It’s Not Night - Chapter 111

“Lady, you have great courage, but you’re reckless. Step back for now.”

Viola stood right in front of her with a calm face. Andra hurriedly lowered her head. In the meantime, the soldier collapsed. He seemed to have fainted. Seeing this, Viola clicked her tongue and seized a nearby knight, ordering him to come forward.

“Where is the doctor? Go and take the soldier to him.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Fortunately, the doctor wasn’t far away. He noticed the commotion and was already running towards it. Viola led Andra to the carriage only after confirming that the knights were lifting the fallen soldier and moving him to the makeshift tent.

“Your Highness, but why are you here…”

“I wanted to have a glass of wine with you for a little while.”

Perhaps that was true, because Viola was holding up a small bottle of wine. Isn’t it stifling to stay in the carriage all the time? Viola naturally jumped on the carriage opened by the knight and groaned. Then she willingly extended her hand to Andra. Andra took that hand and climbed back into the carriage.

“Tell the prince that Lady Avellin and I are together, so there is no need to come around here. Also, tell Sir Airak to keep an eye on the soldier. We’ll get going as soon as the commotion dies down.”

Viola told the knight a few other things and closed the carriage door. Andra found Viola admirable as she kept calm despite the tumultuous situation and commanded this and that. Wasn’t this enough to qualify for the throne? That’s what she was thinking.

“Actually, coming here to have a glass of wine is an excuse. I came here because I wanted to ask for your opinion on something.”

Viola drew the curtains while placing the wine she had brought with her.

“…My opinion?”

“Actually, a letter has arrived from the spy that I had planted in Morgennis before. The two counts declared war on each other. Ah. It’s still too early to be surprised. The letter that arrived today is even greater.”

Teasing Andra, who was surprised by the mention of a declaration of war, Viola shrugged her shoulders in reply. Then she took out a letter from her inner pocket and flicked it over to Andra. It was the letter she received from her spy today. But what did this have to do with Andra? Can she show this to Andra so easily? In particular, wasn’t Andra considered to be Jonathan’s person?

“You look like you’re asking why I am showing this to you.”

When Andra hesitated to read the letter, Viola hit the mark.

“Shouldn’t there be at least one person left who has to use her head in the worst case scenario?”

“What?”

“That Airak will be following me around, so I should show him the letter? I have already given up on being protected by Airak,” said Viola, narrowing her brows.

“Does Your Highness want to say that we might get caught up in this war between the counts?”

“It’s not like we can get caught up in it. We are bound to get caught up in it. Because that’s how things turned out.”

Viola urged Andra with her eyes to read the letter. Reluctantly, Andra had no choice but to read the letter Viola gave her. She then looked shocked. Because the contents of the letter were more serious than she had thought.

“Is this true? No, in the first place…”

“It shouldn’t be? That a monster that disappeared a hundred years ago came down from the mountains and roamed around. It just woke up?”

“…….”

“That is not surprising either. There are monsters only around the area so that no one interferes in the war between the two counts.”

The contents of the letter from the princess’s spy were as follows.

It was said that the conflict between the two counts became irreversible, and eventually the two counts began to attack each other. In addition, at some point, monsters began to surround the two counts’ territories. Either not letting them out nor letting anything in.

“Lady, do you have any guesses? Why did the monster suddenly come down from the mountain range?”

“I…”

“I was wondering if it has something to do with the power you and Airak have.”

Viola spoke with a casual tone, though she stared at Andra with sharp eyes. Because of this, Andra was very ruffled, but she tried to pretend to be calm.

“It is difficult to understand what you’re saying.”

“Hmm, if it was Lady, you would have thought about that at least once. RIght? After the two of you fell into the dungeon, you became the Awakened who had disappeared before, and as soon as the two of you stepped here, the monsters that had disappeared a long time ago reappeared in the mountains.”

“It is a speculation, Your Highness. If that’s the case, there’s nothing I can’t do. Rather, I think it’s more credible that one of the two counts summoned the monster through an ancient ritual. If the power of the Awakened is a problem, something must have happened when the Awakened also gained power, but when I looked at the data…”

“Lady, I am not blaming you. What I mean to say is that if you and the monster are closely related, there is nothing wrong with making preparations in advance.”

Viola interrupted Andra in the middle. Andra realized for a moment that she had strayed the other way. After a few deep breaths, she opened her mouth again slowly.

“…To be honest, it’s not like I haven’t thought about it at all, as Your Highness said. However, it is difficult to conclude that the monsters descended from the Mezei Mountains because of the power of the Awakened. Instead, an assumption comes to mind.”

“What is it?”

“Maybe there was a dungeon near the two counts’ estates.”

“But as far as I know, monsters in dungeons can’t come out of dungeons?”

Viola was right. The monsters in the dungeon only exist inside the dungeon. Although dungeons attracted people, they rarely spat out monsters. That was a good thing. After the dungeon is created, they can control the surroundings so that people cannot approach it. There was no other damage, so there was no rush to attack.

But what if the opposite is true?

Viola frowned when she realized what Andra was saying.

“A dungeon was created a long time ago and swallowed monsters, but now it is being attacked and is spitting out monsters?”

“That’s a presumption.”

Attacked dungeons were bound to spit out what they had swallowed. That’s why they were trying to clear the dungeon with the greatest casualty as quickly as possible.

“Then why do the monsters not enter the territory of the two counts and just roam around it?”

“Isn’t there something in the estate?”

Viola was silent for a moment pondering Andra’s question.

“Yes, we’ll know when you go. Anyway, I’m going to need Lady and Sir Airak’s help. First of all, we have to break through the monsters and get into them.”

Viola got up. Andra followed her and tried to get up, but she was stopped by Viola.

“Lady, sit down a little longer and think about a contingency plan. If anything comes to mind, tell me right away.”

“…The Prince—”

“It doesn’t matter if you tell Jonathan. After all, Jonathan will come to me asking for my opinion. Rather, I will tell you in advance just in case.”

Before Viola could open the door, she turned to Andra.

“Make sure that Airak doesn’t do anything reckless.”

* * *

Upon entering the southwestern border area, the fallen soldier came to his senses. He said he was a soldier under Count Durs. After the war broke out, supplies were not delivered smoothly, so he desperately ran away after being attacked by a monster on the way to request support from a nearby territory. He added that he was the only one among his traveling comrades who survived.

“Tho, those, mo, monsters… ate the heads of my comrades…”

Dustin looked down at the soldier, who was speaking. What monster? A monster that only targets people’s heads. His eyes naturally frown.

Still, thanks to the soldier, it was possible to know that the monsters roaming around the two territories had serious aggression towards them. They should not approach easily. Especially with such a large group.

“What else? Were there any other peculiarities?”

“I-It moved so, so fast… I, I couldn’t look, closely… It’s just that it’s black…”

The soldier trembled and answered the question. Then, startled by his own shadow, he had a seizure. Two knights grabbed the crying and shaking soldier, and the doctor tried to calm him down. Dustin watched it silently before getting off the carriage.

Jonathan was standing outside. Dustin managed to hold himself back from scowling. Every time he saw the prince, he kept thinking about when he gave the ring to Andra the other day.

“Lord, how is the patient?”

“…His condition is serious. Rather, we must stop our march here.”

“Why?”

“The monster’s aggression is serious. We will have to move in small numbers to get into the territory.”

“I’ll have to meet my sister.”

Jonathan sighed and turned around. He didn’t expect things to turn out this way. Monster all of a sudden. The monster was an unexpected existence.

It has been a hundred years since monsters disappeared, except for when they were inside the dungeon. That kind of monster appeared when they were heading to Morgennis, so it wasn’t a good sign. Jonathan looks around for Viola, but oddly enough, the back of his head feels sore from earlier.

‘What?’

Jonathan turned his head and looked behind him. But no one was looking at him. Only Airak and a few knights were preparing for an unexpected departure.

‘That’s strange…’

Touching the back of his head, Jonathan turned his head again and looked at Andra, who was coming from far away, and straightened his face. He called Andra in a friendly voice.

“Anna.”

“Prince.”

Andra bowed to Jonathan with a small smile. Jonathan casually escorted her Andra, walking beside her.

“Why did you come all the way here?”

“I heard the soldier woke up the other day. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to know about the monsters…”

Andra paused her words and lifted her head to look over Jonathan’s shoulder. Jonathan also turned his head to follow her. There, Airak was looking in their direction, and the stiff face told them that he was currently uncomfortable. It must be because of Andra. Because the relationship between the two is not very good. Still, is there a need to show off so openly?

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

Andra suddenly turned her head to look at him when Jonathan asked. Jonathan gave Dustin a quick glance before adding his words.

“I mean the Lord. We’ll have to move together from now on, but it’s uncomfortable if you’re like that every time.”

“Ah, that’s right…”

“Why does he hate you so much… Be careful anyway.”

Andra smiled enough as Jonathan clicked his tongue. For some reason, she felt like Jonathan should be more careful with Dustin than herself.