Crossing the Atlas Mountains
We crossed the Atlas Mountains at a brisk pace and arrived right in front of Fez’s main gate.
“Stop right there!!!”
A soldier in front of the gate stepped straight toward our galloping horses without a trace of fear and pointed his spear at us. I grabbed the reins at the last second and yanked them to stop the horses.
“Kyaa, kyaaah…!”
I gently stroked the Isabel who was choking back sobs in my arms. A soldier stepped forward from the side and shouted.
“Answer me! Where do you lot come from and why are you bunching up like this, causing trouble?”
“I’m Ismail, a prince of the Maghreb Sultanate. Hurry and call someone higher up.”
“What? Haha ha! If you’re a prince, then I…”
*Thud!*
The soldier blocking the road collapsed onto the ground.
A Black aura warrior from the side had smacked the back of his head, shouting, “How dare you block the path of Prince Ismail!!!”
“…Is this really all right?”
Isabel turned to look at me with a dazed expression.
“Well, revealing one’s identity, explaining the purpose of the visit, and then dealing with the hassle of entering the city feels too tedious and pretentious. Frontal assault is the right answer sometimes.”
“Like, for example, your subordinate here…”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Hey, Hayreddin! Since you did it, you handle it.”
The guard named Hayreddin nodded and dismounted from his horse.
*Thud!*
He picked up the unconscious soldier and hurled him toward the eastern army camp.
“Aaaah…!”
“That was aura, wasn’t it?”
“I saw it clearly too. Tch. This guy got off lucky.”
The Fez soldiers, far from burning with jealousy, even prayed for the soul of the fallen soldier.
“W-what’s going on…!”
Before I could finish my thought, a distant shout echoed.
The soldiers quickly lowered their heads, clearly recognizing the commander.
“T-that… unidentified aura warriors have launched a group attack!”
“Aura warrior group?”
The commander glanced at us.
He soon looked at my face, then immediately dropped to one knee and bowed.
“B-because of what emergency have you arrived in Fez?”
The moment he recognized me, he dropped to one knee and lowered his head in haste.
No further explanation was needed.
The soldiers who had opened the gate and the commander who was scolding them.
Their voices of resistance, “The prince will be furious,” quickly faded under the commander’s rebuttal, “Even His Highness Ismail is the prince…”
*
The road leading to the headquarters of the Al-Khatib Merchant Group.
The once-prosperous metropolis that had been the kingdom’s most thriving city now looked desolate. In the heart of the commercial district, soldiers of the Third Prince’s guard were handling security instead of the Sultan’s troops.
“Has the city already been taken over…? Even if the Sultan wakes up, he won’t be able to control the city for a while.”
“Hey…”
Isabel, who had been shrinking under the sharp gazes around us—especially the soldiers’ greedy ones—peeked out and asked me.
“What exactly do those people mean by Prince? Why did they kindly step aside earlier?”
“In simple terms, it’s the same title princes receive. In Hawar, all princes except the crown heir are called Infantes.”
“Ah, I see! …No! Infante? How did you know that?!”
I couldn’t say I had read the webtoon and it had kindly explained it, so I faked a vague answer.
*Tap tap.*
“We’re here. This is the secret base of the Al-Khatib Merchant Group.”
I dismounted and lined up the guards in front. We headed for a two-story building.
“Isabel? What are you doing there?”
“…If this is a secret base that even a third party knows about, isn’t it no longer a secret base? I was thinking the same thing.”
“Normal people in Fez would never think there’s an Al-Khatib secret base here.”
“Then how does Ismail know so much?”
Huh?
Why ask such an obvious question?
“Ah. I forgot to tell you.”
*Creak…*
I naturally pressed against the wall and slipped into the hidden room.
“The Al-Khatib Merchant Group is the one I personally created and gifted to my brother. So in reality, it’s half mine.”
“…What?!”
***
To make sure no one thought my words were empty boasts, I skillfully navigated the hidden passwords, traps, and maze-like corridors inside the secret base.
“Huff, huff… How long do we have to keep walking like this?”
“Just a little longer. The group leader has a weird personality, so I can’t do anything about it. This trouble is what uninvited guests have to endure.”
“…Who exactly is this group leader that he prepares such elaborate traps?”
“Hmm…”
While barely dodging flames rising from the floor, I opened my mouth.
“First, the group leader is actually someone I picked….”
“…?”
Isabel shot me a look as if saying, *Ismail again?!*
“So, Ismail is the one pulling strings behind the Third Prince who seized the capital, the real mastermind?”
“If I were a true mastermind, I wouldn’t feel unfair. I only created the merchant group for my brother as a good deed. The beginning was actually a place to launder the real Third Prince’s black money.”
Feeling unfair, I reached the end of the corridor and turned around.
“How is it? That’s why you can’t tell where I am, right?”
“…With only eyes and a mouth floating in the air, it’s bad for the heart. Please turn around.”
Hmm, bad for the heart.
That was high praise of a different kind.
Turning away from Isabel, who furrowed her brows, I pulled the secret device at the end of the corridor.
*Click!*
With a sound of gears turning, the entire wall slid open like it was gliding, revealing a luxurious office.
“…We’ve arrived?”
I nodded.
“Strange. I thought you’d be waiting. Did you take a short break?”
“How would we know you’d come here…?”
Isabel made an incredulous face and snorted.
*Click.*
The scent of cinnamon and orange blossoms wafted over us.
“I’m sorry, Prince Ismail. I’m a bit late because I had to prepare the tea.”
I turned my head, and a woman appeared from the door opposite where we had come from.
“Eh?”
A beauty with short black hair and captivating red eyes.
*Clack.*
She set the tray with the pastries and teacups on the table, glanced at us, then immediately avoided my gaze.
“Wait, aren’t you…?”
It had been seven long years, but there was no mistaking her.
“Safiya…?”
“…You remember me, Your Highness.”
The moment I called her name, Safiya looked at me with a sparkling face.
How could I forget her?
Safiya was the first talent I had recruited and the first colleague I had to let go for unavoidable reasons.
I never imagined I would meet her again in a place like this.
But even while welcoming the family I hadn’t seen in a long time, a question crossed my mind.
“Markrud?”
“If you mean the former group leader, he retired and is now living far away.”
“Retired? Without even saying a word to me?”
“Well, his health has been declining lately.”
I said that, but I knew exactly what Safiya’s words implied.
“…So you took his place?”
“Conveniently enough, yes.”
Safiya answered with a grave expression.
I admired her sincerely in front of her.
“Wow. That little rascal pushed out the group leader I planted and boldly took his spot? That’s amazing.”
“A little rascal… Now only you can call me that, Prince.”
“Anyway, seeing such a familiar face after a long time makes me feel good.”
“You’re not scolding me? You sent the former Markrud leader without even asking.”
“What kind of mentor scolds a disciple who grew this well? Of course it’s embarrassing, but my joy is greater.”
I walked over to Safiya and patted her head like I used to when she was a little girl.
She had already become an adult, but for some reason my hand still reached out.
It’s really scary to have such a habit.
Anyway, Safiya didn’t refuse my touch and instead pressed her body closer to mine, closing her eyes quietly.
“…You haven’t changed.”
“Time passing doesn’t mean people themselves change. Not you, and not me.”
When Safiya opened her eyes and looked at me, she said,
“Let’s eat the pastries first and chat slowly.”
Ah, right.
I had completely forgotten my purpose in coming here.
I hurriedly turned my head and looked at Isabel.
She was watching the two of us with an indescribably ambiguous expression.
***
“Kaab el Ghazal, Chebakia, and dates.”
I picked up the pastry that looked like banana bread.
Kaab el Ghazal was a cookie filled with finely ground almonds mixed with orange blossom water and cinnamon, wrapped in thin flour dough, and baked into a crescent-moon shape.
Isabel silently picked up a Chebakia, took a small bite, and sipped the atay.
After sharing short conversation for about ten minutes.
It seemed like the right time to bring up the main topic, so I called her.
“Safiya.”
“Yes, Prince.”
Kaab el Ghazal
Chebakia
And dates.
All three pastries and the atay were traditional Maghrebi foods…
“Did you know I would come here and eat these?”
They were the same ones I had enjoyed since childhood in the Fez palace.
“Of course.”
Safiya nodded with an impish smile.
“After all, the one protecting the Hawar people you are looking for is me.”