Part 2: The Hunt, First Kill, and the Road to Lemme
The birthday celebration ends, and several days pass.
The arranged duel approaches, but Boris is still deeply disturbed by what he discovered in the hidden room.
He has realized that the noble family knows about the Winterbottom Kit and that their kindness toward him may have been connected to the artifacts.
The savior noble's true interest is not really the duel itself.
What he wants are the Winterbottom artifacts.
The duel and the arrangement involving Rose are part of the circumstances that allow him to get closer to Boris and, ultimately, to what Boris possesses.
Boris therefore has to maintain a calm appearance despite becoming increasingly suspicious.
The journey to the duel
Boris travels with the savior noble and the others to the territory of the noble family connected to the promised marriage.
By the time they arrive, it is already late.
The duel is therefore postponed until the following day.
With time still available, the group decides to go hunting—possibly for boar or fox.
Among the hunters are several men Boris recognizes.
They are the same men who once beat him before the savior noble rescued him.
Their presence immediately makes the situation feel dangerous.
The hunt
During the hunt, Lanziee secretly approaches Boris and takes him away from the others.
Boris eventually manages to escape, but the men who had previously attacked him pursue him.
The chase turns violent.
Two of his pursuers fall from a cliff during the pursuit.
Another man continues after Boris.
Boris is eventually forced into a direct fight.
He uses Winterer.
The fight becomes a desperate struggle, and Boris kills the man pursuing him.
This becomes Boris's first murder.
He escapes afterward.
The significance of this moment goes beyond simply surviving another attack.
Boris has now crossed a line he had never crossed before.
The sword that once belonged to his brother is now being used by Boris to kill someone.
What happens to the duel
The expected duel does not ultimately happen.
The savior noble is angry that Boris has disappeared, but his anger is not primarily because Boris ruined the duel.
His real objective has always been connected to the Winterbottom artifacts.
Rose, however, remains unaware of the truth.
She believes Boris has lost the duel and had to leave because of the agreement.
She does not know about her father's deception or what has actually happened to Boris.
She continues looking for him, still believing that Boris's disappearance is the result of the duel.
The Jineman family
The story then returns to Boris's original family.
A new child is born into the Jineman family, adding another development to the family's complicated succession.
More importantly, the family's trusted mage aide is revealed to have betrayed the entire original Jineman family.
This betrayal is not limited to Boris.
The mage aide has betrayed:
- Boris
- Boris's elder brother
- the original patriarch
- and the Jineman family as a whole
The mage aide eventually joins the forces associated with Boris's uncle.
There is also the implication that the mage aide's betrayal played a major role in the patriarch's death.
The betrayal therefore reaches much deeper than simply helping someone locate Boris.
The destruction and internal conflict surrounding the Jineman family are connected to this betrayal.
Boris's next destination
After escaping the hunt, Boris continues his journey.
His next destination is Lemme, the northern land known for its barbarians.
The reason Boris chooses Lemme is connected, at least in Boris's recollection, to the earlier conversations he had with Lanziee.
Their discussions about politics, republics, monarchies, and the failures of their respective countries appear to influence Boris's thinking about where he should go next.
The exact details of this connection are hazy, so it is better to treat this as Boris's remembered reasoning rather than a confirmed step-by-step explanation.
What matters is that Boris is now heading toward Lemme.
He has lost the protection of the noble household.
He no longer knows who he can trust.
He has discovered that people may have been interested in him because of Winterer.
He has killed someone for the first time.
And now he is once again traveling toward an unfamiliar land.
The turning point
This section marks a major change in Boris's story.
He went from believing that he might finally have found people who genuinely cared for him...
to discovering that the kindness surrounding him may have been connected to the Winterbottom Kit.
Lanziee's growing trust in Boris makes the revelation even more painful.
Then the hunting trip becomes a trap.
Boris is forced to fight.
And for the first time, Boris kills.
Afterward, he leaves everything behind and begins the journey toward Lemme.
The boy who once simply wanted somewhere to belong is now becoming someone who has to survive without knowing who is truly on his side.
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