“You’ve been acting strange since we left the territory.”

‘Strange? Me?’

“That can’t be.”

“You are strange. More precisely, since parting with the Duchess.”

At David’s words, Medric’s final farewell with Eve came vividly to mind.

The softness of her hand against his lips, and even her scent that had tickled his nose.

Her scent was similar to the flower fragrance he had smelled in the southern regions.

What was it, jasmine? Tuberose? No, it was a sweeter yet refreshing scent.

Then, as if suddenly remembering, he murmured softly.

“Ah, peony.”

“Pardon?”

Medric looked at David before turning his gaze away.

“No, it’s nothing.”

Even Medric had to admit that he had been acting strange since bidding farewell to the Duchess, but he didn’t want to acknowledge those feelings.

“I’m not acting strange. I have everything under control, so don’t worry.”

Medric turned to look at the knights behind him.

The knights following closely behind didn’t appear particularly tired yet, but maintaining this pace all the way to Bekins Plains would be too demanding.

Medric knew this much.

He had planned to slow down after riding for a while, even without David’s intervention.

‘I was just going to ride fast until we reached the forest.’

Medric enjoyed horseback riding.

Especially when his mind was troubled, he liked to ride at high speed. The stronger the wind that blew away his deep worries and stifling emotions as he galloped, the better he felt.

But that wasn’t the case now.

‘It’s not refreshing at all.’

No matter how much he rode, his chest felt constricted.

The more he rode, the harder it became to identify the source of his tightening chest.
After riding a bit further, Medric slowed down as the entrance to a dense forest came into view and entered the woods.

He looked at the silk ribbon carefully wrapped and secured around his sword handle.

At a glance, the red embroidery resembled either a flower or perhaps fire, crudely yet meticulously stitched.

He could easily imagine how much thought and care had gone into making this. Though the ribbon was primarily black silk, there were occasional marks that appeared to be bloodstains from needle pricks.

He remembered the bandages wrapped around her delicate fingers.

At first, he had wanted to ask why she was injured, but upon seeing the embroidered silk, he immediately understood.

A smile broke across his face.

And suddenly Medric realized.

The farther he got from the mansion, the farther he was from Eve, the more his heart burned.

The reason for his discomfort was not knowing how long he would be away from the mansion, when he would see Eve again.

He roughly ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

To realize this only now.

He raised his head and looked at the densely wooded forest.

The knights entered the narrow path through the forest and rode for quite some time. After galloping across open terrain, their speed noticeably decreased on the narrow path.

As their pace slowed, Medric’s mind filled with thoughts of Eve.

His wishes for her safety and hopes that she would achieve what she desired.

His head was a jumble of all these thoughts.

Medric became increasingly certain.

His feelings were excessive for someone who had merely wanted to save her to prevent the country’s downfall.

‘More than a patron’s feelings.’

His emotions toward her had deepened beyond what they were before.

He reviewed once more what he needed to do for her: “Bringing down the Renox” and
“Throwing dirt on the Marvel family.”

Medric had spent considerable time devising plans to repay them. Having already formulated his strategies, all that remained was execution.

Unfortunately, everything had been postponed due to the subjugation campaign.

Just imagining them kneeling before Eve made the corners of his mouth curl upward.

‘I’ve got it bad.’

Medric shook his head to clear his mind.

The battlefield awaited them soon.

They would encounter not only ogres but also mid-level and high-level magical beasts.

If he, as the knight commander, didn’t maintain focus, his subordinates would be at risk.

The edge of the forest became visible in the distance.

“We’ll reach Bekins Plains after about another hour of travel.”

Medric nodded at David, who had drawn close to deliver this information.

Medric’s gaze grew sharper, more serious than before.

Medric arrived at Bekins Plains, the meeting point with the subjugation force. Having traveled north, the plains were already covered in white snow, and the strong winds made movement difficult.

“Will the magic user requested from the Grand Duchy also join us here?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s almost the appointed time, so they should appear soon.”

The Grand Duchy had offered to provide Archild with a magic user first.

In truth, though they called it support, Medric knew it was actually surveillance.

It was obvious that the Grand Duke, who was working with Eve, wanted to establish some kind of safeguard.

Even if it meant accepting another spy, there was no need to refuse in a situation where every fighter was valuable. Medric had gladly accepted the support.

Another reason for his acceptance was that currently, the Anas knights had no magic users except for Medric himself.

No matter how skilled each knight was with a sword, magic was a different matter. Though not as powerful as those with holy abilities, magic users could generally perform healing spells.

Even simple healing abilities were better than none.

The more capable individuals they had, the better.

The knights, who had stopped in the middle of the plains, squinted through the heavy snowfall, trying to see ahead.

Then one of the knights must have spotted something, as he shouted loudly:

“Oh, someone’s coming!”

Medric looked ahead. Only then did a figure become visible at the edge of the plains.

The Grand Duchy’s magic user, wearing a deeply pulled hood, was approaching leisurely on a white horse.

‘That white horse looks familiar,’ Medric thought, just as the rider came straight toward the Anas knights, causing Medric to be surprised.

Despite the deeply pulled hood, silver hair and a refined jawline and lips were visible. They reminded him of someone.

All the knights’ attention turned to the Grand Duchy’s magician. The magician slowly lifted his hood to reveal his face.

Everyone was too surprised to speak when they saw who it was.

They had been tense about the magician sent from the Grand Duchy, but it was Walter Wood, the magician they had sent to the Grand Duchy. The Grand Duchy had sent back Walter, who had been staying there as a spy, to act as their spy in return.

“We wondered who the Grand Duchy’s magician would be, but it’s Sir Walter!”

“Sir Walter! You’ve returned!”

The knights’ voices rose in excitement at seeing their old comrade. Though they hadn’t shown it, everyone had been tense about the Grand Duke openly sending a spy.

Walter was both a colleague and friend who had trained with the Anas knights and participated in subjugation campaigns together.

The news that Walter, who was already acquainted with the Anas knights, would join them for the subjugation campaign brought both relief and excitement at reuniting with an old comrade.

The knights surrounding Walter bombarded him with questions about how he had been and how he could possibly be coming as the Grand Duchy’s magician. Some knights even lifted Walter and began tossing him into the air.

Though initially flustered by their enthusiastic welcome, Walter gladly responded with a smile.

“Aren’t you going to stop them? He might get hurt.”

David, who had moved close to Medric, asked while eating a snack that he had brought from somewhere.

“Let them enjoy themselves. They need this. We haven’t joined the subjugation force yet anyway.”

A smile formed on Medric’s lips as he watched the knights and Walter.

The upcoming subjugation campaign would not be easy. That’s why Medric believed these moments were all the more necessary.

Behind their joyful scene rose the towering Berenta Mountains. The snow piled high at the top created a picturesque landscape.

Beautiful to look at, but a place ordinary people couldn’t even approach.

‘The Berenta Mountains…’

The source of magical beasts.

The place from which magical beasts poured out every year.

No matter how diligently Archild in the west and the Grand Duchy of Lonavita in the north culled the magical beasts, they couldn’t keep up with the number of new creatures that appeared each year.

Medric could guess why Ptotr had increased the number of participants for this subjugation campaign.

Dealing with the magical beasts that descended to the villages each year required significant military power. This could become a major variable in the establishment of the standing army planned to begin in earnest next year.

‘To devote all efforts to establishing a standing army from next year onward…’

It was clear that they intended to root out the source of the magical beasts in the Berenta Mountains.

Medric narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the Berenta Mountains, then shook his head.

Still, it was fortunate that Walter Wood had joined them, easing concerns about their fighting power.

The knights were still clustered around Walter Wood, asking him various questions and happily engaging in conversation.

Soldiers continued to arrive at Bekins Plains.

Led by the Anas knights, knights gathered from various regions formed the subjugation force.

There were notable differences in the size of each knight order, which could be distinguished by
whether they had magicians or not.

Since magicians were rare and couldn’t be acquired simply with money, nobles desperately spent large sums to temporarily recruit magicians through connections.

Among them, the Anas knights were clearly the premier knight order in Ptotr, recognized even by the royal family, not only because their commander was a magician but also because they had several capable magicians.

Unlike their joyful reunion with Walter Wood earlier, the Anas knights now stood in formation without a trace of a smile on their faces, befitting their status, waiting for departure.

Knights from other regions were busy stealing glances at the Anas knights. They were the famous Medric Archild and his knights, known for their strength. Even standing still, they exuded dignity and were both the goal and dream of other knights.

When all the knight orders had gathered, their numbers were countless. The commanders of the knight orders from various regions held a brief meeting. The main topics were what to prioritize in their movements and what to do first.

“With the short daylight hours, we need to move quickly.”

“It might be dangerous to set up camp near the Berenta Mountains.”

“But isn’t near the Berenta Mountains the most efficient location?”

Young Duke Kuzan Maltein adamantly insisted on setting up camp near the Berenta Mountains, as if there was no issue with this.

It was an absurd suggestion, but no one dared oppose the words of the young duke Kuzan.

Medric, who had been quietly observing, furrowed his brow. It was absurd that the commanders of knight orders about to face battle were dividing themselves by social rank.

It was utterly pathetic.

As Medric was about to speak up, Count Miriam rose and expressed his opinion.

“Young Duke Maltein can say such things because he has magicians. Most knight orders don’t have magicians. Orders without even barrier stones might meet their deaths without anyone knowing.”

It was what everyone was thinking.

“Count Miriam, are you directly explaining that your knight order lacks strength?”

But Young Duke Maltein’s mockery filled the surroundings with sneers.

Count Miriam clenched his fist in frustration.

The meeting had taken an unpleasant turn.

“Then Young Duke Maltein can set up camp at the foot of the Berenta Mountains. I don’t wish to, so I’ll set up elsewhere.”

That is, until Medric spoke.