The night in the Great Wilderness was cool, and the clear sky stretched high above. The countless stars beyond the night sky couldn’t be obscured by the light pollution of bonfires or campfires.
A clear, dry wind blew. It was a lively night filled with the smell of sizzling meat grease and the aroma of alcohol. Fernandez swirled a strong fruit wine in his mouth.
The pungent scent numbed his sensitive sense of smell. Then, his eyes met Daryan’s.
Daryan was buried among the warriors, laughing and chatting heartily. He smiled and pursed his lips.
– Mind if I have a word?
Sure, Fernandez rinsed his tongue with wine and stood up. Watching his retreating figure heading toward the tent, Partak chuckled.
Daryan laughed without malice. They had entered the dimly lit tent. Fernandez poured tea and sat on the side table.
“Drink. It’s not poisoned.”“Even if it were, what does it matter?”
Daryan laughed heartily and downed the tea in one go. Placing the empty cup on the table with a clink, he slowly opened his eyes. The laughter in his eyes had vanished.
“Tell me your name.”“Didn’t I say I’d tell you if you beat me?”“Then, if I guess your name correctly, will you consider it my win?”“What do you want?”“To become my sworn brother.”“…What?”
Daryan looked at Fernandez with a serious expression.
“If my guess is correct, you’re younger than me. You can’t be my elder brother.”“That’s not what I meant. Are you suggesting we become brothers?”“Exactly. Alberto.”
Fernandez froze. The air in the tent grew cold. Daryan’s sharp gaze pierced through his eyes.
“Impressive. Can you tell me why?”“The Great Wilderness is full of rumors, false tales, and wild legends. A barbaric place. You know that. I am the Emperor’s eyes. I didn’t come here for wandering or leisure.”“Did you come looking for me?”“Not the goal, but a reason.”
Daryan tilted the teapot to pour more tea into his cup. The dark red tea swirled inside the cup.
“At first, strange rumors reached us. The meticulously crafted empire we built began to falter. The Walker crisis erupted across the Phaeirn Kingdom, threatening the royal family’s existence.”“And?”“Just as we managed to calm the Walker crisis, the Elven maritime kingdom abandoned its port cities and gave up its maritime dominance. Gods appeared, dragons appeared. Along with these wild rumors.”
Fernandez silently watched Daryan. His eyes shone brightly. The eyes of a hero. No, the eyes of an Emperor. The intimidating gaze of the Emperor’s executioner and sharpest spear.
But he was still young. Fernandez had faced men with such eyes for decades and survived. At this point, Daryan was still an unripe young man.
But.
A hero is still a hero.
“Our empire paid close attention. The Eastern Kingdom Alliance was on the verge of collapse. With the war against the Sultan dragging on, without the alliance’s support, the situation would become dire. Phaeirn was on the brink of declaring war on the Dane royal family.”“You know this too.” Daryan poured more tea into his cup. The liquid rippled uneasily, but he didn’t take his eyes off Fernandez.
“The Dane royal family was in shambles. Succession disputes, an aging king who neglected governance. Phaeirn only needed a pretext to bring it down. If not for one man, a young knight who suddenly rose to the Round Table.”“…”“Who could it be? Can you guess? In such chaos, who could have maintained the Eastern Kingdom Alliance?”“King Vicente, the Knight King of the Dane Kingdom.”“Back then, Vicente was nothing but a puppet who could’ve been ousted at any moment.”
-Slosh.
Tea spilled over the cup onto the side table.
“All our intelligence agencies were dispatched. We needed to understand the situation. Information was scarce. Rumors about a young knight with no known origins spread through the streets. A knight chosen by Shield. The reincarnation of the founding king, a great knight who slew a revived giant and stood shoulder to shoulder with a dragon. And then, he vanished like smoke.”
After a pause.
“Like smoke. We thought it might be high-level political propaganda. Perhaps King Vicente, lacking political standing, fabricated these rumors to solidify his authority? But something was off. The Shield Church sent a protest letter to the Vaitas Church, and the Vaitas Church’s influence rapidly expanded within the Dane royal family, which had previously adopted Shield as its state religion.”
Conveniently, there was a parchment map on the side table. Fernandez had scribbled all over it while strategizing. Daryan dipped his finger in the spilled tea and marked the map.
At the military encampment of the Eastern Kingdom Alliance,tap.
“Our intelligence lords proposed a provocative hypothesis. What if this mysterious ‘Alberto’ was a figure from the Vaitas Church?”
And.
“The hidden blade of Vaitas, operating in secrecy. A codename for the Inquisition Office? According to reports, the knight was said to be very young. Young…
