The Price of Breaching the Contract - Chapter 16

As Santiago rode away beyond the walls, Yulania began what felt like the longest three days of her life.

Yulania, visibly recovered, was now able to take short walks within the castle. Despite its name, it was a desolate place compared to the capital’s mansion, but she was finding a measure of peace.

After being carried away on horseback to the territory in a daze and then falling ill, Yulania’s sense of reality had become faint. She still felt dazed, ignoring a strange sensation deep within her heart.

However, the brief tranquility did not last a day. It was a small, unexpected piece of news that stirred that feeling.

“So, when will they arrive?”

“It seems it will take at least another week. The weather this year is quite unusual.”

Butler Alban shrank his large frame, looking apologetic.

The news was that the rest of the party, led by Deputy Commander Diego, was delayed. Vanessa, whom Yulania felt most comfortable with, had also stayed behind with them.

In a place where she had no one to rely on, she was already uneasy about her husband’s absence. Hearing that even Vanessa was delayed was like a small spark igniting the anxiety in her heart.

Unfortunately for her, the harsh weather of the Makari territory limited the activities she could do inside the castle. It was not suitable for tending the garden, and there were no personnel to do such refined work anyway.

As she regained her strength, Yulania became lonely in her solitude. She couldn’t pursue her hobby of tapestry weaving because there was no suitable workshop here. She had never stayed in the Makari territory long enough to warrant preparing one.

With some free time and nothing much to do, all her remaining energy flowed into her mind.

‘How is he doing now?’

As the idle hours stretched on, her thoughts, which had grown considerably, reached Santiago. She saw the image of the knight, severely injured a few days ago, overlapping with Santiago. She had never seen him hurt before. In her mind, his figure was constantly covered in red.

Since leaving the capital, Santiago had mentioned that the demons’ condition was unusual.

‘No. It’s just unnecessary worry.’

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shake off the terrible imaginings. Instead, she tried to focus on Santiago bravely fighting off demons. Then she realized that she didn’t even know what demons looked like.

The castle was modest, but it did have a small library. It was more like a study with the bare minimum of books, hardly worthy of being called a library.

‘There were only old folk tales and books about demons.’

It was a good way to stop her thoughts from becoming more complicated. She immediately headed to the library, where a lean man with a kind face greeted her warmly. His bright smile made her feel better.

“Are you Princess Yulania! Greetings. I am Larkin, in charge of managing the library.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’d like to see books about demons.”

It was fortunate that there was someone to guide her. At Yulania’s words, Larkin smiled affably and gestured inward with his arm.

“You’ve come to the right place. There’s practically nothing here that isn’t related to demons. Haha!”

The space, filled with the dry smell of paper, was cramped but full of books. Larkin led Yulania inside, continuing to speak.

“I would be honored if I could alleviate even a little of your boredom, Princess. This way, please?”

He pointed out each bookshelf, explaining them one by one.

“If you’re looking for basic books, you can look here and this section is about strategy and history.”

Nodding as she listened to him, Yulania got a general idea and headed to where the basic books were.

<Typology of Northern Demons> <Shadows of the North: The Origin and History of Demons> <Forgotten Legends: The Saintess and the Demon>

More diverse titles than she had expected caught her eye. Since she had come out of curiosity about the appearance of demons, she was interested in books about typology and origins.

Then, a small child approached and abruptly offered something with a tiny hand.

“…This.”

“Huh?”

It was a child she hadn’t seen when she was walking with Larkin. Yulania tilted her head, asking.

“It’s a stone that brings good luck.”

The child answered innocently with a blank face. What the child offered was a gray stone that filled a hand. Unlike common stones, its color was very light, and its surface was smooth, which was unusual.

“Oh, you rascal! Don’t bother the Princess! I’m sorry, Princess. My child was rude.”

As she was looking curiously at the stone, Larkin rushed over. Seeing them side by side, their eyes looked exactly alike.

It was a strange feeling. For some reason, she frowned involuntarily. The child was undeniably cute, but for some reason, she felt dislike. However, she shook off the incomprehensible feeling and composed her expression.

“What is it? Just a young child.”

“If you have this, you won’t get sick.”

Then the child said something unexpected. Yulania thought it was a stone the child was attached to.

“Is that so? It’s a very pretty stone.”

“Ah, is this your first time seeing a Holy Stone?”

“Holy Stone?”

Larkin’s next words were surprising.

“All of us in Macaki have one. They say it brings good luck.”

“It’s my first time seeing one in person.”

Somehow, it didn’t look like an ordinary stone. The child also seemed to believe that the stone brought good fortune.

Yulania became even more interested in the stone and said,

“I heard they shine with a golden light, but it doesn’t seem to shine as much as I thought.”

The Holy Stone she had imagined was a sparkling stone like an ore. The stone in front of her now was neat in shape, but it didn’t feel particularly luminous.

“Yes, in fact, there aren’t many Holy Stones that shine visibly. But if you look at them in a dark place, you can see a faint light.”

Larkin explained with a kind smile. And he made a request on behalf of the child.

“Please, accept it.”

“Thank you.”

At his gentle smile, Yulania readily took the stone in her hand. It was a humble object, but perhaps because it contained a mysterious meaning, she became interested.

As she stroked the surface with her thumb, she definitely felt a different sensation. There were bumpy patterns, but the texture was smooth like marble. As she touched the stone, the child smiled brightly, as if pleased.

To be happy just by having the gift accepted. The child’s pure goodwill touched her heart. She felt ashamed of herself for being inexplicably uncomfortable, and for some reason, ached deep in her lower abdomen.

After the two of them stepped back, Yulania kept fiddling with the Holy Stone as she chose a book.

In the end, she opened a book about typology. From the first page, there was a picture of a demon. As she turned the pages, various types of demons appeared, and the illustrations became more detailed.

‘They have more definite forms than I thought.’

The demons Yulania had vaguely imagined were like shimmering shadows. But the pictures in the book surprisingly showed figures with distinguishable heads, torsos, and roughly defined faces.

Only then could she imagine Santiago confronting demons. Thinking of a black-haired man facing a black demon, she thought, in a childish way, that the two beings suited each other quite well.

The next day, Yulania visited the library again. She had become curious about demons, and she kept thinking about Larkin’s child.

Whether in the capital or in the territory, Yulania rarely saw young children. There were no children among her relatives, and in the mansions or castles where she stayed, all the servants were at least fourteen years old.

She had never been interested in children before. The unique scent of young children kept lingering in her mind.

When she visited again, she learned that the child’s name was Momin as Larkin and the child greeted her.

While Yulania sat on the couch reading a book, Momin watched her from a distance like a cat. Since giving her the Holy Stone, the child hadn’t spoken to her separately.

Only his gaze steadily followed her. She was glad for the curious eyes, but for some reason, a corner of her heart ached.

‘What would Santiago and my child look like?’

The two people had such different appearances. A child with a mix of black and gold was not easily imagined.

“Haa…”

She felt ridiculous for imagining the appearance of a child who had already left, while looking at a child who was completely unrelated. The moment she took her eyes off the book, her mood plummeted. Every chance she got, she thought of Santiago, of the child who had left, and unfamiliar emotions kept fluctuating.

‘Focus on the book.’

She straightened her back, corrected her posture, and tried to focus on reading. Fortunately, the stories about demons, which she was learning about for the first time, were quite interesting, and Yulania was soon able to escape her wandering thoughts.

Starting with basic books, she looked at various books related to demons, and the sun quickly reached high in the sky and then set. She hadn’t studied since leaving the royal palace, so learning new knowledge after a long time was enjoyable.

Thus, time flowed like water, and three days passed.

However, Santiago, who had rushed ahead, remained unmoved. Haron shouted at his back again.

“Isn’t the territory important! Now is not the time to subjugate!”

“…”

At another word, Santiago stopped moving. Seeing that he seemed to have regained some reason, Haron quickly added.

“You haven’t taken a break for six hours already. Even if you’re the commander, you’ll get into trouble if you overdo it.”

As Haron finished speaking, a heavy silence fell.

Santiago instinctively suppressed his presence due to a strange sensation. He had stopped at Haron’s words, but at that moment, something else bothered the edge of his senses, causing him to stop moving.

“Commander?”

“Quiet.”

The forest was too quiet. He had thought it was because they had been rampaging with demons and were now still, but that wasn’t it.

There hadn’t been much noise since defeating Devil several years ago, but the silence he felt now was subtly different. Santiago focused all his senses and looked around, trying to find something that kept bothering him.

Then, a knight’s shout was heard from across the way.

“Demon appearance! Small type!”

And before Santiago could turn to look, the same report was delivered from the opposite side.

“Appearance on this side too! Small type!”

“Simultaneous appearance, how odd.”

Haron said, widening his eyes.

And the knight who had shouted first made an even louder noise.

“Three small types appearing simultaneously!!”

At most, there were four small types. Small demons about the height of a pelvis could not cross the walls, so they were not a threat to the territory.

It was a level that could be suppressed even without Santiago. But regardless of the danger, his sensitive instincts sounded an alarm.

‘This is like…’

It was a sense of unease that was familiar and therefore even more ominous.

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