Chapter 11: Snowfall (2)

‘This is bad!’

For those in high society, even hearing a commoner breathe can be considered unpleasant.

And for someone like Richard, it would be even worse.

As Richard’s steps headed toward the source of the sound—a child—Roman instinctively sounded the alarm in his mind.

His tense old body flinched as if it might throw itself in front of Richard at any moment.

“I have a high fever.”

But what Roman feared didn’t happen.

All eyes turned to Richard.

With his hand on the child’s forehead, Richard spoke.

“Little one, what’s your name?”

“F-Freya,” the child stammered.

Her lips were blue from shivering.

No wonder—she had been lying face-down in the snow for who knows how long.

Then, Freya suddenly felt something strange coming from Richard’s hand.

It was warm—gentle.

Like the sun’s warmth wrapping around her on a fine spring day.

“Ahh…”

“Feeling a bit better now?”

Looking at the child’s gradually improved complexion, Richard frowned.

He glanced around.

Not a single villager looked healthy.

Coughing, emaciated bodies…

Some had frostbite, their limbs tightly wrapped in rags.

‘I don’t have enough Faith to heal everyone.’

Richard turned to Roman, who was standing awkwardly nearby.

“Is there any food in this village?”

“…There is none,” Roman replied bitterly.

He had no clue what Richard was thinking.

“Are the houses at least warm?”

“No, they are not.”

“Are the villagers protected from monsters or wild beasts?”

“N-No.”

“So you receive no aid at all from Baron Hessen?”

Snowfall was a village plagued by bitter cold all year round.

Even for the north, its climate was bizarrely harsh.

“…Well…”

Roman rolled his eyes nervously.

After all, Baron Hessen was right there.

If he said the wrong thing, who knew what might happen?

At that moment, the baron stepped forward.

“Young master Richard. This village suffers from an unusually harsh environment—”

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

Richard cut him off coldly.

Baron Hessen’s face turned crimson.

“Baron Hessen, now’s not the time to stand there doing nothing, is it?”

“I… I beg your pardon?”

“These people have no food. No firewood. No guards.”

Richard spoke as he surveyed the village.

“And yet… you’re here? Incredible! The baron himself has come to inspect the state of the village. What a model noble!”

“E-Excuse me?”

“Looks like Snowfall will now receive your personal attention.”

Grit

The baron clenched his teeth silently.

Did this damned brat even know what he was saying?

But he couldn’t object.

The power backing Richard was not something a mere baron could resist.

“You know what to do now, don’t you?”

Richard’s mocking smile made the baron’s blood boil.

“Aaron, go write down the list of supplies with the knights. Let’s ease their burden.”

“Understood.”

Watching the village erupt in sudden activity, the baron swallowed his anger.

‘Hah… He’ll grow tired of playing hero soon enough.’

If he just played along for now, things would blow over.

Or so he thought—

“I think I’ll be visiting Snowfall often. I’d like to see it improve next time I come.”

Richard patted the baron on the shoulder.

Feeding this worthless village with the baron’s money?

‘Then why don’t you support them yourself, you bastard?!’

What an outrageous power trip.

***

“Damn, is this really the warmest house?”

I muttered while pulling my coat tightly around me.

The village elder had led us to his home.

It was barely better than the others—still shabby and freezing cold.

The wind blew right through it. Hard to believe people actually lived here.

“I-I’m so sorry.”

The old man trembled with fear.

Even after I’d browbeat the baron on their behalf, the villagers still seemed terrified of me.

“As I’ve said, young master, we have nothing to offer in return…”

Why did they assume I was here to take something from them?

Even in this crumbling village, Richard’s reputation preceded him.

“Sigh… Forget it. Mary, you stay here.”

Cold inside or outside—it didn’t matter.

Might as well look around.

As I got up, I whispered to Mary:

“Don’t talk about gods or faith yet. Just try to ease his suspicions.”

“Got it!”

Eyes shining like she’d received a divine command, Mary nodded.

Outside, the knights and Baron Hessen’s soldiers were bustling about.

Especially the baron, who wore a sour expression as he dealt with the supply list.

‘You own the land—at least manage it properly.’

Not that I really cared.

But while I had the scoundrel image, I might as well use it.

After all, my future followers would live here.

“Young master, why are you outside in this cold?”

“It’s just as cold inside. Might as well move around.”

I chatted casually with Aaron, who had appeared beside me.

“Why did you even come here?”

“I have my reasons.”

At that, Aaron’s face turned serious.

“I heard you hate the cold. For you to come all this way… there must be a reason.”

His tone grew solemn.

“If this is just a whim, these villagers could end up worse off.”

He implied I had acted impulsively—perhaps to bully the baron for fun—

And that now the village was in danger of being neglected completely.

“If you lose interest in them…”

I cut him off, gesturing toward the broken village.

“You see this mess and feel nothing?”

“…?”

Aaron looked confused.

That was normal.

This world was medieval at its core—human rights meant little.

“This village has no value as a territory. Isn’t it natural it’s been abandoned?”

Not wrong.

Resources were limited and only valuable if they returned something.

“Then I’ll make it valuable.”

I wasn’t some justice-loving hero.

I’d come here out of necessity.

“…?”

Aaron tilted his head in confusion as I stared at the mark on my right hand.

‘Will this really work?’

The mark was a test—meant to assess a person’s potential.

If one gained power from the mysteries of the world, would that be considered potential too?

I didn’t know yet.

But I would soon.

“Aaron. Tomorrow we’re climbing the snowy mountain.”

***

Aaron Meyer looked at Richard.

He still couldn’t grasp what the young master was thinking.

‘So it wasn’t baseless sympathy. But then… what is it?’

Richard didn’t seem to be bluffing.

He looked confident—like someone who had seen the future.

It had been a few months since Aaron had begun serving him.

Richard had always come across as brash, but never once acted like a true scoundrel.

If anything, his devotion to training set an example for the knights.

The day he reached a trance-like state still came up in conversation.

His growth was too fast to be considered untalented.

In just two months, he’d developed the body and swordsmanship of a low-ranked knight.

Nothing about him fit the infamous image.

‘Could he have been hiding his real self all along…?’

Aaron’s eyes widened.

The theory started to make sense.

‘Mana insensitivity… Could that be it?’

For a Bartenberg to be unable to sense mana was a cruel curse.

His family had always fought fiercely for the successor’s seat.

When Richard was young, that rivalry was at its peak.

‘If he had shown promise, the others might have taken action against him.’

So he had hidden it.

And now?

Aaron’s expression hardened.

He felt he had finally seen Richard’s true nature: A predator, hiding its fangs, waiting to strike.

‘Yes… Until now, he hid it because of his condition. But not anymore.’

“Truly a terrifying man…”

The night in Snowfall was harsh.

***

“Haa…”

I stretched inside a carriage—the shelter I’d chosen after wandering around.

Not that the carriage was much warmer.

“Good morning, young master.”

“Morning.”

Mary, already up, handed me tea.

Then she made the holy sign and muttered:

“May the god’s blessing be with us today. Hor.”

“…Yeah.”

Still not used to that.

Mary had invented the official greeting for our faith, Horism.

Honestly, I might have to give her the position of high priestess.

I gazed at the air.

[180 Faith gained again today.]

Mary and Melline must be praying diligently.

I had stopped investing Faith in basic swordsmanship.

At A-rank, I hit a wall—no further progress.

‘100 into mana insensitivity.’

I felt a strange tingling in my chest.

Mana was detected and stored through a specific organ near the heart.

If I couldn’t sense it, something must be wrong there.

‘Not much more to go.’

It had already eaten up a lot of Faith.

But I felt something big was about to happen.

I stretched.

Time to climb that mountain.