At first, I thought Callius was joking—that this was some Northern sense of humor I didn't understand yet.
Surely he wouldn't actually strap me to his body like a bundle of cargo and ride off into the mountains.
But he absolutely did.
I gasped as I felt my body rise high into the air, secured firmly against Callius's broad frame.
Callius himself was already impossibly tall, but his horse was even more massive—as if I'd suddenly climbed to the top of a two-story building.
The ground looked so terrifyingly far away that my vision spun.
"Wait—just a moment—!"
I tried to struggle, but my body, wrapped tightly in cloth bindings, was completely immobilized against his. I could barely move at all.
Callius's voice came from behind me, calm and utterly unbothered.
"Don't move too much. It's dangerous."
"But do we really have to start like this?"
"From here on, we'll be traversing rough, steep mountain paths at speed. This is the safest way."
Every time he spoke, his breath—pure white in the freezing air—touched my face and tickled the tip of my nose.
'It's so close...!'
Even though we were both wearing thick layers of winter clothing, I was acutely, painfully aware of how close our bodies were pressed together.
So close I could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against my back.
"Can't I just sit upright and ride normally?"
"You'd be thrown off within minutes."
His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.
"But this must be such a burden for you. It would be so heavy to ride like this..."
Even though my weight was technically resting on the saddle, my shoulders would still add significant strain to his upper body during the ride.
But Callius simply stared at me without saying anything, his expression unreadable.
His eyes seemed to be asking if I was being serious.
His face was so calm, so utterly unfazed, that any further protests about my weight felt pointless.
"If you truly want to help, hold on to me properly."
"...Yes."
I silently wrapped my arms around his torso and held on tightly.
"Is this really the best method...?"
"Yes."
"But I think I saw a sled over there..."
I pointed toward the sleds that Callius's men were tying to their horses' saddles.
Callius shook his head firmly.
"Sleds frequently overturn when their ropes snap. They often tumble down deep cliffs, never to be recovered."
I immediately imagined myself rolling helplessly down a mountainside, trapped in a runaway sled.
I tightened my grip around Callius's body.
Then a horrifying thought struck me.
I absolutely could not let my precious teddy bear and cushion ride on such a dangerous contraption.
"Wait—stop! Just one moment!"
Alex looked down at the round, glassy black eyes staring up at him from beneath his chin.
He was currently carrying a teddy bear strapped to his chest and a cushion tied to his back.
"These are things I treasure as much as my own life. Please take good care of them."
That had been Princess Chloe's solemn instruction.
She had repeated the request two or three times—"Please take good care of the teddy bear and cushion"—as if she were entrusting him with her own children.
Alex glanced over at Chloe's maids.
They sat two-by-two on saddles equipped with handles for stability. The reins of their horses were held by Callius's men, who were currently terrorizing the poor women by gleefully explaining that if they let go of the handles, they'd likely fall off and die.
All of the maids had gone deathly pale—except for one named Lamia, who looked oddly thrilled by the danger.
Alex hugged the teddy bear more securely against his chest.
As he did, he heard a faint rustling sound from inside the doll—the distinct clink of metal striking metal.
Alex tilted his head curiously and squeezed the teddy bear's head experimentally.
Then he yanked his hand away in horror.
There was a dark stain spreading across his leather glove.
'Oh gods—!'
He frantically tried blowing on the bear's head and carefully rubbing the stain with his sleeve, but it was no use.
'Damn it. I'm dead.'
Alex was so consumed with worry about the mysterious stain that he completely forgot about the suspicious metallic clinking he'd heard moments before.
Callius's warning that I might be thrown from the horse turned out to be absolutely true.
"Ah—!"
The moment Callius spurred his horse into motion, taking the lead position, the animal surged forward with terrifying speed.
Just as he'd said, we were going on a true mountain trek.
The moment we passed through Abene's castle walls, we encountered a snow-covered rocky mountainside. The horse—clearly accustomed to such brutal terrain—ran with confident, breakneck speed.
We leaped from boulder to boulder, traversed impossibly narrow ledges, climbed steep inclines that seemed vertical.
With every single step the horse took, my entire body was violently jostled.
I crouched down low to avoid the vicious wind and clung to Callius as close as I possibly could—like a cicada clinging to tree bark.
One fortunate thing: being pressed so close to him meant my core body temperature didn't drop too drastically, even when blasted by freezing gusts.
However, my feet and legs—which were relatively less protected—felt like blocks of ice. My senses were growing dangerously dull.
I was relieved to be maintaining some body heat when I happened to glance upward.
I was startled to see that Callius's face was covered in sweat despite the freezing temperatures.
"Are you all right?"
Callius asked the question periodically as we rode.
I couldn't speak—I was afraid I'd bite my tongue if I opened my mouth—so I just nodded.
But at his fourth inquiry, I shook my head sharply instead.
Callius, who had been riding at full gallop, immediately slowed the horse.
"Where are you uncomfortable?"
"I... I feel motion sick..."
The world was spinning violently.
Callius observed my complexion carefully, then clicked his tongue softly and brought the horse to a gentle walk.
"Please understand—we have a long distance to cover, and we can't afford to stop completely."
"I'm sorry. Because of me..."
"Don't apologize. We need to take breaks periodically anyway, or we'll end up falling behind schedule."
He glanced back over his shoulder to check if the rest of the group was keeping pace.
Only then did I lift my face from his chest and look around properly.
As I stared at the treacherous road ahead, fear suddenly gripped me and I jerked my gaze away.
'Ah...'
The view from the mountainside took my breath away.
The landscape near the moving magic circle in the North had been beautiful—but the vista from this mountain path was even more spectacular.
In the historical records of Arental, Ronheim was described as a small, impoverished kingdom built on barren land—a place covered in snow for all but two months of the year, making farming nearly impossible.
A poor kingdom where more than half the population were nomads who survived through hunting and herding.
The reason successive Emperors of Arental had tried to conquer such a desolate place was because of the legends.
There were tales that the mountain ranges surrounding the kingdom overflowed with enormous treasures of gold and silver hidden by the gods themselves—as well as mystical herbs that could grant immortality.
Among travelers who had actually visited Ronheim, there were constant stories of experiencing mysterious phenomena—even if they never found the rumored treasures.
According to these travelers, most people in Ronheim were remarkably resistant to disease and possessed unusually long lifespans.
There were even old records claiming that terrible epidemics which periodically swept across the continent always mysteriously bypassed Ronheim entirely.
That was why the Emperors of Arental believed the stories about herbs of immortality weren't merely legend.
I became lost in the scenery, mesmerized by the beauty around me.
But then Callius spoke again—perhaps worried that my silence meant I was still feeling ill.
"Are you having difficulty? Would you like me to tell you a pleasant story to distract you?"
"A pleasant story?"
"For example... a story about your friend."
"...!"
I looked up at Callius with an expression of sudden wariness.
Bound together on horseback through deadly mountain passes,closer than propriety should allow.
Some questions can't be avoided when you're tied to the person asking them.
And some secrets about mysterious friendsare becoming harder to keep.
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