Chapter 257
"Bailies- there's nothing here-!"
"Shut up, woman."
"My name is Cellinne! We've been traveling together for years and you still can't remember my name?"
"If you hadn't been squeaking like that all the time, I would have memorized it."
"I'm going to tell Dardin! He clearly said yesterday to get along!"
"Go ahead and tell him."
The man who answered curtly had long, dark brown hair braided into one strand.
His expression was sharp-eyed and fierce, making him look no different from a street thug at first glance.
Bulging forearms, large build.
If he walked in a crowded place, nine times out of ten people would scramble to get out of his way. On the other hand, the woman following behind him was a striking beauty who caught the eye at first glance.
Her bright pink hair was like a bird's colorful feathers, and her green eyes were as lovely as fresh buds blooming in spring.
Her slender lines, delicate ankles, and graceful movements made her seem like a non-human being.
The woman, who seemed like she would have been loved by everyone just based on her appearance, poured out another complaint.
"Dardin didn't tell us to scout this far!"
"Woman."
"It's Cellinne!"
"Whether it's Cellinne or woman. Anyway, you. Have you ever seen an assassin who received a commission?"
"No?"
"Then you don't know how persistent that assassin can be either."
"Mm, that's true."
"Then if we go back thinking we only need to go this far as you said, and tonight the Third Prince's head flies off, whose fault would that be?"
At those words, the woman pouted her lips.
Her sulky expression was full of dissatisfaction, and just seeing it would make people want to rush to accommodate her complaints.
But this blunt man didn't even twitch an eyebrow while looking at it and criticized the woman.
"If His Royal Highness the Prince took you in, show some sincerity, woman. If you keep whining like this, you'll be kicked out soon."
"His Royal Highness the Prince said that just having me around is helpful! Besides, coming this far to scout wasn't my duty either."
"It's because Walter's out."
"Wait, Bailies. Bailies!"
The man called Bailies began walking up the mountain path with big strides.
Cellinne was distressed but didn't want to fall behind, so she had no choice but to follow along.
This was Aquilonia, the 'Forest of Echoes.'
The forest was the farthest from the royal capital and also bordered the boundary of the former Acheron territory.
The purpose of those who came to the forest, also called the end of Acheron's land, was only one thing.
To protect their lord and Aquilonia's Third Prince.
Currently, Aquilonia's political situation was somewhat chaotic.
Since ancient Acheron was divided into 8 kingdoms, they had been fighting to gain 'legitimacy to rule the other seven kingdoms.'
Among these, Asgard and Brythunia had the most powerful forces,
The reason being that each country possessed the royal scepter and treasure that Acheron's last heir had held.
Accordingly, even the countries that had fought fiercely initially
Had been attached to either Asgard or Brythunia for the past hundred years, engaging in psychological warfare.
That was because to claim Acheron's legitimacy, one needed at least blood relations or corresponding symbolic objects.
However, blood that had thinned over countless years became meaningless to trace,
And practically what remained were only Acheron's royal scepter and treasure that later generations had given meaning to.
They were divided into the Asgard faction and the Brythunia faction.
Vanaheim and Cimmeria, which bordered Asgard, formed friendships with Asgard,
While Brythunia joined hands with the humid Gunderland's legions and Nemedia, which absorbed taboos.
The Barakan archipelago quickly declared neutrality. Outwardly, they advocated pacifism saying everyone should get along,
But due to the archipelago's characteristics, it was difficult to organize armies or provide active support,
So everyone knew that calculations had been made that they would be abandoned no matter which side they joined.
So what remained was only Aquilonia.
Aquilonia didn't have powerful military strength, but due to its geographical characteristics, it had abundant underground minerals and a mild climate that made crops grow quickly.
It would be stranger if no one coveted this place.
As external pressure gradually intensified, opinions within Aquilonia also split.
Those who said they should side with Asgard, and those who said they should bow their heads to Brythunia.
Not how to solve this crisis,
But days of discussing to whom it would be better to submit.
In this situation, even the 1st Prince and 2nd Prince had different opinions, and the situation reached its worst.
The 1st Prince, who said they should surrender to Brythunia in advance, was Aquilonia's legitimate heir in name and reality.
But he was awkward with people and not skilled in rhetoric, so he had few followers.
The 2nd Prince, who favored Asgard, had a lower succession rank but had many supporters due to his aggressive and scheming nature.
Moreover, if something happened to the 1st Prince, he would be considered the top successor.
Because of this, a deadly atmosphere was created even between blood brothers.
It was from this period that assassinations or poisonings occurring within the royal palace became not particularly unusual.
The brothers, who so desperately wished for each other's death, were so earnest for each other's demise that-
-My sons... that can't be, that can't be!
-Your Majesty the Queen, please calm down.
-Do I look like I can calm down! These are children I bore and raised with my own womb. I personally held and raised them for three months and ten days! But, but!
-Please maintain your dignity!
-Why did both die on the same day at the same time! In different places, with the same cause of death!
The 1st Prince who was strolling in the garden on a rainy day and the 2nd Prince who went hunting with his close associates.
The 1st Prince slipped while climbing wet stairs and broke his neck,
The 2nd Prince fell from a suddenly excited horse and broke his neck.
The stairs the 1st Prince was climbing were for a pavilion built to enjoy the garden, and were at most 4 steps high.
The 2nd Prince's horse was called the gentlest and most well-bred famous horse in the royal castle.
When the tragic incident occurred and there was no one left to inherit the royal succession,
The king had to adopt an heir.
What they found was the Third Prince.
The only son of the daughter born when the late king's cousin sister remarried.
On the day they brought him to the royal castle, the king asked him as he knelt.
-What is your name?
-It's Yurik.
-That's a good name. I bestow upon you the name Yurik den Aquilonia and appoint you as the Third Prince.
...The 3rd Prince who appeared like a miracle seemed to combine only the good points of the dead 1st and 2nd Princes.
Even when silent, his dignity showed, and when he spoke, he displayed wisdom that didn't match his age,
He didn't judge anything personally.
He didn't enjoy fighting, but he didn't avoid what came to him either.
He didn't draw people in, but he didn't push them away either. Rewards and punishments were clear, and everything had rational reasons.
Like someone who had been born and raised in the royal palace from the beginning, the 3rd Prince who quickly blended into the royal family instantly became a power player in the royal capital.
But that was only for a while.
When the queen, who had been holding her breath at the 3rd Prince's exponential expansion of power, became pregnant, the game changed.
The queen, who had never looked favorably upon the 3rd Prince from the beginning, began to openly check the 3rd Prince.
An outsider targeting the position that had belonged to her dead sons.
That was the image attached to the 3rd Prince.
Whether it would be the 4th Prince or 1st Princess, she didn't know, but anyway, she just needed to give birth to a legitimate child.
And that child just needed to ascend to the throne.
If that happened.
-I too could maintain power within the royal castle as the former queen, and above all, my dead sons would like that side.
...For such reasons, nightmarish days also came for the 3rd Prince.
Assassins came every night, and the maids in charge of tasting food changed daily.
Assassinations disguised as accidents also never ceased. When news spread that the queen was carrying royal legitimate blood, nobles were also busy calculating.
Eventually, the 3rd Prince voluntarily left the royal castle under the pretext of guarding the borders and strengthening national defense.
Refusing both the promising knights and soldiers that the king worried and bestowed.
The 3rd Prince headed to the border area with five mercenaries he had personally hired.
That was three months ago.
And today was the 9th time they had encountered an assassin that was clearly sent by the queen.
Cellinne unconsciously recalled this morning's campsite.
Cellinne, who had been in deep sleep, suddenly woke up at someone's scream.
It wasn't just her. Evana and Bailies, who shared the same tent, were also rushing out of their places.
The source of the sound was the 3rd Prince's tent.
The three who opened the tent without hesitation, their faces turning pale, were momentarily dazed.
There was a hole in the tent's ceiling, and blood was splattered long across the floor.
The 3rd Prince was standing in the center, wiping his dirty sword with cloth.
A drop of blood splattered on his pale, white face caught the eye.
Cellinne stammered.
-Your, Your Highness. Are you hurt?
-Was it an assassin?
At Evana's question, the 3rd Prince said indifferently.
-He fell from the ceiling. I just cut off one of his arms. He couldn't have gone far. Track him.
-R-right now?
-If not now, when were you planning to go?
Cold red eyes looked at Cellinne.
Cellinne quickly turned her thoughts.
Walter had gone to do other work, Evana was a pharmacist so excluded from tracking personnel. Dardin, who was the closest aide and secretary, was also excluded. Then the remaining person was...
Ah, really annoying!
In the end, Cellinne went to track the assassin with Bailies as if half-dragged.
Even though it was her first time taking on a tracking mission, it was very troublesome.
Following the bloodstains, they suddenly cut off in the middle,
And following footprints or other traces, they went into the mountains.
She thought this wasn't the kind of work she should be doing, not this kind!
But if she said such things in front of Bailies, she would just hear criticism again.
She thought, 'Assassin, I wish you would just drop from the sky.'
Walking the rough path was painful and tiring for her legs.
Moreover, she didn't know when her carefully maintained shoes might be damaged.
Cellinne walked while praying most earnestly since she was born.
Please, let that damn assassin to be killed appear on his own.
*
Someone was digging out dirt and rocks with only one hand.
Panting breath sounds shone into the dark cave along with faint rays of light.
The thin light gradually grew larger. Finally, the stones and dirt blocking the entrance poured down, revealing the path.
The person who had dug out the entrance was wiping sweat when he was startled by rustling sounds from far away and threw himself into the cave.
The man who quickly blocked the entrance again with rolling stones listened carefully.
Voices could be heard chattering nearby.
"Humanly speaking, if we've come this far, that's the end, right? I can't track anymore, Bailies!"
"Haa..."
"If you were an assassin, would you have come this far? If it were me, I'd rather go back and attack the campsite once more!"
"I told you to shut your mouth."
The warning man's voice was annoyed,
But he also seemed to agree with the woman's words as the footsteps gradually moved away.
Only after the presence completely disappeared did he breathe a sigh of relief.
The person who had been feeling around his back teeth with his tongue for various hidden medicines bit and swallowed a painkiller.
His left arm that had been cut off felt eerily empty.
The man, lightened by the weight of one arm, looked around and crawled forward while feeling the ground.
It was cool, perhaps because it was inside a cave. After crawling for a while, he suddenly realized there was moisture on the floor.
The man who rubbed his wet fingers and then smelled them retched at the rising nausea.
"Ugh, urgh, urrk!"
He didn't know what this smell was. It was a smell he had never encountered before.
It might be water from an animal that had entered and rotted.
The man continued forward for now. If he was lucky, he might reach the opposite entrance of the cave.
But it was strange. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but it was.
Eerie, mysterious, distressing, like he shouldn't go forward anymore...
But it was already too late. The cave was too cold, and the man was chattering his teeth.
-Thud!
"...!"
He gritted his teeth. His forehead had hit something hard.
When he felt ahead with one hand, there was a wall as cold as ice.
A smooth, cold, and hard wall. No, not a wall. It was really ice.
Was it right for ice to form in such a place? He searched the dark cave while expanding his range left and right.
But the ice was large enough to fill the cave completely, and he couldn't see any hole to escape through.
He was in a situation where he had no choice but to go back.
Thinking about how much more time it would take, he suddenly licked his dry lips.
Whether it was from losing a lot of blood or sweating all along, his throat was very dry.
Assassins had to obsessively control even their weight.
Only then could they hide in even the narrowest places.
So he, who usually didn't freely drink even a sip of water, desperately wanted water at this very moment.
He took out the dagger he had wielded at the 3rd Prince and began breaking the ice.
At first, he timidly tapped it, worried about making noise,
But gradually became bolder and began swinging greatly.
-Clang, clang, clang!
Ice fragments flew. The desire to put ice in his mouth and melt it wouldn't subside due to his parched throat.
-Clang, claaang!
While hurriedly putting broken ice in his mouth and rolling it while devoted to breaking ice, he noticed something was leaking from inside the ice chunk.
Slippery, sticky.
What was this thing with an unpleasant texture inside the ice?
The smell of what was on the blade was similar to what he had smelled on his finger earlier.
Animal? Rotten water? Ice?
Inconsistent words came to mind one after another.
The ice tasted fine though. Surely this wasn't also rotten water that had frozen.
For now, it seemed he should cautiously keep his distance.
When he tried to crawl out slowly again,
Something firmly grabbed his only wrist.
"!"
-Crack, crunch, splash, splash, splash...
Something was coming out.
From the gap in the ice he had broken, from the water pooled inside.
But what on earth was that?
In the extreme terror where nothing was visible and he could only hear, he tried to swing the short sword in his mouth.
But unfortunately, one of his arms had long since gone to the 3rd Prince.
The moment he, aghast, dropped the dagger from his mouth,
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
A tremendous force dragged him into the darkness.
Noise continued for several seconds.
Screams for help, water splashing everywhere, gurgling bubble sounds, and...
Silence.
Eventually, a hand that barely protruded from the ice scraped the floor and pulled the body outside.
The soaking wet body rolled on the hard floor.
The lifeless, dried body lay like a corpse and then slowly got up.
-Splash, splash.
Viscous liquid clung with each step.
The entrance to the cave that the one who had been sucked into the liquid had blocked collapsed all too easily.
'That thing' flinched in surprise at the fresh air and sunlight,
But soon realized it wasn't much different from what it knew and courageously stepped outside.
Warm sunlight, soft soil, lush trees, crawling insects and chirping birds.
It stood still at the entrance as if overwhelmed by the brilliant world.
After stopping for quite a while, it instinctively found a path.
A small valley that would appear after walking just a little from here.
When it immersed its body in the cold, fresh water, the viscous liquid was washed away along the current.
After thoroughly washing here and there and even washing its hair, dry reddish hair stuck to its back.
The thing that looked completely human was submerged in water, spacing out for a while.
Like someone who had never seen the world at all, it felt the fresh air, water, and wind with its whole body.
Then suddenly, at a rustling sound, it slowly turned around.
Beyond the grass, a woman with pink hair and some sturdy man had stopped in surprise.
A brief standoff continued.
It pondered while water was still dripping from it, then asked.
"...Do you happen to have something to wear?"