Ch#165
165
Was she not a person of frail health to begin with? When he had last seen her the previous autumn, she had noticeably recovered her health, but there was no guarantee that some misfortune hadn’t occurred in the meantime. He soothed his burning insides with a draft of strong wine.
“Your Grace!”
He had been standing there for some time, braving the cold wind blowing down from the mountains, when a familiar voice called out from a distance. Barkas turned his head and narrowed his eyes as he spotted Edric Ruben slowly crossing the mountain valley on horseback. Passing through the checkpoint and approaching the wooden barricade, the man looked up and shouted in his characteristically cheerful voice.
“Congratulations on your victory, Your Grace. Thanks to you, it seems the Imperial Army will be able to occupy the central region of Balto with ease.”
“What is the current status of the Imperial forces?”
“The main body has passed through the southern plains and reached the very doorstep of Amasek, the rebel stronghold. At this rate, we should be able to capture Blodar Keep, where Duke Heimdal is entrenched, within three or four months.”
Taking another sip of wine, Barkas gave the knight a slight nod.
“Come inside. I have an errand for you.”
The man, looking up at him with curious eyes, dismounted and stepped through the camp gates. Barkas descended the watchtower stairs and gestured for the man to follow.
Leading his horse, the man followed behind and asked, “What kind of task do you have in mind?”
“Go to the capital and deliver a letter.”
Barkas spoke flatly as he stepped into the tent, passing through the ranks of Sheikan cavalrymen who were taking their rest. The man stopped at the entrance, a look of dissatisfaction crossing his face.
“Another letter? Does everyone think I’m some kind of messenger?”
“It is a letter to His Majesty the Emperor. I cannot entrust it to just anyone.”
Replying half-heartedly, Barkas pulled out a chair and sat at the desk set up inside the military tent. The knight, having tied his horse in front of the tent, entered and scratched the back of his head while grumbling.
“The main army must have already sent a report on the war. Is there a reason Your Grace needs to send a separate one?”
“What I intend to send is not a mere report on the war.”
Barkas spread a clean sheet of parchment, held it down with a paperweight, and picked up a quill.
“I intend to request that His Majesty propose a meeting with the Northern Noble Alliance.”
Edric furrowed his brow, seemingly unable to understand.
“Is this not a war we have nearly won? Is there any reason for His Majesty to extend a hand first at this point?”
“It is precisely because it is this point that he must extend a hand first.”
He dipped the quill in ink and began to write the letter in a fluid script as he added, “Unless we intend to wipe out the Balto people entirely, it is best to show magnanimity when the tide of victory is in our favor. If we propose to punish only the instigators of the rebellion and overlook the rest, they will all turn their backs on the Heimdal family of their own accord.”
“But if we forgive the traitors so easily, the dignity of the Empire may be compromised. Other lords might harbor rebellious thoughts in the future…”
“Prolonging the war will only increase resentment toward the Empire. The Northerners have already witnessed their castles and lands stained with blood by the Imperial Army. If we do not show mercy now, they will remain enemies of the Empire forever.”
Barkas finished the letter in an instant and poured melted red wax onto the envelope. Edric Ruben, who had been watching the scene in silence, rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh.
“I understand what you’re saying. But there will be an uproar the day the Crown Prince finds out. Even now, he’s raging about how he’s going to slaughter every last traitor…”
“That is why it is better if His Royal Highness does not know.”
Barkas stamped the seal on the letter and handed it to the man. Only then did Edric Ruben realize he had been saddled with the role of delivering a secret letter behind the back of the Imperial Army’s commander-in-chief, and his face turned pale. He spoke with a groan.
“You know I’m already in the Crown Prince’s bad graces. You could have sent a messenger from the Sheikan family, so why me…?”
“In times like these, if a messenger from the Grand Duchy moves, eyes from all sides will be drawn to them. However, it is perfectly natural for a member of the Royal Guard to see His Majesty. This meeting must, at all costs, appear to be His Majesty’s own intention.”
Unable to find a rebuttal, the knight merely worked his lips before accepting the letter with a reluctant face. A heavy sigh escaped him.
“If the day comes when I can no longer stand the Crown Prince’s pressure and have to leave the knights, Your Grace must take me in.”
Barkas gave a flick of his chin as if telling him to leave, without offering any response. At that, the man, who had been wearing a sullen expression, suddenly broke into a mischievous smile.
“Very well. If Your Grace has no intention of taking me in, I shall ask the Grand Duchess.”
Barkas, who had been preparing a new letter to send to his vassals, paused and looked back at him. The man shrugged and added.
“When I saw her previously, she said she would hire me as her escort knight if I ever had nowhere else to go.”
“Ha, how long ago was that?”
Barkas shook his head as if the idea was absurd.
“To take a passing word so literally… You are more naive than you look.”
“She said it wasn’t just empty words,” the man countered, taking offense. “She said it a mere two months ago. Perhaps my situation, running around delivering letters, looked pitiful to her, because she asked if I would rather become her guard…”
“You met my wife two months ago?”
The man, who had been babbling fearlessly, flinched and his shoulders stiffened. Feeling the weight of Barkas’s gaze, he muttered as if making an excuse.
“I had to visit Kalmor a while back regarding the conscription of technicians. I simply ran into her by chance then.”
“How could you run into my wife by chance when she stays only within the castle?”
At the questioning tone, a look of grievance appeared on the man’s face. He retorted as if it were preposterous.
“Who says she stays only within the castle? She’s keeping a wolf the size of a stallion; do you think that’s possible? Because of that creature, she seems to come outside the castle almost every day. Where I ran into her was also the fields located south of Raedgo Castle.”
Barkas narrowed his eyes.
Come to think of it, about four months ago, he recalled receiving a letter from her asking for permission to go outside with the wolf. He had granted it on the condition that she take a large escort.
In truth, he didn’t want her to take even a single step outside the castle, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to ignore the first letter she had ever sent him.
‘I thought it would just be an outing once or twice for a change of pace…’
He felt his nerves grow sharp and pressed his thumb against his temple, only to feel Edric Ruben’s eyes watching him intently. He shot back a piercing gaze.
“What is it?”
“No… I just thought it was quite something that you allowed her to raise a monster.”
He was about to retort that he had never explicitly allowed it, but he held his tongue. It was no different from having tacitly condoned it.
He leaned his shoulders against the back of the chair and ran a hand roughly through his hair.
When he first received the report that she had started raising a Dire Wolf pup, his intention had been to deal with it immediately. No matter how young, a monster is a monster. He had no intention of leaving such a dangerous creature by her side.
However, the moment he saw her soaking in the summer sun with the tiny beast cradled in her arms, he had no choice but to turn away in silence.
Because the woman, who had always seemed in agony since losing the child, was smiling as if she were happy.
The bitter sensation he had felt when he saw that scene caused a sour taste to rise in his throat. She had truly become alright because he was gone.
Chewing on that fact once again, Barkas hid his bitterness and asked, “Did my wife look healthy?”
“She looked very well,” Edric said brightly. “I don’t recall seeing her look so full of life even when she stayed at the Imperial Palace. It seems certain that the monster is making her happy.”
