episode_0099

“Thank you. I owe you my life.”

The woman guided into the barracks removed her snow-covered robe and smiled sweetly at the soldiers.

Her smile was so breathtakingly beautiful that the soldiers averted their eyes.

Or perhaps they were simply captivated by the figure hidden beneath the robe.

“It’s a bit embarrassing if you stare so intently…”

As the woman, her cheeks slightly flushed, covered herself with the robe draped over her arm, the soldiers snapped back to their senses and fumbled to respond.

“Ah! S-Sorry! Hey, bring some warm stew! You must be freezing.”

“Huh? Why me? What about you?”

“I’ll get a blanket, so hurry up, you bastard.”

After shoving his comrade out, the soldier closed the tent flap and sat down beside the woman.

“You must be freezing. Have some stew—it’ll warm you right up.”

“Weren’t you going to get a blanket?”

“Honestly, we don’t have any spares. Ah, don’t misunderstand! I’m not trying anything—”

“I know. I’m not worried. The proud soldiers of the Kingdom of Gilnias would never lay hands on an innocent woman.”

There were several lies woven into that short exchange.

Blankets were overflowing due to the daily deaths of soldiers, and the man had every intention of taking advantage of the woman.

To divert the conversation, she asked another question.

“But I don’t see any other soldiers here? Are the two of you guarding this large area alone?”

“Of course not! The others went to gather firewood. These days, the cold is more terrifying than the Demon King’s army.”

“I see.”

“Are you afraid the Demon King’s forces might follow you? Don’t worry. Our camp even has the Holy Knight Commander! Even if a high-ranking demon attacks, he’ll repel them.”

As if it were his own achievement, the man puffed out his chest and boasted.

“The Holy Knight Commander… you mean Grace van Rodrick?”

“You know of him? Are you from the Holy Kingdom?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As the woman smiled faintly and the soldier chattered excitedly, the other soldier returned with the stew.

Upon seeing his comrade laughing and joking with the woman in his absence, he scowled.

“Damn it, you bastard! You—”

“Hey, hey. Sorry. Let’s talk outside for a sec.”

He snatched the stew from his comrade’s hands and handed it to the woman, then patted the angry soldier’s shoulder as the two stepped out of the tent.

“You bastard. Weren’t you supposed to get a blanket? You had time to laugh and flirt while I was boiling the stew?”

“Quit whining. This is good for you too. The mood’s perfect with her. Would it be the same if all three of us were there?”

There was a stark difference between a man and woman meeting alone and a third person joining the conversation.

The latter made romantic exchanges difficult, but when alone, even non-existent feelings could suddenly spark.

“Make sense. But isn’t she married?”

“She said she was with her husband when demons attacked. She believes he’s still alive, but honestly, what are the chances? If I play my cards right, she’s ripe for the picking.”

From her words alone, she seemed naive and inexperienced with the world.

Women like that were easier to seduce in times of crisis.

Because they couldn’t endure without something to cling to.

“Fine. Let’s say it works. What’s in it for me?”

“Ugh, you’re hopeless. No wonder you’re still a virgin.”

“Wanna die?”

“If I succeed, I’ll share. Got it, you bastard? Understood?”

Once a woman gave herself to a stranger, how strongly could she refuse another?

His comrade’s persuasion worked like a charm.

“Before you freeze to death, you better get laid too. We’re suffering in this damn cold to protect the country—don’t we deserve a pretty woman?”

“Damn right! Fuck yeah!”

Though he had no noble sense of duty to the country, he nodded vigorously.

A coward like him could never seduce a woman on his own. If he helped his smooth-talking comrade, he might at least get scraps.

Watching his comrade leave for the watchtower, the soldier, Alex, muttered under his breath.

“Tch… but she’s exactly my type…”

Honestly, he didn’t want to share.

Her looks were undeniably the most beautiful he’d ever seen.

But what really drew him in was what she’d said when she refused his hand—

“I have a husband, so I can’t hold another man’s hand.”

That’s it. That’s a real woman.

In a world that prized female purity, widows weren’t ideal marriage candidates.

But to him, the essence of valuing virginity wasn’t about the body—it was about the heart.

She might not be a virgin. She might have married and lain with another man. That wasn’t the point.

Loyalty to her man. Keeping faith with the one she loved. That was an incomparably precious value.

A woman who’d lain with one man many times could still be won over, but a woman with a promiscuous heart could never be truly had.

To Alex, with his firm (delusional) convictions, this woman was perfection.

In these times, there were plenty of virgins in villages, but they were only virgins because they hadn’t found a better deal yet.

They were busy trying to sell their first experience for the highest price. The disgustingly mercenary attitudes of some women had long since sickened him.

Jumping ship the moment something better came along—that wasn’t love. That was an auction.

“Tch… should I just betray him?”

His childhood friend? The guy he’d grown up with, enlisted with, and spent years in the army alongside?

The man agonized endlessly.

He didn’t even realize that, by this point, he had no right to talk about love himself.

“Grace!”

As Grace returned to the camp with a cart loaded with firewood and game, a knight urgently called out to him.

But the excited tone of his voice, oddly elated, clashed with Grace’s exhausted expression, creating an eerie dissonance.

After a year of unending winter, no one had the energy to rejoice over trivial matters.

“Look! The sky is clearing!”

At the knight’s words, Grace looked up. For the first time in who knew how long, warm sunlight streamed down.

The blizzard had lifted.

The ceaseless snowstorm that had tormented them 24/7, 365 days a year, had finally stopped.

Knights and soldiers alike embraced each other, cheering.

They raised their hands and roared in celebration.

Amid the festive atmosphere, Grace alone broke into a cold sweat.

“Something… something’s wrong.”

“Huh? What do you mean? The endless winter is finally over—what’s there to fear—”

“That’s exactly what’s strange! Why? Why did the blizzard stop so suddenly?”

Grace’s fearful demeanor left the knight flustered.

“W-Well, seasons change naturally, don’t they? It started without reason, so it can end without reason… Wasn’t the past year the real anomaly?”

“What if there was a reason? What if this disaster was caused by someone’s will—and now they’ve chosen to end it?”

“But who besides a god could do such a thing?”

“I don’t know. But if my theory is right, the end of the blizzard isn’t the end of the calamity. It’s the beginning.”

The knight tried to reassure Grace, but it was futile.

With a haunted expression, Grace swiftly led the troops back to camp.

The knight shouted toward the watchtower.

“Sentries! Any abnormalities?”

“None! We found a woman, and Alex is looking after her!”

“See? There’s nothing to worry about.”

Grace, deaf to his words, sprinted to the watchtower. Beyond the walls, the blizzard still raged.

“Where is the woman you found?”

“Uh, in the third barrack—”

Before the answer was complete, Grace bolted toward the tent.

“W-Wait, Grace!”

If his idiot subordinate was already pulling down his pants, they were truly screwed.

The soldier hastily chased after Grace.

“Damn it, what’s gotten into him?”

Reluctantly, the knight followed.

Screech— Grace skidded to a halt, then stormed toward the tent as if to tear it open.

Inside…

“Grace! Let me explain—”

“You’ve returned, Sir Grace!”

Nothing was amiss.

Alex was wrapping a blanket around the woman while stirring tea with a teaspoon.

“…As you can see, Alex is tending to the lady while I stand guard.”

The soldier explained the situation plainly. The knight, arriving late, heaved a deep sigh.

“Are you satisfied now? Did you really think our soldiers would let a dangerous person into camp? Please, rest easy.”

The knight patted Grace’s back. But his expression didn’t improve.

Instead, pale-faced and trembling, he spoke.

“Are your eyes just holes in your heads?”

“Huh?”

“How is that not a threat?!”

Of course, they couldn’t see or sense what Grace could—lacking divine power—but he couldn’t help but shout.

He was so terrified that if he didn’t scream at someone, he’d collapse.

He could see it.

The immense, ominous aura radiating from the woman.

“Ah, finally. Someone I can talk to.”

The woman’s innocent expression twisted.

Into a cold, cruel, merciless smile.

“Who are you?”

“My, how hurtful. Can’t recognize me just because my hair changed color? Hmm, did I get prettier?”

Tilting her head with a finger to her cheek, she looked adorable—but unbearably sinister.

Now, even the two soldiers and the knight sensed something was wrong.

Drawing their weapons, they surrounded her from three sides.

“L-Li… Liel?!”

It didn’t take Grace long to recognize her.

Aside from her now-black hair, she hadn’t changed at all.

Yet he hadn’t recognized her at first because her aura was entirely different.

Unlike the sorrowful, suffering yet hopeful hero of the past, her face now brimmed with confidence.

A cheerful smile played on her lips, and her gleaming eyes radiated madness.

“You… you died in the capital—”

“Died? Why would I die? I was the one who destroyed the capital.”

“You did that?! How… how could you?!”

“Mm. It’s only fair, right? I sacrificed more than anyone, fought harder than anyone—and this is how I was repaid. How could you all live happily as if nothing happened? You should suffer too. More than I did.”

The hero he’d known and revered was gone. Trembling with rage and grief, Grace bit his lip and asked:

“Was the blizzard… your doing too?”

“Of course.”

“Why?! Countless innocent lives—”

Arina waved her hand dismissively, cutting him off.

“Ugh, spare me the whining. My revenge has only just begun.”

Then she flicked her wrist.

Fwing!

A spell grazed Grace’s ear, leaving a shallow cut.

But the magic that missed him didn’t stop there.

BOOM! CRASH—!

The wall collapsed. A ten-meter-tall barrier crumbled with a deafening roar.

For seconds, the sound of rubble crashing echoed before fading—only to be replaced by another noise.

Thudthudthudthud—!

The ground trembled faintly.

The distant sound grew louder.

Grace, the knights, the soldiers—all watched.

As demons surged through the blizzard, charging toward them.

Standing before the advancing horde, Arina turned her back to them and delivered their death sentence.

“This is my repayment for everything you’ve done.”

“A-Ah…”

Alex—who just moments ago had been fantasizing about bedding the beauty before him—dropped his sword.

In the face of death, his feeble resistance meant nothing.

His legs gave out, and mercifully, his end came swiftly.

“Guh… kkh—! Hah…”

The barracks, now a ruin with no trace of its former shape.

The sole survivor, miraculously alive, dragged himself forward with his arms, his legs broken.

Trying to stay silent, in case any demons remained.

“Huff… kh… haa…”

He stifled his sobs. He wanted to live.

And he wanted… to see another person.

Anyone.

“What are you doing?”

A voice. A foot blocking his path. Desperately, he looked up—only for despair to bloom in his tear-filled eyes.

The woman who had commanded the demons stood before him.

“H-Hic… please… spare me… I have a wife… a daughter waiting…”

A pitiful plea for life.

Arina granted it easily.

“Sure. I’ll spare you.”

Not only that—she even healed his broken legs with magic.

“…Y-You’re really letting me live?”

“Mm. In exchange, deliver a message for me. You’ve chosen a new king by now, right?”

He had no intention of refusing.

Terror bred absolute obedience. Nodding, he asked what to say.

“W-What should I tell them…?”

“Tell them—your true winter has come.”