CHAPTER 227: WE’RE NOT ORDINARY

Not long after Torin left, the door opened again, and a group of young women entered carrying wooden trays laden with steaming bowls and pitchers of mead. The scent of roasted meat, and baked bread filled the air, washing away the chill of the northern night. The one leading them was none other than Mirielle, her soft features lit gently by the orange flicker of the hearth.

She directed the girls with quiet confidence, her voice calm but firm as she ensured everyone was served properly. "Careful with the stew, it’s still hot," she murmured to one of the attendants before moving closer to where Lucas and the others sat.

Lucas nodded politely when she placed a bowl before him. "Thank you," he said simply.

Mirielle smiled faintly, her cheeks warming. "You’re welcome, my lord," she replied softly before retreating to the corner of the room once the task was done. She sat gracefully near the wall, hands folded in her lap, stealing glances at him when she thought no one was watching.

The Empress remained silent during the meal, occasionally exchanging quiet words with her two Divas. Lucas and the girls, on the other hand, ate heartily after days of dried rations and travel fatigue. Lira seemed lost in thought, Nyx was unbothered as always, while Selene’s sharp eyes flicked between Mirielle and Lucas repeatedly until her lips curved into a mischievous grin.

After a few moments, Selene leaned closer to Lira and whispered, "She’s staring at him again."

Lira looked up subtly, catching Mirielle’s timid gaze fixed on Lucas. She stifled a small laugh and whispered back, "She’s smitten. I can see it all over her face."

Nyx didn’t even bother to hide her smirk. "It’s the same look you two gave him once," she teased quietly.

Lira gave her a gentle nudge under the table, pretending to scold her. "Hush. Don’t start."

Selene, however, decided to have her bit of fun. She wiped her lips delicately with a napkin, then turned her head toward the young woman sitting by the corner. "Lady Mirielle," she called sweetly, her tone smooth and inviting.

The girl froze for a moment, startled that she’d been noticed, and quickly stood. "Yes, my lady?"

Selene smiled, her eyes glinting with amusement. "You’ve done a wonderful job serving us. Why don’t you join us? You’ve been standing there all evening, and we could use a bit of company."

Mirielle hesitated, glancing toward Lucas, who was now looking at her with mild surprise. The Empress said nothing, still sipping her drink, neither forbidding nor approving...which in itself was permission enough.

"I... I wouldn’t want to intrude," Mirielle said nervously.

"Nonsense," Selene replied, gesturing toward an empty spot near them. "You’ve worked hard enough. Sit and rest. We don’t bite... well, not often."

Lira chuckled, shaking her head at Selene’s teasing tone, while Nyx hid a faint smile behind her cup. Mirielle hesitated for only a heartbeat longer before walking over, moving gracefully yet shyly. She sat down carefully, hands folded on her lap, her eyes darting once more toward Lucas, who met her gaze briefly before turning his attention back to his bowl.

The room seemed a little warmer then, though it wasn’t from the fire. The faint blush on Mirielle’s cheeks and the knowing smiles shared among the girls told a quiet story of its own...one that Lucas, despite his calm demeanor, couldn’t quite ignore.

He leaned back slightly, his fingers wrapped around the warm clay cup as he turned his gaze toward Mirielle. Her posture was poised but modest, the flickering lamplight catching the strands of her hair.

"So, Mirielle," he began, his tone gentle yet curious, "you live at the foot of the mountain. You must know more about it than the travelers who pass through here. What can you tell me about it?"

The question seemed to catch her off guard. For a moment, her lips parted, and her brows furrowed slightly as if she were deciding whether to speak at all. Then she nodded, her voice low and soft as she began. "The mountain has always been feared, my lord. Dangerous beasts dwell up there...ones that thrive in the cold and never descend to these parts."

The fire crackled in the silence that followed her words. Even the other girls who were whispering nearby quieted down, listening.

"But..." she continued, her eyes drifting toward the small window where snowflakes drifted against the blackness, "it is strange. Those creatures rarely attack humans. The elders say to them, we are too small... too weak to matter. We are not their prey. The mountain itself keeps them content."

Lucas tilted his head, intrigued. "Too small to matter?" he repeated thoughtfully. "Then what do they hunt?"

Mirielle’s fingers tightened slightly around the fabric of her dress. She swallowed and spoke slower now. "Power," she said quietly. "They are drawn to power. It’s said the stronger one’s essence, the more the mountain hungers for it."

Her eyes flickered nervously toward the front of the room, where the Empress sat silently, her presence calm yet suffocating, even when she spoke no word. "...that’s when the mountain awakens," Mirielle finished, her tone barely above a whisper.

The Empress did not react outwardly, but the faint gleam in her eyes behind the thin veil of her lashes betrayed awareness...perhaps even amusement.

"So the mountain knows power," Lucas murmured.

Mirielle nodded. "Yes. It recognizes those who hold strength. Even the beasts up there...they sense it. And they do not attack the weak... but the strong."

A faint tension filled the air as everyone absorbed her words. Selene leaned back, her smile fading slightly, while Nyx glanced toward the Empress.

Lucas looked at Mirielle again, his gaze steady. "And you believe this?" he asked quietly.

She hesitated, then nodded. "I do. My mother said once that even to the fiercest beast, an ordinary soul is invisible. But to someone like..." Her voice faltered as her gaze drifted toward the Empress again, though she quickly lowered her head. "...someone like Her Majesty, the mountain would not stay silent."

The Empress, still seated and composed, looked at Mirielle with an expression impossible to read. Then she spoke, her voice calm. "The mountain is not a living thing, child. It is a graveyard of ancient will. It remembers power because it was born of it."

Mirielle bowed her head deeply. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I only speak what I’ve heard."

The Empress waved her hand dismissively. "You have spoken no offense. Only what your people believe. That is enough."

Lucas remained quiet, his mind turning over the words. Power that draws the mountain’s gaze...and the Empress herself saying it remembers. He didn’t know what awaited them there, but he could already sense the weight of the journey pressing upon them.

As the silence settled again, Mirielle dared to look at him once more. Their eyes met briefly...hers filled with an odd mix of curiosity and concern....before she turned away, clutching her skirt tightly.

"There are paths through the mountain," she said, her voice low but firm. "Safe passages that connect Lechia to Rus and other territories. Merchants and travelers use them from time to time, and the beasts that roam those routes seldom attack. They are accustomed to the presence of men and horses."

Everyone in the room listened, including the settlement leader who had arrived and been standing respectfully near the doorway.

"But beyond those routes," she continued, her gaze drifting toward the dark window as if she could see the mountain peaks hidden in the storm, "lie places where the cold never fades, and the snow never melts. That is where the dangerous ones live.... the true rulers of the mountain. The beasts that do not distinguish between mortal or cultivator. To them, everything that breathes is prey."

A shiver passed through the room.

Mirielle’s face paled. She clutched the edge of her dress tightly and spoke with genuine concern, her voice almost pleading. "Your Majesty... forgive me, but that place is death itself. The people here... we’ve heard the stories all our lives. No one who ever dared climb beyond the safe passes ever returned. Some say even the beasts that wander too far never come back down. It’s cursed."

The Empress’s expression did not change behind the veil. Her eyes, half-lidded, remained calm, unreadable. She didn’t answer immediately, and the silence that followed made Mirielle’s fear more tangible. The settlement leader shifted nervously but did not dare interrupt.

Lucas, who had been listening quietly all this while, finally spoke. His tone was steady, neither mocking nor fearful. "It sounds like you’ve seen too much of what the mountain does to men," he said softly.

Mirielle looked at him, unsure how to respond. "I’ve seen what happens to those who think they’re stronger than the mountain," she replied quietly. "The mountain doesn’t care for pride or power. It takes everything."

Lucas smiled faintly, a calm glint in his eyes. "Then perhaps it will be interesting to see if it takes us too."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You shouldn’t speak like that, my lord. You don’t know what..."

Before she could finish, the Empress’s voice cut through the air again, serene yet absolute. "He knows," she said, looking straight ahead. "He simply doesn’t fear it."

Mirielle turned to the Empress, her lips parting in disbelief. "But Your Majesty, why go there? If even the ancients feared that place...."

The Empress finally turned her gaze toward the young woman. Her tone remained calm but carried an undercurrent of steel. "Because what we seek is not something the living would guard. It is something the mountain itself protects. And it will not surrender it easily."

Mirielle lowered her head, realizing further words would be futile. Her hands trembled slightly as she whispered, "Then may the gods watch over you."

Lucas looked at her and offered a reassuring smile, his voice quieter now. "Do not worry, Mirielle. We are not ordinary. The mountain may have taken others, but it won’t take us easily."

The Empress gave a faint nod, a glimmer of approval flickering in her eyes, though she said nothing more. She simply turned her gaze back toward the dancing fire, her thoughts already somewhere far beyond the walls of the lodge...beyond the warmth, beyond the fear, toward the frozen peaks waiting in silence.