Chapter 85

“Perhaps because they live in such harsh conditions, they don’t seem to be very kind people.”

“Re-really?”

“Yes. They were originally people who enjoyed killing. The only saving grace is that, for a long time now, they’ve been hunting beasts instead of humans.”

“…”

What?

I swallowed dryly.

A sudden chill ran down my spine, leaving me terrified.

Killing? That was the first I had heard of such a thing.

I thought the wild men were a decent group since they were said to protect people, but it seemed their reputation lived up to their name.

With a slightly trembling voice, I spoke up.

“But when I visited Kanak before, people spoke quite favorably of the wild men. Since they don’t kill people anymore, isn’t there a chance we could communicate with them?”

If we couldn’t win over the wild men, it felt like we wouldn’t be able to govern the north—let alone run a single shop properly.

Before coming here, I’d been confident we could trade with them, but the word “killing” had shaken me.

I had thought that if we offered them useful things, they might turn a blind eye to us…

But surely, there must be a peaceful way to coexist?

“They must want something. Or maybe, they won’t care whether we become the lords here or not…”

Was I being too hopeful?

I glanced at Alec’s expression.

In the south, the emperor constantly pushed us into peril, while here in the north, we faced another formidable presence.

It was an absurdly vague situation.

The only miraculous thing was that Alec possessed the power of magic.

Knowing that fact gave me some relief, more so than when I didn’t know.

But I couldn’t rely solely on his power.

No matter how capable he was, I couldn’t place the entire burden on him. And ruling a region required more than just brute force.

We could use fear to force people to submit, like the current emperor did, but how long would such authority last?

As the Lady of this land, I had a desire to be respected and loved, rather than feared.

After thinking for a moment, Alec spoke.

“I think the wild men might like modern weapons, like guns.”

“What? They wouldn’t use them against us, would they?”

The north was much less developed than the capital, and the wild men’ lifestyle was more primitive than I had imagined.

I had heard they rarely ventured far from Kalanysh Mountain.

“It’s better to try talking first. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have no choice but to win them over with modern goods.”

“…I understand, Alec.”

I answered somewhat worriedly, biting my lip slightly.

In any case, ignoring the wild men wasn’t an option if we wanted to govern the north.

I spoke again.

“Since the wild men are practically the leaders of this place, we should meet them after surveying the area and introduce ourselves.”

“Understood.”

“Do you think they already know we’re here? It’s such a vast region—perhaps they don’t know yet…”

Thud!

“Kyaa!”

“Louise!”

Suddenly, the carriage shook violently.

In an instant, Alec pulled me into his arms, holding me close.

Something flew past my head with a sharp, swift whoosh.

W-what just happened?

“Master! My lady!”

Pedro, the coachman, shouted in shock from outside the carriage.

The carriage had already come to a stop.

He yelled again, his voice panicked.

“We’re in big trouble!”

—

“How long has this road even been here?”

“Who cares.”

The wild men of Grand Cali had been lying in ambush along the road leading to Wiltsbrook Castle.

They had been waiting for unwelcome guests, and right at that moment, a carriage began passing through the spot where they were hidden.

The wild men didn’t miss their chance. They shot arrows, bringing the carriage to a halt.

There were about a dozen of them, armed with arrows and large, intimidating weapons, even more fearsome than ordinary ones.

They were draped head to toe in rough animal furs and hides, with some wearing armor that barely covered their torsos.

They looked more like a medieval army than mere wild men.

Alec, observing them from a distance, thought they certainly lived up to the harsh region they inhabited.

“Alec.”

Louise, standing behind him, clutched his arm.

Pedro stood nearby, watching the situation unfold with a fearful expression.

‘Could they have been waiting for us?’

It made sense. While the road was being repaired, flashes of light had lit up the area like lightning, and it was unlikely that had gone unnoticed by the wild men.

They must have been scouting to see what was going on.

Alec quickly reassured Louise and Pedro.

“Louise, you should return to the castle with Pedro.”

“What? Leave you behind?”

“Look over there!”

At that moment, Pedro pointed towards the rocky mountain, his voice filled with alarm.

Alec turned his head in the direction he was pointing.

The wild men were leaping down from the high cliffs.

They bounded across the jagged rocks a few times before landing swiftly on the road where they stood.

“…!”

Their extraordinary movements caused Louise to gasp, covering her mouth with both hands.

Perhaps because they were people who hunted wild animals, their mobility was extraordinary.

Once again, Alec felt how vast the land of the Rilt Empire truly was.

This was because people like those wild men from the Middle Ages coexisted in the same country with a capital that had just begun to modernize.

In the original story, the wild men fought against Aksen, who had devastated the northern regions.

However, the wild men’s strength was no more than that of ants to Aksen. He enjoyed watching their suffering and killed them with ease.

Although Aksen had not yet become completely corrupted, he would soon try to destroy the entire empire after realizing the boredom and ennui that came with conquering it.

This was because, as long as he possessed magical power, his desires could not be satisfied without using his transcendent abilities.

“Who are you people?”

A man standing at the front of the wild men approached menacingly, holding a weapon in one hand.

“Why bother asking? The emperor of the south has sent those aristocrats who are only good for their looks again.”

“Should we just rob them of everything and kill them?”

“No, that’s for Kililul to decide.”

“……”

The wild men exchanged glances and whispered among themselves, occasionally sneaking looks at us.

At a glance, all of them were burly men with thick torsos and bulging muscles.

‘Kililul—could that be the leader of the wild men?’

Since he hadn’t met Kililul directly, the character list hadn’t opened yet.

Perhaps Kililul was the wild man who led the resistance when Aksen destroyed Kalanysh Mountain in the original story.

“How did you get here? How did you know there was a path like this?”

The man who seemed to be the leader of the wild men asked again.

“Is this the path that leads all the way to Wiltsbrook Castle?”

“……”

The man’s demeanor was deadly serious.

It seemed they, too, understood that Wiltsbrook Castle was not an easy place to reach.

“That’s strange. A lightning bolt struck here not long ago. What do you know about that?”

Suspicion and wariness filled the wild man’s gaze.

It seemed they couldn’t comprehend how people were walking around here unharmed.

Alec finally let out a soft sigh and spoke.

“We were on our way to see Kililul, actually.”

“What? Kililul?”

“That bastard dares to speak of our Kililvex!”

As the wild men flared up, the man who had been watching Alec closely from the start intervened.

“Wait.”

“Kels!”

It seemed that the man called Kels was something like the second-in-command of the wild men.

Kels, who had quickly calmed the others, turned back to Alec and spoke threateningly.

“Kililul would want to see you as well. You’ll need to explain everything—how you got here and what you did at Wiltsbrook Castle.”

It was clear that their appearance here was quite unusual.

Alec responded plainly.

“Then I’d appreciate it if you could guide us to Kililul.”

“What? That bastard is still―!”

“Enough.”

Kels calmed the wild men again and glared at Alec as if trying to bore a hole through him.

“We’ll see if you can keep that arrogance in front of our great Kililvex, Kililul.”

TL NOTE: More advanced chapter of this story is already up to the site. Visit dusk blossoms for more advanced chapters and stories