TML 07

Chapter 7

Perhaps because of his growing impatience, at some point all the books in Rian’s hands came to be related to mountains.

Most of them were compiled by adventurers—books detailing the mistakes beginners often make in the mountains, or the proper ways to respond when encountering wild beasts or monsters deep in the forest. The study was filled with books of every sort.

How much time had passed like that?

When he lifted his head, realizing he could no longer make out the letters, he found that the sun had already set and darkness had crept in.

As if on cue, the door to the study opened and maids entered with dinner. Perhaps due to his regular eating habits, his stomach began demanding food as well. Soon after, candles were lit and the meal was laid out.

“Brother, let me join you today.”

Just as Rian was about to pick up his fork, a clear, bright voice announced a visitor. He didn’t even need to look. Who else here could possibly call him “brother”?

It was his one and only younger sister, Regina.

To Rian, who had never truly had a family in his previous life, the very thought of having a sibling filled him with endless affection and warmth.

Regina, who had avoided visiting him so as not to disturb his reading, suddenly wanting to have dinner together likely meant only one thing—tomorrow, he would be leaving on his inspection tour.

Despite being the younger sibling, she had always fussed over her brother. The former lord had found this deeply displeasing.

But Rian didn’t. On the contrary, it made him happy. Being worried over and cared for by someone always made a person feel good.

To protect something this precious, he would have to grow strong. And to do that, finding the lair was an absolute necessity.

Smiling more brightly than ever at Regina, Rian made that vow in his heart.

“Milord! Where do you think you’re going?!”

Oswald had even discarded his heavy armor as he stubbornly chased after Rian. Unaware of it himself, his pursuit put an expression of pure dismay on Rian’s face as he ran ahead.

How had he not thought of him?

Oswald—the old knight who had loyally served the previous lord with absolute devotion until the very end.

Rian had slipped away under the pretense of visiting a brothel during his inspection tour, only to be caught by him.

If only he would pretend not to see it like the other knights. But true to his old-fashioned nature, the aging knight dragged his body along and continued the chase relentlessly.

At first, Rian had believed he could easily shake him off and moved with calculated detours.

But Oswald’s persistence was terrifying. Now, Rian was running with every ounce of strength he had just to avoid being caught.

It had already been three months since he began searching the mountain range.

Though he had used the inspection tour as an excuse to leave the castle, Rian had not neglected his duties of surveying the territory.

However, every so often he would stop by a brothel under the guise of resting, then secretly venture alone into the Compton Mountain Range. It was only possible because he deliberately chose routes through territories connected to the mountains.

Mountain trekking had not been as dangerous as he expected. Over the past two months, Rian had not encountered a single animal or monster that threatened his life.

At first, he found this strange, but now that he knew the reason, his heart felt much lighter.

A dragon—feared even by humans in its lifetime—was likewise an object of terror to animals and monsters alike.

Driven by instinct, their fear was far greater, and they would not even approach the vicinity of the lair.

As a result, even though the dragon was long extinct, the area around the lair remained eerily quiet.

For Rian, who wasn’t even sure if he had the right location, this was at least a small comfort.

The attendants had never shown much interest in protecting the young lord to begin with, and as long as Rian was at a brothel, they were free to enjoy themselves. Until yesterday, everything had gone smoothly.

But with Oswald joining in, “smooth” was no longer the word.

Despite Rian being in disguise, Oswald somehow recognized him, and the distance between them was steadily closing.

Discovering the lair had to be done alone. As a newly appointed lord, Rian had no one he could fully trust yet.

Of course, he knew how devoted Oswald had been to his former master, but there was no guarantee that even he would remain unchanged when faced with a treasure as immense as a dragon’s lair.

Pulling his hood lower, Rian ran and ran. The fifty-year-old veteran knight, driven by duty, ran just as fiercely behind him.

After running for a long time, Rian suddenly veered off onto a mountain path.

“M-Milord!”

Though the terrain wasn’t yet treacherous, this was undeniably part of the Compton Mountain Range. Startled by Rian’s sudden move, Oswald hurried after him.

“You really never get tired… huff, huff.”

Oswald’s relentless pursuit was driving Rian to the brink. His stamina was nearly exhausted.

No—it had already been exhausted some time ago. He had pushed on, chanting “just a little more” to himself.

“Damn it!”

Glancing back at the ever-closer Oswald with resentment, Rian forced his trembling body to move again.

The terrain grew steeper and more rugged. As grass and trees increasingly obstructed his view, Oswald began losing sight of Rian repeatedly.

“Milord! This is far too dangerous! Please come back!”

Seeing Rian diligently carry out his inspection duties lately, Oswald had thought the young lord was finally maturing. True, he often stopped at brothels, but that was understandable for a man.

However, the moment he saw his young master slipping out of a brothel in disguise today, a sense of unease overwhelmed him.

Thinking of the previous lord, who surely could not rest peacefully knowing he had left such a young master behind, Oswald’s chest still ached.

If anything were to happen to him, Oswald would have no face to meet his lord in death.

He had no idea why Rian was doing this deep in the mountains, but Oswald continued shouting with all his might.

Though Rian could not see him through the thick foliage, the echoing voice prevented him from stopping. He alternated between resting briefly and running, desperately trying to shake him off.

Was it because his mind was growing frantic?

Without the slightest hesitation, Rian plunged into the dense brush blocking his way.

“AAAH!”

A scream burst from him as an icy emptiness rose from below. Flailing his arms, Rian realized too late—

Behind the bushes lay a bottomless cliff.

As he fell past the sheer drop, terror filled his eyes more than ever before.

He couldn’t die like this.

He had only just begun a new life.

He refused to die so meaninglessly again.

Fear surged over him like a tidal wave, but Rian stretched both hands toward the cliff with all his strength.

“Ggh!”

A burning, searing pain followed.

Naturally so. Everything in the world falls downward. Trying to stop that force by sheer will could never be painless.

Clenching his teeth, Rian poured every last bit of strength into his hands, praying that something—anything—would catch.

Crack!

The sound of a finger breaking rang chillingly clear in his ears.

One finger, then two, then three. The pain was like being burned alive, but Rian did not let out a single groan. Blood seeped between his clenched lips as tears streamed from his eyes.

Having already experienced death once, Rian’s obsession with living was far stronger than that of ordinary people.

Thud!

Perhaps his desperation reached the heavens.

His clothing caught on the brittle branches of a tree growing out of the cliff face, stopping his fall.

But the recoil from the impact twisted his body, smashing his head violently against the cliff. The shock rendered him unconscious.

—Milord— Milord—

As time passed, Rian slowly opened his eyes to a distant echo. The next moment, he gasped sharply, breathing raggedly.

For a brief instant, he almost cheered at the realization that he was alive.

But then he felt nothing beneath his feet. The first thing that entered his blurred vision was a cold, jagged edge of rock.

Whooo—

As the wind blew, his body swayed gently back and forth. Swallowing hard, Rian carefully turned his neck and eyes to look around.

Above him was a clear blue sky. Below lay jagged rocks and water of unfathomable depth.

Only then did he fully realize that, by sheer luck, his clothes had caught on a pine tree growing defiantly out of the cliff.

It was an absurd situation, but at least he wasn’t dead yet. That alone gave him a tiny bit of relief.

“Ugh…”

At that moment, excruciating pain surged through both hands. A cutting agony, like being slashed by a blade, mixed with a burning heat that spread from his fingertips through his entire body.

How badly was he injured?

Lowering his gaze as much as he could, Rian examined himself.

All he could see were arms drenched in blood. The damage was so severe he couldn’t even tell which fingers were broken.

—Milooord— Miiilooord—

Then, once again, a voice echoed into his ears.

“Oswald!”

Had his presence ever been this welcome? Color rushed back into Rian’s face as he forgot the pain and shouted with all his strength.

“Oswald! I’m here! Over here!”

His voice echoed through the mountains. Hearing it, Oswald’s searching calls echoed back once more.

But no matter how loudly Rian shouted, it was useless. Finding someone by echoes in the mountains was impossible from the start.

Crack.

After a long while—when his throat had grown so hoarse he could barely make a sound—a sinister noise snapped Rian to attention.

‘No way…’

A chill ran down his spine. Desperately, he twisted his head to look near the tree’s roots.

“……!”

His already pale face turned deathly white.

An ill-timed surge of anger rose within him. After growing so boldly through solid rock, could the tree really not bear even his weight?

Watching the roots being pulled out one by one, Rian struggled to hold onto his fading consciousness.

It was too late to call for Oswald’s help. He was surely somewhere above, but the height was immense, and time was running out.

‘Can these hands hold?’

Though the cliff was sheer, there were fortunately many small ledges where hands and feet could find purchase. He didn’t know how long his broken fingers would last, but first, he had to get off the tree.

Fear sent his heart racing wildly. He stood at the crossroads between ending his second life in a fall—or surviving.

Biting his lip, Rian widened his eyes and reached for the cold cliff with both hands and feet.

“Ggh…”

A pain-filled groan slipped from his lips. Broken or not, all ten fingers felt as though they were burning away. The pain was so overwhelming it nearly stole his mind.

But because he had to live, Rian forced even more strength into his arms and began climbing the cliff.

“Huff… huff…”

An eternity seemed to pass. No matter how many times he looked up, nothing changed. The ground remained impossibly far away.

His entire body was soaked in sweat. His hair clung to his face as though he had been caught in the rain. Sweat stung his eyes.

Yet he felt no more pain. His body, pushed beyond its limits, had gone numb. Both arms and legs were completely devoid of sensation.

‘…Is this how I die?’