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Chapter 20: The King's Procession
General Terdin waited not at the forefront to greet the king first but at the rear of their allied forces.
Standing nearby were his aide, Lieutenant Aedun, and a few knights of the royal guard.
Behind them stood Ram, as always.
The events of the early morning hadn’t changed anything.
Ram spotted the vanguard of the procession far beyond the hills.
Five standard-bearers holding flags with the golden lion of the Triton Kingdom led the way, followed by the banners of various knightly orders, one after another.
Behind them ca a mounted cavalry unit, followed by supply wagons.
Even the sight of the flags marking the supply wagons prompted cheers from the soldiers.
Amid the cheers, Ram caught Lieutenant Aedun muttering.
"I told the soldiers to cheer when the king arrived, but it seems I didn’t even need to order them."
Terdin chuckled, though it wasn’t a hearty laugh.
When King Gallant finally reached their allied camp, the cheers reached their peak.
Bread and cheese were practically thrown from the wagons to the soldiers as rations were distributed.
Lieutenant Aedun voiced his dissatisfaction.
"Shouldn’t these supplies have arrived six months ago?"
"If they had, the king wouldn’t be getting this kind of reception now. That man knows exactly how to win favor with his subjects."
Terdin muttered in a tone that could have been either sarcastic or admiring.
"And distributing it like this? Shouldn’t it go to the quartermasters first and then be distributed in order—"
Aedun broke off mid-sentence with a sigh.
Faintly, Ram heard him mutter,
"Why does Vadio act like he’s the general here?"
Ram, who hadn’t been paying attention to that side of things, finally noticed Vadio, the Count, standing beside the king and waving to the soldiers.
Just as Aedun had said, Vadio looked as though he were a victorious general returning triumphantly from battle.
"My eyesight isn’t great. Explain who’s standing beside the king,"
Terdin said in a low voice.
The cheers from the soldiers and shouts from the officers were so loud that Terdin’s voice barely carried three paces to Lieutenant Aedun.
Yet, since the general had chosen to ask him specifically, Ram thought there must be sothing to it and dutifully answered.
"The one with the golden crown is King Gallant, right?"
"Of course."
"Then, who’s the elderly man in the ornate white robes next to him?"
"Does he have a long beard?"
"Yes, a white beard that covers his entire chin. He’s wearing a white hat, wide-sleeved robes, and holding a staff with a red gem at the tip. He looks to be just over sixty."
"That’s Archbishop Aikob. For soone who has no business being on a battlefield, he must’ve caught the scent of money to make an appearance. If you ever need to address him, make sure you call him ‘Your Grace the Archbishop.’"
"Understood."
"Keep going."
"Next to the Archbishop is a young man about my age. He has blonde hair, is roughly my height, and rides a horse exceptionally well. He’s wearing armor with the sa emblem as the king. He’s stepped forward and is saying sothing to the king—"
Before Ram could finish, the young man spurred his horse and galloped toward General Terdin.
"Are his eyes blue or black?"
Terdin asked.
Even though the rider was almost three hundred paces away and wearing a helt, Ram could make out the faint glint beneath the visor and strands of hair flowing out from under it.
"Blue eyes."
"It’s the second son, then."
"The second son?"
"I an the second prince, Damian Gallant. The eldest prince, Lamuel, has black eyes like his father."
Terdin sighed deeply and muttered to himself, "So, this is how they’ve decided to play it."
"Sir?"
"That was truly just talking to myself this ti."
As the prince passed the supply wagons, soldiers cheered and rushed toward him, shouting, "Your Highness! Please, look at !"
The royal cavalry hurried to flank the prince and pushed the enthusiastic soldiers back.
The officers in Terdin’s command also rushed over to issue orders.
"Clear the way! The prince is passing through!"
But the soldiers, caught up in their fervent cheers, barely listened to the commands.
The prince himself showed little caution, riding close to the soldiers and waving in response to their cheers.
He even clasped hands with a few.
Lieutenant Aedun shouted in alarm as though witnessing a child misbehaving.
"That! That! What if one of the soldiers tries sothing? How can he get so close—"
The prince ignored the commotion and galloped straight up to General Terdin, reining in his horse so abruptly that it reared onto its hind legs before him.
Though such a display might be considered rude even for a prince, neither of them seed to mind.
"General Terdin!"
"Prince Damian."
Terdin placed a hand over his chest and offered a slight bow.
"I’d leap down and embrace you right now, but my father will be arriving soon. He says such behavior is unbecoming of a monarch."
Up close, the prince’s blue eyes sparkled like jewels.
"And if I embraced Your Highness as I used to, it’d probably crack my back. Honestly, this armor is just straw painted to look like steel. The real thing is far too heavy to wear anymore."
Both burst into laughter.
Prince Damian then guided his horse toward the other commanders beside Terdin, greeting each one individually.
"Aedun! It’s been a while. Betian, was it my birthday when we last t? Domien, still alive, I see. Boti, the battlefield seems to suit you better than court life. And…"
The prince paused when his gaze fell on Ram.
With a smile that didn’t waver, he asked,
“Is that an unfamiliar face I see?”
“Introductions can wait for later.”
Terdin subtly diverted Damian’s gaze, which had been lingering on Ram, toward the approaching royal procession.
“You must have had a rough journey to get here?”
[Translator - Jjescus]
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Damian, watching the slowly advancing procession of the king, responded,
“Not at all. Except for a supply wagon getting stuck in the mud and delaying us for half a day, the weather was so good we didn’t have to rest even once on the way. How about you, General? I heard this war was especially challenging.”
“It was difficult, and it could have been even worse. The enemy commander’s skills were extraordinary; this ti, I truly thought I might lose.”
“They say the God of War is humble. It seems General Terdin starts by praising the enemy commander.”
Terdin chuckled softly.
“But on the way, Count Vadio ntioned sothing. He said the chieftain of the barbarians is the sa age as ?”
“Not exactly the sa, but roughly similar.”
“Soone that young leading as chieftain! Could I et them soti?”
Terdin, who had been answering every word from the prince with a smile, hesitated for the first ti.
“That will need to be decided after speaking with His Majesty.”
“Then I’ll go and ask Father right away…”
“Please, Your Highness. There’s no rush. We have plenty of ti.”
“Well, that’s true. We do have plenty of ti.”
Damian made a aningful remark as he approached Aedun, his Lieutenant, and began asking him trivial questions about the war—how many enemies had been killed, how many allied soldiers had died, how much the expenses amounted to, how much debt had been incurred, and whether any reparations were owed.
Though Aedun seed troubled, he calmly explained everything.
anwhile, Terdin whispered softly to Ram,
“Have you morized the faces of the prince, the king, and Aikob?”
“Yes.”
“Then step back now.”
Without answering or asking questions, Ram withdrew.
‘After the king arrives, do not stand behind .’
Before the royal procession was in sight, Terdin had secretly given Ram instructions.
‘Your only task is to protect Jedrick. There’s nothing else you need to do. I won’t call for you unless it’s absolutely necessary, and until sothing specific happens, don’t co to . It will likely beco known that you killed Mantum, but there’s no need to reveal it yourself. The king might summon you personally and ask if you’re an assassin. If so, you can admit it. But no matter what else he asks, don’t lie. However, there’s no need to reveal the entire truth either. The king will say sothing afterward—just relay that to .’
It was a simple task.
Ram had received similar instructions countless tis from his master, Baron Selken.
Among the vassals who swore loyalty to Selken, there were always those who suspected the existence of “Selken’s assassins” and were curious about who they were.
Selken had taught him what to say if anyone ever asked.
‘I’m just a slave, so I don’t know anything.’
Ram figured he could give the sa answer this ti.
As Ram was about to step back, Terdin suddenly whispered sothing that only he could hear.
“The matter from early this morning—was it handled well?”
“Yes.”
“There’s no chance any traces were left?”
“None.”
No one had ever discovered the “targets” of the traces Ram had erased, except for the ones Selken had deliberately left behind as a warning.
After retreating a fair distance from Terdin, Ram dismounted and blended into the cheering soldiers.
Soon, King Gallant and Terdin t.
The soldiers erupted in cheers at the eting between the great general and the king.
The two exchanged a few words of greeting, and the king lifted the general’s wrist high into the air.
Though the cheers were too loud to hear clearly, Ram deduced from the king’s lip movents that he was saying sothing like, “The greatest general of the kingdom, my brother, my right hand!”
Their eting was a spectacle, as it should have been.
The soldiers were elated, but Ram sensed an odd awkwardness.
The atmosphere between the two was far from that of long-lost comrades.
Terdin had shown more warmth when he looked at Mantum’s severed head.
At that mont, the old general had seed genuinely sorrowful and distressed, as if witnessing the death of a longti friend.
But there was no such emotion in his gaze toward the king.
Just then, Prince Damian began scanning the area as if looking for soone.
He asked Terdin sothing, then surveyed the crowd of soldiers.
Finally, he spotted Ram, standing fifty paces away amidst the troops.
The prince removed his helt, revealing his radiant golden hair and a bright smile, even waving his hand enthusiastically.
The soldiers, thinking the prince was waving at them, each began waving back.
Ram wasn’t sure if he should return the gesture and ended up doing nothing.
Though he had followed the instructions to avoid drawing attention from the king, it seed he had failed when it ca to the prince.
Still, he wasn’t too worried.
‘It’s not like soone like will have another chance to et the prince anyway.’
[Translator - Jjescus]
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