Ssk-ssk.
The sound of dry branches breaking echoed with each step Ian took. Insects buzzed, heralding the arrival of sumr in full force. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he called out to Beric.
"Beric, are you sure this is the right way?"
"...It should be?"
"It should be? Is that supposed to be reassuring...?"
"Yeah, yeah. There’s the black stone. Oh, oh. This is it."
This far into the wilderness, there wasn’t even a path. They couldn’t ride horses, so they had been walking for hours. It felt like they had crossed the border of the territory long ago.
That bastard Beric, his side wound probably hadn’t even fully healed yet, but he seed to have recovered his condition completely. It seed that resting for a few days under the guise of treatnt while playing and eating had done him good.
"You said we had to hide properly. At this rate, no one will ever find us, right?"
Amidst the uniform colors of nature, a foreign color suddenly caught his eye. Far away, hanging on a branch, was a pale purple skirt. Beric flicked his hand and shouted that he had found it.
"This is it. Good!"
Beric took the lead, clearing the grass with his sword. After walking along the steep ridge for a while, they ca to a flat area. A worn-out hut stood before them, and in front of it was a small, tilled field.
"How did you manage to find a place like this?"
"Quite a while ago, so old woodcutter lived here alone. He ca to sell wood, went mad, and forgot the way back, or so they say. If it’s true, the pub owner told there should be a house built nearby. Since I had neither a house nor anything."
The hut looked like it would collapse with the slightest breeze. But the warmth felt throughout indicated that soone was living there.
"Is anyone there?"
Beric looked around and called out for Philia. Since the kettle was boiling, she couldn’t have gone far. Ian also slowly examined the hut, checking for any more red chives or Sillasks.
’There are none.’
The luggage brought from the village didn’t seem like much. Well, what could she have brought with her anyway?
"Wh-who is it?"
At that mont, a trembling voice ca from outside the door. Ian opened the door and was soon t with a woman with blonde hair and green eyes, just like his own.
"Ah!"
Philia, seemingly not expecting him, threw the flowers she was holding in her arms and embraced Ian. She hugged him tightly, very tightly, with a strength that seed impossible from her small, delicate body.
"Ian! Ian!"
"...Have you been well?"
"Ian! Ahhh! Thank you! Thank you!"
Philia cried out and cupped Ian’s face with both hands. Then, tears stread down as she sobbed uncontrollably. It was a natural reaction, seeing her son standing before her when they had no promise of a future.
"Ian... What in the world happened? Huh?"
Philia was still beautiful. She looked more like Ian’s sister than his mother. He smiled gently and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"It’s a long story, Mother. Let’s sit down and talk."
"Are you hungry? Have you been eating well?"
"Look at the owner, doesn’t he look radiant?"
Beric interjected, pulling out a chair. Philia’s complexion was also good. Ian murmured, looking at the neat and tidy house.
"It seems you’re well-suited to life in the mountains."
"It was difficult at first, but being in that basent... I like waking up with the morning sun, and the cool valley is nice. If you just rummage around a bit, there are all sorts of fruits."
Ian patted Philia’s hand in comfort. Then, she burst into tears again. She was overwheld with emotion, seeing her son, whom she had t disguised, with her own eyes.
"Ian. Now tell your story. What exactly happened?"
Ian briefly explained what had happened. The deal with Molin, crossing the Great Desert and staying with the Cheonryeo tribe, Derga’s judgnt, the battle, and the execution. Philia was shocked to hear that the Bratz family had been wiped out.
"Count Bratz is dead?"
"Mary and Chel, too, most likely."
"Heavens, Ian. We must offer a prayer to the gods at once."
She seed genuinely happy. And she seed to understand why Ian was safely here.
"Mother. There’s sothing I need to tell you."
"Anything, my dear."
Ian smiled sadly. She doesn’t know that her angelic son is Emperor Ian. A strange feeling stirred within him at her naivety.
"Derga’s banner has fallen, but there is still much to be done. People are coming down from the center again."
"Yes. I see."
"I plan to follow them to the center later."
Tsk. Beric clicked his tongue while pouring tea. Despair settled on Philia’s face again. Her eyes beca moist, but she waited, knowing her son’s words were not yet finished.
"I’m telling you that I can’t be sure if I can be with you or not."
"But still..."
But still? But still, what was she trying to say?
Philia looked at Ian, her eyes glistening with tears.
"But still, if I want to, I can see you, right?"
"...Of course."
"And it won’t be dangerous?"
"It will be so."
"Then that’s enough. I’m fine. I don’t even want to go down there, really. I’m very satisfied with life in the forest. If you live the sa ti without dying, that’s enough for ."
Since it was the path her son had chosen, how could a mother have any other thoughts? She was just grateful that he had returned alive like this.
"Once things settle down, Mother will be able to live freely. It won’t take long. Before I leave, I will arrange a place for you in the village."
"It’s okay, Ian. I’m really okay."
Derga was dead, and Ian had returned alive.
If she wished for more, it felt like the gods would punish her.
"And I have sothing to ask you."
"Yes. What is it?"
"The red pot you gave in the park."
The never-wilting red flower called Sillask. That alone was extraordinary, but a jeweled necklace was also buried beneath it.
"Do you rember where you got it?"
"Of course. Wasn’t it the wages from running errands for the rchant company?"
"A rchant company?"
When Ian asked back, Philia seed rather confused. How could he not rember sothing that hadn’t happened that long ago?
"It was quite a large company. I don’t rember the na, but they said they were short-handed, so even you went to help. And the head of the company gave you a generous paynt and even the pot."
"Do you rember anything else in more detail?"
"Hmm... Oh! They said there was a very important person in the company. Ma, Ma..."
Philia frowned as if her throat was suddenly blocked. And she tilted her head, trying to recall the events of that day buried in her mory.
"Ma sothing. Anyway, I rember you being incredibly happy that day."
"I see."
Nothing was certain, but it was clear that the owner of the Sillask and the jewel was related to that mysterious company. Given its large scale, soone in the village was bound to rember it.
Ian stood up as if he had heard enough.
"Are you leaving already?"
"I have so work piled up."
Philia couldn’t hide her disappointnt. The tea hadn’t even cooled yet. Ian felt a pang of sympathy and added.
"I’ll send so chickens through Beric. It must be lonely in the forest alone, so try raising them."
"Oh my. That would be wonderful!"
"If you need anything, please tell anyti."
"Ah! Ian, do you need any Gula?"
At the unexpected question, Ian paused. Philia lightly opened the inner storage door and took out two large sacks.
"You told to collect Gula seeds when I had ti. Besides these, there are two more sacks outside."
They were full of small, cherry tomato-sized seeds. There must have been hundreds of them. It seed like she had collected all the Gula in the vicinity...
"Where is the Gula without the seeds?"
"I threw them off the cliff."
Beric also swept his hand through them once and was surprised. Not only had she collected so many useless Gula seeds, but she had done it alone as a woman, which was unbelievable.
"It seems you have a talent for gardening."
"After eating three als a day, there’s nothing but ti, so I did it as a pasti, and it turned out like this."
Co to think of it, Philia had disappeared before Ian crossed the border. So many events had happened so quickly that he hadn’t realized, but months of peaceful and lonely ti had passed here.
"Do you need them?"
Philia carefully looked at her son’s face and asked. She had collected them as he had asked, but she seed worried that his reaction wasn’t as enthusiastic as she had expected.
"Yes, Mother. You are truly amazing."
Ian smiled at Philia as he tied the mouth of the sack. She had rembered and acted on his passing remark. Philia smiled brightly, as if she had been rewarded for her son’s praise.
"The timing is perfect."
"Really? That’s a relief."
It was sumr, when farrs should be sweating in the fields. But they were using their strength elsewhere to rebuild the village. Moreover, the crops that had sprouted in the spring had all been trampled by military boots.
"Mother. Actually, this Gula is edible."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"The seeds don’t contain the poison. You can roast them, bake them, or boil them."
Was her son joking? Philia looked at Ian’s face, but it didn’t seem like it. Beric also narrowed his eyes and asked Ian.
"Did you get heatstroke?"
"They even taste good raw."
Instead of answering, Ian picked up a seed and popped it into his mouth. Beric and Philia simultaneously gasped and rushed to Ian.
"Oh, I, Ian!"
"Spit it out! Spit it out quickly! What are you doing?"
Crunch. Crunch.
But Ian chewed the seed, savoring its nutty flavor, without any problem. He estimated the number of seeds in the sack and instructed.
"Beric. You’re going to have to work hard."
"Wh-what... What do you an?"
"Judging by your use of honorifics, it seems you’ve caught on."
"You want to move these down... there?"
"Yes. Secretly and discreetly. Hide them in the mansion’s storage."
"Ha..."
Crunch.
Ian answered and ate another Gula seed. Philia was at a loss, not knowing what to do. And Beric slumped down, swallowing his curses in frustration.
Ian grinned and looked far below the ridge, where the territory that ’was’ Bratz was clearly visible.
anwhile, Romandro, dispatched as a reconstruction expert and advisor, sat in the carriage, staring out the window with a deep frown. He desperately wanted to jump out and head back to the capital right this instant.
’I’m going crazy, really.’
Not only was it a remote border region, but the situation on the ground was far from normal. Leaving aside the battle between fellow countryn, the biggest problem was-
"Are you not feeling well?"
"No. My back is just stiff."
-the presence of Molin, the very man from the administration he was traveling with.
He wasn’t his direct superior, but he outranked Romandro in both rank and position. He said he ca along to help Romandro adapt to the border, but it would be better if he weren’t here.
’Lord Marive is also too much. It hasn’t been long since I ca back from restoring the temple after the great earthquake, and now he sends here... sob... I want to go ho...’
And as if Molin’s accompanint wasn’t unusual enough, Lord Marive had secretly ordered him to monitor his movents and report back. They hadn’t even arrived yet, but he already wanted to return to the capital.
"What do you think the situation will be like in the forr Bratz territory?"
"Huh? Well... Judging by Erica’s report, it’s quite severe. I don’t know how it will be handled, but it would be a relief if we don’t get hit by stones when we get there."
Romandro muttered under his breath without realizing it.
Currently, only Molin knew that Ian was stationed in the Bratz territory with the Cheonryeo. If this were to beco known, the imperial palace might send a large-scale army, and their plan to use it as a base for rebellion would be ruined.
"Yes. I hope we don’t encounter anything shocking."
Molin turned his head, recalling the Bratz of the past. Then he touched Erica’s letter in his pocket.
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