By the time the snowfall began to ease, the Duke of Strilland of Aetania arrived at Prisada’s border outpost, leading more than a dozen armed knights.
The border guards who recognized him bowed deeply.
“Summon your superior.”
“Would you care to wait in the guest chamber for now?”
“I said, summon your superior.”
“…Yes, Your Grace.”
Sensing the ominous weight carried in that short command, the soldier hurried away.
Aiden wore a carefully trained mask of indifference and stood perfectly still. At a glance, his composure seemed calm—almost cold. Dennis stole a sideways look at him.
Thud. Thud.
With each beat of his heart, thoughts flashed violently through his mind.
‘I thought he couldn’t ride a horse.’
Since when had she been deceiving him? Since when?
Had every tender kiss, every moment she had clung to him with aching affection, all been lies?
She had hated him enough to throw herself off a cliff—yet she had whispered to him with sweetness enough to kill. Was it all for this? Just for this?
The afterimage of Sveta falling from the cliff tore savagely at his mind.
His sky had fallen.
As if determined not to let him even capture her expression one last time, her curtain-like hair had veiled her face. The small body that fit so perfectly within his arms disappeared between the wide-reaching branches of a tree, vanishing into the frenzy of scattering snowflakes.
His breathing grew ragged without his noticing.
Aiden forced himself to drag up the memory of the previous night—her voice, sweet as honey.
“It will help you sleep. I wanted you to rest deeply.”
“Go to sleep, Aiden.”
“Sleep well.”
From the first sip, he knew she had spiked the tea with a sleeping draught.
Years of drinking bitter herbal concoctions had honed his senses, allowing him to recognize the distinctive flavor of Ivan’s sedative without difficulty. Every knight of the ducal house was familiar with the medicine. They depended on it to survive the horrors of the battlefield and to make their bodies rest when their minds refused. He had taken it countless times — so often that he had developed a tolerance. He was certain it would never send him into a deep sleep.
This was why he had calmly followed Sveta’s urging and drunk the tea without protest.
What he had not expected was the sheer quantity she had used.
Pain throbbed at the back of his head. It must have been at least half a bottle, however much she had poured in. The more he thought about it, the more brazen his woman seemed.
A fierce pulse pounded at his temple. Aiden slowly narrowed his eyes.
Thud. Thud.
Again, his thoughts branched out at breakneck speed.
‘She must be badly hurt.’
By now, Sveta must be in agony. Perhaps every bone in her body is broken. She must be calling his name, her beautiful eyes shining with tears.
The fact that he could still resent her, even at a time like this, filled Aiden with disgust at his own pettiness. Aiden let out a bitter, self-mocking breath.
He exhaled sharply and raised his chin. His murky green eyes swept down the corridor.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed closer.
The moment he sensed them, Dennis rushed outside. His loyal aide swiftly relayed the situation to the captain of the guard.
“One of ours has fallen into the ‘Shadow Gorge.’ We must begin a search at once.”
“‘Shadow Gorge’? If it’s there… no one survives. No one who has ever fallen into that place has lived.”
The captain’s offhand remark hit him like a spear to the throat. A harsh breath tore out of him.
His chest rose and fell violently.
Seeing the fury on his face, the captain hastily added.
“I’ll get the decision-maker over here. Please… wait a moment.”
Dennis nodded and ran back inside.
“Your Grace, the decision-maker—”
“I heard.”
“…Yes, Your Grace.”
Time crawled.
Aiden grew unbearably restless. The captain’s dreadful words—that Sveta could not have survived—raked through his mind again and again.
‘That cannot be.’
He rejected the idea. He forced the thought out of his mind. He must not entertain such vile thoughts.
He imagined Sveta approaching him, wearing a tiara woven with pearls and a cascading veil. She would walk towards him in her characteristic unsteady way, smiling shyly, and then slip into his arms.
“Your Grace…”
“Do you not wish to have a child?”
Ah, yes!
They would have a child.
A child with hair as soft and downy as dandelion seeds, just as she had said.
But she would probably love her own hair even more than the baby’s. Glancing at his golden locks, her cheeks would flush red. He would scoop her into his arms, kiss her, and they would fall asleep belly to belly.
They would grow old together.
And when death finally came for them both, they would be buried side by side. Even their portraits would hang together.
Sveta had to be alive.
As this conviction took root, the chaos in his mind slowly sharpened into clarity. More rational than ever, he began to calculate the reasons why she must have survived.
The broad, sprawling branches of the dreipium tree would have broken her fall. Perhaps there had been fine sand or soft earth piled up underneath. Or maybe, as in his mother’s case, dense vegetation had grown thickly below.
Yes, there would have been a bed of heavy leaves, soft and plentiful, piled high like a mound. And if not that, then perhaps there would have been stacks of dried hay, piled like rolling hills.
It had to be so.
Because his woman had to be alive.
“Dennis.”
Dennis, who had been watching his expression from nearby, strode forward and bowed.
“Return to the castle at once. Have a physician placed on standby.”
“A… physician?”
Dennis asked hesitantly.
“Sveta will be injured. She must be treated.”
“Your Grace…”
“My woman is stubborn.”
“…”
“She will feel uneasy with an unfamiliar physician. She may even refuse treatment. Tell Ivan to move up his schedule and depart immediately. Summon Lady Nora as well.”
And yet, the only comfort he could offer her was a maid.
What did Sveta like?
He had asked himself this question many times before. And still, he did not know.
He had been indifferent. Indifferent to her, to a cruel degree.
The moment he realized this, his parched chest seemed to splinter into countless fragments.
“However, Your Grace, the young lady will likely—”
“Must I repeat myself?”
“N-No, Your Grace. I will contact the castle at once. That would be faster than going in person. Please allow me to remain at your side and assist you.”
“….”
Dennis lowered his gaze and looked up at Aiden with a sorrowful expression.
Aiden fixed his gaze on the door leading to the corridor and blinked slowly.
None of it felt real. None of it.
***
The man who appeared shortly thereafter was Henrik Meriner.
“Why are you here?”
“Well, my sister, who suffers from melancholia, is recuperating nearby… But is it true that the young lady of Baron Luce has fallen into the ‘Shadow Gorge’?”
Aiden answered with a slight tilt of his chin.
Henrik’s gentle face gradually crumpled, twisting into something wretched.
“The decision-maker.”
As if struck senseless, Henrik Meriner stammered.
“I—I am the decision-maker. Temporarily appointed by Duke Baiton…”
“Take me to the gorge. At once.”
“T-That cannot be done.”
His patience was wearing thin.
A savage impulse rose within him: to grab that slender neck, twist it and snap an arm; to knock him to the ground and grind him into the floor.
Who did he think he was?
What right did he have to block the path of someone trying to reach their woman?
A harsh grinding sound slipped through his clenched teeth as his molars locked together.
Aiden forced himself to gather the last scraps of reason he had left.
He endured this for one reason only: he needed approval for the marriage. He would not cause a scene that might offend Queen Prisada.
It was humiliating. This enraged him even more.
His fist tightened. The leather of his glove stretched taut, and Henrik watched this with uneasy eyes.
“The ‘Shadow Gorge’ is treacherous terrain, Your Grace. And it swarms with Ballok wolves.”
“So.”
“No matter how skilled the knights of House Strilland may be, it would be reckless for those unfamiliar with the area to enter. We will dispatch our own search party.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Henrik repeated the order to a soldier waiting behind him.
The soldier nodded and hurried off.
“Moreover…”
Henrik continued.
“There is the peace treaty. Please remember the treaty concluded by the late King Baren, Your Grace.”
The Peace Treaty.
An international accord led by Baren, the eldest brother of Queen Elvita, it was born from the ashes of the Tes War years ago.
Intended to bring peace to the continent, it was born from the ashes of the Tes War years ago.
What began as a mere spark of conflict between Terris and Sweenia spread like wildfire, engulfing the entire continent. Every nation — except the neutral nation of Aetania — chose a side and fought for it. Blood soaked the earth, ran into the rivers, and eventually stained the Sea of Okman a dark, terrible crimson.
And upon those red waters, peace was forged.
Every royal house made a solemn vow that such devastation would never be allowed to happen again.
The terms were simple: if one nation invaded another, the others would unite against them.
Under that agreement, crossing a border without permission would be considered an act of aggression.
“A remarkably subjective interpretation, Sir Meriner. Do you claim I intend to invade your homeland?”
Aiden’s lips curved into a crooked smile. He wondered if Meriner really thought he was that terrifying.
At that cold smile, Henrik’s shoulders curled inwards ever so slightly.
Aiden flung the sword from his hand.
“I will go unarmed.”
“That is unacceptable!”
“….”
“Northern Prisada is an area where the remnants of Zloytan frequently appear. And the beasts as well… If anything were to happen to Your Grace while unarmed, we would be placed in a difficult position.”
The conversation circled endlessly.
Meanwhile, Sveta would be writhing in pain. She would be calling his name—Aiden, Aiden.
His insides burned.
Aiden barely restrained the fury surging within him.
“And so?”
“I will dispatch a courier to my lord at once. Please wait half a day, Your Grace. I will lead the search party myself and investigate first.”
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Danes96
Increíble que ya planeo una vida y a la persona implicada lo de dijo ni una sola palabra.
Esta situación se está volviendo estresante, alguien cae en un acantilado con bestias y quieren esperar medio día por una respuesta ja