It’s Not Night - Chapter 122

One by one, the gods started to leave, and before long, only Anat and the primordial god remained.

The primordial god looked down at her daughter, who had stopped crying. Her tear-stained eyes, drooping corners, and the darkly lowered lips hid for a moment that Anat was the god of wisdom and ideals. Anat was in front of the primordial god just as a daughter.

So, rather than scolding and reprimanding Anat, the primordial god spoke as though she was giving some advice.

“My daughter, think about what is right and what you really need to consider.”

“…Why are you not reprimanding me?”

Anat hesitantly asked, looking at the primordial god.

“…I tricked you, Mother, and I even rejected your wishes. I loved someone I shouldn’t have loved… Just for the sake of that love, I gave up the authority that you had given me. But do you still love me?”

“That’s why it depends on what you choose.”

Hearing those words, Anat lowered her head, crying sadly. She still had a hard time choosing what would be her priority. As the primordial god had no intention of urging a choice from Anat right away, she just stroked her daughter’s head.

* * *

The water filled up to the bottom of his chin. Dustin looked around in confusion. Where was he? He was currently in the water. It’s just like when he first fell into a dungeon…

As soon as the ominous feeling passed by, he saw Andra drowning and struggling not far away. Without hesitation, he swam to where Andra was.

‘Sh*t!’

Andra, who lacked strength, kept inhaling water, sinking more and more to the depths. Dustin quickly dragged Andra out to the water and checked her condition.

Soon after, Andra stopped breathing, so he gave her an artificial respiration. All of a sudden, Andra coughed ferociously, coughing up the water. Dustin shouted as he stroked Andra’s cold cheek.

‘Andra! Wake up!’

Hearing the cry, Andra’s eyelids moved slightly. And just as she was about to open her eyes, Dustin woke up.

He felt his heart pounding and looked around. It was inside the castle of Count Durs. He seemed to have fallen asleep after leaning against the wall to rest for a while. Dustin rubbed his throbbing hair to clear up the pouring sighs.

It had been three days since he had parted ways with Andra. During that time, Dustin never got a good night’s sleep. In addition to the situation he was facing, he couldn’t sleep at all because he was worried about Andra’s safety.

The princess told him to trust Avellin, but looking at the current situation, he couldn’t just turn a blind eye and wait. The ominous energy that he had felt from the moment he set foot in Morgennis still followed him around.

Eventually, Dustin got up and headed for Viola and Count Durs.

Behind the door, Viola was looking at the map and chatting with the Count’s vassals. The princess clicked her tongue. Less than an hour after pushing Dustin back to rest, he came back.

“Didn’t I tell you to get some sleep because we have to set off tonight?”

“I’ve had enough rest.”

“Who would believe you when you look like you’re about to drop dead?”

“…I’m okay. Isn’t it a priority to find out if the Prince and Lady Avellin are both safe?”

“You fool. Come here, we’re planning a raid on the castle.”

Viola gestured to Dustin and pointed to a map where small models were standing.

Soon, there was going to be an all-out war between the Durs County and the Norrant County. She tried to stop it somehow, but three days was not enough to stop the war. Viola and Dustin were only able to figure out that there was an unusual ulterior motive behind the Count’s conflict.

“Count Norrant plans to empty the castle leaving only the bare minimum of soldiers. It’s life and death in this battle. What the hell is making him lose his mind…”

“The person controlling the count from behind must have made it that way. Wouldn’t that be a good thing for us? It would be perfect for breaking into the castle by taking advantage of the careless opening in their defenses.”

“I am still in doubt, Sir. What do you think is the reason for trying to fight even till abandoning the castle? Don’t you think they’re hiding something?”

“Are you trying to say that Count Norrant is a decoy?”

When Dustin asked back, Viola didn’t deny it. In her opinion, a war between the two Counts was absurd and had no benefit whatsoever.

Waging a war would supposedly lead to someone’s gain in the end. However, through this war, any gains that might possibly go back to the two counts were virtually non-existent.

There was no need to continue this war as it would only leave both sides with losses. Even so, the two counts were eager to fight each other until the end.

In this way, Viola kept coming up with different assumptions.

‘What if the war between the two counts is a plot to hide something else?’

Monsters were still roaming around the county, and Count Durs, who seemed to have come to his senses for a moment, became engrossed in the war again as if he had completely forgotten something about Count Norrant’s sudden attack.

No matter how much Viola tried to mediate between them, they just couldn’t talk, so that was difficult for her. In the end, she was swept away by the waves and had no other choice but to come all the way here.

“Looks like there’s something else you want…”

The exact purpose behind instigating this fight was also not known. Viola was working her brains out to find a clue as much as possible within the limited information, But she was frustrated as the situation was growing serious.

“Isn’t that why I said I would go this time? If we search Count Norrant’s castle, we’ll find something.”

“Isn’t it just for your intention to find Lady Avellin?”

“If we find Lady Avellin, we may be able to get the clue Your Highness is looking for.”

Viola furrowed her brows for a moment, contemplating Dustin’s answer. She couldn’t understand what he was saying. However, Dustin didn’t elaborate any further, just staring at the Norrant County drawn on the map.

‘There must be something to do about our power in Morgennis…’

Ever since he got separated from Andra and came to the Durs County, Dustin had been replaying each and every conversation he had with Andra before. From the dungeons of Aslan Ruins, Andra always knew more about this than he did, and in the end, it was she who found the clues.

If he had known this, he would have had more conversations with her. Even if he regretted it belatedly, it was already in the past.

‘…This could also be an ordeal.’

Andra’s last words kept ringing in his head. Ordeal? What was the ordeal for? Dustin turned his head to stare at the Norrant County, where Andra might be.

He fell silent. Right now, all he wanted was for Andra to be safe.

* * *

“Count, don’t you think this is too much?”

Jonathan couldn’t stand it and questioned Count Norrant, who had been encamped in front of the Durs County and had been discussing war with his knights all day long. Only then did Count Norrant’s head turn to Jonathan.

“Your Highness.”

“It’s not right to fight like this with hundreds guarding the borderlands. What will Her Majesty think when she hears this news?”

“Count Durs has committed many sins and has played tricks with all my people, including myself. How can I just leave this matter be? It will be finished tomorrow. This Norrant will make that arrogant black wolf kneel at my feet.”

“You…”

Count Norrant’s eyes glinted with indescribable greed and conflict. Seeing this, Jonathan was at a loss for words.

Just two days ago, while wandering in the woods with the suddenly collapsed Andra, it was good to meet someone and come to the Norrant County, but the problem started after that.

Andra suddenly suffered from a high fever, and Count Norrant began preparing for an all-out war against Count Durs. Thinking of putting out the urgent fire first, Jonathan joined Count Norrant and tried to conciliate him and postpone the war. But the margrave, whose mind seemed to be somewhere, pretended to listen to the prince, but ignored it anyway.

There was nothing that Jonathan, with just himself, could do about this. Besides, Jonathan had to take care of Andra as she had a fever and couldn’t even wake up. If he were to incite the Count’s wrath any further, he could get kicked out along with the sick Andra.

And if Count Norrant were to secretly kill the two of them, it would be difficult for anyone else to find out that it was him who harmed them.

This was the fiefdom that the Norrant family had guarded for generations, and the people served their masters here more than the emperor in the capital. If they closed their mouths and shut it tightly, truly, no one would know.

Weren’t there monsters roaming around? If they said that monsters had hurt the two, that would be the end of the story.

‘I’d rather go back to Anna.’

When Jonathan could no longer speak, he gave the count a fed-up look and left the tent. The count did not even look at the prince who left without saying goodbye. Jonathan left and got a horse, heading for the Count’s castle where Andra was staying.

He urged the horse to run fast, but it was already late in the evening when he arrived at the castle. However, the atmosphere from the castle was unusual.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

Jonathan tried to ignore the ominous feeling and stepped into the castle. It wasn’t long before he realized that something was wrong.

The soldiers who should be guarding the castle, and all the servants disappeared into thin air.

The castle was empty. He couldn’t find anyone moving anywhere. Jonathan quickly ran to Andra’s room.

“Anna!”

When he pushed through the door, Andra should have been lying there, yet she was nowhere to be found. Only the crumpled blanket remained, as if to indicate that she had left. Everywhere he looked, Andra was nowhere to be seen.

Anna? Jonathan gulped and called her name just in case, but there was no answer.

‘What the hell is going on…’

Andra’s fever showed no signs of abating until Jonathan followed the Count into the camp. So, he begged the servants earnestly to take care of her and followed the Count.

Did she get up on her own because her fever went down like a miracle in the meantime?
If so, that would be a good thing. But the fact that the people in the castle had disappeared couldn’t stop bothering him.

Jonathan groped under the covers just in case. Faint warmth still lingered. It hadn’t been long since she left.

Then, where did she go?