RODH Chapter 32

32.

With the rattling sound, silence fell over the room.

Lucian, Alvis, and Bain all pretended to be oblivious, as if they had planned it together.

Then Peter spoke.

“Just now… what was that sound?”

Lucian cut in before he could finish.

“Sound? What sound do you mean?”

He tried to play it off casually, but the words were drowned out by another loud rattle from the wardrobe.

Rattle!

Peter stood up from his seat.

In truth, he had been eyeing the wardrobe for a while now.

As the captain of the imperial guard, he had a habit of suspecting anything out of the ordinary—and once again, that instinct proved correct.

“Sir Hubert, please calm down—”

Just as Alvis began to recall the spell for silence magic, the wardrobe burst open with a loud clatter!

And of course, it was Seor who emerged.

“Your Highness!”

Startled, Peter rushed over to support the Crown Prince, who collapsed in a battered heap.

But Seor, half-drunk and dazed from the blow, didn’t recognize Peter right away.

When he tried to shove Peter away with surprising strength, Peter shouted loudly,

“Your Highness! It’s me, Peter!”

“Ah, Peter… haah… I’m alive.”

“What in the world happened here?”

Peter’s gaze swept toward Lucian, Alvis, and Bain, now filled with cold suspicion.

Bain had turned completely pale, looking like he could collapse at any moment.

And Seor spoke plainly.

“That Ian Pearl Ruben over there is a fake.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Must’ve been the work of the Tower Lord. I smelled a dominant Alpha on him. But my fiancé is clearly a dominant Omega.”

“…A form-shifting potion, then.”

Shrring—

Lifting Seor from the floor, Peter drew his sword.

He pointed it at Lucian, who was wearing Ian Pearl Ruben’s face.

“Reveal your true identity.”

Bain swallowed hard at the sight of the sharp blade—sharp enough to draw blood with just a graze.

Meanwhile, Ian—fresh off a harsh scolding from Nevan—returned to the drawing room and met with his father.

Duke Ruben, having already heard what had happened, sank into a chair with a sigh so heavy it felt like the floor might give way.

“Ian, deceiving His Imperial Majesty is unacceptable. That is a crime against the Imperial Household. But I’m proud of you for telling the truth and vowing not to do it again.”

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“No, the greater fault is mine for raising you to be so spoiled.”

“……”

Duke Ruben looked at his son, who now seemed small and subdued.

He had raised Ian with great care, his precious child born in the twilight of his life.

This wasn’t the first time Ian had done something reckless, but instead of being angry, the duke’s first thought was how desperate Ian must’ve been.

From the moment Ian was born, Duke Ruben had loved him unconditionally.

He worried whether he would ever be able to rest peacefully with how much he cared for his son.

Still, scolding a child too harshly wasn’t the answer…

“The Grand Duke has promised to keep this matter quiet. So, how about we go tour the mines together? It’d be a waste to come all this way and not see anything.”

“I’d love to!”

Even after four regressions, Ian hadn’t lost his innocent heart.

The truths Berkisto had left behind about the North were brutal, but looking solely at the land itself, nowhere was as mysterious as Ferost.

Even in the snow-covered lands, hidden away, a wide array of creatures thrived.

In particular, the mining region they were heading to was home to low-grade monsters called mineworms.

These chubby larva-like monsters carried minerals on their backs and, far from being harmful, were known to be the hard-working backbone of the mine’s ecosystem.

Minerals produced by monsters had higher purity.

Refining them yielded materials far more valuable than those mined normally.

‘Maybe the mining business is better than Confort after all.’

With that thought, Ian climbed into the carriage.

Inside the carriage headed for the mines.

Ian suggested his father stay behind at the Grand Duke’s estate and rest, since he had already completed one inspection.

So their party consisted only of Nevan and Luke.

“A carriage powered by mana stones… how fascinating.”

At Luke’s remark, Ian gave a small nod.

There was no need to add that this carriage had been his birthday gift—especially not to a Northerner who disliked flowery speech.

Just then, a rumbling sound shook the ground, accompanied by the rhythmic thud-thud-thud.

“A herd of deer.”

There was a trace of excitement in Luke’s voice.

Ian glanced at the deer briefly—only to lock eyes with the Alpha leading the herd again.

They stared at each other for a while, but in the end, Ian broke eye contact, overwhelmed by the innocent gaze.

At this point, that creature clearly had something to say.

Ian didn’t know what it was, but he couldn’t help but worry it might appear in his dreams again.

Though the deer herd didn’t encircle the carriage as they had when Ian first arrived at the Grand Duke’s estate, they followed them in a group all the way to the mine’s entrance.

Nevan’s gaze lingered on the herd for quite some time before shifting away.

Luke looked like he was about to say something, then decided against it.

---

As soon as they arrived at the mine, Nevan lightly stepped down from the carriage.

I reached out to take his hand for assistance, and the moment our skin touched, I felt a sharp jolt of electricity.

“Ah!”

Nevan seemed to feel it too—his hand trembled slightly.

Luke, who had already stepped down early to speak with the mine manager, came over and asked,

“Is something the matter?”

Nevan answered in my place.

“It’s nothing.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Once our hands parted, a strange tingling sensation lingered.

I flexed and unflexed my left hand.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem serious.

At the entrance, where we followed the mine manager inside, I let out an audible gasp.

“Wow.”

Every mine I had seen until now had been coated in gray, but this one was vibrant—likely thanks to the mineworms.

The entire cave sparkled in shades of teal, as if emerald and lapis lazuli had been scattered all over.

Luke rubbed his nose with pride and said,

“Duke Ruben called this place ‘Mare.’ He said it reminded him of the southern seas.”

“Yes, if my father said that, it must mean the entire mine is truly beautiful.”

They say praise can make even whales dance, and indeed, Luke lit up and started sharing all sorts of information.

“Actually, this mine was discovered after the last monster wave. People tend to think monster waves are nothing but disasters, but the yield from monsters is surprisingly worthwhile.”

“I see.”

“Which is why the Grand Duke’s estate is just as wealthy as any other noble house—”

“Luke.”

Nevan cut him off.

Why was he bragging about the estate’s wealth to me?

My etiquette tutor once said Northerners didn’t waste words.

They even had a frightening proverb: Better to kill than to lie.

All I did was compliment the Grand Duke’s estate, and now Luke was sighing.

Did I mess up again?

Northerners really are difficult to understand.

I followed the mine manager deeper inside, as he guided us through the tunnels.

Between the teal-colored minerals were veins of gold, silver, and gems like rubies and sapphires.

I even saw a diamond the size of a child’s fist.

It could easily be crafted into a ring fit for a noble lady.

While I was absorbed in inspecting the minerals, I hadn’t noticed how far we’d wandered into the tunnel.

The sound of voices had faded, replaced by small, chirping noises—
“Gyuu-woo, gyuu—”

Could that be the mineworms?

I remembered Berkisto’s descriptions and imagined adorable larva monsters with mineral-laden backs as I followed the sound.

“Huh?”

But what I found wasn’t a cute mineworm.

It was a giant monster devouring the mineworms.

A spike of dread shot up the back of my neck, and for the first time, I felt a real threat to my life.

Without even thinking, I turned and ran as fast as I could.

The monster, still chewing on a worm, let out a growl and charged after me.

Thud! Thud!

The tunnel shook with each step, but no one came. I must’ve gone too deep.

Shit. I can’t die here.

After everything I’d done to survive… I couldn’t go out like this.

Tears welled in my eyes when something darted past me—fast.

“GRAARGH!”

The monster let out a final scream and collapsed.

Only then did I dare look back.

The one who had moved so swiftly I couldn’t even see him properly… was Nevan.

“Nevan…”

His name slipped from my lips as the tension melted from my body.

Sticky green blood oozed from the fallen monster.

Nevan turned to me, meeting my dazed stare.

“Are you alright?”

“…Y-Yes. Thank you.”

“I didn’t realize you’d gone missing until too late. My apologies.”

Nevan bowed his head respectfully, and I shook mine quickly.

“No, it’s my fault for wandering off without permission.”

“We’ll need to dispatch a patrol.”

Nevan sheathed his longsword with one hand, adding,

“There was no sign of it this morning. I let my guard down. If you’d like to hold me responsible, please do.”

“It’s really okay. If anything, let’s just call it even for today.”

“…Excuse me?”

Nevan looked puzzled at the phrase.

“You don’t know ‘call it even’? It means I did something wrong, and you did something wrong, so we’re square.”

“Ah.”

Nevan finally understood, a faint smile appearing as he nodded.

Just as the rumors said—he had no interest in anything outside of combat. He wasn’t good with etiquette, and he always took jokes literally.

And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to dislike him.

After confirming the monster was truly dead, Nevan said he’d do a quick inspection of the tunnel.

I didn’t want to stay alone with the corpse, so I followed him.

“It was around here.”

I pointed to the spot where the mineworms had been gathered.

“It probably came out from deep inside to feed on them.”

Just as I was making that guess, a deep rumble shook the tunnel.

Rumble—!

A pile of rocks came crashing down above me.