Chapter 6: Cruel Winter.
"Are you really letting me go?" Mina asked, for the eleventh time, with a tone of disbelief.
"Yes," Rose replied, his smile noticeably forced and tense as he answered the same question.
[Actually, it's the fourteenth time] reminded his faithful companion, who was no less exasperated than his lifelong friend.
The young prince's smile twitched even more upon hearing that. Apparently, the young Mina didn't believe that he truly didn't care about having her as a slave. In truth, he did care, and greatly. If his father or, God forbid, his mother found out, he would suffer the paternal look of disappointment. He had endured it once and didn't want to go through it again in his entire life.
"But why? You're a noble, aren't you all supposed to like enslaving girls like me?" Mina asked.
"Do you think I need a slave to satisfy my desires?" Rose responded, rolling his eyes. That was not only incredibly offensive to her, seeing herself reduced to little more than a piece of meat for perverts, but also an insult to his pride, not only as a prince but as a man in general.
"I... I don't know," Mina cried out, genuinely frustrated, as she looked at Rose with a confused mixture of irritation, bewilderment, and reluctant hope.
[I told you we should have killed her!] complained Desmos, with a tone of annoyance. It would have been more humane and merciful than trying to help her. Damn it! If he had known they would have to deal with an existential crisis, he would never have suggested going down to the dungeons.
"You never said that," Rose retorted. Damn it. Desmos was sadistic, prone to extreme violence, and a very, very violent advisor, but he wasn't completely inhumane or devoid of compassion.
[Well, I'm saying it now!] Desmos shouted again.
"Look, I understand that, because of what you've been through, it's hard for you to trust, but..." Rose tried to speak, but struggled to find the right words. In that moment, his role was that of an older brother, guiding and caring, not comforting. That was Mordred, the older sister's job.
"But..." said Mina, who simply stared at the young man in front of her. She never thought the day would come when she could actually talk to a human so calmly.
She didn't know what to do. She didn't like the bewilderment. After all, in the past, she had already rescued many other demi-humans imprisoned by nobles to be slaves or pets, and she had killed many of those nobles. However, this noble was very different. Not only was he much taller than everyone she had faced, but he didn't seem interested in making her his slave. It was very disconcerting.
As Rose had said, she didn't know what to say, so she opted for silence and continued her path toward the castle library. She had been working there, except for the times she went to check on Mina's condition.
Upon arriving, he pushed the heavy, solid wooden door open with a single hand.
After an awkward and quite prolonged silence, Mina finally broke the quiet:
"You're... a strange man."
"You're not the first to tell me that," Rose commented, turning his head slightly to look at the young purple-haired woman behind him. "And the answer is always the same: my parents raised me well," he concluded before turning back to the books he was reviewing.
"Which one was I on?" he wondered quietly, not remembering which book he had left unfinished before going to see the girl.
[I told you to bring bookmarks] complained Desmos, for the umpteenth time.
"No, you didn't," Rose mentally replied.
Shrugging, Rose simply decided that the best thing was to start over. This, of course, caused Desmos to shout in exasperation. Not wanting to listen to his old friend's complaints any further, Rose walked to the window to carefully observe his lands.
Examining the situation outside the palace, he couldn't help but frown.
"How cold is the winter here?" he wondered. After all, the view of the houses from above clearly showed their roofs, and some had considerable holes. A winter like this could cause everyone to die from the cold.
Rose sighed heavily at the overwhelming amount of work ahead of him. He stepped away from the window and slumped into a chair to try and decide what was most urgent. Although it wasn't winter, the holes in the roofs were a serious problem; not only because of the summer rains, but especially because of the autumn ones. In fact, they would only be safe during a mild spring.
"You seem much nobler than the nobles I've met," Mina finally said. She was staring intently at the young man in front of her. It wasn't that she trusted him, but he wasn't trying anything with her, and she allowed herself to lower her guard a little.
Rose simply half-opened his right eye to look at the young woman to his left, surprised that the one who had until now been a rabid cat had calmed down slightly. However, a glance at her legs revealed that her lower muscles were tense, ready to spring. It was fascinating to see how the part that was usually displayed was calm and relaxed, while the part that was usually ignored was ready to run or fight.
"Do you know anything about Sedena City?" Rose asked calmly. He figured the best way to learn about the territory was to ask a local, and lacking the desire to search for someone in the mining town, she was the second best option.
Naturally, the question took Mina by surprise. "Aren't you supposed to be the noble of this city? Why are you asking me something like that?"
"I literally arrived this morning and I don't know much about these lands, except what my father told me," Rose explained calmly; after all, there was no reason to lie.
However, Mina's eyes widened and she looked at the young man in front of her completely astonished. "You bought this place without knowing anything about it?"
Rose closed his eyes and simply ignored the mockery. The annoyance was natural. "I come from Parnam; asking me to know anything about the Badlands is basically asking for a miracle," he said dryly. Even his father and the dark mage... or Uncle Zef, knew little to nothing, and they had investigated the lands for almost five years before choosing to send an emissary.
"Parnam?" Mina asked, genuinely confused. She had never heard the name of that city.
"It's on the other side of the sea," Rose replied.
That made sense; she had heard of the nobles from across the sea and knew they were very different from those in Badlands
"It's almost autumn," Mia said, answering Rose's initial question.
"And what about autumn?" He knew it was the time when his grandmother descended to the underworld to spend six months with his grandfather... and the less said about Persephone's complaints about her mother, who wouldn't let her be with the god she loved, and how tyrannical and overprotective she was, the better. But he highly doubted that had any influence here.
"It's harvest time," Mina pointed out. Everyone knew that planting was done in spring for harvesting in autumn.
"Is that bad?" Rose asked. Harvest time always involved a festival that brought tourists and money to the town... although, looking back, this town had nothing to offer tourists, except perhaps tetanus.
"It's the Thieves' Feast," Mina said simply.
Something that caused Rose's eyes to snap open, looking at the young woman with evident irritation.
"Are you telling me that during the only time these people could earn something, they're going to come and steal the bread from their mouths?" Rose asked, completely enraged.
"Of course, doesn't this happen in Parnam?" Mina asked.
"No, it doesn't happen there... my father takes care of that," Rose replied.
Damn it, his father enforced the law with an iron fist; literally, the crime rate had dropped to zero because if you were caught, you were sent to prison for life, and you actually lived well without needing to steal from others. Society worked wonderfully... sure, it was practically a theocratic and absolute regime, but it worked.
Mina's eyes flew open upon hearing the statement. "If Parnam is so wonderful, why did you come here, to the worst place in the world to live?" she inquired skeptically.
Rose simply rolled his eyes. He hadn't chosen to come; he was, quite simply, his father's most trusted man, after Uncle Zef, and his progenitor couldn't dispense with his right-hand man just like that. That's why he had sent him, his son and heir, on a mission that, truthfully, he didn't know if it was for standardization or assimilation.
"Just tell me about what's happening here, will you?" Rose said, not wanting to make her feel bad about the difference in their qualities of life.
"Very well," Mina replied, nodding before merely outlining the little she knew about these lands.
Apparently, Mina could not accurately describe the size of the Badlands continent, as she lacked maps. She could only mention the existence of numerous human kingdoms and just as many beast-men kingdoms, which persisted in endless wars.
Added to this were the harsh winters, characterized by winter storms that seemed like particularly strong blizzards to Rose. Several kingdoms had succumbed to the cold and hunger, and the few survivors were forced to request aid from the other continents.
This revelation caused Rose to grimace. It was an inopportune moment to ask for help, as, according to Mina, this had happened about eighteen years ago. Considering that he was seventeen and had been born at the end of the wars of unification, it was definitely not the best time to request assistance.
Returning to the topic, Sedena City was located at the foot of one of the coldest mountains on the continent. This caused the icy wind to hit it with full force, making it one of the most frigid places during the winter season.
[We're going to need a lot of wool and milk] commented Desmos.
"And coal," Rose added. "Damn it, this was going to be harder than I thought."
End of chapter.