after a beast attack, and her parents when they were gravely ill.
Grateful for all of it, Cecile had turned down a much better post as a lady-in-waiting to the Empress. She remained loyally by Elice’s side, despite the hardships that came with serving her.
“It’s all thanks to my mother’s herbs. You can’t find anything like them in the Empire.”
Elice gave a faint smile, thinking of her late mother. Most of the knowledge she had of medicinal herbs came from her, so it wasn’t an exaggeration.
“The people of Tyleang always carry seeds with them.”
Her mother had often said that when Elice was young. And every year, she would hang a new pouch of seeds around her neck.
The small leather pouch held over a hundred types of seeds, all native to her mother’s homeland, Tyleang.
The Empire of Stuttgart had vastly different soil and climate compared to Tyleang, so the seeds didn’t grow well. That’s why her mother always raised herbs in a greenhouse.
Elice’s childhood was filled with memories of following her mother around in that greenhouse. She cherished every tale her mother told about herbs, spoken with joy like a song.
“But what do you plan to do with all that money from the medicine?”
Cecile asked curiously. Elice had no interest in dresses or jewels, so it wasn’t clear why she needed such a huge sum.
“I’m going to get Hadin out.”
Elice replied without hesitation. Cecile’s eyes widened.
“What? But… that’s impossible. His Majesty the Emperor would never allow it.”
“There’s a guild that will do anything for money. If you pay them enough, they can even smuggle someone out of the palace’s underground prison.”
Cecile had heard of it too. A top-tier information guild, known for getting anything, finding anyone. Officially, they sold information, but their real business was smuggling, fraud, assassination—anything except assassinating the Emperor.
“Isn’t it too dangerous? I’ve heard horrible things happen in places like that.”
Cecile asked anxiously, but Elice remained firm, her face resolute.
“Hadin is in a place far more dangerous.”
So she could face something even more perilous if it meant saving him.
Her eyes fell again on the bracelet on her wrist. She didn’t know what kind of dark magic it held, but it gave her a terrible feeling. It seemed like something that should never be used.
The Emperor had said the powder in the bracelet would seduce Lexius, but Elice doubted that was all. There might be something even more terrifying hidden within.
She couldn’t recklessly use it, but what if she did—and still didn’t conceive a child?
The Emperor might truly take Hadin’s life then. His violent nature meant his patience had already run out after waiting three years.
She had to get Hadin out as soon as possible. Before it was too late.
—
***
Spring had come to most of the Empire, but snow was still falling in the north.
The north, where winter lasted half the year, was the heartland of the House of Ernhardt.
An ancient family older than the Empire itself, the Ernhardts had risen in power by battling beasts beyond the barrier wall.
Facing the northernmost edge of the continent and the Beasts’ Land—the beasts’ domain—they were known as the Empire’s roof or its last line of defense.
For centuries, they had protected the Empire from massive beast invasions, earning unmatched fame as a family of warriors.
Beasts had existed across the continent for over a thousand years, but the most powerful ones were concentrated in the Beasts’ Land. Their numbers were overwhelming.
If the northern wall of Ernhardt ever broke, the Empire would be utterly destroyed.
Thud!
Another massive beast crashed to the ground, shaking the earth. Blood spread across the snow-covered ground.
“Reinforce this section of the wall too.”
Lexius sheathed his blood-dripping sword after slaying the beast in mere seconds.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Count Chantal, acting lord of the northern territory and responsible for the wall, quickly relayed the orders.
Though they’d only inspected a small portion of the eastern wall, they had already found more than a hundred beasts—all from beyond the Beasts’ Land.
“This is unusually high, isn’t it? Have we ever seen such an invasion?”
Awen, following behind, asked grimly. If this was just one portion, then surely thousands had crossed the entire wall.
“Yes. No breaches in the wall, yet more are coming through.”
“Could the beasts be growing stronger? So strong the old walls can’t hold them?”
“Maybe. We’ll need to summon Calix. Looks like we need a new barrier. No matter how high the wall is, if the enchantment is old, they’ll break through.”
As a beast charged at them, Lexius slashed, his sword aura cutting the giant centipede-like creature—Katarakta—into pieces.
Another Katarakta approached, but Awen sliced through it easily. Its black blood stained the white snow.
“But doesn’t it all seem odd? Even in the capital, the mutated wolves are more aggressive than ever.”
Awen remarked as they moved forward. Lexius nodded silently.
“Maybe the Emperor is stirring something up again. The more black magic spreads, the more the beasts react.”
“You should visit the capital soon. We may need a purge in the Chernay Forest. If this keeps up, even the ducal estate could suffer from the mutant wolves. And we don’t have enough knights to spare for it.”
“You’re right. We’ll finish inspecting the wall first.”
The conversation was cut short. A massive swarm of Katarakta emerged from nowhere—easily in the hundreds.
These multi-legged climbers were notorious for breaching walls, but never in such large groups.
The knights following them quickly sprang into action. Soon, black beast corpses piled up around them.
That was when a blue powder began to fall from the sky. Just as the knights had slain half the swarm.
The sparkling blue dust glittered in the sunlight—and exploded the moment it touched the beasts.
Their black bodies disintegrated mid-air and scattered in fragments.
As over a hundred beasts exploded in a chain reaction, the knights had to retreat just to avoid the blasts.
The swarm was obliterated. The blue powder rained without pause.
“He’s here.”
One knight chuckled. Laughter echoed around.
“Yeah, he’s here.”
“Always makes an entrance, doesn’t he?”
Sure enough, from atop a tall sequoia tree, a man with flowing blue hair leapt down.
“Lord Calix!”
“You’ve come! Did the experiment succeed?”
Greeted with cheers, the man waved at the knights and walked up to Lexius.
“Long time no see, Rex.”
Calix, more beautiful than any woman, casually draped an arm over Lexius’s shoulder and smiled.
“What were you up to this time?”
Lexius immediately shrugged him off, frowning. Calix had always been annoyingly clingy.
“Didn’t you see? I’ve been researching a substance that reacts to beast magic. It won’t work on high-level beasts, but it’ll wipe out the mid-level ones.”
“You probably spent a fortune again.”
Lexius looked annoyed. Calix grinned even more.
“That’s why I like you. You never skimp on funding.”
“Anyway, good timing. I was just about to summon you.”
“Me? Why? There haven’t been any big battles lately.”
“We need to reinforce the barrier. With something entirely unfamiliar to the beasts.”
“Ah. I’ve noticed things getting weird lately. Don’t worry—I have something in mind.”
Calix’s eyes sparkled mischievously.
Though he seemed carefree, he was the personal mage of House Ernhardt and a disciple of the legendary archmage Galaitos.
His presence was one reason the Emperor couldn’t easily touch the Ernhardts. Some believed Calix might even surpass his master.
A Westerner, he had met Lexius during his mercenary days. After saving each other’s lives, they had become close friends.
It was Lexius who had discovered the then-unknown Calix and funded his research by investing all his mercenary earnings into a mine.
Thanks to that, Calix had made tremendous breakthroughs. Only much later was it revealed that he was Galaitos’s disciple.
Everyone wanted him, but Calix had signed an exclusive contract with Lexius instead. That was five years ago, just as Lexius left mercenary life and inherited the crumbling ducal house.
“By the way, Rex, I think I need to visit your home. The ducal mansion in Steltun.”
Calix said as they walked along the wall. His face, usually carefree, was now serious.
“My house? Why?”
“There’s a strange rumor in the capital—that an antidote for Chorpain has been developed.”
Calix’s eyes lit up with excitement. He had been obsessed with Chorpain for a long time.
Despite his vast knowledge of herbs and magic, he had never been able to create an antidote for Chorpain. It was the one thing he needed most—and had never succeeded.
“Someone succeeded where you failed? Sounds like a scam.”
Though the news was welcome, Lexius was skeptical. It seemed unbelievable.
“That’s why we need to confirm it. You have to come with me. And you need to deal with the mutated wolves in the capital anyway.”
“Why me?”
“They say the person who made the antidote is in your house. A distant relative of yours, goes by the name Lady Ritz.”
“…Lady Ritz?”
Lexius paused at the strangely familiar name.
Then he remembered Judel’s report—and was stunned.
It was the alias of his nominal wife, Elice, whom he had neglected for three years.
