“I have realized now that it’s better for me to be beside you and watch over you so that you won’t be able to do anything reckless.”
On the day of departure, Riftan murmured darkly as he watched her climb into the carriage and Max flushed at the statement. He appeared half-terrified at the thought of what she would do if he left her behind. His eyes were boiling with frustration and his face was cold, like an iron mask. Having spent a few days without a good night’s sleep worrying about the thought, he seemed to be more nervous than ever.
“I’ve never seen anything good from leaving you behind. It would be beneficial to my sanity if I put you where my eyes can reach you.”
Instead of retorting, Max sat silently in her seat and nodded obediently. He narrowed her eyes at her as if she was scornful, then bent over to cover her body with a coat made of fur. Despite being furious to the tip of his head, he carefully tended to her comfort by placing the charcoal cast iron heater on the floor of the carriage and made sure the windows did not leak.
“It will take a day and a half to get to Robern Castle. We will be moving non-stop until we cross the Anatolium territories, so tell me if you’re uncomfortable.”
“A-Alright.”
Riftan hesitated as if he could not shake his doubts away, but eventually sighed and closed the carriage’s door. Max pulled up the carriage curtains and looked out the window. About twenty knights were sitting on top of their horses, standing in a row on the left and right sides of the carriage. Hebaron could not figure out why he had been chosen to remain in the castle to maintain Anatol’s defense and, instead, Uslin and Elliot were made to lead the journey. Riftan gave them instructions and sat on top of his horse and before long, the carriage began to roll slowly.
Max huddled as much as she could so as not to freeze in the cold air, and silently gazed at the scenery passing through the window. The coldest period had passed, but the season was still winter. The ground was icy and slippery, and on the left and right sides of the road, the sleet that fell last night sparkled like diamonds. She looked worriedly at the knights driving horses in the cold east wind, lowered the curtains, and leaned her back against the seat.
In two days, a battle more intense than fighting a group of monsters would commence, she had to stock up on her physical strength as much as possible. She gently closed her eyes and recalled the indifferent faces of King Ruben and the cruel and stubborn face of her father. Dealing with them would be ten times more difficult than dealing with an army of trolls. In a gloomy but humble atmosphere, the Knights left Anatol in the blink of an eye and ran to the northeast. The entire world was silent, like it had fallen into a deep sleep, so she had no worry about encountering goblins or werewolves even once in their journey. As soon as they left the Anatolium, Max gave Elliot a skeptical look.
“Du-during the winter season… it seems that the monsters’ activities are also decreasing.”
The knights were gathered in the middle of a field to prepare lunch in a full swing. Elliot, who was building a bonfire, looked at her with a slight smile.
“That’s because we have scoured the whole Anatolium over the past season, sweeping out all the monster habitats in the area.”
Ruth, who was tearing up jerky into a large pot, added an explanation. “In the first place, the movement of the monsters was caused by the excessive increase in the number of trolls. The ecosystem of the monsters is closely connected, so when one of them expands their territory, the other monsters seem to move in search of a new habitat. Since the Allied forces nearly wiped out the trolls that were spreading at a terrifying rate in the north, the monsters that have gone south must have returned to their original habitat.”
