The chilly weather had transformed into the harsh winter of a snowstorm.
It was an unexpected summer cold snap.
Instead of rain, snowflakes danced down from the sky. People’s eyes reflected the fear of the undeniable abnormal climate.
Hands preparing to leave began to move more frantically.
The drop in temperature also meant that the ‘Corpse Giant’s’ descent was imminent.
The Demon Realm, where the retinue of the Evil God stayed, was a frigid land beset by blizzards year-round. As the connection to the Demon Realm grew stronger, the current world inevitably began to be affected by its climate.
The snow that had been falling since midday was evidence of that.
There was no time left. Everyone needed to hurry; it was dangerous otherwise.
Facing the cold wind, I suddenly missed Senior Neoris.
Senior Neoris, belonging to the Empire’s Intelligence Department, was skilled in investigation. If I had only asked, she might have gathered more detailed information about the ‘Corpse Giant.’
Still, I couldn’t call out to Senior Neoris.
It was because I had lost contact with her.
I suspected that it was as if I had received some instructions from ‘me’ from the future.
After all, I would soon see her again when I returned to the Academy. It was difficult to find a reasonable reason to leave her side beyond that.
I couldn’t ascertain the specific details of that command, but I could only hope it was a hope that could save the territory.
Of course, the chances were slim.
The ‘me’ from the future had stressed repeatedly that I should abandon the territory. If there had been a means to save it, I would have been tipped off long ago.
But none of us, including myself, had ever heard such a story.
Only bleak prospects remained in various ways.
Moreover, with the revelation that Ria was not actually my younger sister, my mental fortitude was being tested to its limits.
At that time, I should have probed into the details with my father, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Ria was right there.
No matter how composed Ria seemed, there could be no absence of shock. Unearthing a painful past would only hurt her more.
Yes, that was probably the case.
In reality, Ria appeared to be quite happy; I chose to believe that.
It was a conversation between father and son that became unclear.
Instead, I managed to extract a promise to reveal the secret when the situation was sorted out. The day I would know the family’s secret would soon come.
Through a series of events, time had already drawn close to noon.
Before long, I stood in front of the main gate of the manor.
There was someone I had to send off first.
I had come to greet her.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one who came to bid farewell.
Numerous servants were gathered, conversing with her.
The small farewell ceremony’s main character was none other than Ceria, my junior and the second daughter of the Yuridina Clan.
She had originally come to Perkus Manor at the behest of Senior Delphine.
It was only natural for her to leave to fulfill her duty as the commander of the clan’s soldiers.
However, Ceria expressed her intention to soon join the evacuation convoy with the soldiers. Senior Delphine had also instructed her to help me, so it wasn’t a decision contrary to the clan’s wishes.
I was simply thankful.
It was, after all, a short farewell following a short meeting.
Tomorrow, the soldiers of the Yuridina Clan, led by Ceria, would come rushing in. Still, many wore expressions of regret as they sent her off.
Especially, Brother Aaron had handed her another ruby gemstone.
He left me with a word as he returned to the manor.
“… You should treat her well.”
I’m not her brother.
But even saying that wouldn’t make a difference, so I let out a deep sigh.
I understood my brother’s feelings.
He was a reserved person, and Ceria was also timid, struggling to express her own will.
That seemed to make him care for her, which was somewhat unfortunate.
I had no idea what misunderstandings had led to my brother mistaking my relationship with Ceria, though.
Already having received three rubies, Ceria could only offer an awkward smile.
Eventually, it was my turn, and I stood before Ceria last.
The scent of the alcohol I had drunk that morning still lingered.
No matter how I looked, I didn’t appear in a state to send off a cherished junior, so I had to wear an awkward smile.
“… I’m sorry, Ceria. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.”
“I understand, Senior Ian.”
Kind Ceria nodded obediently, even after seeing my disheveled state.
Instead, she scanned me with a worried look.
“… I’ll be back soon. I’ll do my best to protect as many of the residents as I can.”
I almost said thank you but held back.
It was something I had said many times before.
Instead, I decided to make a joke with Ceria after a long time.
“Do you think Sir Alex will cooperate willingly?”
“Haha, well… since he’s a knight of the North, he might insist he cannot turn his back on the enemy.”
That made me recall the old knight who had grasped my hand at our first meeting.
And when we met for the second time, he had called me ‘that crazy young master.’
An oddly eccentric old man, indeed.
Given his nature, he might genuinely do something like that, and it made me chuckle softly.
It was then that Ceria finally gave a gentle smile.
The cold, aloof expression she had worn when we first met was now gone.
I was deeply grateful for that.
It felt as if the once lonely and solitary girl had finally regained her warmth.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Senior Ian… and, please be careful!”
“Yeah, don’t worry.”
In the midst of fleeing, what danger could arise?
With that nonchalant thought, I sent Ceria off.
And that night.
In a dazed state, I felt peculiar sensations.
The sweet scent of flesh.
The gentle touch of warm lips.
A girl wearing a hooded hat, smiling softly, and the blazing sunset.
The conclusion of all those dreams was uniform.
The burning Great Forest.
I drifted amidst the intermittently shifting scenery.
As my intoxicated body seemed moments away from descending into that mushy memory.
A loud thud knocked on the door.
I bolted upright and grabbed the sword that had been beside my pillow.
It was a swordsman’s instinct.
I held my breath and surveyed my surroundings, but that knock that awakened me was only a single knock.
There was no second.
Feeling puzzled by that, I stepped down from the bed.
That’s when I noticed an eerie hue in my sight.
The color of blood.
Blood was flowing from beyond the door.
Without delay, I swung the door open, and there lay a servant, collapsing and bleeding.
The maid who had cared for me since childhood writhed desperately on the floor.
Like a last-ditch effort, she emitted a final voice.
“Y-you must… run away…”
Then her head drooped heavily.
I could no longer feel her breath.
A stream of curse words involuntarily escaped my lips.
“Damn it.”
At that moment, screams echoed from all over the manor.
I glared at the lifeless maid’s open eyes and closed them gently before heading directly to the first-floor lobby.
By the time I arrived, chaos had erupted.
Some of the manor’s servants were attacking others indiscriminately.
The sounds of their wild howls were eerily familiar to me.
Miltram’s test subjects.
Although Miltram was dead, it seemed those test subjects remained and were still living.
I never imagined they had been placed in Percus Manor as well.
It seemed, however, that their numbers were a little fewer.
Only two remained in the first-floor lobby; after all, there were not many servants staying in the manor.
I threw my sword and pierced one of the test subjects through the top of its head.
Perhaps because Miltram was dead, that regenerative ability resembling an immortal was gone.
With the principle of stillness in motion, another silvery line was drawn.
Thus, the two test subjects attacking the servants in the first-floor lobby perished.
The servants, who had been targeted by the test subjects, were trembling, utterly bewildered.
“D-young master… w-why is Hans….”
“It’s the work of the Dark Cult.”
Finishing that sentence, I clenched my teeth and returned to my room.
Thinking it might be prudent, I checked my family’s rooms, but thankfully, there seemed to be no issues.
However, there were no signs of life in Ria’s room.
It seemed she had gone out, which made my heart race with anxiety.
As I quickly equipped my gear, I found some of our members already gathered on the first floor.
Perhaps due to the various incidents we had faced, they did not appear flustered at all.
Instead, they awaited my instructions with calm tension.
“… Has anyone grasped the situation?”
At my question, Yulen raised his hand eagerly.
“It seems the dark priest inserted a strange ritual into the ceremony.”
The eyes looking for explanations gathered towards him.
Yulen continued smoothly, as if he had expected it.
“It means something was inserted into the summoning ceremony that provokes the test subjects… when the retinue descends, it will cause even more chaos.”
“Then what about the town?”
“It’ll be in tatters.”
The piercing headache felt like it was not merely due to a hangover.
I pressed my forehead with my hand as a sudden thought came to mind.
“… What about Ria?”
Not only the test subjects were related to the Dark Cult.
It was certain that Ria had some kind of connection too.
At my question, Celin tilted her head.
“Is she not in her room?”
I sighed heavily, trying to calm my ragged breaths.
“First, wake up my parents and then head out to the village to deal with the test subjects as you see fit. We might need to hasten the evacuation schedule…”
It was then that I heard a scream from somewhere.
“AAH!”
“… Ria!”
I immediately guessed the owner of that voice.
My head turned white, and before I knew it, I was rushing towards the source of the sound.
There, just as I feared, was Ria, on the verge of being attacked by a test subject.
Seeing Ria trembling in fear as she sat on the ground filled my vision with a fiery red haze.
I threw an axe at the test subject that was about to attack Ria while holding a kitchen knife.
As the axe struck, severing the subject’s arm, it let out a horrific howl.
The kitchen knife it had been holding clattered pathetically to the ground.
I poured all my momentum into a kick aimed at the test subject.
With a crunch, the feeling of crushed bone accompanied the test subject’s body flying far away.
That corpse rolled on the ground, bouncing several times. The amount of impact indicated how menacing it was.
That test subject would likely not rise again.
With its arm severed, blood gushed out, splattering onto Ria’s face.
In a panic, Ria could only tremble helplessly.
It was pitiful to see her pushing back in a desperate attempt to crawl away.
I immediately embraced Ria.
“It’s okay, Ria… I’ll take care of everything now.”
“O-oh, big brother….”
Stumbling, Ria clung to me and choked back tears.
Her voice was moist with tears.
I tightened my embrace around her.
“Don’t worry, I will protect you. So wait patiently in the manor… okay?”
“Y-yes… sniff, h-hoo….”
The shock must have been intense, as Ria finally burst into tears.
I held her close for a long time, ensuring she felt reassured.
And after several minutes had passed, Ria seemed to calm down a bit, loosening her grip around me.
In fact, Ria seemed to be handling this better than I was.
Given the suddenness of the incident, I was still feeling confused.
Especially since I had just been drinking the night before.
So I hadn’t noticed.
Ria’s face was still buried in my chest.
She would not be trying to pull away from me.
Ria’s hand groped the ground, and in the next moment.
I felt a sharp pain piercing through my abdomen.
Huh? I looked down.
In Ria’s hand, there was a blade.
It was the kitchen knife that had fallen from the test subject.
My eyes blankly stared at Ria.
Even Ria seemed unable to believe what she had just done, her eyes wide in shock.
For a moment, my mind disconnected from reality.
What snapped that drifting consciousness back was the chilling sound echoing once again.
Again, the knife stabbed into my abdomen.
Or rather, was it higher up?
A rush of blood seeped from my mouth.
Ria’s voice trembled as she spoke.
“N-no…”
I carefully grasped Ria’s arm.
The strength I felt was stronger than I could have imagined.
This was not the kind of force someone like sickly Ria should possess.
Ah, now that I think about it, her strength tended to spike when she was doing something strenuous…
That surely was a cursed foreshadowing.
So I could not stop that knife from plunging into me again.
“No, no, no… I could never, ever hurt you… it can’t be… No, no, no, no!”
Hearing her despairing shriek, I managed to free myself in a struggle and fell heavily to the ground.
My vision blurred.
Was it because I was still tipsy?
To my relief, I could just barely make out my companions rushing towards me from a distance.
I murmured to them.
“Ria is….”
Please, don’t touch her.
That scene was the last thing I saw before my consciousness abruptly cut off.
