“Older Brother! Are you okay?”
Once the cold disappeared, Luna hurried over.
“What is that?”
Her gaze was fixed on the blue sword Solacius held.
It was a sword that gave off waves of cold simply by being looked at.
A magic sword with an overall blue hue.
In shape, it resembled an ornamental treasured sword more than a weapon suitable for cutting and stabbing.
“It is not an ordinary magic sword...... Though the fact that it fell like a meteor already makes it impossible to call it ordinary.”
True to her nature as a witch, Luna showed interest in the magical device.
After all, a magic sword was also a magical device.
Solacius listened to Luna’s words and silently swung the blue sword.
SWOOSH, SWOOSH.
White frost scattered along the blue sword’s path.
“Wow......”
The visual beauty made the girl’s eyes grow dreamy.
“A sword that falls from the sky like a shooting star. Does something like that happen?”
Solacius asked his sister while observing the blue sword.
“There is a similar tale in Great Emperor Maha’s founding myth. Though that one was a ring, not a sword. There are also similar stories in some storybooks about Heroes.”
“So it is not entirely unheard of.”
After hearing his sister, Solacius stowed the sword away for now.
‘It does not seem suited for combat. I can wear it at my waist like a talisman.’
Whatever else might be true, he liked that the damned heat disappeared while he held it.
“Then, Older Brother...... Have you become a Hero?!”
Luna looked at Solacius with sparkling eyes as he put away the sword.
A sword that fell from the sky like a meteor.
A man chosen by that sword.
By anyone’s eyes, he was the protagonist of a mythic tale.
“No. I am only a wandering knight.”
‘A Hero? That kind of title was more than enough on Earth.’
When Luna asked with glittering eyes, Solacius firmly shook his head.
***
From dawn until morning, Lucifurne paced around her bedroom.
Her face, filled with anxiety, impatience, and worry, would not relax.
Then, around the time the sun began to rise—
FLASH!
The orb beside her bed glowed brightly.
It was an orb connected to Winteira, and along with her mother’s bracelet, it was one of the few magical devices she could use despite the Curse of the Snowfield.
‘Thank goodness!’
Lucie’s face brightened in an instant when she saw it.
The orb’s light could mean only one thing.
It meant Solacius had safely taken hold of Winteira.
A great relief washed over her, and tears flowed from her eyes before falling as snowflakes.
‘God, thank You! Former Queens, former Royal Consorts! Thank you!’
Lucie, who normally never sought God or her ancestors, offered a prayer of thanks before quickly standing in front of the orb, which was about the size of a small fish tank.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
Her heart raced with relief, excitement, and joy.
Because the Grand Witch of the Snowfield was so powerful, there had been very few attempts since ancient times to assassinate or abduct a Queen.
Instead, there were often attacks against the Queen’s partner, especially when a Royal Consort traveled outside the royal capital.
For that reason, the Royal Consort’s Sword possessed a synchronization function.
The Queen could synchronize with the sword at any time and learn the Royal Consort’s circumstances even from far away.
‘To think I will see his face.’
It felt like a dream.
He would be coming to the royal palace soon anyway.
Lucie had sent a royal herald during the day.
But waiting was difficult.
Too difficult.
Especially because the witch said to be beside Solacius was suspicious.
That witch’s name and status changed every time Lucie heard about her.
Lucie also wanted to see Solacius’s condition, as he was presumed to be cursed, as soon as possible.
Plop.
Lucie placed her hand over the orb, closed her eyes, and focused.
As she felt as though she were being drawn somewhere, light entered her closed eyes.
Lucie, connected to the viewpoint of Winteira, looked around with wonder.
The sword seemed to have fallen near a creek.
Seeing the environment, which looked as though it had instantly frozen and then thawed again, gave her an unnecessary chill.
‘Ah......!’
Then, the face of the man holding Winteira came into view.
‘Ahh......!’
A young, handsome knight with golden hair and golden eyes.
‘Solacius!’
The man she had wanted to see so desperately was before her eyes.
‘His beard......?!’
Lucie was startled when she saw Solacius’s face.
Before her regression, Solacius had grown a beard.
It had not been unkempt. He had kept it neatly trimmed.
But the Solacius she saw through Winteira’s viewpoint after her regression was clean-shaven.
‘Haimar’s report did not mention anything about his beard.’
Perhaps because they were reports written by knights, they lacked attention to detail.
They had described him as handsome and neat in appearance, explaining his clean shave merely by saying he looked neat.
‘He seems even more handsome. A beard suits him, but...... he looks wonderful clean-shaven too!’
Lucie’s synchronized heart pounded harder.
‘......!’
But her rapidly beating heart soon lost its rhythm.
‘That witch is Rina Shalut?’
There was a black-haired, black-eyed witch right beside Solacius.
‘She does not even look that cute!’
Lucie’s hands gripping the orb tightened for no reason.
“By the way, Older Brother, is your body really okay?”
“I am fine.”
“That magic sword really contains cold, then.”
“That is right. It is a great relief.”
“It is amazing! How did something you needed so precisely fall from the sky?!”
She could hear their conversation as well.
The witch calling Solacius “Older Brother” over and over bothered her.
But at the same time, Lucie felt smug.
‘Cold-compress witch! You are no longer needed. From now on, I will take care of Solacius through this Winteira!’
Even if you are the Grand Witch of Death, you will not be able to do anything while I am watching like this!
For some reason, her self-esteem, which had been shriveled for some time, came back to life.
“Phew~ What a relief. Then I will not need to use cold magic anymore?”
But something was strange.
Though her purpose had been fulfilled, the ominous witch was happy instead.
“Yeah. You have worked hard.”
Solacius placed his hand on Luna’s head as she rejoiced.
Then, he stroked her black hair.
‘Gasp!!’
Lucie was aghast at the sight.
“Damn it! You messed up my hair!”
At Solacius’s patting, this hateful witch did not seem happy at all.
Instead, she openly showed that she disliked it.
‘Patting her head! He stroked her hair!’
Lucie felt so shocked that she grew dizzy.
For a moment, it seemed as though her synchronization with Winteira might be severed.
‘I...... I......’
Even if she met Solacius in person, she could not receive his touch.
Not as long as the Curse of the Snowfield continued.
Her feelings suddenly became depressed.
The self-esteem that had risen for the first time in a while crashed straight back to the ground.
As she felt depressed, the area around the creek where Solacius stood became noisy.
“Sir Knight! Knight Roan!”
“You need to come at once!”
“A herald has arrived. A royal herald sent directly by Her Majesty the Queen!”
The people who spotted Solacius made a great fuss as they called Roan, who stood by the creek.
‘The royal herald I sent yesterday has arrived. He came quickly.’
Since she had ordered it the previous afternoon, it was not particularly surprising.
‘He had better be perceptive......’
Still, there were a few things that bothered her.
***
Ordinary communications and secret orders could be delivered through magical communication devices.
But official orders directly issued by the Queen were not handled that way.
A royal herald from the capital moved in person.
Even in urgent situations, orders would first be conveyed through a magical communication device, and later, a royal herald would arrive to deliver a letter bearing the Queen’s seal.
KWEENG, KWEENG.
The mystical and resonant call of a magical beast came from the sky.
The royal herald sent by the Queen floated in the air on a Griffin.
“Wow!”
“I have never seen a Griffin before!”
“Even the mount of a messenger sent directly by Her Majesty the Queen is different......”
The Subjugation Force members all exclaimed as they looked at the Griffin.
Griffins were rare magical beasts, and tamed Griffins were even more precious.
There were only around ten in the entire Kingdom of Luhan, so they were not used except as symbols of royal authority.
A representative exception was when a royal herald personally carried a letter from the Queen, as in this case.
Receiving everyone’s attention, the royal herald sat atop the Griffin and proudly looked down at the ground.
‘That is right, these looks!’
This was why he worked as a royal herald.
Flying through the night without sleep and trembling in the cold had been worthwhile.
Now, he would find the knight who had made him go through such hardship.
He had been told to look for a handsome wandering knight with golden hair and golden eyes.
Unlike other knights, he wore very light equipment, and a young witch with black hair was said to be beside him.
‘Is that him?!’
Yes!
A man had just emerged from between the bushes.
Even from the sky, it was easy to recognize the handsome man below with golden hair and golden eyes.
‘He is not intimidated. Then again, if he is a royal, he must have seen a Griffin several times.’
The royal herald remained about seven meters above the ground without landing.
“Are you Sir Roan Shalut?”
He asked while riding the Griffin and arrogantly looking down at the man below.
“That is correct.”
Knight Roan Shalut nodded.
‘How dare he...... An exiled royal acting so confident on the land of Luhan!’
Roan’s attitude displeased the royal herald.
Not every royal was evil, but the herald was still a citizen and noble of Luhan.
He certainly held ill feelings toward the Empire and imperial royals.
He hardened his expression, pulled the Griffin’s reins, and descended lower.
Now, only three meters separated the golden-haired, golden-eyed exiled royal and the royal herald.
He intended to pressure his target with the majesty of the massive Griffin.
But Roan did not even blink.
He only maintained an indifferent, calm expression.
‘Hah! What a grand royal lord we have here.’
The royal herald inwardly clicked his tongue as he looked at Solacius.
He even considered making the Griffin flap its wings to humiliate him.
‘By the way, what is that sword at his waist?’
As he seriously considered doing so, the royal herald suddenly spotted the blue sword hanging at Solacius’s waist.
‘That sword...... I have certainly seen it somewhere.’
It had been a very long time ago, but he remembered the sword clearly.
‘Ah! I remember! Could it be......?!’
A memory suddenly came to him, and his shoulders trembled without his realizing it.
‘Winteira? That blue light is certainly Winteira, the Royal Consort’s Sword!’
Winteira was the Royal Consort’s Sword.
But few people met Royal Consorts in person, and only a small number knew Winteira’s exact appearance.
Moreover, in the ten years since the day the Succession of the Snowfield failed, Winteira had never appeared in the world even once.
The royal herald had only seen it a few times when he was young.
‘How does that man possess the Royal Consort’s Sword?!’
Even so, the blue sword was so striking that he had not forgotten it after all this time.
‘Only the Queen’s designated Royal Consort can even hold Winteira.’
But if his memory was correct, the blue magic sword before him was certainly Winteira, the Royal Consort’s Sword.
A sword that emitted such light would be nearly impossible to imitate.
The royal herald hurriedly turned the matter over in his mind.
Grand Duke Lucas, who had lived in seclusion for a long time, had recently returned as Regent.
‘What if Grand Duke Lucas broke convention and gave the Royal Consort’s Sword to Her Majesty while he still lived?’
And although the Queen bore a curse, she was the Grand Witch of the Snowfield.
‘What if the Grand Witch sent this sword to him through magic only she could use?’
The pieces slowly fit together in his mind.
‘Roan Shalut is a knight in whom Her Majesty has taken an interest. But for him to be a Royal Consort......’
The situation was not satisfying to the royal herald, who still harbored feelings against the Empire and its royals.
‘Is that wandering knight the next Royal Consort of Luhan? At the very least, he is certainly a leading candidate. This is unprecedented. Utterly unprecedented.’
Separate from whether he liked it, the royal herald’s political instincts began working rapidly.
“Why are you staring like that?”
At that moment, Solacius became uncomfortable with the herald’s gaze and asked with a frown.
“You seem to have been staring at my sword...... Do you know anything about this sword?”
“This sword?”
“I received it suddenly as a gift (from the sky), so I do not even know this sword’s name.”
“?!”
At those words, the royal herald felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
‘Sir Roan Shalut does not know about that sword! Then that means...... Good heavens! Her Majesty has unrequited feelings for him?!’
Warning bells that seemed to signal the end of his career as an official rang without pause in his mind.
‘I heard that Her Majesty can also share his circumstances through Winteira!’
The royal herald felt terror as though his heart might stop.
“I do not know! I know nothing!”
His face turned pale blue as he cried out, vigorously shaking his head.
“......?”
It was an incomprehensible cry from the royal herald.
Solacius and everyone in the Subjugation Force tilted their heads.
Gulp.
Regardless, the royal herald swallowed hard and gently guided the Griffin down to land.
Then, he climbed off the Griffin with great care and respect.
Normally, he would convey the Queen’s command from the sky while mounted on the Griffin.
But now, he did not dare.
How could he?
The future Royal Consort stood there.
The Queen might even be watching this situation.
Tremble, tremble, tremble, tremble.
The royal herald trembled faintly and tried to look at the distant mountains instead.
‘He has some sense.’
Lucie, who silently watched the royal herald’s behavior, nodded.
If he had remained in the sky until the end, or if he had loudly babbled about Winteira without any sense, she would not have let him off.