The Forgotten Field - Chapter 182

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 182
The heat coursing through my body persisted, yet reason had barely clawed its way back to functionality.
Barcas drew a deep breath and gestured toward the gathered crowd.
“It’s nothing. All of you, withdraw.”
Every instinct screamed at me to order that beast dragged from the chamber immediately, but I had made a promise to her, and I could only endure.
I swallowed a sigh and turned back. Just then, the Chief Attendant emerged hesitantly from among the dispersing servants.
“I… Your Excellency, I have something to report…”
At my somewhat irritable glance, the middle-aged man flinched and closed his mouth. I scraped together what remained of my patience.
“What is it?”
“The White Silver Alliance Guild Master has been waiting for several hours. He says he has urgent news to report to Your Excellency…”
Seeing my brow furrow, the Chief Attendant trailed off nervously. I exhaled slowly.
“Tell him I’ll be there shortly.”
As the Chief Attendant hurried away, I stepped back into the bedroom.
She had settled at the edge of the bed, gently soothing the Wolf Beast that was fussing badly. After observing her for a moment, I spoke in a heavy, subdued voice.
“I have matters to attend to. Please rest.”
“I’ll be waiting…”
Just as I turned to leave, a firm voice stopped me.
I paused and looked back to see her with a reddened neck. The woman, who had been toying with the Wolf Beast’s pointed ears, managed to finish her words.
“Come back here.”
Then she buried one cheek against the Wolf Beast’s neck and gazed at me intently.
I stared at those gem-like eyes as if transfixed, then slowly nodded.
A faint smile bloomed across her lips. In that instant, an unfamiliar emotion stirred within my chest.
It took me a long time to recognize what that feeling was.
Hope.
* * *
“Forgive my intrusion without notice. I have urgent news that requires your attention…”
As I entered the Reception Room, a man who had been pacing anxiously by the window spoke breathlessly.
Barcas dispensed with even the customary greetings and sank into a chair. Then, with a gesture of my chin toward the seat across from me, I asked.
“What have you discovered?”
“Following your orders, I have been stationed in the Northeastern Region, monitoring the remnants loyal to Duke Heimdal’s household. In doing so, I have obtained several crucial pieces of information…”
The Northern man, perched awkwardly in the seat across from me, withdrew a crumpled ledger from his robes and offered it. As I took it and carefully reviewed its contents, deep furrows carved themselves into my brow.
The yellowed pages bore records of massive quantities of goods exchanged—various grains, iron ore, and even military horses. Upon confirming the seal stamped beside them, a dry laugh escaped my lips. It was the official seal of an Eastern noble house I knew all too well.
“It appears that some of the nobles in the Balto Border Region have been in collusion with the Northern Region. I hastened here believing Your Excellency should be informed of this.”
“…Thank you for your diligence.”
I offered a perfunctory reply, rolled up the ledger, and gripped it firmly in one hand before rising from my seat.
“I’ll have a chamber prepared for you to rest. Stay as long as you wish.”
“There is one more matter I must report.”
As I turned to leave, the man called out urgently.
“Recently, the whereabouts of Bjorn Blodar Heimdal have become unknown.”
I narrowed my eyes.
Bjorn Blodar Heimdal was the central figure who had orchestrated the rebellion, and it was known that he was currently besieging Amasek alongside his father. The fact that such a man had vanished meant the rebels had broken through the encirclement and escaped.
Barcas regarded him with suspicious eyes.
“Amasek is completely sealed off. It’s entirely possible that man has gone into seclusion.”
“That man would never quietly barricade himself within the castle walls. For him to remain hidden for such an extended period is truly unnatural.”
The Northerner withdrew a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat beading on his forehead, his voice trembling as he continued.
“Perhaps he escaped Amasek long ago. No—I’m certain of it. By now, he must be gathering his scattered forces and plotting a counterattack.”
“You’re worrying excessively. What could that man possibly accomplish at this point?”
Barcas scoffed coldly.
“The tide has already turned. A considerable number of Northern Alliance nobles have changed their allegiance, and most of the hardliners have been purged. Even if that man did escape, he poses no significant threat now.”
“That’s only something you could say because you don’t truly know him.”
The man raised his voice in frustration.
“Bjorn Blodar Heimdal is not someone who will simply accept defeat. He’s undoubtedly preparing a terrifying counterattack somewhere. You must track down his whereabouts immediately.”
At the man’s confident tone, Barcas’s brow furrowed.
What he knew of Bjorn Blodar Heimdal amounted to little more than his innate mastery of the blade, the overwhelming support he commanded from Northern Alliance nobles, and his exceptional tactical abilities. He knew almost nothing of the man’s personal character beyond these facts.
Yet, given that he had orchestrated such a reckless war, it was easy enough to deduce that he was not a man of sound reasoning.
In the end, he nodded.
“Very well. Let’s take measures immediately.”
At that, the man’s shoulders sagged with genuine relief.
Barcas promptly exited the Reception Room and made his way to the Study.
First, he needed to verify the authenticity of the information Rowell Draven had brought. He was not naive enough to take the word of a man who had played the role of double agent at face value.
Seated at his desk, Barcas withdrew parchment and immediately began drafting an order to investigate the lords of territories adjacent to Balto. It was a letter to be sent to Darian.
By dispatching a small contingent of soldiers under the pretext of purchasing supplies, he could monitor those lords without arousing suspicion.
After appending several specific instructions, Barcas sealed the letter with wax and handed it to a messenger.
By then, the sun had completely set.
Barcas tidied his desk with restless hands and promptly left the Study. As he descended the staircase with quick steps, he spotted the Guards stationed before the Bedroom door.
He dismissed them quietly, then carefully knocked on the door. But no answer came.
After a moment of hesitation, he grasped the door handle and pulled it open.
As he stepped into the quiet Bedroom, where firelight flickered gently, a stale odor assailed his nostrils.
He quickly discerned the cause—faint smoke was rising from a small brazier placed by the window.
‘Did she burn sleep-inducing herbs?’
Wondering if her leg pain had been severe, he approached the bed and drew back the curtain. A gray beast occupying most of the expansive sheets immediately caught his eye.
He slowly scanned over the completely unconscious Wolf Beast, then shifted his gaze to His Wife, who lay nestled beside it. She too appeared to be in deep sleep.
Barcas exhaled a hollow sigh and sat down weakly at the edge of the bed. Then, a pained whimper reached his ears.
“…You’re here?”
The woman murmured in a drowsy voice, extending her arm toward him.
“Please, take it away from here. I only just got it to sleep.”
Barcas gazed down silently at the woman, who was muttering without even properly opening her eyes, before slowly bending down.
As he slipped his arm beneath her waist and lifted her warm body gently, the Wolf Beast, which had been lying motionless as if dead, thrashed its legs.
He immediately ceased all movement. The Wolf Beast, which had merely been stirring in its sleep, soon quieted again.
He released a relieved sigh, then found himself laughing softly at the absurdity of what he was doing.
Yet that moment of self-mockery was fleeting. She leaned close to his ear and whispered softly.
“We need to leave before the medicine wears off.”
Barcas rose immediately to his feet. He seized the cloak hanging on the wall and wrapped it securely around the woman in her thin nightgown, then slipped quietly from the chamber. The flickering light of the corridor and the expanse of the staircase came into view.
After a moment’s deliberation, Barcas ascended the staircase. He could have gone to the room she had used before, but there was a considerable risk of unnecessary interference from the handmaidens.
He entered the bedroom adjoining his study.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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