‘That’s right, where should I go now?’

If she had the chance, she wanted to leave the north. Even if she couldn’t return to the capital, she wished to find a small town where she could settle—anywhere as long as it wasn’t in the north.

“Ah, do you happen to know if there are any carriages leaving here for another town?”

At Seria’s question, Kashan’s brow twitched slightly. Carefully observing his reaction, Seria continued with caution.

“Any small town in the central region would be fine. I just… want to leave the north…”

“I’m not sure. It doesn’t seem like there are any refined people here who travel by carriage,” Kashan replied, his face feigning pity. However, despite his expression, there wasn’t a trace of sympathy in his tone. Instead, he seemed to be enjoying the situation.

‘Maybe it’s just my imagination…?’
As Seria stared at Kashan’s meaningful expression, she pursed her lips and frowned slightly.

However, his words seemed to be true. Indeed, the men wandering around this town didn’t look like the type to sit properly and travel in a carriage.

“Haa…”

Seria let out a deep sigh and lowered her head slightly. The most important thing now was to leave the north somehow. But without a carriage, she had no idea how to do it.

Confused, she fidgeted with her fingers, unsure of what to do next. Kashan, on the other hand, remained where he was, silently watching Seria.

After a few moments of silence, Kashan was the first to speak.

“Is leaving the north all that matters?”

Seria quickly nodded, her eyes, as clear as a lake, sparkling with a hint of hope.

“Yes, please… I’m begging you.”

Her small shoulders trembling slightly. She looked utterly pitiful.

It seemed her situation stirred a sense of pity in Kashan, as he smiled gently and said,

“Follow me.”
“R-really?”
“Yes, I’ll help you get out of here.”

***

Throughout her life, the only thing Seria had ever ridden were luxurious carriages bearing the large crest of her family. She had never once ridden a horse, something usually reserved for knights.

“H-ha… h-how…”

When Kashan offered to help her leave the area, Seria had no choice but to ride a horse for the first time in her life. She hadn’t expected its height, which left her feeling alarmed and unsure of what to do.

But at the moment, she had no other option. Behind her, Kashan sat firmly, like a sturdy pillar. He held the reins tightly while securely keeping Seria in his arms, gradually increasing the horse’s speed.

“Too… too fast… Ah!”
The horse’s speed was incomparable to the slow movement of a carriage. The wind whistled past her ears, and her hands, gripping the reins awkwardly, were now damp with cold sweat.

She never imagined the man’s body behind her would feel so reassuring. Seria leaned against Kashan’s chest, as if relying on it, and tightly shut her eyes.

Every time she even slightly opened her eyes, the distant ground would come into view, making her body tense up. In her mind, she kept imagining herself falling off the horse.

In the end, Seria kept her eyes tightly shut the entire time she was on the horse. She didn’t realize where they were going while her eyes were closed.

How long had they been riding? After a considerable amount of time, Seria finally noticed that the speed was gradually slowing down. The sound of the wind whipping past her ears had stopped.

Just as Seria, who had been trembling with her eyes tightly closed, was about to cautiously lift her eyelids, a strange voice in an unfamiliar language reached her ears.

“Captain, have you returned?”

Startled, Seria blinked her wide eyes open and raised her head, only to be met with a shocking sight.

‘W-where is this…?’

Before her stood a barren land, almost like a wasteland, with sparse, withered trees and patches of dried-up grass. There were even cacti scattered around, growing unevenly.

The landscape was even more barren than the northern part of the Empire.

“By the way, Captain, who is that woman?”
“Huh, that woman… Isn’t she from the Empire?”

On top of that, there were unfamiliar people in strange clothing, speaking an unfamiliar language. Seria instinctively knew this place was no longer part of the Empire.

“Th-this isn’t the Empire! P-please send me back to the Empire right now!”

Seria immediately turned around and shouted at Kashan. Her voice trembled faintly at the end. It was obvious to anyone that she was terrified, but Seria had no energy left to hide her fear.

Seria could hardly believe that she had left the Empire, her hands trembling uncontrollably. Her heart pounded so violently, it felt as though it might leap out of her chest. The fear that instantly overwhelmed her was even greater than when she had been riding at high speed. Her round eyes, like those of a deer, trembled as if the ground beneath her were shaking.

Regardless, Kashan dismounted calmly and attempted to help Seria down.

“I… I don’t want to.”

At Kashan’s gesture, trying to help her off the horse, Seria swatted his hand away and shook her head. Even just the attention focused on her was enough to make her feel uneasy. The people here were not friendly toward her. Even someone as clueless as Seria could sense that immediately.

And then, there was Kashan—his dark skin and large build.

‘These must be barbarians. There’s no doubt about it.’

This was the territory of the barbarian tribes.

The moment Seria realized that fact, she could no longer trust Kashan.

‘Why did he bring me here? Why…’

For a brief moment, she had trusted him because he had helped her for a night, but now, she found herself ashamed for ever believing him.

‘Why did I trust a barbarian man?’

Seria bit down on her lower lip, her large eyes beginning to well up with tears.

Despair and self-loathing flooded over her like a tidal wave. Her small hands wiped her face in frustration. She sighed as she repeatedly splashed her face with cold water, trying to calm herself.

Kashan simply watched her in silence, offering no words of comfort.

In her mind, negative stories about the barbarians drifted past one by one.

From tales of the barbarians kidnapping and eating Empire citizens, to claims that they chewed live animals and even killed children in front of their parents without a second thought, the tales were horrifying. Growing up in the capital, Seria had heard countless stories about them, so there was no need to explain how notorious their reputation was.

“Captain, what were you thinking, bringing a woman like that…?”
“And that woman, she looks like she’s from the Empire’s upper class… Is she really okay?”

The sound of the barbarian language in Seria’s ears only added to her fear. From the moment she had arrived, they had been staring at her. As a result, Seria could clearly sense that their conversation was about her.

‘What could they possibly have to say about me?’

‘They’re probably going to eat me… eat me… eat me…’

But I have no flesh on me…

Seria looked down at her wrist, which was gaunt and bony.

“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Really? The Empire folks are usually pretty vicious. So why did you bring that woman here?”
“Well… I guess I just picked her up along the way.”
“What? No, Captain! Isn’t that way too dangerous? She’s definitely got some kind of hidden agenda!”

What on earth were they talking about?

The barbarians surrounding Seria quickly reached for their weapons. In her state of despair, though, she was so caught up in her sobbing that she didn’t even notice.

“That’s enough, there’s no need for that.”
Kashan stopped his comrades, then reached out to Seria, who was still trembling and hunched over on the horse.

“So, are you not going to get off? How long are you planning to stay like that?”

“You… you lied to me.”

“Hmm? I don’t recall lying.”

“But… you promised… you promised to get me out of the north…”

“Well, I did exactly as I promised. I got you out of there.”

Kashan said this without a flicker of emotion in his eyes. His shameless expression left Seria speechless, her lips trembling like a fool.

She had no words left to argue with him.

‘I was a fool… I was such a fool.’

Seria was overwhelmed with self-loathing for her naivety.

“So, are you going to stay there? My patience is running thin, you know. Unless you want to fall off and die, maybe you should get down soon?”

As soon as he spoke, the horse let out an odd, rumbling sound, as if it was slightly unsettled.

Fear gripped Seria, and reluctantly, she took Kashan’s hand and dismounted.

As soon as Seria’s feet touched the ground, a small gust of sand blew up.

It was unfamiliar. The landscape, the people’s gazes…

As soon as she stepped onto the ground, the barbarians’ stares became even more blatant. They eyed Seria, dressed in her robe, with relentless focus. It was a look that was far from friendly.