Episode 40
A century ago, traitors crossed into the wasteland, bearing the ‘brand of curse’ that runs through their bloodline.
Slurp.
Spiel took off his shirt after his jacket. His body was clean. There was not a single speck of dust. Delgain was relieved at the sight, but soon he noticed the branding shining in the light and closed his eyes tightly.
The stigma of treason.
It was not common for a family to be branded a traitor by the royal family of Zeno and destroyed. Of these, only one family was destroyed for treason a century ago.
The Duke of Sardia.
Spiel, whose upper body was shining, spoke to Delgain.
“The Dog of the Wasteland will arrive soon. He will take me away from here if I do what he wants.”
* * *
A week has passed since today. Delgain was supposed to send 1,000 gold to Hebron or welcome the Hebron army, but there was no news.
“I heard you secured cash. Was this in preparation for an escape?”
Delgain sold the heirloom to the Serpens Top. They gave him 1000 gold, and he traded with the Paradine Top yesterday for over 500 gold.
It was common sense that selling an item in a hurry would result in a loss. There must have been a good reason for ignoring that common sense.
“The moment Delgain leaves the castle, the rain will fly.”
Amy predicted the possibility of Delgain’s departure. I also thought it was very likely. If you sell off the land, the castle, and the title, you could make over 3,000 gold.
But for all that, the Barony of Delgain was too quiet.
The Hebron army is ready to go. As soon as I give the order, we will attack Delcain, draw out the baron, and take possession of the territory.
“I guess I’m feeling uneasy. Have you found out about this guy named Spiel?”
“He is a slave.”
“A slave? Who sold him?”
Somehow the atmosphere felt unusual.
Amy looked back at the top of the serpentine, and the top lord, who had been sighing since a while ago, answered softly.
“… … This is the top tier of serpentine.”
The name of the owner of the Serpens was Serpens Jr. I vaguely remembered hearing that he inherited the company after his father passed away.
“Why are we talking about that now?”
“I found out during the investigation. My father passed away 11 years ago, and I was able to confirm the existence of Spiel in the secret ledger that was missing this time.”
The top lord of Serpens looked obviously tired.
It seemed like I couldn’t sleep a wink all night because of this problem.
“It was missing?”
“Yes, a secret ledger that was not even revealed to me was discovered.”
The serpent’s top clerk brought an old book. It was a plain notebook with no records on the cover.
I asked Serpens without even turning the page.
“What is the transaction item?”
“I am a slave.”
“Slave trade must be legal, right?”
“Buying and selling the offspring of traitors… … .”
Serpens’s words trembled faintly.
He continued speaking, trying hard to suppress his emotions.
“It is illegal.”
“Descendants of traitors?”
Serpens’s head fell off.
If there had been a scoundrel, it would have been in a position where he could have easily cut off its neck.
I recalled the information about the wasteland. I thought about Serpens’s reaction and tried to guess the meaning of the ledger he brought. As the information was compiled, I came to one conclusion.
It was the epitome of despair for Hebron.
“Spiel, he is a descendant of the Duke of Sardia?”
“Yes.”
A century ago, the dukedom of Sardia was destroyed for treason. Many of the dukedom’s bloodlines were beheaded, and some were branded as slaves and sold.
Unlike other slaves, those who committed treason were branded with the ‘brand of curse’. Since the curse ran through their blood, their children would inherit the ‘brand of curse’ regardless of maternal or paternal line.
Since no one coveted the symbol of that rebellion, the cursed family naturally perished. So I also thought that the Duke of Sardia had perished.
But their remains were in a deserted wasteland, and the former head of the Serpens was involved in this.
A heavy word lingered under my tongue.
‘Annihilate those involved!’
That was the only way Hebron could survive.
I had to cut ties with Serpens and send them to the royal court of Zenon.
‘Did Amy catch it? Or did she confess willingly?’
It was not an issue that could be overlooked either way.
Hebron could have easily been implicated in the treason.
Although it was a rebellion that had already occurred a century ago, their power could not be allowed to run wild again. For the king, it was as easy as snapping his fingers for a baron from the frontier to disappear because of treason.
The top of the serpent had an expression of determination to die.
From the moment the ledger was discovered, it was as if the yoke of treason had been placed on the top of the serpent.
“It sounds like you have more Sardia blood in you.”
I hoped my guess was wrong, but Serpens nodded.
“It’s a wasteland.”
Serpens’s shoulders shook.
“They say that dogs live in the wasteland, and it turns out that the survivors of the Sardia Dukes live there. Was that fairy tale made up by the survivors of Sardia? Or was it made up by their vassals?”
– A wild dog that devoted its life to a hunter was abandoned in its later years and driven out to the wasteland. Every night, the wild dog cries out for its hunter, and their cries cause sandstorms in the wasteland. So don’t cry in the dark of night. The cries of the night are the cries of a wild dog. The sandstorms may swallow you up.
It was a fairy tale that even the children of Hebron memorized.
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The mere existence of that fairy tale made Hebron dangerous.
‘The way to survive is… ‘
I looked for a solution. I came up with a hypothesis that would not harm Hebron and would not have what was mine taken away. I selected the feasible ones from among dozens and hundreds of hypotheses.
After removing the obstacles of reality, there was no other way left. So I considered a risky option. I was about to tell Amy about it.
Knock, knock, knock.
Outside the window, a hawk pecked at the window with its beak.
As I opened the window, a trained hawk sat on my shoulder.
It was a letter from Zyleson, not Delgain. I took off the note attached to the guy’s ankle and read the contents. The contents that I had predicted long ago were obvious.
“Srain has moved. It looks like he’ll declare war soon.”
“Isn’t there no justification?”
“Just make it. Isn’t there someone in Slane who is as talented as you?”
Count Jailson did not rush to reveal the obvious.
He caught another movement of the Srein Counts.
Kkugit!
I crumpled up the note. When I flicked it, the fire spirit created a spark and burned the note.
“… … Srein’s forces will arrive at Delgain within three days.”
Amy jumped up, patting herself on the table.
“Baron Delgain brought Viscount Srain into the fray! This is madness. Viscount Srain would never have done something so foolish. At first glance, it looks like he’s besieging and attacking Zyleson and Hebron, but in reality, he’s just splitting his forces. It’s a strategically disadvantageous choice.”
Amy’s assessment was correct. Although Ambrod’s absence had weakened Zielson’s power, it was not so bad that it would collapse under Slane’s attack.
In this situation, it was Srein’s mistake to disperse his forces.
Viscount Zailson would have known this fact well. Although it was a short note, it was clear that the Viscount was expecting a civil war with Srein.
“I think I know why now.”
“Dogs of the wasteland! Ah! It was my fault. If only I hadn’t been so greedy… … .”
If Delgain had been captured and those involved destroyed, the dogs of the wasteland would not have intervened.
“I am the one who chose your strategy. All responsibility is mine. If you can’t even take responsibility, then there is no reason for me to be your master.”
It was already spilled milk. Also, there was no need to vaguely fear the dogs of the wasteland, not knowing what kind of power they had.
They were descendants of the dukedom, but they were traitors. If they had moved quickly, Hebron could have borrowed the power of the Zenon royal family.
“Amy, I appoint you as Hebron’s temporary chief of staff. Give your all to the battle against Delcain.”
“insect!”
He winked at Amy.
Amy clenched her teeth and left the office at the sign that told her to go away. This was a matter that was too much for her genius alone to handle.
“Suppence top.”
“Yes, Baron.”
“The crime of selling the descendants of traitors is very serious.”
Serpens clenched his fists. The top was just starting to grow, but it was all about to turn into a handful of ashes.
Countless countermeasures were created in my head, and hypotheses were made based on them. None of them were safe.
In that case, I decided it was better to protect what was mine even if it meant taking a risk.
I gave instructions to the top lord of Serpens.
“Burn the secret ledger, and find and destroy any other traces. This is a secret that only you, me, and Amy know.”
The head of the serpent was raised.
The man in his late forties, soaked in tears, looked like he was in his sixties. His snot ran down his chin.
“thank you!”
“I cherish what is mine.”
“I will be loyal… I will be loyal!”
Hebron relieved the burden of serpentine.
However, this did not mean that the problem was completely over. In order to resolve this matter cleanly, the people involved had to be identified and erased.
If that were impossible, the innocence of the Baron of Hebron and the Serpense would have to be reported to the royal family of Zenon.
“If you survive, then do so. I have somewhere to go for a while, so don’t be alone and always keep a guard by your side.”
I sat down in my desk chair.
There was a longsword there that had been bought from the Serpenser.
The area under the handle where the jewel had been embedded was hollow, but its absence did not alter the sword’s weight.
Wow!
At that moment, the window behind the desk shattered. A dark shadow swooped into the office and fell upon me.
Kaaaaah!
Sword clashed with sword.
The eyes of the shadowy man widened as if he couldn’t believe it.
The only parts of his body that were exposed were his eyes and the bridge of his nose. The assassin, wrapped entirely in black cloth, was aiming for my neck.
The sword we faced tilted to one side.
I was getting closer and closer to the assassin’s neck, not mine.
“Me, Baron! Guard! Guard! Assassin!”
The panicked Serpenser shouted, and I pushed the assassin away, feeling the aura pulsating through every vein in my body.
“Don’t worry, Serpens, the place I’m going to isn’t the afterlife.”
I had been thoroughly prepared for assassins. This was to avoid the shame of losing my life repeatedly to the same method. Wherever I went, I had become accustomed to looking for places where assassins might hide or imagining their surprise attack. This time was no different.
Kaang!
The assassin deflected my sword. I deliberately gave him a chance. It was to get evidence for my hypothesis.
Kang! Kang! Kaang!
I received several swords.
It was the Sardia swordsmanship that I had become accustomed to, as if I had learned it myself.
I know the solution to Sardia Swordsmanship. The lower form of Braio Swordsmanship also had a solution to Sardia Swordsmanship.
The assassin seemed a little flustered, but soon reacted to my sword. I deliberately reduced my strength to provoke the assassin’s attack.
‘They also studied the solution to Sardia’s swordsmanship. However, your skills are not enough to contain all of it.’
