Chapter 5 – We Have Something to Discuss, Just the Two of Us
“I didn’t realize that was your hobby, Sir.”
Winter smiled beneath her black veil.
The three girls inside the room exchanged looks without speaking.
She’s enjoying this.
Winter had been troubled by Kyle for days. After a brief pause, Kyle placed a hand over his chest and bowed politely.
“My apologies.”
“Oh my. How obedient of you.”
“If I weren’t, you’d just scold me, wouldn’t you?”
So he’s not going to back down easily.
Winter let out a soft laugh.
“That’s enough. All three of you, leave.”
“What? Suddenly?”
“Yes.”
The girls protested in unison, but Winter’s expression didn’t change.
“We can’t leave you alone with him!”
“Right! Who knows what disrespectful thing he might do!”
“I’ll be fine. Go.”
Reluctantly, the girls stepped outside. The door shut.
Kyle glanced at it without much interest.
“You didn’t have to send them away.”
“We have something to discuss. Just the two of us.”
She lies so smoothly.
He didn’t like that.
Kyle sat down on the soft sofa.
“I heard you want to get closer to me.”
“Who’s spreading that rumor?”
“One of my attendants has sharp ears.”
So they’re not only talented with holy power. He’d been caught off guard.
“Yes,” Kyle said coolly. “I have no intention of leaving until you step outside.”
“So you’re not here just to become a fiancé who lives comfortably off me?”
“Does it look like I’m working this hard just to loaf around?”
Petty man.
Silence fell between them.
Kyle spoke first.
“I apologize for being rude yesterday. But… if things stay like this, aren’t you the one at a disadvantage?”
He’s trying to make me acknowledge my position.
Winter smiled calmly.
“Unlike you, I have nothing to lose.”
“From what I overheard, that’s not entirely true.”
“You really do have a bad habit. For example?”
Kyle pointed to the bowl of water beside her.
“That bowl. The one you were communicating through. It was His Holiness, wasn’t it?”
Her brow twitched beneath the veil.
“You seem concerned about him. I fought on the battlefield alongside him once. He was gentler than rumors claim.”
“And?”
So she does care about the man who raised her.
“As his adopted daughter, shouldn’t you at least ease one of his worries?”
Winter’s expression turned cold.
“I’m touched by how sincerely you wish to take me.”
“Thank you.”
She clenched her teeth and stood abruptly.
Now what is she planning?
Before he could react, she stepped closer.
“What are—”
He fell silent.
Still wearing her veil, she leaned closer. The scent of jasmine drifted toward him.
When her lips were visible through the thin veil, she stopped.
“…Will you solve one problem for me? So that I can trust you.”
Her voice was sweet enough to make most men shiver.
Kyle only scoffed.
“Is there something even the Saint can’t solve?”
“Of course.”
She leaned even closer, their breaths nearly touching.
“I’m a Saint, not a god.”
“If I solve it, what do I gain?”
“My trust.”
She stepped back and wrapped herself in a white sable fur coat.
“Come with me. I’ll give you a task that suits you. Or is my trust not enough?”
“…No.”
Kyle stood.
“That’s enough.”
***
Atlans lay in the northernmost region of the Holy Kingdom. The sanctuary stood deep within, while a small village faced east.
To the west of the sanctuary lay a camellia forest planted by past Saints.
Crunch.
A dead branch snapped beneath Kyle’s foot.
The forest felt eerie. The trees were blackened, lifeless, as though burned.
“What are we doing here?” he asked.
“This is the camellia forest. A place I cherish.”
As they walked deeper, unease grew stronger.
The trees were withered, leaves yellowed and fallen.
Winter stopped.
“We’re here.”
The tree she pointed at was completely consumed by an unknown dark force.
It was barely recognizable as a tree.
Winter reached toward its bark.
“…What are you doing?”
Something about it felt ominous.
Ignoring him, she touched it.
Nothing happened.
“This used to be one of my favorites,” she said softly. “But six months ago, the forest began to die.”
“It could be frost damage.”
She shook her head.
“These trees are resistant to cold. And there’s no sign of pests.”
Kyle examined a fallen leaf.
It was blackened, not eaten.
“In just half a year. For three hundred years, this forest survived storms and disease.”
“You’re saying…”
“Yes. It’s likely the demons.”
“That’s impossible,” Kyle replied instinctively. “This is where the Saint resides. No demon would dare enter.”
“That’s the problem.”
Winter sat on a protruding root and crossed her legs.
“My sanctuary protects all of Atlans. I’ve never heard of a demon who can nullify it.”
Holy power and demonic power were opposites.
The sanctuary required immense power to maintain.
Winter spoke quietly.
“I told you this wouldn’t be a losing deal.”
Kyle looked at her.
“I judge people with my own eyes.”
She had lived her life misunderstood. It was only natural she trusted what she saw.
“What I want is for you to investigate why the forest is dying and eliminate the cause.”
“You’ll trust me just for that?”
Kyle peeled a bit of bark from the dead tree. It crumbled into ash.
Winter nodded.
“There’s someone I want to show this forest to.”
Her mother.
She clutched her golden rosary tightly.
“I don’t have time.”
“If you can solve this, I’ll know whether you’re truly the Silver Knight.”
Kyle thought it absurd.
But she looked serious.
“You’re strange,” he said.
“Are you afraid?”
A dangerous smile crossed his face.
“No.”
He threw off his coat, revealing the solid build of a seasoned warrior.
Time was short.
He placed a hand on his sword.
“Three days will be enough.”
