Dormia is an empire located in the north, renowned for its exceptional fighting ability, stable economy, and abundance of resources for its people. The history of this land is quite remarkable.
According to legend, several centuries ago, a magician was travelling through the north on his way to an eastern port. After a month of journeying, he lost his way due to the heavy snowfall. In search of shelter, he encountered a beautiful woman who was also in need of refuge. They both reached out to one another for help, but it was soon revealed that the woman was a dark fox spirit. Driven by her hunger, she devoured the magician without realizing he was a powerful sorcerer.
The resulting magical energy from the magician caused a massive explosion, killing the fox spirit and clearing the layer of snow in the area. The Goddess of Harvest and Agriculture, Demeter, felt pity for the magician. To honour his innocence and naivety, she bestowed her blessings upon that region where the explosion occurred. The combination of the magician's and the spirit's magic, along with Demeter's blessings, transformed the North into a stable land for living and farming.
In time, the people of the North became embroiled in a war with the South. At that time, the Southern Empire of Vermas was a formidable power, while Dormia was regarded merely as a large village. Despite the odds favouring Vermas, Dormia prevailed in the conflict, thanks in large part to Demeter's blessing. As a result, their territory earned the status of an empire in the eyes of the world.
"Isn't their history elegant, my lady?"
It has been two days since the incident at the marchioness's party, and I have remained in my room since I left my father's office. We have not seen each other since that day. He chose not to leave his room while I was exiting the mansion, but I had no expectations from him.
Malenda was coming with me, and her excitement was palpable. She couldn't sit still; she had to dance in her seat. Until now, she had immersed herself in a book about Dormian philosophy, and her enthusiasm propelled her to finish it with impressive speed.
The outside was dreadful at that time. The heavy snow on the north side was as dangerous as the rumours had suggested. We were seated in a luxurious and comfortable carriage that should have kept us warm, but we still felt the chill of the freezing weather. Despite this, the sun was vividly visible through the carriage window. To my surprise, I found it beautiful. I couldn't quite explain why, but it truly was captivating.
"I've never seen such weather in the west. How can the people of the North survive here?"
Malenda felt worry for the people of the North. Even though she knew about their blessing.
"Demeter's blessings aren't temporary."
"How lucky they are, my lady.."
Seriously, they are so lucky. They have endless blessings from a Goddess. Whereas we, the Western, didn't even have a single message from a God. Just for a single attention from a God, the Westerns worship every God. Who knows from whom they get the attention they always seek for?
"Aren't you feeling bored, Malenda?"
"How could I, my lady!? Look, how amusing it is to see a moment like that!"
"If there was anyone to hear those words of yours, they would have surely thought that we are some crazy."
To cut the boring moment, we started to have some typical conversation. Some time flew by quickly through our conversation.
For a moment, our eyes set outside the window. It was terrible. The weather became worse than it was from the start. Our carriage stopped. The couch man struggled to come to us. With so much effort, he finally was able to open the door of the carriage. The moment he opened the door, a big cold wind forced him to enter our carriage. That cold wind also touched our bodies. We felt like getting frizzed at that moment. The couch man shouted out loudly so that we could hear his words.
"My lady, the situation is bad. We have to stop for a moment."
"What are you talking about? If we stop here right now, we will be in more big trouble."
Malenda became pale after hearing the situation. I was just listening. There was nothing I could do at that moment. Even nothing was coming into my mind.
'Borrow my power."
I heard a filthy voice whispering in my mind. If that couch man hadn't been present at that time, I would have surely cursed that voice with my heart.
I tried my best to avoid that voice. Malenda turned her head to me from that couch man with worries.
"My lady, if we stop here right now, the northern would be disappointed. From the start, they were surprised by our request for a quick appearance on their land. If we arrive late there now, I'm sure they will be angry."
Malenda was right indeed. Father's request was so sudden. It was natural for them to be surprised. The letter that they sent to us as the answer to Father's request, expressed politeness, a positive answer and also surprise.
"Malenda.."
"Yes, my lady?"
"Use your protection shield."
"....Will it be alright?"
Shield magic represents a formidable form of magic capable of countering other magical forces, determined by its strength. The classification of shield magic is segmented into four distinct ranks: Knight, Angel, Saint, and Head-Saint, with Knight being the lowest and Head-Saint the highest. An individual possessing Saint-level shield power is likely to attain the status of a saint. Currently, Malenda operates at the Angel level, which limits her potential to achieve sainthood.
I nodded my head as a sign of agreement. Malenda gulped and gripped her courage. She took the help of the couch man to get out of the carriage. She again looked at me—telling me to stay here quietly.
The moment she got out of the carriage, the freezing wind embraced her hardly. The outside situation was really bad. Though she handled the situation and activated her power. Within a moment, a big area around the carriage became calm. The wind sound wasn't knocking at my ear anymore. She was still casting her spells on the shield to make it powerful. After chanting a few spells, she put down her hand and opened her eyes. Through the window, I looked at Malenda. She smiled at me. I also smiled back at her.
"Thank you, lady. If you didn't use your power, we would have stayed trapped here."
"Haha..welcome."
The couch man showed her gratitude toward Malenda. He went back to his seat and Malenda also came back to the carriage. I slightly praised her, and she felt a bit embarrassed.
"You were amazing, you know."
"I-it was nothing to compare with you."
I didn't say anything further. Our carriage started to move forward. But that time, we didn't feel an ounce of discomfort. The breezing sound wasn't present in our eardrum. Snows were using their full force to break the shield but failed.
Times passed quickly. Malenda went to sleep. The couch man was riding horses comfortably. I was just looking out the window. Malenda's protection shield made me feel like a snow globe. We were the models of the globe.
The further the carriage was going, the more snow was melting. Making the outside visible. I realized something very quickly.
"Malenda."
"Um...yes my lady."
"Pack the belongings here. Quickly. We've arrived."
Malenda cut off from sleep and started to pack the books she was reading in the carriage. We both got our capes to protect us from the cold outside. The couch man accelerated the carriage's speed. Our carriage started to run faster and faster.
A few moments later, we arrived in front of the barrier of Dormia. The couch man gave us that information. The moment I heard that, my heart started to beat fast. Nearly taking away my breath. I started to take deep breaths silently so that Malenda couldn't hear me.
'Calm down...everything will be alright. It's okay.'
The knight guard of Dormia told the couch man to take off the shield from the carriage through sign language. I also saw it on my seat. The couch man opened the little wood window and told Malenda.
Malenda heard it and got out of the carriage. She again started chanting spells to take off the shield. She succeeds in doing that—she greets the knight politely, and the knight also does the same. Malenda came back to her seat. All of the knights were greeting me when the carriage was passing through the gate. They actually couldn't see me but I could.
Like that, I entered the Dormia.
My first step in the scam.
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