Chapter 89
He exhaled the cold that had seeped deep into his lungs. A white breath escaped, turning to frost and dispersing like mist.
Step, step—
His mechanical footsteps did not cease. His body, long since frozen solid, groaned and fractured with every movement, breaking and splintering over and over again.
Snow covered his cold body, piling up and freezing over, burying him completely. Where did his real body begin? What had he originally been thinking when he first started walking? He had forgotten everything.
Step, step—
He had set out with an end in mind. He was certain that, at the start, he had been driven by a radiant goal and a burning passion. But whatever was meant to be there had vanished, leaving only emptiness behind. It felt as though a hole had been carved into his heart.
Step, step—
He had lost track of how far and how long he had walked. Yet, he continued the journey as if bound to it. A traveler who has lost his destination should pause, take in his surroundings, and find a new purpose—but he did not.
Step, step—
He simply walked. That was the way he existed.
And when he finally stopped, there was nothing around him. His gaze, stripped of purpose, drifted through the empty air.
That was how he became a yeti.
“The last missing maiden, Sophia, seemed to have left on her own.”
Maili tugged at her curly hair as if this whole situation was giving her a headache.
“The snow had just piled up, so we sent a search party out first thing this morning. Judging by the footprints, she walked alone for quite a while after leaving the house… and then suddenly vanished.”
Does that even make sense? What, did a ghost come and snatch her away? Frustrated by the mystery, Maili grumbled non-stop. Josef yelled at her to keep quiet, but it was no use. Instead, she took it as an opportunity to pester her younger brother even more. Watching her, Roina smiled faintly. Maybe because she had no siblings of her own, their bickering was simply amusing to her. Josef, however, clearly didn’t feel the same way.
“So, where do we even start? Is there any other clue?”
Lutan appeared out of nowhere and handed Roina a warm cup of tea.
“It’ll help warm you up.”
It was tea with lemon and ginger. There was also a faint scent of cinnamon. The heat from the ginger spread through her body, making her feel pleasantly warm.
They were currently just outside the main castle gate of Amasto territory, near the cluster of homes outside the fortress walls. For now, the castle gates had been temporarily opened to shelter the women from the village, but it was only a temporary measure.
“As for clues… someone claimed to have seen the yeti again last night. A massive beast covered in white fur.”
“There’s no way that’s unrelated. What about speaking to the witness directly?”
“That’s something we can do right now.”
And so, they made their way to the home of the person who had seen the yeti. It was a log cabin, draped with animal pelts in various places. A mounted reindeer head was displayed as a decoration on one side.
The owner of the house tossed more firewood into the hearth, stoking the flames he had already prepared so they wouldn’t feel cold.
Red embers flickered briefly in the air between them and the middle-aged man before vanishing.
“I was tracking that damn yeti on my own before you knights even showed up. If that bastard turned out to be some sick pervert, I was planning to rip that thing right off him. I mean, as if it’s not bad enough that all the women are already trying to marry off to somewhere far away—now some lunatic is trying to wipe us out completely? What a piece of sh*t.”
The last person to witness the yeti was a burly hunter with a thick beard. His voice was loud and booming, and when he spoke with obvious irritation, it felt like his voice filled the entire house.
There was a faint smell of rum.
People in the north drank liquor like water—was he the same? Roina idly wondered.
“Get to the point, get to the point. Save the heroic tales for my lieutenant when he gets here and start with what you saw last night.”
Maili’s tone grew just as sharp. Seeing how she wasn’t the least bit flustered by a man like this, it was clear she had dealt with his type more than once before.
“Ha! Well, if the captain says so, I suppose I’d better listen.”
The man let out a hearty laugh and slapped his knee. Despite his words, there was a deep sense of respect and trust in his eyes. So he wasn’t actually angry earlier—his voice was just naturally rough? He seemed like the kind of person who could make even a casual joke sound like he was picking a fight.
“You see, while tracking that yeti, I figured out the exact spot where the bastard keeps showing up.”
“What?”
“Oh, and I just realized I haven’t offered my guests anything. The only decent thing I’ve got is some freshly warmed milk—would you like some?”
With that, he poured milk for everyone before they could even answer. If he was going to serve it anyway, Roina didn’t see the point in asking, but she simply nodded and accepted the drink.
“I’m not completely sure. And this isn’t the kind of place some clueless fool can just wander into alone without getting themselves killed. That’s why I kept quiet about it until you knights arrived.”
“Where is it?”
The man pulled a small piece of cloth from his coat and spread it out on the table. It was a rough, somewhat tattered map of the surrounding area, covered in scribbled notes and markings—likely ones only he could understand. With a thick finger, he pointed to one particular spot.
“Here. The Goddess’ Cliff.”
“A cliff, huh.”
“The place is near the snow wolf habitat, so if a rookie goes in unprepared, they’ll either fall to their death or end up as dinner for a wolf pack.”
Roina found his reasoning sound and nodded. She took a sip of her milk while listening intently—only to make a strange face.
‘Did this guy mix rum into the milk?’
She glanced around, but it seemed she was the only one even remotely surprised by this. Even Josef was drinking his milk without a care.
“I was waiting there last night, and I saw it go in. That yeti slipped through a crevice in the cliffside.”
“What about Sophia?”
Roina cautiously pushed her cup aside and asked. The others turned their eyes to her, but she didn’t shrink away.
“No hunter in their right mind would charge in and fight their prey head-on. I was too far to see clearly… but it looked like it was holding something.”
Tsk. Clicking his tongue, the man smacked his lips, as if left with a bitter taste of regret.
“What I can say for certain after my observations is that this isn’t something one person can handle alone. The only reason I even noticed it was because the animals were subtly avoiding the area—otherwise, it would’ve been much harder to find. I kept watching from then on. It showed up in the same place for three days straight, so that must be its den.”
With a look of frustration, he downed the milk he had poured for himself in a few large gulps before setting the cup down with a thud. But with a faint trace of milk left on his thick beard, the gesture didn’t appear all that dignified. Whether he noticed or not, he soon wiped it away with the back of his hand.
“Hah… Thank you, Jack. The deeds you’ve done for the territory won’t be forgotten.”
Maili spoke as she rose to her feet. Her words carried genuine sincerity. Roina felt like she now understood why the elders of the land simply called Maili their lord. Though she acted in her capacity as the knight commander, she sincerely cared for the territory, watched over it, and directly helped its people in their daily lives. She felt more like a lord than the distant marquis ever did.
Maili wasn’t just a marquis’s daughter or a knight—she was someone these people truly depended on and loved.
“Would you be willing to guide us there?”
“Of course. However, that creature doesn’t move unless the moon is out.”
If you intend to see it for yourself, you’ll have to wait for the moon. That was what Jack said.
Maili immediately settled on returning that night and left the place without hesitation.
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