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“Aaaagh!”
Karl screamed at the sudden, maddening pain.
Something in the darkness had bitten his foot.
“Hwaaagh! Aagh! Ro— aagh!”
In an instant, he lost one leg and tumbled over. Fear, created by tears, snot, and a vision that remained pitch black, covered Karl's face.
“Help me! Robbie! Something bit m— aagh!”
[Do not cry, child…. Rejoice that you may become part of Behemoth's great body.]
Robbie, who had been running for a long time, naturally heard that voice along with the scream.
“Karl?”
Though paralyzed with fear, Robbie could sufficiently guess what was happening to his friend.
He stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly into the dark forest. He had to go save Karl, but his feet wouldn't move.
Crack, snap.
A terrifying sound echoed. So did Karl's scream. Robbie just stood there, frozen.
“Save m—”
And with that unfinished word, Karl's voice vanished completely.
Crunch, crack.
The sound of a giant beast chewing on something. The sound of branches brushing against each other. Robbie, who had been standing there in a daze, finally snapped back to his senses at those sounds. His choice was simple: flee.
“Huuu….”
Even then, fearing the beast might detect him, he stifled the sobs leaking from his throat.
[Oh dear.]
The beast, watching Robbie disappear beyond the forest, smacked its lips. The beast's contractor also clicked their tongue.
[He can't even be touched because of that smell of salt anyway; he could have taken his time.]
But there was no way for Robbie to know that.
Instead of staring at the retreating back of a meal it couldn't even eat, the beast decided to stroke its belly, full for the first time in a long while. A sense of satisfaction surged within it.
It was the first feeling of satiety it had experienced since the loyal underling who used to bring it food had died.
The beast clicked its tongue. Humans were perfectly edible even if they weren't torn apart and brought to it.
Of course, the underlings of the surface weren't smart enough to think that far. That was likely why they had been killed by a mere human.
[Are you pleased?]
Its 'contractor' asked cautiously. The beast snorted. There was no reason to chatter about being pleased or not just because it had devoured a single human.
As if sensing the beast's mood without a single word, the contractor bowed their head.
[Please wait a little longer. I shall kill every last one of those insidious creatures of Windrock and offer them to you.]
“....”
[And that damned Ring shall soon be yours, Master.]
The beast snorted again. The 'contractor' shuddered and replied once more.
[Of course. That person smelling of salt... no, that thing shall also kneel beneath your feet, Master.]
The beast had once been a powerhouse that fought for hegemony over the sea. However, on the final day, it was cast out of the ocean and settled in the shabby surface world. It had been so resentful and humiliating.
But that revenge was now close at hand.
The beast's eyes gleamed.
* * *
Though it was early summer, there were still places where the wind remained fierce. Specifically, the Norwich border.
In Foldenbach, it was a season where maids worked themselves to death fanning their superiors before the sunlight finally held any warmth. The northernmost point of the Foldenbach Empire.
The nights of the Norwich Margraviate, which bore the Desolate Snowfields upon its head, were still cold.
“Mother.”
Countess Norwich—now called Lady Norwich since she had passed the title of Margrave to her eldest son—looked up.
Perhaps it was because she had been frozen and thawed by the cold wind for decades. The eyes of the middle-aged woman were utterly dry, even as she faced her son.
The Margrave of Norwich, her eldest son Akim Norwich, held out a letter.
“An urgent message from House Achen.”
“From the Duke of Achen's territory?”
A glimmer of hope appeared in Lady Norwich's voice.
Due to the continuous drought, the number of peasants starving to death had increased. The wheat fields that failed to survive the winter had seen their yields halved, and because the corn harvest was also poor, it had already been a month since she requested food aid from House Achen.
She wondered if this was the answer, but her son's expression was unsettling. Lady Norwich took the letter from Akim's hand and unfolded it.
Contrary to her expectations, the contents were unexpected.
“…What is all this?”
Having read the letter, Lady Norwich looked at Akim with confused eyes. Akim let out a sigh.
It had been over twenty years since his mother had acted as if she had completely forgotten that Akim had a younger brother.
Sometimes, even Akim almost forgot the fact that he had a sibling. At least, that was the case until he became the Margrave.
However, the second son Lady Norwich had discarded had flourished in a way that was impossible to ignore.
At the mere age of fourteen, he had set out on the Expedition of Glory on behalf of the Grand Duke, building monasteries in Til Nebe Cedric and Eridrahan. Even after returning, he had kept the Empire in a state of turmoil.
Yet, every time news of him arrived, Lady Norwich stubbornly maintained a stance of ignorance.
She was well aware of the whispers—that it was divine punishment for a woman who had thrown a feast the moment her bastard of a husband died, all because she had given birth to a child with Red Eyes.
Thus, Akim also avoided bringing up Rahan in front of his mother as much as possible.
However, he couldn't keep this letter to himself.
“It says Rahan has married the legitimate daughter of House Achen.”
News traveled slowly to the Norwich Margraviate. It was inevitable given how treacherous the roads were.
A land of rock and ice, stiff grass and desolate soil. Few people walked willingly into the land where coniferous trees grew sporadically.
Consequently, Akim only learned that his brother had married through a maddening letter from House Achen.
Rahan Norwich.
The brother eight years younger than Akim, who had been abandoned by his mother and taken in by Grand Duke Yvette Lacheize.
Akim had thought Rahan would grow up to be a fine dog for the Grand Duke of Lacheize and end his life as her lover. But the news in the letter was unexpected.
“The legitimate daughter?”
“Iris Achen.”
No matter how slow the news was, he knew of Iris Achen's appearance.
Since the Norwich Margraviate, along with Marquess Karacal and House Achen, supported Prince Elio, it was almost impossible not to know. However, the fact that his brother had married that Iris Achen was baffling.
“It says he accidentally injured the Grand Duke while guarding her. To gain immunity, he kidnapped Iris Achen, who was about to be married, and spent the first night with her. And then he was exiled to Arnsberg.”
His brother had made a name for himself as a bastard throughout the Empire, but Akim hadn't expected this.
However, Lady Norwich's reaction exceeded all imagination. She twitched an eyebrow once and asked back.
“…What happens to the food aid from House Achen?”
“…That is.”
He hadn't expected her to bring up food aid first. It was as if she didn't care whether the son she abandoned had married or been buried.
Under normal circumstances, Akim would have respected Lady Norwich's wishes and kept his mouth shut about Rahan. But there was a reason Akim had brought Rahan's story to her.
“House Achen has requested… to meet Rahan Norwich.”
Herbert Achen was furious that the marriage between his son and Iris Achen had been ruined. He quickly moved to the next step. His response was to immediately go to Foldenbach to meet Prince Elio.
Herbert meeting Prince Elio was a masterstroke in many ways. The Prince had tipped Herbert off on a few things that could obstruct the marriage, even if it couldn't be completely annulled.
One of those was that letter.
Prince Elio already knew that the Norwich Margraviate had requested food aid from House Achen. This was because they had also requested aid from the wealthy Prince Elio.
‘Propose a deal to Lady Norwich.’
‘What kind of deal?’
‘Well. Rahan Norwich hasn't been erased from the Norwich family tree yet, has he?’
‘!’
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