CH 46.2

Anne fixed her gloves and took hold of the shovel. Her wrists felt sore from holding the shovel, the heaviest object she had ever lifted, but it was okay for her to get used to it in advance, as she would have to regularly hold such objects once she left the castle.

Anne walked out to the side, not where the knights were crowded, but near the entrance of the forest, where the father of the child was digging at the ground with his bare hands.

There is no time. It’ll be harder for the child to hold out.

Passing by the mother of the child, who was crying, Anne began digging next to the father whose hands had turned red. Even with the gloves on, the ground was hard, and even when scooped up with a shovel, the house was barely visible.

With earnestness, she bowed down and dug the land for a long time, and beads of sweat flowed down her forehead. As she wiped away the sweat and caught her breath, she felt small vibrations under her feet.

“What?”

Anne and the father of the child who was digging next to her raised their heads at the same time. The knights who were standing at a distance also noticed a strange sign, stopped their actions and all raised their heads.

A cool silence fell over the noise of people who were muttering or sobbing. A strong winter wind blew between them.

Then, ruuumbbblee again! There was a stronger vibration than a moment ago. Everyone’s eyes turned to the mountain behind them.

At that moment, the knight commander shouted at the top of his voice as if he had discovered something.

“Get out of the way!”

Voom! Voom! Voom!

When Anne belatedly turned her head, she noticed an avalanche coming like a tidal wave with uncontrollable tremors. Huge trees snapped like reeds and mountains collapsed.

“It’s an avalanche!”

“If you get swept away, it’s over!”

In an abrupt situation, the digging knights and people shouted and started running toward the entrance of the village. Anne also hurriedly turned her body and moved her frozen legs across the cool snow. At the desperate moment as the thunderous roar got closer and closer, her foot slipped.

“Kyaah!”

Anne, who had slipped, tried to get up again, putting her palms on the cold snow, but her ankles throbbed. When Anne, realizing she sprained her leg, raised her head towards the entrance of the village, where she met Abreham’s eyes, who just in time rushed out to save her.

“Your Grace!”

As she tried to reach out to him who was shouting anxiously, her vision went white and huge snow fell over her small body.

* * *

Meanwhile the estate is in crisis due to an avalanche. The subjugation of monsters in the Silbur Mountains was progressing despite the harsh weather that followed.

Red blood dripped from the longsword that sliced through the air at an angle. Then the massive body, slashed by the sword, plummeted to the floor with a thud.

In the meantime, Daymond, who had twisted his body to another monster that was charging at him with sharp teeth, lightly decapitated it. He squinted as the unpleasant blood splattered on his clothes.

“Damn it. What the hell were you doing last winter?”

A monster youngling knew no fear. It rushed recklessly without the slightest hint of trepidation. There were more than one or two monster younglings that endlessly popped out.

Marquis Brussel’s face was troubled, as it was their duty had not been properly carried out.

“That is… It seems to be because the number of the monster younglings have suddenly increased last year.”

“Nonsense.”

Daymond, who was sarcastically asking if Marquis Brussel could at least come up with a more proper excuse, vigorously brushed off the blood still flowing along the sword.

The fact that the number of monsters was this high meant that they had only imitated subjugation, or that they hadn’t done it right at all. Even if they were punished for neglecting their duties, they would have nothing to refute.

“We have been hunting every winter. Your Grace may not know it, but many knights are sacrificed every time. It was the best we could do.”

“Can you take responsibility for that? Can you risk your life?”

Marquis Brussel’s face froze at the Grand Duke’s words. He didn’t want to risk his life.

“I plan to look into this properly when I get back. What, exactly, you guys have been doing so far.”

Hearing those words, anxiety overwhelmed Marquis Brussel’s face.

“How can we tell lies? It’s just that it’s so hard… Even the Imperial family doesn’t provide proper support, so how could we…”

“I will be involved until this week. After that, you will have to figure it out yourselves.”

Daymond, staring at the silent Marquis, slashed his sword menacingly. Leaving the frozen Marquis alone, Daymond turned around.

“Your Grace, the matter here has not been resolved yet. Are you saying that you’re going back to the castle?”

Ashton followed Daymond as he strode into the barracks and whispered next to him.

Thanks to his monstrous inaction, the subjugation was picking up speed. Although he had solved it with ease until now, the moment he left, the place would become desperate enough like a disastrous battlefield.

“I can’t leave the castle empty any longer.”

“Why are you in such a hurry? Is there anything wrong with the castle? Perhaps, is it because of the Grand Duchess?”

The Grand Duke’s footsteps paused.