Savior 1

Chapter 1. A woman with a distorted face

***

It had been fifteen years since Kayan had set foot on Elmir’s soil.

It hadn't been much of a thrill.

He hadn't thought of himself as an Elmir citizen since he left.

He loved Anut.

The wolf clan's vast empire was a world ruled by strength, not hypocrisy or pretense, and it had changed the life of Kayan, a beggar in Elmir.

And now, at last, he was back, a black wolf of Anut, untouchable even by Elmir’s king.

"It still sucks."

Elmir had an unusually long warm season with bright spring flowers.

For the Anut, who spent most of the year in the bitter cold, it was a welcome respite.

Creak.

The sturdy gates opened without resistance as Kayan's party reined in their horses.

Kayan had no desire to stay here long.

The leech-like memories that still haunted him seemed to come flooding back.

If it weren't for the unofficial business he had to take care of, he wouldn't have bothered to come here to do this awkward diplomacy.

Upon arrival, Kayan made himself at home inside the Elmir palace.

He wanted to get a feel for the layout and designs of the place, since he was legitimately deep in enemy territory.

Even as an envoy, it was impolite to wander into the king's home.

But not that the uncouth Anut would care.

As Kayan entered the North Palace, he was stopped by the royal guards who stood in front of him.

"Ha, you must not trespass in here."

It was a brave gesture indeed, but the voice crawled.

"Get out of my way, if you please."

The voice sounded like the growl of a fierce beast, sending a chill down the spine of everyone around him.

Kayan muttered to himself as he looked at the guards, who still refused to give way.

"I guess Elmir things aren't supposed to be spoken of."

A malevolent look crept across his statuesque face.

He drew his sword from the scabbard at his waist.

The guards hissed and took a step back.

The sharp blade sliced through the air in the blink of an eye, and he charged toward his opponent.

It was an incredibly fast move.

A thin horizontal gash appeared on the target's face.

A thin trail of blood followed its shape.

The crowd's reaction was a beat slower.

 "Ugh!"

 "Gah!"

 "Oh, oh my!"

Each person who witnessed the spectacle screamed.

On the floor lay a haphazard mass of hair that had been severed from the guard.

 The man's entire body froze as he realized that if the blade had been off by even a fraction of an inch, he would have been a corpse.

Kayan arched an eyebrow and glanced at what he held in his hand.

"I switched swords and my hand slipped."

 Kayan's piercing gaze traveled to the terrified men.

"For your information, I don't make the same mistakes."

A man who came as an emissary dared to wield a sword in the royal palace.

If that mad dog catches you, this time it will be your head, not your hair.

The guards slowly stepped back.

For this moment, it was more important not to tangle with the beast than with the king.

"Oh, wait."

Kayan called everyone to attention, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

They looked up at him like they were facing the messenger of hell.

"Is this what you're going to be talking about?"

"Oh, no, we, we didn't see anything, never............."

"No, don't."

Kayan interrupted them, shaking his head lightly.

"Don't do that, and go head and talk."

"......?"

"I'm more forgiving than some of the others. If you're going to act like this in front of the envoys, you're going to get yourself killed."

Kayan smiled slyly and stomped off.

Leaving the stunned courtiers behind, he stepped into the North Court, the most secretive room in the vast palace.

He sensed that the Elmirs, who had been unable to stop him wherever he roamed, were desperate to keep this place hidden.

‘Well, they must be hiding something big.’

For a brief moment, the thought of that rare treasure flashed through his mind, but he shook his head.

There was no way such a thing could be in such an insignificant country.

[There is an ancient artifact somewhere on the continent of Rizvisa, with an aura as divine as the waters of  Apeso spring. I offer a great reward to the one who brings it to me.]

Emperor Hashad has always been keen on collecting strange treasures from the royal families of other countries.

At times, acquiring magical tools scattered around the world seemed more important than the future of Anut.

As a result, even now, the storage rooms of the Anut Imperial Palace are littered with all manner of valuables that would never be seen by the average person.

Dozens of nations and continents had been scoured for artifacts that no one knew what they were or how they came to be.

As a result, manpower that could be mobilized in the country was being wasted on treasure hunts scattered across the globe.

Kayan pushed aside his thoughts of the incomprehensible Emperor Hashad and looked around the North Palace.

It was noticeably smaller, and the interior was just as bland.

It was a stark contrast to the opulence of the Central Palace, a building that seemed so humble that it was almost austere.

As he approached the entrance to the patronage hall, he saw a woman.

She wore a half-mask, its edges decorated with a delicate pattern of silver leaf.

Her eyes were fixed on the red flowers directly in front of her.

"Ihedia Herilsmiller.”

Once, he had heard that the Elmir princess, rumored to be beautiful enough to shake a nation, had been burned in an unfortunate accident, leaving half her face hideously disfigured.

But she was so beautiful that it was hard to imagine the scar that covered half her face, hidden behind a mask.

Just like in his old memories.

Kayan stared at her, unable to help himself.

Her skin was as white as if it had never seen sunlight, her gaze fixed as if the things she was seeing were the most precious thing in the world, her full lips pressed so tightly together that even the faintest hint of chill could be felt.............

She didn't look much different from the first time he saw her, so it was easy to imagine what she would have looked like if she hadn't been injured.

Suddenly, a boy about eight years old and a woman who appeared to be his nanny came to her side.

The child threw a rock at her back as she looked at the flowers.

One of Kayan's eyebrows twitched at the sight of it.

"You filthy wench!"

As Ihedia slowly turned her head, the child snarled and picked up a larger stone to throw, a behavior that continued several more times.

"Die, die!"

The nanny did not stop the child.

Ihedia turned her head again, as if unbothered that she was being stoned.

This time, the child stood in front of her and threw a rock at her face.

It knocked her mask down.

The child squealed with excitement and kicked the mask on the ground.

Kayan picked up the mask that had fallen in front of him.

He saw the terror in the nanny's eyes as she spotted him.

She recognized him as a vicious Anut as soon as she saw his color.

"Wow, Prince, we must return to your quarters at once." The nanny said to the boy.

"No, I want to play some more."

The nanny forcibly picked up the squirming child and hurried out of the North Palace.

Kayan stalked toward Ihedia.

Up close, the Princess’s face was devastated.

But Kayan didn't move, only stared down at Ihedia with calm eyes.

For a moment, Ihedia's eyebrows furrowed slightly and she cocked her head.

A pale pink flush tinged her otherwise white face.

Kayan had just arrived at the Elmir palace and was not properly dressed.

The heat that engulfed him the moment he entered the Elmir borders had forced him to remove his outer garments, even his shirt.

No one had warned him about his lack of attire, so he had been walking around without realizing what was wrong.

He realized only in hindsight that his bare chest was on full display.

Ihedia coughed, her discomfort clear and unmistakable.

"You're going to blush this much."

Kayan smirked, patting the hem of his robe.

Ihedia didn't reply, as if he wasn't worth the trouble.

She reached out to take the mask from Kayan's hand.

For some reason, Kayan felt reluctant to hand it over.

He wondered why.

Kayan asked himself.

Just because he wanted to pick on that nemesis of a woman?

Because he didn't like the way she looked at him like he was a bug?

Maybe both.

Ihedia yelped in disbelief as Kayan held the mask up high.

He asked.

"Why are you getting hit?"

"..."

"You're not making it any easier on me by staying silent."

Ihedia gave up trying to get the mask back and turned to leave.

But Kayan reflexively blocked her path.

Ihedia shot him a dirty, disgusted look.

Kayan changed his mind this time and offered her her mask.

"...."

Ihedia rejected the mask held out to her, shoving it away.

With a clank. The mask in his hand fell back to the floor.

She spoke in a prickly voice, as if trying to somehow inflict a small wound on the man before her.

"Barbarian."

Savage.

Was a derogatory word for the Anut.

At the same time, contempt shone in her vivid green pupils.

The Elmirs feared the Anut, but they also looked down on them.

Barbaric, crude creatures, devoid of decency and common sense.

That was what the world thought of the Anuts.

The royalty of the weaker nations would have an even greater dislike for the lesser beasts.

For Kayan, such treatment was so familiar by now that it was boring.

It was nothing more than words spoken by the powerless, fueled by evil.

But the words of the woman in front of him stung today.

[Barbarian.]

The same woman with the same eyes, the same voice, the same words.

Kayan picked up the mask from the floor.

Then, with ferocious strength, he yanked Ihedia's wrist.

***

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