The Sand Bride - Chapter 52

Ⅳ. Inner Quarters

Preparations for war proceeded smoothly. Karzhen’s top priority was to position an advance unit near the border before making an official declaration of war, and so, he conscripted its members.

Officially, the recruitment was for the purpose of patrolling the cities near the border, an annual event, so concerns about intelligence leaks were low.

Of course, many tasks remained, including calculating the war’s duration, the corresponding amount of rations, supply routes for necessary goods, and the assignment of commanders. Thus, Greta, who had advocated for the war, along with Hakan and even Karzhen, were destined to be buried under piles of documents and letters for the foreseeable future.

‘Greta, when you look at it, she really loves stirring up trouble.’

Karzhen, who had stamped his seal on a letter to the general manager of the merchant guild, clicked his tongue, pausing his writing of the next letter.

It was a letter to his maternal cousin, who served as the lord of Rime, a city near the border. In the past, when this cousin was appointed lord and moved from the capital to Rime, Karzhen had once intended to see him off.

“Rime?”

Upon hearing the news, Greta showed signs of contemplation before smiling sweetly.

“Well, that works out perfectly, Brother. On your way, could you take care of a merchant guild?”

“A merchant guild?”

“Yes. It’s a guild that handles medicines, but they’ve also been smuggling d***s. Evidence has surfaced that they brought in the d***s from the major crackdown before. If possible, I’d like you to dispose of them summarily, Brother.”

“If there’s enough evidence, we can just officially dispatch the army. Do you know how troublesome it is to go all the way from Rime to the capital, circling through the desert?”

At that time, Karzhen, upon hearing Greta’s proposal, looked utterly reluctant. It was troublesome to bypass the proper roads and go through the desert.

Greta persistently persuaded him.

“I’d like to, but their scale is quite large, even employing mercenaries……. It would be problematic if even one of them escaped. Brother Hakan said he would deal with another faction of that guild, so Brother Karzhen, you just need to take care of the other faction.”

“Alright, I get it……. I just need to bring back a few alive for public execution, right?”

“Yes.”

Since it concerned d***s—something particularly bothersome and quietly insidious—Karzhen eventually nodded in agreement. In any case, it was merely a slightly bothersome task, not a significant one.

Besides, if it weren’t for this incident, he wouldn’t have known about Eder either. Thinking of her, Karzhen found himself readily forgiving Greta’s tendency to create work for others.

Someone quietly approached Karzhen, who was again writing a letter. Karzhen merely turned his eyes sideways. The man, who had served him for a very long time, knelt and bowed. Karzhen asked what was the matter. The man replied respectfully,

“It’s about that former slave.”

That slave? Karzhen narrowed his eyes, searching his memory, and finally realized the man was referring to Esther’s father.

Karzhen shifted his posture, turning his body towards the man. Come to think of it, he had been so busy with war preparations lately that he had momentarily forgotten to receive letters from the servant caring for the slave.

“What about him?”

“Well…….”

The man, unusually, trailed off. Karzhen now fully turned his body towards him. The man felt his master’s attention for the first time weigh heavily upon him.

The slave, who was isolated in a separate room within Karzhen’s palace, was treated as someone difficult to handle and speak to carelessly, despite his status as a slave.

This was because word had spread throughout the palace that Karzhen brought the slave’s daughter to his inner chambers and visited her almost every night. The palace gossiped that Karzhen would soon take her as a concubine, and there were even rumors that she might be taken as a wife, as his affections were not temporary.

However, since Karzhen himself, the person involved, had not said anything definitive, all the palace staff, including the man, remained silent yet watched the slave’s quarters with curious eyes.

The woman was a foreigner, specifically from the Southeast, but that didn’t particularly matter for taking her as a wife or concubine. In Gharyam, even if a child was born of a noble spouse, they were not recognized as royalty unless the child was recognized as the king’s offspring.

Of course, even so, if the child was not ignored by the king, it was certain that they would be adopted into a high-ranking noble family and join the ruling class. So, if Karzhen truly took that woman as his spouse, the people within the palace needed to make their own preparations.

For example, what kind of misfortune would befall them later if they treated her father, the slave, carelessly, when she would become their superior?

That was why the doctor in charge of the slave’s treatment had confessed the situation to the man with a tearful face. And now, the man who had to report the slave’s condition to Karzhen instead of the doctor hesitated for a moment, but reported in a firm tone.

“He was already in a critical state of illness……. The doctor says he won’t last much longer.”

“…….”

Karzhen was silent for a moment. After a pause long enough for the man to wonder if he hadn’t heard, knowing it was an impertinent thought, Karzhen replied calmly.

“Alright. I understand. You may go now.”

“Yes.”

Thud. As soon as the man withdrew, Karzhen tossed away the quill he was holding. His eyes flickered with impatience, and the tapping of his fingers on the armrest of his chair became shorter.

To think he was about to die. Karzhen clicked his tongue and recalled the appearance of the slave he had seen for the first and last time.