“It’s very humid.”
“That’s why the dawn here is so mysterious. I can’t see an inch ahead because of the fog. It’s never a good environment for an army, but every time I see it, I can’t help but admire the mysterious sight.”
“Really? I’m curious. I think I’ll get up early tomorrow.”
Sienna woke up late today and didn’t see the spectacular view of the mist that Carl said.
“My father told me that the occasional snowstorm in the spring of Heidel resembles a mist…”
“Spring blizzard? I thought Heidel’s snowstorms were happening all year round, but the spring snowstorms must be different from other times?”
At Carl’s words, Sienna replied while stroking the horse’s fur.
“Everyone thinks there’s only one season in Heidel, but no. It has four seasons.”
“How?”
“There are usually spring, summer, fall, and winter in an ordinary season, but Heidel has winter, winter, winter, winter, and winter.”
“What?”
Carl asked Siena back.
“We call it spring, summer, fall, and winter depending on the degree of cold, but as a joke, we call it winter, winter-winter, or winter-winter-winter.”
Carl asked again as if Siena’s words were interesting and if he was curious about the season of Heidel he had never been to.
“Then is spring in Heidel as cold as winter in the capital?”
“No. Heidel never stops snowing in the spring. The midwinter in the capital is warmer than the midsummer in Heidel.”
“I can’t imagine how cold the midwinter of Heidel would be.”
“I was born and raised in Heidel, and I can’t get used to its cold. Anyway, the snowstorm of spring looks like fog, but I can’t see an inch ahead because the snow flies in the wind. It’s hard to tell if the sun is up even during the day. Is the fog here like that too?”
“Sounds like it. You can’t see an inch ahead as if your eyes have watered up and humid air wets your clothes. Is the snowstorm of spring also like that?”
“It’s similar. They don’t just wet the clothes though—they freeze them. And when I get hit by the wind on my bare skin, I get a scratch on my skin.”
“Even though you’ve only been hit by the wind?”
“The cloudy wind is actually small pieces of ice fluttering in the wind. It cuts the skin like it’s brushed against a knife.”
“That must be great.”
“But it’s very pretty and mysterious. I don’t want to get in there, but… just like that.”
She said, pointing her finger at the front.
“That’s the fog, right?” It looks like the whole forest is submerged in water where flour is dissolved. But aren’t we supposed to see the mist in the morning or early morning?”
“That’s true…”
Carl was not the only one who felt strange about the fog surrounding the forest; the knights guarding them were also on alert.
“It’s too quiet.”
Sienna, who was chatting hard, shut her mouth in the strange atmosphere. There was no sound of bugs or birds in the forest. Just as when you are holding your breath in front of a great predator, all the sounds were still as if they had been eaten by the mist. The stillness instilled fear, not tranquility.
“Stay alerted!”
The knights pulled the sword together, and Carl pulled the sword from the sheath. Sienna was feeling anxious.
SWOOSH!
With a sound of cutting through the wind, sharp, short knives poured in from all sides and the horses struggled with fright.
“Argh!”
Suddenly, Sienna screamed because of the horse that raised its front feet. Carl grabbed her waist and jumped off the horse. Then he cut off the neck of the horse he was riding. So did other knights.
It was because horses that were hit by the enemy’s daggers could be a threat to Carl’s own troops or a drag on his party. It was also an act of caring for comrades, who had been through the battlefield together, helping them die painlessly.
Carl and the knights stayed alert with deft skills. Sienna was the only one who could not adapt to this situation. With trembling hands, she blocked her own mouth spitting out a scream.
“Get a hold of yourself and stay close to me.”
Said Carl, taking her hand.
Again, with the sound of cutting through the wind, blew in iron pieces from all sides. Carl and his knights, who were used to handling swords, changed into the direction of where the dagger was flying in. Their faces were tense. The fact that the opponent has not yet showed up and that it attacked the horses first meant a message that it would not let anyone live.
“Protect the Princess.”
The knights watched the forest, forming a narrow formation around Carl and Sienna. The dagger flew in several times until the formation was completed, but the knights calmly defended themselves. It was not long before the enemies, who realized that their attack was not enough, appeared through the woods.
“Huh!”
Carl inhaled roughly. There were more than twenty of them. If there was a big difference in skills, it would be easy to deal with, but the enemies in front of them did not appear to be easy. They were clearly experts in battles from the fact they made a mist in the forest and flew a dagger accurately through the horse’s neck.
Moreover, there was a person in his group who had no fighting ability—the princess—so he was sure it’d be a pretty difficult battle as they had to fight and protect her at the same time.
“Damn it!”
Sienna spouted words of despair with a harsh breath. She didn’t swear normally, but now, she wanted to curse the enemies.
“Damn it!”
Carl, who was close to her, also spat blood and swore. Behind his back was a group of men in black threatening with weapons, and beneath his feet was a distant cliff. A glimmer of dismay hung over his embattled faces.
Sienna looked back at Carl. He was clutching his right shoulder. The wound he suffered in the earlier battle with the enemies was deeper than it seemed. Sienna felt that it was so unfair and sorry that she was able to help the crew. Carl’s wound was the result of protecting her.
The targets of the raiders seemed certain. Even when their limbs and their colleagues’ throats were cut off, they kept their eyes on the two without any agitation. Wearing black masks, they had such great skills that it was difficult even for the expert-class knights to deal with.
Frankly, it was a fluke that they managed to get this far. The two fled mindlessly—in the direction of sunset—after breaking up with the crew. As a result, they were standing on the edge of a cliff.
The men in the black masks got closer and closer. Carl stood in front of Sienna.
“Are you going to fight? How are you going to deal with so many people in that condition?”
“It’s all right—I mean, I just can’t stay doing nothing. You’re not asking me to jump into that river, are you?”
She checked under her feet. Although it was quite a high position, the lake looked calm and quite deep. She remembered what Shaylin had said.
-It’s said that one never dies even if he falls into the lake. Chief said there’s no current there. Other lakes look calm, but there are vortexes in them, so people are sucked in. But Tromil’s lake is quiet inside the water, so even if you fall, you just need to relax and you’ll float.
Sienna was sure that this lake was what Shaylin had mentioned. Otherwise, it would be disastrous, but there was no other way. She clenched her fist and called Carl.
“Let’s dive.”
Carl was frightened and stopped her. The chances of survival are not high if you jump into such a deep lake. He doesn’t know how to swim, but he had the experience of having a water fight. Having seen a soldier drowned in the river after falling off a boat several times, he thought it was better to wield a sword than to die helplessly in the water.
“Are you crazy? Are you saying you’re going to die without even fighting? I’ll make a way for you so you run away.”
“How can I run away alone? Even if you sacrifice making a way, I’ll be caught in less than ten steps. It’s more likely that diving will help us survive.”
Carl shook his head after checking under his feet.
“If you fall down here, you’ll die.”
“The lake is pretty deep, so you can live.”
“… …I don’t know how to swim. I’m going to drown.”
He avoided Sienna’s eyes as if he felt ashamed to admit that he couldn’t do something in the midst of this urgency.
“I told you before. I’m good at swimming. So…”
She reached out her hand. Carl’s face had turned pale. She didn’t know if it was because of the wound in his shoulder or because of fear. But Sienna showed him a smile.
“Trust me this time.”
Even though the bottom of the cliff looked distant, he nodded and held her hand.
“Stand there!”
The swarm of black masks came storming towards the two.
“Jump!”
As Sienna screamed, Carl held his foot out in the air. She also jumped off the ground vigorously.
“Argh!”
Since they were up quite high, they felt like the time they stayed in the air was long. While jumping, Sienna was worried that Shaylin might have just talked about a legend.
‘May the Goddess of the Moon help us…’
Sienna was a believer in the goddess of the earth while not truly believing in God, but this time she truly wished God existed.