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181. Childhood Friend – Bad Fate

The inside of the carriage was quiet.

On the way to the House of Marquis Gaidan, Aton and Prince Alzeor were reading books in the carriage.

Crinkle. The only sound was the turning of the pages, and the two princes remained silent. It was only after the carriage stopped that they spoke.

“What do you think Marquis Gaidan is thinking?”

It was the question from Alzeor, his younger brother. He hid the book he was reading under the seat.

Aton did the same and put his book away in the carriage’s shelf, shrugging as he said, “Who knows.”

Marquis Harvey Gaidan had refused to marry off his daughter. He used her unstable mental state as an excuse, while brazenly holding a banquet to announce that the Marquis’ wife had recovered.

The two princes got out of the carriage.

They tidied their clothes, wondering what the Marquis was up to, and entered the Gaidan mansion.

“Ha ha ha! It’s great to see you all gathered here! Greetings, everyone!”

Alzeor exclaimed. With a frivolous smile, he eased the tension of the nobles and lightly greeted the flustered Marquis’ wife, who was taken by surprise by the unexpected guests.

At that moment,

“Brother.”

A tremendously beautiful woman appeared.

But what captivated the two princes more than her looks were her striking blonde hair and shining golden eyes.

Though fallen, she was still a symbol of the great Empire.

The two dark-haired princes approached as if entranced. Ignoring the nobles trying to greet them, they walked straight up to the ancient royal.

“We pay our respects to the ‘Guardian’ of the Lognum Mountains.”

Lord Bokali bowed. Although he was quite an important figure as the father-in-law of Count Ogerton, Alzeor de Lognum gave him a somewhat persistent look, indicating he wanted a clarification.

“Who is the young lady by your side? Please grant me the honor of an introduction.”

“…This is my…”

“I am Lena de Yeriel. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aton, Prince Alzeor de Lognum.”

Lena offered a slight bow at the waist.

Without bending her back or moving her legs, this was the etiquette shown by royalty towards another royal.

Aton de Lognum raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Did you say Lena de Yeriel? From the Conrad Kingdom? I heard she had passed away…”

“Are you sorry to hear that?”

A bold reply.

Aton de Lognum’s body language revealed he felt quite rude.

“Why would I be? It’s a pleasure to see the noble princess alive. Allow me to introduce myself formally. I am Aton de Lognum, and this is my younger brother, Alzeor de Lognum.”

Royal courtesies exchanged once again, and Prince Aton turned his head towards Lord Bokali.

“Excuse me, but may I have a moment alone with the princess?”

Though polite, it was clear he meant it was time for the noble to step aside.

Lord Bokali hesitated for a moment. While he indeed wanted to withdraw, he was reluctant to let go of the delicate princess’s hand.

However, the princess took her hand away, eliminating the need for him to worry. Lord Bokali watched the princess salute gracefully, saying, “Thank you for escorting me,” before leaving.

Soon, the three sat around a nearby table. Before the drinks arrived, Alzeor asked,

“What brings you to the Orun Kingdom, Your Highness?”

“I’m just traveling.”

Lena replied briefly. Sensing Alzeor’s impatience, she realized she held the initiative and turned to Aton.

“I’m very glad for the warm welcome.”

“I feel the same. When did you arrive? If you had notified us, I would have sent a knight to the border to meet you.”

“Such an extravagant welcome for a wandering royal. But I truly appreciate it. I will not forget your kindness.”

Lena extended her arm. It seemed she was brushing by the newly arrived drink towards Aton, but her hand grasped the wine glass instead. This time, she raised a toast to Alzeor, shaking up the atmosphere.

There wasn’t a specific reason.

She just… had a feeling it would be nice.

“Have you thought about visiting the royal palace? If you do, I could be your guide.”

“Are you inviting me? It’s an honor, Prince Alzeor. But…”

Lena trailed off. After maintaining enough silence, she spoke with a tone of disappointment.

“It might be difficult.”

Then, before the question of why it was difficult could arise, she preempted it.

“Instead, could you tell me? What is Nevis Castle like? It must be magnificent and glorious, right? I’ve heard there are no buildings with as much metal in the continent as that one.”

“Ha ha. Of course. The amount of brass depleted in building Nevis Castle was astounding. In fact, the currency in circulation back then wasn’t copper as it is now, but rather brass with zinc included. However, as brass became scarce due to its use in building Nevis Castle, the ‘Tatian Family’, who were in charge of minting at the time, had to come up with a new type of currency as a makeshift solution. After the Acaian Empire collapsed, the Tatian family strived to maintain their currency issuance rights, which is why they had to relinquish the minting.”

Prince Aton de Lognum cleared his throat. He tried to restrain his increasingly chatty brother, but Alzeor didn’t stop.

A tiny crack in their relationship.

Lena smiled sweetly. Her heart was urging her to put a finger in there.

What would happen then? It felt thrilling to the point of breathlessness.

Shadows cast down beside Lena’s eyes. “You’re quite knowledgeable, Prince Alzeor. You must have read a lot. I envy you…” she said, shyly fidgeting her mouth for the next turn,

“Lena.”

Her brother appeared. Like a guilty child, Lena suddenly appeared innocent, while Leo nodded and greeted.

“I apologize. My younger brother hasn’t caused you any trouble, has he? Lena, let’s go. It’s getting quite late.”

“Younger brother? Then you are…”

“I’m just a wandering guest. I wouldn’t want to tarnish the name of princes with my disgraceful name.”

Lena stood up. “It was an honor to meet you, Prince Aton.” She greeted just one person and, with a wink, secretly waggled her eyebrows at Prince Alzeor.

This is fun.

Even pretending to be innocent around her brother. “I didn’t say anything. Really.” she said, feeling guilt and excitement for having lied to her brother pushing her along. The royal blood that had ruled for thousands of years exhaled faintly.

“…Alzeor.”

“Yes, brother.”

“Get a grip.”

“…On what?”

Prince Aton de Lognum took a deep breath. Perhaps he thought a monster scratched his face, as he washed his face with both hands and opened his eyes wide.

“Look over there.”

Prince Aton pointed. Up the staircase on the second floor, he indicated the sight of Leo and Lena with the Marquis Gaidan.

“I see what the Marquis is up to. He has brought back a thorny fruit from somewhere.”

“Still, she’s attractive.”

“…Alzeor. Come here. Closer.”

Prince Aton grabbed his still dazed brother by the neck.

“You never imagined a woman could cause a problem between us, did you? You can have that girl. I won’t get involved. But our promises must be kept.”

The Lognum Royal Family. The guardian of the southwestern mountains appointed by the Acaian Imperial Family.

Though confused by the schemes of those who had been their owners since ancient times, Alzeor de Lognum regained his composure. “You can let go now.” he said, reassuring his brother.

The two princes exited the House of Gaidan without hesitation. Having understood the Marquis’ intentions, there was no reason to stay any longer.

Just before getting into the carriage, Alzeor de Lognum turned back. With the Gaidan mansion in his sights, he smiled cruelly.

“She will become the Duchess. As the rightful heir of the Conrad Kingdom, she will gift me the kingdom. Brother. There’s no need to hold back the spear anymore.”

Prince Aton nodded.

Acknowledging that a reason to strike the Conrad Kingdom had emerged, he relayed advice as a ‘shield’.

“Before that, we need to catch that monster.”

*

Reb had received a promise of cooperation from the Norangd tribe and was now searching for the next barbarian tribe.

The polygamous Norangd had a unique custom where every “end of the month,” all the tribe members would gather for a festival and go out to sea for a large-scale fishing expedition.

Reb almost missed it, nearly arriving at a tribe where all the festivities had ended, if not for his good fortune of arriving on the day of the festival.

Having made it safely through negotiations, invigorated by the joyous festival atmosphere, Reb found that the female chief was quite taken with his sturdy legs. Whether it was seduction or threat was unclear, but Reb ended up spending a wild night.

“Phew.”

And the encroaching guilt.

Riding Kus on his journey, Reb found himself unsure whether he should be happy or sad about having the {space technique} ability. He felt guilty towards Leah, who had vowed to remain friends.

“Damn.” ─ Reb muttered as he headed northwest. On his way over the Lognum Mountains, he met a man.

An unusual merchant, he was noticeable even if not by his occupation.

No, it wasn’t the man himself that caught the eye but the powerful bird of prey he was carrying.

“Ha ha. Isn’t he cute? He’s my friend of half a lifetime.”

It was Sinis.

Sinis was a type of eagle. A feathered bird with two legs and wings, so it would be reasonable to call it an eagle.

However, what distinguished it from the eagles Minseo knew was its head. From the front marked by short, pointed hair, sharply curved beak covered with hard bone.

It had a very vivid orange color, honestly looking more intimidating than cute, but the merchant, who introduced himself as Cesar, stroked the gray feathers of the creature.

“Is it a male?”

“Yes. You can see the red tips on the wings and tail, right? Only the males have that. The females don’t have any special features. Go, Sinis. Which way?”

The merchant casually used the species’ name as if it were a title. Sinis took off, flying far and circling the mountains before returning to its master. The merchant set the direction, and Reb trusted him.

Sinis stopped mid-flight, flapping briefly in a direction. Following that way, there would surely be a village. Last time it was an ordinary village, but this time it was a rugged mountainous area, so it was highly likely to be a barbarian village.

Reb recalled several barbarian tribes from his memories but decided to follow him. After all, it was on the way northwest, and it would be nice to stop by one more.

It seemed further than he thought, as he had to camp for a night in the mountains before arriving at the village, which indeed was a barbarian village. Leo stood upright, adjusting his posture and preparing to make a solemn entrance when…

“Bdan-ni!”

The merchant, Cesar, shouted.

At that, a young man guarding the front gate responded cheerfully, “Eung~!!” while clapping his hands.

“Ha ha. Long time no see. Uh… Sorry, I forgot your name. Could you remind me again?”

“Eung~ I forgot your name too, so we’re even. It’s Hatu. What was your name again?”

“Aah, right. Hatu. I feel like it was just yesterday when you insisted we exchange that worthless piece of leather and bracelet, but this kid has grown a lot. I’m Cesar.”

“Ah! You remember that?”

“Of course~ I even remember you complaining about wanting to give it to your girlfriend. So, how did it go?”

The young man grinned widely. With a slap on his own shoulder, he said.

“I got married. I had a son last year.”

“Oh dear- Look at that. This kid has become an adult before I even got married. But… what’s up with this village? Did you just build it?”

“Yeah. About two years ago, there were so many people that we had to split it in two. Come in. There’s probably quite a few people you know. Is your party behind you?”

“Yeah. They are, but I’m not sure why we came…”

“I came to meet the chief.”

Reb opened his mouth. Though there was a brief confusion caused by the merchant’s friendliness with the village youth, he pulled himself together again. Holding his head high with arrogance, he ordered the way.

‘What is that young knight doing?’

Seeing the astonishment on the merchant’s face, Reb’s face reddened. It was easy to deal with the relatively direct and warrior-respecting barbarians, but he still felt embarrassed around so-called civilized people.

And that embarrassment peaked soon after.

“I… will become your general.”

Who says so?

The surprised merchant rounded his mouth, and this was the beginning of the bad fate between Reb and Cesar.

Even after he had sworn loyalty later, he became the teasing subordinate, saying, “Captain, did you know that you raise your head every time you want to show off?”