In the dim light of the northern area, in a deserted spot, stood a person with a cloak pulled down low.
A biting wind brushed past his cheek along with the snowstorm. A man wearing a cloak took off his hood, with a face full of irritation.
He was a man with fair skin contrasting with his black hair, blood-red eyes, and a restraint like a dog collar around his neck.
To think he would come to this North of his own accord. A mocking laugh escaped from the twisted corners of his mouth.
Noelier was not feeling well at the moment.
No, to be honest, it was so unpleasant that it would not be an exaggeration to say he wanted to tear everything down.
The heat swirling around my body was raging, demanding more cold air.
The heat inside my body intensified due to anger.
"Ha..."
A headache washed over him again. It was because he hadn't been able to sleep for several days. A murderous glint flashed in his red eyes.
“Chief.”
A man in a black cloak approached him and greeted him politely.
“Did you find it?”
"That's not yet..."
"What on earth do you guys do?"
At the cold, low voice, the figure in the cloak flinched.
"Ha. But I have obtained one clue."
"What is it?"
"They say there was a man who possessed something similar to the young lady's ring."
At those words, Noelier's eyes darkened.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am. I heard he told them to bring the money, saying he would sell it for 50 million gold."
Ha. A short, bitter laugh escaped him.
How dare he judge whose property so carelessly? He was just like a Northerner who had lost all sense of fear.
However, he couldn't simply blame the Northerner alone.
Noelier let out a groan that sounded like a sigh and pressed his hand to his forehead.
He recalled that day.
It was a day no different from any other. The same day, the same heat tormenting his body that day.
His only younger sibling had hovered between life and death due to a severe fever.
A scorching fever shackled that small body. It was a heat so intense that even he could not approach it.
At the sound of his sister's wailing, which he was seeing for the first time, Noelier urgently called for a doctor.
But there was nothing he could do.
"Leader, please prepare yourself."
It looked hopeless, to the point where the doctor cautiously recommended against it. That was how serious Rachel's condition was.
Noelier mobilized every possible method. But there was no improvement.
Just as she was despairing, wondering if he was going to lose his only sister.
“Brother...?”
Rachel woke up as if to spite everyone.
Perhaps exhausted from the fever, Rachel simply shed tears.
Noelier resented himself for not being able to hug even his younger sibling to his heart's content.
He didn't want to lose Rachel like their parents had, because of his uncontrollable power.
Even when he asked if she was in pain or if there were any other abnormalities, Rachel only shook her head.
"...I just had a nightmare."
"It was a terrible nightmare, too," Rachel said, nothing more than that.
'I should have realized something was off there.'
Noelier crushed his lips.
It was because he had let his guard down, happy that Rachel had woken up.
'I never thought you would notice the legend.'
He quietly placed his hand on his chest. His heartbeat was still calm.
That little girl secretly left the South to save his older sister and hasn't returned for several days.
He never imagined that she would have gone to the north, so finding her ended up taking this long.
The mere thought of what those wolf cubs might have done to his sister in the wicked North was enough to make the murderous intent inside him fail to subside.
"Where is he now?"
"We have tracked them down and are holding them captive, but..."
The man trailed off. At that hesitation, Noelier narrowed her brows.
“Did you miss him?”
"...His skills are excellent for a wolf. So much so that he is difficult to approach."
"That's ridiculous."
Noelier quickly cut the conversation short.
The man, who had bowed his head endlessly before the leader who was much younger than him, was biting his lip as if he had nothing to say.
"We are sorry. No matter what happens, we will again..."
“That’s it.”
"..."
“I will go there myself.”
At a single word from Noelier, everyone standing nearby bowed their heads in greeting.
Those clad in black cloaks stepped back as if to guide.
The white breath that flowed from his beautiful lips scattered into the air.
"Arrogant wolf cub."
Noelier muttered softly. It wouldn't have been surprising if the man who spoke like that were to breathe out that hot fire at any moment.
One heart.
It was a miracle in itself to have lived for so long without a companion. It was proof of his strength.
But what about now?
The fire burning at his fingertips looked as though it would not be surprising if it engulfed this North at any moment.
The leader seemed determined to unleash his own flames to kill that arrogant wolf.
The onlookers swallowed hard.
One of the men in the cloak thought.
Perhaps the precarious relationship between the South and the North is completely severed as of today, and this place might become a ruin.
***
"Hey! By now, it's about time you came out!"
Eve gasped for breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
The sound of being hit by an apple was clearly heard, but no one fell down.
'I clearly heard the sound of stones breaking.'
"Just how hard is a skull?" She thought as she counted the number of apples remaining in the basket.
There were only three left.
"If you're not a strange person, why don't you come out? Let's settle this over talking, yes?"
Eve spoke politely as if to persuade, but as expected, he did not reveal himself.
The sound of the blowing wind swallowed up the silence of the forest.
'I didn't want to use this power.'
She let out a small sigh and slowly reached out her hand.
A blizzard swirled within her palm.
As the snowstorm cleared, sharp icicles formed on her palms.
Eve focused on finding other sounds that did not exist in this winter forest.
To capture other sounds amidst the silence of the forest she had always lived in.
It was then. A faint crackling sound was heard through the snowstorm.
‘There it is!'
She threw an icicle toward where the sound had come from.
The shadow quickly disappeared behind the tree. It was not just one movement.
It was a quick and agile startle. She did not back down and threw ice toward where she sensed a presence.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps approaching from behind her was heard.
“You bastard!”
Eve quickly turned around and swung a rock—that is, a frozen apple—with great force. Icicles were good too, but attacking with an apple had a better hit rate.
'There's nothing better than an apple for smashing heads!'
It was the result of hands-on experience while dealing with countless intruders.
The thrown apple disappeared into the darkness.
Eve smiled faintly. It was a smile that knew the outcome.
Crack!
Not long after, the sound of something breaking was heard, accompanied by a faint groan.
'That really hit the mark!'
She cheered inwardly.
'I may look like this, but I used to be the school's all-time shot put record holder!'
Of course, that was in a past life! Eve took out another apple to continue this momentum.
She saw a figure quickly disappearing between the trees. It was just as she was about to throw an apple toward it.
Her movements stopped abruptly.
'That is...!'
The blue light, which she had only heard about in stories, began to fill the dark winter forest.
"What the...?"
Rachel was the younger sister of the Southern leader. Naturally, she thought there wouldn't be just one or two people targeting her.
But this number was too large. As if...
'Just like when Rachel in the novel annihilated the North.'
Huge blue light.
Eve involuntarily recoiled and stepped back.
Suddenly, she was reminded of the one-line life that burned to death in the novel.
The winter forest, swept by a blizzard, was helplessly melting in the blazing flames. The fire was drawing closer.
It was just as she was tightening her grip on the apple.
"Look at the pathetic sight of groveling over a mere apple."
A cold voice rang out from behind her.
Eve turned around in surprise, but he was faster.
A man wearing a black cloak, with a physique larger than hers, was looking down at her.
It was a vivid red eye.
As she knew, those eyes were probably.
“Where is it?”
He asked in a low, subdued voice. Eve wanted to answer, but the heat radiating from his body made it difficult to speak.
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment