The two Velox pawed at each other impatiently. Edulis's cart had left the grasslands and entered the Casbah Desert, the largest desert on the continent.

The sands of the Casbah are beautiful. White as a snowflake, soft as silk, it sparkles like quartz in the sunlight. But that sparkle poses a great threat to the Erabu who cross it. It can blind them.

He should have pulled his hood over his eyes, but right now Kishi couldn't afford to. A silver-haired boy was leaning his elbow on his shoulder.

Kishi turned his head slightly to check the boy's hands. He wasn't holding a sword, so what was this cold on the nape of his neck?

He'd been an erabu for over a decade, but he'd never seen anything like this. Most of the Ygraine clan are depressed and lethargic. It's only natural. It's hard to be cheerful when you're trapped in a place like Kaldura and oppressed by the state.

But this boy, Edulis, is more than energetic, he is radiating. Kishi's Erabu senses were warning him. This bastard has killed a man or two before.

"No. It can't be.”

The other guy was twelve years old. He's never been outside of Kaldura, except to visit the Temple Memorial. Kishi ignored the alarm bells ringing in his senses and tried to sound nonchalant.

"Ha! This is ridiculous. You want me to hand over the Velox? Why would I take such a bet?"

"Hey, mister. Weren't you confident? Is Erabus Kishi a man who can't even stand by his words?"

That face. The smirking tone. Even if he belonged to the Igraine faction, he was, by name, a member of the Fei family. Where did he learn such insolence?

"There's no point in making a bet with someone who's going to die anyway!"

"You're not making a bet because you're going to die, or are you admitting there's a chance you're wrong?"

"There's no chance of that!"

"Then what, are you intimidated by me, mister, are you a coward who's being pecked by a twelve-year-old, haha!"

Edulis turned his head toward the lifeless relative sitting next to him and said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey, go back and spread the word. That Erabu Kishi is an asshole who doesn't have the balls to bet with a twelve-year-old."

"What, what did you say?"

"How are you doing so far? Aren't you scared to cross the Casbah Desert? Oh... I thought I smelled something fishy, but it must have been Kishi's piss on the saddle. Hey, buddy, spread the word. Kissy's wagon smells like Kishi's pee!"

Kishi's face turned red. Fueled by rising anger, veins popped on his neck. He couldn't articulate his words properly due to excessive excitement. Edulis had touched upon Kishi's pride. In Erabus society, courage was the most valued virtue. Once marked as a coward, it was challenging to find opportunities.

If word of what Edulis said was to spread among the Erabu, other Erabu would immediately come forward to take Kishi's job. They'd say things like

"Hey, I don't think a guy who's intimidated by a 12-year-old can get to and from Kaldura, so I'm taking it now.

After that, it doesn't matter what excuses Kishi makes. It is the opinion of most Erabu that a coward's words are not worth listening to.

Edulis was well aware of this. As far as he was concerned, Erabu was easy to manipulate. All he had to do was scratch their egos and they would bend to his will.

"You... you bastard!"

Blood rose to Kishi's eyes. "You've never set foot outside of Kaldura, you've never seen how brave Lord Bosha's descendants are, and you've never heard of the fear of a dragon!"

"Indeed. I'd like to see that." Edulis said with a smirk. That stirred Kishi's anger even more.

"When Mr. Lagarde swings his sword, the ground within ten paces around him is set ablaze! When Mr. Yug smashes his hammer, a giant pit appears in the ground as if a star had fallen! When Lord Kurjina raises his staff, spears of lightning fly, and if you stand in front of them, you will die a terrible death!"

"No, sir."

Edulis scratched the back of his head and threw up his hands in boredom.

"What’s with all this chit-chat? So, are you going to take the bet or not?"

"...Fine. When you die, I will kick your tombstone and piss on your ashes!"

"Whatever. Then, swear to Assyria."

An oath to Assyria. It is the most effective means of guaranteeing the fulfillment of a contract. Assyria is the goddess of truth, and if you fail to honor an oath made in her name, your head will fall off at that moment.

"You... how do you know about the oath to Assyria?"

"It's none of your business, go ahead."

Kishi is quiet.

The Oath to Assyria is common knowledge on the continent, but the problem is that it's also magic. Ygraine Clan does not have a spellbook. How is it that a child of Ygraine Clane, who has no access to magic until he joins the Festival of Saints, already knows this oath?

Kishi questioned, but his pride wouldn't allow him to come this far and say otherwise.

He put his right hand to his chest and said Assyria's name. Blood flowed from his pinky finger, drawing a red band across it. It was a sign that Assyria would watch over the fulfillment of this oath.

"Justice will prevail. As Bosha defeated Ygraine, so will those who carry the blood of heroes slaughter the offspring of the insolent witch. Your soul shall not rest in peace in death!"

"Ah, well. You talk too much. You're usually called a loudmouth, aren't you?"

Kishi snorted as loud as Velox's prancing. He wanted to snap at Edulis, but he couldn't think of the right words, so he just glared at his face.

"Hey, mister, can you drive properly? The Velox on the right is looking elsewhere. If you're not focused, he might too."

Edulis said as he patted Kishi on the shoulder. Kishi's face was so red he thought it might explode, but what could he do? It was part of his contract with the Fae family to arrive in Vaidor on time. Kishi grimaced and tugged on Velox's reins.

Afterward, Edulis lay down on the wagon with his hood over his head. He lay cross-legged, seemingly at peace with the world.

Then, the boy who had been sitting there as if dead spoke to him. His voice was as small as a mosquito's.

"What are you going to do?"

"Oh, you can talk?"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You’ll survive if you bang your head...Do you know what that means? You’re going to beat all six of them."

"Yeah, I'm thinking about it."

"That's... we can't......."

At the boy's words, Edulis chuckled.

"There's something we need to do in St. Trisis."

The boy looked at Edulis with pity in his eyes. He seemed to think he was a little off his game. Regardless, Edulis shifted his position, trying to find a comfortable one.

"Ahhh... this head part is uncomfortable. By the way, what's your name?"

"...Enri."

“I see. Enri, please wake me up when we arrive."

Saying that, Edulis fell asleep on top of the rattling cart.

----------------------------------------

"Walk in from here. I'm not obligated to give you a ride inside."

Vaidor, the main gate of the Fey family. Kishi halted Velox and urged Edulis and Enri to follow; it seemed a long way from the gate to their destination.

Edulis stood at the gate and scanned the grounds of the Fey manor, which looked much different than it had when Bosha was alive. The grounds alone were ten times the size.

There were dozens of marble mansions. Violet lavender and colorful roses adorned the gardens. The gardens were meticulously tended and the branches were neatly trimmed.

Edulis didn't like the sight. When Bosha was alive, the Fey family had a reputation for frugality.

While other nobles built mansions and planted gardens, the Fey found, fed, and clothed the hungry. When there was a good harvest and tax revenues were surplus, they held festivals to laugh and enjoy with the people. They were not the kind of people who would decorate their homes for personal pleasure.

He remembered himself as Bosha saying "Are you the duke? You're dukes, aren't you, Our house seems better than this.?

Ygraine smiled and replied, "Yes. I'm glad to hear that. It would be a shame for a Fey to live in a house that was better than the people.

- The noblemen I know have gardens, and they're beautiful. Why don't you plant a palm tree?

- If I had the money, I'd add more stones to our foundation.

That's Ygraine. That's the Fey family. But what is this place now? Dragging irrigation from the farms to water the gardens would surely lead to a shortage of agricultural water during the planting season.

An insult. An insult to the Fey family and Ygraine! Against the will of the goddess Lutea!

"There's the main family’s wagon passing by. Children of the witch, bow your heads more deeply in contrition."

With that, Kishi bowed toward the cart. An elegant and rather luxurious cart was approaching in the distance. Enri did as he was told and bowed deeply.

But Edulis did not follow suit. He was staring at something that caught his eye.

"Rude bastard, come on, pay your respects to the descendants of heroes!"

Kishi shouted, but Edulis didn't bow. He held his head high and looked up at the door. The crest of House Fey was emblazoned on the top of the door. A crest as large as a shield worn by a Kingdom infantryman.

"Haha."

Edulis laughed. His anger was beyond the top, and it made him laugh.

The crest had a picture on it. A picture of Bosha defeating Ygrain. It depicted Ygraine as a monster with scattered hair and long fangs.

Ygraine sprawled miserably on the ground, and Bosha stomped on her head, then pointed his straightened sword at her throat.

"This thing is here too?"

"Hey, come on, look up...."

Kishi was speechless. Because he saw Edulis' eyes. Those eyes. Eyes that burned as if they held all the anger in the world.

They were the eyes of the Kaldura Red Fox.

A memory flashed through Edulis's mind. It was Bosha who had wrestled Ygraine to the ground.

No, he’s ashamed to call it a fight. Ygraine had merely played with Bosha for a while. Ygrainne's sword was like falling petals, like willow leaves on water, like a lullaby to a child.

When Ygrainne swung her sword, it was as futile as if he had cut through a flowing river, and Bosha's magick, which was like iron, scattered like sand.

Then, on the ground, Bosha looked up at Ygrain and said, "For a mercenary, defeat is death.

- If you don't kill me now, one day I will.

Ygraine never pointed her sword at Bosha. Not once, not ever.

Ygraine merely parried a lunging Bosha attack.

- I don't want you to follow me in victory or defeat. I want you to be driven by faith and love.

- Do you not know who I am? Do you think the Fox of Kaldura would listen to that, you hypocrite? After all, you raised your sword to persuade me, didn't you?

Then Ygraine nodded.

- Very well.

Then he threw the sword to the ground and kicked it away.

- What is he doing?

Ygraine slowly approached Bosha. His chest and stomach were exposed, defenseless.

Bosha raised his sword and pointed it at Ygraine.

- Ha! Are you going to walk up to me and cut me with your sword?

Even after saying that, Ygraine didn't stop walking.

- Be it so. But I believe in the light that wanders in the depths of your heart.

- Bullshit!

Bosha threatened Ygraine with several swipes of his sword in the air, but Ygrainne didn't stop.

- Crazy woman! Don't you dare die for nothing!

Bosha shouted, but it was like a cat bluffing with its fur standing up. The same Bosha who had no qualms about holding a spear or knife to his throat or being surrounded by demons in the Varus Swamp was scaring the crap out of Ygraine.

No one knew what he was afraid of. Not even himself.

The distance between Ygraine and Bosha narrowed to three paces. Then two. Then one step.

But in the end, Bosha couldn't swing his sword. Why he couldn't swing his sword, Bosha didn't understand himself, and his body stiffened.

Ygraine approached and gently cradled his head in his hands. Igrainne didn't give him any pressure, but he couldn't move.

28 years of his life. Only once has he admitted defeat. That defeat was very special to him.

"Well, these guys ruined everything.”

"What... what are you doing?"

Kishi shouted in horror. The Fey family's main carriage had approached, its front clearly visible.

Edulis put his hand on the handle of his sword.

"No!"

Enri shouted at the top of his lungs. Edulis ignored him and chuckled. Then he spoke in a low voice.

"Do not insult Ygraine."

And with that, Edulis's sword sliced through the air. With it, the Fey family crest shattered into pieces and crumbled to the ground.