Chapter 83
Chapter 83
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 83
"Tch. Still a ways off from getting in, huh?"
Gye Ung-sam, who had been watching the fading scenery outside the window, scratched his head and clicked his tongue. Their intelligence gathering with Mu Handae had been cut short, thanks to the unexpected encounter with Baron Gowin and the midday drinking that followed with Sir Rainman.
"It's his first taste of freedom in a long while, so he's probably out wandering around somewhere."
"Could be. Hmm."
When Handae answered his muttering while tending to his sword, Ung-sam nodded and let out a sigh. He stretched, twisting his waist this way and that in a meaningless motion, then moved toward the door. As Ung-sam gripped the door handle, Handae's voice flew at his back.
"Where are you going?"
At Handae's question, Ung-sam turned his head slightly to look back and answered with a casual expression.
"I'm going to have a drink with Baron Gowin."
"To recruit him...?"
"Who knows."
Ung-sam scratched his head with one hand still on the door handle, then left only that ambiguous answer behind as he exited the room.
Knock, knock.
"Let no one in."
Baron Gowin's subdued voice answered the knock on the door.
[It's Gerard.]
But at the voice that came from outside, Baron Gowin rose to his feet.
"Come in."
The door opened and Gye Ung-sam entered, a bottle of liquor in his hand. Seeing the bottle in Ung-sam's hand, Baron Gowin drew a smile onto his rigid face.
"I stopped by because I felt like a drink."
"Heh. How did you know I was in need of a drink."
Ung-sam answered Baron Gowin's facetious remark with a slight smile.
The two men sat facing each other, slight smiles on their faces, as their cups were filled. Ung-sam raised his cup in silence, and Baron Gowin's cup met it.
Clink.
Baron Gowin brought the cup, which had rung out with a clear sound, to his lips, hesitated for a moment, then let out a bitter voice.
"What shall we drink to, I wonder...?"
A self-deprecating tone. Ung-sam answered Baron Gowin's words.
"To the safe return of the twenty thousand lives sent to the battlefield."
"Yes."
Baron Gowin quietly agreed with Ung-sam's words and downed his cup in one shot. It was fairly strong liquor, but when the two men lowered their cups, not a single drop remained. They emptied and refilled their cups a few more times like that.
"Twenty thousand elite troops..."
Ung-sam's quiet voice came out. Baron Gowin did not ask how Ung-sam knew this fact. But he could guess. His loyal knight Rainman must have told him... And the reason he told the man before him was that he hoped it would be a thread of hope for himself, whose dreams had withered away.
"They have merely left my hands now."
Following Baron Gowin's complicated words, Ung-sam opened his mouth to continue the conversation.
"Twenty thousand would be more than enough to turn the Haian Kingdom on its head, I should think."
It was a dangerous statement.
Even upon hearing Ung-sam's words, Baron Gowin took no action.
"Perhaps."
Baron Gowin's reply, breaking through the brief silence, was an even more dangerous statement. Had Baron Gowin dreamed of rebellion?
"But that is all it would be."
Baron Gowin's voice continued briefly. Listening to him, Ung-sam filled his cup and nodded. When Ung-sam filled his own cup as well, Baron Gowin tossed it down his throat without pause.
"With twenty thousand... I could sweep away every last one of this kingdom's rotten bastards. But after that, under the claws of the empires, what little remained of the kingdom's lineage would be torn to shreds... and even if I swept them away, there is no vessel worthy of filling the void."
"Could you not do it yourself?"
"Heh."
Ung-sam's words implied that he could simply become king himself. But as if something amused him, Baron Gowin chuckled and couldn't stop laughing. After bursting into laughter for a moment, Baron Gowin looked at Ung-sam and asked in return.
"If I did, would you help me?"
"To be honest... no."
"Heh. That is why I like you."
Even though it was not a pleasant thing to hear, Baron Gowin wore an expression of enjoyment as he poured liquor into Ung-sam's cup.
"Well, I know better than anyone that I lack the mettle to be king, and even if I became king, I would have no particularly sharp solution. Wouldn't you agree?"
"You are right, but may I ask what your reason was for raising twenty thousand troops?"
Ung-sam carefully questioned Baron Gowin again. It was no small number of soldiers. Because he had cherished and nurtured those twenty thousand troops, he had been unable to rise above the rank of baron despite many military achievements and had even been ostracized by the central political sphere. Ung-sam genuinely wanted to know the reason, if it was not rebellion.
"I simply despised the trash in the central political sphere. I hated those beings who are swayed this way and that by power, who suck up to the various empires just to keep their own positions. My own father died fighting a proxy war for an empire, not for this land. Well, I am not being sentimental and saying I raised twenty thousand soldiers into elite troops for my father's revenge. I merely thought... if power was created in this powerless country, someone might eventually change their way of thinking."
"......."
Ung-sam only listened quietly to Baron Gowin's words. It was not a grandiose reason. Raising those twenty thousand elite troops was probably the best he could do.
"Heh. In the end, I raised them with all my heart only to hand them over like scraps for a dog."
"Do you love the Haian Kingdom?"
Even as he asked the question, Ung-sam felt his heart pounding. Baron Gowin slowly looked at Ung-sam, who had asked it. The fleeting instant felt to Ung-sam like an eternity.
"I love it."
"......."
"And I hate it."
"What?"
Ung-sam met Baron Gowin's eyes with his own.
"The reason I love it is because it is the land of my birth. A bare minimum of love. But the reason I hate it is this country's weakness. And its unchanging ruling class, and the stupidity of being unable to even voice one's rage. And I hate this accursed ground, where those who dream of change are culled, so intensely that it feels like a curse."
"Baron Gowin."
Ung-sam's voice came out heavy with gravity. It was not only his voice; his very presence had changed. Baron Gowin was not a man who would fail to notice the change in Ung-sam. It was as if he was waiting for the words about to come from Ung-sam's mouth.
"That dream...."
Ung-sam's lips parted and a single word slipped out. Baron Gowin silently watched Ung-sam's mouth.
"Why not dream it again."
"......."
For an instant, a light flickered in Baron Gowin's eyes.
Was it hope?
Bang!
"What is the meaning of this!"
But their conversation could go no further. The door burst open violently and Sir Beskin rushed in. Baron Gowin's angry voice shot toward him, but Beskin instead opened his mouth with an urgent voice.
"My lord, Holy Knights and soldiers of the Holy Empire have come to search the guesthouse!"
"What?"
A tone of disbelief broke from Baron Gowin's mouth. This guesthouse was strictly the guesthouse for the nobility of the Haian Kingdom. It was no mere guesthouse, but the place where nobles staying to have an audience with the royal palace resided, and so Baron Gowin's expression went beyond disbelief and drew close to fury.
"What are you talking about! Why are knights of the Holy Empire searching this place instead of knights of the kingdom!"
"That is... they say Demon Tribe have appeared."
"What?"
At Beskin's answer, Baron Gowin retorted in a deflated voice. At that, Beskin glanced warily at Ung-sam.
"What is the matter? What is this about Demon Tribe, and even if they have appeared, must we not know the reason why knights of the Holy Empire are ransacking this place?"
When Ung-sam posed the question to Beskin, Baron Gowin sent him a look urging him to speak quickly. Then Beskin, who had been hesitating, slowly opened his mouth.
"It appears that by 'Demon Tribe'... they are referring to Sir Gerard's party."
"What?"
Ung-sam's startled voice burst out at Beskin's words. The reaction was the same for Baron Gowin.
"What utterly absurd nonsense is this!"
"In the gate city, a priest among the Holy Empire's envoy party was assaulted, and it seems the culprit they have named is most likely Sir Gerard's party. No, more than that... a demon hunt may begin again."
Baron Gowin's face grew grim at Beskin's answer. It meant that the indiscriminate hunt for those with black hair and black eyes—utterly preposterous—was to resume. Ung-sam, who did not know the reason, only looked bewildered.
"Then why have they come to search here?"
At Baron Gowin's calm voice, an indignant expression bloomed on Beskin's face.
"It appears that, since a black-haired man was said to have entered with you, they intend to use this opportunity to completely purge you, my lord... In truth, there is intelligence that this demon hunt itself was first proposed by the Haian Kingdom's cabinet."
Hearing Beskin's words, Baron Gowin quietly closed his eyes. His tightly shut lips and his fist clenched so hard the veins bulged spoke for his rage.
"Sir Gerard, remain here. Beskin, I shall go out personally."
"My lord...."
Beskin's regretful voice came out. But Baron Gowin simply fastened his sword to his waist and quietly stepped out the door. In the room where Ung-sam was left alone, only two empty cups and a liquor bottle sat upon the table.
"Stand aside, now!"
"Halt."
The guesthouse guards had distanced themselves far to one side as if it were none of their concern, and only Baron Gowin's knights—Rainman at the fore, along with Heiren, Ravins, and the others—stood blocking the Holy Knights. In front of the Holy Knight Order, Baron Hessen, a central noble of the Haian Kingdom, was raising his voice and shouting threats.
"How dare you! Do you rely so on Baron Gowin's influence and act this way! If you insist on this course, I will resort to the use of force!"
"......."
Rainman felt it was becoming impossible to hold out any longer. Even putting aside the humiliation his lord would suffer, he was not one to be ignorant of the scheme lying beneath their actions. They would clearly heap all sorts of charges on him—collusion with the Demon Tribe or some such—and then, it was clear, they intended to drag his lord down from what remained of his noble seat. Only then, even if the twenty thousand troops suffered a near-annihilation blow, would the outcome of Baron Gowin reassuming command of a unit not come to pass.
In short, it was a filthy check on his power. And carried out by those with the Holy Empire at their backs, at that....
"Rainman, stand down."
"My lord!"
Rainman let out a frustrated groan at the sound of Baron Gowin's voice from behind. He shot a reproachful look at Beskin, who had followed the baron out.
Step, step.
Baron Gowin's stride, which did not lose its dignity even in front of dozens of knights and soldiers of the Holy Empire, seemed rather to overwhelm those present.
"Baron Hessen, what is this?"
"Ahem, Baron Gowin. A report has come in that you have colluded with the Demon Tribe. Therefore, these members of the Holy Empire's Holy Knight Order have come to search the guesthouse personally."
"......."
Baron Gowin's eyes sank into cold stillness. And slowly, he looked past Baron Hessen. Though they called themselves the Holy Knight Order, he saw no one bearing a crest of baronet rank or higher.
"Baron Hessen. Among those Holy Knights behind you, I see none who hold a title higher than your own."
"Oh! What insolent nonsense is that!"
Baron Gowin's words were tantamount to a rebuke. It was a reproach and a scolding toward Baron Hessen, who was groveling and using honorific speech toward those of lower rank than himself.
Yet this reprimand from Baron Gowin had no effect on him. Instead, he only clicked his tongue and blustered. At that, a man wearing the guard-knight mark of the Holy Knight Order stepped forward in front of Baron Hessen and opened his mouth.
"Are you Baron Gowin?"
"......."
His voice was overbearing. But neither affirmation nor denial came from Baron Gowin.
"We will search the guesthouse. Baron Gowin, your personal safety is in our hands."
"In the Holy Empire of Henesia...."
At the guard knight's words, Baron Gowin folded his arms and leisurely opened his mouth.
"It seems they teach manners to dogs."
"What!"
"Silence."
The Holy Knights flared up at Baron Gowin's words. But the guard knight raised his arm and checked their actions. Seeing this, Baron Gowin lifted one corner of his mouth and began to speak again.
"A mere baronet, daring such a thing toward a baron... Though, I suppose I am not one to speak of others. Here too there is a man who has thrown common courtesy into the trash bin. No, is it not courtesy he has thrown into the trash bin, but pride?"
"What was that!"
When Baron Gowin turned his eyes and spoke while looking at Baron Hessen, the latter immediately bristled. But as if regarding a barking dog, Baron Gowin no longer gave Baron Hessen his gaze.
A slight smile played on the guard knight's lips as they slowly parted.
"Heh. You were called the Hawk of the Battlefield. Your reputation is well deserved, I see."
"......."