Chapter 213 |
Creak.
Varca opened a door to a separate room. The scent of flowers wafted in as soon as the door opened. Vases were placed on both sides of the entrance.
Inside the room was a beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes. With the distinct characteristics, she was the true heir of the Porcana royal lineage. It was Porcana's daughter, Damia.
Damia sat in a rocking chair, watching a young boy playing with a wooden toy. The toddler, having learned to walk, looked back when he heard the door open.
"It's been a while, sister," Varca said as he entered. Behind him stood two Porcana knights acting as guards.
"… I did hear the word that you were in Hamel, Your Highness," Damia said, holding both ends of her skirt as she rose from her chair. She gave a slight bow with her upper body only.
"Please, speak comfortably as you did before, sister."
"How could I dare to do that with a king?"
"Your king is His Imperial Majesty Yanchinus. I am a king of another nation," Varca said, drawing a clear line.
"Do you still sleep well at night after selling me over to the empire?"
"I was so tired every day that I slept just fine. Actually, my problem was not having enough time to sleep," Varca replied, faintly smiling as he sat down without permission.
"You've all grown up. You are a man now, Varca."
"I've always been a man. It’s a bit overdue, but congratulations on the smooth birth of your son. I see that it’s a boy."
"It wasn't a smooth delivery. The boy was so big that they… almost had to cut my belly open," Damia said.
Varca looked at the boy. As Damia said, the child seemed to be born with a robust build. He was going to grow into a well-built man with his good bone structure.
"So he is my nephew."
"That boy will grow up and take your head one day."
"Your jokes are quite grim, sister. Do you intend to make me spill my own nephew's blood? An uncle and sister are already enough."
"You'll regret sparing my life out of pity, Varca."
Every word from Damia had thorns. Despite the rude remarks, Varca didn't even flinch. He just answered all her comments with a smile on his face.
"I did not spare your life out of pity. I thought this would be more painful for you than death. Was I wrong? Were you actually happy? Living as a plaything for the emperor..."
Slap!
Damia stood up abruptly and slapped Varca across the face.
Varca, rubbing his red cheek, raised his hand to stop the guards from taking action.
"Well, I didn't come here to mend our relationship. I just thought I’d swing by to see my nephew's face.”
Varca stood up and picked up the young boy. The boy was quite heavy.
'His Porcana lineage isn’t very prominent. His eyes are turquoise… his hair has a yellowish-brown shade.'
As Varca stared closely at the face of the boy, his expression suddenly hardened.
"What is this child's name?"
"...His birth name is Salone. He doesn't have an official name yet."
Varca hesitantly put the boy down. The child, without a single care in the world, smiled brightly and tugged at Varca's cheek.
'There is no way that Yanchinus does not know.'
Varca's heart raced.
"Who is the father of this child?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's His Imperial Majesty, of course."
Damia replied indifferently. Varca frowned.
"What a blatant lie..."
"...It's Urich."
Varca staggered upon hearing that. No wonder the child’s face looked familiar. That name tickled at his throat the whole time he was staring at the child.
"Why would you... Why would you have Urich's child?"
"It was the emperor's whim. As you said, I was nothing but a plaything. Did you think the emperor would care for me with love and devotion? You were the one who wanted me to suffer, Varca."
"Considering what you did, even this was letting you off easy!" Varca shouted as if he was having a fit. He looked at the boy again. His features were so familiar.
'Urich.'
The child resembled Urich. Not only did he share similar facial features, but he was also large for his age. With Urich's blood, it wasn't surprising.
'When was Urich back in Hamel? What in the world has he been up to?'
Varca didn't know much about Urich's whereabouts. He no longer felt comfortable staying in this room. He needed some time alone to think.
"Salone, your uncle is leaving now. Say bye-bye," Damia said, holding the child. Her eyes were filled with gentle affection as if she had a face made for it.
"Have you heard that Urich has shown up with his army?" Varca said, standing at the door.
"Unless someone’s living under a rock, how could anyone not know?"
Varca and Damia looked into each other's eyes. Varca bowed slightly and was about to close the door.
Damia, who had been watching him leave, spoke just before the door closed completely.
"Varca."
Varca looked back at Damia through the gap in the closing door.
"...Be careful with the emperor," she said with a somber expression.
Thud.
The door closed.
* * *
Urich and his party traveled north with the Sun Warriors who had betrayed the empire. Although it was still late autumn, the ground was already covered in snow, and it was a harsh, frigid land where even farming was difficult. That was where a northerners’ encampment was located.
The encampment was filled with hides stretched over wooden planks undergoing tanning. Men carrying bows moved busily, and skillful hands were busy disassembling the prey they had hunted. It looked more like a hunter's camp than a military base.
"Why did you do an ambush? Do you not trust us?"
Arguments erupted as soon as the Sun Warriors arrived at the northerners’ encampment. Lagerik shouted at the messy-bearded northerners. The northern men, clad in whole-leather armor, scowled.
"So were we just supposed to watch while the imperial army trampled our lands and villages? What did you, the great Sun Warriors, even do?"
"You should've left it to us! Your ambush only got innocent Sun Warriors killed! And on top of that, your blunder only worsened the anti-northern sentiment! What did you even get out of your ambush? Did it achieve anything?"
"You're talking a lot for the emperor's lapdog!"
"Lapdog? Watch your mouth! We abandoned all wealth and honor to come here, for the kingdom of the north!"
"Who asked you to give anything up?"
Lagerik's face turned red. He wanted to draw his sword and cut down all the northerners who disregarded the sacrifices of the Sun Warriors.
Sun Warriors like Lagerik came here with the idea of a northern kingdom, having thrown everything away.
'No, I must not draw my sword here.'
Lagerik knew deep down that the reason the northerners had been ignored by the empire for such a long time was due to the lack of a leader since Mijorn. The northerners couldn't unite like before. Even when they seemed like they had managed to do so, it was always quickly dispelled by minor disputes like this.
"Shut up, you little shit. I nearly died because of you, too."
Urich suddenly stepped forward, grabbed the northern man who had been speaking, and tossed him aside.
"And who the hell are you?"
The fallen northern man called his subordinates, pointing at Urich.
"Hey, mister, I don’t know who you are, but you can't just jump into a conversation like that."
The hulking men lunged at Urich.
Thump.
A broken tooth hit the snowy ground.
Crunch.
There was a sound of an arm breaking.
Crack.
And the sound of a finger bending backward.
The three hulking men who charged were lying on the ground, groaning. Urich spat on the ground and kicked the fallen men.
"Ughhh."
One of the fallen men reached behind his back to draw an axe. Urich frowned and warned him, "If you pull a blade, one of us will die. I won’t just let it go."
Urich's voice pierced the man's ears, not just as a threat, but as a statement of fact.
"Who... who are you?"
Lagerik answered that question for Urich.
"This is Urich, the plunderer from the west."
Lagerik’s answer caused a stir among the northerners. Everyone knew about the plunderers from the west. The uprising in the north was driven by rumors that the western plunderers could fight the imperial army to a standstill.
"Are you serious? That western plunderer?"
"My god, I didn't expect to meet him so soon."
The bearded northerners approached. They were leaders of influential tribes in the north. Here and there, they wore Sun necklaces and trinkets, indicating they had indeed converted to Solarism. In the center of the encampment also stood a wooden pole with a carved Sun symbol.
‘In the civilized world, the Sun relic is made from various metals, but in the north, it's made from wood.’
Urich stared at the Sun relic at the center of the encampment.
In the north, woodworking for making furniture and ships was advanced. The Sun relic was crafted from carved wood accordingly.
Lagerik vouched for Urich's identity. The northerners who were quite hostile just moments ago now viewed Urich with considerable goodwill. After all, it was thanks to the plunderers from the west that they even had a chance to establish the northern kingdom. To them, they were practically allies already.
"I-I know that man!"
A northern warrior who had been carefully inspecting Urich shouted in shock.
"I saw him in Mulin! I really did!"
"What? How could you have seen someone from the west in Mulin?"
"He’s the one who killed Yorcan the Giant! He’s that Urich!"
The northerners who had been in Mulin gathered at that statement.
"Oh wow, yeah, it is really him."
"Urich, son of Sven?"
"Why are they saying that Sven’s son is from the west?"
The northerners were confused. The Urich they knew was a northern man who grew up in the civilized world. They called him the son of Sven.
"Well, I’m not actually Sven's son; it was more like he was my godfather. But if you were in Mulin, you must be a devout follower of Ulgaro. So why are you here?" Urich chuckled awkwardly and asked.
"We decided to believe in a stronger god than Ulgaro. I'm sure Ulgaro would understand."
The warriors, with their simple faith logic, laughed heartily at that. There was no place for Ulgaro in the north.
"If we all believe in the same god, there’s no way we’d lose to the empire. And if we have some doubts, we can always convert back to Ulgaro after we win."
"Keke, if you say that in front of the Sun warriors, you might lose your head. Be careful."
Those who knew of Urich welcomed him with enthusiasm. Urich was a warrior who had proven himself before Ulgaro.
Though they had converted to Lou, the warrior culture of the north had not changed. No northerner disliked a warrior blessed by the gods.
"I heard the western plunderers fought against the imperial army. It's an honor to meet such a formidable warrior!"
A feast was prepared in no time. Urich met the various chiefs who were leading the northern army. The Sun Warriors also participated in the feast. Also among them was Harvald, who had not fully recovered his strength yet.
"If the west and the north join hands, there's nothing to fear—not even the empire!"
"That's exactly right!"
"Kahahaha!"
Some northerners were excited as if they had already won.
"That would be nice, but the next time we clash, we’ll lose. The empire will send the next army with caution. No matter how we try to look at it, we're the ones who are at a disadvantage."
Urich presented a reality check. The northern chiefs shot daggers at him for his weak attitude, but the Sun Warriors, who knew the skill of the imperial army better than anyone else present, nodded in agreement.
The men discussed the upcoming battle. The Sun Warriors shared internal information about the imperial army, and the chiefs talked about how many warriors they could gather.
"You said the end goal is to establish a kingdom of the north. So who will be the king?" Urich spoke up after calmly assessing the dynamics between the northern chiefs.
'They're all equal. There's no clear leader like me and Samikan.'
It was a problem he saw with the northern army. There was no superior figure to serve as a focal point. Just as the alliance of the west wouldn't exist without Samikan and Urich, the north needed someone to serve as that focal point.
After hesitating, the chiefs opened up reluctantly.
"Actually, we recently found out that the bloodline of Mijorn has not ended."
"Mijorn the Brave of the North? I’ve heard of him too. That’s quite a meaningful bloodline."
Mijorn was a hero of the north. If his lineage remained, it was significant enough to claim the throne.
However, both the chiefs and the Sun Warriors looked reluctant.
"The grandson of Mijorn is currently being protected by warriors who follow Ulgaro. They're devout warriors who haven't allied with us because of their faith. Whenever we meet, they draw their swords, calling us apostates."
