After the imperial council ended, and the ministers were on their way back.
“See here, Chancellor. Chancellor! Is this truly right?”
Kamag Rejestis, who had attached himself to the Chancellor’s heels, hurriedly spoke up.
“Wasn’t it for moments like today that we gave military authority to our Seventh Prince? If he leads those men, who have even completed formation training, and heads for the frontier at once, everything can be ended within two months!”
“Do you think war is so easy?”
The Chancellor greatly hated those who shed more blood than necessary.
At the same time, he despised those who made light of shedding blood.
Kamag Rejestis. The man who would soon be called Marquis Strida.
The head of the house that had become the Empire’s foremost noble family thanks to the Empress.
He was not utterly without ability, but neither could he be called outstanding.
He had some experience as an official, but that was all. He had no experience in war.
In truth, he had risen this far because he was the Empress’s elder brother.
And such a man was prattling on about ending it all within two months.
“It has been six years since the Empire was founded atop Condor. With so many places still lacking, if the western frontier were to break away wholesale, it would be no small disaster.”
“That is precisely why we must strike swiftly and powerfully! If the commanders who have experienced every manner of battlefield under His Imperial Majesty go together with His Highness the Seventh Prince…”
“Go there, yes. And if, by some chance, a problem arises after they go, what do you intend to do?”
He had heard that the Empress’s health had been worsening more and more of late.
They must want to quickly establish the Eighth Prince as Crown Prince while the Empress was still alive.
But politics was never something that could be done by hurrying every single time.
At times, one had to sweep in like a storm. At times, one had to stand firm like a boulder.
In the Chancellor’s view, now was the time to observe the situation a little longer.
“His Highness the Fifth Prince’s words are not entirely wrong.”
“Chancellor!!”
“For now, all they have done is move within only a portion of the frontier. The entire western frontier has not turned against us. If we move the army under such circumstances, and those who become frightened join the rebellion, its momentum will grow beyond control.”
“What if it is the opposite? What do you intend to do if the rebellion swells even larger because we do not move!”
“That is why His Imperial Majesty extracted a pledge, is it not?”
Clicking his tongue, the Chancellor advised him to recall the imperial council.
Who had opposed raising the army. Who had offered a different opinion.
And who would have to bear all the responsibility that followed.
“If His Highness the Fifth Prince goes as special envoy and yet the kingdom intervenes in the rebellion, it is a failure. Even if he prevents the kingdom’s intervention, if in the meantime the entire western frontier is swept up in the flames of rebellion, that too is a failure. Whatever the case, His Highness the Fifth Prince will find it difficult to avoid punishment.”
“You mean…”
“I doubt His Majesty would take the life of a prince. But one way or another, it is true that he will move one step closer to losing power. That is what I mean.”
Did he think the Chancellor had merely watched in silence without any thoughts of his own?
If a man wished to dig a pit and climb into it himself, there was no need to stop him.
“But, Chancellor. What if, on the contrary, he persuades the kingdom? And because of that, the rebellion’s momentum dies and it collapses like straw? Then what? Would that not only prove the Fifth Prince’s ability even further?”
“Of course it would. But that is not such a grave problem.”
In any case, the Founding Emperor had all but chosen the Eighth Prince as Crown Prince.
That was precisely why he, the Chancellor, was moving like this to begin with.
The Emperor decided the Crown Prince. The ministers could never interfere.
For now, they merely spoke because the Founding Emperor had not given a definite statement.
The moment the Emperor’s command came down, all of them would obey in the end.
“Now is not the time to worry about His Highness the Fifth Prince. What of His Highness the Seventh Prince?”
“Well, he still seems to be quite dissatisfied.”
“Of course. He thought he himself would become Crown Prince. You must soothe those feelings well.”
Everyone knew that the Founding Emperor loved the current Empress dearly.
And yet both princes were equally the children of that same current Empress.
Then why was he pushing the Eighth Prince as Crown Prince, rather than the Seventh?
“If we had known things would turn out like this, we would never have formed ties with the Condor imperial family.”
Around the time Condor was destroyed and the new Empire was founded,
they had used one method to conciliate Condor’s forces.
They had betrothed the young Seventh Prince to a girl from a collateral line of the Condor imperial family.
At the time, it had been a scheme to overcome the chaotic situation.
But now that things had turned out this way, the Crown Princess would be someone from the Condor imperial family.
It was not merely that a betrothal had been exchanged; they were already husband and wife.
There had been talk of making them divorce or not, but it had all fizzled out.
Because the current Empress had another option besides the Seventh Prince: the Eighth Prince.
“You must continue hinting that if His Highness the Eighth Prince becomes Crown Prince, it will be a good thing for His Highness the Seventh Prince as well.”
“I know, Chancellor. That is why we gave His Highness the Seventh Prince military authority, to show that his influence is not insignificant either.”
Setting aside the other princes who had been tempered through countless battles, the Seventh Prince now held military authority.
Many questions and complaints about this had been piling up silently.
But Kamag, and the Chancellor as well, were not greatly worried.
Because everything they were doing and carrying out was, in the end, the will of the Founding Emperor.
So long as the Emperor stood firm, even his once-loyal subordinates would ultimately follow.
“Still, speaking with you has made my heart much more at ease, Chancellor. So this is why Her Majesty told me to speak with you. Hahaha!”
Barely listening to Kamag’s words, the Chancellor moved on.
There was only one reason to support the Eighth Prince, born of the current Empress. Because the Founding Emperor wanted it.
If not for that, he himself would not have continued taking such unreasonable measures.
‘Still, if there is one thing that troubles me.’
The Fifth Prince, Ishmael. A genius who had already passed the civil service examination at seventeen.
He had upheld the pride of the Founding Emperor, who had once been dismissed as a rootless swordsman.
The Chancellor, too, acknowledged the talent of the Fifth Prince, who had once been his nephew.
It made no sense that such a Fifth Prince would be unaware of the danger of this matter.
Even if he persuaded the kingdom, if the flames of rebellion burned on, it would effectively be a failure.
If he could not even persuade the kingdom, it would only result in the collapse of his support base.
And yet he had volunteered to become the special envoy. In fact, he had begun preparations.
It had reached the point where the Chancellor even suspected he had created a separate channel with the neighboring kingdoms.
‘Or was he perhaps stimulated by that young man named Ethan some time ago?’
It was so sudden that even such a thought occurred to him. Though surely that could not be.
The Fifth Prince was a man of deep schemes and no easy opponent.
By contrast, the Eighth Prince was merely ten years old. A boy who still loved to play.
For a moment, the Chancellor wondered whether there was any chance of victory in this fight.
*
It has already been nearly two months since I began staying among the Urut tribe.
Our people, who had been tense to the point of stiffness, have grown fairly comfortable now.
The steppe tribes, too, had been rough and deeply wary at first.
But as time passed. And because Beoilleo had declared us friends.
On the steppe, once you become friends, the rule is that you become close at once.
Thanks to that, the guards had grown close enough to even joke with the warriors.
“Captain. This is new information delivered by the Urut side.”
The same was true for the lower-ranking officials dispatched from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At first, they had seemed uncomfortable, saying they were steppe tribes.
Should I say it felt like civilized men dealing with barbarians?
But by now, much of that had been diluted.
It had not all disappeared, but for two months, it was a good change.
‘I went through quite a bit of trouble persuading those people.’
From now on, the Urut tribe is not simply a steppe tribe.
They are the Empire’s partner and sworn ally for stabilizing the eastern border.
If we make a mistake, this stable relationship will be finished as well.
Since they belong to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they should understand how important this is.
My words had clearly given each of them something to feel.
“With this, we have more or less finished collecting information on all the tribes along the border, haven’t we?”
“Yes. We divided them into tribes that will absolutely never speak with our country even if the situation changes, tribes that have any amount of possibility so long as a path is opened, and tribes that are standing back and calculating.”
“Hmm…”
Just as I was about to reach a conclusion, an experience from my previous life suddenly came to mind.
Hearing with your ears is good, but it cannot compare to seeing with your own eyes.
In other words, direct experience is very important for judgment.
“Captain? Where are you going?”
“Since we still have plenty of time before returning anyway, I thought I would look around the area.”
“Pardon? It is dangerous! We do not know how the surrounding steppe tribes will react…”
“That is why I intend to ask Beoilleo. I will ask him to attach some guards.”
In truth, the Empire’s majesty does not hold that much weight on the steppe.
Perhaps it would be different in the north where the Founding Emperor distinguished himself, or along the southern coast.
The winter barbarians and pirates were so damn troublesome that the Empire focused there.
As a result, the steppe tribes quietly look down on the Empire.
In such a situation, guards from the Empire cannot be all that intimidating.
If I want to see the reactions of the surrounding tribes, I need Urut warriors.
Only by seeing how they treat the Urut can the next step be decided.
“You want me to attach warriors as your guards?”
“I wish to travel the surrounding area and personally commit to memory this rugged yet vast steppe that the Urut tribe loves.”
“And it is not because you wish to know how the surrounding tribes view our Urut?”
As expected, he is no easy man. He truly deserves to bear the name of Beoilleo.
The people of the Empire would think steppe tribes uncivilized and foolish.
But he possesses the ability to discern our inner thoughts without much difficulty.
“Good. In that case, it would be best to show you outright. What kind of people the Empire has decided to become sworn allies with.”
Beoilleo immediately summoned ten warriors and appointed them as my escort.
Then he gave me one month and ordered me to go look around the surrounding area.
The warriors would not harm me or guard me halfheartedly.
From the moment I arrived, I had already been a guest of the Urut tribe and of Beoilleo.
On the steppe, treating guests well is both courtesy and rule.
Moreover, the Empire would now proceed alongside the Urut as sworn allies.
Abandoning a friend was more shameful than death in this land.
“The other warriors cannot speak the Empire’s language, but I can.”
As I was preparing the saddle, a warrior approached my side.
It was a woman’s voice. It seemed a female warrior would be accompanying us.
“Will you be all right? Our warriors are very fast. They ride well, too.”
“I may fall short of all of you, who are as swift as the wind of the steppe, but I certainly did not rise to the position of a founding contributor by sitting at a desk and scribbling letters alone. All the meritorious retainers who followed His Imperial Majesty have experience in battles great and small.”
“Then we will not ride slowly, so you must keep up well.”
People who learned how to handle horses before they even learned to walk.
Indeed, fitting those words, the horsemanship the warriors displayed was on an entirely different level.
‘Damn it. I told them not to worry, but I’m falling farther and farther behind.’
I drove my horse with all my strength, but it was too difficult to catch up with the warriors.
There was a gap in horsemanship, and I was even outmatched in the horses’ specifications.
The horses they handled were small in build, but overwhelming in endurance.
For now, both my horse and I were exhausted, and the two of us were panting.
“Whoa, whoa.”
In the end, once the distance had grown too wide, the warriors turned their horses around.
Then the female warrior who knew how to speak the Empire’s language approached my side.
“This is beyond expectation.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think I would be even slower than—”
“We deliberately increased the speed a bit. Considering you only fell this far behind, your horsemanship is quite good for an Imperial.”
“…”
Hey, these people. I’m an envoy of the Empire and your guest right now.
I wondered if that might be the case, but I wasn’t slow—you people were fast?
What were you going to do if I really got left behind and something happened!
“There is nothing to worry about. The eyes and ears of warriors are very good. If someone approaches on the steppe, we can tell at once.”
“Just like now,” she said, and then the female warrior turned her body.
There, another group of warriors was riding toward us.
Their clothing was all similar, but they were absolutely not of the Urut tribe.
The direction they appeared from was the exact opposite of where we had come from.
“Stay here.”
The female warrior rode off together with the other Urut warriors.
“You wretches finally joined hands with the Empire!”
“Scum who think shame is something to boast of!”
It seemed rumors about their relationship with the Empire had spread.
The warriors of a nearby tribe then spotted me and shouted.
Since it was the language of the steppe tribes, I did not know the exact contents.
But judging by the words and voices I caught here and there,
what those bastards were saying to me was probably as follows.
“It’s a loathsome lackey of the Empire!”
“Hand over your nose, Imperial bastard!”
“Your ears are next!”
You lunatics, when did I ever put my nose and ears in your keeping!
For a moment, I was nearly cowed by the merciless hostility.
—Slice!
A warrior’s neck soared upward along with a spray of blood.
“Those who dare treat a friend of the Urut with reckless insolence—I shall not forgive them.”
Holding out a curved blade dripping with red blood, the female warrior issued a chilling warning.