“We had a little game amongst ourselves to become the Lady’s escort, ahem.”

Joachim shrugged, saying in a low voice that they had gambled for this escort position and that he had won them all.

“It is indeed an honor.”

Taking Joachim’s hand, we walked out into the Great Hall, and the castle was already crowded.

Today’s meeting is being held in the castle’s largest ballroom. All the guest rooms in the castle are open today, and the members of the family are provided with quarters.

The meeting is held at a large table. The centerpiece is the emblem of each house. One of the twelve clans was a confederation of northern alpine clans, five of which originated in the realm of Argonod, so this was almost a meeting for Argonod.

Twelve crystal goblets held red wine. Mervin Ferride, the Chief of Staff, carried a scribe to record the minutes.

Ragnar raised his goblet high, and the rest drank. And so the meeting began.

The agenda began with the recent harvest and the proposed increase in tax rates and poll taxes, as well as reports on recent developments in the provinces. There were reports of one demonic attack after another in each province.

“The problem is that the type of beast we’re seeing this time is something we haven’t seen in the north before.”

It was Joachim’s father, Viscount Gunnar, the Red Wolf, who spoke up. His estate, Greyville, was located in the northeast, close to the eastern archipelago, and was a coastal region with several harbors.

“And so it was with the beast that came to our estate, so we had a hard time slaying it, because it was a different kind of beast than usual, a species not found in the north.”

Then similar stories popped up everywhere. There was even talk that this outbreak of demons was a sign of something bad happening.

“There is talk that the dragon is awakening.”

It was Baron Tugerwyn who answered cautiously.

“It has been over four hundred years since the evil dragon Fafnir was slain!”

“Dragons have no life span, they merely sleep.”

It has been hundreds of years since the dragon deep in the Wishus Mountains was slain. There are tales of it being sealed by the first ancestor of the Argonods, but they are so old that their authenticity has never been confirmed.

Ragnar called the meeting back to order. The first to speak and answer was Mulmur, the Haidui representative of the four clans of the Highlanders. She was an elderly woman with graying hair. Half of her face was covered in black tattoos, and she didn’t speak the language, so she had a young translator.

“The High Chieftain says we should be on the lookout for this new beast.”

Mulmur gestured, and the young interpreter took something from her arms and placed it on the table.

“It was found by a young warrior of our tribe. I thought I should show it to you, as it is very strange.”

It was a demon core. Every demon has its own unique core.

“Do you see this mark?”

The room quickly began to stir. They turned the demon’s core around and around, rolling their eyes.

“There’s no evidence that this is necessarily a mark, is there?”

The core had wedge-shaped scratches on it, as if it had been scratched with something sharp, and if you thought of them as markings, they could be. But it could also be seen as a scar or a pattern from a hunt.

The markings were naturally occurring. It was impossible to artificially mark a core.

“No way, High Chieftain, someone is creating demonic beings. Is that what you think?”

The young interpreter whispered to Mulmur, and she nodded. At the same time, she burst out laughing.

“Even the High Chieftain is getting old.”

“Perhaps you should step down from your seat.”

The young interpreter stood up, but Mulmur held him back. Eventually, Ragnar had to intervene.

There followed a series of tangential and disruptive motions. Most of them ended with Ragnar coming up with a reasonable compromise and settling the dispute. The meeting was winding down.

“Speaking of which, the crown prince’s behavior has been suspicious lately.”

It was August, the head of House Ligerus, who spoke up.

“The crown prince?”

Everyone in the north turned their heads at the mention of the crown prince.

“He hasn’t been seen in the center for a month already.”

“You mean to tell me that the crown prince has suddenly disappeared into the ground?”

At the mention of the crown prince, the atmosphere in the room suddenly boiled over.

“I don’t know what else he’s up to, but those pigs in the South are a bunch of back-stabbing, flatulent bastards.”

“Nothing’s changed from ten years ago!”

There was no better way to bring the divided together than to give them a common enemy. Before long, the room was filled with the heat of anger at the imperial family and the Central Powers.

But Christa’s stomach sank at the mention of the crown prince.

She excused herself and left, only to find Margrethe waiting for her in the hall.

“Christa!”

“Madame Margrethe!”

They embraced, happy to see each other after so long.

“Did you have any trouble getting here?”

“Well, you know how much trouble I go through every time I travel.”

“Oh, I can see that.”

Christa had also been through the long trip, so she had an idea.

“I do think the roads up north need some work, with all that mountainous terrain.”

“I agree.”

“More than that, rumors of the wedding have already spread. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to attend, I heard it was a huge affair.”

The couple had originally planned to have an engagement ceremony in the capital. But that didn’t work out, so the couple got married as soon as they arrived in the north.

“I didn’t realize that weddings here…… would be so long.”

“So, how close did you two get?”

Margrethe’s tone was quite playful. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“I, uh, what’s that, sound?”

She asks, and Margrethe laughs naturally.

“Mmm, well. You don’t have to tell me, I have a way of knowing.”

To make matters worse, Margrethe’s gaze is off into the distance. Christa unnecessarily followed her gaze, and Margrethe laughed.

She wanted to change the subject, and suddenly remembered her glasshouse.

“You said you were staying at the castle for a few days, so I thought I’d show you my garden.”

“Oh, no, you don’t mean the greenhouse.”

But she seemed to know it already.

“Did you know about it?”

“Yes, it was once a specialty of the castle. It’s a curious thing, a greenhouse that uses hot spring water.”

“Ah…….”

That’s when Margrethe nudged me.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten your promise to go to the hot springs with me next time.”

She described an outdoor hot spring. The only hot springs Christa had ever seen were the ones in the castle, so the idea of an outdoor one was unfamiliar.

“There are hot springs outside?”

“Not just hot springs, there’s something even cooler here, it’s called a steam bath…….”

She had no idea what the name meant.

“You’ll find out when you go.”