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The northernmost tip of the continent lay buried beneath ice and snow. Just a bit southward, permafrost covered the land, where only moss managed to take root during spring. The Coniferous Forest lay even further down in the south.

The cold and dry land was inhospitable to most living creatures, including human beings.

As with any other biome, it was impossible for humans to live alone. Stable nutrient intake was only possible with a wide variety of plants and animals that came together to form an ecosystem.

When the Yurdina Family planted their flag in the North a long time ago, the land was considered a place of exile.

Once loyal to the Unified Empire, the Yurdina Family found themselves abandoned as the years passed. Although they had moved to the North under the idea of being granted new territory, everyone knew that the land was a place of death.

But the Yurdina Family managed to survive in the hopeless place.

All the living things that survived in the barren North were shockingly strong. Even the tiny rats that fed on moss had hidden strength.

They were creatures specialized to survive after adapting to horrible living conditions.

The Yurdina Family embraced the way of nature in the North.

They did whatever it took to survive. They admired strength and weeded out the weak, and this tradition soon accumulated over hundreds of years.

That was how they were able to stand at the forefront of the war once the Unified Empire fell.

The Yurdina Family, who soon became the founders of the new empire, reigned as the leader of the North for a long time. Even so, their beliefs did not change at all.

Victory is everything, and to lose meant certain death.

The dignified family etiquette of the Unified Empire had long since been abolished for being uselessly ostentatious. The Yurdina Family back then and the Yurdina Family of the present had only one thing in common.

It was the exquisite swordsmanship called the Illusory Sword of the Golden Lion, that was said to have been modeled after a lion’s claw.

In fact, lions had never existed in the North. There wasn’t enough prey for such a strong predator to survive.

Even so, the reason why the Yurdina Family still held traces of a strong predator from the Eastern Steppe was because they weren’t originally from the North.

Conversely speaking, this also meant that everything about the Yurdina Family––except the Illusory Sword of the Golden Lion––was an adaptation to their life in the North.

And Delphine Yurdina was born into this family.

At the time, the Yurdina Marquess were fighting for the prominence of the Yurdina Family. He conquered numerous colonies in the North and drove out the elves and orcs even further south, past the Coniferous Forest.

The Marquess’s skills were ranked the best among the Sword Experts, and he even had the potential to qualify as a Master.

As astounding of a person as he was, the only problem was that he was extremely busy and had no time for anything else.

He wasn’t particularly interested in women and was indifferent to fathering a successor. In fact, when he brought Seria and her mother to the family, the vassals of the family could only stare in astonishment.

Thus, Delphine grew up mostly on her own. As the apple of the family, she had held considerable power during her youth.

Even when Delphine was supposed to receive rigorous training to become the successor, she joked around and didn’t take things too seriously. She was born with golden hair and red eyes, both characteristics of the Yurdina Family.

Every single person in the family loved her. There weren’t many people who could dislike the pretty, sociable Delphine even from her childhood.

Delphine had a happy childhood and good relationships with every vassal of her family. She even loved the cold, barren lands of the North.

‘If I rise to the position as the leader of the North, I’m going to plant flowers to adorn the North and make it even prettier.’

Delphine grew up with the vain hopes a child would make during their childhood.

Unfortunately, this was only up until she turned six years of age.

Delphine vividly remembered that day. Having inherited the excellent genes of the Yurdina Family, she had a brilliant mind and was famous for her extraordinary memory.

Old Man Hanson lived in the stables of the Lord’s castle. He looked like an old countryman, but he was a trustworthy worker that the Yurdina Family entrusted to take care of their horses–– important strategic animals to use for battle.

He was particularly fond of Delphine. She was able to recall that it was because he had a granddaughter of her age in a far-away estate.

Unsurprisingly, Delphine also liked Old Man Hanson. As a stable keeper, he knew many fun stories that the knights often shared. As Delphine listened to the stories, she had no doubt that she herself would one day become a righteous knight.

Naturally, a child who adored knights would yearn for horseback riding as well.

Delphine would beg Old Man Hanson to let her ride a horse whenever she saw him. And whenever she did, Old Man Hanson would reply to her with the same answer.

“Oh, young lady, you’re not strong enough to handle the power of the horse yet. When you grow up a little more, you’ll be able to ride to your heart’s content, even if you don’t want to. Haha!”

Delphine would be butthurt from his denial and would pretend to be upset with him. Children always wanted to think of themselves as grown-ups, so Old Man Hanson would laugh off her complaints.

And one night, the incident happened.

Delphine snuck into the stables. She shouldn’t have been able to go inside without permission, but nothing was impossible for the little girl who held the castle key in her hand with an excuse to go to the library.

Delphine was able to somehow climb onto the back of a horse with the little that she knew about horseback riding. The end result was quite obvious.

Her fall was fortunately not serious, but it was enough to break the child’s fragile bones. The injury sent chills down the spines of the vassals of Yurdina.

Delphine struggled in the hospital bed.

She was in pain, but she was more concerned about the rumors that said Old Man Hanson was going to get into a lot of trouble. She couldn’t handle the guilt of getting Old Man Hanson in hot water.

‘When I’m all better, I’m going to apologize to Old Man Hanson. And I’m going to protect him too!’

As Delphine thought that to herself, word of her father’s return reached her.

It happened around the time she was able to slowly move around. Delphine ran out on crutches with a bright face to see her father, who she missed dearly every time he left.

That was when she saw it.

Her father with a sword in his hand, and Old Man Hanson kneeling before him.

Old Man Hanson’s hands were bound with a rope. A look of desolation loomed over his face.

The moment she saw that scene in front of her, Delphine’s mind ground to a halt.

Delphine had witnessed her father executing sinners many times in the past. When she realized what her father was about to do, her legs started running before she even realized what she was doing.

Running with crutches was foreign to her and made her stumble, and even fall to the ground. She rolled in the dirt, dragging her broken leg, and even resorted to crawling so that she could reach her father’s ankle.

Delphine was sobbing profusely.

That was how she realized something for the first time. In moments of desperation, tears would flow down uncontrollably and she could only beg on her knees.

“Father… P-please don’t. I-it’s all my fault! Old Man Hanson did nothing wrong! I did it all by myself…….!”

However, her father’s stern expression did not change. He ordered her in his usual solemn voice.

“Delphine, move back.”

“N-No! Then you’re going to kill Old Man Hanson! P-Pease, I’d rather you punish me instead… It’s my fault! Old Man Hanson did nothing wrong!”

For the first time in her life, Delphine raised her voice against her father. The vassals who were present were left in silence, seeing the little girl’s pitiful sobs.

After a while, Marquess Yurdina Marquess let out a sigh.

As if reluctantly, he said.

“…Get up.”

Only then did Delphine’s face brighten. To prevent her father from changing his mind, she quickly got up and gritted her teeth as she felt the pain.

But the moment she looked up at him with a bright smile…

Blood gushed out in a semicircle, like a fan opening in the air.

She couldn’t even see it properly. That was also the first time that she ever laid eyes on a skilled swordsman’s swing.

She wasn’t even aware that her father had pulled his sword from its sheath, but it was over even before she had seen anything happen.

Her eyes widened and then shifted to Old Man Hanson, who now lay on the ground, blood pouring from his throat and foam bubbling from his mouth.

Moments later, blood splattered on the ground, splashing onto Delphine’s legs. Delphine collapsed to the ground with a blood-curdling scream.

She couldn’t stop herself from screaming in horror.

“Get up, Delphine.”

The Yurdina Marquess didn’t budge. Delphine forgot the fact that her father was the one who killed Old Man Hanson and grabbed onto the hem of her father’s pants in desperation.

“F-father! O-Old Man Hanson…….!”

“I told you to get up, Delphine!”

The bloodshot eyes of the Marquess bore into Delphine coldly.

It made Delphine’s blood freeze over. She felt like a prey facing a predator, and slowly raised herself up unknowingly.

Her legs trembled, but she endured the pain. Even so, Delphine didn’t dare sit back down.

The Yurdina Marquess who watched her get up, spoke in a solemn voice.

“Remember what happened today, Delphine. Human beings like us have no right to be punished for anything.”

Delphine’s eyes, filled to the brim with tears, shook violently. The man didn’t show any emotion on his face even as he saw his daughter’s trembling little body.

“Even if you make a mistake, even if you fail, all responsibility lies with your subordinates. And each time that happens, the people you hold dear will decrease one by one… Do you understand me, Delphine?”

But perhaps the Yurdina Marquess was human after all, since he couldn’t hold the icy mask on his face for long when talking to his daughter.

A painful look flashed briefly in his eyes.

Delphine was surprised. She was shocked by the fact that there were things that even a person as strong as her father would struggle with.

“…So, don’t ever lose. Each time that happens, you will have to lose people you consider to be precious to you.”

Instead of you,

And with that short whisper of a sentence to add onto what he told her, the Yurdina Marquess left without any words of comfort.

For a while, Delphine stood there like a statue, then collapsed onto the ground with a howl. Crawling over, she looked down at Old Man Hanson’s corpse.

His eyes held no trace of emotion, and that made it even harder for Delphine.

Burying her face in his corpse, Delphine inhaled the smell of blood. She felt like she was hyperventilating. It was eerie to see a young girl gritting her teeth and inhaling the smell of blood through her nose. She almost looked possessed.

The stench of blood was foul and warm. These were the signs of life.

She had to live her life carrying the burden of those who she considered precious to her. But she could never bring back to life the ones that had died because of her.

The little girl cried in the pool of blood. The vassals of the Yurdina Family watched her with pity, but didn’t dare help her up.

Because that was the burden that the Yurdina Family’s successor had to bear.

Since that day, Delphine changed completely. She no longer showed any emotion on her face and the charming smile she had before had long since disappeared.

Even when she met her half-sibling and even when her mother was chased out of the family, this was the advice that Delphine had seriously given her.

“If you can’t prove your usefulness, the same thing is going to happen to you.”

That was the only advice that Delphine could give to her younger sister at such a young age.

That was how Delphine grew up without a single defeat. She naturally learned the Yurdina Family’s worldview, and realized that the lesson she had inscribed in her heart as a child was not wrong in the slightest.

Victory was everything.

Losers would have everything taken away from them. Anything and everything, especially what they considered most precious to them, was forsaken by losing.

However, the worldview that she had lived by her whole life was shattered into pieces by just one man.

Ian Percus, because of him.