Chapter 84. That asshole
***
Sponsored by Curufin. Thank you ❤️ (5/12)
***
When Kayan turned to leave, it was Doa who stopped him.
"The Emperor has probably already made his move, and to enter the capital like this without any preparation is to jump in with both feet."
"Get out of the way."
A frenzied momentum surged through Kayan.
It was the first time Doa had ever seen him so overheated, even when faced with a life-or-death situation.
But this time, even Doa was unable to follow his orders.
"The Princess is safe, isn't she? There must be a way to rescue her separately, and above all..................."
Doa paused and looked up at Kayan with devastated eyes.
“I don't want to believe it either, but... she’s the Emperor's woman now, and she has abandoned you, master Kayan."
At that, Kayan grabbed Doa by his collar.
"You expect me to believe that bullshit?"
Kayan's voice was animated, his teeth clenched.
His judgment was clouded by what had happened with Ihedia.
So Doa would never let Kayan go into the emperor’s trap, even if it meant dying on the spot.
"If you were me, would you let me go?"
"....."
"I can't sacrifice the Black Wolf for that one person, and of course, the Black Wolf includes you."
Kayan's hands slowly loosened as he read the desperation in Doa's eyes.
He knew.
How reckless it would be to go rescue Ihedia now.
When he read the word that she was in the palace, Kayan had lost his mind.
Even Doa couldn't help but think something was wrong when he saw the letter.
Ihedia had abandoned Kayan to become the emperor's consort.
The princess he knew would never do such a thing.
So Doa desperately tried to convince Kayan to wait until they had more accurate information before making his move.
If all of this was a trap, Kayan could have been in big trouble if he had moved rashly.
But further news from the other strongholds threw them into even more turmoil.
Ihedia had framed Kayan for treason to become the Emperor's concubine, and she'd told Hashad everything she'd ever shared with Kayan to get the Black Wolf in trouble.
In return, she was granted free access to the springs of Apeso.
The Black Wolf's messenger continued to bring the same news.
None of them told of Ihedia's injustice.
Kayan was convinced there was some unavoidable circumstances.
All the evidence pointed to Ihedia as the traitor, but he could never accept that.
Perhaps the cunning Emperor had used him to intimidate her into framing him.
Every time he thought about it, it felt like a hot fireball was falling on his chest.
Doa interrupted him again as he began to rage.
"The men at the home base have already scattered to avoid the emperor’s pursuit, and we should do the same. There's no way we can get to the Princess right now with the Emperor watching."
Doa pleaded in a desperate voice.
It was then.
The urgent voice of another soldier interrupted their conversation.
"Lord Kayan, the Legionnaire has arrived."
The Legionnaire, in command of the Black Wolves' core forces, had seen an opening inside the capital and led his pack to escape.
Afterward, he rode straight to Kayan.
He was the one who brought the news of Ihedia to Kayan.
As soon as Kayan saw him, he asked with great anticipation.
"Is it true what you sent me through the messenger?"
Kayan's flat voice sounded calm, but there was a fierce emotion stirring within it.
The Legionnaire replied with a slightly darkened gleam in his eye, not knowing why Kayan was double-checking it.
"It is all true."
Kayan's gaze paused in midair.
Before he could continue, Doa's mouth opened again beside him.
"The imperial palace soldiers will occupy this place soon, and you must leave for the southeast before then."
***
Before Hashad could put his plan in motion, the core members of the Black Wolf, who had realized that something was amiss, went into emergency mode and quickly left the capital.
It was as if they had been preparing for this, and it all happened as fast as lightning.
His men had traced every path from Shardi to Anut, but Kayan had vanished without a trace.
Hashad was furious to the point of madness, and he began rounding up anyone associated with Kayan who remained in the capital and torturing them to death.
Often, to take out his anger on them, Hashad would torture them himself.
The emperor did not care that most of these people were innocent and had nothing to do with politics, such as servants who tended to the lord's needs, merchants who supplied him with daily necessities, and gardeners who tended to flowers and trees.
The torture was so severe that it didn't take much to extract false confessions from them that Kayan was plotting against the emperor.
But that was it.
Since none of them actually knew where Kayan was hiding, the search for him proved fruitless.
A nationwide manhunt was issued and checkpoints were strengthened, but it wasn't enough to calm fears.
There were still many fighters who followed Kayan.
If Kayan decided to raise an army, it would be a civil war of epic proportions.
If it came to that, the Emperor would suffer heavy losses himself.
Already, all the evidence of the assassins in Shardi had fallen into Kayan’s hands.
He had to act quickly before Kayan made it public.
If Hulkan had succeeded then, he wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble.
Hashad was tempted to bring the Hulkan he had already killed back to life and tear him to pieces.
There must be some way to lure Kayan back to the capital.
Hashad's jumbled thoughts flowed, stopping at the woman in the chamber.
He knew that Kayan cared deeply for Ihedia.
But the depths of his feelings were not so easy to gauge.
‘It would make things easier if Kayan had some foolishness.’
Hashad's nails tapped the table as he was deep in thought.
Then he shook his head.
It made no sense.
How could he come to rescue a woman who framed him for treason and offered her body to his enemy?
Still, something about it grated on his nerves.
Who had Kayan ever cared for before?
He was obsession with Ihedia, to the point of abandoning Netira, who had been desperate for his attention,
He even built a mansion that resembled Elmir’s palace for a mere slave.
It was truly surprising that even the bravest and most vicious wolf warrior in Anut had such pure love.
How could Kayan give up such love so easily?
[Things will be easier if you use Ihedia, trust me, my eyes have never been wrong].
The strange phrase in the letter from Elmir’s queen stuck in his mind.
It seemed unlikely that the queen was simply blabbering on in order to win his favor.
Collecting his thoughts, Hashad went to the window and looked out over the bustling courtiers.
Just as he had planted Hulkan in Bayate, there must be followers of Kayan in this vast palace.
‘Let's try it.’
There was no harm in testing Ihedia's worth.
If he could get to know Kayan's true feelings through this opportunity, he would be able to use it to his advantage in the future.
Hashad wanted to make the play so plausible that Kayan wouldn't notice anything suspicious.
There was no news he could think of that would irritate Kayan more than the news that Ihedia was pregnant with his child.
Hashad summoned his chamberlain.
"We should have a banquet."
The chamberlain looked a little puzzled and asked,
"A banquet..................?"
A banquet, out of the blue, in the midst of treason?
The chamberlain was about to add his two cents when Hashad spoke up.
"I have an heir to succeed me, and that is cause for celebration. We'll make it so grand that everyone in the world will know.”
Hashad then ordered the imperial army to double in size.
The chamberlain was about to dissuade the emperor, but instead bowed his head.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As the chamberlain walked away, Hashad's eyes lit up with a gleam.
***
Support me @ https://ko-fi.com/doraaaaaaa
Write a comment