The One and Only Guide - Chapter 8
Jian, completely unaware of this fact, was busy searching for the Gate’s exit. She scanned her surroundings with her head held high and was quickly disheartened. Snow was everywhere, making it challenging to find any area free of it.
What if it takes several days to find the exit this way? There were emergency kits with emergency pills, but they could only last for so long…
Some Gates could take a week or even several months to be resolved, while some remained unresolved for a year or more, becoming known as unsolved Gates.
Jian fretted over the possibility of the Gate she was embroiled in becoming an unsolved one, and her anxiety was palpable to Axion.
‘She’s anxious.’
He didn’t want her to know, but… She seemed to be aware of it, too.
That she’s basically being kidnapped.
Axion tried to suppress Jian’s anxiety and pondered the best way to appease her. Would it have been better to tell the truth from the beginning and persuade her?
That would not be the case. As despicable as it was, in that moment, he could think of no other alternative to kidnapping. He didn’t want to think about it.
So finally, the two of them arrived at the Northern Odergen Duchy’s estate.
Her expression hardening, Jian fixed her gaze on the towering castle walls and the smoke rising beyond them.
‘Could there be a castle of this size within the Gate?’
She had heard stories of labyrinth-like Gates, with large structures and occasional base-like waypoints within them. When she considered this on a larger scale, having a castle within the Gate didn’t seem particularly strange.
However, smoke rising beyond the castle walls suggested something else. Did this mean there were intelligent monsters residing within the Gate?
It was just her and this man. With just the two of them, dealing with a group of intelligent monsters would be challenging. He had easily dispatched the monsters they encountered along the way, but she felt uneasy.
“Wait a moment,” Jian said.
Axion, who was about to cross the castle gate, paused abruptly. Had she figured it out? Should he carry her and run forward before she struggles to break free?
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“What if that place is a monster’s lair? Wouldn’t it be better to observe from a distance instead of approaching blindly?”
Axion’s train of thought was momentarily disrupted by her unexpected words. Did she think of the castle as a monster’s lair? That can’t be the case. Still, her expression was serious. Axion tried to correct her misunderstanding with an awkward expression.
“That place is not a monster’s lair.”
“What is it then?”
“It’s the Northern Odergen Duchy’s estate.”
“Duchy?”
While Jian was questioning this, there was a commotion on the castle wall. Soldiers spotted Axion and began to open the castle’s outer gate.
The sound of clinking chains and creaking pulleys filled the air as the gate began to slowly descend. Jian lost herself in thought for a moment while gazing at the descending bridge.
‘Is that… a human being up there?’
Simultaneously, from atop the castle wall, a shout could be heard.
“Your Grace! You’re alive!”
“Curses! Who told anyone to open the outer gate? Hurry, close it again before the monsters swarm in!”
“The Duke has returned! His Grace has come back!”
Exclamations of joy echoed through the area, piercing through the howling snowstorm and roaring winds. The voices were filled with fervor, carrying over the fierce blizzard.
“Duke…?” Jian muttered.
As she spoke, the end of the gate touched the ground, forming a bridge over the moat. Axion quickly stepped onto it and entered the partially opened castle gate. As the duke crossed the gate, the soldiers swiftly reversed the gate mechanism, closing it.
The steel-reinforced gate slammed shut with a resounding thud behind Jian. She looked around with a puzzled expression, gazing at the people rushing toward them.
Dressed in medieval-style suits of armor and fur coats, these individuals approached with joyful expressions. Initially, their faces were barely visible due to their thick fur coats, making Jian wonder if they were some kind of monkey-like monsters rather than humans. However, it became clear that they were indeed human.
“Who are these people…?”
Axion had a strong sense that he could no longer conceal his identity. He untied the knot of his cloak, lowering Jian to the ground. Thanks to this, Jian realized that Axion was taller than her by at least a head. It was a fact she hadn’t noticed during their previous contact and guiding attempts.
“I am Axion Odergen, Duke of the northern lands.”
He introduced himself with a somber tone. Yet, his deep voice was undeniably charismatic. Mesmerized by his voice, Jian blankly asked,
“Duke?”
“That’s right.”
It took her a while to fully grasp the implications of what he had just said.
