episode_0367

***

“Anna Irwena, stop being rude. I don’t want to see blood in this good spot.”

“It is truly heartbreaking to hear the emperor, who is said to behead dozens of soldiers once a day, say such things.”

As Anna frowned, veins appeared on the Emperor’s forehead.

Suddenly, an alien sound broke in between the two women’s argument.

The sweet sound of something crunching echoed through the emperor’s tent.

The Emperor and Anna’s gaze shifted to the direction where the sound came from.

Kang In-ho, with his butt on the edge of the chair, was chewing a cookie loudly.

The crumbs that he couldn’t collect fell into his lap.

“Captain?”

While Anna tilted her head, wondering if our captain had a glutton, a bright flower bloomed on the emperor’s face.

“It seems to suit your taste as expected.”

The emperor pulled out a chair and leaned forward, capturing his image in his eyes.

It was a shame that I couldn’t sit next to him. If it weren’t for the woman behind him, the emperor would definitely have stayed like that.

Kang In-ho nodded at the emperor’s words.

Then, I took a sip of tea to soothe my stuffy mouth.

It was a rude action that did not conform to etiquette, but the emperor was pleased with it.

“It’s just a cookie made with flour and sugar.”

Anna grumbled at the cookie, which was not suitable for the emperor’s tea, but was only suitable for a commoner’s table.

“Hmph, I can’t believe you don’t know this taste.”

The emperor chuckled and picked up a cookie. Then he asked it roughly, as if imitating Inho.

The sweet taste hit my tongue hard. It tasted completely opposite to the mildly sweet cookies I usually enjoy.

“This is the cookie that the captain and I shared on the battlefield.”

Although it was a natural frown, the emperor held back his frowning face and enjoyed his victory.

Showing off the connection between herself and the captain gave her satisfaction.

‘Such a cocky bitch.’

At best, it’s about the unit commander….

I hated seeing him acting so arrogantly, as if he had him.

If he had had his way, he would have cut off his limbs and thrown them to the soldiers.

That might be disgusting, but soldiers dominated by sexual desire would have fucked a woman like that.

The emperor closed his eyes and imagined the scene.

The unpleasant feeling seemed to have subsided a little.

“You were really cool back then.”

The Emperor closed his eyes and looked forward to meeting him.

***

Although it was an old memory, it was as vivid to the emperor as if it had happened only yesterday.

For the well-being of the empire and to gain the emperor’s trust, the princess in black jumped into the battlefield.

She worked hard to overtake her brothers and take the throne of emperor.

Then I faced the cliff of defeat.

As a result of excessive use of troops, we were surrounded by enemies.

The spear aimed by the enemies slowly approached. The princess closed her eyes tightly and accepted the end.

She could clearly feel the grip of defeat and death strangling her neck.

“Princess.”

When everyone was accepting defeat, a young man spoke.

“…what is it.”

He was the leader of a mercenary force brought in to make up for the lack of troops.

With a blunt face, he rode his horse and approached the princess.

“You can break through the siege.”

“…This is nonsense. Can’t you see the waves in that window? If you try to run your horse here, you will only end up getting stabbed by a spear and falling to the ground.”

While the princess was talking, the mercenary leader took out a cookie from his dust-stained pocket and ate it.

It was truly a profane act, but no one pointed it out.

With death so close, etiquette was not very important.

“…Would you like to eat it?”

Perhaps because he felt the blank stares on him, the mercenary leader held out his pocket to the princess.

“The last food you eat is such a low-quality cookie.”

I put my slender fingers into my pocket and took out a cookie.

Put the cookie in your mouth. The sweet taste invades the entire mouth without restraint. The princess frowned.

“It is not the final food.”

Sweets help in battle. The mercenary leader said.

“You keep talking about hope. There seems to be no hope anywhere.”

As the princess spoke with a hollow smile, the mercenary leader turned his head.

“There is no hope, but there is a dream.”

“It’s a dream.”

“My dream is to find a haven where I and my crew can rest comfortably.”

Unlike usual, the mercenary leader’s speech became longer.

“I can’t die here before I achieve that dream.”

“Isn’t this just a case of making a fuss? Everyone here is probably thinking the same thing. ‘I don’t want to die.’”

“Then at least everyone here must have had a dream.”

His deep eyes turned to the princess. The princess felt her heart beating fast.

“I received a gold coin from you. It is the price of a contract to lead this war to victory and protect you.”

“I am a mercenary leader. And the mercenary fulfills the contract.”

The promise is absolute. The mercenary leader added.

The mercenary leader moves forward with the sound of horse hooves.

Other mercenaries follow him.

“I will not tell you to open the way with the princess’s army.”

“Just follow our ten paths.”

When the mercenary leader in the lead pulled the reins, the horse raised its front legs and let out a powerful roar.

– The cries of horses echoed throughout the battlefield.

“Mercenaries, listen.”

“Yes!”

The voices of the crew with discipline.

“According to the contract, we make the road.”

“Yes!”

“Break the enemy’s formation and trample their rear.”

“Yes!”

“I take the lead.”

“I will follow.”

“…Let’s go.”

With the words of the mercenary leader, the mercenaries rush in.

The princess, who had been staring blankly at the quickly moving figure, quickly lined up her troops and followed them.

***

“I should have caught you then. It was a mistake to let you go because I was busy.”

“I always thought he was a mercenary… but now he has become the cavalry commander of the Kingdom of Gernoa.”

The princess said regretfully, brushing her black hair.

“…….”

Kang In-ho ate the cookie without answering.

“So, did the Kingdom of Gernoa, to which you pledged allegiance, become a haven for you?”

It was a question with many implications.

If the kingdom had truly become their haven, he and the cavalry would not be wandering around this battlefield.

“I don’t know the intent of the question.”

As Kang In-ho spoke in a calm tone, the emperor smiled.

“It was the kingdom that sent out the empire’s large army without any reinforcements. Do you really not know?”

The King of Gernoa was a wise man.

He understood exactly what the emperor wanted, and eliminated the cause of the problem in the least damaging way.

“…….”

Wow, Kang In-ho ate cookies again.

“Your situation, eating thin soup under a shabby tent in the middle of a forest with uneven ground… Can you truly say you have reached a place of rest?”

After quickly devouring the cookie in front of him, the captain lifted his teacup and drank the rest.

All the cookies and tea prepared were gone.

“Thank you for inviting me to the tea party.”

Kang In-ho spoke politely and clearly.

“Are you planning to go? That’s foolish. You will come back to me in a few days anyway, so why bother going back to the forest?”

“I believe you will not catch us as you promised.”

The cavalry commander stood up without the emperor’s permission.

Despite that rudeness, the emperor only smiled.

“Yes, I will keep my promise. So don’t worry and go back to your camp.”

The emperor sent them back as he had promised.

After leaving the military camp, Kang In-ho and Anna rode in silence for a while.

Eventually, the forest where their campsite was located came into view.

When they arrived at the entrance to the forest, the emperor’s army, which had been following them, returned to the camp.

“Anna Irwena.”

“Yes.”

“There is someone who will inform the emperor of our situation.”

“I think so.”

“Among us.”

At the captain’s assertion, Anna swallowed her saliva.