Helen withdrew her objection and decided to keep the appointments exactly as Lucian had set them.
Once the lineup was finalized, everything moved swiftly after that.
Although it was kept secret and not announced publicly, the preparations themselves had been underway for a long time already.
After explaining the circumstances to his close aides and drawing up a concrete plan, Lucian immediately announced his journey.
"I will return with our old kin beyond the snowfields—and with the Dragon's Heart they possess!"
Lucian's sudden declaration left everyone bewildered.
Old kin? And what in the world was this Dragon's Heart supposed to be?
"Your Majesty, I honestly don't understand what you mean. Are you saying people live beyond the snowfields?"
"To understand my words, you must first know the hidden history of the northern royal family."
Lucian calmly explained to the confused officials.
That more than a thousand years ago, the founder of the northern royal family had migrated from beyond the snowfields.
That afterward, due to relentless blizzards, contact had been severed for centuries, and they had not met their kin for over a thousand years.
And that now, with a mage's help opening a path, he intended to bring those kin back under his rule.
"Above all, they possess the Dragon's Heart," he said. "If such a treasure exists, should we not retrieve it and use it for the empire's prosperity?"
At Lucian's claim, everyone failed to hide their disbelief.
Bringing up something that had supposedly happened over a thousand years ago was one thing, but wasn't the story itself far too absurd?
It could have been something a mage made up—yet he believed it outright without even verifying it.
Is His Majesty ill? He's not usually like this.
"He's still so young. Exactly the age to catch a case of hero syndrome."
Someone should stop him. What if something terrible happens?
Stop him how? Who's even in a position to do that?
Opposing a decision made by the ruler was something only those with significant standing could do.
If not a close confidant, at least a trusted vassal.
But since there was no one in such a position willing to stop Lucian, there was no alternative.
In the end, Lucian's declaration became a fait accompli, and before long, even a concrete departure date was set.
"Your Majesty, is it really all right to declare this so openly?"
Ironically, it wasn't Lucian's close aides who were startled by his radical move—it was Helen.
She had provoked him, yes, but she never imagined he would reveal everything so openly.
"You didn't have to tell the truth outright. You could have easily come up with another pretext. Won't this just make you a laughingstock?"
"That may be true until I succeed. But if you consider the moment I return having truly succeeded, it's right to tell the truth from the beginning."
Lucian brushed off Helen's concern casually.
"So what if they laugh? If I actually pull it off, the ones who laughed will be the fools. What matters isn't the brief ridicule, but the aftermath once it succeeds. If I explain it in advance, I won't have to go into long explanations even if I return leading an army."
Moreover, revealing the truth would only elevate Lucian's reputation further if the endeavor succeeded.
What Lucian was attempting now was a grand adventure straight out of a fairy tale.
At this early stage, he might be treated like a madman—but the moment he succeeded, it would become a true legend of adventure.
But if the beginning of the adventure were dressed up with a flimsy excuse, it would hardly make for a good story.
"If anything, it's better to state from the start that this was the adventure I intended. If I tack on some other pretext, no matter how nicely it's embellished, it'll still end up with lines like 'it wasn't intentional, but things just happened to work out by luck.'"
"That's certainly true, but…"
"And this way, you'll also do everything you can to make sure it doesn't fail. Isn't that right?"
At the pointed remark, Helen swallowed hard.
If this endeavor failed, it wouldn't just be Lucian who looked like a fool.
Helen and the other mages would be branded as "the kind who beguile a ruler with honeyed words like serpents."
If she wanted to be a proper advisor, she had to see this through and help Lucian succeed, no matter what it took.
"I'll keep that firmly in mind."
"That's enough. By the way, once we enter the snowfields, didn't you say we have to arrive within half a month?"
"Yes. We can't be any later than that. My master will close the path immediately once the appointed date passes."
"Your master, huh."
The master of Helen and Colin—a mage who lived in the lands beyond the snowfields.
Someone capable of temporarily calming the cold so severe that even knights would freeze solid.
Lucian felt a surge of interest, but decided not to ask further.
Before long, he would see it all with his own eyes anyway.
Before departing, Lucian summoned Gares, the commander of the Blue Rose Knight Order, in case of contingencies.
Gares, who had been called so suddenly, came to see Lucian with a stiff, tense expression.
"I was told you summoned me."
"I did. But your expression looks grim—has something happened?"
"…Your Majesty, I will speak frankly. I cannot send the knight order to that frozen land."
"What are you talking about? I have no intention of taking you with me."
"Pardon?"
Gares and Lucian stared blankly at each other for a moment.
Then, once Lucian understood the misunderstanding, he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Did you think I was planning to set off on an adventure with the Blue Rose Knight Order? Sorry, but from the start I only intended to take a few close aides with me."
"Ah…"
Gares's face flushed red as he realized his mistake.
He had been worrying about how they would survive in the snowfields, only to learn that Lucian had never planned to bring them along in the first place.
"Well, I understand how you felt. No matter how you look at it, it's a mad undertaking. You wouldn't want to push your subordinates into mortal danger."
"I—I apologize, Your Majesty."
"What's there to apologize for? A commander trying to preserve his troops is only natural. If you were my vassal, that might be another matter, but you're not."
The more Lucian praised him, the deeper Gares bowed his head.
No matter how generously it was interpreted, what Gares had been about to do moments ago bordered on insubordination.
Watching him with satisfaction, Lucian soon reached down and took something out.
"In any case, I'm glad the misunderstanding is cleared up. In truth, I was planning to entrust this to you."
"This is…!"
Gares recoiled in shock at the item Lucian produced.
White armor engraved with runes inlaid throughout.
It was the same type of treasure Felicia had used in her duel before.
"W-Why would you entrust something like this to me, Your Majesty?"
"Strictly speaking, I'm not entrusting it only to you. I want to lend this armor to the entire Blue Rose Knight Order."
It was shocking enough to learn that multiple suits of this armor even existed—but to lend them to the entire Blue Rose Knight Order?
As Gares stood there on the verge of fainting from sheer astonishment, Lucian spoke calmly.
"I don't know how long this expedition will take. I plan to return as quickly as possible, but it may take longer than expected. A mountain without its master is bound to attract wolves, so I want you to drive those wolves away with this armor."
"How can you trust us with such a treasure…?"
"I pride myself on having a keen eye for judging people. The men I've seen so far have been true knights who have lived without shame. I'm lending arms to honorable knights—how could I worry about not getting them back?"
Lucian spoke with a tongue slick with flattery, mixing half sincerity and half falsehood.
He did trust Gares's character, but in truth he trusted the agreement with the Emperor even more.
Up until now, the Emperor had treated Lucian well in order to make him a pillar of support for the First Prince.
Now imagine the Blue Rose Knight Order—dispatched by the imperial family—swallowing Lucian's treasures and fleeing.
Leaving aside the disgrace of being labeled thieves who abandoned a knight's honor, they would be branded traitors who had shattered the relationship between the imperial family and Lucian.
"Y-Your Majesty!"
But Gares, having taken Lucian's words as pure sincerity, suddenly burst into tears.
He then dropped to one knee before Lucian and shouted loudly,
"I, Gares, swear by the Eight Gods of Heaven that until the day Your Majesty returns, not a single scoundrel will be allowed to set foot in Asagrim!"
"Haha, how reassuring. Then I'll place my trust in you."
Lucian gently patted Gares on the shoulder.
Feeling the faint tremor running through it, the smile at his lips grew deeper.
He could sense that the hearts of the Blue Rose Knight Order were steadily tilting more and more toward him.
When the day of departure finally dawned, Lucian left Asagrim together with his close aides.
Soon after, the Blue Rose Knight Order—armed in pure white armor—followed behind him.
They couldn't accompany him beyond the snowfields, but they intended to escort Lucian as far as they possibly could.
Their overwhelming presence was so fierce that even those who had come half in mockery to watch Lucian's adventure were taken aback.
"What's that armor? Just one look tells you it's no ordinary equipment."
"With an elite force like that at his back, he's still setting out to gain more soldiers?"
"I get it—they're not his personal troops—but relying on a legend is going too far."
"I wonder what that mage whispered in his ear. This is why sorcerers can't be trusted."
Ignoring the murmurs around him, Lucian headed toward his destination: Raugrad.
Even in the north, where unnatural cold reigned year-round, it was a remote wasteland known as an ice hell.
Raugrad lay at the very edge of the northern lands—a place from which anyone who tried to cross never returned, doomed to freeze to death.
"Damn it… this is brutal."
Several days later, the curse slipped from Lucian's mouth as he entered Raugrad.
Even with a heat stone warming his body, the cold was so severe it felt like it was freezing him to the bone.
The onlookers had long since fallen back, and even the Blue Rose Knight Order—who had marched out of the city with such imposing dignity—was reaching the limit of what they could endure.
"Y-Your Majesty. I'm terribly sorry, but it seems this is as far as we can go…"
Lucian looked at Gares, who spoke while his teeth chattered, with a pained expression.
He wanted to reach out and pat him on the shoulder, but he hesitated—afraid that the blizzard might slip in through his sleeve if he did.
"Helen! Just how long are you planning to keep us waiting!?"
"Please wait just a little longer. It will be soon now…"
As Lucian's irritation finally burst out after enduring it for so long, Helen clenched both hands tightly, as if waiting for something.
A moment later, sensing something, she snapped her head up and shouted,
"It's opening!"
Fwooooom—
The Blue Rose Knight Order looked around with stunned expressions.
Everywhere else, the blizzard was so fierce that it was hard to take even a single step—yet directly above their heads, the snow and wind had completely ceased.
Faced with a sight that was nothing short of miraculous, everyone was left speechless, and Lucian spoke.
"Thank you all for escorting me this far. As I said before, I'll be leaving now to bring back our kin beyond the snowfields."
"We wish you fortune in battle, Your Majesty. Please take care of yourself."
"You all must guard Asagrim well in my absence. Even if the acting lord falls short in some respects, I ask for your understanding."
"Of course. We will do our utmost to support him."
Satisfied with Gares's prompt reply, Lucian turned his back and headed beyond the snowfields.
His figure advancing along a path without a single breath of wind amid the raging blizzard looked like something out of a fairy tale.
Only after Lucian's back disappeared from sight did the Blue Rose Knight Order turn back toward Asagrim—
to drive away the wolves that might gather on a land left without its master, just as they had sworn.
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