At the gate.
Riana stares expressionlessly at the soldiers blocking her path. Her gaze, colder than the northern wind, makes the soldiers shrink back and subtly close the distance among themselves.
Even with the gap closed, it feels as cold as if a bullwind were blowing.
Finally, a savior appears for the soldiers enduring something indescribably harsh.
“Ha.”
The guardian of Malridan.
Uldiran Caldias has arrived.
“Such a humble figure gracing a noble place.”
“……”
Riana shows no reaction to Uldiran’s playful remark. It might seem like Caldias is provoking her out of nowhere, but in fact, Riana’s mere presence here is already a great rudeness to Caldias.
“The daughter of Helmunth pays her respects to the Frontier Lord.”
Riana bows with proper etiquette. Her voice and expression are calm, but strangely, those around her sense her anxiety.
“You must have heard of the gravity of the situation, Frontier Lord.”
“Hmm.”
“Please, send me. Riana Helmunth, in the name of Helmunth, will resolve this and return.”
“Denied.”
Riana’s request is sharply cut off.
“Sorry, Helmunth, but you’ll have to go to the dungeon immediately. We need to know why you’re here—”
If the situation worsens—
“Keep in mind that it could even lead to a court-martial.”
The already heavy atmosphere grows more hostile.
“The name Helmunth only gets you pampered in your grand mansion.”
After saying this, Uldiran’s spear slowly points at Riana’s neck. Close enough to pierce her throat if he just reaches out.
Her unwavering red eyes meet Uldiran’s gaze.
“I will take responsibility for the crime of disrupting the frontlines. But I believe the situation must be resolved first.”
“That’s not for the guilty to decide.”
“Frontier Lord, it’s no boast, but I am a Helmunth. I can reach there faster than anyone here and resolve the situation.”
“……”
“If we delay, even the nearby villagers could be in danger. Please, send me.”
“Helmunth, you’re not understanding.”
Uldiran clicks his tongue. The tip of his spear doesn’t waver, even slightly, despite Riana’s plea.
“This is not for the guilty to interfere with. Helmunth, what you should worry about is how to survive in prison with your excuses.”
Riana takes a moment to catch her breath. Her expressionless face begins to melt.
“Frontier Lord.”
A slight tremble.
It’s not the spear at her throat that she fears.
It’s the future beyond the walls, where she might not reach in time.
“I beg of you.”
Not as Helmunth.
But as Riana.
She slowly kneels on one knee and bows her head.
“Please… allow me to go save my husband.”
A moment of silence falls.
Even the northern wind ceases in this quiet stillness.
The sight of Helmunth’s eldest daughter kneeling before Caldias will be talked about for ages.
“Who are you standing before me as?”
But Uldiran, who should be basking in superiority, frowns and asks again.
“Just Riana. As Riana, Isaac’s wife.”
Hearing her answer, Uldiran’s lips curl into a wide grin. His hearty smile and the breath he exhales make him look like a cheerful uncle enjoying a smoke.
“I must have been mistaken. The person before me isn’t Helmunth’s eldest daughter.”
Uldiran laughs heartily, shaking his head and covering his forehead with his palm.
“My wife told me. Northerners lack romance. Honestly, I wondered what use that was—”
“……”
“But your kind of romance… might have something worth learning.”
The thick spear, instead of descending on the kneeling Riana, rises towards the sky.
“Open the gates! A woman is going to fetch her husband!”
“Kyaaah!”
As the red light from the greatsword fades and dims, Sharen hurriedly turns her back.
“This is really too much now!”
Behind the fleeing Sharen, a sticky, black puddle spreads. The shadow minions are spreading deep and wide, playing a game of territory without opponents.
Where they pass, light cannot reach.
It’s as if the world is becoming a place without the sun.
Silberna, who is holding the front against the minions, is also starting to show signs of exhaustion.
Crunch.
She grits her teeth and swings her spear, wrapped in white aura. Her aura follows the spear’s trajectory, creating a storm-like force.
But like cutting through water, it only regains its color for a moment.
Soon, the darkness returns to claim its place.
‘It’s not enough.’
She painfully realizes her aura can’t stop them.
Frankly speaking.
In this regard, Sharen’s red light is more useful than her own.
‘Why am I so powerless—’
She squeezes out her aura to the limit, achieving rapid growth.
But the tragedy is that it’s happening now.
‘Realization always comes too late.’
It feels like her insides are all twisted.
No one would point fingers at Silberna.
Yet, she blames herself.
‘If only I had trained harder in aura—!’
“Silberna!”
A shout pierces through her tangled thoughts.
She turns her head sharply, following the voice calling her—Isaac.
“Don’t get lost in your emotions!”
“……!”
It feels like a blow to the back of her head.
‘I almost made the same mistake again.’
She almost repeated the same mistake she made last winter.
Didn’t she already experience being swept up in emotions and failing to make calm judgments?
If Isaac hadn’t pointed it out early, she would have stood here alone, swinging her spear until she was buried in darkness.
‘You really—’
How do you know me so well?
To others, it might just look like swinging a spear.
She’s standing there, wrapped in something.
Does Isaac see something different?
It’s not just about having sharp insight; something lingers in Silberna’s chest.
He too.
It’s almost like a testament to Silberna’s slower realization.
“Fall back.”
He pulls the reins, changing direction.
If they’ve held out this long, reinforcements from the Malidan Wall should be arriving soon.
Let’s join them and figure out a plan.
The shadow minions following behind.
They cling like swimming in a giant puddle.
They’ve polluted everything from the starting point, Andes Village.
Northemus’s shadow still points at Isaac.
“Can we stop it?”
“If we can just break through the shadow minions guarding Northemus, that’s enough.”
Call in the aura users, clear the path, and take him down.
After all, Northemus is the root of everything.
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Haak! Haak!”
Silberna and Sharen’s faces turned pale.
They’ve been pushed to their limits, and Isaac couldn’t help but feel bitter seeing that.
‘What’s the difference between when I injured my leg and now?’
He was frustrated.
So, Isaac buried his current emotions deep in his heart.
To move forward.
“Huh?”
Then.
A subtle scent greeted them on the wind.
Silberna was caught off guard, thinking it was random.
But Isaac and Sharen straightened their backs and tightened their grip on the reins.
From the galloping warhorse, they looked far ahead.
There stood a woman, alone, holding a greatsword.
Her long red hair fluttered, and an intense red light began to explode from her entire body.
“Wow.”
Sharen, from the same family, was in awe.
“……!”
Silberna, her peer, felt the gap.
And.
“Ha-.”
Isaac, ridiculously.
In the midst of his tumultuous life.
He recalled a day he could never forget.
That day was like this too.
A sudden wind carrying the scent of roses came and—
[Let’s get married.]
Out of nowhere, she proposed.
‘Let’s get married.’
Ridiculously, Riana thought that day and now were quite similar.
Finding Isaac.
Without any context, emotion, or romance.
Just like the day she proposed.
“Sissss!”
“Please, Riana Helmunth.”
She remained silent as the two women on horseback passed by, not responding to their greetings.
Finally.
After seeing Isaac pass by.
Riana raised her greatsword.
The white bandages wrapped around the sword unraveled like they were scattered by the crimson aura.
The crimson aura, which the sword couldn’t fully contain, scattered in all directions, making Riana think she might never wield it again.
A lifetime’s strike came to mind.
[Huh?]
‘Let’s get married.’
Was she trying to mimic a wanderer?
The twig she was chewing fell, and Isaac made a dumbfounded expression.
[Isn’t that a bit too sudden?]
‘Really?’
[Yeah, usually, you set the mood for something like this.]
‘Wasn’t the mood good?’
[We didn’t even greet each other today.]
She felt a bit wronged.
Every moment I see you.
At any time.
Was I the only one who felt the mood was good?
‘Do you dislike it?’
Hiding her anxiety, she asked, and a playful answer came back.
[Ah, it’s not that I dislike it.]
‘Good.’
[But wouldn’t it be troublesome for you?]
‘What would?’
She thought it might be about the family, but it wasn’t.
[I’m the one who will row your boat.]
[Without me, how do you plan to cross this river?]
Only now did she realize.
You were just trying to prolong the conversation because you were shy.
‘Good.’
Her answer was the same as now.
High in the sky.
The raised greatsword.
Towards the crimson river bathed in sunset.
‘I want you.’
She swung the most desperate strike of her life.
Everything in front of her.
Began to split apart.
*
The world of shadows was split in half.
Just like the river that was split in half that day.
In the pouring river, she hid a smile.
It was so naive to say she no longer needed to row the boat.
That’s why she was lovable.
And that’s why she became an object of admiration.
‘Perhaps……’
No, surely.
The reason I can’t put down my sword.
Is because I can’t forget that proposal.
“Speechless.”
“Huh, huh, sis was that strong?!”
With just one swing.
The darkness retreated, and the scenery filled with light left the two of them gaping in shock.
Seeing the same reaction she had the first time.
“I told you.”
She added with a small smile.
“I can split the river.”
