Chapter 669

The faces of the other residents came vividly to mind, along with their voices clamoring about food and baths. The streets hadn’t smelled particularly foul. And that clearly wasn’t thanks to the sacred flames alone.

Clean barbarians, of all things.

A faint smile tugged at Ian’s lips as he swirled the wine in his cup.

"I’ll bathe after a few more drinks. I plan to take my time, so prepare it whenever you’re ready."

"Yes, Great Warrior," Rigg replied politely and stepped inside.

The boy headed toward the kitchen, then dragged out a round wooden tub from where it had been propped against the wall.

"Looks like you were already expecting something like this," Mev said, watching Rigg with a smile. She took a sip of wine before turning back to Ian.

Ian set his cup down and nodded. "Not exactly this. But close enough."

All along the journey, he’d deliberately run through countless possibilities and countermeasures to avoid being caught off guard by foresight. Naturally, one of those possibilities had been the Archduke trying to send him to the Central region.

Mev nodded. "Even so, it was an impressive move."

"Yeah, I have to admit, it was."

The voice came from behind Ian, drifting in through the window set into the wall. Mev stiffened slightly as the window frame creaked open wider.

Flutter, swoosh!

A moment later, Thesaya slipped inside, silver hair fluttering as she landed lightly on the floor. Rigg, who had been carrying buckets of water in from outside, froze mid-step in shock.

Ian, however, didn’t even turn his head. "You came down sooner than I expected. I thought you’d keep hiding on the roof."

"Oh? You noticed?" Thesaya asked as she straightened up.

Ian answered with a shrug. He didn’t bother asking why she’d gone through the trouble when there was a perfectly good door. She had clearly done it just for fun.

"Seriously. No fun at all. I thought I’d fooled you completely this time." Clicking her tongue, Thesaya walked over to the table.

"You really are impossible to read, Thesa," Mev muttered, shaking her head as Rigg resumed moving.

Thesaya plopped down in Lucas’s seat and looked back at the two of them. "Anyway, that’s not what matters. From where I’m standing, it really looks like the Archduke lied."

Ian and Mev both turned to her, each for a different reason.

Reaching for the bottle on the table, Thesaya continued, "I mean the royal family. The Emperor knows you headed here, Ian. So why go through the Archduke at all, let alone make a formal request? If he really wanted you, wouldn’t it make more sense to send someone directly? That would be far more certain, wouldn’t it?"

Not only Ian, but Mev’s eyes narrowed slightly as well.

Thesaya smiled, tilting the wine bottle over an empty cup. "The Emperor probably assumes you’ll return. That’s why he requested reinforcements from the Archduke separately."

Her gaze drifted lazily between Ian and Mev. "But the Archduke must have thought differently. He likely seized the opportunity and pushed the problem onto you. The lie would only come out once you reached the capital, and by then, the legion would already be with you. At that point, the Emperor wouldn’t be able to complain."

"

Hmm..

." Mev, listening with narrowed eyes, nodded. It was clear she considered it a valid argument.

Thesaya set the bottle down, her smile sharpening into something almost wicked. "If you go there yourself and question him directly, wouldn’t everything spill out? And from the looks of it, he won’t even be able to prepare the supplies in time anyway..."

Lifting the cup, Thesaya met Ian’s gaze, her eyes intent. "So what do you say, Ian? Why not just march straight into Travelga while you’re at it?"

Ian met her gaze, which was glinting with the mischievousness of a pointy ear. His expression tightened—not because he was startled, but because her words mirrored the very thought that had crossed his mind when he first read the letter.

"I’m not planning to go that far."

"Why not?" Thesaya frowned and set her cup back down.

"I never intended to go to Travelga in the first place. The goal is simply to shake the Archduke’s composure and buy more time."

"But this is the perfect chance to expose his dirty little scheme all at once, Ian."

"Even if I don’t expose it, everyone already knows."

"Knowing and having it laid bare are different. You know that. This could bring him down for good. He struck first. We should strike back."

"And the Archduke knows that too."

Lifting his cup, Ian met Thesaya’s gaze.

"If word gets out that I’m heading for Travelga, he’ll prepare for contingencies immediately. He might even start the moment he receives my reply. If I walk straight into the middle of that, the civil war will begin."

That was why Ian had chosen another path. Everything about the situation felt as though it were steadily pushing the North toward internal conflict. Even hearing Thesaya speak of it made him feel as though fate itself were tugging at him.

"Th-Then why not just take his head before that happens?" Thesaya blurted after a brief hesitation. "There won’t be many willing to stop you. Commander Lucas already seems more loyal to you in his heart. And really—who would dare oppose the Demigod of the North?"

"Not everyone will feel that way. In the end, we’d have to fight those who refused to betray the Archduke. And yes, we’d have to kill them. They’d die simply for having done their duty and remained loyal to the end." Ian said, his face devoid of humor.

"No, that’s—"

"And if it turns out the Archduke didn’t lie, then we lose all justification. He’s done plenty of foolish things, but not enough to strip him of legitimacy."

At last, Thesaya fell silent, as though the words had caught in her throat. Meeting her stiff gaze, Ian tugged only at the corner of his mouth in a cold smile.

"Don’t forget our goal is to keep our friends from being swept up in someone else’s family feud and dying a dog’s death, Thesa."

"That’s... true, but...."

"Revenge for the Archduke’s foolishness can wait."

As Thesaya let out a long sigh, Ian finally raised his cup and slowly drained it.

Along with the wine, he swallowed the thought he hadn’t voiced—that it might not be the Archduke who had lied, but the Emperor who had set the trap. The Emperor was not someone whose intentions could be read easily. It would not have been strange for him to have sent the letter while anticipating exactly this reaction from the Archduke.

Thesaya likely hadn’t considered that possibility. But to Ian, it was reason enough.

So he doesn’t trust me after all.

Not only was Ian the Agent of the Platinum Dragon who had shattered the Wall, but he’d also gone straight North without delivering critical news like the matter of the Dark Prince.

Yet at a time when war loomed, testing Ian directly would have been costly. So the Emperor had chosen a more roundabout approach, using the Archduke to probe his intentions. It was much the same as how Ian himself had passed word of the Dark Prince through intermediaries.

I really do hate politics.

Of course, this was only one possible interpretation.

As Ian clicked his tongue inwardly, Mev said, "You’re the only one among us who thought about how to spill the least blood, Ian. I’m ashamed. I too was agreeing with Thesa’s intent."

"If you say it like that, it sounds like I only think about seeing more blood, Redhead," Thesaya replied with narrowed eyes, then shrugged. "Not that it’s entirely wrong. As long as it’s interesting, I don’t really mind either way."

Her gaze swept over Ian.

"Still, our Agent of the Saint is right. The more I think about it, the more problems there are. If we kill the Archduke, we could be branded traitors. And to clear that accusation, we’d have no choice but to cooperate with the royal family."

Mev paused, then nodded. "Indeed. If we refuse, they might interpret it as the North exploiting the chaos to start a rebellion."

"Or claim we’re in league with the Dark Prince," Thesaya added, tapping a finger lightly against her cup. "But if we leave things as they are, the war will start first. And when that happens, responsibility for the delay will fall on the Archduke."

"Or it may have already begun," Ian said, setting down his empty cup.

When Thesaya looked at him, he gave a small shrug. "It could simply be that the news hasn’t reached us yet."

Ian had already concluded that Hyked would advance through the Eastern Front.

Whatever the truth, they were a legion of the corrupted. To preserve their power, they would move along the shortest route. Passing through the North or the South would only spill unnecessary blood.

Even if it meant clashing head-on with the Empire’s elite, Ian was certain that, given Hyked’s temperament, a direct breakthrough was the path he would choose.

He would also need to do so for honor and legitimacy.

If the war had already begun, it would still take considerable time for word to reach this far north.

After thinking it over, Thesaya said, "But what if, before any news of the war arrives, the Archduke panics and sends the supplies immediately?"

"You heard me. I said I’d head for the Central if that happens."

Persistent, aren’t you?

Ian grabbed the wine bottle and said, "But in return, I’ll secure independent command authority from His Majesty."

Thesaya and Mev’s eyes widened once more.

As Ian poured the bottle, now barely half full, he continued, "I’m not from the Empire, and I never swore loyalty to the Emperor. The status and title I received were, in essence, payment for a job."

"...Good heavens," Thesaya murmured.

Mev’s lips parted slightly. Avoiding the Emperor was one thing, but the notion of making demands of him at all had clearly never crossed her mind.

"But would the Emperor really agree to something like that so easily?" Thesaya asked.

"He knows perfectly well that I’ll act however I please, even if he refuses. And since that’s still better than me siding with the other camp, he won’t have any choice but to grant it for the sake of face."

"Huh..." Mev let out a sound that hovered somewhere between admiration and shock.

Giving them a moment to gather themselves, Ian lifted his cup again and glanced toward Rigg, who stood beside the tub. The round wooden bath was already more than half full. The water Rigg had just poured must have been the last of it.

I’m using them too. Still, I can’t let those people die meaninglessly in someone else’s fight.

There was more he hadn’t told Mev and Thesaya. If it ever came to that, Ian intended to buy time and cross into the Black Lands. There were still plenty of demons, corrupted creatures, and archdemons there. He would lead the legion in subjugating them, focusing solely on gaining strength.

The Imperials would never think of that. Neither would the Emperor.

The barbarian legion would follow him willingly. They might even welcome it. Fighting monsters was something they could take pride in far more than killing other humans.

And by the time they return to the Northern Front, Ian would be a complete White Mage. When that time comes, of course, the Archduke would no longer even be an opponent to care about.

"Really... amazing. I can’t keep up with how your mind works," Mev murmured at last as Rigg stepped outside.

Thesaya, still sipping her wine, nodded in agreement. "Seriously. Every time something like this happens, I start wondering if there’s fairy blood running through you."

"Fortunately, that’s not it. The White Mage was purely human." Ian said with a chuckle. "This is all just preparation for a worst-case scenario. The Archduke won’t be able to prepare the supplies that quickly. This isn’t my first time dealing with him."

After all, Ian had once emptied the Archduke’s armory down to the last piece. That bald bastard surely hadn’t forgotten that debt. And this time, Ian was demanding several times as much. Just imagining it must have been enough to make his blood boil.

Of course, that he’d been the one to play tricks in the first place probably never crossed his mind.

"Well, hearing it all, seems like it’ll be fun whatever happens. I’ll do as Ian says. Just like always." Smiling, Thesaya raised her cup slightly.

Like always? That isn’t quite how I remember it.

Despite the thought, Ian raised his cup in return. "Still, that was a sharp observation. Very fitting of an Elder fairy."

"That is a compliment, right?"

"Maybe."

While Ian shrugged, Mev also raised her cup and held it forward. "You already know this, but I’ll stand with you to the end. Even if you’re branded as traitors by the Empire."

Thesaya, looking back at her, let out a chuckle. "You say terrifying things so casually. You talk little, but when you do, Redhead, you’re the most extreme one among us."

"All the more reassuring for it," Ian added, draining his drink.

Thesaya shot him a look of exaggerated disgust, while Mev simply smiled and followed suit, bringing her cup to her lips.

It was right then that Rigg opened the door and stepped inside.

Ian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the boy. Rigg was holding a fairly large metal hook, from which hung a perforated metal sphere. Faint heat and divinity seeped from within.

"Do you heat the water with that?"