Shadow's Oath

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 92: Revelation (1)

Terdin was listening to Aikob’s revelation in his tent.

He had stationed Ram outside to ensure that no one else could hear their conversation, but it wasn’t necessary.

Even before Terdin arrived, Aikob had been shouting loudly enough for anyone outside the tent to hear.

“A revelation has come! Take me to His Majesty at once! Where is General Terdin?”

Judging by his thunderous voice, his physical condition seemed fine.

In fact, Aikob had even managed to ride on horseback all the way to the camp after he was discovered—quite “admirably.”

However, he had been rambling the entire way, slowing the horse down.

"The Lord is calling my soul!"

"The spirits of the martyrs summon me!"

The devout knights were terrified.

So rather than following Terdin’s orders to hurry, they obeyed Aikob’s pleas to slow down, as his wounds were reopening.

Terdin, growing impatient, was almost at the point of wishing Aikob would just die already.

‘And yet, he somehow survived and now claims to have received a divine revelation? Does God really intend to keep this old man alive for so long?’

When Terdin entered the tent, Aikob, who had been sitting on the bed, shot up like a new recruit seeing his commanding officer for the first time.

He even grabbed Terdin’s shoulder and shouted, ignoring Terdin’s casual joke about how he seemed healthy enough to return to the main camp.

"My body is not what matters right now, General. I have heard the voice of God. It is a revelation, a revelation!"

"When did you hear this? While we were on our way here? You were only talking about how your wounds were reopening and how blood was pouring out of you the entire time."

Terdin made it clear he wanted to get this over with quickly.

"I am serious. Please, listen to me, General Terdin."

Aikob’s voice was desperate.

He clung to Terdin’s sleeve as if he was trying to physically prevent him from leaving.

The sleeve tore—it was old anyway.

‘Perfect. Aedun always nagged me to wear new clothes to maintain my dignity as a general. Now I finally have a reason to listen to my aide.’

"I’m listening, Archbishop Aikob."

Terdin pulled back his sleeve as he spoke.

"I have been chosen by God."

‘So, he hadn’t been chosen before now?’

Terdin inspected the torn fabric, waiting for Aikob to continue.

But the archbishop simply stared back at him, as if expecting Terdin to say something first.

An awkward silence followed.

Aikob finally broke it.

"You don’t seem surprised."

"Not at all. Someone of your rank should have already been chosen by God and been hearing His voice for quite some time, shouldn’t you?"

"I am serious."

"And I am seriously listening."

‘If I just sew this sleeve back together, I could probably wear this for another year.’

"I was chosen by God. When, you ask? Ah, yes. When I abandoned Prince Damion at that heretic temple and fled."

Aikob waved his hands, anticipating Terdin’s reaction.

"Yes, yes, General, I know. You will condemn me. You will be furious. I abandoned the young prince and the princess and fled. No matter how you criticize me, it is justified. But at that moment, I heard the voice of God. He chose me. He told me to go east, that if I did, He would help me. And when I went east, didn’t you end up saving me?"

To be precise, it wasn’t east but northeast—toward the volcano.

"That was because the patrol unit did their job. You should be thanking those soldiers, not me."

"Did you not see it, General?"

"See what?"

"The revelation. When you came to rescue me."

"What I saw was our soldiers following hoofprints and riding as fast as they could to track them."

Terdin spoke calmly, but inside, he was furious.

It felt like everything had gone wrong because of Aikob.

‘If only this man had been killed or captured by the Tagda tribe, there would have been no village trial over this mess.’

Thinking back to what Ram had told him about last night’s events, Terdin realized that even if he had rushed to the temple to rescue them, things wouldn’t have been resolved easily.

If the Tagda cavalry hadn’t pursued Aikob or had simply killed him early on, those forces would have returned to the temple where Prince Damion and his group were being held.

Then, when Terdin’s rescue team arrived, they would have faced a fully prepared enemy force.

At the time, Terdin hadn’t expected such a large enemy presence, so they would have been at a severe disadvantage.

He himself might have died in the battle.

In that case, this war would have restarted from the beginning.

Terdin dead, the prince dead, King Gallant enraged and mobilizing a massive army, and the Geron tribes rallying under a new leader…

Horrifying.

"I ran east as the Lord commanded, and you saved me, General."

Aikob continued.

"That, in itself, was a miracle. And ever since then, I have been tormented by strange visions. A voice kept whispering to me. It was painful. It didn’t feel like God’s voice, but rather the whispers of a demon. But then, the voice said this—"

Aikob lowered his voice.

"My child, the man who comes to rescue you will one day be king. You must protect him, and he will protect you. My will shall be carried out through your hands, and the world will cry out your names."

Terdin did not respond.

He did not speak for a long time.

Although he had said he was listening seriously before, he had not been taking it seriously at all.

But now, he was truly serious.

Not because he believed Aikob had truly received a revelation.

‘What does this greedy old man have to gain by telling me this?’

What could he possibly gain from this?

There were too many possibilities.

"Do you understand, General? Let’s return to the capital together. And let’s pray in my sanctuary to see if this is truly a divine revelation."

"Calm yourself. Do you realize how dangerous the words you’re speaking are, Archbishop?"@@novelbin@@

"I do. I know everything. Of course, I do! That’s why we must be careful. Let’s avoid meeting His Majesty when we return. We’ll pretend to stop by the main camp and take a different route. Only trusted soldiers should accompany us, and we must avoid Prince Damion as well. Just come with me. Right now."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Aikob pulled on his sleeve once more, and the fabric tore completely.

Terdin stepped back, pulling at the sleeve that was now too damaged to mend.

"That’s not possible. There are still matters I must handle here."

"Leave the trivial matters of this place to Count Vadio. If you tell them that a lord favored by the king remains here, it will be enough of an excuse. Have the prince come alone. Say that you left him with Lady Charlon to build rapport. If you claim you left in a hurry due to my injury and only sent a message ahead, His Majesty will understand. We must go to Tamperton immediately. You must leave now."

"I will finish what I started here, and I will pretend I never heard your words, Archbishop. You are unwell and having reckless thoughts. Please return to the capital and entrust yourself to His Majesty’s care. Rest and recover. Then, your mind will be clearer, and we can speak again."

Terdin spoke calmly.

Aikob grew frustrated.

"Do you think I’m just saying this for no reason, General? You are in danger. His Majesty intends to have you eliminated. Wait—who did you come here with?"

Aikob’s eyes widened like a frightened cat as he looked around nervously.

"Did you perhaps come with that slave?"

"Slave? He is my shadow."

"If you didn’t know, let me tell you. That boy is Baron Selken’s slave. You probably weren’t aware since he was of low rank, but Baron Selken’s son… His name…"

Aikob shook his head, struggling to recall.

Terdin remained silent, waiting to see how much Aikob would confess without his help.

"…Anyway, His Majesty has ordered that slave to assassinate you."

"His Majesty wants me dead? That’s impossible."

Terdin feigned ignorance.

But could someone really remain this composed upon hearing such news for the first time?

No matter how cold and calculating General Terdin usually was, wouldn’t he at least show some anger at hearing this?

It was difficult to gauge how much anger to show and how much composure to maintain in his act.

Aikob grew even more agitated.

"You must act fast. Get rid of that slave immediately. Right now, you have the chance to execute him. Based on what I saw in a recent confession, that boy is dangerous. He can kill without emotion—a monster. Summon the soldiers. Restrain him so he can’t resist, extract a confession, and execute him according to military law. If you don’t, you will die, General."

At that moment, a loud voice called out from outside.

"Count Vadio is here!"

Terdin responded briefly.

"I understand what you’ve said. Let’s not speak of this matter any further."

As Terdin stepped outside the tent, he saw Ram standing with Vadio.

Vadio cleared his throat and approached Terdin.

"Did your conversation go well, General?"

By instinct, Terdin scanned the area around the camp.

The disturbance in Elum Village had settled.

Prince Damion was being escorted safely.

The patrols remained in place, meaning there were no immediate issues on the outskirts.

All guards were at their posts.

No anomalies.

Except for the fact that Count Vadio was here.

"It went well. We should make arrangements to send the Archbishop back to His Majesty immediately. He seems to be in poor health."

"I was thinking the same thing."

Vadio patted Terdin’s shoulder as he passed by.

The gesture felt like that of a superior addressing a subordinate.

Terdin stared at the spot where Vadio had touched him for a long moment before speaking to Ram.

"Let’s take a walk."

It was a roundabout way of saying they needed to get away from here.

He still felt as though Aikob was watching him from inside the tent.

Once they had walked a fair distance, Terdin whispered.

"Did you speak with the Count?"

"Yes."

"Did he reveal his intentions?"

Ram also whispered his reply.

"It seemed clear that he intended to have you assassinated, General."

Terdin nodded and said,

"Then we should walk a bit farther."

[Translator - Night]

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