Chapter 46: Winter Forced March?

The year’s first snowflake landed on the green-backed sheep flag that the House Linde was so proud of.

The cold blizzard came from the south as always, originating from the floating ice at the edge of the distant continent, sweeping across the southern wastelands and crossing the central mountains.

Eventually, it reached the land of the Northern Kingdom of Norsenia.

Although the fireplace in the Linde family manor was warm and cozy, the atmosphere inside might have been colder than the outside—

The Count and Countess were arguing.

The news of Maisonlogi being invaded by orcs had already spread to the ears of the nearby nobles.

Everyone had a daughter studying at that convent, or had simply offered one to the goddess.

If the convent fell and the nuns were captured by the orcs, their fate… needless to think about.

Not suitable for children.

Exactly. That’s why any noble with a shred of honor had to find a way to assemble an army and relieve the crisis at Maisonlogi.

On one hand, it was autumn and winter; the grains had ripened and were harvested and stored. It wasn’t too difficult for nobles to gather their troops for a military campaign.

But on the other hand, the heavy snow itself was slowing down the army.

Moreover, inside the House Linde, the quarrel wasn’t limited to this.

“It wasn’t my idea to send our daughter to Maisonlogi,” Count Brian said, gaining the upper hand.

He crossed his arms and said to his wife, Lady Catalina of the Lyoncourt Family.

What was wrong with keeping Xue La in the manor? She even wanted to go to the royal capital to be a maid—could their daughter’s temperament handle that?

Count Brian felt he had “won one.”

Letting their daughter become manticore bait was his incompetence—but sending her to the convent only to have her surrounded by orcs—who was to blame for that?

“You wouldn’t understand,” Catalina said weakly, her face still stained with tears.

She was a good mother who loved her daughter, but that was all—she didn’t know how to love others, so in one glance, she excluded Luo Yi…

“My Xue La also carries the noble blood of the Lyoncourt Family. She can’t be content with living in the countryside for the rest of her life, combing wool and tending the boiler.”

With a resentful gaze at her husband, Catalina murmured, “Xue La is no worse than my other nieces. Why…”

Brian wanted to curse in his heart, but he held back.

He knew that his wife had held a grudge deep inside all these years since marrying into his family.

The Lyoncourt Family was a marquis, a great noble family that frequented the royal capital.

What was the House Linde? A minor noble of the Kingdom of Norsenia—their name probably occupied only a few lines at the bottom of the noble genealogy in the royal library.

His wife had married down, not sideways or up.

It was the work of old Lord Lyoncourt, Count Brian’s father-in-law.

Count Linde had always known that, but he was unwilling to bring up his father-in-law.

He himself had originally been an obscure local count, struggling to earn a thousand gold coins a year by selling wheat and wool. If not for the support of the Lyoncourt Family, the noble patron from the royal capital, Brian would never have been able to sell his products so well.

But he always believed it was his own effort, and his father-in-law’s favor was a win-win investment.

He had walked the path of a poor boy turning his life around by marrying a noble lady.

That was why he wasn’t very averse to that boy named Luo Yi—at his age, the same as Xue La, he could kill a manticore, stronger than half of the knights in the manor.

Wouldn’t it be a waste not to take someone like that as a squire and give him a chance to become a knight?

In truth, Brian saw himself in Luo Yi.

But his wife deeply disliked that boy.

She hated the smell on him—the Lyoncourt family didn’t like the stench of wheat and sheep. The Count of the House Linde had a milder smell that was bearable, but a farm boy named Luo Yi…

The Count understood that his wife was projecting her own grievances onto someone else to show him.

Like a stone.

Count Brian also knew that his wife had another sweetheart when she was young, but that man never made it big and died in a foreign land, perishing under the flag of the Crown Prince and General Bali Saihe.

Since then, she no longer believed in the myth of poor boys turning their lives around—and she had a faint sense of estrangement toward her husband.

Out of a hundred poor boys, only one could succeed. Out of a hundred successful ones, only one would come back.

His wife didn’t believe in love.

But Count Brian believed and was willing to give Luo Yi a chance.

After the boy was driven away, his daughter also entered Maisonlogi…

Count Brian only worried that his daughter would hate them as a couple for the rest of her life.

But now, it seemed they couldn’t wait that long.

His wife hadn’t expected that Maisonlogi wouldn’t be safe either.

Just like last time, Catalina thought of her maiden family’s support: if she could call for her father and brothers’ army to help…

But Brian firmly opposed it—the last time, with the manticore incident, his wife dared to throw a tantrum and run back to her family to sulk with her husband.

That time, it was the Count’s own mistake, and he admitted it.

This time, it was under his wife’s request that their daughter was sent to Maisonlogi.

The responsibility would ultimately fall on her.

Regardless, the couple was one.

“My lady, don’t let our family lose face,” Brian advised.

“The knight Kargon you brought from your family, and the knights we already have… they’ll soon set out on the campaign—then, together with the other noble allied forces, we’ll ensure those orcs suffer a great defeat and retreat.”

He hoped to end the meaningless argument.

But it was very difficult.

***

The first snow of winter didn’t just fall on the flag.

It also fell on Bali Saihe’s shoulders—the old man wore a thick cloak, unafraid of the cold.

Luo Yi couldn’t tell what material it was made of.

That man named Mason was indeed a good person.

Not only did he provide a carriage and rations, but he also had winter clothing ready.

‘Master… he must have been a really important person in the past, right?’

The snow had already fallen, and the cold disturbed the trio’s sleep at night.

Although Bali Saihe was blind, he always managed to take care of the campfire, never letting it die out.

He knew when to add firewood, neither too early nor too late.

“A kid’s first priority is to sleep and grow. I don’t mind,” Bali Saihe said with self-deprecation.

“Day and night mean nothing to me.”

Since the news of the orcs besieging Maisonlogi had already spread, the upcoming visit to the convent probably wouldn’t be easy.

Just as the old man had entrusted the oak staff to his granddaughter Asuna, this time, the old man decided to give something else to Luo Yi.

That helmet used for begging.

It was pitch black and extremely heavy to wear!

“Wear it well!”

Bali Saihe said.

“This helmet will bring you great luck and the best protection in the battles to come.”

“This helmet is ugly!”

Luo Yi grumbled.

“Don’t be fooled by the surface of things, child,” Bali Saihe said.

“Sometimes, even without eyes, one can see more clearly than others.”

“I don’t believe it!”

“Perceive it with your sense of ether. Then you’ll know…”

Bali Saihe tapped Luo Yi’s forehead.

“Brat…”

Luo Yi fell silent.

***

Xue La was in a different situation.

She had nothing to say.

There was good news and bad news.

The good news was that the Mother Superior took her contributions into consideration and gave her a break—throwing stones all day at sneaky crows and orcs had made her wrist sore!

She was granted leave.

No need to worry about missing her aim.

Because the people of Privet Town weren’t completely weak either…

There was a weapon called a sling: many farmers used it to catch rabbits for meat, or shepherds carried it to avoid being targeted by wolf packs.

Throwing stones couldn’t really be dismissed as a petty trick.

Used properly, it was the best weapon.

Xue La hadn’t believed it at first, but when she saw ranks of villagers actually launching a dense hail of stones at the orc scouts trying to sneak across, she was completely reassured.

But the good news didn’t last.

Because the bad news arrived.

It snowed.

So the river froze.

The orcs no longer needed to sneak across in small numbers.

They just needed to tie a layer of leather around their feet to prevent slipping.

Then the orc infantry and wolf-riders could come out in full force, carrying shields to block the rain of stones.

The green tide was advancing slowly, but it seemed like a great winter forced march.

And the reinforcements were nowhere in sight?

Xue La had little time left to rest.