Inside a dark, damp cave.
Pale candles gave off a dim glow, illuminating a dozen or so black-robed figures as their twisted, grotesque shadows writhed across the rock walls...
"Mother Nature, Queen of the Forest, source of all life!"
"With fervent devotion, I offer you a sacrifice: the blood of my enemies, the flesh of my prey, the bones of my ancestors!"
"Grant me a bountiful harvest, grant me youth, grant me strength..."
The figure at the head of the group prayed aloud, carving a piece of succulent venison with the silver dagger in his hand and laying it on the stone altar.
The altar was also covered with large, mottled bloodstains, entrails, intestines, and several pale bones.
Dark red blood trickled through the cracks in the stone slab.
Bloody, terrifying, mysterious...
Everything about it looked like a sacrifice performed by the followers of some evil god.
Aaron Sothoth wore a devout expression and dutifully followed the crowd's lead, but inside, he felt nothing. He even wanted to laugh.
Sixteen years since I transmigrated, and I'm absolutely certain there's no supernatural power in this region—not even in the Sothoth Family's primitive worship of the Foreign God, Grandmother Green Banyan.
Of course, in this savage age, when religious beliefs run deep, openly admitting that I don't believe would be just as stupid. Has any religious reformation in history happened without people dying? It'd be the same in another world!
Besides, the Sothoth Family's high priest is my father, a rigid nobleman, and I'm only his second son. Picking a fight with him and claiming the gods are nothing but an illusion... Wouldn't that be asking for death?
Also, I have to admit that religion is quite useful for numbing the common people and consolidating feudal rule.
So, even if it was all an act, Aaron Sothoth had to follow the people around him and play the part of the lord's second son.
His hair was black and slightly curly, and his light purple eyes seemed to hold boundless wisdom and mystery. His lips, beneath a high-bridged nose, often curved in a faint smile. Tall and slender, he was the sort of person people took an instant liking to.
Though Aaron found the Sothoth Family's name a little odd, he was still very glad to have been reborn into a noble family.
After all, in this ancient society, where infant mortality was extremely high, few commoners could read, and a bout of rain or an infected wound could mean death, being born a noble at least meant he wouldn't starve. He also had the chance to get an education.
Having lived two lives and being fairly cautious by nature, Aaron had managed well enough despite being a second son. He'd also kept up his exercise for fear of dying from an illness, and had grown strong and healthy.
Lost in thought, he followed the large group of black-robed figures—who were actually the leading members of the Sothos Territory—and completed the ritual. They filed out of the cave one after another.
Whoosh!
Fresh air swept over them, making them want to take a deep breath without even thinking.
Aaron looked back. The cave stood beneath an enormous banyan tree, whose vast crown blotted out the sky. Countless aerial roots dangled from its branches, while thousands of tendrils burrowed deep into the stone walls, forming a strange symbiotic relationship.
In the distance, the sun shone brightly beneath a cloudless blue sky. At the end of a muddy, rubble-strewn road stood a cluster of European-style buildings, built mostly from round timber. Several logs still had patches of bark, and a few fresh, lively shoots remained on them.
A gentle breeze stirred the air as black ravens wheeled overhead, their calls hoarse and unpleasant.
An unusually magnificent black raven, a small cylinder tied to its leg, landed on the windowsill of the central building: a castle tower built from enormous stones.
"Crows cawing—an ill omen. But in this world, ravens are just messengers for the lords, so people don't consider them unlucky..."
"A messenger raven has arrived. Something must have happened at the castle."
Aaron mused idly.
"We're going back to the castle!"
The black-robed man at the head of the group—the high priest who had led the ritual—removed his robe, revealing a gray wolfskin coat. A sword slash marked the wolf's head, and he wore a pair of deerskin boots. His face was as firm as granite, and his deep purple eyes were fixed on the castle as well.
This was Theodore Sothoth, Aaron's father, protector of the Lower Green Forest, lord of the Sothos Territory, and a stern ruler.
In a low voice, he gave the order, then tossed his black robe to Aaron without even glancing at his son before mounting his warhorse.
The group quickly rode away. A young man in his twenties with golden hair glanced back, seemingly to offer reassurance, though there was also a hint of smugness and pride in his expression.
He rode a pure white steed, following close behind Theodore as if to assert his status as heir to the territory.
Aaron acted as though he hadn't noticed. He didn't feel much for Colin, his half-brother, and simply waited until everyone else had gone.
He could sense Colin's faint hostility toward him, though not much of it. That was probably because he didn't pose much of a threat.
After all, as someone who had been born into this world, acting cute and clingy as a child would have felt awkward. And every relationship required time and effort to build.
A son raised by someone for over a decade might even be closer to them than a biological son they'd never brought up.
As a child, Aaron had found it hard to grow close to a stranger.
In time, it had become only natural for Theodore to be distant and indifferent toward Aaron.
But Aaron didn't regret it.
A threatening heir would have put far more pressure on Colin. His third brother, who had fallen from a horse and broken his leg, was a good example.
Well, this third brother was the son of his father, Theodore, and his third wife. His first two wives had died—one in childbirth, the other from illness. His third wife, Sonia, had given him not only a son but a daughter as well.
Aaron deftly mounted his own nag and followed the group back to the castle.
A crowd was already waiting at the castle gates.
At their head were Theodore's wife, Sonia, and his sister, Ginny. The castle's steward and scholar were there too.
The scholar was holding a letter.
Theodore took it and skimmed it quickly. His expression turned grim, and he said in a low voice, "The Davis Family of the Upper Green Forest wants to dissolve the sacred marriage pact signed at Under the Banyan Tree. This is a declaration of war!"
Aaron saw Colin's proud expression crumple as if he'd been struck with a sword.
Well, Colin was the one betrothed to the Davis Family... So it wasn't me, the transmigrator, getting dumped. That's not very scientific! Though... I don't have a fiancée...
He made a wry comment to himself and looked at Colin with some sympathy.
Even if being dumped was a great humiliation for some transmigrators who'd lived two lives, how much worse must it be for an ordinary young man?
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