Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Piotr was overwhelmed.
Sionia, the capital of Duke Si-on’s territory, was a city far larger and busier than he had vaguely imagined from a distance.
After passing through the First Gate, called the White Eagle Gate, the main road stretching deep into the city was literally a “grand road.”
The widest road Piotr had ever seen in a city was usually around 5 meters wide.
However, Sionia’s main road seemed twice as wide.
Two carriages or wagons could travel in both directions simultaneously, making it possible for four vehicles to move without any difficulty.
At the ends of the road, there were sidewalks marked by drainage ditches, wide enough for three or four people to walk side by side.
The road and sidewalks were seamlessly paved with large cobblestones, with barely any gaps, and apart from the natural wear caused by the passage of people and carriages, there were hardly any broken sections.
Moreover, the horses and Gau pulling the wagons all wore pouches to prevent the streets from being soiled with animal droppings, unlike in other cities.
And the astonishing features weren’t limited to the roads.
The buildings lining the streets were rarely single-story; most were at least two stories high.
The area near the gate served as a shopping district and market, so the first floors of most buildings were shops, while the second and third floors seemed to be residential.
“Since they would have sent a message from the gate, let’s head to the Twin-headed Eagle Castle by ourselves for now. Someone will come to greet us at the drawbridge, but we need to be careful on our way there. You might not know, but this is… a cold and ruthless city.”
Perhaps because he hadn’t visited the city in a long time, Sirvan had returned to his persona as a cold city man (though Sionia was currently warm), guiding his uncle, who was unfamiliar with the city’s chill (northern regions had recently seen snow), and the group.
Then Blaho, who considered himself a true city man of Sidonia (where the average annual temperature is around 20 degrees), chuckled.
“You talk as if you know this place well, but isn’t your hometown Paloma?”
“Well… th-that’s…”
“I’m someone who was born and raised in Sionia. I know this city well, from the main streets to the back alleys. Follow me, all of you. Stay close behind.”
Blaho, a native of Sionia, dramatically flipped his cloak as he stepped forward.
But the charm competition between the two city men was cut short.
“Please just follow us, Master Blaho.”
“You from the northeast, make sure you don’t get lost and follow closely.”
Unable to let the group—which included a Swordmaster of the Duchy, a direct descendant of the Ducal family, and the highest-ranking members of the Cheolsan dwarves—go on their own, the Guard Captain sent two guards to accompany them.
And being gate guards who often dealt with troublemakers, they were as cold and businesslike as ice.
“Ahem! Very well.”
The guards bowed once to the embarrassed Blaho before leading the way.
Sirvan, who had been snickering, quickly lowered his eyes at the middle-aged city man’s glare, while the group from a truly cold and ruthless place made their way toward the heart of Sionia, the Twin-headed Eagle Castle.
The group, consisting of dozens of armed troops and dwarves, drew the attention of many city residents, even in the crowded streets.
Moreover, the sight of dozens of people who were clearly mercenaries passing through the heart of Sionia was rare, piquing the curiosity and bewilderment of the townspeople.
“They look like mercenaries, but what’s going on?”
“They don’t seem to be locals.”
“Are they mercenaries from outside? Did they come across the sea?”
“They don’t look like they’re from the south; they seem like they’re from the north. Did they come through the forest?”
“Seeing them handle Gau, they might be locals.”
Although Sionia was the capital and largest city of Duke Si-on’s territory, it surprisingly had a limited number of visitors.
Most outsiders were merchants from Yazan to the west, who crossed the sea, or from Horab to the south, and their appearances were noticeably different.
Besides merchants from Yazan and Horab, most visitors were from neighboring territories like August or Pamel, whose looks and clothing were similar to those of the Duchy’s residents.
Therefore, a group that looked somewhat different from the locals, yet shared some resemblance, naturally drew great interest from the people.
Moreover, the atmosphere in the Duchy, including Sionia, had been quite poor in the past year.
The number of outside visitors had significantly decreased, and those who did visit Sionia tried to go about quietly, avoiding attention.
Yet now.
A group that clearly didn’t look local, escorted by gate guards at the front, was moving through the city.
This was more than enough to attract the attention of Sionia’s residents, who had been living in a dull and stagnant atmosphere for quite some time.
“Are they guests of the castle?”
“They look like nobles from afar.”
“There are dwarves, and some people look like noble lords.”
Born with natural curiosity and a love for spectacles, the residents of Sionia gathered in increasing numbers the closer the group got to the castle.
By the time they passed through the gate and about ten minutes had elapsed, hundreds of onlookers were trailing behind the group.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know! People were flocking, so I followed them!”
“I heard the Sultan from Horab, famous for his extravagance, has arrived. They say he brought thirty dancers with him!”
“What? I heard it was an acrobat troupe from the royal capital.”
Astute merchants, weary of the prolonged economic downturn, couldn’t let such a big opportunity pass them by.
“Candy! Sweet candy so delicious that two people eating it wouldn’t notice if one got dragged away by a monster!”
“Savory lamb skewers so good that even a goblin wouldn’t notice while joining in eating with you—just one dien each!”
“Try some refreshing honey wine made from last year’s harvest!”
With street vendors selling all sorts of food joining in, the main road to the Duke’s Castle quickly turned into a lively, festival-like scene.
“What’s going on? Is this okay?”
“I-I don’t know. This has never happened before…”
Piotr, whispering as he glanced around, was just as flustered as Sirvan.
In the end, the two had no choice but to rely on Blaho, who was, at least for now, their guardian.
However, Blaho, who had long maintained his dignity as the commander of the Black Eagle Regiment, was simply enjoying the lively atmosphere of the city, smiling broadly as he followed the guards.
“Ah! It’s Blaho! Swordmaster Blaho!”
At that moment, someone recognized Blaho and shouted loudly.
“Really? Is that Lord Blaho?”
“Wow! How long has it been since he’s been in Sionia?”
True to his reputation as the Duchy’s celebrated Swordmaster, Blaho was incredibly famous.
Furthermore, his personality was known to be kind to the weak and strict to the strong, making him popular among the common folk.
“Lord Blaho!”
“Are you here with the Black Eagle Regiment?”
“Master Blaho!”
Many people raised their voices as they followed Blaho, and this commotion further excited the onlookers who had no idea what was happening.
This, in turn, caused even more people to join in following the group.
“Nephew, isn’t this… a big deal?”
“Yes… it certainly seems that way.”
Piotr and Sirvan were even more flustered, but there was nothing they could do to quell the already ignited atmosphere.
Thus, the group, unintentionally leading a crowd of thousands, headed toward the Twin-headed Eagle Castle, a bizarre sight that was clearly visible from the castle’s watchtower.
Recently, the atmosphere at the Twin-headed Eagle Castle had been tense, like walking on thin ice.
Intelligence that Gede was mobilizing troops from Paloma and rallying local leaders from the surrounding areas to march east had caused enough anxiety among the castle’s knights and nobles to infect even those beneath them.
“What the… what is that?”
“Hundreds, no, thousands of citizens are flocking toward the castle!”
In such circumstances, it was clear from a distance that heavily armed and foreign-looking troops were leading thousands of residents toward the castle.
“Could it be… a rebellion?”
“What? A rebellion!?”
“It’s a rebellion! It’s a rebellion!”
One person’s offhand comment quickly became accepted as fact.
Just like how a political slip of the tongue led to the unification of East and West Germany, a single thoughtless remark from a stressed guard at the Twin-headed Eagle Castle plunged the castle walls into chaos.
“What, what!? Gede Si-on’s son Sirvan and Master Blaho have arrived in Sionia!?”
And this was compounded by the Sionia guards’ report that had just arrived: “A young knight claiming to be Piotr Kilburn Si-on has arrived from northern Lagos, accompanied by Sirvan, the youngest son of Governor Gede Si-on of Paloma, and Blaho, commander of the Black Eagle Regiment.”
“What? Is that true? Did Sirvan bring the rebels here?”
“What about Blaho? Is Blaho with them?”
“Yes…?”
The guards, whose aloof city-man demeanor had completely vanished due to stress from their superiors and overwhelming duties, were flustered.
But, true to their task of delivering accurate reports, they conveyed only the truth.
“It’s true that Lord Sirvan and Master Blaho arrived together.”
“It’s also true that a young knight who identified himself as Piotr Kilburn Si-on brought a large number of mounted mercenaries.”
“W-What!?”
The nobles of the Twin-headed Eagle Castle were thrown into a panic.
“Master Blaho has joined those bastards!?”
“What about the Black Eagle Regiment? Have they joined the rebellion too!?”
“So, he was just playing both sides until now! That traitor!”
It was true that Blaho had remained quiet up to this point.
However, the Black Eagle Regiment’s primary mission in Sionia was always paramount, and Blaho had strictly adhered to the policy of not engaging in politics, so he wasn’t just biding his time.
Nonetheless, to the nobles of the castle, who had been indecisive for a long time since the death of the previous Duke, it seemed as though Blaho had finally chosen Gede’s side.
And as the nobles were thrown into confusion, the Captain of the Twin-headed Eagle Castle Guard came running.
“A, a rebellion! Thousands of rebels are rushing toward the castle now!”
“Eeeek!”
An explosive reaction of immense misunderstanding and coincidence mixed with bits of truth had erupted.
Great experiments or inventions that change history often emerge from chance.
However, the chemical reaction ignited within the Twin-headed Eagle Castle had produced results that neither Piotr, Sirvan, Blaho, nor even Si-on, who had been guiding events from behind, could have imagined.
* * *
‘Something’s odd.’
Riding at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow, Gede tilted his head in puzzlement.
It was the third day since his departure from Paloma toward Sionia.
Since he had been moving deliberately slowly, in half a day, he would see the walls of Sionia.
Even once the walls were in sight, it would still take several more hours to reach the city, but he planned to stop around that point and set up camp.
Yes, Gede intended to demonstrate to his nephew Blint and the nobles of the Twin-headed Eagle Castle.
Would they choose full-scale war, plunging the Duchy into chaos, or would they submit and allow him peacefully into the castle?
If they still hesitated and failed to choose by then, he planned to pull back his troops temporarily.
The aim was to make it seem as though he had given up, and by then, Sionia and the Duchy’s residents who had witnessed the situation would see his actions as justified.
But Gede had no real intention of retreating.
After pulling back his troops, he would split them into trading groups to infiltrate Sionia and then strike the Twin-headed Eagle Castle all at once.
Cleanup?
History can be rewritten as much as needed by the victor.
Ultimately, it was a flawless plan that secured justification and practical gains.
But.
‘Why is there no response? By now, someone should have been sent to inquire about our intentions or to protest.’
Gede was unaware.
He had no idea what was happening in Sionia and the Twin-headed Eagle Castle at that very moment.
