***

Lianna gazed quietly out of the carriage window at the falling snow beyond.

Sleet drifted down from the dark sky, driven by the cold winter wind.

The journey to the capital would take six days by carriage.

It was by no means a short trip, and Lianna could not stop worrying whether Joel’s frail body would be able to endure it.

‘But… we don’t have another choice.’

Lianna looked at Joel anxiously.

The boy coughed weakly; his face was pale and drained of color.

Meanwhile, the carriage continued across the desolate winter plains.

As the scenery outside the window changed, the drifting snowflakes gradually turned into cold, relentless rain.

‘I hope it’s only a passing shower.’

Contrary to Lianna’s hopes, however, the rain only grew heavier.

The carriage windows rattled ominously in the wind; an unsettling sound in an otherwise quiet journey.

As the temperature continued to drop beneath the relentless rain, cold air slowly began to seep into the carriage.

Unable to simply watch, Lianna tried to drape the shawl she had been wearing over Joel’s shoulders.

He tried to refuse, but she couldn’t stop worrying about him.

“Don’t argue with me. It’s gotten much colder.”

“I don’t need it… I said I’m fine.”

Joel’s nerves were sharper than usual.

It could not be helped.

He was still only fourteen years old, yet he had overheard words like those.

“His condition is worse than it was even a week ago. At this point, I truly can’t guarantee anything.”

“He needs to receive treatment in the capital as soon as possible. Otherwise…”

Joel lowered his gaze gloomily before apologizing for snapping at her.

“I’m sorry, Lianna. I didn’t mean to sound harsh…”

“No, it’s alright.”

Lianna smiled faintly, trying to reassure him that he didn’t need to worry.

An awkward silence fell between the siblings.

Just as it felt as though the temperature inside the carriage had dropped further still, the carriage lurched suddenly and violently.

Had one of the wheels hit a large stone?

Startled by the abrupt jolt, Lianna tried to calm her racing heart.

Then there was a light knock on the carriage window.

Tap. Tap.

Lianna carefully opened the window and saw a rough-looking man leaning in from outside.

He was one of the mercenaries hired to escort the carriage.

As soon as she opened the window, a blast of freezing air rushed in, making her shrink her shoulders instinctively as she asked,

“Did something happen?”

“We’ve run into a bit of trouble.”

The mercenary nodded downwards.

Following his gaze, Lianna saw that one of the carriage wheels had sunk deep into a muddy ditch, leaving the carriage stuck.

The mercenary glanced between Lianna and Joel before speaking awkwardly.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll need you to step out for a moment.”

The mercenary nodded downwards.

Following his gaze, Lianna saw that one of the carriage wheels had sunk deep into a muddy ditch, leaving the carriage stuck.

The mercenary glanced between Lianna and Joel before speaking awkwardly.

“Fine. Then at least you should step out, miss.”

Joel also wanted to leave, but Lianna firmly told him not to be so stubborn over something so trivial.

Ultimately, Joel reluctantly nodded, looking unhappy and sullen.

The moment she stepped out of the carriage, icy rain poured down on her mercilessly.

It felt as though a hole had opened in the sky itself.

Shivering from the cold, Lianna pulled her shawl tighter around her, but it did little to keep her warm.

“Heave!”

The coachman pushed against the carriage with all his might.

The mercenaries joined in, too.

The wheel had sunk deeper than expected, so the carriage barely moved at all.

Nevertheless, as the strong men combined their efforts, the carriage slowly began to budge.

After straining with all their might, the wheel finally lurched free from the ditch.

“That should do it.”

Sweat mixed with rainwater on the men’s faces from how much effort they had exerted.

Lianna felt genuinely grateful toward them.

“Thank you all so much for your hard work.”

“The next village isn’t too far now, so let’s get moving quickly.”

The coachman spoke briskly.

The mercenaries caught their breath before climbing back onto their horses.

After wringing the rainwater from her sodden shawl, Lianna was just about to climb back into the carriage when—she suddenly felt a faint tremor beneath her feet.

She slowly lifted her head.

Something caught her eye across the bleak, rain-soaked landscape.

Beyond the empty field, dark figures could be seen moving in the distance.

At first, she wondered if the heavy rain had distorted her vision.

But it was no mistake.

A group of riders was rapidly approaching.

The thunder of their hooves shook the earth beneath them.

As they drew closer, Lianna’s violet eyes trembled violently.

Suddenly, she remembered a conversation she had once overheard between the stonemasons at Chester Castle.

“I heard Count Kensington plans to build a manor in the capital. They’re recruiting stonemasons. You should consider going. Apparently the pay is excellent.”

“It’s tempting work, sure… but lately there’ve been rumors that bandits are roaming the Triden Road. I’d rather not risk getting caught up in something terrible there.”

Her thoughts tangled chaotically.

Then the mercenaries shouted urgently.

“D*mn it—it’s bandits!”

The mercenaries immediately drew their swords.

As soon as Lianna had climbed back into the carriage, the coachman lashed out at the reins and urged the horses forward in a desperate attempt to outrun the bandits.

But the mounted riders were far faster.

Within moments, the carriage was completely surrounded.

“Attack!”

The bandits’ rough shouts drowned out even the sound of the rain.

The horrifying screech of dozens of swords being drawn pierced through the air.

Joel asked in a trembling voice,

“L-Lianna… what do we do now?”

“It’s okay. Everything will be alright. We have the mercenaries with us.”

Lianna pulled Joel tightly into her arms, as though she could protect him simply by holding him close.

She could feel him trembling against her.

Then again, perhaps it was her own body shaking just as badly.

Her heart was pounding so violently that it felt as though it might burst from her chest.

Outside, chaos had already descended.

Blood sprayed across the rain-soaked ground.

Screams echoed from every direction.

Just as the guild clerk had boasted, the mercenaries were fighting fiercely to defend the carriage.

But the situation was hopeless.

There were simply too many bandits.

As time passed, the mercenaries fell one by one.

Cold sweat streamed down Lianna’s forehead as panic consumed her.

At that exact moment, the carriage door was ripped open with violent force.

A bandit with a bloodstained sword slung over his shoulder flashed a wicked grin.

Rough hands seized Lianna and Joel and dragged them out into the storm.

“Ugh…!”

Lianna was thrown to the muddy ground.

A huge bandit approached her, rummaging through her clothes until he found the pouch of gold coins fastened tightly around her waist, which he then ripped off.

“Well, well. What do we have here? Are you some rich merchant’s daughter?”

“Hah! Looks like we struck gold today!”

After confirming that the pouch was filled with gold coins, the bandit grinned in satisfaction.

One of them suddenly grabbed Lianna harshly by the hair.

“This woman is truly stunning, isn’t she?”

Swallowing a cry of pain, Lianna desperately tried to assess the situation.

Among the bandits’ corpses, she could see the mercenaries lying on the ground, bleeding heavily.

Fewer than half of the original escort were still alive.

“And look at that hair. Those eyes too—they’re like jewels.”

“She’d sell for a fortune.”

“Before that, we should have our fun first!”

The bandits surrounded Lianna and made vulgar and disgusting remarks.

She was drenched in cold sweat from sheer terror.

Yet she still struggled desperately to break free from their grasp.

The bandits restrained her again, laughing crudely.

Soon, their attention shifted towards Joel.

“So what do we do with this brat?”

The bandits looked Joel up and down before clicking their tongues in annoyance.

“What a joke. He looks ready to die already. No point keeping some sickly runt we can’t even sell.”

One of the bandits held a bloodstained sword to Joel’s throat.

At that moment, Lianna found the strength to free herself from the bandit holding her, throwing herself protectively over Joel in the process.

The bandits shouted angrily.

“What the h*ll are you idiots doing? Get the woman off him already!”

Lianna trembled violently with fear, but she still shielded her brother with everything she had.

Even so, there was no way she could withstand the brute strength of the bandits trying to drag her away.

“No! Please, don’t hurt him!”

No matter how desperately she begged them not to kill Joel, the bandits had no intention of listening.

One of them slowly raised his sword high into the air.

Joel’s eyes shook violently.

‘So this is how I die.’

It was a meaningless death.

But perhaps a death like this suited him.

If he disappeared, at least Lianna would be free of the burden he had become.

So maybe…

Maybe this was for the best.

Joel squeezed his eyes shut as he watched the sword swing straight down towards him.

In that moment, just as endless despair threatened to swallow Lianna whole, the bandit suddenly let out a strangled scream.

“Ghk—!”

As though time itself had frozen, the man abruptly stopped moving before collapsing face-first into the mud.

‘W-What…?’

Lianna stared blankly at the dagger perfectly lodged in the back of the bandit’s skull.

The other bandits turned sharply, alarmed.

Lianna followed their gaze.

A man was riding straight towards them through the pouring rain.

His black cloak billowed behind him as he charged across the muddy ground and finally slowed to a stop directly in front of them.

For a moment, only the relentless sound of the rain could be heard.

The black-haired man dismounted.

Then, slowly, he drew his sword.

A smile curled across his lips.

“Looks like I made it just in time.”