Chapter 62: Salgaera (5)

“Before we proceed with our conversation, there’s something I want to show you.”

Henry led Vhant to the carriage containing Munke and opened the door to reveal a weak Munke panting for air on the hard wooden floor.

“What is going on…?” Vhant had no words.

However, Henry placed his index finger on his lips and opened the door of the other carriage. Inside was the pile of bandits, or rather the Viper Knights, that Henry had wiped out.

“The bandits…?”

They looked like bandits from their clothing, but Henry shook his head and said, “They are not bandits.”

“Then who are they?”

“They are knights from the imperial palace disguised as bandits. You’ve heard of the Viper Knights before, right?”

“What? You mean the Viper Knights led by Salmora…?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s ridiculous! Why would such prestigious knights disguise themselves as bandits?”

Vhant’s expression was full of disbelief. Henry picked up the arm that he had thrown earlier at the soldier and showed it to him.

“This belongs to their leader… Actually, he was a Sword Master, so it would probably be the arm of a lieutenant.”

The symbol of the Viper Knights was clear on the forearm, and Vhant also knew what the double snake symbolized.

“It was hard for me to believe at first, too, but as soon as I arrived here, the soldiers at the checkpoint asked me whether I’d encountered bandits this time. I want to ask, did the Painted Merchants usually get their supplies stolen?”

“...The supplies have been stolen once every three trips.”

“I’m guessing today was one of those trips. Munke purposely left the carriages empty even though they should have been full of supplies.”

There was evidence, witnesses, and more, all intertwined like vines. Even the imperial palace could not deny the facts. Henry had been planning to report them himself, but when he found out that the inspector was Chief Vhant, he decided to change his plans.

“I’m handing them all over to you, Chief. I’m just a mercenary; even if I report them to the imperial palace, no one will believe me. But they’d believe a chief like you, right?”

After all, he was Vhant, a former knight from the imperial palace, not just a random nobody. Henry believed that he would have more credibility than a mere mercenary. However, Vhant’s response was completely unexpected.

“Thank you for your work, but it’s all pointless.”

“What do you mean it’s pointless?”

“It’s just as I said. Even if what you say is true and the merchants colluded to pretend that the supplies were being stolen, it’s pointless if their partners are the Viper Knights.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t tell you the details, but…if the Viper Knights are involved, it means that they have a powerful backer, someone that people like us cannot even dare to confront,” Vhant replied in a sad tone.

Henry ignored Vhant’s tone and said, “I know that much as well. Salmora, the leader of the Viper Knight, has connections with Marquis Aubert, so if there’s someone behind it, it’s probably Marquis Aubert.”

“H-how do you know this…?”

“I know a little bit, and speaking of which…”

“T-that’s enough…!” Vhant interrupted him. “...You can stop talking since I already know all about it. That’s why I’m saying how pointless it is. Even if we report it, we won’t be able to do anything in the end if the three Great Families are behind it.”

Vhant’s spiritless voice made Henry realize that he had not fully understood Vhant’s situation.

‘I understand now… He was demoted as a political retaliation, so I can imagine how terrible he feels.’

It was more difficult to get back on one’s feet after betrayal the more straightforward and righteous someone was. Vhant had once said that he would always be a loyal, upright, and righteous knight of the empire for his entire life.

Vhant continued to explain in a sad voice, “...At the moment, the three Great Families are more powerful than the imperial family, so if you offend Marquis Aubert, it will only harm you, Sir Henry. No matter how angry or upset you feel, just pretend you know nothing; besides, you are still young, Sir Henry.”

It was sincere, bitter advice. Unless the hand of power changed, the wrongdoing of Marquis Aubert would never be revealed to the public.

“However, if you still feel the need to vent your anger, I can take care of the Painted Merchants’ corps; but you should be aware that even if you bring down the Painted Merchants out of anger, Marquis Aubert will simply replace them with another merchant.”

He meant that if Henry couldn’t get to the source of the problem, there was no point in trying to solve it. Henry smirked and said, “So, you mean that you lack power?”

“Well… I guess you could interpret it that way, and it is true.”

“You’re right. One needs a sledgehammer to kill something greater than a fly. Why don’t we find the right tools, then?”

“You're joking, right? We can’t bring our opponents down with a mere sledgehammer,” replied Vhont, shaking his head.

“I realize that, so… If you can’t do it, what about Count Eisen?”

“Count Eisen…?”

.

Back during Henry’s reign as the Grand Duke, the three Great Families were made up of one family and three count families, which were also known as the Central Aristocracy.

However, after the duke and marquis of the State Contributors, like Henry, were executed for treason, the next duke and marquis families in line took over the Central Aristocracy. Soon after, they were named the three Great Families of absolute power. But, this was the start of the problems.

It was natural for the marquis family, which was a Central Aristocracy family, to rise to become the next duke family, but the remaining three counts had to compete for the two marquis vacancies.

At first, some suggested increasing the number of marquis families to three. However, the remaining State Contributors strongly rejected this suggestion. In the end, only the two of the three count families could rise up to the position of marquis, and the count had to admit his loss. This same count was Count Eisen.

“Count Eisen is now an old man who has been pushed out of a power struggle and he also hasn’t had a very good relationship with the Marquis.”

“Of course he is envious, since he could have been the marquis.”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to get at. If we dangle a tempting piece of bait like this, wouldn’t Count Eisen bring us something great?”

“But our opponent is Marquis Aubert. Do you really think that Count Eisen would be of much help?”

“We don’t need to worry about that.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“What we need to worry about is how we can securely inform the imperial palace of this incident.”

In a worst-case scenario, Henry or Vhant could become a target of the Viper Knights if they reported what happened. But what if the report came from Count Eisen? Even the knights of the imperial palace wouldn’t be able to act recklessly against him. This was Henry’s ideal situation.

“It doesn’t matter if it gets messy on their side as long as we do what we can.”

“Oh…” Only then did Vhant nod at Henry’s wise plan. “I understand… You are incredible. I would never have been able to come up with such an idea…”

“No, I’m sure you couldn’t think of something like this because you’re a straightforward man.”

“Do you… know me?”

“I’ve heard about you. You are rumored to be an exceptional knight who is a role model to other soldiers.”

Vhant smiled shyly at Henry’s compliment, as if he were recalling the glory of his past.

“Anyway, that was all that I had to say. I’ll leave Munke and the bodies of the knights here, but can I borrow the merchants for a while?”

“Do you need them for labor?”

“That’s right.”

“Of course. Use them as you like and return them once you’re done.”

Although the employees had been hired by the merchant company, it didn’t mean that they were completely innocent. Henry was able to enter Salgaera in Munke’s place, and he and his party began to head toward the Slan Gorge with a soldier guiding them.

* * *

By the time they had reached the end of the Slan Gorge, Salgaera was becoming very cold.

“

Brr…

”

The small snowflakes slowly covered the entire ground and by the time they left the gorge, the snow had piled up to their ankles. Salgaera might look truly beautiful covered in snow, but even a thick winter coat couldn’t stop the cold from penetrating the skin.

‘So they were sent to a place like this.’

A while later, the soldier sitting in the driver's seat of the carriage said, “We’re here.”

He had guided them to a small place called the Exile Village, where all the exiles lived together. However, they couldn’t see a single soul inside the village. There was only a tall iron pole that stood like a lighthouse.

“Is this really the Exile Village?”

“Yes, this is the right place but they all live underground.” The soldier took out a small hammer and began to hit the iron pole in the center of the village.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The frozen iron pole rang sharply as if it were hollow inside.

“What are you doing?” asked Henry.

“I’m calling the exiles. It’s too cold to survive unless they live underground. This iron pole reaches underground and it acts as a kind of communications device.”

Each strike of the iron pole caused an echo that could be heard underground. It seemed like an unusual contraption, but it was simply evidence of the desperate struggle of the exiles to survive.

After they hit the iron pole several times, a pile of snow next to the pole started to shake. The soldier stopped hammering and began to clear away the snow pile with his bare hands to reveal a small door.

Creaaaak.?

The frozen wooden door opened with a creak that echoed through the air. Inside was a tunnel from which countless people began to walk out.

‘...!’

Henry’s eyes began to tremble slightly as the people emerged, because they were all familiar faces. These were people that Henry had exchanged greetings with countless times and even ate with in his previous life.

As the number of familiar faces increased, Henry felt as if a stone were stuck in his throat. Henry’s expression grew more apologetic as the exiles appeared one by one.

‘Ahh…’

Eventually, all the villagers stood in front of him.

‘There aren’t many of them…’

It seemed like there were only around a dozen people and they all looked thin, with lifeless eyes.

“Is this… everyone?” Henry asked the soldier.

“Let me see, one, two, three, four… There are fifteen people in total and it looks like they’re all here.”

“Ahh…”

“What’s the matter?”

“Oh no, it’s nothing.”

There were only fifteen of his comrades left. There used to be more than fifty of them. Henry seemed to feel even more ashamed to see them. Hagler, who had been quietly observing the villagers, asked the soldier a question, “How come they’re all so disciplined, like they’ve been in the military?”

‘Disciplined?’

Henry took a good look at the villagers. Although no one had ordered them to, they were all perfectly lined up in two rows of five and ten.

“I’m not sure. We only manage the survival of the exiles. The only people that enter and exit here are the Painted Merchants in charge of providing them with supplies.”

‘Of course, it was him.’

Based on what the soldier said, Henry assumed that this was Munke’s doing—and he was right. Munke used the supplies as a weapon and tyrannized the exiles. Henry once again felt enraged by the unexpected situation.