Translator: Nox

Chapter 1

1

The castle was silent.

Everything was covered in black.

Black curtains and drapes, black dresses.

Whispering voices beyond the drawn black veils.

Nina muttered under her breath.

“What a load of crap.”

Adrian, who had been reading a book by the window, looked up.

“Nina, are you going to keep talking like Jin?”

“But everyone is talking crap.”

Every time she spoke, her breath puffed out in the room. The room they were given was a drafty corner room, and they hadn't been given a single piece of firewood.

Adrian smiled.

“It’s true that I’m a bastard.”

“You don’t have to keep repeating the fact. Besides, is it our fault that that woman’s son died?”

Nina grumbled.

Her hair was neat, thanks to Adrian’s trimming, but that was it.

With her bobbed hair, just short of shoulder-length, and her loose uniform folded to fit, she looked every bit the poor boy squire.

They were attending the funeral.

No, “attending” was too active a word. They were on the fringes of the funeral the entire time.

They almost weren’t allowed in the family section.

Duke Louveaen had three sons.

Adrian, the bastard, and Gerald and Jayden, born to the Duchess.

Although a bastard, Adrian had inheritance rights because the Duke had acknowledged him.

Of course, Gerald and Jayden had precedence in the line of succession.

Today was Gerald’s funeral. Nina knew exactly what the Duchess, who had lost her eldest son, would try to do.

That’s why she was here now, to stop it.

Her childhood friend and Order Knight Commander, Adrian, looked as calm as ever.

She knew it was one of his strengths, but she was also worried.

‘How is he going to survive in this harsh world like that?’

She had sent their colleagues Jin and Kirill, and the Vice-Commander Louis, back yesterday.

The reason was that they couldn’t leave the Violet Forest’s border unguarded for long. Adrian had tried to send Nina back as well, but she had refused.

With a helpless look, Adrian had allowed Nina to stay.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

At Adrian’s words, Nina went to open the door.

It was a servant, for some reason.

They hadn’t seen a glimpse of one since they arrived, so they had to ask and find their way around for everything.

Jin, with his mercenary background and fiery temper, had almost hit a servant.

But a servant had come to find them?

“The Duchess requests your presence for tea.”

It was an invitation they couldn’t refuse.

Nina scoffed.

The servant, who hadn’t shown his face until now, was quick to appear at a time like this.

“I understand. I’ll get ready-.”

“She requests your immediate presence.”

Nina’s eyes narrowed.

Just as she was about to stand with her legs wide apart and give him a piece of her mind, Adrian closed his book and stood up.

“If she’s in such a hurry, we should see her right away. Nina, if they tell you to stay here……”

Adrian gave a wry smile at Nina’s expression.

“I guess not. Alright.”

He nodded. Nina stuck close behind Adrian, but the servant said nothing.

The further they walked inside, the brighter the castle became. It had been so long since Nina had been to Silverlake Castle that she was a little confused about the way.

Her breath no longer puffed out.

By the time they entered the Duchess’s tea room, it was almost warm.

The Duchess didn’t even rise from her seat to greet them.

Dressed in black mourning clothes and wearing a Black Pearl necklace, her skin was pale. However, her expression was, in contrast, gentle.

“Greetings to the Duchess.”

Adrian bowed politely. His black hair flowed down softly.

“Sit down.”

As Adrian sat down, the Duchess personally poured him tea.

Nina stepped forward. She was going to taste it for poison, as always.

“It’s alright, Nina.”

Stopping Nina with a soft, singing voice, Adrian accepted the tea.

The Duchess said.

“I’ve been thinking these past few days. About us. Gerald was a very clever and beautiful child.”

The Duchess’s words didn’t reach Nina’s ears. Her eyes were solely focused on Adrian’s cup.

‘That’s it.’

That’s it. It must be.

No, even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter.

‘It can’t go into Adrian’s mouth without going through mine!’

As Adrian raised the cup, Nina snatched it from his hand. Lukewarm tea splashed on her hand.

Nina drank the tea in one gulp.

A bitter scent lingered at the tip of her nose.

“Nina!!”

Adrian turned pale and stood up. The chair fell backward with a crash.

For a moment, it felt as if flames were burning inside her stomach and throat.

Nina hurriedly covered her mouth. Blood continued to overflow between her fingers, which were blocking her mouth.

‘It hurts.’

It felt like the inside of her stomach was melting. She collapsed into her seat.

“Nina, Nina!”

Even a beast being dragged to the slaughterhouse wouldn’t scream like Adrian was now.

“Keuh, keck……”

Spitting out blood mixed with clots, Nina was dumbfounded.

‘No, how did Adrian survive after drinking this?’

Adrian hugged the fallen Nina and looked around.

The lined-up servants stood with clean faces, as if nothing had happened.

The servant standing next to them brought a new cup and placed it on the table. The Duchess filled another cup with a languid expression.

“Now, leave the rude guard and have another cup.”

Soldiers grabbed Adrian’s shoulders roughly. They meant to force him to sit down.

Adrian gritted his teeth and held Nina.

He felt her breath, which was panting in his arms, fading away, and he was afraid.

He had never been so afraid.

He had never been so angry.

He jumped up from his seat. At the same time, a shadow rose as well. The soldiers screamed.

Darkness confronted the enemies at his feet with a will of its own. It was a bizarre sight.

The smile completely disappeared from his always-smiling face.

“Get lost.”

His words were mercy, not a threat, but those there didn’t understand.

Rather, the soldiers who were standing drew their swords. It was treason to point a sword at Adrian, who openly had the right to succeed.

But no one thought so. Adrian didn’t think so either. He ignored them and started running.

“Spirit of darkness, tear my enemies to shreds.”

The spirit of darkness faithfully carried out his invocation.

Screams and shouts mixed together. Their enemies were not wounded even when stabbed, and could not be cut even when slashed. The spirit’s touch had no emotion or mercy.

Leaving the stench of blood behind, Adrian just ran. After quickly coming down and forcibly pulling a horse from the stable, Adrian spurred it on.

He pleaded with Nina, who was growing colder in his arms.

“Nina, don’t do this to me. Please, I’m begging you.”

Nina wanted to see his face, but her eyes wouldn’t open.

She couldn’t move a single finger.

Fire and ice were fighting inside her body. Everything was getting colder and slower.

Nina had no intention of resisting it. The ice inside her was desperately trying to protect her from the flames that were trying to burn her.

Her Spirits, ‘North Wind’ and ‘Frost,’ were struggling to slow the spread of the poison.

Tasting the feeling of slowly falling under a glacier, Nina dreamily recalled a scene.

The time when the memories of ‘another world’ came to her.