Swords, magic, and martial arts

Sunlight shone on Aya's face, waking her from her unconsciousness, but she didn't want to open her eyes yet. She felt like she had slept for a long time, but wanted to sleep a little longer. She touched the ground beneath her and found herself lying on a soft, large bed.

It's been so long since I slept on such a soft, big bed. Could it be that I've been staying at home all this time, and all my previous experiences were just a dream?

She slowly opened her eyes and realized that this was not her room.

She sat up in bed and realized she was wearing a silk dress she had never worn before. The silk was so soft that it felt like she wasn't wearing anything at all.

Unlike the wool sweater I wore before, which was sticky and uncomfortable.

Why would I wear wool clothing? As the only daughter of the Duke of the Far North Province, I seem to have only ever worn bear and mammoth fur clothing. Wool clothing is not in line with our family tradition.

Then again, where am I now? This is definitely not the far north province.

Aya got out of bed. The long period of unconsciousness had not affected her at all. She pushed open the door to the room without putting on her shoes. There were two guards with fox patterns of the Foss family tattooed on their faces.

"You're awake? The master said he'd take you to see him once you've woken up and rested." One of the guards said upon seeing Aya.

"Uh... I want to sleep a little longer." Aya immediately turned around, closed the door, and lay back down on the bed.

Why am I in the Fors family's castle? My father said the Fors family and our Ulf family are enemies, and if I fall into their hands, I will never be able to return.

Why don't we take this opportunity to slip out of the castle?

Aya walked to the window and looked down, finding herself on the third floor, with soldiers standing guard at the castle gate below.

She looked at the sheets and blankets on the bed, estimating whether they were enough for her to climb out of the window.

"Knock knock," came a knock on the door. Startled, she realized that they were definitely going to kidnap me and make me write a letter demanding my family pay a ransom.

"May I come in?" came an old man's voice from outside the door.

After a moment's hesitation, Aya decided not to anger the Foss family and loudly replied, "Please come in!"

The door was pushed open, revealing a kind old man dressed very elegantly. Even in the family castle, he was wearing a formal suit with intricate patterns and exquisite workmanship, and his hair was combed neatly.

"Are you the Marquis of Foss?" Aya asked first upon seeing him.

"Yes," the old man replied.

"Why am I inside your castle?" Aya asked.

"On my way back to Ebony City from the kingdom's capital with my knights, I received a message from my soldiers. They found a dragonman on King's Road. After killing it, they found you unconscious not far from it. Sensing the aura of our Fos family on you, they brought you back," the old man explained patiently.

Aya tried to recall carefully, but found that she had forgotten everything before. She only remembered that she seemed to have slipped out of her house in the middle of the night, tricked the guards, and left the castle in a newly built carriage. She forgot everything after that.

"Why do I carry your family's aura?" Aya asked curiously.

"I don't know either. I'd like to know which family you belong to?" the old man asked.

Aya looked at the old man, preparing to lie and say she was just a commoner, but the old man's kind eyes gave her the feeling that he could see through all lies, so she finally decided to tell the truth. She whispered, "The Ulf family."

The old man's kind eyes widened suddenly, becoming very sharp, and he stared at her without saying a word.

Aya was filled with unease. What if he just killed me without asking for a ransom, and then sent my head to my father after soaking it in lime water?

"You look just like her," the old man said with a sigh. "I should have guessed it the moment I saw you."

"Who do I look like?" Aya couldn't help but ask, her curiosity piqued.

"Your mother, who is also my daughter." The old man reached out to touch her face, then withdrew his hand.

"Are you my maternal grandfather?" Aya asked incredulously.

The old man nodded.

"My wet nurse told me that my mother died in childbirth when I was born, and I've never seen her since I was little," Aya said.

"It's all that bastard father's fault," the old man said through gritted teeth. "He took your mother to the north without my permission."

"I told your mother countless times that the North is not a place that ordinary people can endure. I never imagined she would die there before me. Yet, she stubbornly believed in some foolish love, and while I was away on business, she ran off to that cold place with your bastard father." The old man sighed and then asked, "What's your name?"

"Ilya," Aya replied softly, afraid of upsetting her grandfather again, whom she was meeting for the first time.

"How did you end up traveling so far, from the Far North Province to the Winter Province?" the old man asked.

Aya was embarrassed to admit that she had also sneaked out. She said, "I don't remember anything. Do you know why I was unconscious there?"

The old man thought for a moment and explained to her, "That dragon-man should be the one our ancestor sealed in his tomb. I think your coma is related to our ancestor's tomb. I've already asked Oliver, your uncle, to send people to investigate."

"Could you tell me about that dragon man? Maybe I can remember something," Aya said.

"That dragonman wreaked havoc throughout the Kingdom of Nord in ancient times, and no one ever truly killed it. Each time it was killed, its corpse emitted a maddening allure, allowing it to resurrect from the bodies of the animals that ate it, though weakened for a period. Our ancestors developed a magic circle that continuously drained its power, periodically releasing it and absorbing other magic to solidify the seal. The animals of that forest were affected by its power, becoming stronger and more volatile. Over thousands of years, the dragonman's power dwindled, which is why my king sent the Royal Knights to escort me back to kill it," the old man explained patiently. "That idiot Oliver didn't bother to study the family history properly. While I was away, he hired a group of adventurers to break the ancestral seal, releasing the dragonman. We'll have plenty of headaches to deal with in a while. Thankfully, those adventurers didn't release an even more terrifying monster from the tomb..."

After hearing this, Aya felt a headache coming on, made a pained expression, rubbed her head, and said, "Could you tell me about my mother?"

"I'll tell you all about it when we have dinner. I can introduce you to your older brother and sister then. I'll tell the housekeeper to have the kitchen prepare some of your mother's favorite dishes. Go back to bed and rest for a bit. Someone will come to teach you how to cook dinner." With that, the old man left Aya's room.

Aya lay in bed, trying hard to recall the things she had forgotten. She felt as if she had forgotten someone important...