episode_0123

As the empire was in chaos, wars were frequent. It was a bitter reality.

So, this wasn’t Heine’s first battle. And it wouldn’t be the last.

Normally, he would have done nothing but just watched from behind and filled the space.

It had become a symbol of the health of the imperial family and a diplomatic tactic, so I was slowly becoming accustomed to listening to stories in one ear and passing them out through the other to kill time.

However, this time it was different.

After praising the nobles and knights for fighting well, everyone left and the tent became quiet.

“I believe you enjoyed it.”

My father said that and gave away part of the army.

This was the first opportunity I had to return to my brother to show my authority and ability as the next emperor.

There was no way she would do something like that because she suddenly looked pretty.

It was easy to read the intention behind it. It was harder not to know because it was explicitly told to understand in the first place.

It was a test of sorts. It was also an implicit command to bite the ambitious Conrad.

It was also a message to Conrad. It was a warning to be satisfied with being the next emperor and not to try to take that position yourself.

It was unclear whether he would understand the warning and take action.

However, to express it so blatantly, it would not be possible to use such blatant maneuvers as before. This was a reassuring fact, even though entering politics was not going to be easy.

“First, I have something to ask you. Did we win today? Conrad, tell me first.”

“I guess he won because he retreated later than Rudolph.”

“Hey, what do you think?”

“We both withdrew, so I think it was a draw in the end.”

“It is right for the emperor to say that he won. A person in power cannot speak weakly.”

The corner of Conrad’s mouth was about to turn up slightly, perhaps because he was intoxicated with a small sense of accomplishment.

However, Heinrich cut off that thought and added.

“Heine is right as a general. No matter how much we celebrate our victory, the dead soldiers never come back alive.”

The emperor placed his hand on the parchment on the table and glanced at the number written at the bottom. Was it just a number?

I thought maybe so. I knew very well that it was my father who did not see compassion in it.

Still, we agreed on the fact that it had to be finished quickly, so it was done for now.

“This is a war we can easily win. However, today you will have confirmed that it will not end if you fight normally like before.”

“Then what can we do?”

“In times like this, you need to make a change. Instead of fair but boring battles, you have to use your brain. I was able to confirm that possibility today.”

Although he only said this, Heine was able to roughly guess what the possibility of change was.

Each person looked at the battlefield from the highest point. No, he could see more than his father, who was covered by the guard.

Horses running with all their might, intense collisions, and most of all, the activities that followed.

I saw with my own eyes the most brilliant performance on the cruel battlefield and remembered it clearly.

“Conrad, I’ve encountered this a few times so far, so I don’t think any further explanation is needed. The troops you will be assigned to are here.”

The emperor took out two sheets of paper from a drawer. There was something long written on the unsealed scroll.

“The knights and soldiers I will entrust to you are here. The next battle won’t happen until spring, so I’ll try to think carefully about what to do before then.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It was not a task entrusted to him as a father, but a task entrusted to him as an emperor.

After paying the appropriate respect, he took the scroll and placed it in his arms. Then, when I returned to my tent, I lit a candle and looked at it.

Heine, who was reading quietly, let out a small exclamation inwardly.

Of course, it wasn’t decided laxly. I don’t know when they had planned it this far, but it was a unit that the emperor had already formed on his own grounds.

First of all, those who had seemingly good forces behind them were excluded. There were no armies of nobles holding the rank of earl or duke.

It was understandable. Above all, such people were difficult to control in the first place.

In this way, only the Korean and American aristocratic families with strong political power but weak political power and a group composed of children from wealthy families remained.

This was the result of selecting people who would not backstab at important times and who would not cause unnecessary trouble.

‘Knight, Raven… … .’

Did my father have a high opinion of the interpersonal relationships we had built up to this point?

It might have meant taking advantage of that intimacy and controlling it well. It was that variable that was at the end of the long list of names.

I could see that the emperor had entrusted me with a very important task.

The criticism I would receive if I failed would be that much greater, but I thought I could just accept it gladly rather than worrying about a future that didn’t happen right now.

So from the next day, unless he was lying in a hospital bed due to the aftereffects of the battle, he went around to see the faces of the knights one by one.

Anyway, after excluding the soldiers and servants, there were less than twenty people, so it wouldn’t take long. It was a viable business if you could invest a short amount of time and develop a small bond.

After wandering around like that, we arrived at Raven’s tent around noon.

Raven and Lisia were inside after receiving permission. Even if she was the princess, it didn’t seem fitting for a girl like that to be here.

Whatever it was, it was what he wanted, so it wasn’t his place to argue.

Since this kind of battle story was not worth talking about in front of Licia, I talked with Raven in front of the tent for a while.

The first question he asked was this.

“Didn’t you say it was a separate unit? So what is this separate unit for?”

“We will attack Rudolph.”

“Is that possible?”

“I believe in the scriptures, so I think I can do it.”

Wouldn’t it be okay for him to set this crazy goal as his goal?

The fact that he and no one else specifically denied it added credibility to the hypothesis.

“Are there people with you?”

“You can join eighteen knights, their squires, and the soldiers that follow.”

He thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed.

“I will do what I deserve, Your Highness.”

If things go as expected, if the war can be ended that way.

So how will Conrad react? Would I make a face of defeat and burst out in anger, or would I try not to show it? Either way, it seemed like it would be fun in its own way.

“-Let go of this!”

“Hold on! Trying to run away!”

Just as I was about to lose myself in that pleasant fantasy, a commotion began to arise from the nearby barracks.

When we turned our heads together, we saw a few captured knights causing a riot far away.

At the same time that the sound of shouting and breaking things was heard, Raven took a step towards there.

Even so, I decided to give him the answer he wanted as he paused, looking at me.

“It’s okay to go, sir.”

“Then, excuse me for a moment.”

He bowed his head and immediately ran to the scene of the commotion.

Heine looked at the back for a moment, then something occurred to him and he returned to the tent. Now, without Raven, was an opportunity.

As if she had been eavesdropping on the conversation from earlier, Lisia was still waiting there, shaking her feet.

After giving a light greeting, Heine walked over and sat down next to her. The girl answered, smiling softly as always.

“Ah, Your Highness.”

“Well, I have something to talk about for a moment.”

The commotion was dying down with the sound of a wooden box breaking. The commotion was dying down faster than expected, so we had to hurry up a bit.

Heine, who was thinking about what to say, could not think of anything to say, so he decided to ask directly.

“There is a story I heard a while ago… Is that true?”

“What are you talking about?”

“He said he wanted to get married.”

Lisia’s eyes widened slightly as if she was slightly surprised, but then she smiled brightly and answered.

“Yes.”

“But… Are you okay?”

Was that really sincere? It didn’t seem like there was a big problem with his mind.

It’s an age difference… I think that’s possible. And the idea of marrying a ward was just a little shady, but it was a possibility.

But at the same time, a problem arose. If I were to support that feeling as a friend, I felt like I should also think about that problem as well.

Although Lisia was a smart child, she might not have known about this complex political situation.

“Do you know what will happen if Lord Raven becomes an earl?”

“I know it well.”

The fact that he is an illegitimate child is a clear deduction. It may be okay now that there is the emperor’s connivance, but in the distant future, it became an excuse to be blamed.

However, the title of earl was worth the risk.

However, even after hearing this, Lisia just smiled brightly, and surprisingly, she didn’t seem to be too worried about it.

It was a challenge that even he couldn’t think of a suitable solution. Still, I didn’t know what the source of my confidence was.

“I will handle that well.”

“How?”

“There is a way.”

It was the same beautiful smile as usual. That used to make a lot of guys anxious in college.

But just now, why did I feel a slight sense of discomfort in that appearance? It was only a moment, but it was… I felt like a predator stalking its prey.

‘I don’t know, but there’s something there.’

It was an intuition developed through frequent dealings with people. And that intuition was screaming that something was definitely going to happen.

Does Raven know this?

As I went out of the tent with a sad heart, I happened to meet him again talking to the knights he had captured not far away.

I remember who Sir “ was. A mace that was swung instinctively without much thought. Did one of our knights suffer from that blow? There is sure to be a lot of experience and effort in it.”

“… … .”

“It was an extremely difficult technique, but it was indeed a good example.”

As expected, it seemed like he didn’t know.