Chapter 69

On the night he was set to leave for Karisen, Latil subtly hinted to those around him that he wasn't feeling well and returned to his bedroom earlier than usual, sitting down at his desk.

‘Gesta’s birthday is just over two weeks away… If nothing goes wrong, I can come back and take care of it.’

Latil, who had marked Gesta’s birthday on the calendar, pondered for a moment before writing ‘book’ next to it. Although Gesta had wanted a gift that would give them time alone together, Latil still felt that a gift was necessary.

‘Good.’

After that, Latil took off his imperial uniform, put on a comfortable black martial uniform, and draped a noble’s cloak over it. He slipped out of his room at the prearranged time, and when he did, there was no one in the reception room. This was because Latil had told the maids that his headache was so bad that he didn’t want to hear any noise, and that they should all go elsewhere for the day. It was a bit more difficult to get rid of the knights, but thanks to Lean, who had called them away to buy some time, Latil managed to leave the corridor without the guards noticing. Having roamed the palace since he was young, it was easy for him to choose routes where there were no people. After he climbed over the high wall, he saw a black carriage waiting. On the driver’s seat was a guard with a black hat pulled down to cover his face. Initially, he had planned to bring a few more, but bringing a group of guards who were as recognizable as the palace guards would have made it clear that the emperor was away. So, he deliberately brought a different knight.

“Let’s go.”

As Latil entered the carriage and gave the order, the guard quickly snapped the reins from top to bottom.

“Here we go!”

While the carriage moved away from the palace, Latil hung a small lamp from the corner of the ceiling and took out the old map he had brought with him, carefully examining it once more. He intended to memorize the entire map in case of an emergency. As he did, his eyes paused on the number ‘3’ written in the corner of the map.

‘What does this mean?’

He had figured out the meaning of all the other letters on the map, but he still couldn’t understand why the number 3 was included in the corner.

‘I’ll figure it out after I find the item.’

If he found the item completely, it wouldn’t matter if the enemies realized he had the map. He could give it to scholars for research, or to the Grand Sage or his brother. Latil folded the map neatly and put it back in his pocket, then leaned his head against the backrest of the carriage and closed his eyes. * * * Latil, who had dozed off, was jolted awake by the carriage’s rough movement.

‘What’s happening?’

The carriage was being driven so roughly that his body was jolted forward several times. Latil untangled his arms and moved to the partition of the driver’s seat, tapping on it.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, but this road is very rough.”

If it was this rough, the wheels would probably fall off… Latil returned to his seat, but he was a bit worried. As expected, not long after, the carriage tilted, and a small scream was heard.

“Hey?”

Latil asked again, and the carriage stopped. Then the knight knocked on the carriage door and opened it from the outside.

“I’m sorry, we took a shortcut, but the road… It wasn’t like this before.”

“Is the wheel broken?”

“Yes.”

Latil sighed and got out of the carriage.

“Where?”

The wheel was so badly twisted that even Latil, who wasn’t very familiar with the structure and mechanics of carriages, could see it was serious. Latil frowned.

“Can it be fixed?”

“We have a spare wheel, so we can replace it.”

While the guard was changing the wheel, Latil sat on a rock and looked up at the sky. How much time had passed? The guard was struggling, and the sound of fast hoofbeats began to approach from a distance.

“Move back, we might collide.”

Latil ordered the guard, who was standing in the middle of the road, and moved a bit further inside.

“Yes.”

The hoofbeats quickly grew closer, and as they did, Latil could tell there were two people approaching.

‘Not enemies, I hope?’

While waiting for the riders to pass, Latil kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, just in case. The guard, thinking the same thing, stood in front of Latil with his weapon half-drawn.

“Should we ask for help if they’re not enemies?”

“It’s fine. They’re riding so urgently at this hour, they must have something urgent to do. If they’re not here to attack us, they’ll probably just pass by without stopping.”

However, contrary to expectations, the two riders slowed down politely as they approached and then stopped completely near the broken carriage.

‘Enemies?’

Seeing this, the guard and Latil were on high alert, but one of them waved his hand in the air to show he wasn’t armed. Then he asked in a rather friendly tone.

“It looks like you’re in trouble. Is there anything we can help with?”

The guard, relieved, thanked them, but Latil was completely frozen.

“Hysinth…?”

The owner of that voice. Hysinth.

“!”

It was a very soft murmur, but the man on the horse also heard it and stopped all his movements. Latil took his hand off the sword and looked at the man in the hood with a disbelieving gaze. The man, looking down at Latil from his horse, grabbed the edge of his hood and slowly pulled it back. The face revealed was indeed Hysinth, looking shocked.

“Latil?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, the guard looked back and forth between Latil and Hysinth, confused. Hysinth, with his mouth open, stared at Latil and then jumped off the horse, angry.

“Why are you here? Bringing just one knight, how dangerous is that?”

“It’s the same for you. You’re also here with just one knight.”

Latil, bewildered by the contradictory concern, asked, and Hysinth, at a loss for words, closed his mouth. Seeing this, the knight Hysinth had brought also awkwardly dismounted and greeted Latil.

“Greetings, Emperor Latrasil.”

“…Yeah.”

Then the guard Latil had brought quickly greeted Hysinth.

“Greetings, Emperor Hysinth.”

The expressions of the two guards were quite similar. Latil, feeling awkward, turned his head and muttered. Meeting him in such a situation…

Seeing Latil’s profile, Hysinth tried to suppress his emotions and called his guard.

“Sir Roshta.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Help the knight fix the carriage.”

“Yes.”

When Hysinth’s guard nodded to Latil’s guard, Latil’s guard quickly nodded and walked over to the broken carriage. As the two knights went to the carriage, Hysinth and Latil naturally stood a bit away from them. When they were far enough that their conversation wouldn’t be heard, Hysinth asked in a much lower voice than usual.

“Why are you here? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to wander around alone? You used to wander around recklessly when you were a princess, and now you’re doing the same as an emperor?”

“Your nagging is still as contradictory as ever. Who’s talking to whom? This is at least our territory, right? You’re the one who brought a knight into another country recklessly.”

“Where are you going?”

“To your country.”

Latil, embarrassed, closed his mouth, and Hysinth closed his eyes and pressed his temples.

“Right. As you say, I shouldn’t be talking. I’m doing the same thing.”

Latil, annoyed, scowled and kicked the ground with the toe of his shoe, splattering dirt, then asked with a flash of his eyes.

“Why are you going now? Your country’s delegation is still in our country.”

“An urgent matter came up.”

“What about the delegation?”

“They’ll continue their role.”

“…”

“You? Why are you secretly coming to our country?”

Hysinth’s eyes narrowed, and eventually, only half of his pupils were visible.

“Since I’m here, you’re not coming to see me, right?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“Would it really not matter to you if the emperor of another country secretly enters our country?”

“Didn’t you learn to ignore the actions of your ex-girlfriend?”

“There’s no one who says that and has completely forgotten their ex. They just say they’ve forgotten because they can’t do it. Just like someone I know.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“A pig only sees pigs. Maybe you see everything as pigs, Latil?”

“So, are you calling me a pig?”

While Latil and Hysinth were bickering, the two guards of the two empires looked at each other with a sense of shared suffering. Having a boss who could go off in any direction was a common hardship for people of any country. Eventually, after a long, childish argument, the two emperors realized that this could go on forever. There was no point in fighting over this here. Latil couldn’t send Hysinth back, and Hysinth couldn’t send Latil back. Moreover, both needed to get to Karisen urgently, so they had to take the same shortcut.

“…”

“…”

After exchanging glances, Latil and Hysinth reluctantly got into the same carriage. * * * The carriage continued to jolt, but Latil’s heart was jolting even more, so he couldn’t tell if the carriage was shaking or if his head was. Hysinth, who had been so quick to start an argument, now sat across from him in silence. After a while, as the carriage’s movement became smoother and the sky began to lighten, Hysinth finally spoke.

“Are you really not going to tell me why you’re going to Karisen?”

“Why did you come to Tarium? You tell me first.”

“To see you.”

“!”

What kind of nerve does he have? Latil, wide-eyed, stared at him, and Hysinth laughed, his eyes curving.

“So, you’re here for the same reason?”

“No, I’m not.”

Latil flared up at the obvious teasing, but Hysinth didn’t back down.

“You said you’d answer if I spoke first. If you’re not, it’s the same reason, right?”

“Nonsense.”

“Surely you wouldn’t come to another country as an emperor just to spy, right?”

“You’re the one who spied on our country.”

“What I was interested in wasn’t your country, but you, Latil.”

“!”

“Is it the same for you?”

“No, it’s not!”

Latil scowled and lightly kicked Hysinth’s foot, and Hysinth, with a hand on his chin, laughed. Seeing Latil’s old habit, he felt oddly nostalgic. Latil’s heart ached when he saw Hysinth’s smile, but he deliberately put on a stern face and looked out the window. For the rest of the journey to the border, the two hardly spoke. When they passed through a town near the border, Latil spoke first.

“I’m getting off here.”

Hysinth, with his arms crossed and eyes closed, opened his eyes in surprise at the words.

“Here?”

His gaze turned to the window. This was a small town near the border, rarely visited even by travelers.

“Do you have something to do here? I thought you’d at least go to the capital, or at least a secondary capital.”

“Here.”

Latil answered firmly, leaned forward, and tapped the partition of the driver’s seat. The carriage slowly slowed down and then stopped on one side of the town. Latil opened the door to get out and asked Hysinth.

“Can I borrow the carriage? I need to go on foot.”

The carriage wasn’t from the palace, and the knight had bought a carriage that looked as ordinary as possible. Since Latil had to climb a mountain, he couldn’t ride in the carriage. However, it would be difficult to sell or leave the carriage while climbing the mountain, so he offered it to Hysinth out of consideration. He could buy a horse to return.

“You’re going to climb a mountain.”

Hysinth immediately deduced the destination from Latil’s offer and nodded.

“Then I’ll take it. Thanks, Latil.”

“I helped fix the wheel. I don’t want to owe you anything.”

“What about the favor of letting me come here secretly?”

“I did that first.”

Latil, who had shot back, got out of the carriage. Hysinth, about to follow, changed his mind and opened the window instead. He didn’t want to make Latil uncomfortable by following him. Latil, knowing why Hysinth was doing this, tightly pursed his lips and turned around.

‘Will we ever travel in the same carriage again? Was this just the one moment in our lives where we could face each other and travel together?’

This thought made him feel sad, but Latil quickly pushed away the weakness. Instead, he handed a note he had prepared in advance to Hysinth through the window.

“What is it?”

“Read it on your way.”

The note mentioned that since he had