RODH Chapter 47
by Brie47.
As expected, Lucian blinked.
“You do know.”
“Well, yeah… I guess I do…”
His voice trailed off.
What was that supposed to mean—“I guess I do”? Either you know or you don’t.
“If it’s hard to talk about, I can set up a private meeting.”
“No, Ian. That’s not the issue…”
Just then, Peter’s voice rang out.
“Frigg.”
When I turned around, Peter was still in full armor, and Seor stood beside him in pajamas.
“What brings you here?”
I asked Seor, who promptly shoved a basket at me.
When I pulled back the linen cloth, I saw freshly baked scones and cookies inside.
I stared at him, full of suspicion.
Seor, his face red like he’d just come from the oven, snapped irritably.
“You have to eat properly! I thought you might be hungry late at night, so I brought them.”
“Ah, yes… thank you.”
But the moment I gave that obligatory thank-you, his expression shifted strangely.
He looked like he had something to say.
Just as I waited to hear whatever nonsense would come out of his mouth this time, Peter stepped in.
“The name of the blacksmith Lord Ian is searching for is Frigg. He’s a dragon.”
“A fellow dragon?”
I turned to Lucian, giving him an incredulous look. He raised both hands and replied.
“He is a dragon. But he doesn’t associate with anyone. Even though I know where he is, getting a sword from him is like waiting for gold coins to fall from the sky.”
“It’s that difficult?”
“Yeah. But… hmm.”
Lucian hesitated.
Frustrated, I turned to head back inside.
Maybe Berkisto’s journal would offer a solution to this dead-end.
But then Lucian blocked my path.
“Wait! I’ll tell you the truth. There is one person—just one—who talks to Frigg.”
According to Lucian, Frigg refused even requests from the Dragon King, yet would do anything his niece asked of him.
‘That’s… kind of weird.’
I was still mulling that over when Peter continued.
“But the issue is…”
“What is it? What’s the problem?”
Seor answered in Lucian’s place.
“Frigg’s niece is the White Dragon, Ephasia—the one who lost control of herself here in the North.”
“Oh.”
A groan slipped from my mouth—definitely not a good one.
But if we couldn’t get to Frigg without going through Ephasia, then there was no choice.
I asked Lucian where she was now.
“Is Lady Ephasia alright?”
“My aunt’s at a monastery. She’s been there ever since that… incident.”
I didn’t need to hear the rest to understand.
Ephasia clearly carried guilt over what she did while rampaging.
“I’ll ask His Grace about it in the morning.”
“Why you? It’s an imperial matter—shouldn’t I be the one to handle it?”
“Since I’m supposedly the Bringer of Spring, I should help with northern affairs. Besides, Your Highness already has plenty on your plate.”
Seor started to argue but reluctantly backed down and respected my decision.
A docile Seor, of all things.
I seriously started to wonder if he’d eaten something strange.
But Peter’s face was the same as always, and neither of them looked off physically, so I figured it must just be a change of heart.
Not that it was any of my business.
And the next morning.
I went to the office early.
Nevan was in just a shirt, without his usual cloak.
My eyes briefly scanned the pale skin visible between the buttons before I spoke.
“If it’s Frigg, the greatest blacksmith, he should be able to repair the sword.”
At my words, Nevan asked why I was going so far.
“The Bringer of Spring is just a legend. You don’t have to try this hard.”
“No.”
In the end, I had no choice but to tell him about the vision I’d seen through the deer’s eyes and the mad old man’s prophecy.
Nevan looked at me with skeptical eyes.
My heart pounded with unease.
Please, just believe me.
“This time, I even saw the first head of the family performing the sword dance with that blade. He named it Hallow Knight. Isn’t it all a bit too strange to be just coincidence?”
Nevan turned his back to me and stared out the window for a while, seemingly deep in thought.
Eventually, he handed me the sword wrapped in a rug and said,
“I believe you, Lord Ian.”
“Thank you.”
“But how do you plan to persuade Frigg? From what I’ve heard, he never agrees to requests.”
“Oh, well…”
Looking into Nevan’s calm eyes, I found it impossible to lie.
So I honestly told him about Frigg’s niece, Ephasia.
Nevan fell silent.
“I’m sorry.”
“…It’s in the past.”
He answered with effort, but his expression looked heavy.
If I could, I wanted to wrap my arms around his back and hold him tightly.
Was he too big for that?
As I glanced at his broad chest, trying to estimate its size, I earned a suspicious look.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
“…I see.”
“……”
“……”
We parted with the same familiar awkwardness.
The only difference was that even while traveling, we continued exchanging letters.
Bain stared in fascination at the hawk flying close behind the carriage.
“How does it remember the location?”
“Northern hawks are trained from a young age to track by scent.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s written here in the journal.”
Leaning halfway against the seat, I was reading the Northern records.
Lucian was supposed to accompany me on the way to the monastery, but he had to leave suddenly due to a summons from the Dragon King.
Seor took the opportunity to volunteer himself instead.
But he, too, received an imperial summons and had to return to the palace.
“Something’s going on…”
I didn’t know what scheme the emperor and the dragon king were planning, but as long as it wasn’t about me, I didn’t care.
With that carefree thought, I arrived at a small monastery near Mare.
As the carriage stopped, a man who appeared to be a priest came out and asked,
“Are you here to see someone?”
“I came to meet Lady Ephasia, on Lord Lucian’s recommendation.”
“Ah, I see.”
With Bain escorting me, I followed the priest.
As we walked past tall stone columns, we came upon a sunflower field, the blooms beginning to droop in the late summer.
“There are a lot of sunflowers.”
“We press them for oil here. Half the profit is evenly distributed to those in need.”
“It sounds like a good place.”
The priest smiled faintly at my words.
He led me to someone standing at the far end of the field.
“That is Lady Ephasia. I’ll leave you now.”
I gave a small bow, then whispered to Bain,
“You wait here. I’ll be back.”
“Be careful.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I didn’t tell Bain, but standing in front of a dragon always made me feel small and overwhelmed.
Maybe I’d grown used to Lucian because I saw him so often—but Ephasia was different.
Lemon-colored hair and amber eyes.
Even from a distance, she was stunning. She turned to me and said,
“You’ve come by Lucian’s introduction.”
I hadn’t said anything yet. How did she know?
Seeing my puzzled face, Ephasia smiled softly and added,
“I can tell everything by scent. I smelled Lucian’s pheromones. My apologies.”
“Not at all. I’m Ian Pearl Ruben. Pleased to meet you.”
“I’ve heard of you. Heir to House Ruben, yes?”
“Yes.”
“A noble like yourself, coming to such a humble place.”
Ephasia barely moved, making her blend into the fiery orange sunflowers.
“Lord Ruben?”
“Oh, sorry. You’re so beautiful I got distracted.”
“Hoho. Please don’t say such things. I know you’re here about Frigg, aren’t you?”
I explained everything to her.
Unlike what I’d imagined—someone who could see the future—Ephasia turned pale the moment I mentioned the Demon Lord.
“If the Demon Lord awakens, we’ll see a monster wave unlike anything imaginable.”
“That’s why I must meet Frigg.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Ephasia quickly wrote me a letter of recommendation.
She advised me to find companions, saying the terrain around Frigg’s dwelling was dangerous.
“If you don’t have soldiers, at least hire mercenaries. Monsters often appear near Frigg’s place.”
“Thank you.”
“And Lord Ruben…”
Ephasia glanced toward Bain, who stood at a distance, then firmly took my hands.
“I don’t know if this will help, but since you’re important to the North, I’ll share it anyway.”
“What is it?”
“On the day I lost control… I sensed a powerful will.”
“You don’t mean the Demon Lord…”
Ephasia quickly shook her head.
“No. It was a desperate and noble will. A woman’s voice. I can still hear it clearly.”
The memory still seemed to affect her—she took a deep breath and continued.
‘Please, let my son Nevan be spared from the Kirias curse. Let him meet the one who can break it.’
“……”
“That’s exactly what I heard. I regained consciousness right after that—but it was already too late.”
By then, tears had welled up in the corners of Ephasia’s eyes.
“I pray every day that the late Grand Duke and Grand Duchess may rest in peace.”
I held back my trembling voice and said,
“I hope your prayer comes true.”
I found the reason for my regression.