The carriage that Hermine had arranged for them was not the luxurious kind typically used by nobles. It was a commoner’s stagecoach, sporting a wooden platform covered with a leather tarp.
There were no seats, so the passengers huddled closely together in the carrier, their shabby wooden floor creaking and groaning with each turn of the wheels, _creak creak_.
At night, they would stop at a post town, but only the horses got to rest in a covered area.
The horses were the lifeline of the journey, and they needed a proper stable, food, and rest. If left tied outside, there was a risk of theft.
Passengers with a bit of extra coin booked their own lodging, while the rest had no choice but to sleep outdoors.
Luke was no exception. He spent about ten days in this manner, yet surprisingly, it didn’t feel as arduous as he anticipated.
What really hurt was his heart.
While staring blankly at the dancing, swaying campfire, or gazing aimlessly at the sky through a tear in the carriage tarp, suddenly, a familiar face flashed through Luke’s mind, accompanied by a pang of pain.
It was the face of his ex-fiancée, a visage he would likely never see again.
(…Natalia)
His engagement to Natalia had been formed with the mutual consent of both families.
They hadn’t fallen madly in love nor had they made passionate vows of everlasting love.
But he had held some hope.
He thought that if he married and left the Baron Valten household, he could perhaps enjoy a more peaceful life.
Count Cleves had agreed to the engagement, fully aware of Luke’s status as an illegitimate child.
The Count and Countess had no sons. Therefore, they were raising their eldest daughter, Natalia, with the intention of having her inherit the title and become a Countess upon reaching adulthood.
While men had priority in terms of inheritance, women were still entitled to inherit. If they met certain conditions such as having no male siblings, women could receive titles from the royal family and become the heads of their families.
A crucial condition for Natalia’s prospective husband was that he would need to marry into the Cleves family, and no one opposed Luke leaving his family to join another.
Especially not his stepmother, Hermine, who was genuinely enthusiastic about the arrangement, as if to say she couldn’t wait for him to get out.
Count Cleves was a middle-aged gentleman, a solemn and contemplative man, who seemed eager to treat Luke well as his father-in-law. Natalia’s little sister also adored Luke with her innocent affection.
In the position of a son-in-law, Luke likely wouldn’t have held much real power or voice in the count’s household, but he also wouldn’t have been subjected to unreasonable oppression.
Becoming a member of another family would mean no longer facing persecution from his own.
He was looking forward to it.
He wouldn’t have to endure being ignored by his father as if he were a ghost, wouldn’t have to face his stepmother’s frequent screams and unreasonable whacks, nor would he have to endure persistent pranks from his younger brother.
He had anticipated spending his days peacefully.
He wished for a life that was quieter, more serene, and more ordinary than the one he had known with his family.
So, when Natalia couldn’t see through Matthias’s lies and unthinkingly swallowed his claims, it wound him up.
Without even a chance to discuss things with Luke or verify the truth, Natalia had denounced him and unilaterally called off their engagement.
Even though he once promised her a future, Natalia had chosen not to believe in Luke.
And that was when it happened.
The swaying carriage shook violently, _thud_.
The loading platform tilted, sending the people within tumbling in the same direction.
Luke instinctively threw his body in front of the elderly and children to shield them from being crushed.
“Are you okay?”
Once the carriage stopped shaking, Luke leapt from the vehicle.
Ahead of him loomed a cliff, its midsection ripped away like it had been gouged out, and a massive pile of dirt and rubble had covered the roadway.
The horses, unable to move forward, neighed loudly, their hooves _thudding_ against the uneven ground as they stamped about.
“I’ll help,” Luke offered.
“Oh, that would be really helpful,” one of the drivers replied.
The ruts had turned into deep grooves, leaving the wheels unable to move at all.
Together with the drivers holding the reins, Luke helped to push the carriage back onto the road.
“It looks like yesterday’s heavy rain caused this landslide,” one driver remarked.
“This is bad… we can’t go any further…” another lamented, their heads falling in despair.
Fortunately, the horses and cargo had sustained no damage, but since the road was impassable, they had no choice but to turn back and find a detour.
“Well then, I’ll walk. Thanks for getting me this far,” Luke announced.
He had already prepaid the carriage fare but handed over some extra coins.
If he continued on foot, they wouldn’t need any more money for the journey. After all, the owners of carriages would be the ones at a loss, having to turn back with their loads.
The driver looked a bit surprised and thanked Luke sincerely.
“Thank you very much. Please be careful,” he said.
The wind blowing along the mountain path felt refreshing.
Luke figured this was likely more uplifting than sulking in the cramped carriage, so he lifted his spirits.
(The breeze feels nice…)
As he walked through the crisp, clear air, his steps seemed to lighten.
After half a day crossing the pass and traveling through a tunnel with flowing waters, the view suddenly opened up to him.
“Wow…!”
Majestic mountain ridges shot up into the sky; their peaks formed beautiful triangles, topped by pure white snow.
The uninterrupted mountain slopes continued, and suddenly, a vertical canyon loomed ahead. A lake filled with pristine water flowing through the forest reflected a clear light, like a blue mirror.
Everything was spectacular, but what captivated his attention most was the heart of the forest.
A castle clad in black floated in the sky.
A series of sturdy stone fortifications ran along the ridge of the mountain range.
The fortifications were built to encompass a large portion of the mountain slope, and the robust, towering black castle at the key points appeared almost to float in midair.
“Amazing…!” Luke exclaimed, overwhelmed.
The Baron Valten household he grew up in was indeed opulent, and his ex-fiancée’s residence, the Count of Cleves, boasted a historic, grand mansion.
Yet, he felt more captivated by the simple yet strong black castle before him than any opulent mansion he had ever encountered.
Feeling irresistibly drawn in, Luke proceeded forward, gazing up at the castle.
There were no paved roads to follow. He must have strayed off his course somewhere along the way.
A crystal-clear river wound its way through the mountains, while on the opposite bank, a deep green forest sprawled out. As he ventured into the thick woods, the sky and castle became nearly invisible.
Amid the sounds of the wind and the rustling branches, he caught a low, growling voice in the air.
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