Breaking Isolation (1)
Eidan had yet to exchange a single word with the lord and his wife, but their radiant presence alone left him shrinking in his seat from the very start. Already disheartened by the looming threat of defeat in war, he felt himself plunging even deeper into despair.
“Is that the princess?”
Behind Lady Dana stood a woman who appeared to be Princess Irene. Eidan scanned the hall where the vassals sat on either side, searching for Unia. If he hoped to secure favorable terms in these negotiations, her goodwill would be his best chance. Yet no matter how hard he looked, she was nowhere to be seen. Disappointment settled in his chest.
“Did she deliberately avoid the meeting…?”
Eidan quickly composed himself, stepped to the center of the hall, and looked up at Lord Richard. With a respectful posture, he spoke in a calm, measured tone.
“Lord Cain is indisposed, so I, his younger brother, have come in his stead. It is most regrettable that an unpleasant incident has arisen between neighboring territories—”
“Spare me that dogshit!”
Lord Richard’s furious voice boomed through the hall. Eidan fell silent and swallowed quietly. The lord’s gaze, fixed upon him from above, was terrifyingly cold.
“What happened to the envoy I sent—Unia? If so much as a single hair on her head has been harmed or she has fallen ill, you had best be prepared!”
“What?”
Eidan doubted his own ears for a moment. “Why is he asking me about Unia’s well-being? Don’t tell me she never made it back…?”
Eidan himself was curious about her fate, but he kept his expression neutral. If they believed she was still being held captive, that worked in his favor—at least they would not launch an attack so recklessly.
“Envoy Unia is in good health with no injuries. We did confine her, but we have provided every comfort and treated her nothing like a prisoner.”
“I hope that is the truth.”
“It is.”
Eidan deliberately shrugged with an air of nonchalance.
“My lord, our Clu—”
“He is the Grand Lord!”
Olmati, who had been listening quietly from the side, suddenly interjected with a sharp rebuke.
“This man is no mere lord—he stands above them as the Grand Lord!”
“My apologies. I shall address you as Grand Lord.”
Standing alone in the heart of enemy territory, Eidan felt an indescribable pressure bearing down on him, cold sweat trickling down his back. Yet the more tension gripped him, the sharper his mind became. Maintaining his icy rationality, he resolved to extract the best possible outcome from these negotiations.
“Grand Lord, the House of Cluiston wishes to end this war immediately without further bloodshed and sign a peace treaty. To demonstrate our sincerity, we have brought a substantial gift.”
At Eidan’s clap, the soldiers behind him carried forward a chest. When the lid was opened, it revealed artifacts and glittering gold and silver treasures.
“We have scraped together everything from our lord’s treasury. Our territory will face severe financial hardship for some time, but we judged it preferable to waging a war that costs lives. We offer it all in the hope that you will accept this and withdraw your forces. We have lost.”
“The war hasn’t even begun, and you’re already declaring defeat?”
Lord Richard chuckled as if amused.
“I also have a gift for you.”
He drew a dagger from his robes and tossed it onto the floor in front of Eidan. The blade clattered against the stone.
“Take that knife and bring me your brother Lord Cain’s head.”
“Th-that is impossible.”
“Impossible?”
Lord Richard’s expression hardened.
“The envoy I sent is being held prisoner and has been suffering for days. The Houses of Metis and Herrera are eyeing my lands. You think you can settle this with mere gold and jewels? Aren’t you underestimating me?”
He raised his fingers one by one.
“I demand three things. First, release Unia at once. Second, bring me Lord Cain’s head. Third, the new lord who succeeds Cain must kiss my foot and swear fealty. If even one of these cannot be fulfilled, war begins immediately.”
Eidan found all three demands difficult to accept. The first was impossible without Unia, the second required killing his own brother, and the third was not a decision he could make alone while Cain still lived.
“Please grant me a week to consider.”
“One day.”
Lord Richard’s tone was final.
“Bring your answer by noon tomorrow. If you release Unia now, I will give you two extra days.”
“The moment we release her, it will be as though we have let go of the branch we were clinging to on a thousand-foot cliff. We have no intention of harming her, but her presence is our only hope of protection against the Grand Lord’s formidable army.”
“So you intend to keep her as a hostage?”
Eidan hesitated before answering.
“…I do not wish to do so either.”
“How curious.”
Lord Richard gave a short laugh.
“If you were going to come crawling like this, you should never have started trouble in the first place. What possessed you to provoke us?”
“That question… only my lord can answer.”
With those words, Eidan left Richard’s camp. The negotiations had collapsed, and he had gained nothing. All he carried away from the meeting with the uncompromising Grand Lord was an ultimatum. He had until noon tomorrow. Once that deadline passed, they would launch a full-scale assault regardless of whether Unia was released.
How was he supposed to resolve this? Eidan felt as though his head would burst.
“I feel like relying on Ludmila’s dark powers. Damn it, even though I despise her…”
By the time Ritonovitch arrived in Harmel, the castle was already surrounded by Richard’s forces.
“Damn it.”
He clicked his tongue from atop his horse. Unia, seated behind him, broke into a bright smile. In the distance, the familiar banners of Richard’s army fluttered proudly. A sense of homecoming warmed her chest. Suddenly, she found herself longing to see Hyunwoo’s face.
“Why the long face? You could just sell me to our Lord Richard.”
“The price would drop.”
“I’m his favorite concubine, so he’ll treat me well. He’ll pay more than Lord Cain ever would.”
“Taking a forty-year-old hag as a concubine? Lord Richard’s tastes are certainly unique. Everyone knows younger women and chickens are best.”
“No wonder women don’t like you.”
“Shut it.”
Ritonovitch scowled, clearly irritated. He hated comments about his appearance more than anything. Whenever Unia teased him about his looks, he would glower and hang her upside down from his horse until she retched.
“At this point, there’s no helping it. Lord Cain is finished. I’ll have to strike a deal with Lord Richard.”
He hid Unia in the forest several kilometers from Harmel, then gathered his bow, arrows, and a letter for Lord Richard. Before departing, he fed her milk and salt-cured smoked salmon. It was a modest meal, yet compared to the grass porridge and jerky she had endured, it felt like a feast she had not tasted in ages.
Ritonovitch fed her by hand. With her arms bound, Unia accepted each bite, her lips twitching.
“What’s this? Giving me all this? Are you sad we’re parting? Heh.”
Ritonovitch scratched the tip of his nose, his mouth working silently.
“Truth is, even though I kidnapped you, it wasn’t with bad intentions.”
“There’s such a thing as good intentions in a kidnapping?”
“Aside from hanging you upside down when you wouldn’t listen, I didn’t make things too hard for you. It was hardly a kidnapping at all.”
“It was plenty hard when you hung me upside down from the horse.”
“That only happened because you kept trying to escape or mocking my looks.”
“I happen to enjoy tormenting bad men.”
“I never laid a finger on your body.”
He repeated himself.
“I may have roughed you up a bit, but I never violated you. That alone was considerable consideration.”
Ritonovitch set the plate of smoked salmon down for a moment and poured milk into a metal cup to feed her. Unia drank, spilling some down her chin.
“This is just my line of work. I’m a drifter who takes whatever jobs come my way, so sometimes I sell people. I prefer hanging around battlefields, though.”
“What exactly are you trying to say? You keep beating around the bush—I can’t understand a word.”
When Unia sneered, Ritonovitch looked at her seriously.
“I want you to pity my miserable situation.”
“Pity?”
Unia licked the milk from her lips and stared at him.
“You kidnapped me because you had no choice to make a living, and now that you’re returning me unharmed, you want mercy? You want me to tell our lord that?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded. Unia burst out laughing.
“Don’t worry. As long as I make it back safely to our lord, I’ll forget everything that happened with you. Take the money he gives you for selling me and go live happily somewhere far away.”
She had considered threatening him—“Once I return, I’ll hunt you to the ends of hell for revenge”—but knew he would panic and refuse to release her. In this situation, sweet words were the best way to put him at ease.
“I feel nothing toward you. It’s my own fault for being weak. I got caught because I’m weak. So it’s my mistake in the end.”
“Thank you. You’re an honorable knight, so I believe you won’t go back on your word. I’ll trust you.”
Ritonovitch grinned and stood. After tying the now-fed Unia near the top of a tree, he mounted his horse alone and rode toward Richard’s army.