“Wasn’t this a strategy game?”

As Chediak broke the tender moment and asked the same question he had repeated several times, Hagentii’s face, which had been calm, became bored and annoyed again.

“I told you, I don’t remember.”

“But you remember who you gave it to, right?”

Despite Chediak’s sharp remark, Hagentii chose to remain silent.

Used to the indifference, Chediak resignedly took another bite of soup and glanced at Hagentii once more.

“You aren’t going to tell me why you’re in pain either, are you?”

Of course not. Hagentii was now staring out the window, fixated on the snowy landscape, avoiding Chediak’s gaze completely.

“……”

With that blatant disregard, Chediak continued eating while replaying his confusion in his mind.

Why had the so-called Great Mage ended up in such a state?

Hagentii was clearly dying. He had miraculously woken up, but…

And…

「Maybe this castle is delaying Hagentii’s illness. So, he can’t leave the castle.」

Like Eden said, I could also feel that something in this castle was suppressing Hagentii’s energy.

They both had such incredible powers that I wouldn’t dare interfere or unravel it.

‘Has that Great Mage been cursed? Something beyond my abilities? Do such curses even exist?’

It was at that moment, while Chediak was contemplating the nearly empty soup bowl.

Hagentii, who’d been staring out the window, suddenly jumped up, startling Chediak out of his thoughts.

“What, what are you doing?”

Then Hagentii murmured, staring intensely out the window.

“Eden is nearby.”

“E-eh? The Saint? The Grand Duchy is quite far from here.”

“……”

Hagentii was aware that Eden had gone to the Grand Duchy for some reason.

Though, as Chediak said, the Grand Duchy was far from here, the energy Hagentii sensed wasn’t coming from there.

As Hagentii was about to figure out who it was, Chediak quickly interjected, blocking his path.

“Whoa! You’re not leaving, are you? No! You can’t!”

When Hagentii glared at Chediak with an irritated look, Chediak pulled out an unignorable card again.

“I’ll tell the Saint everything! You remember you said you’d never see her again?”

The chilling words made Hagentii’s patience snap.

“If I kill you now, I won’t have to send a message!”

Even with that bluntly terrifying threat, Chediak didn’t flinch.

“But if you go out to meet the Saint, wouldn’t she know you left the castle? That means killing me won’t change anything.”

With Chediak’s impeccable logic, Hagentii couldn’t find anything more to say and shot daggers at the troublesome mage.

“……”

If Eden were in danger, I would ignore that comment and rush out immediately, but the vibe I got from her right now didn’t feel like that at all.

There was certainly something unsettling around, but…

Ultimately, when Hagentii irritably sat back down, the smug smile on Chediak’s face quickly turned into a frown as he sensed something strange.

“But wait, how do you feel the Saint’s presence? Don’t tell me… you placed a tracking spell on her?”

“……”

He was right. Hagentii looked at him shamelessly, and Chediak’s face turned to shock.

“D-Did you get her permission?”

“……”

Hagentii only continued staring at him, as if to say, ‘Why should I?’. Chediak felt a bit of a headache creeping in.

‘Oh boy, my head.’

That wasn’t just an arrogant expression; it was pure innocence, not comprehending why he should have to.

‘The Saint has gotten tangled with an incredible person.’

But on the other side, if she could control such a remarkable being to this extent, didn’t that imply Eden was even more extraordinary?

And judging by that day’s events, the 3rd Prince must’ve…

Just as Chediak was sinking back into unnecessary thoughts.

“……?”

Something alien brushed by him. Feeling it, Chediak quickly turned around.

“Did you feel that just now?”

However, Hagentii was still lost in thoughts of Eden, gazing out the window.

With Chediak’s tense voice, Hagentii gave him a side glance, clearly thinking he was rambling.

“It’s this energy…! Someone has entered the castle!”

Yet Hagentii showed no movement. Chediak’s voice didn’t seem to register in his mind.

That expression sent a chill down Chediak’s spine.

“You… don’t feel it?”

Chediak was flustered. Hagentii was a Grand Mage with powers beyond measure; surely he would feel something Chediak sensed.

‘Yet he can feel the Saint’s energy from far away, but can’t sense this clear, nearby presence?’

Chediak’s expression turned serious.

“Stay here for a second. You can’t go out.”

After firmly warning Hagentii, he vanished in an instant.

Hagentii stared vacantly at the spot where Chediak had just been but soon turned his attention back to the window.

He couldn’t sense anything in the castle besides Chediak’s energy, but whatever energy he sensed in the castle was no longer of any concern to him.

What mattered was that he couldn’t feel Eden’s presence within the castle at all.

Thinking Eden might be out there somewhere in that vast snowy land made him want to dash out immediately.

But he also understood what Eden was worried about now. And he definitely didn’t want to die just yet.

If he died, he would never see Eden, who told him it was fine again.

“…Come quickly, Eden.”

Whispering a confession that wouldn’t reach her, Hagentii quietly looked out the window.

He couldn’t stand wanting to see Eden anymore.

Eden turned to see the monster falling down before she could get to it, struck by a massive sword.

A monster on a snowy mountain.

‘Hagentii…’

Eden gazed into the far, blinding snowstorm.

It reminded her of the time she had first fallen into the snowy wilderness outside Hagentii’s castle.

This place was in the northern snowy mountains, so it might be getting closer to Hagentii’s castle.

At the same time, a flood of worry about Hagentii surged within her, but she had no strength left for such thoughts right now.

The prophecy book ended there, and Eden had just arrived at Haelbrock Snow Mountain following the book’s guidance.

Indeed, as the prophecy book had written, monsters swarmed over the snowy mountain, but none of them posed any threat.

They were being skewered by Asmun and Karon, who had come with her.

“Just a bit more, and we’ll reach the peak.”

Hearing Karon’s words, Eden looked up at the summit where the fierce snowstorm was raging.

‘Could the Holy Sword really be buried up there?’

The mountain was far too treacherous for an ordinary human to ascend, and only knights of Asmun and Karon’s caliber could possibly cut through the countless monsters. Yet, it wasn’t a place that no one could ever reach.

However, such doubts were utterly irrelevant at this moment. The only thing left was to see the truth of the prophecy with her own eyes.

Eden took a step forward, her feet frozen solid, finally taking that last step. Immediately, a meticulously crafted, wide summit came into view.

It felt like she was looking at another snowfield rather than the peak of a snow mountain.

“We made it to the top!”

Karon and Asmun slashed their way through the continuing waves of monsters to follow closely behind her.

“Whoa, there…”

Eden gasped, pointing toward the center of the summit. Light was emanating from somewhere far ahead.

Forgetting she was panting just moments ago, Eden rushed toward the center of the summit.

Karon followed behind her, gazing at the now completely empty summit.

The snow on the surface of the peak was pristine, as if no foot had ever touched it, but it had frozen firmly, like stone, in the long, cold air. It would take forever to dig this up.

Asmun, too, seemed to be thinking the same thing, with a serious expression on his face.

“……”

However, upon reaching the center of the summit, unlike the serious expressions of the two men, Eden was staring into the air with a bewildered look, as if she had seen a ghost.

Just as she stepped onto the ground from which the mysterious light was spilling, a notification window popped up in the air.

Something strange dropped from behind that absurd notification window.

Asmun, Karon, and Eden all turned their gaze toward whatever had dropped.

“…That doesn’t look like the Holy Sword.”

As Asmun muttered while looking at the bizarre object, Karon also frowned.

What lay beneath Eden’s feet was something she’d never seen before.

It had such a strange appearance that she could hardly make out its purpose, and yet Eden knew exactly what it was for.