Chapter 252
Chapter 252
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 252
'Well, now...'
Hwi-garam, who had briefly turned his eyes toward the source of the noise, let out a helpless laugh.
The cup he had first accepted was long since tossed aside—now Jin-cheon was downing an entire jar in a drinking contest with Buru, while the other commanders stood around them bursting into laughter.
Hwi-garam lifted his cup to his lips and glanced over at the envoys. Just as moments before, they were whispering among themselves with a variety of expressions.
Only Duke Schung matched Jin-cheon's pace without overdoing it.
Hwi-garam could read the gaze of an observer in the man's demeanor.
"Your capacity for drink is truly magnificent, Your Majesty."
"Oh-ho!"
At Duke Schung's words, Jin-cheon, his face slightly flushed with drink, stepped down from the dais carrying another jar.
"Let's see how great Duke Schung's tolerance really is, shall we?"
"Pardon?"
Duke Schung could only be flustered at the sight of Jin-cheon approaching with an entire liquor jar in hand. It was not that he had never received wine from an emperor—but on those occasions, it had been a cup. One did not ordinarily hand over an entire jar.
To state it precisely, wine was meant to be drunk from a cup.
"I—I am honored, Your Majesty."
His lips spoke of honor, but his eyes held far more worry than honor. Duke Schung accepted the jar—not a cup, not a bottle, but a vessel the size of a grown man's head. He cast a pitiful look at his escort knights, who were watching him with sympathy, then slowly began to drink it down.
That was the last thing he remembered.
* * *
Late morning, beneath a sun that could fairly be called radiant, the quarters of the Holy Empire's envoy delegation echoed with a grotesque noise—the kind that made anyone who heard it feel ill by proxy.
"Bwaaagh!"
"However much that may be, to drink the entire thing..."
"Bwaaaaeeegh!"
By now nothing but yellow bile was spattering down—there was nothing left to come up—yet Duke Schung, his eyes bloodshot crimson, remained bent over at the waist, continuing the act of retching.
The one watching him with pity was none other than Viscount Skara.
"Are you feeling any better now?"
"Keh-huk! I'm, I'm fine... bwaaagh!"
"Huu."
Duke Schung waved off the concern, insisting he was fine, then promptly doubled over again.
It was nearly noon before Duke Schung's miserable ordeal—and the ghastly sounds that had filled the morning—finally began to subside.
Lying on the bed with dark hollows beneath his eyes, Duke Schung's mind was churning in tangled circles.
'The way they ate using those implements called chopsticks was unfeigned and natural. That implies it is a method they have been using for a long time. And the liquors were of varieties whose flavor I could not identify in the least.'
A people's manner of eating and their indigenous liquors are, after all, part of their culture—not something that can be fabricated overnight.
The chopsticks and the spirits consumed the day before were unmistakably things that diverged in kind from anything on the continent.
The knights had sampled the liquors and marveled at their depth. It was clear that the brewing arts had developed over a long span of time.
'Yet, judging by the war's progress thus far, Gauri possesses a weakness unknown to us. Population... and what else?'
Duke Schung furrowed his brow but could not shake off the question; he remained trapped in his thoughts.
"Huu. There are no official duties scheduled today in any case. I ought to rest thoroughly."
Duke Schung began organizing his observations one by one and turned his attention to gathering more information.
* * *
Unlike someone who had passed out from the previous day's heavy drinking, Go Jin-cheon was sprawled on the grass by the lakeshore adjoining the Imperial Hall, receiving Yeon Hwi-garam's report.
"In the end, the purpose of this Holy Empire envoy delegation is to more precisely ascertain our strengths and weaknesses. The earlier case of Priest Palo—who came and was driven away—was no more than bait to deceive the eyes and ears around us."
"Hm. Well, watching the one who came this time, his eyes never rested for a moment."
When Jin-cheon replied, his expression even carrying a hint of boredom, Hwi-garam gave a small nod of agreement.
"It is galling."
"It cannot be helped. From their perspective, we are an easy opponent they can strike at any time. If anything, the fact that they sent a man like Duke Schung suggests they are excessively wary of us."
"......."
A faint furrow appeared between Jin-cheon's brows at Hwi-garam's words, but soon he rolled onto his side.
"What could it be."
"I wonder."
It was a quiet question followed by an equally quiet answer.
The Holy Empire's conduct—sending Palo II to divert attention, then secretly dispatching their close confidant Schung—raised many troubling questions. It left a bad taste, but as Hwi-garam had said, from the Holy Empire's standpoint Gauri was a variable they could not ignore.
"Irritating."
"Heh."
Political strife and intrigue had never suited Jin-cheon. Hwi-garam, who knew that better than anyone, could not help but smile. Even by his own reckoning, the image did not fit him.
"In any case, war will come, so we need only prepare steadily. And we should keep a few things properly hidden."
"Indeed. There is, however, one thing that troubles me..."
"Troubles you?"
When Hwi-garam's voice took on a worried note, Jin-cheon raised his upper body slightly and lifted his eyes. Hwi-garam spoke calmly.
"The possibility that the Holy Empire's true objective may lie with the continent itself. They have been checked by the other two empires all this time; they may seek to use this opportunity to break that balance."
"And so they are being more cautious about Gauri, which might be a variable?"
"Precisely, Your Majesty."
"...I recall saying I am not the same as Buru."
"Heh."
Jin-cheon furrowed his brow at Hwi-garam's smiling eyes.
"Ahem. There is a banquet again today."
"Pardon?"
"Let us see how well he holds his drink today as well."
"......."
The arrow of his wrath was aimed in an unexpected direction.
* * *
"Uuugh."
"Why is Duke Schung acting like that?"
Duke Schung was thrashing his whole body as though in the grip of a nightmare, and the knights watched him with worried eyes.
"Please, just serve the liquor in cups!"
"......."
A cry that verged on a scream burst from Duke Schung's lips as he floundered in the bed. The knights could understand the nightmare he was having.
Watching him break out in a cold sweat, one knight snickered and tossed a joke to his comrade.
"I've never heard of any envoy banquet serving liquor that way."
"Well, surely today will pass quietly."
"Heok!"
No sooner had the two knights finished speaking than Duke Schung, who had been tossing and turning, bolted upright with a shriek.
"Are you all right, Your Grace?"
"Huff, huff, huff—I dreamed again that I was drinking straight from a jar!"
For the first time in his life, Duke Schung had experienced a prophetic dream.
* * *
Three days had passed since their arrival, yet they had not managed to begin any official duties related to the envoy delegation.
"Will you be all right, Your Grace?"
Viscount Skara had never been particularly fond of Duke Schung, but at this moment his eyes were filled with nothing but pity for the man.
"I—I am fine."
...He did not look fine in the slightest.
His eyes were so sunken he resembled a corpse, and his gait dragged faintly along the floor. Yet it was awkward to criticize how he had ended up this way—the people of Gauri drank even more when urged to drink, never less.
It was simply that Go Jin-cheon, as if he bore some personal grudge against alcohol, had gulped it down and passed the jar over.
"Still, your tolerance has grown considerably."
"......."
Viscount Skara tossed out the remark with breezy good cheer, but it apparently provided no comfort at all. One might question how much tolerance could truly increase in three days, yet the man who had collapsed from a single jar on the first day had downed two jars by the third—to call it meteoric progress would hardly be an exaggeration.
"Are you certain that no banquet is planned for today?"
At Duke Schung's question, delivered with anxious eyes, Viscount Skara looked at him as though the sight were pitiful.
"Rest easy. No such word has come."
Duke Schung nodded at Viscount Skara's reply, then let out a sigh of relief and made his way toward the Imperial Hall.
* * *
Go Jin-cheon, wiping his glistening sweat with a cloth handed to him by Eulji, greeted Duke Schung's envoy party.
He had left his upper body bare, as though he had just come from training.
"You’re here."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Viscount Skara and the knights, standing behind Duke Schung as he bowed his head, were staring in astonishment at Jin-cheon's body, drenched in sweat. Even setting aside his frame—larger than their own—the scars that covered his entire body were unmistakably wounds left by blades.
And it was plain to see that every one of those scars had accumulated over a long span of time.
"Please allow us to dress you, Your Majesty."
"Mm."
Yunias and Eulji lifted the garment, draped it over his body, and fastened the collar. Only then did Jin-cheon sit down on the Throne of Yeolje.
"I assume an apology for that Palo fellow—or whoever he was—is not your sole purpose."
It was a blunt question from Jin-cheon, devoid of any diplomatic probing, but Duke Schung—whether he had grown accustomed by now—opened his mouth with composure.
"I offer once more our apology for the blunder committed by the envoy delegation that came before. His Imperial Majesty Shau Hwan Millior of our Holy Empire bade me convey his congratulations on Gauri's founding."
"I am grateful."
His words expressed gratitude, but Jin-cheon's manner showed no particular change. Viscount Skara and the others were displeased by his demeanor but, perhaps due to Duke Schung's prior warning, kept their silence without outward expression.
"I cannot speak for the other empires, but our Holy Empire recognizes Gauri's existence and hopes that our nations can work together for the peace of the continent."
"And to that end?"
"......."
At Jin-cheon's excessively composed manner, Duke Schung fell briefly silent, then continued.
"However, His Majesty expressed his regret regarding the attack upon North Roselin, which had long been under the Holy Empire's influence."
"Keh. Was I meant to sit idle, then?"
One corner of Jin-cheon's lip curled faintly upward as a mocking note crept into his voice. Duke Schung shook his head gently.
"Not at all. In the first place, North Roselin ought to have informed our empire and sought mediation, yet they launched a reckless preemptive strike... On that point, His Majesty expressed regret but stated he would raise the matter no further. In any event, there is no reason for our two nations to fall out over this affair."
"Mm."
Jin-cheon listened to Duke Schung's measured words with interest.
Dae Mu-deok, who had been inspecting Gauri's mountain fortresses, had returned in haste upon hearing that another envoy from the Holy Empire had arrived. Fortunately, banquets had filled the first three days, preventing any serious friction with the Holy Empire, and he had been relieved. It was then that, for the first time, he laid eyes on the Holy Empire's envoy, Duke Schung.
'Hm.'
Though a warrior, he had spent long years guarding the Yeolje's inner circle, and while he knew little of Duke Schung himself, he could discern one thing.
'He’s a seasoned operator.'
He judged that, at the very least, this was a player worthy of this audience chamber.
Duke Schung's escort knights likewise appeared to be men of no small standing. Where they flinched faintly at Jin-cheon's words and manner, Duke Schung maintained his composure without wavering.
'His Majesty must not lose his temper; he must handle this well.'
Mu-deok cast a slightly worried glance at Jin-cheon, then turned his eyes to Yeon Hwi-garam, who stood facing him directly.