In his office in Sturma, Peter Bayezid was staring intently at the man before him.
Judging by the fact that the ink on the pen he had set aside was still wet, it seemed this client had arrived at an unexpected moment.
"If you wanted to talk to me, you should have made an appointment, Agge."
"The situation is urgent. I have urgent news to report."
A man dressed in poorly trimmed animal skins, with colorful braids throughout his head.
Agge, from the Budart tribe, had a severe expression on his face, not even shaking off the snow that had accumulated on his shoulders.
"Alright, speak."
As the son of the tribe chief, Agge was in a position to speak with Peter, the head of the Bayezid family.
However, Peter noticed the seriousness in Agge's expression, so he decided to skip the trivial details.
"I don't think we can survive this winter. Not just my tribe, but the other tribes as well."
"Why?"
It was common for barbarians to have a hard time in winter when food was scarce.
Their original habit of looting also originated for this reason.
However, Agge did not come simply to say it was hard to survive due to a lack of food.
"The monsters are rampant."
"Isn't that usually the case in winter?"
"And also the dragons. The ones you call Lindworm."
Beyond the snowy fields of the north, a dragon and monsters came from a land humans could not reach.
As Peter said, it happened every year, but this time the number was much greater, and it was a number the barbarians, whose power was weakened by the Dragon Hunters, could not dare to handle.
"Dragons? Like before?"
"It's worse. Unlike then, this time it's not just one."
Peter's eyebrows arched when he heard Agge say it wasn't just one dragon.
It may have been affected only when the pieces of Ravnoma moved, but in the current situation, there was no reason for the dragons to rampage at the same time.
"Are you sure about that?"
"We have already lost contact with two tribes. They were the ones furthest north."
According to Agge, the barbarians were now moving south, unable to withstand the pressure of the dragons and monsters that had become violent.
And this would not be very good news for Bayezid.
"I can't send troops to help you. We are preparing for war."
"Then please at least accept the refugees. They want to take shelter within your walls."
"I have no reason to do so."
The refusal he gave was cold and firm.
The agreement between the northern lords and the barbarians was solid, but it only intended to respect the territory they had, and there was no agreement to actively help something like now.
"There is not enough space within the walls nor food to feed my own subjects. What you are asking goes beyond the terms of the agreement."
"…"
"Leave. Do not forget my courtesy in tolerating your disrespect."
Agge bit his lip while looking at Peter, who was holding his pen again as if he had nothing more to say.
There was nothing wrong with what he said about not being able to help, but still, the anger boiling in his heart was something he could do nothing about.
"We gave up many things, but in the end, it remains the same. Nothing has changed."
"…"
"Our agreement will break. Future generations will face each other again as we did."
There was a man who told me we should no longer do that.
A man who suggested we set aside the hatred that had been accumulating for some time and join hands for the sake of the next generation.
He was the man who said that to do that, we must swallow a poison that is now difficult for us to drink.
"Joseph Bayezid would have allowed us in. Because that is what he did in the back alleys of Soara."
"…Enough."
"There is no one left in the north who extends a hand first. The winter has returned!"
"I said enough!"
Bang!
A heavy silence invaded the office accompanied by a loud noise.
However, Peter's bloodshot eyes were still wide open as he looked at Agge.
"…I thought he could do it. But it was a mistake."
Agge, who looked at the disheveled Peter, slowly backed away and left the office.
Because he knew he could no longer communicate with him.
He had sought a Bayezid who saw them as equals, but the only thing he carried away was the cold dividing line between their worlds.
"…"
Even after Agge left, Peter remained there with clenched fists for a long time.
Although he had tried to be unyielding all his life, this time it was difficult for him to calm his emotions.
Seeing the traces his unfortunate son could not achieve, Peter realized that tonight he would need a strong drink.
***
The workers were busy removing piles of stones and debris, as if they wanted to erase the nightmare of the previous night.
However, the scattered bloodstains and the half-collapsed mansion remained a heartbreaking sight.
Pablo, who was looking at that figure before him, silently gazed at the window of the mansion that had not yet collapsed, carrying his very dented shield on his back.
"He still hasn't woken up."
"It's a miracle he's still alive. He was pierced through the chest."
Unlike the bed that seemed soft, the room had cracks in all the walls.
The disheveled appearance resembled Vlad, who was currently lying in the bed, and it seemed to inexplicably increase the feeling of desolation.
"They say even bad luck is luck. I really didn't think he would survive."
"You say that, but I saw you taking great care of him."
"…That's because I swore before God I would do that in front of the sick!"
Pedro shouted, unable to contain his growing anger, but the hand he showed to Vlad at that urgent moment was sincere.
Although he was a former Inquisitor, he could not use healing techniques, but if it were not for his skilled treatment, Vlad would already be in a coffin.
"Even so, I hope he recovers soon. The servants are looking at us strangely."
"Mmm. That's something that can't be helped."
The mansion of Arnstein, which was almost half destroyed, was like a deep scar left in the city of Valletta.
The broken flags, the collapsed walls, and the knights and soldiers who died in the attack were damages that could only be healed after a long time and were costly losses.
And the fact that Joseph's betrayal was at the center of all this made the group, who had not yet left the mansion, feel increasingly uncomfortable.
"Didn't you notice anything? You said you were together all this time."
"Not at all. I can say for certain that regarding the mystery, there were no indications."
If it had been said by an ordinary beast man, he would not have believed it.
However, Pedro, who had worked with Nibelun, knew very well that he did not lie, as he was a fairly simple and honest person.
"He was a very intelligent man. One of the best in the north."
Pedro slowly scratched his chin, recalling Joseph who had faced him.
The second son of Bayezid, who was ingenious enough to oust him from his position in Soara for a long time.
With that ingenuity, it was easy to deceive a foolish cat and a young dragon.
"…Well, I was a bastard. So was that guy."
However, even if he was such a talented person, he eventually fell into a dark temptation and could not guess what was happening in the world.
"Where are you going?"
"Why? Do I have to inform you every time I go somewhere?"
"No, but…"
He wanted to be in company because he felt uncomfortable being alone, but he only received the sharp criticism of an old grouch.
Pedro grabbed the creaking doorknob, turned it, and walked alone down the hall, sighing and muttering to himself.
"I never thought I'd grow old and have to care for dragons."
From Vlad, who was unconscious, to Radu, who had now aged.
Pedro left the room and walked down the hall, lamenting how his life had turned out, and began to walk quickly.
In this mansion full of uncomfortable glances, Pedro was the only one who took action for the children of Dragulia, who had no one to care for them.
***
It was an autumn landscape.
Below, the wheat fields were a bountiful gold, and on the hill where they sat, the red leaves fell abundantly.
The sight of the World Mother Tree in Kihano's world was something that would make anyone smile, but Vlad simply sat there, melancholy.
"Why did he leave?"
[Only he knows.]
It was a quiet hill where only the sound of the wind could be heard, but Vlad was not the only one sitting there.
Although his face was still not visible, a man with brown hair was sitting next to Vlad.
[It is almost impossible to fully understand another being. Such are the encounters between worlds.]
"…"
Hearing Kihano's words, Vlad buried his head between his knees.
Although he knew he was trying to console him, the farewell of last night was too terrible for those words to offer any comfort.
Vlad, who buried his head deeply as if he did not want to see anything, only reproached himself for not knowing anything until this happened, and blamed Joseph for not saying anything during that time.
"I'm tired. There is no end. I can't rest."
[…I understand.]
Vlad's desire to reach the stars was pure, but nothing in the world lasts forever.
Every time he climbed a flight of stairs, Vlad grew exhausted, and every time he defeated someone one by one, a part of his soul was torn away.
And now, having lost someone he trusted, it was understandable that Vlad felt downcast.
[If you need to rest, rest. If you want to run away, run away. No one can force you to do anything.]
Kihano did not press Vlad.
He only told him to rest as much as he wanted.
Vlad had fled to his world because he could not bear his own, and Kihano was there to support him.
"…Can I really do that?"
[Of course.]
Kihano patted Vlad on the back while looking at the twilight in the distance.
[It's okay.]
Red maple leaves fluttering amidst the autumn landscape.
Today's twilight seen under the World Mother Tree, which is no longer there, still remained despite the passage of time.
[Because the only thing you have to do is get up again at any time.]
You are still young, and your time continues to flow smoothly.
Not like my time, which I cannot reverse or move forward.
Your time, which can go anywhere because it flows, will not pass in vain even in this moment of worry.
"…The sound of the wind is pleasant."
[It is a sound that can only be heard when the surroundings are silent.]
Kihano and Vlad sat in the same place under the bright red maple for a long time.
In this place filled only with the wind, there was no Joseph who betrayed him, nor Frausen who stabbed him, only Kihano waiting patiently.
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