Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 76:  A Storm is Coming. (1)

“……”

Medeia stood with her arms crossed, looking down, while Hardin sat.

As their gazes crossed, the night wind swept through, sending their hair fluttering in the air.

After a moment of silence, Medeia opened her mouth.

“Just now, I think you asked what I was doing?”

“We were conspiring to start a rebellion.”

Hardin responded with a smirk, and Medeia shook her head.

“A foolish joke.”

“……”

Crack.

Hardin’s eyebrow twitched.

‘I really didn’t want to hear that from her.’

Hearing such a remark from someone as stiff as a stone—it felt a little… humiliating.

Hardin waved his hand dismissively and replied.

“If you’re looking for a fight, I’ll head out first. Haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

Just as Hardin stood up to leave—

“Wait.”

“What now?”

Medeia uncrossed her arms and pulled something out from her coat, holding it out.

It was a long bottle filled with a sloshing purple liquid.

“Take it.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Can’t you tell by looking? Wine.”

“Well, yeah, I can see it’s wine… but why are you giving it to me?”

Medeia paused for a moment before answering.

“It’s a reward.”

“A reward? What’s the occasion?”

“You’ve rendered merit, so I’m giving you this. It’s one of the few remaining luxuries in the fortress.”

A reward? What’s gotten into her?

Hardin tilted his head and took the wine, letting out a sharp breath from his nose.

“Well then, I’ll enjoy it.”

Just as Hardin was about to leave—

“Truly, you’re a man with no manners.”

“What now?”

Hardin turned his head and asked in response to Medeia’s words.

“A superior offers you wine as a reward, and you’re just going to drink it all by yourself?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“……”

Medeia silently stared at Hardin.

With a heavy sigh, Hardin slumped his shoulders and said,

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Let’s have a drink.”

Thud!

Hardin plopped back down on the ground and yanked the cork off with his hand.

Snatch!

Medeia took the bottle and gulped it down in big swigs.

‘Why did she even give it to me in the first place if she was going to do that?’

Does she… actually like drinking?

As Hardin watched in disbelief, Medeia handed back the half-empty bottle and spoke.

“You drink too.”

“…Right.”

Gulp, gulp.

Hardin took hearty gulps of the remaining wine.

As the bottle was emptied in no time, another awkward silence settled between them.

Scratching his cheek, Hardin asked,

“Now that it’s all gone, can I leave?”

“……”

Medeia said nothing but stared at him intently.

Was it the alcohol? A red flush bloomed vividly across her face.

Moreover, her lips kept twitching as if to speak.

“Um, Your Highness?”

Medeia slightly turned her gaze away and opened her mouth.

“Why did you go for the food first?”

“Sorry? What do you mean?”

“Our promise… was that you’d return me to the Imperial Palace. So why was your first thought to secure food?”

Medeia asked as she fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist.

Hardin simply shrugged in response.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?”

“……”

“Your Highness, otherwise you wouldn’t leave this place, right?”

Medeia narrowed her eyes and asked again.

“How do you know that?”

“How? It’s written all over your face. You plan to save everyone here, no matter what, am I wrong?”

Hardin replied casually with an indifferent look.

At that moment, moonlight happened to fall over Hardin, casting a halo-like glow around him.

Just as Medeia’s expression subtly shifted—

“If you’ve said your piece, I’m leaving.”

Hardin waved her off and walked down the steps slowly.

“……”

As she stared intently at his back, a strange light rose in Medeia’s eyes.

---

Around midday, Ruslan Fortress.

– Guwaaaargh! Guwaaaargh!

– Kkyeeeek!

As usual, hundreds and thousands of Frost Ghouls and various monsters charged toward Ruslan Fortress.

However, today, there was clearly something different from usual.

“Haha! Bring it onnn!”

“Fire! Fire! Don’t let a single one get close!”

Shoosh! Shoosh!

From atop the ramparts, soldiers fired arrows and hurled spears.

Normally, they’d be drained and filled with terror, but today, their faces brimmed with energy.

The accuracy of their arrows improved, and their range was noticeably increased.

Also…

“Break through the center and scatter! Don’t let them cluster together!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Princess Medeia and her knights.

“Awoo! Just die already!”

“Stop coming, dammit!”

And even the Maw Mercenaries and Hardin were energetically mowing down the monsters, pulling their weight—or rather, earning their meat, so to speak.

Meanwhile, deeper inside the fortress…

“Pass it to the side, quickly!”

“Come on, get this to the back!”

The refugees busily whittled wood into arrows and repaired broken weapons and armor.

Though the work was tough, perhaps thanks to their recent feast, everyone was full of energy.

While the entire fortress was bustling in and out—

“……”

A soldier looked around and slowly walked toward a corner of the fortress.

He approached a spot in the wall where there was a hole the size of a fist.

Tap, tap.

He snapped his fingers, and about a minute later—

– Chzzik! Chik!

Through the hole, a small white rat, as white as snow, crawled inside.

The soldier rummaged in his clothes and tied a small note to the rat’s tail.

The white rat then slipped back out through the hole.

– Chzzik! Chzik!

The white rat sped across the snowy field.

After running for hours through the falling snow, it entered a cave nestled between rocky cliffs.

Though the cave should have been pitch black, the low-grade magic stones embedded here and there lit the interior. At the far end, a large, dome-shaped chamber revealed itself.

The stone floor and walls were densely inscribed with various languages and magic circles, from which a faint blue glow seeped out.

“…Prepare the next wave.”

“Yes, as you command.”

“This time… let’s deploy a Troll as well.”

Old men seated in a circle were conversing with grim expressions.

Their bodies were so emaciated it was hard to tell if they were human or skeletons, with bronzed skin.

Their eyes gleamed with a malice that felt poisonous, and the skin that peeked out from beneath their thin white robes was densely covered in tattoos.

They looked nothing like the common mages of the Fabian Empire; they radiated a suspicious aura at a glance.

Some of them placed their hands on the magic circles and repeatedly chanted incomprehensible words in a strange language.

– Squeak!

The white rat passed among them and headed toward the far end of the chamber.

“You’ve come.”

– Chzzik! Chik!

A man dressed in white, with a long white beard that reached the floor, extended his palm and took the rat into his hand.

He removed the note tied to its tail and read it.

His brow furrowed instantly, and a look of displeasure spread across his face.

“What’s the matter?”

“Did something happen…?”

As the others turned their attention to him, the white-bearded man let out a heavy sigh and spoke.

“There’s been… a slight complication in the plan. It seems an interloper has appeared.”

“What kind of interloper?”

“Has the princess found backing?”

The white-bearded man shook his head.

“Doesn’t seem like it. But at this rate, our schedule might face a delay.”

“Is that alright?”

“Of course it isn’t. We promised them a specific timeline.”

“Then what do you plan to do…?”

He stroked his beard for a while, then let out another deep sigh.

“We’ll have to move the operation forward a bit. And…”

He took a stone from his coat, from which a dark red glow slowly emanated.

As he gripped the stone tightly with all his strength—

Woooooom!

The light coursed up his arm, and dark energy began to seep from his eyes.

“…I’ll lend it a bit more power.”

“…Understood.”

The expressions of the white-robed men watching him hardened fiercely.

---

Thanks to the meat supply made possible by Hardin and the Maw Mercenaries—

Perhaps because of that…

Ruslan Fortress slowly began to regain its stability.

– Gwooooooo…

“Stop them from getting too close at all costs!”

Not only had everyone recovered their strength thanks to the food supply, but with the addition of Hardin and the Maw Mercenaries, their overall fighting power had been reinforced.

“Whew, thanks for your hard work, everyone.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

As a result, they were finally able to rest in shifts, and people began to find some breathing room.

“Whew… feels like we can finally live a little now, doesn’t it?”

“Exactly. The monsters don’t even feel all that scary anymore.”

Strangely, it brought a sense of relief.

Monsters that had been threatening their lives daily still came in droves, but having been constantly exposed to that danger—and after everything they had endured—it somehow all felt more manageable now.

In any case, stability had come to Ruslan Fortress.

At a glance, it looked like those peaceful days could last forever.

The problem was, not everyone believed that.

As dusk fell, within the fortress—

Tok tok tok! Tok tok!

Princess Medeia tapped the inner wall of the fortress with the back of her hand, slowly inspecting it.

Cracks marred the large stone bricks, and in some places, gaping holes had formed.

After months of relentless monster invasions, the accumulated damage had pushed the fortress wall to the brink of collapse.

“……”

Medeia closed her eyes for a moment and sent mana through her fingertips.

Wooooong!

The mana flowed into the voids, emitting a faint blue glow.

The cracks now spread throughout nearly the entire fortress wall.

But the area that was especially serious…

“That side, huh.”

The western wall of the fortress.

The spot that had been punctured recently by a large Ice Hog.

The extent of the cracks there was particularly severe.

“Phew…”

A deep sigh escaped from Princess Medeia’s lips.

At that moment—

“Whew… Your Highness.”

“Hmm?”

She turned her head at the voice beside her, and her expression subtly twitched.

“You slacking off instead of working?”

There stood Hardin Daphne, arms crossed and a grin playing at his lips.

Medeia let out a sigh and asked,

“What are you doing here?”

“Me? Just… getting some air, clearing my head.”

Hardin scratched his cheek as he replied, prompting an exasperated look from Medeia.

“You…”

“Come on now, enough nagging. For the record, Lord Varlach always emphasized that resting is part of battle too. I’m just following that wisdom.”

“Ridiculous.”

Medeia shook her head as she continued walking along the fortress wall.

Hardin walked behind her with his hands behind his back, casually tapping the wall with the back of his hand.

“This fortress… it won’t last much longer, will it?”

“…You know?”

Step.

As Medeia stopped walking and asked, Hardin shrugged.

“Wouldn’t it be weirder not to know? It’s covered in cracks, some of the stones are shattered… especially that western wall. Looks like it’d collapse with a single tap.”

“……”

“Well, it’s not like they’ve been able to repair anything properly, and they’ve been fending off monster waves for months. It’d be stranger if it were still in good condition. Don’t you think?”

Medeia closed her eyes tightly and then reopened them, asking again.

“So, do you have a solution?”

“Nope, not a chance.”

“What?”

“There aren’t any materials nearby, and with monsters coming, there’s no time to leisurely do repairs either.”

Medeia exhaled as if drained and shook her head slowly.

Hardin rubbed his chin and said,

“Still… feels like it’s coming soon, doesn’t it?”

“…What is?”

“Well, think about it. They tried to starve us by cutting off supplies, but that didn’t work. Now the fortress is halfway wrecked… If it were me, I’d strike while the prey’s still caught in the trap.”

“……”

A strange seriousness flickered across Hardin’s face, and a faint furrow formed on Medeia’s brow.

After a short silence, Hardin spoke in a calm tone.

“Your Highness. Can I ask you one more thing?”

“…Speak.”

“Why are you insisting on holding out here?”

“What do you mean?”

“No offense, but… you’re a princess. Couldn’t you just brace yourself for the scolding, grab a few knights, and run for it?”

Medeia’s pupils trembled intensely.

She remained silent for a while before changing her gaze and answering.

“If I did something like that… this fortress would fall immediately.”

“Hmmm…”

Hardin slowly turned his head and looked around inside the fortress.

Refugees were gathered in groups, diligently crafting arrows and maintaining weapons.

Children ran around playing with stones like balls.

A stark contrast, considering there was a battle raging just outside.

In that moment, a memory suddenly resurfaced in Hardin’s mind.

– Young Master! Why are you pushing yourself like this? You must retreat!

– If I pull back, what happens to those left in front?

– But… but…

Even though it was snowing, he could still vividly recall the heat and the suffocating tension of that time.

‘So it’s that kind of thing.’

Hardin let out a small smirk and replied.

“Well, I get what you’re thinking. But if you shoulder all that… won’t you end up dead yourself?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sometimes, a person needs to know when to let things go. Especially when the noose is tightening around their neck.”

“…Are you insulting me?”

“Insult? No, I’m just giving you a practical answer. And well, maybe we could even help with that.”

Medeia clenched her teeth, as if trying to suppress her boiling emotions, and spat her words out like venom.

“Seems I’ve misjudged you.”

Crack!

Her fist clenched tightly.

“If that’s how you think, then you’re free to leave the fortress. But in that case, our deal… consider it null.”

“Really? You sure about that?”

“Yes.”

As Hardin shrugged, Medeia turned and walked away without another word.

Was she angry?

Each step she took seemed to carry heavy weight.

‘Maybe I pushed a bit too far.’

Hardin watched her retreating figure for a while, then muttered with a satisfied grin,

“…You don’t find someone like that every day.”

He gave another shrug.

‘Well, she’s her own person.’

He brushed his hand against the wall as he continued walking forward.

Eventually, he came to a stop at one spot.

Lowering his gaze, he saw a small hole at the seam where the floor met the wall.

“Yaaawn…”

Standing with one leg bent lazily, Hardin stared at the hole for a while.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a white blur darted inside.

In that instant, Hardin reached out his arm.

– Chzzik! Chzzzik!

A white rat got caught at his fingertips, squirming violently.

There was a note tied to its tail.

Hardin removed it with one hand and quickly scanned its contents.

Then—

Crunch!

– Chiiiiik!

He crushed the rat in his hand, and its blue blood splattered across his face and body.

“Looks like it’s time to start getting ready for our guests.”

A smile rose on Hardin’s face as he looked up at the night sky.