Chapter 54: Secrets of the Harsh Winter

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Secrets of the Harsh Winter

Frostwinter Castle.

Inside Duke Kaspar’s study at the very top of the castle’s main tower, a vigorous fire crackled in the hearth. The warm, flickering light illuminated more than half the room, complementing the glow of the oil lamp on the massive desk.

Against the wall behind the desk, a wide solid wood bookshelf stretched from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Every single shelf was packed tight with scrolls and leather-bound hardcovers.

Oswald Kaspar had just finished pressing the sealing wax onto his final reply. The edges of the stamped Blue Eagle crest were perfectly neat, without a trace of spillover. He placed the letter gently atop the stack of sealed envelopes at the corner of his desk, adjusting it until it was perfectly flush with the rest. Then, he stood up, walked over to the windowsill, and pushed the window open.

A cold wind eagerly rushed into the room, slightly ruffling Oswald’s short blond hair. He narrowed his eyes, feeling the heavy grogginess of staying up late clear away a bit.

"Pulling an all-nighter isn’t good for you, old man," a teasing voice suddenly rang out from within the study.

Oswald didn’t even bother turning his head. Out of everyone he knew, only one person could appear in his study without making a sound.

"You didn’t knock again," he said.

A careless, low chuckle came from behind him. "I knocked ages ago. You just didn’t hear it."

Oswald gazed absently at the distant mountains for a moment before slowly turning around.

A Drow was leaning lazily against the doorframe, dangling a dark green wine bottle from his hand. More than half of the sloshing liquid inside was already gone. He wore a well-tailored, long dark gray coat over snug black Leather Armor, with a slender, gemstone-inlaid Short Sword hanging from his waist.

Oswald looked helplessly at the wine bottle in his hand. "Xavier, you stole my wine again."

The Drow, Xavier, curled his lips upward and took a massive swig directly from the bottle. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and waved the bottle at Oswald. "Year eight-sixty-seven Blood of the Blue Eagle. The batch you’ve always been too stingy to drink."

"...That’s year eight-sixty-two."

"Oh." Xavier took another swig. "Even better."

He strolled into the study with the bottle in hand, his boots making absolutely no sound on the carpet. Acting as if he owned the place, he sat down in the high-backed chair draped with a bear skin rug, throwing one leg over the armrest and stretching the other out casually.

Oswald watched him and dropped the issue of the wine, knowing it was useless anyway. He instead asked, "Why are you back already? Did Anya and the others arrive?"

Xavier rested the wine bottle on the armrest, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned his head back to look at the ceiling.

"They made it to Shallow Beach Town and have already taken care of that Rock-dwelling Salamander." He smiled. "Though there was a slight mishap. Turns out there was a small one as well. The little girl from the Scarlett Family almost died there."

"Were there any casualties?" Oswald frowned.

"Your precious daughter is unharmed. The kid named Rain broke an arm, but with Anya there, it’s nothing major."

"And Erin?"

"Heh, she’s perfectly fine."

Oswald massaged the space between his eyebrows. "Did you intervene?"

"Nope. They picked up two little guys before they set out, and surprisingly, one of them was a Sorcerer. He saved the little girl." Xavier picked up the wine bottle and took another sip.

"There’s a Sorcerer in Frost Valley? What’s his background?"

"Name is Lorin. Lives in the slums of Frost Valley City. He was just a porter a little over half a year ago, then took a job escorting a merchant caravan and somehow became a Sorcerer."

Xavier hugged the wine bottle as he recalled the details. "He probably had a stroke of dumb luck and awakened some weird bloodline. But he actually tried to use Shadow Step to step on me. Hehehe... Truly amusing."

He suddenly remembered something even funnier, his smile growing exuberant. "Oh, oh! And his companion too! A Halfling who can use Frenzy! Broel! A Halfling using Frenzy!"

He waved the wine bottle around in an exaggerated manner, nearly spilling the liquid inside onto the carpet.

"As long as nothing went wrong," Oswald said, letting out a sigh of relief.

Xavier let out a frivolous laugh and continued, "Your precious daughter thanked that kid, who isn’t even an Official Professional yet, and even gave him a personal token."

Oswald’s expression finally turned colorful. "A personal token?" he asked in astonishment.

"Engraved with the Sun Wheel Pattern of the Dawn Lord." Seeing that he had taken the bait, the corners of Xavier’s mouth curled up even higher.

"You..." Oswald pointed at him, then sighed and said, "That is the proper thing to do."

Xavier stood up from the chair, carried the wine bottle over to Oswald’s side, and leaned against the edge of another window.

"You’re actually willing to let your precious daughter go out there? Didn’t that Plantagenet fellow say there was a problem with Frost Valley?" he asked.

"Anya is a descendant of the Kaspar Clan. After obtaining a Tier, patrolling the borders is simply part of her duties. Clan rules won’t change just because she is my daughter.

"Besides, how is refusing to attend a banquet a problem? That piece of trash Plantagenet only knows how to drink and make merry. You can’t blame others for wanting nothing to do with him."

Oswald looked at him quietly, enunciating the words "drink and make merry" extremely slowly. Then, changing the subject, he added, "Furthermore, doesn’t she still have you as her uncle?"

"I don’t have time to watch your precious daughter every second of the day, you old fool! Back then you kept promising to let me enjoy riches and glory, yet now you keep piling all this work on me!" Xavier slammed the wine bottle angrily against the windowsill.

Oswald chuckled and pointed at the wine bottle in his hand. "That bottle of wine alone is enough to buy a manor in the countryside."

He didn’t provoke his old friend any further and shifted topics. "Just safely escort her to Frost Valley. Once she reaches the Church, she’ll be safe. They care far more about her than you do."

"A twenty-year-old Dawn Messenger and a virtually guaranteed candidate for a Divine Awakener? Of course the Church cares," Xavier said lazily. "Oh, right, Anya actually hired those two to travel with her to Frost Valley City."

"Hmm, it is about time she started recruiting subordinates. The daughter of Oswald Kaspar isn’t the type of noble lady who only knows etiquette."

With that, he closed the window, turned to look at Xavier, and asked, "The matter in the Royal Capital... how goes the investigation?"

Hearing this, even Xavier grew serious. He deliberated for a couple of seconds before replying, "I only found out that he’s looking for something. Rumor has it that it was stolen by that man named Soron, which is why he’s been searching the whole city like a madman."

"Something? What kind of thing could make an Extraordinary Mage that desperate? Did the guy steal his Magic Staff? Or did he uproot his Mage Tower?" Oswald asked, genuinely bewildered.

"I’m not sure. The people he sent out were all Death Warriors. As soon as my men caught them, they immediately committed suicide. I get the feeling things aren’t that simple."

"Keep investigating."

"Alright."

Xavier’s figure vanished from the spot without a sound. Oswald ignored his disappearance and cast his gaze in the direction of the Royal Capital.

"Lorin..."