CH 104

After Lucas returned to the capital, it didn’t take long for a letter with good news to arrive. It was a letter from the Emperor.

[Duchess Marren, the capital is abuzz with talk about Perante and the Emperor of the Haren Empire. Along with that, rumors about you have also been spreading.]

Riett had been consistently monitoring the situation in the capital through the Emperor and her advisor. 

With a tense expression, she read the last paragraph of the letter.

[It seems the time has come.]

Thanks to Callis, the news spread to the Truto Empire faster than she had anticipated. The faint traces of her cold were completely gone, replaced by a sense of joy.

Riett quickly relayed the news to Evan. 

Evan, who was polishing his sword, set down the dry cloth slowly. He seemed calmer than she had expected.

“When will you go down?”

Riett hesitated for a moment at Evan’s question. 

Originally, she had planned to go down as soon as the rumors spread, but there was one thing that concerned her. The Spirit Stone and the villagers in this village.

She had carefully observed the Spirit Stone compass after Lucas left, hoping it would move, but the needle didn’t even twitch. 

It made her realize that she had overlooked something. 

If her prediction was correct, the compass would move when she got closer to the Spirit Stone, but it would also bring about natural disasters. In that case, the villagers would suffer again…

Riett looked down at the Spirit Stone compass in her hand. Lucas had given it to her with great determination, but she felt that there was someone else who needed it more than she did.

“Let’s go down tomorrow. I have something to do today.”

Evan nodded in agreement with Riett’s proposal. And where Riett headed was the guardhouse where the captain of the guards was stationed.

“Why here?”

Evan asked, and Riett showed him the Spirit Stone compass.

“I’m going to give the compass to the captain of the guards. It seems like it would be more helpful if the people in this village have it.”

Although Evan had never heard an explanation about the Spirit Stone compass, he had overheard Riett and Lucas’ conversation and had a rough idea of what it could do.

“If the captain of the guards has the compass, they might be able to prepare for disasters in advance.”

Since the compass reacted before a disaster occurred, if they responded immediately when the compass moved, they could prevent major damage. 

Moreover, since the captain of the guards occasionally patrolled the snowy plains, taking the compass with him would increase the chances of finding the exact location of the Spirit Stone.

Riett was soon leaving for the capital, so even if she carried the compass, it would be less efficient.

As Riett opened the front door of the guardhouse, she was warmly greeted by the captain of the guards, as always.

“Duchess!”

“Hello, I hope you’ve been well.”

Riett realized that it had been a while since she last visited here.

“Yes, thanks to you, I’ve been doing very well. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Duke Kreutz. Is your hand completely healed?”

“Thanks to you, I recovered quickly.”

With a light smile, Evan responded, and the captain of the guards chuckled.

“That’s good news.”

As Riett watched the welcoming captain of the guards, she felt that it was a good idea to stop by here for a final farewell.

As Riett was about to bring up the topic of the Spirit Stone, the captain of the guards clapped his hands and spoke first.

“Oh, by the way, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“To me?”

“You asked me to let you know if we found anything in the snowy plains last time.”

Remembering the captain of the guard’s words, Riett’s eyes sparkled.

“Yes, I did. What did you find?”

“Well, recently, thanks to the good weather, the snow melted, and we found a cave-like structure in the middle of the snowy plains.”

After the heavy snowfall a few days ago, the sun had been out for a while. Considering the usually gloomy weather in Parman, it was a rare streak of good weather. 

As a result, much of the snow in the snowy plains had melted, revealing the entrance to a cave that had been buried.

“But? What was inside the cave?”

“We were trying to investigate, but…”

But…?

Riett concentrated as the captain of the guards hesitated and spoke.

“We couldn’t enter it no matter what… It seemed like there was some sort of invisible barrier at the entrance.”

Riett narrowed her eyes.

‘It’s suspicious.’

A cave buried in snow, with a device at the entrance preventing anyone from entering. It seemed as if something important was being stored inside. 

It could be the Spirit Stone, leading to that speculation didn’t take long.

Riett glanced at the sky for a moment. Fortunately, it was clear today as well.

“I’ll go check it out myself.”

The captain of the guards widened his eyes at Riett’s words.

“It’s a dangerous place to go by yourself…”

“Well, actually, I’m going down to the capital tomorrow. If I don’t go today, I won’t be able to come here for a while.”

Even if she were to come back later, there was no guarantee that the snow would have melted enough to find the cave.

“You’re going down to the capital tomorrow…”

The captain of the guards murmured regretfully. However, he quickly regained his composure.

“In that case, I should assist you. I’ll get ready to accompany you right away.”

The determined expression on the captain of the guards’ face made Riett smile gratefully.

“Suddenly, but I’m counting on you.”

The captain of the guards prepared for the expedition to the snowy plains.

Once they were ready, the captain of the guards handed Riett and Evan winter clothing.

“Even though the snow in the plains has melted quite a bit, it’s still much colder than here.”

The equipment provided by the captain of the guards was different. The winter clothing was much warmer than regular clothes, and the soles of the boots were pointed and designed for slip resistance.

Once Riett and Evan were fully dressed, the captain of the guards opened the door and urged them to move quickly.

“We need to hurry. We have to reach the snowy plains before the sun sets.”

* * *

Once they arrived on the snowy plains, a vast expanse of pristine white snow stretched out before them. 

The sunlight reflected off the snow, creating a blinding effect. However, the appreciation of the beautiful scenery didn’t last long. 

From this point on, they couldn’t continue on horseback; they had to proceed on foot.

After dismounting from their horses, Riett adjusted her clothing once again.

“Please follow me. It shouldn’t be difficult to find the way since there are still footprints.”

Riett and Evan followed behind the captain of the guards as their footsteps crunched through the quiet snowy plain.

“By the way, why are you in such a hurry to come here if you think there’s something in that cave?”

“Well… I heard that the Spirit Stone might be hidden in the snowy plains.”

Riett gave a vague answer to the captain of the guards’ perplexing question. After all, if it were an ordinary person, they wouldn’t know much about the Spirit Stone even if she mentioned it.

“I see. I hope you find what you’re looking for if it’s there.”

The captain of the guards spoke sincerely.

Riett’s conscience pricked at the thought of lying, but she kept her mouth shut.

They walked for quite some time.

Whoooosh…

With the sound of the wind howling through the mountain range surrounding the snowy plains, the captain of the guards came to a halt.

“Where are we? It should be around here…”

Footprints had become faint around this area. Since it was closer to the mountain range, there was less snow, and the footprints didn’t last long.

Riett softly called out to Mishan.

〈You called, my master?〉

Soon, the clear voice of Mishan resounded in her mind. Riett lowered her voice so that the captain of the guards couldn’t hear.

It was a little uncomfortable at times like this, not having Mishan read her thoughts.

“Can you sense the presence of the Spirit Stone around here?”

〈Hmm, I’m not sure. I don’t feel any fluctuating energy like before…〉

Riett had expected such an answer from Mishan. 

Mishan had felt the energy of the Spirit Stone when the compass was moving. That meant the power of the Spirit Stone was surging.

But now, since the compass wasn’t even moving, the Spirit Stone must be quietly concealing its energy.

〈However, although it’s not fluctuating, I can still faintly sense something. Maybe it’s related to the blocked entrance of the cave?〉

“Right…”

Riett thought that following that energy might lead them to the location of the cave. It was good news, so she quickly asked.

“Which direction do you sense it from?”

〈We need to go a little further east from here.〉

“Got it, Mishan. Let’s head in that direction.”

As Riett finished the conversation and turned her head, her eyes met Evan’s.

Caught in the act of talking, Riett felt embarrassed.

“…I wasn’t talking to myself.”

“Yeah.”

He must have heard it, so why didn’t he ask who she was talking to? It was making her feel awkward.

“By the way, what did the spirit say?”

Evan looked beyond the mountains as he asked. It seemed like he had figured out that she was having a conversation with Mishan. She was unnecessarily embarrassed.

“He said we need to go further east from here.”

It was just that she was worried about one thing. 

How would she convince the captain of the guards to accept the fact that they had to go east?

Riett was contemplating how to convince the captain of the guards to go east when she noticed that Evan had approached the captain, who was walking ahead. 

He was engaged in a conversation with the captain, suggesting that they should go east.

“Let’s try heading east. Due to the sun’s influence, the east side has the least amount of snow. There’s a higher chance of finding the cave that was buried. “

“Uh… considering what the Duke said, that could be possible.”

The captain nodded in agreement and took the lead towards the east. 

Riett couldn’t help but admire Evan’s natural ability to change direction effortlessly. After walking for a while, they began to see footprints again.

Following the footprints for about twenty minutes, they finally came across a small cave entrance leading underground in the middle of the snowy plains. The entrance was barely big enough for one person to stand in.

Riett cautiously reached out her hand towards the cave entrance. It seemed there was an invisible barrier as her hand bumped against something and was repelled.

Seizing the opportunity while the captain of the guards was examining the surroundings, Riett tried using the power of the spirits and called out to Mishan, but there was no response from the barrier. 

However, one thing was certain—the origin of this barrier was linked to the power of the spirits. Mishan had confirmed it when they encountered the cave.

‘…But the problem is, we have no way to remove this barrier.’

Riett murmured in frustration, looking at Evan as if she had given up.

Evan, who had been observing the situation with his arms crossed, stepped forward unexpectedly.

“Riett, come here for a moment.”

Riett obediently stepped aside, hoping that Evan had a clever idea up his sleeve.

To her surprise, Evan reached for his waist and drew his sword.

Riett narrowed her eyes.

“Wait, are you seriously… planning to use your sword to break through?”