The First Ruin
Somehow, it was inconceivable that she might never leave this place, but the process of escaping the Sanctuary was surprisingly simple and comforting. Lisbel stared out the carriage window at the snow-covered white Sanctuary receding into the distance, then turned her head away without a trace of regret, as if she had seen some horrific filth.
How long had they been traveling?
Due to the unfamiliar rocking of the carriage, something she hadn't experienced in a long time, Lisbel had been suffering from motion sickness. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. Then, the sound of the carriage wall being knocked on startled her awake.
A knight knocked on the carriage window and tossed a black cloak through the opening. He muttered under his breath with a tone full of contempt.
“Just to carry around a heretic like that... I really can't understand what the Captain or the higher-ups are thinking.”
He said it so loudly that it was obvious he was mocking, but Lisbel caught a small piece of information from it.
The knights in the exploration party, including Hendrick, had the imperial family's black stele engraved on their uniforms. They were the Imperial Knights. The highest-ranking one in this group was Hendrick, so the captain the knight mentioned was undoubtedly Hendrick.
“The one who will become a grand duke... the captain of the Imperial Knights...?”
It was a position with great honor, so there was nothing strange about it. But as Lisbel, who knew that her father, Duke Hautman, had been in a hurry to secure the succession, it was puzzling.
“Now, that's none of my concern.”
A brief doubt crossed her mind, but that was it. Quickly shaking off thoughts of Hendrick, Lisbel picked up the cloak that had fallen on the carriage floor, wrapped it around her body, and pulled her hat down over her head as much as possible.
“Get down. We'll stay at the inn today.”
Lisbel stepped out of the carriage, covering her entire body completely, and looked around. She widened her eyes in disbelief.
Three years ago, the empire had been groaning under the fear of monster gates that could erupt at any moment. She vividly remembered the thick wooden boards nailed to the windows of every house to withstand monster attacks. However, the scene before her now was incredibly peaceful. Windows with boards torn off, people on the streets smiling in comfort.
During the time she had been confined in the Sanctuary as a heretic, the world had perfectly recovered its daily life. The extreme contrast between them and herself brought an indescribable emotion.
“Ugh.”
She felt nauseous. Everyone was peaceful and happy now, but only she was thoroughly miserable in this world, making all kinds of negative feelings cling to her body.
“Why are you like this? Walk straight.”
Even at this moment, Lisbel had to endure a life where she was treated like a criminal and couldn't even show her face comfortably.
Among the knights with the black stele engraved, the one who stood out the most was Hendrick, who had once been her entire world. Seeing him, Lisbel swallowed the surging resentment she couldn't control.
She bit her lips until they bled, suppressing the boundless anger inside her.
The journey afterward was no different from right after leaving the Sanctuary.
The knights and exploration party members still treated Lisbel as a heretic who posed a serious threat to the empire. Ultimately, Lisbel repeated eating and sleeping alone in the thoroughly isolated carriage, quietly enduring the journey to the First Ruin.
“Here...”
The final destination was the mountain range on the opposite side of the Sanctuary.
Like the place they had left, it was covered in snow year-round. Unlike the rugged mountains where the Sanctuary was located, this place had an endless vast snowy plain.
“From here, only you and the criminal can enter. The knights will divide the exploration party members into squads and build camps at various points to prepare for monster attacks.”
“Understood!”
With a resounding answer, the knights dispersed in an orderly manner.
This was the first time Lisbel had properly faced Hendrick on the exploration path. Hendrick dismounted from his horse with a light step, glanced at Lisbel, and nodded.
“This place is forbidden for horses or carriages, so you'll have to walk. Can you make it?”
Lisbel turned without answering and walked toward the center of the snowy plain.
The place Lisbel aimed for was a ruin in the shape of a temple. There were a total of six imperial-managed ruins across the empire. There was a clear reason why this historically valuable place was called an “imperial ruin.”
Because of the ancient curses left behind when the ruins were built in the past, only those who inherited the bloodline of the imperial family could approach them.
“Hah... ha...”
She didn't want to pant in front of Hendrick, but her body, broken by long isolation and abuse, wouldn't move as she wished. As she pushed through the snow that reached her ankles, her stamina was depleted at a normal pace.
“Tsk.”
Before long, the distance opened up, and Hendrick, who had been walking ahead, clicked his tongue irritably.
“Kyaa! W-what are you doing?!”
Hendrick suddenly approached and lifted her lightly in his arms. Lisbel screamed and struggled. But her resistance was meaningless in front of the strength of the Imperial Knights' captain.
With Lisbel's trivial resistance seeming ridiculous, Hendrick's low reply came.
“If we go at this pace, we'll reach the stele before sunset. If you want to finish it today, behave yourself.”
Unfortunately, there was no way to refute him.
Lisbel bit her lower lip and curled her body as much as possible in his arms. Unlike her cold expression, the warmth transmitted through their touching bodies was warm.
“This is really...”
How far had they gone in the suffocatingly awkward silence?
When the grandeur of the ruin, which differed from what she had seen from afar, came into view, Lisbel swallowed and said to Hendrick,
“Let me down. Now I can walk alone.”
As they approached the ruin, the boundary line along the ruin site was clearly visible, with no snow accumulation to obscure the inside and outside of the barrier.
Lisbel, who had set foot on the ground, approached the boundary in a daze and reached out her hand into the air. A recoil like electricity ran through her palm as she gently pushed against the transparent barrier.
“Wow...”
The passion of a scholar who had dried up for three years erupted.
The opportunity to research the imperial ruin was the greatest honor for all archaeologists in the empire. The countless books and papers of senior scholars who had only wandered around outside the barrier flashed through her mind.
A sacred area where even dungeons didn't generate.
The unknown world permitted only to members of the imperial family who inherited the blood of the founding father was unfolding right before her eyes.
“Reach out your hand.”
Hendrick, who had approached silently beside Lisbel, who was purely admiring, said casually.
Lisbel, who didn't understand why he was making such a demand, hesitated. Hendrick drew the dagger from his waist and pricked the tip of his thumb.
“W-what are you doing right now...?”
“From now on, what you'll see is the highest secret of the imperial family. Never record it or disclose it to anyone.”
With a cold warning, Hendrick's body came close, and suddenly Lisbel's wrist, hidden under the cloak, was pulled by him.
Without time to be surprised by the suddenly narrowed distance, his wounded thumb pressed against the soft skin inside her wrist and slowly rubbed. On her pale skin, Hendrick's red bloodline spread clearly.
“Ugh, wait...”
Hendrick's actions didn't end there.
Suddenly, she felt an unfamiliar sensation spreading along the blood flow. Lisbel struggled to pull her hand away from the alien stimulation spreading throughout her wrist. But she couldn't withstand his firm grip.
“Endure it.”
Hendrick warned her body that was interfering with her consciousness in a low voice and pulled her closer.
Many scholars believed that only the imperial family's bloodline could approach the imperial ruin, but that wasn't the case.
If a descendant of the founding father with aura or holy power smeared their blood on the pulse point of another person and injected strength, a Red Mark (Red Engraving) could be temporarily created to fool the barrier. As long as the engraving was maintained, even those without the imperial bloodline could enter the ruin.
The procedure itself was simple, but the duration of the engraving was extremely short. It was a makeshift method that was hard to use unless in a situation where the ruin was imminent.
“Ugh...”
While Lisbel swallowed, the bloodstain on her wrist spread in geometric patterns drawn by Hendrick. Eventually, the pattern emitting red light seeped into the skin like a lie and was absorbed as a complete engraving.
“It's over.”
Due to the excessively close distance and the warmth of his body still on the inside of her wrist, and the unfamiliar sensation that wasn't hers wandering through her whole body, Lisbel's heart was still pounding roughly.
However, just as it proved that she alone was shaken among all the stimuli, Hendrick's expressionless face was unbearably resentful.
“Let go of this.”
Lisbel, enveloped in shame and defeat, roughly pulled her wrist out of Hendrick's hand that had been holding it until then. And without hesitation, she strode toward the entrance of the ruin.
This was undoubtedly a historic moment where she, as an archaeologist, should have trembled with excitement. However, Lisbel was captivated by the thought of getting as far away from that man as possible, and she missed that precious moment.