NoveLight ™
Meteor’s furrowed brow deepened further, and my pink eyes darkened with frustration.
Nobody here was thinking about marriage, so why was Adrian alone helping himself to such a ridiculous fantasy?
Besides, noble families like the Pluto Ducal House rarely formed alliances through marriage. And Meteor having a bride? The odds of me becoming a granddaughter-in-law were practically zero compared to me being a granddaughter.
Then, Meteor let out a quiet sigh and asked me, “Crescent, haven’t you thrown Pinky at Adrian yet?”
“Huh? Oh, Pinky.”
Right, that’s true.
Back when I was pondering how to get rid of Adrian, Meteor had suggested throwing Pinky, my dagger, at him.
“Why not just seriously try to kill him? Throw Pinky at him and see what happens.”
It was such a funny letter that I kept it tucked away safely in my desk drawer.
I glanced at Adrian and spoke up.
“I only just coincidentally ran into Adrian now. Would you like to try my fist first?”
I clenched my fist in Adrian’s direction.
Realizing his predicament, he flinched, drawing his shoulders in. If only the noble ladies of this country knew how insufferable Adrian was!
At that moment, Alruin, who had been silently observing, broke his silence.
“But Meteor, what exactly were you two doing here? Now that you’re officially siblings, were you on a pleasant stroll together?”
“Siblings don’t go on pleasant strolls! It’s a miracle if they’re not fighting all the time!”
Edgar abruptly chimed in, yelling.
He must really have a grudge against his sister.
I glanced briefly at Edgar before quickly correcting Alruin’s assumption.
“Not a pleasant stroll, just a regular patrol. And not really a stroll—we were searching for Magi. We had some time before returning to the Holy Palace and thought we might as well hunt for any Magi nearby.”
“Ah, I see. Meteor has just returned from special training, so he could rest a bit, but it’s admirable. In that case, why not join us for a while? It’s been a long time.”
At that, I looked over at Meteor.
As our eyes met, Meteor nodded toward Alruin.
“Understood. There were no Magi on the path we’ve covered so far….”
Suddenly, Meteor’s sentence trailed off.
Darkness engulfed everything.
My hearing and sight were momentarily paralyzed.
Within less than a second, I realized what was happening. If I hadn’t, I’d need to restart Holy Knight training from scratch.
“Oh, sh—!”
With someone’s curse, the darkness lifted. It was Edgar’s voice.
I blinked calmly.
“So, what kind of demon will it be this time?”
Part of me wished it were the Demon King himself.
That would mean I’d get to see my father after six long years.
But no, it wasn’t the right time to face the Demon King yet.
As if this abrupt relocation was no more significant than moving to the next town over, Meteor muttered, “See? That’s what happens when you say there are no Magi.”
“Sorry….”
“No, I literally said that just a moment ago.”
“Huh?”
Oh, that’s right—Meteor had just been saying there were no Magi on the path we’d covered right before we ended up here.
His words had barely finished before we’d been pulled into the Demon Realm.
“Meteor, you should spit to ward it off too.”
“There’s no need for that.”
Of course. I figured as much.
This was our fate, after all.
If it was meant to happen, it would.
I was so used to ending up in the Demon Realm that I hardly reacted anymore. Still, every time we were here, our lives were on the line.
Would we all survive this time?
A faint chill seeped into my clothes, sharpening my senses and making my surroundings clearer.
It was so bright that I frowned instinctively.
What kind of dungeon was this?
Ding!
[You have entered the Demon Realm Dungeon: ‘Wintery Duchy’s Winter Estate.’]
So that’s why my eyes hurt so much!
A vast expanse of white snow stretched out in every direction.
The sky above was blindingly bright, even though there wasn’t a single sun in sight. The light reflected off the snow made it almost impossible to keep my eyes open.
And now the cold was sinking in.
The initial refreshing chill was quickly replaced by a piercing sensation, as if knives were stabbing into my entire body.
“Isn’t it freezing?” I asked.
As soon as I spoke, someone coughed—Lucas.
Crunch.
Alruin stepped forward and looked around. Other than a few snow-covered hills, mountains, and plains, there wasn’t much to see.
“Could this really be the Winter Estate? I think I read about it in my Demon Realm studies,” Alruin mused.
Evan answered, “It seems likely. But the owner of this place is nowhere to be seen yet.”
“Ugh….”
Cold. It was so cold.
Why did I have to end up in the Winter Estate dressed in a simple outing dress?
I hugged my arms around myself.
Just then, I felt a heavy weight settle over my shoulders. Startled, I turned around to see Adrian smiling at me tenderly.
“Take this, Crescent.”
“Huh?”
I glanced back and forth between Adrian and the item draped over my shoulders.
Adrian, now standing in just his shirt, had given me his outer training coat.
He had taken off his coat!
“No, it’s fine. I’ll manage. Won’t you be colder this way?”
“I’m fine. A lady comes first.”
“I’m not a lady; I’m a knight!”
“Either way, you’re wearing a thin dress. No knight dresses like that.”
“….”
At a loss for words, I opened my mouth but couldn’t think of a retort.
Honestly, if it were anyone else, I might have accepted the coat. But Adrian’s coat? I wasn’t thrilled about it.
Accepting it would make it seem like I was acknowledging his feelings, which I didn’t want to do.
Though I doubted he’d interpret it that way—surely not?
I firmly removed the coat from my shoulders and handed it back to Adrian.
“I can take care of myself. Among fellow knights, such gestures are unnecessary. If I were a man, even if I were down to my underwear, no one would be offering me their coat.”
“But Crescent….” Adrian’s voice trembled slightly as he continued, “Honestly, I wanted to give you my shirt too, but I held back—”
“Enough! Just put your coat back on, Adrian,” Alruin barked abruptly.
Adrian closed his mouth and took the coat back from me, quietly slipping it on. He looked a little dejected as he did so.
I quickly called out to him, “Still, thank you!”
“!”
Adrian’s face lit up once more. I promptly turned away.
This was the Demon Realm.
There was no time to be arguing over coats.
Besides, Edgar and Lucas were glaring daggers at both of us. Their eyes seemed to say, Why are you flirting here of all places?
Evan shook his head.
“Young love….”
No, it’s not like that!
Just then, a sharp sound sliced through the air as the wind picked up.
It was an icy wind that felt like blades slicing into my skin.
The snow swirled violently with the gusts.
The blindingly bright surroundings grew dimmer as everything filled with snowflakes.
“Damn it. Now it’s snowing too… and it’s freezing,” Edgar grumbled.
“Ugh,” Lucas groaned, shivering.
Alruin, seemingly unaffected by the cold, glanced back at us and said, “We need to start moving. Let’s head somewhere. Follow me.”
“Yes,” I answered, forcing myself to take a step forward. Every step felt heavy.
I’d never experienced such intense cold in my life.
The winter estate of the Demon Realm was as brutal as expected.
We had barely moved a few steps when something suddenly fell from the sky, crashing into the ground with a loud thud.
Boom!
“!”
Startled, the knights instinctively stepped back.
Beyond the swirling snow, a large wooden sign came into view.
“What… is that?” someone muttered.
Alruin and Evan were the first to approach the sign, and I followed them.
To my surprise, the sign had writing on it.
[How to Leave the Winter Estate of the Wintery Duchy:
The instructions seemed simple enough, just four short lines.
But I couldn’t help but feel there were plenty of hidden obstacles between those lines.