Valerie-Brightness. The Watchman. The voice of the storm. She was born in the wrong era.

　All of these ostentatious names she'd been given were nowhere to be found. Her heart was sewn up in a single piece of paper.

　With a light shake of her hair, Valerie breathed on the report from King's Landing. A few moments later, she rolled it up in her fingertips.

　She then rolled it up in her fingertips. There was no great movement in her expression, but she showed a rare sign of thought, and then Valerie said.

"Dore. How credible is this report?　Where is the source?

　Her voice sounded more like she was praying for him to tell her it was a lie than a skeptic.

　But Dore, the intelligence officer who had the report in hand, responded to the Lord with a broad hunch of his shoulders.

I'm kidding. All information is like a lie until you see it for yourself, Master. If you want to know which ones are true and which ones are doubtful, they're all true and they're all doubtful.

　Dole's behavior and tone of voice did not seem like those of a master, but Valerie did not blame her. Perhaps that was the way they usually were.

　Dole opened his lips as he continued, "But.

But I'm not clumsy enough to let a gossip like that get into the ears of a master. The report only contains information that has been caught by the Fomor faction.

　Of course, of course," Dole said, his chest heaving. Despite her girlish appearance, Dore seems to be filled with overflowing self-confidence and self-esteem. This is not something that is driven by vanity, but something that is certain.

　Valerie was well aware of this and trusted Dore. So she didn't ask any more questions.

　With a small nod, Valerie's expression hardened. She looked at the information in the report again. There were several scattered pieces of information, but there was one fact that stuck out in Valerie's mind.

　--The defeat of the old general Richard Permiris at the Battle of Sarnio. It was the undeniable truth. As a result, Richard was seriously wounded and withdrew. The Old Ones also took the autonomous city of Philos into their belly.

　In Valerie's hands, the report is distorted and reshaped. The face, with its razor-sharp beauty, seemed to grow sharper.

　Of course, Valerie had heard about the retreat of the Great Patriarchal Army in the Sarnio Plain. But Valerie decided that it was probably just that scoundrel rolling over the enemy again.

　Richard Permiris. He was one of the few people Valerie could trust, a fellow servant of the high nobleman Reumetz-Fomor of the Garlist Kingdom.

　He is one of the few people that Valerie has been able to confide in. Even in his old age, his will has not been shattered, and the way he has been respected as a thunderbolt is something to be admired. Even in his declining years, he could not be outdone by the Old Ones.

　That is Valerie's unvarnished truth. That's what she thought she should do.

　But somehow, the report he received said that Richard's retreat was not a falsehood to mislead the enemy, but the result of a proper retreat.

　Valerie breathed in a gulp of cold air into her chest. The wind in the northwestern part of Garlist was much colder than in King's Landing. Her white breath rose into the air in cloud-like tiers.

...... What are you going to do, Master? If you want, I can have my horse ride you to King's Landing.　I'll gather unmistakable information with my eyes and ears.

　He must have sensed what the Lord was thinking. Dole said in a voice that even contained a hint of concern.

　Dore knew that his master was clearly a strong man, but he also knew that he was too strong for his own good. She thought that it was the role of a squire to go along with that conviction.

　But Valerie shook her head as she tried to understand what Dore was saying. Then she said.

I don't care, Dore. I don't want to see you go. I'm a woman of war.

　His choice of words sounded like a joke, but Dore knew that they were laced with an unparalleled urgency.

　The words had an air of nobility about them, but the meaning was too strong.

　It seems that he is very upset. Dole turned away from his master slightly, his heart clenching.

　Valerie Blightness is not the kind of person who should be sent to guard the northernmost fortress. She should have been given a rank and a medal and should have been in charge of a larger army. More importantly, he is a man of status who could have spent his life deepening his education in the most glamorous salons of King's Landing.

　For such a person to be forced into a place like this, albeit of his own volition, must be a source of resentment.

　On top of that, the Old Ones were wielding deadly blades in a distant war zone, so Valerie's heart was in a state of shock. Dole looked at Valerie, who was staring through the window at the sight of the deadly snowfall, and thought.

　Valerie's dislike of the Old Ones was well known in the capital, and even here in Suzif, the northernmost stronghold of the Garlist Kingdom.

　She would never admit to the Old Ones, and she would never consider reconciliation. It is no exaggeration to say that this is why she has chosen to live the way she does now.

　She was not foolish enough to include such personal feelings in her daily work, but even so, Dore had seen her give off a somewhat swarthy vibe when the subject of the Old Ones came up on more than one occasion.

　On a number of occasions in the past, Dore had wondered if he should try to corroborate this dislike of the Old Ones. It would be easy for Dore, who was more than capable of manipulating and gathering information, to do so.

　Maybe it's for trivial reasons. Maybe there's a serious reason. The slightest hint of curiosity was certainly in Dore's mind.

　But, as it turned out, Dore hadn't explored that information yet. The reason is simple: Dore himself has grown somewhat fond of this unsociable master.



　That's why Dole never touched it, because it seemed like a betrayal to her to selfishly probe into the background of his past or his thoughts.

　Perhaps if he asked her, she would tell him easily. Just as Dore was about to speak, Valerie opened her mouth. Valerie opened her mouth and said.

"Dore. Get me the messenger. Right now.

　Her voice was the same as always, even cold. In response, Dore raised her voice. He knew what Valerie was trying to do at that moment.

　After all, there was only one time Valerie would call for a messenger. Only when the battlefield is near.

That's unusual. "It's rare to see hexenbiests parading around in groups instead of herds.

　Valerie says in a loud voice, almost as if she is talking to herself. In the distance, on the white horizon seen from the window, there were several black dots piled up.

　They were the shadows of unmistakable hexenbiests. And while they usually come at you in packs, today they're much larger. It's like a human army.

　From a distance, we should be getting word by now. They're probably riding their horses as fast as they can. Their faces must be pale with the advent of a hexenbiest they haven't seen in a long time.

　Seeing Valerie wrapping herself in her magical armor, Dore said nothing. She knew that she did not need to say "Are you okay?

　As usual, the hexenbiests would all be dead within a few moments. Stifling and eradicating the hexenbiests. That was the role of this fortress and Valerie's job.

　As she slipped her arms into her magical armor, Valerie said in a reminiscent, but very cold voice.

"Dore. I need you to do something for me. The Old Ones - find out what this report says about this Rougis mob.

　It seems he's the one who hurt Richard. Valerie said quietly.