Chapter 147: The Start of the Hunt

"Let's hear it then."

Miliana looked back and forth between Kromen and Tiren without even thinking of taking out the oath document laid before her.

"The central region allows a subordinate to express the king's intentions, right? I wasn't thinking clearly. The very act of sending an envoy means the king hasn't come forward himself. I got a bit carried away with my emotions."

That doesn’t make any sense.

Although a barbarian from the south, Miliana was the leader of a tribe. Moreover, everyone knew about her secret pact with Olivurn. There was no way she hadn’t been aware of such a basic rule.

"If you wish, I can allow you to speak to me on behalf of the prince from now on."

Tiren thought that Milliana was apologizing for the unreasonable excuses she had used to delay their meeting.

"No, it’s fine."

But now, having made it this far, he had to put up even with such apologies.

Let's see how long you can keep up this arrogance.

"Before we begin, I’d like to thank you for helping my incompetent brother,” Tiren said in a low voice, casting the queen a sharp look.

"It's nothing to be thankful for. It's fortunate that he’s recovered and managed to reunite with his brother.”

Tiren let out a low sigh. Enough with the pleasantries.

"As you know, the empire has sent Prince Kromen, along with the other two princes, to the south to resolve that incident.”

"And one of them tried to kill me as part of the resolution." Miliana lightly shrugged as if it were no big deal and motioned for him to continue.

"The purpose of this mission was to address and find a solution for the killing of the Ryeo Knights, but we missed the most crucial point."

"Is that so?"

"The real question is whether the barbarian tribes of the south were truly responsible for annihilating the Ryeo knights."

"Hmm..." Miliana slowly nodded.

"Unfortunately, communication between the south and the empire has been poor since the incident."

"So?"

"However, thanks to your grace, I learned an interesting fact from meeting the only surviving member of the Ryeo Knights, my brother."

"My grace, you say..." Miliana gave a subtle smile. "Well, go on."

Since Tiren didn’t know Karyl’s true identity, he couldn’t guess her intentions.

"The root of the issue between the empire and the south stems from the annihilation of the Ryeo Knights."

Everyone nodded at Tiren's words, especially Kromen, who seemed eager, as if expecting something.

"Yes, that's correct."

Yurin Huygar and Elliot frowned slightly at his reaction, but only for a second. The former glanced at Keplan.

"Although the knights had conflicts with the Five Great Families of the south, their annihilation is indeed unfortunate. But saying that Digon, who has opened the south’s doors, is responsible for this situation...”

Woosh!

Thunk!

Before Tiren could finish his sentence, one of Miliana’s rapiers slashed his collarbone and embedded itself in the pillar of the tent.

"Who opened what? Did I hear you wrong?"

Blood soaked his clothes.

"...!"

Everyone was shocked at the sight. Despite the deep wound revealing his collarbone, Tiren slowly raised his hand and placed it over his chest.

"Please forgive my rudeness.”

"Continue."

With his face turning pale, Tiren looked as if he would collapse at any moment, but he held onto his focus.

"Perhaps this is not a conflict between the empire and Digon."

He glanced at the oath document; no matter what, he had to make the queen sign it.

"Instead, it’s a matter we need to cooperate on."

"Cooperate? You must be aware of the relationship between the south and the empire,” Miliana challenged Tiren nonchalantly, as if his wound was a mere scratch.

"The empire clearly intends to invade the south, and you have the large army of the First Prince as proof. The Three Kingdoms of Istria managed to block them, but what if that army were supporting you from behind now?" she spoke sharply. "Would you still be acting the same way?"

"..."

At that moment, Tiren stood up.

Everyone's eyes were on him.

Swish—!

He gripped the sword embedded in the pillar with both hands and pulled it out with all his might. Even raising his arms had to be painful, but his expression did not change.

Thud... thud... thud...

He walked forward, knelt, and raised the sword above his head with both hands.

"The empire is a strong nation. Prince Luon dispatched the army to demonstrate the might of a strong nation after the knights were slaughtered. Their deaths are unfortunate, but it was also a rare opportunity for us to come to Digon." Tiren's eyes gleamed. "This incident will achieve what you have always wanted, Your Majesty."

"Haha. You speak as if you know what I want."

Tiren was still bleeding, his clothes already half-soaked in blood. Despite the risk of collapsing from the blood loss, Miliana only received the sword he presented.

"..."

Unable to watch any longer, Yurin tried to speak, but Keplan stopped him. Despite the brutality of their exchange, he knew Tiren was the only one who could resolve this situation.

"The might of a strong nation... It sounds like a threat."

"I only seek to determine right and wrong. I wish for the presence of my younger brother, Randol MacGovern, the fourth of the MacGovern family and a knight of the Ryeo Knights, given that he is a key witness in this incident."

"What difference would it make if he came?"

"Because he knows something that neither one of us does.”

"Oh...?"

"He knows that the real culprit isn’t from Digon... ”

Everyone focused on him.

"...but is connected to Digon.”

For a moment, the atmosphere in the tent turned cold. Yurin Huygar discreetly moved closer to Kromen, preparing for the worst. If Digon really were hiding the culprit, there was no telling what they would do to the Third Prince to cover it up.

But Miliana merely shouted toward the exit of the tent, "Bring Randol in!” It seemed like she had expected Tiren to ask for his brother.

Randol, who had been waiting, entered the tent and bowed to Kromen.

"Forgive my disloyalty, Prince."

"No need. I’m just glad you’re alive."

The Third Prince, wanting nothing more than to escape this heavy atmosphere, was simply glad to have another ally present.

"The real culprit is connected to Digon, you say...."

For the first time, Miliana placed her hand on the box Tiren had offered.

Click—

"Hmm."

She opened the box and took out the parchment inside.

"You..." she began as she scanned the document, then glanced at Tiren and asked, "Can you take responsibility for your words?"

***

Knock, knock.

"Uh... I've brought it, Captain,” Rozes said quietly as he entered the stifling office, cautiously looking around. His bulky hands, reminiscent of a bandit, carried a large bowl.

A foul smell filled the room.

"I never imagined that guy would be the cook," Karyl remarked, looking at Rozes.

"You can't judge a book by its cover."

Gordon took the bowl from Rozes, his expression still stern.

"Well, it would have been easier if you'd just talked inside the airship instead of making him carry it all the way here."

At Karyl's remark, Rozes stroked his bushy beard and nodded sheepishly.

"What an idiot."

Gordon clicked his tongue and lowered his head, unclear whether he was referring to one of them or both.

Bubble, bubble...

The broth was still hot, with bubbles bursting on the surface, and the monster's shell floated in the murky liquid that looked like rotten water.

"..."

"The head of Aeacus is large enough to make a few more servings. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, yes. Following your instructions, Sir Karyl, the soup turned out very well... We can make more."

"No, that's enough."

"The more you eat, the less pain you'll feel. Well... it won’t completely cure your affliction, though.”

Gordon lifted his soup bowl to Karyl and urged, "Then, instead of this temporary solution, tell me how to cure it completely. Are you playing with me?"

"Are you asking me to lay all my cards on the table?" Karyl replied confidently despite Gordon’s sharp words. "Why should I trust you?"

He threw Gordon’s words from their confrontation right back at him.

“...”

Gulp, gulp, gulp...

Although still glaring at Karyl with a dissatisfied look, Gordon downed the soup in one go. At least it seemed his suspicions about Karyl had eased a bit.

Even Rozes, the one who had prepared the soup, grimaced as he watched Gordon drink it.

"Hmm."

But Gordon, true to his reputation as the captain of the Guidance Mercenary Gang, showed no change in expression.

"In time, you'll feel more at ease. There might be some pain occasionally, but it’s because it’s stimulating your mana veins, so just let it work."

"You know more than healers. The airship engine too... Where does all your knowledge come from?"

Gordon cast Karyl a curious look, seemingly intrigued.

"That's a secret."

"You keep saying that.”

Gordon showed him the empty bowl as if to say he had trusted him, asking why he couldn’t do the same in return. But Karyl dismissed it with a single remark and lightly waved his hand at Rozes.

Rozes, standing there dazed, belatedly understood and took the bowl from Gordon before leaving the room.

"Since you're holding all the cards I want... fine. Tell me what you want first."

At that, Karyl asked, "Prince Kromen is at Digon, right?"

"News travels fast with you."

"I'm somewhat of an information broker in Tatur."

There was no need to tell Gordon he was unaware of the situation he had orchestrated himself. A minimum amount of cards revealed and a full grasp on the opponent's hand—that was Karyl's strategy.

"Well, it was a noisy affair. Yes, the Third Prince contacted Digon on my airship. You know the reason."

He looked at Karyl as if to ask why he had brought this up.

"Do you think the Third Prince can resolve this matter?"

"...What?"

Gordon raised his eyebrow at the unexpected question.

"Indeed, the Third Prince is fragile, but he has a pretty smart guy around him. That guy might be able to solve this."

Both of them thought of the same person—Tiren MacGovern. They both had the same high regard for him, but there was one key difference.

"He will fail," Karyl declared in a low voice.

It was their prediction on the outcome of this negotiation.

"..."

Karyl glanced in the direction of Digon’s tent, where Tiren and Miliana’s confrontation was likely taking place.

"How can you be so sure?"

Gordon furrowed his brow, looking at him. Karyl had a certain look of certainty on his face, as if he already knew the result.

Sorry, Tiren. The plan you racked your brains over will fail.

Revealing the real culprit and placing all the blame on them to rebuild the relationship between Digon and the empire was the most ideal plan.

No, it must fail. Only then can my plan succeed.

To be precise, the Third Prince had to fail. Before leaving the tent, Karyl had already made a pact with Miliana. No matter what terms were offered, she was to decline reconciliation with the empire.

Today's failure will make you stronger. You need to become stronger than you were in your past life, even if this harsh trial I give you eventually turns against me.

Karyl wore a bitter smile.

It will be frustrating. It will be unfair. But I need to see you falter. The Third Prince will not just falter but completely crumble.

Karyl slowly approached Gordon.

That's what I want. When you falter, Kromen will seek someone else to rely on and flee.

That person had already been decided, and they were Karyl’s ultimate target.

“What I want is...” Karyl spoke to Gordon in a low voice.

“...!!”

At that moment, Gordon Fabian's eyes widened in greater surprise than when he heard about the potential cure for his disease.