Shadow's Oath

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 99: The Night of Chaos (1)

Damion was starting to grow tired of the meeting that had been dragging on all evening about the topic of breaking camp.

It was a discussion that should have ended in an hour or two, but the subtle power struggle between Terdin, Rusef, and Vadio inside the tent was making it drag on.

The evacuation plan itself was simple.

Vadio would take over the troops that Rusef had brought here with the intention of leaving behind, along with a portion of Terdin’s forces… That was all.

But Rusef wanted Vadio to promise that he would take good care of these troops and return them without unnecessary sacrifices.

Vadio, however, was reluctant to make such a promise.

He could say it with words, but he didn’t want to put it in writing.

One sentence of commitment could cost him an unknown amount in the future.

At the same time, he wasn’t outright rejecting Rusef’s conditions either.

Vadio himself wanted to specify a certain amount to be paid—he wanted to set a limit on his responsibility.

Vadio wanted the price to be as low as possible, but he didn’t name an amount.

He clearly wanted Rusef to propose a figure first, so he could reluctantly accept it.

But Rusef, seeing through this, refused to name a number first.

Neither side was willing to explicitly demand nor reject anything.

But neither was willing to back down.

So the conversation kept circling in place.

They hadn’t even begun discussing how many of Terdin’s soldiers would remain and who would command them.

“Let’s set that discussion aside for now. How about we first decide how to deploy the troops to defend this camp?”

Damion, eager to end the meeting quickly, made a suggestion.

All three men were exhausted, so they followed Damion’s lead and moved on to the next topic.

But that discussion, too, dragged on.

Initially, supplies were to be provided by Elum as per the agreement, and afterward, Vadio was supposed to bring provisions from his own territory.

However, Vadio, trying to minimize his own effort and expenses, kept making excuses to back out.

As for additional pay for the soldiers, he didn’t even want to discuss it.

“That amount should be covered by the royal treasury,”

Vadio said irritably.

Terdin replied in a tired voice,

“There was no mention of royal support for that. The count must speak to His Majesty directly.”

“No, make a decision here and now.”

“I told you, I don’t have that authority.”

“Then have the prince or the general negotiate with His Majesty. Until then, I will maintain the troops here at no cost.”

“So you’re saying you won’t pay the soldiers staying here?”

“Not a single coin, not to the soldiers, not even to the knights.”

“You think the soldiers will follow that order, Count?”

“Then I’ll bring in the mercenaries from the main force. As I understand it, their contract still has about a month left. Why not make use of them?”

“We can’t station such rough men in such a delicate situation. Those men lose their minds at the sight of a woman.”

“Then why not bring in prostitutes?”

“Do you not remember that we disbanded them last spring because of budget issues?”

“Why did we disband them?”

“You were the one who ordered it, Count.”

“Me? Why would I do that?”

“Because of the budget.”

“When did I do that?”

“Last spring.”

“That never happened!”

Damion, unable to take it anymore, interrupted.

“Gentlemen, how about taking a break?”

“No, we are settling this tonight, Prince!”

Vadio’s voice had a tinge of frustration.

Rusef showed no signs of backing down either.

“I will be leaving tomorrow morning, no matter what. If no decision is made, I will take all my troops with me.”

At those words, Vadio openly glared at him, and Rusef glared back just as fiercely.

Terdin folded his arms, watching the two for a while before turning to Damion.

“Perhaps Your Highness should rest for a bit. We can finalize the troop deployment without you.”

In truth, Damion had no real role in this.

His only task was to stamp the seal in the king’s stead at the end.

If anything went wrong, he would be held responsible, but right now, that didn’t seem to matter.

“Understood. I’ll take an hour’s break and return.”

Damion stepped out of the tent.

Outside, Ram was waiting.

“I came out to rest for a bit,”

Damion said.

“Shall I bring you some water?”

“Yes, but bring it to my tent.”

Damion headed toward his own tent, and Ram followed.

“I don’t know much about these matters, but isn’t it impossible to settle all this in a single night?”

“It is. But if everyone just made small compromises, it could be done in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

Reaching his tent, Damion gestured to Ram.

“You should rest too. You’ve been standing outside the whole meeting, haven’t you? You must be tired.”

“I’m fine. I’ll stay by your side.”

“You didn’t look well earlier.”

“That wasn’t because I was tired…”

“Just go rest. I know. You haven’t had proper rest for the last two nights. You should take this opportunity. Nothing’s going to happen in the camp. We’ve doubled the guards since yesterday.”

“What about the water…?”

“I’ll have my attendant bring it. I just want to be alone for a bit. Besides, I’m going to propose to Charlon soon. I can’t take you with me for that.”

“So you left the meeting…?”

“I can’t propose after listening to all that bickering, can I? I need to calm myself first.”

Damion gently pushed Ram away again.

“I have my own plans, so don’t get in my way. Tomorrow will be another long day of travel, so get some rest. You can watch over me then.”

Ram hesitated before responding.

“Understood.”

But somehow, it didn’t sound like he was agreeing to rest—it sounded more like he had his own plans.

After Ram left, Damion entered his tent.

The darkness beyond the torchlight wrapped around him, and suddenly, Olga’s prophecy echoed in his mind.

"If you dwell on the curse, it will consume you. That will not happen."

Damion tried to focus solely on crafting the perfect proposal.

* * *

Ram was walking toward his own tent as ordered.

His mind was just as cluttered.

He had tried to sort through his thoughts by eavesdropping on the meeting about the evacuation plan, but it hadn’t helped.

Damion was right.

He needed to rest.

A short nap would do, or even just closing his eyes and thinking of nothing.

He had no intention of sleeping through the night.

He didn’t want to.

An hour would be enough.

Ram was used to this kind of lifestyle.

What he needed now was a brief, complete pause.

As he made up his mind and walked toward his tent, he heard a noise approaching.

The camp was filled with sounds—fires crackling, sentries chatting, soldiers snoring, hurried footsteps of those answering nature’s call…

Ram listened to all of it, but among the noise, he picked out a single sound.

Someone was crawling through the grass.

It was a common sound in one particular situation—when an enemy was preparing for an ambush.

It could also signal the presence of a spy.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

‘At a time like this?’

There was only one person.

Ram focused on the sound.

If they were heading toward the prince, he would rush over and either capture them or call for help.

But surprisingly, the sound was following Ram.

When Ram moved to the left, the sound also moved to the left.

That meant someone was following him.

Ram pretended to observe the night sky for a moment, glanced once toward Elum Village, and then slowly walked back toward the tent.

The footsteps continued to follow him.

Ram stopped in front of the tent.

Then, deliberately shaking off his clothes, he made it clear to the pursuer that he was entering the tent.

He also lifted the tent flap slightly to make it easier for anyone to enter.

He had a rough idea of who it was.

But since he wasn’t entirely sure, he loosened the sword from his waist and set it beside him, making sure it was within easy reach.

Ram waited.

It took longer than expected, but eventually, the pursuer safely entered Ram's tent.

It was Jedrick.

As soon as he stepped inside, Jedrick closed the tent flap behind him.

Then, placing a finger to his lips, he signaled for silence.

Ram, on the other hand, was more concerned that Jedrick might speak first, so he gestured toward the side of the bed.

Without a word, Jedrick lay down beside the bed.

If someone were to enter, they would only see an empty bed, with Jedrick hidden next to it.

Still not entirely reassured, Ram covered Jedrick with a blanket and then lay on the bed, blocking the view of the tent entrance completely.

Only then did he whisper to the man lying beneath him.

“There’s no one around right now, but speak softly.”

“I came because I wanted to see Charlon one last time. I don’t have much time. By tomorrow, I may have to leave Elum.”

“I know. You might have to marry a woman from the Tagda tribe.”

“You heard?”

“I was lying low to find an opportunity to escape, so I overheard it naturally.”

“That saves me the trouble of explaining.”

“Did you tell Charlon?”

“There are too many people around her right now. I could only manage to say, ‘I haven’t found a way.’ Since then, I’ve been looking for another opportunity, but I haven’t had the chance to explain in detail.”

“I see.”

Jedrick spoke in a disappointed voice.

“But why did you come here like this? It’s too dangerous.”

“I couldn’t calm myself. If there was another way, I would turn back immediately. Elum’s people probably haven’t noticed my absence yet.”

“If there were another way, I would have used it already.”

“Then… must I simply return like this?”

Ram wanted to tell him that it was a wasted effort and that he should just go back the way he came.

He had already thought of countless methods, but all of them had been deemed impossible and abandoned.

The biggest issue was the distance between the two of them.

There was no way to bring them closer together.

But now, with Jedrick coming here on his own, that problem was solved.

Now, the distance between them was no longer from Elum Village to the camp—it was merely about twelve tents apart.

So, there was a way.

Ram quickly calculated his options.

“If it’s just to see her once… will that be enough for you?”

Jedrick asked cautiously.

“Is it possible?”

“There might be a way to bring Charlon here.”

“Really?”

Jedrick’s voice lit up with hope.

Ram kept his voice steady to keep him from getting too excited.

“It won’t be easy. The knights of Born won’t let Charlon move without an escort. But right now, Captain Rusef is still in a meeting—this is the only chance.”

In a way, Jedrick had come at the perfect time.

“I could call Charlon over, saying I need to talk to her for a moment. If she understands my intentions, she’ll follow without question and dismiss her guards on her own. The knights of Born usually obey her orders.”

If that didn’t work, he could use the prince as an excuse, claim it was a strategic meeting, or even lie that Rusef had summoned her.

There were ways to get her alone.

“And since we’re inside the camp, they won’t be guarding her too strictly.”

The real problem was Odel.

The reason he hadn’t been able to call Charlon alone earlier wasn’t because of the knights of Born, but because of that old nanny.

But Ram didn’t want to mention her and risk making Jedrick anxious.

“If that’s the case, then the two of you can meet here. I’ll stand guard outside, and you’ll have a moment to say goodbye.”

Ram would keep watch, using both his hearing and sight to ensure they had their time.

That wouldn’t be too difficult.

Then he’d escort Charlon back.

That part would be easy, too.

The real challenge would be sneaking Jedrick back to the village without being seen and returning him to his place of confinement.

But since Jedrick had already come here, that challenge was inevitable.

If they got caught on the way back, things could escalate.

A Geron from Elum—a chieftain who was supposed to be imprisoned—sneaking into the southern camp was an offense that could warrant execution.

Still, there were ways to cover it up.

For instance, he could claim that Jedrick had been frightened by Olga’s final prophecy and had come to ask Ram about it.

Was there a better excuse?

That was something to think about later.

“For now, stay hidden here while I go get her.”

“Alright.”

Jedrick hid himself back under the blanket.

Ram stepped outside the tent.

He carefully checked for any watchful eyes or suspicious gazes directed at his tent.

There was no one.

And since his tent was set up at the very edge of the camp, even if he and Jedrick had spoken loudly, no one would have overheard anything unusual.

In fact, because Ram wasn’t part of the official military force, he had only been given a temporary tent rather than a proper one.

That turned out to be lucky.

Being on the outskirts of the camp made it easier for Jedrick to sneak in and out unnoticed.

Just as Ram allowed himself to hope that this might go smoothly, he picked up on another sound.

Footsteps between Elum Village and the camp.

At first, he wondered if it was another Geron sneaking in like Jedrick.

This person moved skillfully, blending into the darkness, using the rustling of the grass in the wind to mask their steps.

Ram instinctively hid himself and continued listening.

The sound alone wasn’t enough to identify them.

The person advanced toward the camp but then stopped.

It was difficult to pinpoint their exact location—somewhere between fifty and one hundred paces away.

Ram crouched low in the darkness.

He was worried about Jedrick.

‘I need to abort the plan and hide him somewhere else. Something feels off.’

At that moment, Ram caught a familiar scent.

The smell of ritual powder.

The same scent from the bonfire at the grand feast on the first night.

Flattening himself against the ground, Ram crept forward.

The sound had stopped, but the scent remained.

To him, the smell was as clear a signal as any noise.

Then, the dagger at his waist trembled.

It rattled as if it were alive.

Ram grasped it tightly.

‘Someone is using sorcery!’

He had no proof, but he was certain.

It was like sensing an unseen gaze upon him—an instinct honed by experience.

The scent was different, the sound was different, and the situation was different, yet everything about it felt eerily similar to what he had encountered in the cave at dawn.

Lethal sorcery!

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]