Shadow's Oath

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Chapter 83: The Return of Terdin

"Did you just say that Prince Damion... is holding a village trial?"

Vadio greeted Terdin upon his return.

Strangely enough, he was alone.

"Yes. It was a perfect opportunity to bring those barbarians to heel, yet His Highness permitted a trial..."

Vadio clicked his tongue in disapproval, his voice carrying a hint of reprimand.

"If only you had hurried a little... I can't override the prince's authority on my own. Why were you so late?"

Vadio was curious to hear what long-winded excuse the general would give.

But Terdin's response was brief.

"I came as fast as I could."

"...Why have you come alone? Is Archbishop Aikob safe?"

Vadio glanced over Terdin’s shoulder as he asked.

"He is safe."

Terdin gestured with his head toward the location of the following troops.

About two miles away, a faint cavalry unit could be seen.

"What?! You left the archbishop behind?"

"His horse was too slow."

"Is he injured?"

"He claims death is near."

Vadio almost laughed despite himself.

"...So, in other words, he's not actually dying, but just saying so?"

"Well, in my assessment, it’s not that serious, but he does need treatment. He is indeed wounded..."

Terdin seemed to be seriously contemplating something before turning his horse toward Elum Village.

"I leave Archbishop Aikob in your care, Count. I must head to Elum immediately."

"That would be best. I'll take care of the archbishop, and you can see to the prince... That would be most efficient. I'll join you soon."

Terdin nodded slightly, his expression openly stating, You don’t need to join me.

He then spurred his horse forward.

Vadio considered just letting him go but decided against it.

He wanted to see the old man’s expression crumble.

So, he brought up something he'd wanted to mention earlier but pretended to have just remembered.

"Oh, by the way! His Majesty has ordered both the prince and you to return."

"Understood."

Terdin seemed ready to leave, but then he abruptly stopped and turned back.

"When exactly did His Majesty say to return?"

Ah, he finally caught on.

Vadio chuckled internally but maintained a grave expression.

"His Majesty said, 'Immediately.' I told His Highness the same, and he replied that he would return after resolving this matter."

Now, old man, it's time for you to ask, 'Then who will be in charge here?'.

Go on, ask.

Terdin remained silent, deep in thought.

Overthinking as usual.

Vadio decided to relieve him of the trouble.

He answered the unasked question.

"From now on, I will be in command here."

Terdin smiled faintly, his serious expression fading.

"Then I shall return along with His Highness once he departs. We can handle the transition then."

"Is there even a need for a transition? What is there to manage with these barbarians?"

Vadio turned his horse in the direction of Aikob’s arrival.

He wanted to see the look of defeat on the general’s face, but turning around now would ruin his composed demeanor.

However, when Aikob’s horse finally arrived, curiosity got the better of him, and he glanced back.

But by then, Terdin had already entered Elum Village and was out of sight.

"As expected, Count Vadio has arrived!"

Terdin’s lieutenant, Aedun, approached from the front.

"As expected?"

Vadio asked.

"I had been wondering who would take command if reinforcements arrived from the main camp. I assumed it would be Commander Bedian or Commander Domien. But General Terdin said that it would be you, Count."

"How could I ignore the news that the archbishop and the prince were in danger? I had to come personally!"

Though he said this, a strange feeling nagged at him.

Did the general foresee all of this?

That cunning old man—his true thoughts were impossible to read.

"But is His Highness safe? General Terdin said that if the prince hadn't returned yet, we needed to hurry to the heretics' temple..."

Aedun asked.

Vadio casually replied, "The prince is safe," and then approached the knight carrying Aikob.

"Are you all right, Your Grace?"

Aikob was groaning, his face buried in the knight’s back.

"Oh, Count Vadio! You have no idea how relieved I am to see your face."

"Who else but I would come to rescue Your Grace?"

"You shall have the blessings of the divine, Count."

Vadio made a show of humility, tracing a cross over his chest before asking,

"Are you wounded?"

"My wounds are reopening! I need a physician at once!"

There was no physician, nor even a proper healer, but he didn’t seem to truly need one either.

So, Vadio made a vague promise.

"I will have one prepared immediately. In the meantime, please rest in the tent."

Feigning urgency, Vadio barked orders at the soldiers escorting Aikob.

"Move quickly! Ensure His Grace’s safety until the very end!"

But no one actually hurried.

The exhausted soldiers barely reacted to Aikob’s complaints.

"Hurry and lay him down in the tent! His wounds are tearing apart!"

Vadio, too, only pretended to be in a rush, not actually pushing the soldiers.

From his perspective, Aikob could likely make it back to the main camp just fine.

There wouldn’t be any better treatment there anyway.

He then subtly motioned to Aedun, leading him away from the group.

Aedun followed naturally, stopping his horse when Vadio did.

Vadio surveyed the surroundings as if simply admiring the scenery, making sure they were alone.

"Did you see General Terdin when he arrived here first?"

Aedun asked.

"He went up to Elum Village."

"Is something happening in the village?"

"A trial will take place."

Vadio had no interest in discussing that matter with Aedun.

"More importantly, why was General Terdin so delayed in returning?"

"His Grace had wandered too far."

Aedun answered regretfully.

"Our cavalry pursued at full speed, yet he was out of sight for a long time."@@novelbin@@

"Strange. Why did His Grace flee so far?"

"He claimed the divine had guided him."

"What? Who guided him?"

"The light of the divine, he said. Though I have no idea what vision he saw..."

Aedun trailed off and quickly shook his hands, as if realizing he was saying too much.

"I—I am not doubting His Grace’s holiness! Not at all!"

Vadio calmed him with a dismissive wave.

"Who would question your faith?"

Well, Terdin might.

[Translator - Night]

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"Please, keep this conversation a secret."

"Consider it a confession before a priest. I never share religious discussions with anyone."

Vadio didn't care whether Aedun was a sinner or sacrificed to demons.

He was only interested in whether Terdin had made a mistake.

"What did General Terdin say about this divine light?"

"He said nothing at all."

"Hmm. Even if he had, you wouldn’t admit it, would you? My apologies for asking a pointless question."

Aedun quickly shook his head.

“No, not at all. He really didn’t say anything. Or rather, to be precise, he didn’t mention anything at all. The only thing he asked was where the Light of God that guided the Archbishop had gone. The Archbishop said that he kept heading east, but the light disappeared around the time the General appeared.”

Aedun pointed in a direction with his finger.

“To me, it seemed more like northeast.”

Vadio wasn’t interested in the direction at all.

“Besides the Archbishop, was there anyone else who saw that light?”

“I asked, and both knights who accompanied him said they didn’t see it. It was a very dark night, so they wouldn’t have missed it if it had been as bright as a mere candle.”

“Well, I suppose only someone of the Archbishop’s status could witness such a miracle. But it is strange. If that Light of God really appeared to save the Archbishop, why east? It should have led him toward General Terdin!”

“Maybe because the barbarian cavalry was still following them in that direction at the time?”

Vadio quickly lost interest.

“So that’s why it took so long to find him. The Archbishop kept running east, chasing the Light of God?”

“Yes.”

Aedun made another meaningless gesture, pointing in that direction again.

Northeast... the direction of the volcano.

A faint black smoke from yesterday’s eruption was still visible.

“Hm? That direction leads to the volcano, doesn’t it? Are you saying that’s where the Archbishop went?”

“Does it?”

Aedun turned back to look at the area again.

Vadio didn’t care about that detail in the slightest.

“When did you run into him?”

“Just before dawn.”

“Then that means the General only realized at that moment that the Prince wasn’t with the Archbishop?”

Vadio carefully extracted the information from Aedun.

‘Come on, spill it. Tell me what mistake Terdin made, what failure he’s responsible for.’

“Yes, it was an absurd situation. None of us were completely certain that the Archbishop had taken the Prince with him. But we thought he must have taken some kind of precaution. Maybe the Archbishop acted as bait while the Prince was hidden somewhere safe…”

“But that wasn’t the case at all?”

“No.”

“But the Archbishop wouldn’t have been capable of something like that…”

“Of course not. The knights with him should have done it.”

Aedun lowered his voice, as if reluctant to criticize knights of a higher rank than him.

“Not just the royal knights, but even knights from Born were there! They should have done something. But nothing was done at all.”

“The knights who survived?”

“Only two.”

“What did they say?”

“They claimed they were just following the Archbishop’s orders. An unacceptable excuse. They swore loyalty to His Majesty and the Duke—why would they blindly follow the Archbishop’s commands?”

Aedun spoke with frustration but quickly corrected himself.

“I’m not condemning the knights who sacrificed themselves to save the Archbishop. Their sacrifice was holy. I’m just saying… there could have been a better way.”

Aedun seemed to want to discuss that point further, but Vadio wasn’t interested.

He wanted to find a mistake, a failure on Terdin’s part—something dramatic enough to make an impression when reporting back to King Gallant.

“So then, couldn’t you have escorted Archbishop Aikob back while the General went to the pagan temple where the Prince was?”

“We did consider that.”

Aedun sighed, still frustrated.

“But the problem was… we didn’t know the way. We had no time. We were just riding straight ahead, not marking our path on a map. From the spot where we found the Archbishop, there was no way to navigate to the pagan temple.”

Aedun grew more animated as he explained.

“You’d understand if you explored these northern wastelands. To us southerners, this place is like an ocean. The mountains on the horizon all look the same, so they’re useless as landmarks. The sun sets quickly and rises late, making the nights long. And with the volcanic eruption yesterday, the air was thick with smoke, making it even harder to see… The only reason we made it back to the village was because we left scouting parties along the way. Otherwise, we could have lost our sense of direction and been stranded.”

Seeing Vadio listening intently, Aedun suddenly apologized.

“Forgive me. I got carried away and talked too much.”

“No, that was exactly what I wanted to hear.”

‘No, this isn’t what I wanted to hear at all. I need a clear failure. Something undeniable. Maybe if Aikob had committed blasphemy, or if Terdin had suggested abandoning the Prince…’

But Aedun wasn’t the kind of man who would say such things.

“The General was worried about the Prince the entire way back to the camp. He was frustrated that the Archbishop’s injuries were slowing them down. That’s why, as soon as he saw the village, he couldn’t hold back and rushed ahead.”

“He asked me about the Prince the moment he saw me. His face only relaxed when I told him the Prince was safe.”

“Yes, that sounds right. I finally feel relieved as well.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be so sure…”

“Pardon?”

“I get the feeling those barbarians plan to use the village trial to humiliate the Prince.”

“What! Have they fallen into their provocation? The Prince is still young. Why didn’t you stop him, my lord?”

“I gave him my advice. But the Prince ignored my easy solution and chose the difficult path instead. The barbarians will enjoy trapping him.”

“We cannot allow that!”

“Oh, don’t tell anyone I said that. You know I’m not exactly close with the General.”

Vadio smiled.

“I understand. And please understand that my priority is the General.”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll go see him now.”

“Hurry.”

Aedun, his shoulders tense with determination, urged his horse toward Elum Village.

As he disappeared among the soldiers surrounding the village, Vadio’s smile vanished.

‘This isn’t enough to bring Terdin down. If something bigger happens… If the Prince doesn’t return, that would be best.’

At that moment, Captain Rusef approached.

“Count Vadio.”

The first time he had met this knight-captain of Born was about ten days ago.

They had only exchanged a few words in official meetings.

He had heard that Rusef was once a hostage at the royal court, but Vadio had no memory of seeing him in the capital.

Given his striking emerald-green hair and distinctive features, it would have been impossible to forget him.

“Greetings, Captain Rusef. I heard you rescued your sister yourself. A commendable effort.”

Though he wasn’t particularly inclined to, Vadio maintained courtesy toward a foreign knight.

“Thank you. Actually, I have a request…”

Rusef hesitated.

He wasn’t glancing around nervously, but he seemed cautious about who might overhear.

“A request?”

“A request.”

They spoke at the same time.

Vadio chuckled and extended his hand.

“If the Captain of Born’s knights asks, how could I refuse? Speak freely.”

Rusef hesitated, then finally spoke.

“It’s about the chieftain of the barbarians.”

“You mean High Chieftain Jedrick? What about him?”

“I want to find a way to eliminate him.”

Vadio inwardly rejoiced.

That was the key he needed to bring Terdin down.

And it was more than that.

Vadio patted Rusef’s shoulder warmly.

“This will be a long discussion. Let’s continue in my tent, Captain Rusef.”

[Translator - Night]

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