It was something unbelievable.
Living for hundreds of years without aging or dying?
Ashler, hearing this for the first time, pressed the lord for confirmation and the lord revealed why he hadn’t mentioned it earlier with a troubled expression.
“No one would believe it. I was worried that if I brought up such an unbelievable story, you wouldn’t even consider our situation this time.”
The word ‘this time’ indicated that they had been rejected several times before.
“Did you ask the neighboring lords for help and none of them responded?”
When someone asked, the lord shook his head with a miserable expression.
“At first, they sent soldiers as well. But when the soldiers didn’t return, and the fog spread to where they were, they locked their doors tightly and focused only on protecting their own territories. The fog rarely spreads far, after all.”
He spoke to the silent people with a desperate tone.
“I find it hard to believe, too, but the Ice Mountain is really devouring people.”
Hearing this, Kin could no longer contain himself and turned to Karas to speak.
“Your Majesty, please send soldiers to verify the truth. Even if the wizard’s words are false, if the fog is really swallowing people, it is a grave matter. If, by any chance, an evil power is released, it could bring even greater disaster.”
Kin knelt on one knee before him, but Karas’ response was cold.
“And what will soldiers do against an evil power?”
“B-But—”
“In the end, you’re asking me to go, aren’t you?”
Karas looked slowly around at the people with indifferent eyes, and everyone averted their gaze. The conclusion of such a long story was only one thing, asking him to go and resolve it. However, there was one person who had been avoiding his gaze from the beginning. Abel, who was still lost in thought.
“Do you also want me to go and eliminate the evil power sealed in the Ice Mountain?”
Abel didn’t realize the question was directed at him until Melmond, who was next to him, poked him with his finger. Abel turned his head.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was thinking about something and didn’t hear the conversation… Is something wrong?”
Everyone was amazed at how his dull senses managed to avoid the cold atmosphere blowing inside the hall. Melmond quietly explained Karas’ question to him. Abel then nodded his head, saying ‘Ah.’
“Yes, Your Highness, I would like you to go there. And…”
Abel looked at Karas and smiled brightly.
“Would you like to go see the Ice Mountain with me?”
The lively suggestion made everyone, including the lord and those who knew Abel well, doubt their ears.
There was no way Karas would nod just because of that.
No matter who said it, even if it was Abel, talking as if visiting the Ice Mountain was his lifelong dream.
“They say there’s a pure white polar bear in the northern Ice Mountain! Can you believe it? Except for the soles of its feet and its hands, the whole bear is white! A white bear! Lord, is it true?!”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, the lord nodded his head in confusion.
“Ah, yes. There are indeed pure white polar bears.”
“Wow! There really are pure white bears that exist! Wow—wow!”
The mere presence of the polar bear overshadowed the evil dragon’s power, taking first place. While everyone was too stunned by Abel’s excitement to intervene, the lord stepped in, flustered.
“No! How can you go bear watching in such a dangerous mountain?! Especially since Lord Regas is young and beautiful, it’s even more dangerous. The mountain is so dangerous that it even swallowed up Viscount Charming, the most handsome man in our region…”
Clatter, thud!
Suddenly, the sound of a chair scraping and then falling over drew everyone’s attention. The lord, who had been speaking, also turned his head in surprise to see who had stood up. The butler, pale as a ghost, was trembling.
“Wh-what did you say? V-Viscount Charming?!”
The lord, wondering if he had said something wrong, glanced around nervously before nodding.
“Yes, Viscount Charming. Do you know him?”
“Of course, I know him! He’s the scoundrel who rejected our flower-like young master! Hmph, he had the audacity to call our young master third-rate. Our young master, with a face as beautiful as a flower, blushed for the first time ever in his life, feeling embarrassed! That wretched man didn’t even appreciate the honor of being the only one to make our young master blush his cheeks, sob, and he even called him ugly and cast him away! That cold-hearted man! Sniff.”
The butler’s grief-stricken words touched everyone’s hearts, spreading tears of sympathy from the listeners. That despicable b*stard was Charming. Everyone cursed him unanimously, despite him being long gone. Then, a voice cut through the emotional atmosphere, turning it cold once again.
“He was the only one to make him blush?”
At the dry question, the butler nodded with tears streaming down his face.
“Yes! Viscount Charming is the shameless b*stard who rejected the young master after seeing him blush for the first time in his life!”
Karas’ eyes narrowed dangerously in an instant. Finally, he spoke with irritation.
“We’re going to the Ice Mountain.”
And so, one person went to see the polar bear, and the other went north to deal with someone who had seen something they shouldn’t have.
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“Wi-wizard!”
With a loud voice, the girl who was attending to the room ran to the young man inside.
“Th-The fog has gotten thicker. Huff, huff, it’s the worst it’s been recently.”
Though fear laced the girl’s voice, the young man only glanced out the window indifferently before lowering his gaze.
“Don’t worry. No matter how evil that power is, it can’t enter this place.”
“Yes, it’s all thanks to the wizard.”
The girl nodded in relief, then remembered why she had come.
“Ah, someone who went beyond the mountain has returned. The lord who went to seek help from the capital has come back.”
The wizard quickly raised his head and asked urgently.
“Did he bring the emperor?”
“Yes! They say he arrived with the Emperor. And some of the Emperor’s soldiers came too. Wizard?”
The girl had thought the wizard would jump for joy at the news. She had heard from other adults. That the wizard had been waiting for someone with the power of a dragon who could melt the Ice Mountain. It would mean freedom for him, who had been tied up in the village for so such a long time. However, instead of rejoicing, the wizard only turned his hardened gaze out the window upon hearing the good news.
After a long moment, he turned to the girl and gestured for her to come closer. When she approached, the wizard gently placed his hand on her head and muttered softly.
“I’m worried that if I make a mistake, the Ice Mountain might not disappear.”
“That’s not true. The wizard won’t make any mistakes. The Emperor will also help you.”
Only then did the wizard smile down at the girl.
“Yes, I hope so.”
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Even though they were wrapped in fur clothing, the cold wind that made their bodies shiver made the castle feel even more desolate. Even more so, there was not a single person to be seen inside. The area inside the castle walls, meant to protect the village from outside attacks, should have been bustling with people, but they saw no one on their way to the lord’s house.
Despite the village being as quiet as a mouse, every house had bright lights on from early evening. The lord’s house was no exception. Fires were burning excessively in every corner, and it wasn’t enough—everyone carried large, heavy torches. When the people got off the carriages and horses, the lord personally handed them torches and offered a piece of advice.
“Keep the fire close. The only thing that can slightly repel the fog is fire.”
At the lord’s words, Nani was the first to grab a torch but was pushed to the back, receiving glares. While the butler and Melmond mocked him, the lord pointed towards the faintly visible mountain in the dark, holding the torch.
“That is the Ice Mountain. As the sun sets, the fog begins to form, obscuring the peaks, but in the morning, you’ll be able to see it with the naked eye.”
“Does that mean the fog forms every night?”
In response to Ashler’s question, the lord looked back at the nearby attendant as if to confirm. The attendant answered in a voice filled with fear.
“For the past few weeks, the fog has constantly enveloped the castle. Especially in recent days, the fog has been so thick that even torches can’t cut through it, and several children have disappeared into the fog.”
The trembling in his voice seemed to convey just how intense the fear in this place was. No one could say anything, but the lord gritted his teeth and led the group forward.
“Please, come inside. Tomorrow, we’ll set off for the safe plains beyond the fog. You just need to endure for tonight…”
The lord was speaking when he suddenly noticed one person who wasn’t paying attention and trailed off. Following his gaze, everyone turned to look at Karas. Although his expression was blank, he was staring up at the mountain as if glaring at it.
What’s going on?
Did he sense something on the mountain?
Everyone held their breath and focused on Karas for a long time until he finally lowered his gaze. Then, he turned to the lord and asked in a low voice.
“Is there really a polar bear up there?”
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Karas and Abel were the only ones not in the room, but the rest of the group, though outwardly composed, were nervous and tense. Each of them kept a fire close, knowing they could be consumed by the fog at any moment. Despite the fear that would keep them awake, surprisingly, there were two individuals who were the first to fall asleep and start snoring.
“Snort—snore! Snort, snort! Snore—”
“Purr—snore, cough! Purr—snore—”
Never before had they been so envious of the butler and Clara’s loud snoring. Especially for the butler, who was a civilian and should have been the most terrified, yet slept soundly, making the others feel a sense of defeat. After watching for a while, Roster asked.
“Have they given up on life?”
It seemed like a plausible guess, but Nani shook his head.
“More like they’ve transcended life. After facing so many shocks and near-death experiences while fighting the King’s Heart, they don’t seem to be fazed by anything unless a sword is literally at their throat.”
Kin followed up with an explanation for Clara.
“That one’s just too dumb to care about life.”
The remark made everyone chuckle, lightening the mood. Melmond then added about the butler.
“Well, considering he serves that remarkable young master, I suppose he’d survive even if a dragon were breathing down his neck.”
Everyone nodded in strong agreement. There was a sense that even if the world ended and everyone else perished, the butler would somehow survive until the end—along with his master’s household. A shadow cast over their faces as they briefly recalled the nightmare of the first day of their trip. But then Ashler soon changed the mood once again, urging everyone,
“We have to wake up at dawn tomorrow to head for the plains. We won’t be able to ride our horses, so it’s going to be a tough journey. Everyone, get some rest.”
However, Nani quickly interjected.
“But it won’t matter if we’re the only ones to get up early. What if His Majesty and Lord Abel end up staying awake all night and wake up late?”
“Why would the two of them stay up all ni—”
Ashler began to respond but couldn’t finish the sentence. Judging by what they had seen so far, it seemed very likely that Karas would stay up all night. Still, he held onto a faint hope.
Surely, he wouldn’t sleep with Abel in a place where the deadly fog was creeping in, right?