"Saber-tooths are appearing?"
"It's winter, my lord. They must have come down because there's no prey."
"Looks like I'll have to go hunting for the first time in a while."
That had been Berdo's report from a few days ago.
Ever since tunnels had been bored through the mountain range and roads laid down, saber-tooths occasionally descended from the peaks.
A saber-tooth bore a striking resemblance to a tiger, save for the two great fangs jutting outward from its jaws.
If a tiger is called the king of the mountains, then a saber-tooth might as well be called a Grand Duke — just like me.
"Fine weather. A fine day for catching a saber-tooth. Don't you think?"
"Indeed, Your Highness."
James de Wintergard had volunteered himself to drive the saber-tooth.
They had set up camp a fair distance from Winter Castle — past several villages — in preparation for the hunt.
It was nothing like a military operation, of course. Just James, Berdo, a handful of the personal guard, and —
Daniela. Under normal circumstances she ought to have remained at Winter Castle. But she had come along at Berdo's suggestion. Strictly speaking, she should have stayed behind to attend to affairs of state, but since it was impossible to fully substitute for the Grand Duke's duties in any case, she had been able to join them under the pretext of training to acclimatize to the North's weather.
If anything urgent arose, word would come from Winter Castle.
"Are you cold?"
"I'm fine at this level, Grand Duke."
"I should have brought more clothes for you."
"No, really."
They were riding black horses toward the saber-tooth's location.
It was all well and good that she had come along for the hunt, but Daniela of all people —
A saber-tooth might charge without warning. I had tried to warn her it was dangerous, but it had done no good.
If anything, Daniela had said she wanted to see what a saber-tooth actually looked like — whether it was as large as the books described, how fearsome it truly was.
"Is the horse uncomfortable?"
"I've been practicing riding steadily for years. You don't need to worry."
"It's just that all the horses in the North are rough."
The horses of the North were wilder than those of the South — not easy to handle. The further north one went, the smaller the horses became, yet they ran for far longer stretches. Compact, one might say — sturdy. But for a southerner, Daniela was managing the northern horse remarkably well.
"Truly worthy of the Grand Duchess. Even men find northern horses difficult to handle."
"Not at all, Sir Berdo. I think it's simply that this horse has a gentle temperament."
"Ha ha ha! Perhaps the horse recognized a wolf and turned docile! Ha ha ha!"
Berdo's teasing. We waited for the saber-tooth.
The method of hunting one was straightforward enough.
Experienced hunters or villagers first confirmed the saber-tooth's location. Once it began to move, the beaters drove it out from the mountains. When it descended to the foothills, riders hemmed it in on all sides, funneling it down a single path. Then arrows were loosed, and the hunt was done.
Taking a saber-tooth alone was difficult, but with enough people it was over quickly. Since saber-tooths lived in the mountains and rarely attacked humans, there was ordinarily no need to hunt them preemptively.
But a winter saber-tooth, with no prey to be found, would come down and attack people.
"The saber-tooth is coming!"
A villager shouted loudly. They had come up empty the day before yesterday, but today the saber-tooth had finally burst out from the mountains.
In the distance it came charging. Its two fangs gleamed sharp, and its forepaws were the size of a man's torso.
It seemed to be scanning its surroundings, searching for a way out.
But the ring of horses surrounding it kept it from breaking free easily.
"Bring me a bow and arrows."
"Does Your Highness intend to act personally?"
"The saber-tooth seems more agitated than expected. If we don't bring it down quickly, things will get dangerous."
I slowly urged my horse forward.
Daniela followed at a slight distance behind. I took the bow and arrows and approached the saber-tooth.
My horse circled, cutting off the saber-tooth's path. But the creature was smarter than anticipated.
It suddenly leaped up and collided with a mounted soldier.
The moment the horse went down, the saber-tooth bolted.
"Your Highness! It's dangerous!"
"Block its path, quickly!"
The saber-tooth had only one direction in mind.
Straight toward me. It had apparently decided that was its way out.
The personal guard and James came galloping urgently.
An arrow was already lodged in its flank — someone had wounded it before. The saber-tooth's eyes were a vivid, burning red. It was already deeply enraged.
The saber-tooth did not slow. If anything, it seemed to have fixed on a target.
Its intent was to crash through the mounted rider and carve out an escape route.
I drew the bowstring.
One chance.
The string pulled taut. I waited for the moment the saber-tooth would spring.
A glancing hit would mean death.
One precise point. Strike the saber-tooth squarely on the nose.
"It's dangerous! Grand Duke!"
Daniela's cry — almost a scream — and the saber-tooth launched itself into the air.
The moment it opened its jaws —
I released the bowstring.
The arrow flew in a straight line.
It did not strike the nose precisely, but the arrow flew true — straight into the open maw.
Thwack —!
With the arrow buried inside it, the saber-tooth died.
The timing had been good, but the creature's momentum did not stop. Its body came crashing down on top of me.
There was no force behind it, but the full weight transferred through.
"Grand Duke!"
"Your Highness!"
The horse let out a shrill whinny and toppled.
Fortunately, it was not a clean fall from the saddle.
I landed using the saber-tooth as a cushion.
People came rushing from all sides. It was chaos.
"Grand Duke!"
Daniela dismounted in a hurry and came running toward me.
I slowly rose to my feet.
Nothing broken, nothing torn.
Only my wrist and ankle throbbing a little.
Still — got the saber-tooth. That's what matters.
"Your Highness! Are you all right!"
"Ah, I'm fine. The horse was just startled when it lunged out."
I examined the saber-tooth I had used as a cushion. An enormous creature.
But the white hairs scattered through its coat suggested it was quite an aged specimen.
The villagers and guards who had rushed over tried to check on me, but I kept telling them I was fine.
"Are you all right? Daniela?"
"G — Grand Duke!"
Daniela suddenly threw herself into my arms.
She had been genuinely terrified.
It was the sort of thing that happened from time to time during saber-tooth hunts.
A clever saber-tooth would suddenly spring and bolt — that was how it went.
But Daniela had never seen anything like this before.
I quietly wrapped my arms around her back.
"It's all right. You were frightened, weren't you?"
"I — I thought something terrible had —"
"It's fine. Everything's fine."
The saber-tooth was dead, and only the hide would remain. That was what I intended to make of it.
Daniela let out a long, slow breath against my chest. The steady rhythm of a living heartbeat reached me.
This isn't bad at all.
—
"L — let those present hear. An envoy bearing the Emperor's will, along with a letter, shall be dispatched, and will accompany you to the North."
At the Chief Minister's words, someone stepped forward before Jackson and Roy.
Roy sat bound, but Jackson was watching the man's face clearly.
His features were not particularly auspicious, however one looked at them.
As far as Jackson could tell, the man looked exactly like the one who had called himself the Emperor's Chief Minister — just a bit thinner. Precisely.
"I am Müller, dispatched as the Emperor's envoy to the North. Sir Jackson, I look forward to working with you."
"Is that truly necessary? You may simply hand the message to me."
Jackson made no effort to bring the envoy along, but the Chief Minister shook his head.
He simply repeated that the Emperor had already decided the matter and it could not be undone.
In the end, they would be traveling north together with Müller.
The southern delegation intending to accompany them to the North was considerable in number. The northern envoys numbered barely five, yet the southern delegation being sent now seemed to exceed a hundred.
"Before that — punishment for Roy de Wintergard is hereby decreed. Before departing for the North, seven lashes are ordered!"
"Seven lashes! Is it proper to punish an envoy who conveyed the Grand Duke's intentions in this manner!"
"Is that not the law of the Empire? One who caused such an uproar within the Imperial Palace must naturally receive due punishment. You country bumpkins."
"What insolence —!"
It was Roy who restrained Jackson. In truth, seven lashes was a lenient punishment. For having brutally demolished the Emperor's guards and entered the Imperial Palace's chambers with an axe in hand, death would have been no unreasonable sentence.
Seven lashes. The punishment was carried out that very day.
Saying he had no desire to drag things out, Roy stripped off his upper garment and declared:
"Hit me quickly. I won't move from this spot."
Ordinarily he would have been bound between two posts, but Roy sat squarely between them of his own accord.
With each lash — one, two — red welts rose and bled into the skin.
But Roy did not cry out once. Instead, with each stroke he rolled his shoulders and urged them to strike harder.
After all seven had been delivered, Roy received only minimal treatment before joining the procession heading north.
That evening, at a waystation midway to the North, Jackson came to find Roy.
Roy had been having his wounds tended and tried to rise, but Jackson gestured for him to stay as he was.
Treatment came first. Jackson sat on the edge of Roy's bed.
"It would be better to report this first, I suppose."
"It would. It's an unexpected development."
"Even so, it seems the mission His Highness the Grand Duke assigned has been accomplished."
Now it was time to leave the rest to the Grand Duke.