Ch#227
Varkas, his veins bulging as he gripped the reins tightly, surveyed the military camp before finally spurring his horse forward.
As he cut across the slope in a single dash, the flimsy outline of the camp became even more distinct.
The wooden fence hastily erected along the outskirts of the basin was so badly damaged that it was hard to find an intact section, and the sparsely lined tents were packed with a significant number of wounded soldiers. It was a sight that suggested a battle of considerable scale had taken place.
He dismounted and strode toward the defensive barrier.
The sentries, who had been watching them approach from a distance, hurried to pull the fence aside and clear a path.
Stepping inside, Varkas spoke without preamble.
“Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Instead of answering, the soldiers lined up on either side of the entrance stiffened, merely exchanging uneasy glances.
Reading a devastating sense of dread in their silence, Varkas ground his teeth and headed straight for the central barracks where the command headquarters was stationed.
In the meantime, news that the main body of the Imperial Coalition had arrived reached the knights of the Imperial Army, who came rushing out. Most were familiar faces.
Scanning the faces of his former subordinates with cold eyes, Varkas stepped directly into the large tent. There, he saw Kylias pushing himself up from his cot with the help of an attendant.
“I greet Your Excellency the Grand Duke.”
The man sat on the edge of the bed with a grim expression, offering a formal salutation.
Varkas looked down coldly at the man, whose shoulder was wrapped thick in bandages, and got straight to the point.
“Explain what happened.”
“……We were ambushed,” the man replied, his teeth clenching.
“If you travel northeast from here for about half a day, you will find the rebels’ base. It is an impregnable fortress situated halfway up a mountain slope that is practically a cliff. We bypassed to the north to cut off their water supply and completely block the access road to draw them out. But there was a trap waiting for us….”
“I’m not asking for a long-winded list of excuses.”
A low groan escaped the high-ranking knight’s throat.
Only then did Varkas realize he was clutching the man’s hair. It seemed that, at some point, he had lost the ability to restrain his aggressive impulses. He felt as though everything he had done to excise his innate nature might have been nothing more than a futile effort.
Jerking the man’s head back roughly, Varkas hissed into his contorted face.
“Did you not receive the order to fall back and wait in the rear? Give me a reason I can accept for why you dared to defy my command and carry out such a reckless attack.”
“I could not… disobey the Crown Prince’s orders,” the man spat out through gritted teeth.
“He is the one who will become the next Emperor. We, the Roem Knights, swore our loyalty to him…!”
“Loyalty is not merely running in whatever direction your master points like a trained dog,” Varkas argued coldly.
“A true subject’s duty is to stop their master, even if they have to bite their leg to keep them from walking into a death trap.”
“We do not believe the Crown Prince’s judgment was entirely wrong,” the man said, glaring at him with wide eyes.
“Many loyal subjects of the Empire lost their lives due to the northern rebellion. Among them were comrades who had been with us for years. And yet, to seat the daughter of the very family responsible for their deaths as the Crown Princess? That is an act that shakes the very foundations of the Empire’s order. We also fully support His Highness’s judgment that showing indiscriminate mercy to those who took up arms against the Imperial Family would only invite further disaster!”
Varkas looked down at the man silently, his face expressionless, before a twisted, cold smile touched his lips.
“And so, where is this Crown Prince you support so fully now?”
The man’s face instantly turned the color of ash.
He bit his bruised lip and averted his gaze.
“……He was taken prisoner by Heimdal.”
Varkas said nothing for a long while.
Unable to bear the silence, the man added anxiously, “It seems Heimdal was targeting His Highness from the start. He intentionally leaked information about the rebels’ location to lure us into a trap, intending to take the Crown Prince hostage and neutralize the Imperial Army.”
“So, in short, you handed the heir to the throne over to the enemy on a silver platter.”
The man opened his mouth as if to protest but then clamped it shut. He seemed to realize that no matter what he said, it would be nothing more than a pathetic excuse.
Varkas looked down at the man’s flushed face with a frigid gaze before releasing him with a shove.
“From this moment on, I take command of the Roem Knights and the elite imperial units. As soon as the mages from the Coalition have finished treating the wounded, assemble all forces at Heimdal’s fortress.”
The man jumped to his feet, his face filled with shock.
“Did you even hear what I said? I told you the Crown Prince is being held hostage! If we attack now, His Highness’s safety will be in jeopardy. For now, we have no choice but to comply with Heimdal’s demands…!”
“The moment we comply with his demands, the Empire will be on a fast track to fragmentation.”
The knight’s neck stiffened at the definitive statement.
“He will demand autonomy for Valto and a massive war indemnity. Even if we somehow end the negotiations by paying a ransom, the prestige of the Imperial Family will plummet to the ground. Meanwhile, Heimdal will be hailed as a hero of the North, and Valto’s independence will become an inevitable next step.”
“There is no guarantee it will turn out like that…!”
“Do you really think the Northerners will quietly accept Imperial rule now that even the Blestone family has turned its back on the throne?”
“…….”
“If Valto gains independence from the Empire, the other lords will not stay quiet either. Within a few years, the entire continent of Robiden will return to the era of ancient warring states, plunged into a whirlpool of endless war and slaughter.”
By now, the knight’s complexion was so pale he looked like a corpse. Varkas calmly continued, watching the light of terror spread across the man’s face.
“Therefore, there will be no negotiations.”
“Are you saying… you intend to sacrifice the Crown Prince?”
Varkas gave no answer.
The man stumbled to his feet and approached him unsteadily.
“This is not a matter for Your Excellency to decide unilaterally! At the very least, after reporting to His Majesty…!”
“The Emperor’s decision will not be much different. If asked to choose between the safety of the Empire and his heir, the answer is already as good as decided.”
Varkas drove the point home ruthlessly.
“Furthermore, His Majesty has another heir. There is another successor to the throne, born through legitimate process, residing in the Imperial Palace.”
The man looked up at him with eyes full of shock.
Varkas left the tent, leaving the frozen man behind. Knights with stiff expressions, as if they had overheard the argument inside, surrounded the entrance.
Varkas looked around at them slowly and issued a command in a low voice.
“Tomorrow, at daybreak, we march on Heimdal’s fortress. Everyone, make sure your preparations are complete.”
It was around the time the sun had completely dipped below the mountain ridge that the main body of the Imperial Coalition joined the camp.
Emerging through the deepening blue twilight, the soldiers immediately began reinforcing the flimsy defenses while preparing for the next day’s march. Most of the commanders did not raise any particular objections to his decision. They immediately gathered in the central barracks to begin a strategic meeting.
