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Side Story 1 - Interlude: The Men of King's Landing
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The Kingdom of Raltgen – the royal capital, Melgarth.
General Dougan was struggling with a blank sheet of paper in a solid stone building in the royal castle adjacent to the royal palace.
“What’s the point of this letter……? It would be more meaningful work if we could figure out how many spare boots we need to take to the battlefield.”
Dougan, with his muscular frame and thin quill, sighed. The habitual touching of his beard was a sign of irritation. Soldiers who saw this would never speak to Dougan.
“Whatever needs to be done, be done when it needs to be done.”
Standing beside the paperwork desk, the Grand Chamberlain Goryo’s narrow eyes narrowed further.
“Goryo! You should write it! Why should I write a letter to a nobleman?”
Dougan tore up the letter he was about to write and threw it over his head. He depressingly brushed off the fluttering pieces of paper and turned to Goryo.
“If you don’t write it yourself, it’s meaningless. There are those who can see the handwriting and stamping habits. Besides, there are two factions, the First Queen and the Second Queen, and Dougan-dono is not a member of either. If you don’t take care of all of them, they’ll take advantage of you.”
“Faction, faction, faction, they’re all so annoying.”
“It is necessary for you to rise with a single spear. It’s called worldly wisdom.”
“Ah, I don’t like it. Sometimes I come home from training and I’m bombarded with papers and letters. I don’t have time to breathe.”
Dougan sighed, and Goryo held out a blank piece of paper. It was a sign to hurry up and write the rest.
“Speaking of factions, have you heard of …… the Eighth Prince Ace?”
“Ace? What did that idiot with only necromancy skills do? Did he kill another chambermaid or maid?”
“He’s dead. We have confirmed the bodies.”
Dougan’s eyes widened in astonishment. A warm breath escaped from his gaping mouth, and Goryo stepped back to avoid it.
“I have a report from the spies of the Order of Domir. It seems that he attacked a settlement of the Silver Crow clan, but was beaten back. We can’t be certain yet, but we have reports of seeing ‘Prince Henry the Twelfth’, ‘Prince Sareha the Thirteenth’, and a man who looks like ‘Sirius the White Silver’.”
“Oh! Sirius the White Silver. He’s my candidate for second in command! He’s not dead, is he?”
“Please don’t interrupt the story. Also, your saliva is all over the place. And by the way, yes, he’s not dead.”
“Sorry. But you’re still a fussy guy…….”
Goryo unfolded the map and explained Ace’s track.
“This is the settlement that His Highness attacked. It is in this labyrinth that he died. But…… it’s strange. His Highness used His Highness Sareha to create an army of undead. No matter how good the Silver Crow clan is at warfare, they are no match for him.”
“Don’t underestimate the Beastmen. They are born with strong physical strength, and above all, they have the will to fight in their hearts. They are not like us, who live peacefully within their walls and have forgotten the threat of demons.”
“No, it’s different. It’s inexplicable. According to my spies, thirty or so warriors defeated a thousand undead, and the two of them also defeated His Highness Ace in the depths of the labyrinth. There was even a gryphon in the room, you know?”
“You’re right…… it’s weird. It doesn’t make any sense. It should be difficult to fight a defensive battle in a small village.”
Dougan was heartbroken at the loss of the gryphon. He didn’t really care about Ace, though.
The Gryphon Sky Cavalry could do everything from power reconnaissance to cavalry assault. It would cost an enormous amount of money and effort to raise the temperamental gryphons from chicks and get them used to people.
“It could be that His Highness Prince Henry was the key behind this.”
“His Highness must have left the palace to go to his territory. The fact that he fought alongside Sirius is also suspicious.”
“The Silver Crow clan’s settlement is located next to his territory. The spies came back as soon as they saw the end of His Highness Ace. So I don’t know what they are doing now, but there is a possibility that they may have joined hands. It is very dangerous. They could be the flag bearers of the Anti-Kingdom.”
“Rebellion is it……? It’s useless.”
Dougan gripped the quill tightly and snapped it. The thought of blood spilling set the chivalry in his heart on fire.
It was true that the Kingdom was not a great nation. Government positions were sold for money, and the nobles, tributaries of the royal family, were complicit in the corruption. But the fangless people who lived there were innocent and needed to be protected. That was what Dougan thought.
“It’s not a rebellion, it could even turn into a civil war. I wonder if even the …… territory claim was a scheme by His Highness Henry. He may be planning to manipulate the palace with some kind of power to gain territory, and then build his own kingdom by winning over the surrounding beastmen.”
“That much power……! Don’t tell me that His Highness Henry possessed the skill of mental manipulation!”
” No, according to the Great Magician’s skill appraisal, it was a helpless skill called ‘Maintain Status’. But…… what if even that result was…… manipulated? And even His Highness Ace could be considered…… to have been secretly manipulated to achieve the cause of the anti-kingdom. If the surrounding beastman clans are taken in, they will become a major force.”
“His Highness Henry…… is not to be underestimated. If we were to meet on the battlefield, I would consider him to be the equal of an army of ten thousand.”
“If you don’t think that way, it doesn’t make any sense. Originally, His Highness Henry should have died in the meadow that was his territory. It’s impossible for an ordinary man to survive in that dangerous place. I think that…… there’s no possibility that the other royalty conspired to give that land to His Highness Henry. I don’t think the factions are stupid enough to pull off such a blatant assassination.”
Goryo tucked the report from the spies into his bag tightly. It was information that should never be seen by others, for it was fraught with danger that could determine the fate of the nation.
“This matter shall be reported only to His Majesty King Alfardo, my father. Please do not divulge this matter to the rest of the royal family.”
“I wouldn’t say it, it’s too much trouble. Oh…… and it’s almost time for dinner. What do you say we go out to dinner for the first time in a while? I found a bar that serves good food.”
“That’s how you’re going to get away from all that paperwork.”
“Hahaha, I guess I got caught!”
Dougan scratched his short-cropped hair and let out a lively laugh that echoed around the room.
“Maybe it’s good for once in a while.”
“Oh! That’s unusual. A spear is going to fall from the sky tomorrow!”
“Don’t misunderstand me, I’m going back to the castle with you after dinner to fill out some papers.”
“Don’t be embarrassed, don’t be embarrassed!”
45-year-old General Dougan and 27-year-old Grand Chamberlain Goryo. Although they were as old as father and son, they walked together toward the tavern in the royal capital as if they were long-time friends.
The long street in front of the royal castle was lined with countless stores. Some of them might even be able to get the tense chamberlain drunk.