Under the cover of night, Kaelin’s voice softened. "My mother was born into a family of historians in the Solan Kingdom, but she believed that true history shouldn’t just be hidden away in ancient tomes. It should be measured with one’s footsteps and witnessed with one’s own eyes. So, she put down her feather pen, took up a sword, and became an Adventurer."
Her gaze swept over the eaves, looking toward the distant north. "During an expedition deep into the Northern Territory, she encountered a rare blizzard and fell into an icy crevasse. It was my father who found her at death’s door. Step by step, he carried her on his back, climbing out of the frozen valley from that bottomless Abyss. Mother used to say that it was his broad shoulders and sheer stubbornness that kept her in the Northern Territory."
This touch of warmth flickered like a candle in the night wind before quickly fading. Kaelin took a deep breath, her expression growing solemn once more.
"For all these years, the reason no one has been able to find the Crown of Grey Rock is because the Black Tide drastically altered the ley lines of the Demon Shadow Forest. This caused the actual location of the underground fortress to shift significantly from its original coordinates.
"Coupled with centuries of geographical changes and the forest’s expansion, the old maps pointing to the fortress have long been rendered useless.
"Furthermore, to let our fallen ancestors rest in peace, those old maps were never made public. They were kept solely in the hands of a very few, such as the Archdukes of past generations."
A hint of admiration crept into her voice. "Relying on the experience she gained from adventuring in the Demon Shadow Forest—especially her accidental discovery of a similar underground fortress—and combining it with the old maps she saw from my father, my mother began her own independent research. She didn’t want the tragedy that befell her brother to repeat itself; she wanted to stop my uncle.
"Under countless candlelight vigils, she compared documents on ley line shifts and integrated her own field experience, correcting the margins of error little by little. She tried to pierce through the fog of history to pinpoint that forgotten underground fortress.
"She was so close to succeeding..."
Kaelin’s voice dropped, carrying an unspeakable sense of regret. "In her research notes, she had already crossed out vast areas, narrowing down the scope to an astonishing degree.
"But just then, an accident took her away from my father and me forever, leaving this research unfinished."
She raised her head again, determination flashing in her eyes. "Last year, while I was sorting through my mother’s belongings, I stumbled upon her research manuscripts.
"So, I took up her unfinished cause. Following the clues and deduction methods she left behind, I completed the final calculations just before the Clan army marched south, deducing the most likely area where the Crown of Grey Rock might be."
At this point, a touch of embarrassment appeared on her face. "That is the very place where we harvested the Calming Bellflowers."
Raine listened quietly, his gaze resting on Kaelin’s frail back. All the doubts in his heart vanished. He finally understood why she had been so desperate and stubborn when searching for the flowers, and why a high noble of the Northern Territory like her would choose to become an Adventurer—her mother had been one as well.
If the Wolf’s Oath, that symbol of legitimacy, could help her father and the Elder Council reclaim their power, the Northern Territory army would naturally withdraw. Without this powerful external force, the Traditional Nobility would lose all their advantages. Their conflict with the New Nobility would inevitably return to the negotiating table, and this imminent war would cease to exist.
A wave of profound awe washed over Raine as he marveled at how her frail shoulders bore the weight of an entire war. He could hardly imagine how this young noble girl had walked this path all alone. She had evaded the pervasive eyes of her Clan, crossed more than half of the Solan Kingdom by herself, and arrived in this unfamiliar foreign town. In silence, she had shouldered her family’s destiny, her mother’s dying wish, her father’s safety, and even the Shadow of a looming war.
Every fierce glare and every crisp swing of her sword were perhaps her desperate attempts to fight back against the helplessness and crushing weight in her heart. Beneath that burgundy ponytail lay an incredibly resilient soul.
All the clues finally connected. Her previous silence and secrecy were likely because this secret was simply too heavy; she hadn’t wanted to carelessly drag others into this struggle against fate.
"Raine, don’t think of me as so noble," Kaelin’s crisp voice pulled him back from his thoughts. Her tone was calm, her gaze clear and sincere. "Saving the Kingdom, quelling the flames of war—those grand-sounding goals actually have nothing to do with me. Everything I’ve done is for a very simple and selfish reason. I just want my father to come home safely. That’s all.
"I just... don’t want to lose my last remaining family member."
Raine gazed at her without speaking immediately. The night wind brushed past, carrying the faint chirping of insects from afar. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, his voice reaching her ears with absolute clarity. "I understand. Then, let’s go find it. So your father can come home safely."
Hearing this, Kaelin’s shoulders trembled slightly. She quickly turned her head away but nodded firmly. She knew she had no room to show vulnerability, nor did she know what words of gratitude to say. But she knew one thing.
That crushing boulder that had nearly broken her back—someone was finally standing beside her, steadily holding up a corner of it.
Early the next morning, before the sky had even lightened, a thin mist still lingered among the eaves of Mottled Town when the doors of the Return Inn were gently pushed open. Raine, Kaelin, Sodden, and Winnie appeared shoulder-to-shoulder on the chilly street, fully equipped. After making their final supply runs at the market, the group pierced through the morning fog and set foot on the path to the Demon Shadow Forest.
Raine naturally took the lead, guiding the party along the most optimal route. Having made the round trip once before, and with the aid of the Exploration Chapter’s map, he was thoroughly familiar with the path to the Howling Cave.
Seeing Raine traverse the dense forest as easily as walking on flat ground, his footsteps completely silent, both Sodden and Winnie couldn’t help but see this black-haired young man in a new light. Their surprise was palpable. If it were them, they would have long lost their bearings in this labyrinth-like expanse.
Kaelin, meanwhile, followed closely behind Raine.
The journey was unusually peaceful. Aside from a boot-sized roly-poly bug that caused Winnie to stumble, they didn’t encounter a single Demon. Kaelin and the Dwarf’s stamina went without saying, but Winnie’s physical endurance was surprisingly good as well, allowing the group to maintain a rapid pace.
It was not hard to tell from Winnie’s performance that she also possessed considerable adventuring experience; the bug that tripped her was immediately crushed under her boot in the very next second.
Finally, as the group pushed aside a dense thicket of bushes, the dark silhouette of the Howling Cave came into view.