The Great Wish - Chapter 37: The Great Wish (4)

“You called for me, Your Highness?”

“You need to meet with your foster father.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The butler went to see his foster father, who clicked his tongue in disapproval but didn’t object.

The previous day, instructions from Doug had arrived at the estate from the duchy. He had given orders to keep the household quiet in his absence and detailed how Patricia should be treated.

The orders were clear: treat her no better than a guest, and under no circumstances should any wealth or power of the Duke’s house be offered to her, or those responsible would be severely punished upon Doug’s return.

Patricia waited anxiously. The moment the old man entered the room, she blurted out a question.

“How is it going? What’s the progress?”

The old man chuckled softly.

“You’re quite impatient. The preparations are complete. You just need to sit back and wait.”

“No!”

Patricia’s voice cracked.

“Call it off. The Silver King has gone. It’s the Silver King, not the Iron King, who went to the desert!”

The old man’s wrinkled mouth tightened.

“Why aren’t you answering? I said call it off!”

“…They are not people with a fixed location. We don’t have a way to communicate with them regularly; we simply send requests. I cannot guarantee the altered request will reach them before they act.”

“Make it happen, no matter what! If the Silver King gets hurt, I won’t let you off easily!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The old man responded with a grave expression, not because he feared for his own life, but because he understood the gravity of the situation. The legacy of the late Duke of Leman, built over a lifetime, was now on the verge of collapse.

Meanwhile, another place was in disarray due to the unexpected change of envoy. Levan returned to the capital later than originally planned. Even after returning, he was busy meeting people and dealing with various tasks, so he received Sienna’s letter later than expected.

By the time Levan read the letter from the Silver King, three days had already passed since the regular ship had left the capital’s dock.

“This is bad.”

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

“Wow… this person quietly causes a major disaster, doesn’t she?”

Why had she taken on the task that was supposed to be handled by the Iron King? She didn’t even know the chaos that was currently unfolding in the desert.

‘Now that I think about it, something similar happened back then.’

Levan Recalled a similar situation when the Silver King quietly outmaneuvered the Red King during a visit to the fief. He had been impressed by how quietly the Silver King had blindsided him.

‘If I’d known earlier, I would have brought along a few people like Kaligo.’

There was no time to dwell on it. Levan immediately packed the necessary items for a noblewoman’s journey and loaded them onto a fast ship.

He firmly instructed the captain to chase the regular ship as quickly as possible, even if it meant traveling day and night. He also sent a letter to the Silver King.

‘We should catch up within a day and a half.’

The letter should reach the Silver King before she arrived in the desert. After dealing with that matter, Levan sent an urgent message to Kuhn.

Levan had been away from the capital to gather news from the desert. According to the information he received a few days ago, the situation in the desert was tense.

The Emperor had not clearly favored either the Rekka faction or the Ahin faction. His plan was to keep both sides in check and prevent a civil war until the envoy arrived with the imperial edict.

For this strategy to work, both factions needed to be uncertain about their chances of victory—or at least unsure enough not to act rashly.

However, the Rekka faction, specifically Yota, who sat on the throne, had fallen for the provocations of the opposing faction and made an unintentional slip of the tongue. As a result, the Ahin faction had caught on to their disadvantage.

The Ahin faction had no intention of handing over the Sacred Tree branch they possessed. Some of the more radical members were even plotting to use forceful measures, like kidnapping, to secure recognition of their ownership from the envoy.

Kuhn had been observing the situation, unsure whether to allow them to act so he could deal with them afterward or to intervene before things got out of hand. He would decide based on how things unfolded.

Despite the alliance being broken, Kuhn still had some respect for the Iron King, given their history. It might seem harsh, but Levan knew Kuhn had always been somewhat cold-hearted.

If the Ahin faction kidnapped the envoy, the Iron King would suffer for a while. He might face threats or humiliation, but his life wouldn’t be in danger. The faction wouldn’t be foolish enough to harm an envoy.

For Kuhn, the choice was clear—allow the Iron King to endure some hardship while simultaneously gaining an opportunity to subdue the hostile faction.

However, if the envoy was the Silver King, the situation would be entirely different. What if they kidnapped the Silver King?

“Hmm…”

Levan shuddered at the thought. He didn’t even want to imagine it.

“Nothing must happen to the Silver King.”

He could only hope that the fools in the desert wouldn’t make a tragic mistake

***

Kuhn sat on a cushion, his legs stretched out, idly tapping the toes of his right foot, which rested on his left leg.

He had heard the news that the Iron King was coming as a special envoy. If he wanted to meet the Iron King as he disembarked from the ship and entered the desert, he would need to leave early tomorrow morning. He had to decide by today whether or not he would go to meet him.

After disembarking, it would take three days to cross the desert and reach the capital. In the Empire, a three-day journey wasn’t considered far, but in the desert, anything could happen in that time.

‘If I leave here, there are uncertainties on this side as well…’

The original plan had been to let the Ahin faction self-destruct. If they committed an irreversible offense against the Empire’s envoy, Kuhn’s side would gain the justification to reclaim the Sacred Tree branch.

However, the leader of the Ahin faction was known for being impulsive and extreme. There was a concern that he might do something reckless.

‘And the timing is also tricky, which is another problem.’

The desert’s rainy season was approaching. If Kuhn left to greet the Iron King and a torrential rainstorm hit, he might get stranded.

“Kuhn.”

“Come in.”

Martin entered, lifting the cloth covering the entrance.

Desert buildings had no doors. Instead of doors, entryways were covered with cloth or curtains. Even in the palace, there were no sturdy doors, following the customs of the desert. Instead, guards stood at the entrances to verify those who came and went.

“What did the weather readers say?”

Kuhn had sent Martin to inquire about the weather.

“They said it will rain within the next seven days.”

“Hmm… The timing is quite tight.”

Every desert tribe had a “reader” who could interpret the weather. When the Confederation was formed, the readers of the Tuisa tribe were given the official title of Astronomer. Their predictions about the rainy season were usually accurate.

Seeing Kuhn deep in thought, Martin spoke cautiously.

“Kuhn, I’ve heard some troubling news.”

“What kind?”

“The desert raiders have begun moving.”

“They’re always moving.”

The desert was home to groups of marauders who committed acts of robbery and murder, similar to bandits or pirates, but with the added distinction that the raiders often formed larger, more organized groups. Though they were a criminal group, the desert had no unified state to impose law and order, so there was no authority to control them.

Moreover, the desert was haunted by a creature known as the Desert Ghost. Whether the raiders were lucky enough to avoid it or fought it off and survived, their mere survival in the desert was proof of their strength.

One needed considerable strength and navigational skill to survive in the desert. Some raider groups even established bases and kidnapped women from other tribes to form families.

“There are rumors about the Red Turban Raiders.”

“The Red Turbans are moving?”

Kuhn frowned. Most desert raider groups consisted of no more than ten people. However, there were a few larger and more organized groups, and the Red Turban Raiders were among the most notorious.

“They wouldn’t move during the rainy season. Did you hear anything else?”

“They’re heading toward the Mushroom Rock Dunes.”

“….”

“They might just be passing through…”

“Yeah, they could be.”

That area happened to be near where the Empire’s dispatched soldiers would be arriving.

“But they might not be.”

Kuhn felt uneasy. If he calculated everything logically, it made more sense to stay and guard the capital. However, Kuhn decided to trust his instincts.

“I’ll leave in the morning. Make preparations.”

“Yes. How many men should we bring?”

“Five… no, ten.”

“Yes, Kuhn.”

***

Gilbert knocked on the door. After hearing a response from inside, he entered.

Sienna, seated at the table, turned her head toward him. She had a document in hand, with more scattered across the table.

“Your Highness, we’re about to arrive.”

“Understood.”

After Gilbert left, Sienna began tidying up the table. Her heart was starting to beat a little faster. Whether it was from anticipation or fear, she couldn’t tell. On the way, she had received a letter from Levan warning her of potential danger.

―Kuhn believes that the Iron King is coming as the envoy. He probably doesn’t plan to greet you. Though I’ve sent word to Kuhn, there’s a high chance he won’t receive the message in time.

Sienna had called her knights and shared Levan’s warning with them. She had ten knights from her guard and five more who had been dispatched as part of the envoy—a rather small number. While they were some of the best knights in the Empire, they might not be able to perform at their best in the unfamiliar desert environment.

‘In the worst case, I’ll have to take up arms too.’

She wasn’t confident in fighting as an elite warrior, but she knew she wouldn’t be a burden either.

‘Is this going to be real combat?’

“The best combat is the one you never have to fight in your life.”

Sienna smiled as she recalled Kuhn’s words from the past.

“You told me to run if it came to that.”

She was about to see him again. It had been four months since their last meeting. As the thought of getting closer to where he was crossed her mind, she felt a bit anxious. She glanced at her outfit.

‘I’d better change into something more practical.’

Among the items Levan had delivered after catching up with them on the fast ship was a set of armor. It wasn’t a full suit, but a piece-by-piece set that could be attached to different parts of the body.

While it wasn’t as sturdy as a full suit, it was stronger than light armor. Given the urgency of the situation, this was the best option, as there hadn’t been time to prepare armor specifically tailored to her measurements.