Chapter 24: 24

Holding his chin, the emperor was lost in thought.

The grand chamberlain tried to move as quietly as possible so as not to disturb him. When the grand chamberlain successfully put the food for tea at the end of the table in dead silence, the emperor spoke.

“Is it possible to leak information to the Sarmans’ Prince Dosuya?”

“…What information do you mean?” the grand chamberlain asked cautiously.

“That the second prince had allied with Altius.”

At that moment, the grand chamberlain became silent, speechless.

However, he pushed aside the words spinning in his head and answered the emperor’s question sincerely.

“It shouldn’t be difficult if the staff from the ministry of foreign affairs utilize their information network in reverse.”

“Will it?”

“However, Your Majesty, would the crown prince of Sarman really take the bait?”

The emperor tilted his head at the careful question of the Grand Chamberlain, who had many doubts and concerns in his old age.

“Like I thought, will it be difficult?”

“……”

Being the emperor’s aide was a very difficult position.

Having tight lips and being loyal were the basics. Since the emperor was a visionary, whenever he asked questions like this, the grand chamberlain felt like he was being tested.

“My ignorant self may be short-sighted, but wouldn’t he doubt the information? Moreover, he is the crown prince whose succession is confirmed, so it doesn’t seem like he’ll move rashly on information with an unclear source.”

The emperor held his chin and nodded. It meant that he agreed with the grand chamberlain.

“That’s right. However, the crown prince doesn’t strike me as such a clever person.”

He sent his brother out to the battlefield many times for a losing war. Didn’t that mean that at best, he wanted Asanka to take the blame for their defeat or at worst wanted him to die?

The emperor frowned. It was because he wasn’t sure either.

Sarman was not a country with a lot of international trade, and its community tended to be closed. Even Mikhail had his limits for inferring the internal political situation of another country with insufficient information.

However, the emperor had seen Asanka on the battlefield many times. He witnessed the sight of the prince’s men throwing their lives away to protect Asanka countless times.

It was a war they were bound to lose, but they did not lament or cry that it was unfair. On that tragic battlefield, countless people rushed like moths to a flame and fell, as if it were fated. As if their sole purpose was to protect their prince.

The prince was like an awl inside a pocket.

Such a person is bound to be noticed wherever he may be. Just like how Mikhail had noticed him. And, in the end, the awl will pierce through the pocket and reveal itself.

Does the crown prince of Sarman have the capacity to make such a person his subordinate? Why don’t we make a bet?

The emperor coolly thought about what he would lose in the worst case.

If it was known that the empire was promoting infighting among the Sarman royals, they would no longer be able to gain the second prince’s trust. Asanka was an upright man, and he wasn’t very flexible.

However, if the crown prince ascended to the throne as planned, Mikhail had no reason to be friendly with Asanka. And war will break out.

Having a position greater than one’s ability only creates doubt and anxiety. It was fine if Dosuya didn’t act based on unreliable information. It would be enough if they planted a little anxiety and suspicion in him. Not everything happens at once, and opportunity comes again to those who wait.

The emperor made up his mind.

“Did the minister of foreign affairs leave work yet?”

“He’s probably still around, Your Majesty.”

“Call him over. As quietly as possible, out of others’ sight. I have an order for him.”

It was the last day of the seventh month, Year 327, Altius Empire calendar.

Dayeon often came across Prince Asanka in the imperial palace after their previous encounter.

The prince was always with his black horse, Ruri, as if he was taking his horse out on walks.

Unlike the chatty animals of the empire that Dayeon had seen so far, Ruri was a very taciturn mare. Animals certainly seemed to have their own personalities, too. The highly suspicious and wary warhorse refused to let Dayeon hear her voice, and of course she didn’t want to meet Dayeon’s eyes, either.

“You’re on a walk again today.”

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Dayeon was on her way back from training.

After continuously just practicing her left-to-right slashes, she was glad to move onto the next step, but it turned out the next step was slashing from right to left. It was lucky she was allowed to live as a tax thief. If not, she would have quit long ago.

The Sarman prince nodded lightly as a greeting and gently patted his black horse as if out of habit. It was a gesture filled with love and affection.

Asanka had one deep concern these days.

“She won’t eat.”

He was someone who didn’t show his expressions much, but anybody here could tell that dark clouds loomed in his mind.

“Did you see the doctor?”

Asanka shook his head with a dark expression.

“On the first day we arrived, the emperor sent a doctor, but the doctor said he didn’t know why she isn’t eating. He thought that it might be the different climate of the empire, but this one is a warhorse. She was full of energy even in the harsh battlefield.”

As he finished speaking, he looked devastated.

Dayeon nodded. The black horse certainly seemed less energetic than before.

A headstrong, persistent, and intelligent creature.

Dayeon looked at the black horse with a thoughtful gaze.

She wanted to help. The horse, which had gone countless times to the battlefield and witnessed humans trying to harm her friend, didn’t open her heart to anyone.

Strangely, Dayeon could understand the horse’s stubbornness and sadness. The mare’s stubbornness in keeping quiet and trying not to make eye contact with anyone was strangely endearing.

I want to help you.

She looked at the horse with such strong feelings, but the horse still turned away, resolute.

With a somewhat depressed expression, Asanka held Ruri’s reins and slowly began walking again. It was a strange sight.

Sarman’s second prince did not look like a sensitive man at first glance. With his stony face and small range of expressions, he was a warrior among warriors who had trained his body for a long time. His presence was good, if somewhat rough.

No one could have imagined that such a brilliant warrior would love his horse to this extent. For days, he had been taking his Ruri out for a walk to lift her mood.

“Do all Sarmans love horses like you, Prince Asanka?”

“Just call me Asanka.”

Asanka was frowning, but he replied to Dayeon with grace.

“I’m not sure. More than being horse-lovers, it’s about cherishing a friend. Because the horses are our friends.”

I think that’s what you call a horse-lover.

A question mark floated over everyone’s heads as they watched the two converse.

“It doesn’t just apply to horses. The Sarman people are raised alongside nature and animals from an early age. If you grow up together, doesn’t that make you friends? It’s different from the empire’s people, who only use horses as tools when necessary and throw them away.”

“……”

Is it alright to disparage the empire’s people like this?

Dayeon, who had been blankly listening to the prince’s prideful words, suddenly laughed out loud.

When she first came to this world, Dayeon thought that the men of the empire were very broad-minded. You can say that people are the same everywhere you go, but Dayeon’s world was rife with capitalism and individualism, much different from the attitudes of the people here.

Here, people all liked to move their bodies, men and women alike, and made physical training into an important virtue. Compared to where Dayeon used to live, the people here were generally active, lively, enthusiastic, and helpful.

But that didn’t seem to be the case in the Sarman prince’s eyes.

In the end, Dayeon, who found it funny to speak about the empire’s citizens as if they were selfish, prim city men, ducked her head and laughed.

Asanka, who didn’t know why Dayeon was laughing, looked somewhat sullen as he seemed to think Dayeon was rejecting his words. Dayeon waved her hand frantically as she kept laughing to tell him that wasn’t it.

Most of Dayeon’s daily routine was reported to the emperor.

The fact that she coincidentally met the Sarmans’ second prince was already included in the emperor’s report. So was the fact that they ran into each other a few times afterwards, and that they were getting closer.

Everything was steadily being reported to the emperor.

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