Chapter 13

The first time I met Princess Ha-shal-leur was nine years ago.

It was when I had just become a warrior, full of immature arrogance.

The winter rain poured down as if the sky had been torn open, soaking the ground cold.

It was the day of the funeral for Ai-mel-ra, the third wife of Ser Khan and the mistress of the Gold Flower Palace.

Only the palace maids and twenty warriors were present as a rough wooden coffin was carefully placed inside the grave.

It was a pitiful grave, hardly befitting the funeral of a Khan’s wife and the mistress of the Gold Flower Palace.

Not a single member of the Ai-shan tribe came.

Not even Ser Khan or Or-han, the chief of the Ai-shan tribe.

I shivered in the biting cold that seemed to freeze my lungs, grumbling inwardly about why I had been assigned to this place.

Then, suddenly, a girl caught my eye.

In the middle of the burial site, where the maids were kneeling and wailing, a girl stood alone, staring expressionlessly at Ai-mel-ra’s coffin on the ground.

Her white clothes, soaked by the winter rain, clung pitifully to her emaciated body.

The maids tried to shield her from the rain with oiled leather cloths, but she refused, silently enduring the rain soaking her hair.

Only her pale fingertips trembled slightly.

Is that Ha-shal-leur, the daughter of Ai-mel-ra?

I heard she was only nine years old. Her endurance is remarkable. Even seasoned warriors would struggle in this cold.

Though, looking at her scrawny body, she doesn’t seem cut out to be a warrior.

Back then, even as I watched that scene, I was busy thinking such thoughts.

—

The late winter rain finally stopped after ten days.

Among the warriors, rumors about Ha-shal-leur began to spread quietly.

They said she had stood there for ten days, neither eating nor drinking, just staring at her mother’s grave.

I laughed it off as nonsense and downed my drink.

Such a thing was impossible for a person, let alone a young girl.

Late at night, for some reason, my drunken steps led me to Ai-mel-ra’s grave.

Perhaps I wanted to confirm with my own eyes that the story was nonsense and brag about it to the other warriors.

It was foolish for a mere warrior to trespass near the grave of an Ai-shan family member. If caught, I’d lose my head on the spot.

The crude grave in the northeast corner of the city was as quiet as an abandoned kiln.

There wasn’t even a guard to watch over it.

Even for a westerner, this was an excessive insult to the grave of the Khan’s wife. Why did Ser Khan allow this?

Ignoring the disloyal thoughts in my head, I approached the grave.

**She was there.**

A shock resembling fear pierced through me.

I felt the drunkenness vanish in an instant and knelt without realizing it.

It didn’t look human.

Her hair and clothes were frozen, covered in frost, and her body was barely more than skin and bones.

She looked like a corpse frozen standing.

There was no awe at witnessing a miracle.

Instead, I felt a spine-chilling dread at facing something incomprehensibly grotesque.

“…What is it?”

A faint, almost breaking voice made me look up.

I met the gaze of **that thing**.

It looked like a skeleton draped with a thin cloth.

Her sunken, pale cheeks revealed the bones beneath, and behind her hollow eye sockets, a ghostly blue light flickered.

Even if someone starved for three months, they wouldn’t look like this.

It was something beyond human understanding.

I couldn’t speak, only trembling.

Now I understood why there were no maids or warriors here.

Anyone who faced this would flee in terror.

Then why wasn’t I running?

“…Do you not intend to answer?”

**It** urged me.

I quickly bowed my head and spoke.

“I-I am Ja-han, a warrior of Ser Khan’s army.”

“…Ah, yes. I remember. Among the warriors at my mother’s funeral, there was one particularly large man. It’s you.”

The warriors back then weren’t there voluntarily but were assigned like me as guards.

I wouldn’t have cared if it weren’t for orders.

Ai-mel-ra, with her delicate nature, wasn’t supported by the warriors, only the maids.

And the label of being a former imperial slave always followed her.

“…At least one person came to see my mother.”

Her voice, mixed with a hint of warmth, surprised me. I looked up at **it** again.

Was it my imagination, or had the ghostly blue light in her eyes calmed a bit?

Only then did I realize.

What stood before me wasn’t a grotesque monster but a freezing, starving child on the verge of death.

An unfamiliar emotion weighed heavily on my chest.

I would only later realize it was pity and guilt.

After a long hesitation, I spoke.

“…Princess Ha-shal-leur. You must return to the palace.”

“Do you intend to say the same as those beneath me? I grew tired of their whining and drove them all away.”

Princess Ha-shal-leur, as if unwilling to speak further, turned her head back to the humble grave.

Her blue eyes were filled with a mix of directionless hatred and deep longing.

“Look at your condition, Princess. You could collapse and die at any moment. Do you intend to throw your life away like this?”

No miracle, no anomaly lasts forever.

Even this incomprehensible phenomenon keeping the princess alive would reach its limit someday.

“I understand your feelings, Princess…”

I tried to persuade her.

**”Understand? My feelings? How amusing.”**

The princess clenched her teeth.

“You don’t know.”

Her voice growled.

“No. No one could possibly know!”

With a parched, cracked throat, Princess Ha-shal-leur let out a heart-wrenching cry.

A fierce aura radiated from her.

I couldn’t respond.

I didn’t know much about Princess Ha-shal-leur or Ai-mel-ra.

After a while, the princess, breathing heavily, slumped her shoulders.

“…Enough. You need not rush me. I’ll return in five days anyway.”

“Five days? Why wait…?”

If she was going to return anyway, why not now?

She looked like she could die at any moment, let alone in five days.

“My mother suffered for fifteen days before passing. So, I will guard this place for fifteen days.”

I couldn’t stop her.

It wasn’t something a mere warrior like me could interfere with.

“…I’ll visit again. Please take care of yourself.”

And so, I decided to come here every day.

First day.

I guess she didn’t expect me to come back, because Princess Ha-shal-leur just stared at me blankly for a while.

We spent time together, gazing at the grave.

The long silence was awkward, so I forced myself to start talking, sharing all sorts of stories with her.

Stories about mundane daily life. My own life. Even rumors and folktales I’d picked up.

“You talk more than I thought you would.”

Princess Ha-shal-leur, who had been quietly listening, shook her head.

I need to think of some way to pass the time quietly.

Maybe I’ll train or something.

—

Second day.

Princess Ha-shal-leur’s condition hadn’t changed much.

It was still something I couldn’t understand, but now I found it somewhat comforting.

In a corner of the burial site, I swung a thick wooden club I’d carved, training my body.

Princess Ha-shal-leur occasionally glanced at me with interest.

—

Third day.

I handed Princess Ha-shal-leur a coat made from wolf fur.

She stared at it for a long time before finally taking it and draping it over her shoulders.

“……My mother used to make clothes like this. She called it a cloak.”

As if longing for the warmth of memories, Princess Ha-shal-leur pulled the coat tightly around herself.

—

Fourth day.

“What are you?”

An unwelcome visitor arrived at the burial site.

—

I stared down at a boy who didn’t even come up to half my height.

He was dressed in overly flashy clothes that didn’t suit him.

Golden accessories glittered all over his small body.

He even had a dagger hanging from his waist, as if trying to look important.

Behind him, two warriors who seemed to be his guards looked awkwardly disinterested.

Who is this?

“I’m asking you. Are you deaf?”

The boy tapped his dagger and sneered rudely.

I barely held back the urge to kick him.

I didn’t want to cause a scene where Princess Ha-shal-leur’s mother rested.

“…My name is Ja-han.”

“Did I ask for your name? What’s a lowly warrior doing here? I came to see that *b*tch.”

I was speechless at the level of insults.

*B*tch? Is he really referring to Princess Ha-shal-leur like that?

“Prince Amin, you shouldn’t speak like that outside. You’re still half of the same bloodline.”

One of the guards behind him scolded the bratty kid.

Judging by how he looked at me while saying it, it seemed like he was actually telling *me* to listen.

Same bloodline? So this brat is Ai-shan Gi-or Amin?

The third son of Ser Khan.

I almost caused a huge problem by losing my temper.

“So what should I call her? Since we’re half-related, I’m being generous by calling her a *b*tch.”

Amin grumbled irritably, then pointed at me.

“So, what about you? Why’s a non-Ai-shan Gi-or relative snooping around our family’s graves?”

I was at a loss.

Honestly, if there had been guards watching the graves, I would’ve been executed for what I’d been doing.

“You don’t seem like someone my father allowed… Since you’ve been wandering around our family’s graves without permission, you’ve got no right to complain if you die, right?”

Amin drew his dagger.

Cold sweat dripped down my back.

It would only take one strike to turn this brat into a corpse. Even if his two guards attacked me at the same time, I could handle them.

The problem was, if I laid a hand on a direct descendant of Ser Khan, my entire village would be wiped out.

Even if I killed all three and buried them, Ser Khan would tear the city apart to find the culprit.

Too many people would remember this brat because of his flashy clothes.

And during the investigation, it wouldn’t take long for them to find out Amin was killed here.

While I hesitated, Amin raised his dagger high.

…Should I just kill him and figure it out later?

I clenched my fists tightly.

Even if it was an impossible situation, I wasn’t about to let some kid’s dagger take my life.

That’s when it happened.

“…Stop, Amin.”

Hearing Amin’s voice, Princess Ha-shal-leur walked over.

Amin, who had been smirking and putting his dagger away, was shocked when he saw Princess Ha-shal-leur.

“…What the hell? Are you a ghost?”

“I’m not in the mood to joke with the likes of you. Why are you here?”

Princess Ha-shal-leur stared at Amin expressionlessly.

Her corpse-like appearance seemed to intimidate him, as his mouth twitched.

“I-I came to see your ugly face, but it’s worse than I imagined. Yeah, you look ridiculous.”

Amin forced out a sneer.

“If you’ve seen enough, leave. Stop lingering. You’re annoying me.”

Princess Ha-shal-leur frowned disdainfully and gestured for him to leave.

“This *b*tch has been…!”

Humiliation seemed to overcome his fear, and Amin’s face twisted in anger.

Princess Ha-shal-leur ignored him and turned away.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“I said I have nothing to say to you. And Ja-han is my guard, so don’t interfere.”

“Your guard? Funny. What authority does a *b*tch like you have?”

“……”

Princess Ha-shal-leur didn’t even respond.

“Ja-han, follow me.”

I glanced at Amin, then moved to follow Princess Ha-shal-leur.

Amin, grinding his teeth, spat and shouted.

“So this is what you’ve been doing in front of your mother’s grave, huh? Been cozying up with some guy?”

Princess Ha-shal-leur stopped walking.

Seeing this, Amin continued to mock her.

“Your mother was a lowly slave, so I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Did you learn how to sell your body from her?”

Princess Ha-shal-leur turned and slowly walked toward Amin, her head slightly lowered.

Sensing something ominous, Amin’s guards stiffened.

Amin kept hurling insults at her.

“She must’ve been good at it to seduce Father. I should’ve seen it for myself!”

Princess Ha-shal-leur reached Amin.

His guards gripped their sword hilts.

I tensed up, glaring at them.

“Amin.”

Princess Ha-shal-leur spoke.

“What, are you going to show me yourself? One man doesn’t seem enough—should I lend you my guards?”

—

**”I think I’ll start with you.”**

—

The hatred that had been suppressed finally erupted, along with a violent killing intent.

—

Amin’s eyes were gouged out.