WYCFD 02

Chapter 2

“…Depart—prepare to depart!”

As if nothing had happened, I continued rummaging through the laboratory.

I found a book that recorded Icarus’s location and how to get there, and tore out the necessary pages.

I packed a week’s worth of food for the journey, along with a poison-coated needle case.

Then I put on all three sets of clothes I had, wrapped them in a blanket, and tied it around my waist.

“I’m leaving! I’ll come back here! I’ll return in ten nights!”

After shouting loudly, I struggled to slam the laboratory door shut with a bang.

As I exited through the back door, it felt strangely disappointing that no one appeared.

But soon I burst into loud laughter and started running.

“I’ll prove it! A monster can do anything!”

If you keep trying until it works, it will work.

That’s how I learned to write my name, memorize difficult words, and countless other things.

I even shortened the time it took for me to revive.

If three-year-old me was that amazing, then four-year-old me would be even more amazing.

“White feather!”

The moment I left the mansion, I chose a carriage without hesitation and climbed aboard.

A carriage with a white feather engraved on its door.

Yongyong, who had stayed briefly in the room next to mine before leaving, told me that white symbolized the north, and a feather meant it was a direct-route carriage.

“If you ever get out, ride that one.”

“What happens if I ride it!”

“You’ll probably end up where humans like you are.”

“Where monsters live?”

“Well… something like that.”

Yongyong said that if I used what I was good at, I could reach the castle even without money.

Smart Yongyong. I followed Yongyong’s words exactly.

“Stealthy! Strategic! All at once!”

Muttering the assassination rules I had memorized about five times—

Slap.

“Hyah!”

Coating my hands with mana, I clung tightly to the back of the carriage as it began to move.

“Ugh…”

I endured the shaking, like standing in an earthquake zone, with my whole body before slowly starting to crawl.

Moving silently while riding something was my specialty.

After successfully climbing onto the roof of the carriage, I spread out the paper I had brought.

“One, two, three… many.”

The number of direct descendants in the Winter family tree wasn’t large.

But the number of mages residing there was enormous.

There were more than ten listed as key figures alone.

When I ran out of fingers to count with, I quietly stopped.

“Anyone will do for assassination.”

But if it was a monster living on a higher floor, that would be even better.

“And if it’s the leader—even better!”

A family of mages that ruled vast lands at the northern edge—Icarus.

Yes, my target was the leader of Icarus, the head of the family.

“What’s that sound?”

“Probably a cat climbed on.”

Ignoring the voices from the driver’s seat, I eagerly unfolded the next sheet.

It contained a simple layout of the Winter Castle and how to get there.

* * *

The direct descendants stayed on the fourth floor of the castle.

The head’s office was at the center.

To infiltrate, I would ride this carriage, switch midway to a Solus Merchant Company cargo wagon, then get off at the inner gate of Winter Castle and climb the walls.

I recalled the title of the book this information came from:

<How a Penniless Person Travels to the North>…

“I should’ve taken the whole thing…”

I regretted it.

It was my first time seeing such a book—I wanted to read more.

But I had been told to return within a month, so in my haste I only tore out the part about getting to the north.

After reading it about ten times, I also studied the family tree and the castle layout ten times each.

While reading, I watched the sunlight.
While reading, I watched birds.
While reading, I smelled the delicious scent rising when the carriage stopped.

Doing that, eating occasionally, and sleeping—I soon arrived near the merchant company.

It felt like success was already within reach.

At the same time, the process of traveling itself was so fascinating that I couldn’t contain my excitement.

Still, I didn’t forget what I had to do.

The moment I saw the Solus Merchant Company sign, I quietly climbed down from the carriage.

Boarding the merchant company’s wagon was even easier.

It was taller than the previous carriage, but had less shaking.

From higher up, the world looked even more interesting.

Though I was farther from the ground, I could see farther—and being closer to the sky made it feel like I could fly at any moment.

“That is a bird! A big bird!”

“The moon! Looks like a banana! But it’s small… small ones are stars… then where’s the moon…?”

The only bad thing was that the carriage kept stopping.

“It stopped again. Humans eat a lot! Is it because they’re fat? Slow, so slow…”

Still, it had to be faster than walking.

Since humans couldn’t understand me, I couldn’t hurry them.

I banged on the roof to vent my frustration, then accepted reality and dozed off repeatedly.

“…Master. Should we just leave that thing alone?”

“Let’s observe for now. Judging by the amount of mana it’s releasing, it’s no ordinary mage. If we meddle carelessly just because it looks young, who knows what might happen.”

“…No matter how I look at it, it just seems like a runaway child.”

“Ahem. Leave it be. Once we arrive at Icarus, it’ll be resolved one way or another. Lower your voice.”

“Yes.”

I could hear murmuring, but strangely couldn’t make out what they were saying.

It was frustrating, but still fine.

Unlike the people in the previous carriage, these humans were quieter and lazier—but they left a lot of food behind.

Even though I was a monster, I still got hungry if I didn’t eat.

And the food I brought had gone bad…

So at some point, I started sneaking in at night to take leftovers.

“Stupid humans! Hehe, a monster stole your food! You didn’t even notice while awake. Nom nom.”

They didn’t even seem to realize their food was disappearing.

“Even took the warm ones! Hahaha!”

“…Should we just bring that kid inside?”

“What, wrap it in a blanket and teach it to say thank you? Leave it. It’s too late. Our lord is waiting.”

And so, a week passed.

“Lord Cedric, welcome!”

“Oh, Cole! Has it been half a year? Doing well?”

“Yes! Lucy is already five!”

“Haha, time flies.”

I poked my round, swollen belly curiously before lifting my head.

The people in the carriage were finally speaking loudly.

But my attention quickly shifted elsewhere.

“A castle! A pointy castle! Do demons live in pointy castles?! Wooooah!”

It looked like a castle made entirely of snow.

Indeed—so the rumors were true that Icarus snow piled as high as a person!

“…Master? That side is…”

“As you can see, I must personally meet the head today. Send word to Sir Eden.”

“Um… if that child is entering with us, we’ll need to register their identity.”

Ah, I see! That must be it!

Unable to contain my excitement, I wiggled and shouted:

“They built the castle out of snow because there’s too much snow! Cursed mages! Smart demons! But then do they make beds and forks out of snow too…?”

If that was the case, I absolutely had to see it.

I slammed the carriage roof harder than ever, making a firm vow.

“I’ll kill them all and take everything!”

“…Please do.”

“…Understood.”

The lazy carriage moved again.

And finally, I stepped into the inner castle of Icarus.

* * *

“Infiltration success!”

I shouted loudly.

“The cursed demons are in the inner castle!”

After observing every corner of the inner castle for two days, I reached a conclusion.

“It’s not snow. Then why is it white?”

I couldn’t figure that out.

But I did learn one thing:

I could climb the walls here using mana.

I wrapped mana around my stiff, frozen hands.

Then, moving carefully and silently, I slipped inside the moment the main gate opened.

Clinging to the ceiling right after entering was also a success.

At last—the time had come.

“I will defeat the demons! Evil mages! Damn Winter bastards!”

Humming as usual and muttering as loudly as possible, I moved upward along the striped ceiling.

“The Winter bastards must be snowmen! I am the snowman assassin!”

At that moment, I heard a faint snicker from somewhere.