Erdene let out a long, really long, and complicated sigh to Arkan.
“The ground is going to collapse.”
“That’s right, you should have built a solid foundation when you built the castle.”
“Do you feel like not saying a word in this situation?”
“I’ve never lost, at any time.”
Arkan soon gave up and decided to wait quietly for Erdene to speak.
That was a much faster and wiser method, as proven by the large and small wars of attrition over the past few months.
“If I have to talk about it, it’ll be long.”
Erdene, who had started talking, slyly looked at Arkan. However, Arkan crossed his arms, showing no sign of backing down.
“I have a lot of time. The days are getting shorter these days, so the nights are long. That should be enough.”
“Can’t you be a little lenient? I barely slept last night. Because of you!”
“Why are you blaming me for that? Who keeps tempting me like that!”
Erdene twitched her lips as she slammed her fist into Arkan’s solid thigh.
Arkan looked at Erdene with a look of disbelief and then slapped her hand away.
“Are you holding a stone in your hand?”
“You should be thankful I'm not holding a sword.”
“Are you trying to say indirectly that you’re trying to make me unable to walk?”
“You’re saying it out loud, so what are you saying indirectly? Don’t you know what indirectly means?”
“I’m going to die of pain!”
“I hit you because it hurts, so of course it hurts. What are you talking about?”
Erdene crossed her arms and turned her head with a sullen face, just like Arkan before, and let out another short sigh.
Yes, now. She thought. There was no point in hiding it now.
Now that he knew about Gluker’s existence, if she kept her purpose a secret, Arkan would give orders to the soldiers in the border area.
To capture any birds that looked like falcons or homing pigeons coming from the empire. If that were the case, the problem would only get worse.
Erdene, who was biting her lip, said,
“Glucker is passing letters between me and the adjutants.”
Arkan glanced at the falcon, who was still dozing off on the perch.
“I know that without having to hear it. Are you sending them here for a walk? When you say adjutants, you mean the people who came last time, right? I’m not asking you what you ate for breakfast or lunch, but tell me honestly. What’s the content of the letter? That’s...”
He trailed off. It felt like the words he couldn’t say, that he shouldn’t say, were stuck on the tip of his tongue like a hook.
If he tried to pull them out, the wound would get deeper, and if he left them alone, he couldn’t close his mouth or breathe.
Erdene quickly sensed Arkan’s feelings.
They fought each other with burning anger, and after she woke up from her collapse, she thought they had given up on each other and gotten over it, but she didn’t know that Arkan hadn’t yet completely sorted out his feelings.
What would I have done in the same situation? Erdene repeated meaningless questions a couple of times before saying,
“You must be wondering if the contents of that letter are something that could threaten the Kingdom of Vetor, or other kingdoms in the inland, or Your Majesty.”
At that moment, Arkan’s expression became complicated and quietly settled.
He frowned, but he didn’t seem angry.
Rather, his expression seemed closer to heartbreak.
Erdene said,
“Don’t worry. It’s not like that. I’m not shameless enough to kiss and sleep with you now that I’m planning to turn Vetor and the inland upside down. No, I can be shameless. But that’s not something that suits my personality.”
Her words were exactly what Arkan had been worried about, or couldn’t help but be worried about, and dismissed it.
But Arkan wasn’t particularly happy.
He didn’t feel fortunate, but his feelings were indescribably complicated.
Erdene stared at him with eyes that seemed more thoughtful than usual and continued.
“When my adjutants came to Vetor, I called them and heard about the state of the empire. It wasn’t because I had any special intention. I was just curious.”
“I know.”
Arkan answered reflexively. Erdene smiled faintly at him.
“After I came to Vetor, Tenek ordered my adjutants to be relieved of their posts. He reduced the commanders of the First and Second Knights of the Empire to nothing more than night watchmen. The officers who opposed Tenek, those who supported my father and me, all ended up like that. Or worse. Then Tenek brought in all those who had been dissatisfied with not being able to surpass the officers, led by Empress Roelica’s father, Atelgadis, and appointed them as new officials.”
It was a reasonable thing to do in political terms.
Emperor Tenek himself was not a famous officer, so to control the officials, he had to fill them with people who were good at what they did.
Arkan arranged his officials in that way.
Whether they were Kings or Emperors, anyone who took the top position would build their foundation in that way.
Erdene, who had been biting her lips, continued.
“That’s it... good. That’s it. There’s nothing I can do. The Imperial officers, my comrades who fought on the battlefield with me, lost their biggest and most powerful wings by losing me. I don’t have a magic wand to help them. Everyone was upset, but we accepted it anyway. However, I couldn’t accept that there was something suspicious about my father’s death. That’s not something I can just ignore.”
Only then did Arkan realize what kind of letters Erdene had exchanged with them.
Shock washed over him as he understood.
“The Empire... You’ve been investigating the death of the former Emperor? Up until now?”
“Yes, I have.”
Erdene’s answer was calm, but Arkan couldn’t help it.
“You give orders here, and your adjutants move around the Empire? You really did something like that?”
“All I ordered was to investigate Atelgadis. And to gather any clues that might be related to my father’s death. So far, that’s true. Because there’s no clue at all.”
Arkan laughed in vain.
He was dispirited, astonished, and furious. To himself and to Erdene.
“You are saying this so calmly, now? You wouldn’t say you didn’t know how serious this matter was. If you really didn’t know, you wouldn’t have kept it from me so tightly.”
“I know. I know better than anyone else. That’s why, yes. I had to hide it from Your Majesty. Because I thought you would definitely stop me if you found out.”
“Of course. Let this go. At least let your lieutenants in the empire handle it themselves. Have you, what the hell...! You never thought about what would happen if Emperor Tenek heard about this? Even once?”
“Do you think I would be afraid of Tenek and abandon my father?”
Of course not. Arkan thought.
Even if it wasn’t Tenek but the god of the underworld, she wouldn’t be afraid.
But this wasn’t Erdene’s problem alone.
Once it happened, it would be too late. It would not be strange if the entire inland were to enter into an all-out war with the Empire.
“If Emperor Tenek had been wiser, I would not have told you this. You are now a man of Vetor, and you cannot interfere in any of the Empire’s affairs. You cannot give or receive even the smallest thing without people’s attention. Do you want conflict to break out across the continent? Do you really want Vetor to see other countries being trampled by the Empire’s army one by one with your own eyes?”
“Why do you think they will be trampled without even trying? I don’t understand that. Why do you think I formed a new order of knights? To kill time? Because I have nothing better to do? As I said, Tenek will definitely strike Vetor in the back of the head. It will happen sooner or later. But do I fear conflict? Do I protect myself because I fear war? Of course not.”
“Of course you would not. You are used to war and have the skills to do so. But not most of the people of this country! How many of them would survive if the capital of Vetor were to burn? Not if they had only Hirschsten to deal with. But as you know, Kensilom, Etonhorn, and Vinotin have already abandoned their alliance in the interior. Who will they turn to for help? The duchy? Or another kingdom?”
Erdene’s lips trembled.
The emotions that had not yet been fully resolved swirled through her body like a whirlwind.
Spinning, spinning, spinning again.
“The ground is going to collapse.”
“That’s right, you should have built a solid foundation when you built the castle.”
“Do you feel like not saying a word in this situation?”
“I’ve never lost, at any time.”
Arkan soon gave up and decided to wait quietly for Erdene to speak.
That was a much faster and wiser method, as proven by the large and small wars of attrition over the past few months.
“If I have to talk about it, it’ll be long.”
Erdene, who had started talking, slyly looked at Arkan. However, Arkan crossed his arms, showing no sign of backing down.
“I have a lot of time. The days are getting shorter these days, so the nights are long. That should be enough.”
“Can’t you be a little lenient? I barely slept last night. Because of you!”
“Why are you blaming me for that? Who keeps tempting me like that!”
Erdene twitched her lips as she slammed her fist into Arkan’s solid thigh.
Arkan looked at Erdene with a look of disbelief and then slapped her hand away.
“Are you holding a stone in your hand?”
“You should be thankful I'm not holding a sword.”
“Are you trying to say indirectly that you’re trying to make me unable to walk?”
“You’re saying it out loud, so what are you saying indirectly? Don’t you know what indirectly means?”
“I’m going to die of pain!”
“I hit you because it hurts, so of course it hurts. What are you talking about?”
Erdene crossed her arms and turned her head with a sullen face, just like Arkan before, and let out another short sigh.
Yes, now. She thought. There was no point in hiding it now.
Now that he knew about Gluker’s existence, if she kept her purpose a secret, Arkan would give orders to the soldiers in the border area.
To capture any birds that looked like falcons or homing pigeons coming from the empire. If that were the case, the problem would only get worse.
Erdene, who was biting her lip, said,
“Glucker is passing letters between me and the adjutants.”
Arkan glanced at the falcon, who was still dozing off on the perch.
“I know that without having to hear it. Are you sending them here for a walk? When you say adjutants, you mean the people who came last time, right? I’m not asking you what you ate for breakfast or lunch, but tell me honestly. What’s the content of the letter? That’s...”
He trailed off. It felt like the words he couldn’t say, that he shouldn’t say, were stuck on the tip of his tongue like a hook.
If he tried to pull them out, the wound would get deeper, and if he left them alone, he couldn’t close his mouth or breathe.
Erdene quickly sensed Arkan’s feelings.
They fought each other with burning anger, and after she woke up from her collapse, she thought they had given up on each other and gotten over it, but she didn’t know that Arkan hadn’t yet completely sorted out his feelings.
What would I have done in the same situation? Erdene repeated meaningless questions a couple of times before saying,
“You must be wondering if the contents of that letter are something that could threaten the Kingdom of Vetor, or other kingdoms in the inland, or Your Majesty.”
At that moment, Arkan’s expression became complicated and quietly settled.
He frowned, but he didn’t seem angry.
Rather, his expression seemed closer to heartbreak.
Erdene said,
“Don’t worry. It’s not like that. I’m not shameless enough to kiss and sleep with you now that I’m planning to turn Vetor and the inland upside down. No, I can be shameless. But that’s not something that suits my personality.”
Her words were exactly what Arkan had been worried about, or couldn’t help but be worried about, and dismissed it.
But Arkan wasn’t particularly happy.
He didn’t feel fortunate, but his feelings were indescribably complicated.
Erdene stared at him with eyes that seemed more thoughtful than usual and continued.
“When my adjutants came to Vetor, I called them and heard about the state of the empire. It wasn’t because I had any special intention. I was just curious.”
“I know.”
Arkan answered reflexively. Erdene smiled faintly at him.
“After I came to Vetor, Tenek ordered my adjutants to be relieved of their posts. He reduced the commanders of the First and Second Knights of the Empire to nothing more than night watchmen. The officers who opposed Tenek, those who supported my father and me, all ended up like that. Or worse. Then Tenek brought in all those who had been dissatisfied with not being able to surpass the officers, led by Empress Roelica’s father, Atelgadis, and appointed them as new officials.”
It was a reasonable thing to do in political terms.
Emperor Tenek himself was not a famous officer, so to control the officials, he had to fill them with people who were good at what they did.
Arkan arranged his officials in that way.
Whether they were Kings or Emperors, anyone who took the top position would build their foundation in that way.
Erdene, who had been biting her lips, continued.
“That’s it... good. That’s it. There’s nothing I can do. The Imperial officers, my comrades who fought on the battlefield with me, lost their biggest and most powerful wings by losing me. I don’t have a magic wand to help them. Everyone was upset, but we accepted it anyway. However, I couldn’t accept that there was something suspicious about my father’s death. That’s not something I can just ignore.”
Only then did Arkan realize what kind of letters Erdene had exchanged with them.
Shock washed over him as he understood.
“The Empire... You’ve been investigating the death of the former Emperor? Up until now?”
“Yes, I have.”
Erdene’s answer was calm, but Arkan couldn’t help it.
“You give orders here, and your adjutants move around the Empire? You really did something like that?”
“All I ordered was to investigate Atelgadis. And to gather any clues that might be related to my father’s death. So far, that’s true. Because there’s no clue at all.”
Arkan laughed in vain.
He was dispirited, astonished, and furious. To himself and to Erdene.
“You are saying this so calmly, now? You wouldn’t say you didn’t know how serious this matter was. If you really didn’t know, you wouldn’t have kept it from me so tightly.”
“I know. I know better than anyone else. That’s why, yes. I had to hide it from Your Majesty. Because I thought you would definitely stop me if you found out.”
“Of course. Let this go. At least let your lieutenants in the empire handle it themselves. Have you, what the hell...! You never thought about what would happen if Emperor Tenek heard about this? Even once?”
“Do you think I would be afraid of Tenek and abandon my father?”
Of course not. Arkan thought.
Even if it wasn’t Tenek but the god of the underworld, she wouldn’t be afraid.
But this wasn’t Erdene’s problem alone.
Once it happened, it would be too late. It would not be strange if the entire inland were to enter into an all-out war with the Empire.
“If Emperor Tenek had been wiser, I would not have told you this. You are now a man of Vetor, and you cannot interfere in any of the Empire’s affairs. You cannot give or receive even the smallest thing without people’s attention. Do you want conflict to break out across the continent? Do you really want Vetor to see other countries being trampled by the Empire’s army one by one with your own eyes?”
“Why do you think they will be trampled without even trying? I don’t understand that. Why do you think I formed a new order of knights? To kill time? Because I have nothing better to do? As I said, Tenek will definitely strike Vetor in the back of the head. It will happen sooner or later. But do I fear conflict? Do I protect myself because I fear war? Of course not.”
“Of course you would not. You are used to war and have the skills to do so. But not most of the people of this country! How many of them would survive if the capital of Vetor were to burn? Not if they had only Hirschsten to deal with. But as you know, Kensilom, Etonhorn, and Vinotin have already abandoned their alliance in the interior. Who will they turn to for help? The duchy? Or another kingdom?”
Erdene’s lips trembled.
The emotions that had not yet been fully resolved swirled through her body like a whirlwind.
Spinning, spinning, spinning again.
Erdene felt dizzy and strained her eyes.
Arkan continued speaking in an agitated voice.
“You alone can’t stop all those soldiers. Isn’t that obvious? You’ll form a new order of knights and train them in case Emperor Tenek betrays us. But how far along has that training been? Hasn’t it only just begun? What if Emperor Tenek finds out about the dangerous tightrope walk you and your lieutenants are taking? What were you going to do then?”
Arkan continued speaking in an agitated voice.
“You alone can’t stop all those soldiers. Isn’t that obvious? You’ll form a new order of knights and train them in case Emperor Tenek betrays us. But how far along has that training been? Hasn’t it only just begun? What if Emperor Tenek finds out about the dangerous tightrope walk you and your lieutenants are taking? What were you going to do then?”
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