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Chapter 06
“Ahh—! Ha….”
Standing alone in the empty snowfield with nothing changing around me made a wave of self-loathing creep in.
“I’m losing my mind…”
Maybe I’d been tricked by that even more devilish imperial princess than I thought.
Maybe she just sent me here to suffer for a while. That reasonable suspicion flickered briefly—
Flap, flap.
“Flap?”
A loud flapping sound came from behind me.
In an instant, I drew my sword and turned, striking down in one fluid motion.
“Kyaaaaaaak—!”
A scream of pain tore through the air.
A huge black bird collapsed into the snow, thrashing its wings and spraying blood in all directions.
But I didn’t have time to look at it properly.
“…This is insane.”
The sight before me made a groan escape my lips.
Massive black birds—each the size of a grown man’s thigh—were flying in from one direction.
Without hesitation, I moved.
Dodge. Slash.
Pure instinct.
“I’ll provide cover.”
From behind me, Ten stepped in, shielding my back as he emerged from concealment.
After that, it was nothing but endless cutting and cutting.
Only when piles of black bird corpses had formed around us did it finally stop.
“That insane princess…”
Panting, I drove my sword into the ground to support myself.
Even during the life-or-death battles of the Pretto War three years ago, I had never gone through something like this.
“You should see this.”
Ten, rummaging through one of the corpses, handed me a stone the size of an adult’s fist.
Tiny blue grains were scattered across its dark surface like stars.
Depending on the angle, they shimmered faintly—like glowing plankton drifting in a night sea.
“You’ll recognize it immediately.”
Her voice echoed faintly in my ears.
When I asked whether we needed an expert in minerals, Princess Melisa had only smiled slightly and told me to just go.
“…It’s breathtaking.”
Exactly as she said.
At a glance, I knew.
It was blue diamond I had never seen before.
The value alone would be enormous, but it was the first time I thought an uncut raw stone could be beautiful.
After further inspection, this would be worth risking everything for.
I knew how valuable blue diamonds were.
But how did she know this place had a mine—and that raw blue diamonds had such distinctive traits?
One thing became certain.
“She was never a fool to begin with.”
And if that were true, then her timing of revealing herself now also made sense.
She knew the second prince would send assassins.
With the emperor nearing death, she could no longer afford to stay hidden.
“…Will you proceed?”
“…We will.”
I walked toward the direction the black birds had come from.
Following their trail, the direction soon became unclear.
Which way was it again?
I frowned, trying to retrace my steps.
“Ten.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Ten bowed like a loyal subordinate.
I exhaled slowly, gripping my sword tightly as if preparing for something inevitable.
“Ten… scream for me.”
*****
“I’m back, Your Highness.”
Duke Colin arrived as if nothing had happened.
It was deep night—time for ending the day and preparing for sleep.
He didn’t care in the slightest.
His coat was torn, soaked, and stained with blood.
His hair and shoulders were still wet.
A fresh scratch marked his cheek.
He looked like someone who had been through hell.
“You’re back faster than expected.”
He should’ve needed at least three days for the round trip.
Instead, he returned in two—meaning he likely ran without rest.
After a brief hesitation at my nightwear, he placed a cloth-wrapped object on the table.
Thud.
A heavy sound.
“How did you know?”
“Does it matter how I knew?”
I lazily lifted the object.
The cloth unfurled in the wind.
A raw blue diamond.
“…It really exists.”
That deep, starless black stone filled with glowing blue light.
A soft exclamation escaped me.
It was exactly like in the webtoon.
After admiring it for a while, he spoke.
“Shall I proceed as you said?”
“Good work.”
“Then I will begin acquiring Ine—”
“Talk tomorrow. It’s late.”
“We should move quickly. Hiring miners—”
“Duke Colin.”
At my firm call, he stopped.
“Tomorrow.”
He glanced around the dim room, then gave a small bow.
“…I will take my leave for today. I’ll return early—”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“…Pardon?”
He blinked slowly, as if he didn’t understand.
“You told me to talk tomorrow.”
“I said we’ll talk tomorrow. I didn’t say leave.”
“…Isn’t that the same thing?”
Not even close.
He’d come all this way, exhausted, bleeding, and still expected to be sent away at night?
“No. You’re staying here.”
“Excuse me?”
“Lena!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The maid rushed in.
“Wait, Your Highness, why am I staying here—”
“Escort the Duke. He’s staying overnight.”
“Understood. This way, my lord.”
“Your Highness!”
“Go quickly. Don’t tire Lena out.”
“….”
With a sigh, he followed her out.
*****
As he walked behind Lena, he finally checked the time.
10:30 PM.
It was already the time to end the day.
Only then did he realize how late he had come.
Too rushed.
He thought back to everything.
The black bird nest—no, the mine—had been enormous.
And the raw blue diamond he had picked up was not even carefully selected.
Even so, it had been breathtaking.
Ten’s report still showed no hidden supporters behind the princess.
No teacher. No faction. No backing.
She was alone.
That fact sent a chill through him.
Why had his mind gone back to her hand on his neck?
Why had he come all the way back without hesitation?
He hadn’t even known what to ask her once he arrived.
He exhaled.
“Where are we going?”
“Bath water has been prepared. You can use it immediately.”
“…Prepared?”
“Yes. It was the Princess’s order.”
“…She knew I would come today?”
“From the day after you first visited, preparations began.”
“What?”
The maid continued calmly.
“She said you’d likely arrive earlier than scheduled.”
“….”
Even whiskey and snacks were prepared.
Exactly what he usually drank when he couldn’t sleep.
“…She prepared this too?”
“Yes.”
Nothing about this made sense anymore.
Somehow, this was more confusing than the frozen wilderness of Ine.
