Chapter 15: Embrace in the Snow

As Yang Hao and Teresa struggled through the Monster Forest, the sky already started to blanket the land with large snowflakes, resembling goose feathers.

The heavy snow soon escalated into a blizzard, swiftly cloaking half of the Monster Forest in silvery white. This abrupt change almost cost the pair their lives, nearly freezing them to death in the treacherous forest.

Thankfully, they eventually found a cave. Though not large, it was just sufficient for both of them to huddle together and spend the night.

Outside in the freezing wilderness, Yang Hao scavenged for materials and firewood to seal the cave’s entrance, leaving only a small opening for fresh air. Meanwhile, Teresa prepared a somewhat cozy and warm refuge inside the cave.

Their food supplies were dwindling, and it wasn’t the season to gather berries. Despite her face turning a frosty shade of purple from the cold, Teresa stubbornly stood at the cave’s entrance, shivering as she watched Yang Hao’s silhouette move through the bushes, sometimes disappearing, sometimes reappearing.

“Hurry, come back! If we stay out much longer, we’ll freeze to death!” 

Teresa sneezed, and her breath instantly formed an icicle on her nose. 

“Don’t worry about anything else! Just hurry up,” she yelled.

Yang Hao quickly returned, carrying a bundle of firewood that had escaped the snow’s cover.

Upon seeing this, Teresa hurriedly retreated back into the cave. She pulled out a crucial flint and some tinder made from tree bark from her backpack.

With the gentle flicker of the firelight, Yang Hao used the remaining firewood to partially block the cave entrance, managing to craft a shelter that protected them from the direct assault of the icy winds. When he turned back, he was taken aback to see Teresa taking off her clothes.

Before Yang Hao could react to her surprising actions, Teresa sharply scolded him.

“Our blankets simply aren’t enough to keep us warm. Hurry, take off all your clothes except your underwear and lay them down as padding. If we squeeze together, we might just make it through the night. What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!”

“But–”

“No ‘buts’! I’ve already pretended to convert so many times, so switching from a nun to a regular housewife in this special circumstance isn’t a big deal. Come on, I’m freezing here!”

Teresa stripped down to a piece of cloth barely covering her, using her nun’s habit as a makeshift mat on the dry grass she had collected. She then rushed over, shivering, and proceeded to undress Yang Hao.

Yang Hao felt a bit lost at what to do, but indeed, it wasn’t the time for modesty or shyness.

After they covered themselves with both blankets, cocooning themselves together like caterpillars, Yang Hao, with his back turned to Teresa, felt the heat radiating from her body. He tried to divert his mind away from her alluring figure and asked, “Teresa… can’t you use divine magic?”

Yang Hao was genuinely puzzled. His understanding was that priests devoted to the God of Light could wield powerful divine magic. Whether it was invoking the deity’s name to create a beacon of light in the dark, unleashing blinding flashes capable of scorching others, or transforming fierce white light into a spear to pierce solid armor and sear the flesh within. Priests in this world seemed capable of performing a vast array of miraculous feats with their divine powers.

Teresa, as a nun, would presumably know some divine magic, so why wasn’t she using it?

Yang Hao’s question left Teresa in a momentary silence. Then, with a wry twist of her lips, she clung even more tightly to him, her body radiating warmth.

“To use divine magic, the premise is that the god I worship has divine power. A priest’s strength is drawn from their deity. The more devout the priest, the more powerful the god, and so the stronger their divine magic. But the deity I worship is nearly powerless now. It’s a miracle He even notices a follower like me, let alone provides any help.”

“But isn’t the God of Light–”

“Who the heck believes in the God of Light! My dear, the Light I believe in and the God of Light are two entirely different entities, much like humans and humans of the Roman Empire are two different things.”

“But by that reasoning, doesn’t it mean the power of the God of Light is weaker than that of Light?”

Yang Hao pondered. He remembered Saintess Cecilia once telling him that gods were real. If Teresa was correct, and Light was a higher existence than the God of Light, then wouldn’t Its power be even more formidable?

As Yang Hao was lost in thought, he reached to carefully add another log to the gently burning fire. Teresa gently caught his elbow, urging him back. He felt her face pressed against his back, her body radiating heat. Overwhelmed, he turned to face her, their eyes locking.

Her gray eyes, shimmering in the firelight, showed a hint of sorrow. This prompted Yang Hao to instinctively tighten his embrace, holding close the girl who had unwaveringly supported him.

“I’m sorry,” Yang Hao whispered gently near Teresa’s ear. “If this makes you uncomfortable or sad, you don’t have to answer.”

Throughout their journey, Teresa had done so much for him. Although Yang Hao hadn’t been able to reciprocate with even the smallest gesture of happiness, he at least wanted to spare her from dwelling on painful memories.

All he longed for was a peaceful life with Teresa in a peaceful country, bickering over what to eat for their daily meals, worrying together about mundane winter chores.

In his free moments, he wanted to accompany Teresa in her prayers, even though he had no personal inclination to pray, he simply wished to be by her side.

“Thank you,” the girl nestled in his arms responded softly, nodding gently. She closed her eyes, turned slightly, and tenderly kissed Yang Hao’s cheek, then let out a sigh. 

“It’s not exactly an embarrassing thing… it’s just that the god I believe in, my Light, had His power stolen by the God of Light. Like you, who devoted everything to the Roman Empire, only to be backstabbed by a thief claiming to be the God of Light, who then took all that you had worked for. That’s the kind of story it is.”

“Mhm.”

“And what about you? After all you’ve done for the Roman Empire, do you still want to return? To be hailed as their saint or a hero?”

“No, I no longer wish to return,” Yang Hao said, kissing her forehead in turn.

“Saint, hero… No, I’ve seen through them. I don’t aspire to be a saint or a hero. I just want to live with you, in a peaceful place, whether it’s the Elven Kingdom or any other civilized land. I only want to be with you. To bicker over our daily meals, to worry about what to do in winter. That’s all I want.”

“That sounds nice. Even though the elves are vegetarian, the Elven Kingdom is a good place.”

“Then let’s head toward the Elven Kingdom.”

“But we’re running low on food,” Teresa remarked with a slight pout, adjusting her position within Yang Hao’s embrace. “We need to come up with a plan, my dear man. I’ll help, of course. But remember, I’m just a humble nun, so don’t expect too much from me.”

‘I’m tired…’ With these three words, Teresa contentedly drifted off to sleep in Yang Hao’s arms.

As he held the woman who meant the world to him, Yang Hao reminisced about all he had done for the Roman Empire, occasionally turning to feed more wood into the fire.

Amidst the shared threat of the barbarians and the Khan, the human tribes within the Roman Empire had unified under his leadership to fight against the Khan’s rule.

Back then, everyone–from military leaders and nobles to landlords and the archbishop, including the struggling Roman royal family in the capital–had contributed to the overthrow of the Khan.

The struggle had claimed many lives.

Yang Hao’s sworn brother, the father of the future empress, had died in battle. Entrusting his young daughter to Yang Hao with his last breath, Yang Hao believed he had lived up to that trust, but why.

No.

On further reflection, there were many issues with the young empress.

She was a lively and adorable child, always eagerly sharing news about the royal city upon his return and timidly asking about the outside world.

Her daily letters used to flood Yang Hao’s desk. She was bashful, often bursting into tears at the sight of the intimidating generals.

Yang Hao always found it challenging to manage the young empress. 

However, he never once feared that she would steer the budding empire toward darkness. Never.

How could such a delightful child become so quiet and withdrawn during his visits to the Holy District? No, it was more than that, completely silent. Why didn’t she speak, even when facing the generals she feared the most? Why didn’t she even open her mouth, even when she seemed on the verge of tears?

Upon deeper reflection, everything seemed amiss. He had spent the past year avoiding painful memories, but now that he thought about it, everything was suspect.

But what did it matter? What difference would returning to the past make?

He sighed and tossed a few more logs into the fire. The wood they had collected should last them until tomorrow morning. Once the snow stopped, they could resume their journey.

With the Khan gone as a common enemy, the Roman Empire’s internal division was inevitable.

The archbishop and military leaders pressured him for autonomous rights, while nobles and landlords desperately sought to reclaim their former estates. Even the royal family harbored deep suspicions about him.

Aligning with the archbishop and military leaders would lead to his glorious death within a couple of years. Siding with the nobles and landlords would mean a poisoned chalice from the royal family arriving at his doorstep within the same timeframe.

Fully supporting the royal family? That seemed like a good idea until it led to a joint crusade to quell the traitor.

Everyone was never truly united. They were merely forced together due to the Khan as a common enemy. They were all driven by jealousy, envy, conspiracy, or simply a tribal urge for conflict.

Faced with an inescapable predicament, Yang Hao was left with no option but to place his hopes on the common people and the national army he had developed.

In a situation where he had no standing among the five major factions, he saw potential in the common people, despite their lack of power, and believed he could nurture them.

The national army, though officially obligated to obey only the empress and the royal family, was expected to support him due to his leadership and the wages he provided.

But then? There was no then.

He had seen the true nature of the nation’s people. If they didn’t desire better leadership, if they were content to perish in the first year of famine, to succumb to the cold in winter, to persist in subservience to the powerful, then so be it. Yang Hao had completely given up. No one had ever asked him to make their lives better, so let it be.

His strategy had been to make a bigger ‘cake,’ striving to maintain a balance of interests and to secure time for himself.

However, to garner the support of the commoners, he was compelled to make public promises of rights and wealth.

What sane person would do such a thing without the power to back it up? He had no other choice, as without it, he wouldn’t have survived until the year 004 of the Imperial Calendar, much less the political challenges and potential impeachment in 003 due to lack of support.

Confronted with the choice between immediate death and prolonging life to struggle like a locust, Yang Hao opted for the latter. It was at that moment his prolonged efforts to secure the holy lady’s support utterly fell through.

“You needn’t say more, Yang Hao. My devotion to the God of Light is absolute. Until you choose to undergo my Lord’s baptism, until you decide to join me in a sacred union witnessed by God, until you seek my guidance as your spiritual leader and messenger, I refuse to heed even a single word from you. Remember, God truly exists. The faithful of the Church find fulfillment through their deity. Isn’t that better than squandering national wealth to expose them to the outside world’s vileness?”

Pondering this, he sighed once more. The girl behind him murmured in her dreams, clung tightly to him, and he too felt overcome by drowsiness.

All he had wanted was to better this newly-formed empire, to improve the lives of its people. To at least elevate them from mud houses to wooden ones. He simply wished to prevent deaths from famine and the freezing winter. That was all he ever wanted.

Why had everything gone so wrong?

He turned and embraced Teresa’s warm body tightly.

Maybe, he should never have left his village to become someone of higher standing.

***

Under the heavy snow, the heat from the fire in the cave was insufficient to keep the ill-fated couple warm until dawn.

Perhaps they had both known this, yet contentedly sought to provide each other with comfort and warmth on their final night. What they hadn’t anticipated was that the smoke from their fire would draw the attention of the natives of the Monster Forest.

There stood a woman with antlers atop her head,  wearing clothing crafted from tree bark and animal hides, and accompanied by a Golem made of stone and earth.

The woman observed the smoke filling the cave. Effortlessly, she commanded the Golem behind her to carve a path, and then she extracted the pair tightly embracing each other.

She scrutinized the two, still unconscious from the cold in the Golem’s grasp, and said aloud, “They’re not from the Kagard clan who abducted members of my tribe. Who are they, then? Children, prepare hot water and fur clothing back in the tribe. I’m taking them with me.”

Her antlers, glistening with a mysterious green light as she spoke, seemed to resonate with her words. She draped the fur she had been wearing over the two and then stepped back into the cave. After gathering their clothing, blankets, and backpacks, she left the scene.

***

Not long after the antlered woman and her Golem departed, Priscilla’s squad, which had followed the trail to the Monster Forest, ultimately abandoned their pursuit. 

The blizzard erased any footprints, making further progress futile and only risking more lives.

“We’ll head to Count Kagard’s territory and use the teleportation portal there to regroup,” Priscilla muttered, exhausted. Casting a magical glance toward a distant cave that seemed to show signs of animal activity, she led her team away from the area.