“It is so white… and so cold..” Hazel said as she touched the cotton-white snow on the side of the road. Victoria was also with her daughter admiring the snow, while Drac on the other hand on the carriage, with a big frown on his face.

This is bad. It is going to get colder from here onwards, He then stared at the muddy road before him, Snow combined with snow means slush. The cart is definitely going to get stuck somewhere down the road.

He then stared at the black horse that had been pulling their cart. A part of him was more worried about the horse than the road.

Because of the vegetation of Alanor Kingdom, one doesn't really need to carry the feed of the horse when they are traveling. The creatures can easily indulge themselves in the soft green grass that grows here. And now with the snow, the grass would be hidden away for the poor animal. Not to mention, this creature was habitual of living on a tropical island, it is not suitable for cold regions.

It was a surety that the creature would die for sure in the near future.

With the horse gone, I dont think we will be able to headway anywhere, He thought, If we were to take a shot and travel through crowded places to decrease our traveling time, we need to make a lot of changes.

It was decided that they needed to change the silks of the ladies, into something that common folk usually wear. But they never really got the time or opportunity to do that. He had bought a dress for each one of them, from the same people from which he had bought the cart. But none of the ladies had ever worn the dress. Till now as they didnt encounter anyone he decided to let them be.

But now, that had to change.

He cleared his throat and called out, “Victoria, Hazel.. Come, we need to go,” The ladies wanted to see the snow, which was why they stopped. Without much fuss, they came back to the cart, and they started their journey again. And it is then he decided to come clean about his worries, along with the life expectancy of the horse.

“Well.. As long as we get to Keep, we can travel by foot as well,” Hazel said, making him raise his eyebrow.

“Wait, what?” he said, “Wouldn't that be a problem? You said that someone would be coming to pick you up from the Keep. If the horse dies, and with the snow, our journey will take twice as long as the expected time,”

Hazel became quiet, he glanced back to see Victoria showing her angry eyes to the girl. He stopped the carriage that instant, and turned back from the driver’s seat, “Alright…” he said, while staring at both of them, “Is there something that I am missing? If yes, then you both better fill me in, cause if no… I am going to flip out,”

Victoria opened her mouth, but closed it soon after, hesitating to say what she was trying to say. It is then with a deep breath, Hazel said, “We might have.. Omitted a small.. Detail.. From our talk,”

“And what is this small ‘detail’?”

Victoria sighed and said, “They were already here.. The people who are here to pick up Hazel. They were in the keep when it was attacked…”

He opened his mouth, with no words forming in his mind.

From what Victoria told him, Jonia's family was destroyed by some sort of mysterious attacker. She and Hazel were in the capital when it happened, a news came that everyone in the Jonia keep had been slaughtered. Killing such a strong family like that, he thought that the Ulaspas were after it. But later dismissed the idea, thinking that there was no logical explanation for why would they attack them in the first place.

But all that didnt matter right now. He was told that there would be a way for him to get to the Hograve Continent if he got them to their Keep. But if the people who were supposed to get her had vanished, he doesn't get what the fuck they were going back to the keep for.

While rubbing his eyebrows, he said, “So let me get this straight… Not only you guys lie to me about there being a way to get off this island… You also brought me out here… Near the fucking Rose Valley, a place all the monsters would be concentrated… We are also going to die here out in the open, out of coldness.. Goody goody..”

“Drac…” Victoria said. But he didnt let her finish her sentence, “What!” He whispered, not yelled. They were simply not worth his angry energy.

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“What Victoria?” He asked, “You stupid bitches made us come out here.. And for what? What is so important that you wanted to go to Jonia’s Keep?”

Victoria formed a smirk on her face, ignoring his anger, “Well… The people that came here, they might be dead. But that doesn't mean that the ship that they came in, is also dead,”

He jumped to the back, and came closer to her face, and then asked in a rather calm yet angry tone, “So what the fuck were to expecting? Do you think that we three would be able to control a ship on our own?” In this primitive world, the ships that were actively used for trading were old sail ships, that used huge sails powered by wind to move. And from what he read, it usually takes 5 to 6 people to keep the ship going.

“I know how to sail a ship,”

Still staring into her eyes he asked, “And do we think we will able to handle a ship, on our own?” They were mana wielders, stronger than normal humans. Still, it was too much for them to handle such a large vessel on their own.

“Who said that the ship is a normal ship? This one the a mana-powered ship. And we would be able to handle it on our own,”

He leaned back, relaxing, “We will be able to handle it?”

“It would take some time getting used to it, but we will be able to,” Victoria said with a smile.

He sighed with relief and then went back in the driver's seat. “Then I will make sure that we get there as fast as we can,” As the cart started moving again, he glanced back and both girls had smiles on their faces.

He didnt believe a word that they said.

If they could lie once in the face of death, they could do it again. He thought.

When they met each other, he showed them that he was a ruthless person. But as time passed, he showed them that he was actually a very compassionate person. And from what he showed, they truly believed his act, seeing how they didnt act scared when he got angry.

It was a good sign that they truly believed in the persona that he had created, but now he was regretting creating such a persona. If he had been hard from the start, he would have been able to get the truth out of them sooner. Hell, he still dont know whether they are telling the truth or not.

I will make sure that they die a very painful death if I find out that they are lying to me again. He thought.

As they passed by the roads filled with snow, Drac couldnt help but think about life. About two years ago, he was thinking of ending his life for good, but he still didnt care about his life when he was working for the Ulaspas. But now things were different. His time in the lab ignited his scientific curiosity, and the thought of death had vanished from his mind. Which was why he was getting off the island.

After reading about mana, about magic, he wants to explore it. He wants to explore the limitations and strength of this magic. And he didn't want to die before he had seen everything that it had to offer.

And he will make sure of it.

***

“Dont talk to anyone, nor look at anyone.” He said, “Stay beside me. It should seem that we are a family of peasants. Nothing more, nothing less,”

They were approaching a village. Although previously he was planning to bypass the village altogether. But with the snow, he cannot do that anymore. The ladies are enjoying the snow, as they should considering that it was the first time that they had ever seen it. But as a modern human, the horrors that snow holds. So he was planning to upgrade his cart and supplies for the future.

Firstly, he was planning to let the local Leather Mason install a roof on the cart. He could not let the supplies in the cart get wet. And he had planned to buy some animal skin while he was at it. He would need it in the future to counter the cold. Although the animals of this region dont have thick skin or fur, the skins of local animals are usually used to make rugs or clothes. But he was thinking that if he combined two or more skins together, he would be able to counter some cold.

There was a very small chance that the village would have the things that he needed. But he had to take his chance…

As they entered the muddy roads of the village, they saw that hardly anyone was outside the house. They could see smoke from the chimneys of the houses, which meant that there were people inside.

There was no one on the streets, so he drove his cart to the first inn sign that he saw, and came to a stop there. He figured that while he was at it, he should at least try to get some meat while he was at it. He was getting sick of eating unsalted porridge three times a day.

As they disembarked, he whispered, “Both of you, remember what I taught you guys,” Both of them nodded.

It is then the doors of the inn flung open and a woman in her late thirties came out, “Well, all hail Lord Itab.. More travelers.” She came to them, “What can I do for you, kind sirs.. And madams,” The woman looked rather happy to see them, which made sense considering her business was probably going to loss in such conditions.

“Well.. Me, and my family would love to have some roasted meat if you have it,”

“Certainly sire,” she replied, “

“Well let's talk inside then, shall we?” He said, and they followed the innkeeper inside.

As they stepped into the inn, they were blasted with a warm breeze, invigorating their bodies. “Come in,” the woman said, “There is a table available,” she pointed at the restaurant which seemed to be filled with soldiers. Like a moth attracted to light, his legs along with Victoria and Hazel automatically started making their way to the restaurant,

“… Just behind the Sumor Family Soldiers,” The innkeeper's words made them all come to a halt in their place.

Fuck me, He thought as he stared at the very familiar insignia of the family that he used to serve…