The Emperor Has Returned

Chapter 213 – Sword and Poison (3)

Despite Juan’s persuasion, Lenly only nodded in silence and didn’t answer. Then, he headed somewhere with heavy steps while dragging his feet.

Juan could understand where Lenly was coming from; however, he couldn’t move the entire army for just one person. Not only was the Imperial Army already exhausted, but the speed of their current march was also way too fast.

“Your Majesty.”

Juan saw Pavan upon turning his head toward the voice. Pavan was holding a leather bag toward Juan, and inside it was a liquid swaying around. Juan took the leather bag and drank from it. He frowned slightly at the bitter taste of the low-grade alcohol, but he drank it anyway since he was thirsty.

After quenching his thirst, Juan handed over the leather bag to Pavan.

“Did I look like I needed a drink?”

“I know that Your Majesty doesn’t drink often, but you looked thirsty.”

Juan smiled bitterly at the fact that Pavan knew him very well despite having served him for only a little while. Just like he didn’t need to eat, Juan didn’t need to drink anything either.

Yet the thirst he was feeling was psychological.

“This war is strange,” Juan said.

“Aren’t all wars strange?” Pavan answered.

“Maybe. But a lot of the wars I’ve been through have been much simpler than this. The gods who deserved to be destroyed were walking on our land and there were people who stood up against them out of anger and for the sake of survival. It was a terrible war, but these days, I somewhat miss those days—a time when a clear line was drawn between the good and evil.”

Pavan tilted his head, unable to understand Juan’s words.

“The enemy tried to annihilate our people and killed several friends of Your Majesty. He even resurrected those terrible gods. So, do you still feel that there is no evil?”

Juan sighed.

“It’s not that they aren’t evil. I’m saying that it’s unclear whether I’m good or evil. Just because I’m confronting evil doesn’t mean that I’m good.”

“Well, all the soldiers think of Your Majesty as the absolute good.”

“And I know better than anyone that they’re wrong.”

“Then a philosophical debate will begin among the soldiers.”

“What we are talking about isn’t suitable for the battlefield. It would be better to talk about this later.”

Pavan laughed in a low voice.

“Yes, it would. But Your Majesty, while the good is wondering if his sword is too sharp, the evil will have ten swords that are well maintained and ready—all while thinking about slaughtering the good with them.”

“Don’t worry. Neither is there a shortage of swords on our side nor are our swords blunt.”

Pavan bowed his head and stepped down in response to Juan’s firm answer. He had no doubts about the ability of the sword held by Juan. In fact, he had already seen enough of what Juan was capable of and had also seen the miracles that he could perform.

‘But what’s the use of a well-maintained sword if the holder of the sword is hesitant about using it?’

Pavan thought that it might be better to prepare another sword, just in case. He grabbed one of the soldiers walking past him and asked.

“Where is Dame Sina Solvane right now?”

***

“A gift from General Nienna?”

Pavan met up with Sina near the walls of the fortress which they had occupied, at a place where the traces of collapse and burning were evident.

As soon as he saw her, Pavan asked about the gift Nienna had given Sina.

Sina was perplexed, wondering how Pavan had found out about it, but answered while maintaining a calm exterior.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“I already know that General Nienna gave you a gift. No matter how much General Nienna believes in His Majesty, there is no way that she would send him off without a plan B when the opponent is none other than Dismas. In fact, I even know what the gift is. I’m only asking, since I’m curious whether you know how to handle it.”

Sina’s expression distorted as she glared at Pavan.

“Did you get the soldiers to search through my belongings?”

“I didn’t go that far. I only ordered them to keep their eyes on you. Please don’t be offended. To be fair, you had no proper position in the Imperial Palace or in the Imperial Army. It was only a matter of course, for security purposes,” Pavan made excuses in front of Sina in a brazen manner.

Sina bit her lips; she knew that there was nothing wrong about what Pavan had said.

‘But I thought that we were comrades. I can’t believe that he’s been secretly monitoring me all along.’

“The item that General Nienna gave you is Oberon. Isn’t it?” Pavan asked Sina once again as if to confirm.

Sina clenched the pocket around her waist. The cold energy permeated through her and a thin layer of frost covered the back of her hand. However, it wasn’t cold enough to make her feel pain.

Oberon, the Ice Spirit spear that Nienna used to fight against Juan back at the fortress of Beldeve, was one of Nienna’s primary weapons. Some people even considered Oberon to be on the same level as the emperor’s Sutra, since it had the ability to attack with an unlimited number of ice spears, without any limit on size.

“Why do you ask when you already know?” Sina asked coldly.

“Don’t worry—I don’t intend to take Oberon away from you or argue with you. How would I dare to do that when it’s clear that General Nienna would cut my neck and decorate it on her spear if she finds out about this? I asked you this question earlier, but let me ask you again. Do you know how to handle Oberon?”

Sina was hesitant, but opened her mouth to answer.

“I wasn’t even given a brief instruction. I’ve been practicing whenever I have time, but…”

“Oberon has more abilities other than just making ice spears. There’s a lot it can do, even on a much larger scale. Of course, General Nienna wouldn’t have needed to use such skills, since she can control the cold itself. But Dame Sina needs to be wise when using Oberon, since you are weaker than General Nienna.”

While it was only natural for Sina to be weaker compared to Nienna, she still felt strange upon hearing Pavan call her weak.

Meanwhile, Pavan drew his sword.

Sina flinched and took a step back, but Pavan raised his other hand as if trying to reassure Sina.

“We don’t have much time. Let’s practice while we have some, alright?”

“...What do you mean practice?”

Pavan looked at Sina with a dumbfounded expression—it was as if he was asking ‘why are you asking me such an obvious question?’

“Practice how to kill Dismas.”

Sina was startled. She had already told Pavan that Juan shouldn’t be the one to kill Dismas, but from Pavan’s point of view, it didn’t matter who killed Dismas. Yet Sina had no choice but to suspect him, especially when he offered to help her all of a sudden.

“Do you believe that His Majesty won’t be able to kill Dismas even when the time comes?” Sina asked.

“To be honest with you, it’s hard to trust His Majesty completely. What happened back at the Loen Basin might just be a coincidence. But losing him even at Arkul gate doesn’t feel like a coincidence to me. His Majesty did say that he kept Dismas alive to stop the Cainheryars, but as a result, Dismas ended up escaping. That’s not like His Majesty, is it?”

“That’s a useless distrust. His Majesty won’t hesitate—he will firmly cut his own child’s neck when the right time comes.”

“And I bet that’s what Lenly Loen thought as well.”

Sina closed her mouth and remained silent.

Lenly also believed in Juan’s judgment at first and entrusted him with everything. But now that Ivy had been abducted, he was almost out of his mind.

Pavan shrugged his shoulders and continued to speak.

“Sina, to be honest with you, I really don’t care who kills Dismas. All I need to see is Dismas' neck falling off his shoulders. I cannot and will not see him running away in front of my eyes a third time. It’s not that I don’t trust His Majesty. But isn’t it true that the more swords there are to stab Dismas, the better?”

“...I mean, you’re right. But…”

“The one who cuts an enemy general on the battlefield does not necessarily have to be the general. An ordinary soldier can also step up and pull him down as well, don’t you think? Didn’t Dame Sina tell me that it would be right for someone other than His Majesty to kill Dismas? So, Dame Sina will be the one to take on that role. You have both the will and power. I think you are the most suitable person for the job.”

Sina sighed. The last thing she wanted was to see Juan being ruined by revenge, slaughter and filicide while fighting this war. Sina believed in Juan, but decided to warn him if he was headed the wrong way.

Juan might regret killing his child with his own hands, and it would be better if there was someone else to exact his revenge. In that regard, Pavan’s words were absolutely right.

However, it was also true that Sina felt uneasy upon thinking that Pavan must have manipulated a lot of people.

Sina hesitated and opened her mouth with difficulty.

“We haven’t even figured out how to stop the Cainheryars yet…”

“The Cainheryars will last for longer if Dismas is able to flee alive. In the meantime, the empire might fall back to the state of the mythological era again—when it was split into smaller kingdoms. Perhaps it would be better to kill Dismas first and have His Majesty quickly destroy the rest of the Cainheryars.”

“...That’s only easy to say, Pavan.”

“I know what you’re worried about, but what I’m thinking about is much simpler than what you think. I just want to kill Dismas, that’s all. I just want to prepare a lot of swords to stab him. We all have different reasons—Dame Sina doesn’t want His Majesty to commit filicide, and Sir Lenly is trying to rescue the Saintess. Meanwhile, I’m just seeking simple revenge and victory.”

Sina nodded with unease as she came to a conclusion—that Pavan wasn’t hiding anything from her. She hesitated for a long time even after deciding to agree with Pavan, but soon grabbed something out of her pocket.

It was a white brooch that was shaped like a snowflake.

Pavan stared at the brooch.

“Is that Oberon?” Pavan asked.

“Yes. It’s what General Nienna gave to me.”

Sina quietly clasped the brooch. A subtle light leaked through Sina’s fingers and disappeared a little later like the fog.

Pavan looked at Sina with a suspicious look.

Meanwhile, Sina quietly looked down at her palm and stretched her index finger up.

At that moment, an awl made of ice that was about thirty centimeters long appeared along with a cracking sound.

Seeing this, Pavan shook his head in admiration.

“What an amazing weapon… it allows you to use this much magic just by holding it. Do you think you’ll be able to handle it well?”

“I think I’ll need a little practice.”

“We don’t have much time, so I guess all we can do is trust in Dame Sina’s capabilities.”

***

Ivy was standing in the middle of a purple valley.

‘It’s this place again.’

Ivy realized that she was dreaming. Rocks that emitted bright and shiny lights rose everywhere and formed a valley.

Ivy stomped her feet to find out if the ground she was standing on was real or not. Fortunately, the ground was hard.

However, it did not seem to be real when she saw the architecture scattered everywhere—the architecture that made it hard for her to know what era she was in. Ivy couldn’t figure out why this strange space kept appearing in her dreams.

It was difficult to estimate the time it started, but she figured that it must have been before the time she was appointed as the Saintess.

Ivy felt like she could see the images of her brain fluid and skull scattered all over the purple rocks. She didn’t know how, but it felt like something strange had entered her when she was forcibly revived by the Pope.

She didn’t know where this place was, but she decided to take a step forward; she thought that she would eventually wake up when the time came.

The purple valley was quiet, and it was neither cold nor hot. She couldn’t even tell if there was any air, since there was no wind.

After walking for a long time, Ivy came to a sudden stop as she found something.

Someone was sitting in a chair.

Ivy, who almost let out a scream without even realizing it, quickly covered her mouth. The man sitting in the chair had purple moss growing all over his body and it was hard to tell how long he had been sitting there for.

‘Is he even alive?’

Then the man slightly turned his head in response to the sudden noise.

Seeing this, Ivy’s face hardened.