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Chapter 22
The early spring sunlight still wasn’t warm enough to melt the snow in the North.
Which meant the two of them still had to make their way through roads where the snow had yet to fully thaw.
After pushing through the snowy path, they finally arrived at a place covered in perennial snow. Wyndham caught her breath and spoke.
“This is the place. During winter it’s frozen solid and impossible to use, but once the weather starts to warm in spring, we melt the perennial snow here and use it as drinking water.”
Ronin, breathing heavily as well, looked around.
Just as Lady Wyndham had said, there was a shallow depression in the middle of the snowfield.
Several servants were shoveling snow near the hollow, and as they cleared it away, a layer of clear, transparent ice was revealed beneath.
“So you use the transparent ice underneath.”
“That’s right. The water here is the clearest and purest in the North. Since ancient times, it has been called water bestowed by the gods.”
Ronin could only nod.
The ice glistened like crystal beneath the sunlight, almost sacred in appearance. Slowly, Ronin reached out and placed a hand on it.
Cold seeped into the slender white fingertips.
That was when Ronin’s expression changed.
Something’s wrong.
Ronin pressed the fingers together, then pulled them apart.
Something viscous stretched stickily between them.
Nothing was visible to the naked eye, yet the sticky residue was unmistakable.
Without taking their eyes off their fingers, Ronin asked,
“Is this ice melted and used as drinking water?”
“Yes. Is there some kind of problem…?”
Ronin barely heard Wyndham’s reply.
Something was surfacing in their mind, just beyond reach.
Lowering themselves completely, Ronin carefully examined the area around the ice.
Lady Wyndham and the servants stared in confusion, but Ronin paid them no attention.
Something… There’s definitely something wrong.
Holding their breath, Ronin bent one knee.
They leaned down until their body was almost touching the ice.
For a noble from the Central Region to lie that close to the frozen ground in weather where even the ice hadn’t melted—it was unbelievable.
Unable to bear it any longer, Wyndham shouted,
“Your Highness!”
At that moment, Ronin saw it.
At the edge of the hollow, beneath the shadowed ice, something was there.
I can’t see it clearly. Just a little closer…!
Ronin leaned even nearer.
Just before a nervous servant could pull them back up, Ronin saw it clearly.
Unlike the pure blue-white ice, there was something tinged with red and gray beneath it.
That was—
A monster?!
The instant Ronin confirmed what they had seen, they jumped to their feet and shouted,
“Wait! Stop! You can’t use this ice as drinking water!”
“What? What are you talking about…?”
“There’s a monster beneath the ice!”
The surroundings immediately erupted into commotion.
“Eek! A monster? In there?”
“What? A monster? What are you talking about?”
Wyndham’s face hardened instantly.
Unable to hide her anger, she demanded,
“Your Highness, what do you mean by that? A monster? This place has been used for drinking water since ancient times!”
Ronin looked her straight in the eyes.
Strangely enough, Wyndham no longer seemed frightening.
“Lady Wyndham, I apologize if I startled you. But if you see it yourself, you’ll understand.”
At last, Ronin had found what they had been searching for.
Not because someone ordered them to.
But through their own efforts.
Thump. Thump.
Their heart pounded rapidly.
The fear hadn’t completely disappeared, but another emotion surged alongside it.
This time… I don’t want to back down.
It was an overwhelming fighting spirit.
Biting their lip, Ronin took the shovel from a nearby servant and swung it down with all their strength.
Clang! Clang!
Despite putting everything into it, the solid ice refused to break.
Even so, Ronin didn’t stop until their face was flushed red and their breathing became ragged.
“Haa… Haa…!”
The desperation in their actions left everyone frozen in place.
They could only whisper among themselves.
“…Shouldn’t we stop them?”
“But they said there’s a monster. What if there really is…?”
“Ahem!”
Even those whispers quickly died away.
The moment monsters were mentioned, Wyndham became visibly tense.
Even then, Ronin continued striking the ice.
Sweat poured down despite the freezing northern air, while their fingertips gradually went numb.
But giving up wasn’t an option.
After who knew how long…
Craaack!
A crack finally appeared.
The ice split with a thunderous sound.
Summoning every last ounce of strength, Ronin slammed the shovel into the widening fissure.
Craaack! Boom!
The ice finally split completely in two.
A murky crimson stain spread through the gap.
“Found it…!”
That was Ronin’s limit.
Their strength gave out, and they collapsed onto the ground with the shovel.
Considering they had never lifted anything heavier than a spoon before, it was only natural.
“Over… over there… Hurry…!”
Fortunately, they hadn’t lost consciousness.
Ronin weakly raised a hand and pointed toward the broken ice.
Everyone hesitated, looking to Ronin.
The first to move was Wyndham.
“…Dear God.”
That was all she said.
She stood frozen.
The servants cautiously approached her and peered into the cracked ice.
Then they saw it.
“I-It’s true…! There really is a monster’s corpse beneath the ice!”
Beneath the ice lay the corpse of a crow-like monster.
Its black feathers were soaked in blood, and the crimson stain was clearly the blood that had flowed from its body.
“How… How did a monster end up beneath the ice? Since when has it been here?”
“Then we’ve been drinking water contaminated by this monster…? Ugh!”
Wyndham watched in horror as one servant after another doubled over, vomiting.
She had nothing to say.
Everything she had so firmly denied had turned out to be true.
The very person who had uncovered the truth slowly stood up.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward Ronin.
Ronin’s gaze was unwavering.
It carried a determination to see this matter through to the end.
“Let’s… return to the castle.”
The words were quiet.
Yet they rang out more clearly than anyone else’s.
“I know how to solve this problem.”
The group returned to the castle immediately.
The moment they arrived, Ronin headed straight for the kitchen without taking a moment to rest.
“Excuse me, but may I borrow the kitchen? And a few utensils as well!”
“Huh? O-Of course… Go ahead…”
The kitchen servant was startled by Ronin’s sudden entrance, but seeing Wyndham following behind, they gave permission.
Receiving her silent support, Ronin immediately lit the stove.
Whoosh!
The next thing they did was boil water.
Of course, this water wasn’t melted from the perennial snow but drawn from a clean well.
Having personally confirmed the cause of Pam’s illness, Ronin no longer had any doubts.
Fortunately, fate was on Ronin’s side.
“For the rice porridge, I’ll use millet and potatoes instead of white rice… For herbs to reduce the fever, Tarsilla leaves and Moredin roots… And for restoring strength, cornelian cherries and ginger… Ah, they’re both here! Thank goodness. I brought them just in case, but I never imagined I’d end up using them like this…”
Muttering to themselves, Ronin carefully ground the medicinal herbs and slowly cooked the porridge.
After preparing both the medicinal porridge and herbal tea with utmost care, Ronin wasted no time.
Pam, just hold on a little longer!
Ronin’s footsteps toward the room where Pam lay resting felt as light as if they were flying.
