Chapter 827

Targien made a warrior’s oath. If the information Ima-ra brought would benefit him, he swore to protect her.

Ima-ra didn’t trust Targien much…

‘There’s no other way.’

Since she was captured as a prisoner, staying silent would only lead to horrific torture. So, she eventually placed a sliver of hope in Targien’s warrior’s oath and revealed everything.

“Interesting story. You have the audacity to talk about oaths.”

Indeed, the truth about Meiharin that Ima-ra shared was intriguing enough to benefit Targien greatly.

Sorcery. A sorcerer who practices cursed sorcery based on human sacrifice. If this fact spread across the grasslands, Meiharin and Sahallyeon would lose their claim to be the Khans of Ai-shan.

This information could be a major turning point in the stagnant civil war of the grasslands. Ima-ra had indeed kept her promise.

Then, would Targien keep his oath?

“Satisfied? Then, as I swore—”

“No, I’m afraid that’s a bit difficult.”

As if. Targien smirked and looked down at the ‘enemy’s daughter’ who had brought him good news.

“…What?”

Ima-ra gritted her teeth and glared at Targien like a venomous wildcat. The unease she had felt became reality.

She had never trusted Targien from the start, but she hadn’t expected him to discard a warrior’s oath so easily.

“You swore as a warrior, but it was all a lie? Aren’t you ashamed to call yourself a Khan—”

“You know nothing. Well, you’re not a warrior, so it’s natural. A warrior’s oath only holds when the other party is worthy. The blood of a sorcerer is hardly worth it.”

“What, what?! You liar…! Don’t lie. You never intended to keep the oath!”

Ima-ra, furious, struggled against the ropes binding her limbs and shouted fiercely, but Targien just sneered and ordered his men to throw her back into the prison.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

Ima-ra resisted desperately, but she couldn’t overcome the brute strength of the warriors. She was gagged again and dragged away, bound by ropes.

“Khan Targien, what do you plan to do with her?”

“Hmm… Break her spirit and display her before the city walls. I can already see Meiharin and Sahallyeon going wild with joy.”

Targien’s sarcastic remarks about making her like Da-ha-mei, Amin’s mother, faded into the background.

—

And night fell.

‘…It’s over.’

Sitting in the dark corner of the prison, Ima-ra trembled with anger and despair. A fate worse than a slave awaited her.

She had prepared herself for this since being captured by Targien, but…

The cold air of the prison, like an ice cave, and the leering gazes of the guards who whispered obscenities shattered the resolve of the sixteen-year-old girl like a sandcastle swept away by waves.

The prison guard, a hairy, ape-like man, made no effort to hide the lust in his eyes, which was utterly disgusting.

He hadn’t touched her yet, only because he was waiting for Targien’s order, but it was clear he would ravage her as soon as permission was given.

“If you want food, you’ll have to use your mouth. Think of it as practice for what’s coming.”

In fact, the guard had even tried to use food and water as bait to force himself on her, saying it wouldn’t leave marks.

Of course, Ima-ra shut her eyes tightly and ignored the guard’s threats. The guard, thinking it would cause trouble if he forced her, didn’t go further.

It wasn’t so much self-control as it was the knowledge that once Targien returned from his night raid, he could do as he pleased. He could wait one night.

Ima-ra herself thought it highly likely, so she glared at the guard with disgust but couldn’t hide her fear.

– Thud!

In the middle of the night, a heavy thud sounded, and the guard, who had been relentlessly taunting her, collapsed with his eyes rolled back.

‘Huh?’

Ima-ra, startled by the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest who had silently approached and knocked out the guard, widened her eyes and looked up.

‘Who? Someone sent by my mother or brother? To rescue me? Or… to silence me before things escalate?’

Though the darkness of the night obscured it, Ima-ra’s face showed clear confusion and bewilderment.

She couldn’t tell if the person was a rescuer or an assassin, but if they were sent by Meiharin, they would ultimately be her enemy.

However.

“Please keep your voice down, Lady Ima-ra. If we’re discovered, both of us will be in great trouble.”

The person who revealed themselves was someone she knew well, but someone who had no reason to be here.

‘Mersin…?’

The 4th Imperial Guard Cavalry of Ha-shal-leur. Mersin, a middle-aged warrior who held the position of White Tiger General, just like Ja-han. The man who had knocked out the guard was none other than Mersin.

‘Why is Mersin here? I heard he joined Targien after Ha-shal-leur’s betrayal…?’

“I understand you’re confused, but there’s no time to explain. Please get up. I’ll help you escape.”

Mersin searched the guard’s body for the prison keys, unlocked the door, and entered to remove Ima-ra’s gag and bindings, explaining his actions in a low voice.

It wasn’t a grand story.

He had submitted to Targien to avoid punishment for Ha-shal-leur’s betrayal, but a sliver of loyalty to his former master remained, so he decided to free Ima-ra, whom she had favored.

“That’s how it is.”

“…Ha-shal-leur favored me? Do you really think so?”

After freeing herself from the ropes, Ima-ra borrowed Mersin’s dagger and stabbed the guard’s throat, then cautiously asked.

Despite the conflicts in their childhood, the words from Ha-shal-leur’s close aide brought a warm sense of relief to Ima-ra, who had been secretly anxious.

“Well, she never said it outright… but when she spoke of you, her expression was completely different from when she spoke of Targien, Sahallyeon, or Amin. She even complained about not knowing how to handle you. I think that counts as favor.”

“Sister… favored me…”

Feeling relieved, Ima-ra nodded unconsciously and smiled.

—

Mersin helped Ima-ra escape the prison, returned her confiscated bow and hidden weapons, and secretly escorted her out of the camp on a well-trained warhorse.

He advised her to flee as far as possible before the pursuit began at dawn.

Ima-ra thanked Mersin and rode through the night, heading toward the kingdom her half-sister Ha-shal-leur had established.

And.

“……Letting go of prey we already caught, is this really beneficial to me?”

Targien, who had been watching from afar, turned to Mersin, who had approached, and asked.

He had followed the plan, but he questioned whether this was truly advantageous.

“Of course, Khan Targien. That girl is just bait. As the Khan of the Great Plains, you should hunt the predators drawn by the rabbit, not the rabbit itself.”

Mersin replied as if soothing a petulant child.

“That girl is Meiharin’s reverse scale and weakness. If she testifies before the tribal leaders that her mother is a sorcerer, most tribes in the grasslands will turn their backs on Sahallyeon. So… before that fact spreads across the grasslands, we must chase and capture her.”

Indeed. All the excuses Mersin had given Ima-ra were lies. Mersin and Targien had always planned to let her go.

That’s why, instead of breaking her immediately after capture, they had ordered her to be imprisoned.

If they had allowed the warriors to have their way with her, she wouldn’t have been able to walk, let alone escape.

“We only need to pretend to chase her with a few warriors. Then, Meiharin and Sahallyeon, with their backs against the wall, will have no choice but to send out the Blue Army from Ordos to retrieve their daughter before she falls into our hands.”

Mersin judged that Meiharin would send not just any troops, but the elite core of the Blue Army, to retrieve Ima-ra.

Sending weak and incompetent troops would only result in their annihilation by Targien’s forces.

“So now, we just need to watch Ordos and act according to the situation. We can either ambush and destroy the Blue Army as they leave Ordos, or attack and capture the now-vulnerable Ordos…”

In other words, Ima-ra’s role was merely to lure the hard-to-reach Blue Army out of the fortress and into the grasslands.

“Alternatively, we could lure the Traitor Wolf, who believes his mother’s death was the sorcerer’s doing, to clash with Meiharin’s forces. The Traitor Wolf will naturally confront Meiharin without us lifting a finger.”

If things went well, Targien could watch his enemies destroy each other and reap the benefits.

This was the truth behind the ten-day escape drama.