“All I had to do was say ‘I’m sorry’, but you’re making it sound like a serious confession, that’s why.”
“This is ridiculous. So in the Empire, do you just hit someone and say ‘Oops, sorry?’ and move on?”
“It’s the other way around. Do you think our people are some kind of back-alley thugs?”
“Who said that?”
The room was filled with the sweet scent of flowers and the soft glow of candles, casting an intimate atmosphere. The bed, draped in red curtains, was clearly that of a newlywed couple. However, the man and woman, dressed in thin, skin-revealing clothes, were not enjoying their honeymoon night. Instead, they were engaged in a heated argument, their voices raised in anger.
The woman with jet-black hair pulled back roughly frowned her white and fair face and said.
“If you hit us once, we’ll hit you back twice. That’s how we apologize, Your Majesty.”
Then, a man who looked as gentle as a large dog glared and slammed his fist on the table.
“What kind of apology is that! What country calls that an apology?”
“Our country.”
The woman sneered. The man, who had been staring at her with an incredulous expression, also let out a chuckle and turned his head away in exasperation. Like sulking children, they ignored each other, ironically both harboring the same thought.
‘What the heck is this!’
* * *
“This is unacceptable!”
The thunderous roar that shook the room belonged to Sir Merton, the commander of the Knights. His large face was flushed with anger, his thick, sandy-colored whiskers protruding even more prominently today.
“How could Your Majesty treat the princess like this! Not only did you defy the will of the late emperor, but now this…”
“Shut up, Merton.”
A low voice, distinctly feminine though half-hidden by the curtains draped from the ceiling, echoed through the room. While not exactly aged, she possessed an innate air of authority that sent shivers down the spines of the Knights commanders lined up on either side.
With a gentle rustle of the curtain and collar brushing against each other, the owner of the voice, Princess Erdene, emerged from the shadows.
Her hands, covering her mouth as if in prayer, were more sinewy than delicate, bearing the marks of calluses and scars. A fairly long scar ran just below her face, but it was not easily noticeable unless one looked closely due to its proximity to her jawline. Her small face, in stark contrast to her rough hands, bore a fierce and stubborn expression, creating an odd harmony.
Sitting to her immediate right was her aide, Thelma, the commander of the Eril Knights, an elite unit of the empire. Unable to suppress her indignation, she spoke in a tone laced with frustration.
“Sir Merton’s words are not without merit. How much hardship did Your Highness endure to lead us to victory in the war against Vinotin? Isn’t it right that you wear the crown of the empire upon your triumphant return? But how can you…”
“I said shut up. It’s already been decided.”
As Erdene warned her through gritted teeth, even Thelma, who rarely held back her words, clamped her lips shut. Despite the lingering resentment, silence once again fell upon the room.
But even the silence could not comfort Erdene’s tormented heart. What could possibly soothe such a heart?
A flicker of emotion crossed her eyes, a mix of indescribable rage and ruthless hatred. Upon seeing this, Thelma, unable to contain herself any longer, resumed her lament.
“Your Highness, this is truly outrageous…”
“What can be done if it is outrageous?”
Erdene glared at Thelma with a ferocious intensity. Even without raising her voice, the atmosphere turned icy.
Erdene spoke again.
“What are you going to do,Thelma? The imperial decree has already been issued, and I must leave here before dawn tomorrow. Are you going to bring me the new emperor’s head in the meantime? Do you have the confidence to do that?”
Thelma’s mouth dropped open. She knew she had nothing to worry about since all the knights and officers here were loyal to Erdene, but her words were essentially a death sentence. Thelma was even more horrified when she realized that Erdene was actually hoping for it.
Erdene snorted at Thelma’s silence.
“If not, then don’t say anything else. I might just cut your head off.”
Silence fell again. The knights of the empire, who had spent their lives on the battlefield, experiencing every kind of hardship, looked more pathetic than any defeated soldier at this moment.
She was about to burst into tears. Just as Erdene thought she might be crying, a voice of sobbing came from somewhere, as if it were a prophecy.
“The princess is the one who has suffered the most… what is this…”
Aiman, a large man with a big head and a bumpy skull that his comrades teased him for calling “potato head,” was blubbering with tears, his thick lips and nose wrinkled at the same time. Whether he was trembling or not, there was a faint clanging sound coming from the seams of the armor he was wearing.
Ironically, Erdene found some relief in the sight of the huge man sobbing. She looked around at her subordinates with a somber expression and then chided Aiman.
“Don’t whine like a bear, you ugly thing. It’s not like you’re going to die.”
It was her best attempt at a joke, but this time, her subordinates did not respond. Erdene also knew the reason, so she did not scold them further for keeping their mouths shut and mourning.
Not going to die?
No, she was the one who was going to die.
At least a part of her was already dead.
* * *
Occupying the vast northern region of the continent of Singles, the Hirschstein Empire was renowned for its people’s warlike and combative spirit.
Its territory was larger than any other inland nation, but it was barren and rugged, with rocky mountains rising sharply and farmland in dire shortage. Furthermore, the people had to endure winters of exceptional length and summers of scorching heat, making survival impossible for the weak.
“We’ve even captured the gold mines! All thanks to Her Highness the Princess’s bold tactics!”
Riding unshakably atop a massive warhorse, Erdene led thousands of knights at the forefront. As Aiman, the regiment commander, who had been encouraging the knights from behind, burst into hearty laughter, Thelma, standing on the opposite side, clenched her fist and waved it.
“Of course! Those mice from Vinotin dared to hold out for a whole year, but who are we? Even if we chose the wrong opponent, it was still a good choice.”
The Hirschstein Empire had long coveted the riches of the various inland kingdoms located beyond the border region of shallow mountains and swamps. From the Kingdom of Vinotin, their recent target, they had secured a measure of plains, wetlands, and mines, and the morale of the knights returning with victory reports was sky-high.
However, Erdene had not smiled once since the war ended. Despite having spent a whole year on the battlefield, she didn’t seem to be happy at all on the way back.
Noticing her demeanor, Thelma cautiously asked, “Your Highness, why are you like this?”
Erdene, her brow furrowed, tightened her grip on the reins. Something was… bothering her. Like a heavy, damp lump of mud lodged inside her armor, she was constantly on edge and irritable. The biggest problem was that she couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason.
“Your Highness, are you not feeling well?”
Even Merton, the usually carefree regiment commander, spoke with a voice laced with concern, causing Erdene to furrow her brow even deeper.
“Where did you see me sick? It’s not that, it’s just that I can’t tell if I saw to my business and cleaned up after myself or not.”
Aiman, his lips pursed, let out a sigh.
“What does it matter if you didn’t? Anyway, if you wear armor and wield your sword for three days straight, the inside…”
“Shut up, you filthy bastard. That’s not what I mean.”
Thelma interjected.
“Then what’s wrong? Your complexion doesn’t look very good.”
Erdene, her brow again furrowed, said nothing but glanced sideways at Thelma.
“Thelma, how long has it been since we started the war with Vinotin?”
“A little over a year and a month.”
Erden nodded.
“So, how many times have we pushed and pulled during that long time? With those remnants, I mean. We originally planned to go on a campaign for three months, but it took much longer than we thought. Didn’t you hear the news late that His Majesty the Emperor had passed away?”
At that moment, the surrounding knights and soldiers fell silent with somber expressions. In the midst of this, Aiman suddenly became indignant and clenched his teeth.
“That position was originally meant for Your Highness.”
Erden let out a sardonic laugh.
“So what are we going to do about it? The Golden City of Hirschstein and the Emperor’s Imperial Palace are already in my uncle’s hands.”
It was a sarcastic reply, but her expression wasn’t very good either.
During the year or so she spent on the battlefield, Selum, the Emperor of Hirschstein and Erdene’s father, had passed away. It was an absurd news, even though he had been in good health until his death.
However, what made Erdene even more absurd was the news that her twin brother, Tenek, had ascended to the throne as the new emperor.
[In our Hirschstein, we value those who excel in martial arts the most. Erdene, my brave daughter. The next throne is yours. Even though you are only fifteen years old, even my most elite commanders, who are full of talk, cower like broken scarecrows in front of you!]
Selum had chosen his daughter Erdene as his successor early on. And he didn’t just say it. She trained in martial arts while also learning and mastering everything a monarch needed.
All of that was in vain.
Erdene changed the subject again.
“For more than half a year, there was even a time when we were determined to wipe Vinotin off the map, but they managed to hold out and escape. It was strangely skillful.”
Commander Merton nodded in agreement.
“Well, we thought it was strange too. Wasn’t it the first time that prisoners escaped from a Hirschstein military camp, and among the elite troops that Her Highness the Princess commanded? There were only three of them, and they all died, but still.”
“That’s what I’m saying, Merton. Vinotin even managed to sabotage our operations a couple of times. There was definitely a spy. We searched like crazy, but in the end we couldn’t find out. But….”
A strange light flashed in Erden’s blue eyes as she trailed off.
“Can you understand how this could end in such a hollow victory for us?”
Thelma said.
“There are many among the knights who are talking about it nervously. Of course, it was thanks to Her Highness the Princess bypassing the rear cavalry and striking their flank that we won, but why would they bother to fight so hard and stubbornly only to surrender so easily?”
Erdene fixed her gaze on the distant landscape, swaying slowly with the movement of her horse. As she became lost in thought, the other commanders, except for her aide Thelma, quietly retreated to the rear.
A war that ended too easily…
In retrospect, it was as if the incident had been foreshadowed from that moment on.
* * * *
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