Chapter 78

Three men stood in a circle in front of Orhan. Meral, with his lean build, straightened the kaftan he had taken from Yamur, smoothing out the wrinkles.

"Yes, as I reported, Daniel Rihardt has awakened after three years. And there's news from two days ago that the Emperor of Sveergen is currently in Utrecht."

Buran, who had been relieved to have a day off and was stretching his stiff neck, glared at Meral with bloodshot eyes.

"Really? Why are you telling me this now?"

"What did you hear? The news arrived two days ago. Buran, you were on the ship then."

Yamur, who had been standing quietly beside the two bickering men, took a step forward in front of Orhan, who was lost in deep thought.

"Do not forget the purpose of our visit, Lord Orhan. Our opponent is Daniel Rihardt. We are only three. And the Emperor of Sveergen was never our target."

"Ultimately, he is our final goal."

Buran, who had answered indifferently, pointed at Meral with his finger.

"And why are we only three? We are four. Even if he's no help, still. If you openly ignore Meral, it won't do. You heartless bastard."

Buran thrust his head forward, as if picking a fight, at Yamur, who was looking at him with disdain.

"What? What did I do?"

Orhan, who had been leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, tilted his head back and closed his eyes. The purpose of their month-long journey across the sea to this distant place was twofold. First, to inspect the sea route from Turke to Sveergen. Second, to spy on Daniel Rihardt, who was likely to be the biggest obstacle to his plan. Both of these tasks had increased a few months ago when the report of Daniel Rihardt's awakening arrived. If it weren't for the sudden return of Daniel, Orhan's plan would have been perfect. The weakness of the Sveergen army, which was focused on land battles due to frequent battles on the continent, was its poor naval power. The narrow strait that ships had to pass through to enter the port of Kupen was also a cause of this weakness. Since only one ship could barely pass through, it was probably thought that blocking it in an emergency would be enough. Orhan planned to exploit this weakness. The big picture of the war was simple. While the Solon tribe, who had signed an alliance treaty, distracted the border lords, they would invade Baimar by sea. He had also meticulously planned the detailed battle strategy. After infiltrating some troops into Baimar disguised as merchants, Orhan's core army would pass through the strait quietly on merchant ships. Once they arrived safely in Baimar, it would be a speed battle. Crossing the inland to reach the capital Celin's Schendal Castle would take no more than ten days. Leading a small, elite force, he planned to swiftly destroy Schendal Castle.

'Why did Daniel Rihardt have to wake up now of all times?'

All these plans were based on the assumption that there was no Rihardt, the duke who fought so well, that annoying obstacle. If the first prince Yusuf hadn't been a coward, he could have cut off that man's breath three years ago.

"Damn Yusuf. If you don't have the courage, just stay out of the way. You're just a coward who talks a lot."

Seeing Orhan spout harsh words as if they were second nature, Buran shook his head. If you only judged by his way of speaking, Orhan, the fifth prince of Turke, was no different from a bandit, pirate, or ruffian.

"Prince, maintain your dignity. The concubines of Haran are already whispering that they can't tell if the fifth prince is a prince or a vagrant. Who will they tell this gossip to? To your father, who holds your life in his hands."

Yamur glared at him, disapproving of his criticism of their lord. Despite Yamur's fierce gaze, Buran continued without losing his nerve.

"Even though we are only three, we are not a negligible force. Our opponent is Daniel Rihardt. This time, we should only spy and return."

Thinking of an exception, Buran quickly added,

"Who knows? The Nazar amulet (*Turke's lucky charm) might help us, and Daniel Rihardt might lose a leg or go blind. If that happens, we can take him out."

Meral nudged him, as if telling him to stop. Buran pushed his hand away and smiled.

"But it won't hurt to be careful. Our ultimate goal is to become the master of the Turke royal family, not to conquer Sveergen."

Orhan, the fifth prince, had four older brothers and five younger brothers. It was a dream that required surpassing them all. How healthy they all were, the nine princes, with a slim chance of dying from illness.

"If we just work hard and die, we'll only be doing good things for the first prince Yusuf. After all, you can only do anything if you're alive, right?"

Buran was right. Only if you're alive can you dream of catching your father's eye instead of your older brother. To do that, he had to bring down the ancient and vast empire of Sveergen and show his abilities to his father. Orhan, who had straightened his head, which he had tilted back, and was unfastening his cloak pin, asked Meral.

"Are the merchants who will go with us to Utrecht ready?"

Orhan and his party were to disguise themselves as mercenaries guarding the merchants and enter Rihardt's territory with them. As their lord Orhan prepared to rest, Yamur and Buran also took off their cloaks and threw them to Meral. Meral, who caught the dusty cloaks, coughed and frowned.

"Cough, cough. I and two merchants, along with the carts to load the goods, are all ready. By the way, did you really get the proper Lale bulbs?"

Yamur threw the sack of bulbs he had carried on his shoulder from the ship and left at the back to Meral's feet. Buran, who had been sitting on the carpet and taking off his boots, grumbled.

"To be honest, how would we know if they're proper? Even the royal gardeners who have been growing them for years don't know exactly where Lale grows or what flowers it will produce. We just picked them, so you figure it out."

Meral, who had thrown the dusty cloak into a corner, looked troubled as he examined the inside of the bulb bag.

"How many times did I emphasize getting a valuable variety? What if you just picked them, you human! Do you know how picky the mistress of Utrecht is? She has a good eye and won't even look at something with no value."

"Don't worry. They won't even bloom properly here."

Orhan, who had been scratching his unshaven chin from the sea journey, contorted his face, trying to grasp something elusive in his mind.

"Wasn't Daniel Rihardt's wife the youngest daughter of the Harkbon Count?"

*** When Muriel first arrived three years ago, there were only a few scattered houses. Now, a proper village had formed. Muriel, dismounting from his horse with the setting sun at his back, knocked on the door of one of the houses and called out in a tired voice.

"Matilda, I'm here."

Matilda, who appeared from the backyard, put down the bucket she was holding and called out.

"My goodness, Sir Muriel! Where do you get so dusty every day?"

Matilda took a small cloth from her front pocket, dipped it in the bucket, and shuffled over to Muriel. She wiped the dust off Muriel's face and neck while scolding him.

"Oh, if Lady saw you, she would be so surprised. The great knight Muriel Rossivalt appearing like a beggar from the port every day. Close your eyes. Your face is all dusty."

Muriel didn't argue, knowing he looked like a beggar. At first, he returned to the castle once a day, and even if he was busy, at least once every two days. But that was all in the past. Today marks the fourth day he hasn't been to Mühheim Castle. With the logging speeding up, the road construction site was bustling. Meanwhile, Dominic was often absent, claiming he had to monitor the emperor's entourage. Since Matilda started living outside the castle, he had been using it as an excuse to stay at this house more often. Matilda, being Adel's protégé, was an excellent cook.

Muriel, who had obediently let her clean his face, opened his eyes when Matilda took the wet cloth away. Behind Matilda's shoulder, he saw the wooden bucket she had put down. Muriel walked behind her and picked up the bucket, heading towards the house. Matilda, seeing this, hurried after him.

"Oh, Sir Muriel, give it to me quickly. I can carry water too."

"I know you can. I'm just hungry. Leave this to me and make some food, Matilda. I feel like my skin is sticking to my bones."

Matilda, who had improved but still limped noticeably, didn't like talking about it, so Muriel didn't press the issue. Muriel, who had opened the large water barrel in the kitchen, looked at Matilda in surprise. The barrel was almost full.

"When did you fill this? I said I would do it, but you couldn't wait and went out again?"

Matilda, who had been preparing food with her back turned, paused for a moment before continuing.

"No, Dominic and Uncle Anton came by in the afternoon."

Dominic, that damn man.

'He comes here but doesn't show up at the site.'

Muriel, who had taken a seat at the table, watched Matilda prepare the food. He hadn't noticed it when they were at the castle, but it seemed Dominic had feelings for Matilda. The way he often brought a doctor to check on her and filled the water barrel, chopped firewood, and even left a neatly prepared large piece of meat last time.

'Hmm... Has our Matilda melted Dominic's cold heart?'

Exhausted, Muriel watched as Matilda placed a freshly heated soup and bread in front of him.

"Have this first."

"Matilda."

"Yes?"

Muriel, picking up his spoon, spoke matter-of-factly.

"About Dominic. He has many good qualities, surprisingly."

After speaking, he regretted using the word 'surprisingly.' Most people were scum. Dominic wasn't the worst.

"So, try to get along..."

"Sir Muriel, do you trust Dominic?"

Caught off guard by the cold response, Muriel stopped ladling the soup and looked up at Matilda. Matilda, who had been looking at him, quickly averted her eyes and turned away.

"Be careful, Sir. Dominic..."

Matilda, after hesitating for a moment, clenched her fist as if determined to say something important.

"No, the Duke is a scary person."

*** The tea time, accompanied by the soothing scent of rosemary tea, ended in a somewhat chilly atmosphere. The emperor, who had maintained a relaxed expression throughout, suddenly smiled wistfully, signaling the end of the