367 – EP.13 Among Us.
***
“Anna Irwena, stop being so rude. I don’t want to see blood in this beautiful place.”
“I am ashamed to hear such words from the Emperor, who is said to behead dozens of soldiers once a day.”
As Anna groaned, the veins on the Emperor’s forehead stood out.
Wasak, an alien sound broke into the two women’s argument.
A sweet rustling sound echoed through the Emperor’s tent.
The Emperor and Anna’s gaze turned to the direction of the sound.
Kang In-ho, who was leaning on the edge of the chair, was chewing cookies noisily.
The crumbs he hadn’t been able to gather fell onto his lap.
“colon?”
While Anna tilted her head, wondering if our captain had a greedy appetite, a bright flower bloomed on the emperor’s face.
“I guess it suits your taste after all.”
The Emperor pulled up his chair and leaned forward, taking in his appearance in his eyes.
It was a pity that he could not sit next to him. If it weren’t for the woman behind him, the emperor would have certainly done so.
Kang In-ho nodded at the emperor’s words.
Then he took a sip of tea to soothe his dry mouth.
It was an impolite and crude action, but the emperor was pleased with it.
“It’s just a cookie made with flour and sugar.”
Anna was upset at the cookies that were not fit for the emperor’s tea and were more suitable for the common people’s table.
“Huh, you don’t know this taste.”
The emperor snickered, picked up the cookie, and took a rough bite of it, following the example of Wasak and Inho.
The sweet taste hit my tongue hard. It was the complete opposite of the cookies I usually enjoyed, which had a subtle sweetness.
“These cookies are the ones that the captain and I shared on the battlefield.”
It was a taste that naturally made his face wrinkle, but the emperor enjoyed the victory while holding back his wrinkled face.
It gave her a sense of satisfaction to show off the connection she had with her captain.
‘You’re such a cheeky b*tch.’
Even though he’s only a deputy commander…
I hated the way he looked so arrogant, as if he had it all.
If I had my way, I would have cut off their limbs and thrown them at the soldiers.
It would have been disgusting to see, but soldiers controlled by s*xual desire would have been happy to fuck even such a woman.
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 groped for contact with him.
***
It was an old memory, but to the Emperor it was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
For the sake of the empire’s well-being and to gain the emperor’s trust, the Black Princess entered the battlefield.
In order to overtake her brothers and take the throne, she was busy.
Then, we face the precipice of defeat.
As a result of using the troops too recklessly, we were surrounded by the enemy.
The spears aimed by the enemies slowly approached. The princess tightly closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
The grip of defeat and death was clearly felt around her neck.
“Your Highness.”
When everyone was accepting defeat, one young man spoke.
“…What is it?”
He was the leader of a mercenary force brought in to make up for the lack of troops.
He, with a blunt face, approached the princess on his horse.
“We can break through the siege.”
“…It’s nonsense. Can’t you see the waves from that spear? If you try to ride a horse here, you’ll just get stabbed by the spear and fall to the ground.”
While the princess was talking, the mercenary captain took a cookie out of his dusty pocket and ate it.
It was truly an irreverent act, but no one pointed it out.
When death is imminent, etiquette is of little importance.
“…Would you like to eat?”
Perhaps because he felt the gazes blankly staring at him, the mercenary captain held out his pouch to the princess.
“My last meal is these low-quality cookies.”
He puts his slender fingers into his pocket and takes out a cookie.
She put the cookie in her mouth. The sweet taste without restraint engulfed her entire mouth. The princess grimaced.
“It’s not the last meal.”
Sweets help in battle, said the mercenary captain.
“You keep talking about hope. There seems to be no hope anywhere.”
As the princess spoke with a hollow smile, the mercenary captain turned his horse’s head.
“There is no hope, but there is a dream.”
“It’s a dream.”
“My dream is to find a sanctuary where my crew and I can rest in peace.”
The mercenary captain’s speech was longer than usual.
“I can’t die here until I achieve that dream.”
“Isn’t he just throwing a tantrum? I’m sure everyone here is thinking the same thing. ‘I don’t want to die.'”
“Then at least everyone here must have a dream.”
His deep eyes turned to the princess. The princess felt her heart beating faster.
“I received gold from you. It is the price of the contract to lead this war to victory and protect you.”
“I am the captain of the mercenaries. And mercenaries fulfill their contracts.”
The promise is absolute, the mercenary captain added.
The mercenary captain advances with the sound of his horse’s hooves, each banging loudly.
Other mercenaries follow him.
“I will not tell you to open the way for the Princess’s army.”
“Just follow us for ten minutes.”
As the mercenary captain in the lead pulled the reins, the horse lifted its forelegs and let out a powerful neigh.
– The sound of horses neighing echoed throughout the battlefield.
“Listen, mercenaries.”
“yes!”
The voices of the stealthy agents.
“According to the contract, we make the road.”
“yes!”
“Break down the enemy’s formation and trample their rear.”
“yes!”
“I will take the lead.”
“I will follow you.”
“…let’s go.”
With the mercenary captain’s words, the mercenary corps charges.
The princess, who had been blankly staring 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, saying I was busy.”
“I thought you’d always be a mercenary… but before I knew it, you were the cavalry captain of the Kingdom of Gernoa.”
The princess said with regret, sweeping her black hair back.
“…….”
Kang In-ho ate the cookie without answering.
“So, has the Kingdom of Gernoa, to which you swore allegiance, become a place of rest for you?”
It was a question that contained a lot.
If the kingdom had truly been their haven, he and his cavalry would not be wandering around this battlefield.
“I don’t understand the intent of your question.”
When Kang In-ho spoke in a calm tone, the emperor smiled brightly.
“The kingdom was sent out to block the great army of the empire without any reinforcements. Do you really not know that?”
The king of Gernois was a wise man.
He knew exactly what the Emperor wanted and eliminated the cause of the problem in the least damaging way.
“…….”
Wow, Kang In-ho ate cookies again.
“In the middle of an uneven forest, under a shabby tent, eating pale soup… can you really say that you have reached a place of rest?”
The captain, who had finished the cookie in front of him, picked up his teacup and drank the rest.
All the prepared cookies and tea were gone.
“Thank you for inviting me to the tea party.”
Kang In-ho spoke politely and clearly.
“Are you going to leave? How foolish. You will be back to me in a few days anyway. Why bother going back to the forest?”
“I believe you will not catch us as you promised.”
The cavalry captain rose from his seat without the Emperor’s permission.
Despite the rudeness, the emperor only smiled.
“Yes, I will keep my promise. So don’t worry and go back to your campsite.”
The emperor did indeed send them back as he had promised.
Kang In-ho and Anna, who had left the barracks, rode their horses in silence for a while.
Soon the forest where their campsite was came into view.
As they reached the entrance to the forest, the Emperor’s army that had been pursuing them returned to their camp.
“Anna Irwena.”
“yes.”
“There is someone who informs the Emperor of our situation.”
“I think so.”
“It’s among us.”
Anna swallowed at the captain’s assertion.