The Forgotten Field - Chapter 188

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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 188
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Barcas felt the muscles at the nape of his neck tense as he leaned back against his chair.
Spread across the mahogany desk, roughly eight cubits wide, lay a roster of Heretic Cult members compiled by investigators and a map marking suspected rendezvous points of the raiders.
As I methodically reviewed these documents, I turned to Beirov seated across from me.
“When is the next rendezvous scheduled?”
“The coming new moon. Intelligence suggests a large-scale gathering will occur at an abandoned mine outside Heswen.”
“Quite pressing, then.”
Lost in thought, I stroked my chin as my gaze shifted to the list of apostates.
“Have we determined the enemy’s numbers?”
“According to interrogations, hundreds or even thousands are expected to gather, but the testimonies vary so widely that credibility is questionable.”
Beirov continued with a cynical tone.
“Ignorant commoners often mistake a mere hundred for a great army. Realistically, we estimate between two hundred fifty and three hundred.”
I let out a bitter laugh. That scale transcended a mere bandit gang—it warranted the designation of a military unit.
Compared to the forces at my disposal as Grand Duke, it was laughable, yet the troubling reality was that the Zrami had organized an army from within the Eastern Territories’ heartland.
‘Such organizations may be scattered throughout these lands.’
Suppressing a heavy sigh, I issued orders in a clipped tone.
“Contact the regional lords. We’ll strike when they gather, eliminating them all at once.”
“Will you personally command the operation, my lord?”
“Yes. Weeds taking root in my own yard must be pulled by my own hand.”
I replied coldly and rose slowly to my feet.
As I moved toward the exit of the office, Beirov ventured carefully.
“What of the Heretic Cult members, my lord?”
“For now, assign watchers to their surroundings.”
I answered, turning back while gripping the door handle.
“If we arrest them all at once, word may reach the raiders’ ears. We’ll wait for the right moment and apprehend them without warning.”
“…Their numbers are considerable. The populace may resist strongly.”
“Yet we cannot simply stand idle while heretics run amok.”
I countered sharply.
“If we leave the apostates unchecked, the Central Church Authority will dispatch heresy hunters. Better they face trial by the Eastern Sect than fall into those hands and be torn limb from limb.”
Beirov found no words to counter and fell silent. Turning my gaze from his troubled expression, I departed the barracks at once.
Fine rain fell across the Training Grounds. Striding through it, I worked to organize my turbulent thoughts.
Since the Empire’s annexation, the Eastern Territories’ citizens had received formal baptism and lived as followers of the Imperial Church.
Those who refused and insisted on remaining adherents of the Great Spirit Church were driven to the outer regions of the east, forced to live as outsiders.
That they were now beginning to spread their influence throughout the Eastern Territories again seemed a dangerous signal—a crack forming in the Empire’s governance structure.
‘After the north… now the east is in chaos.’
I ran my fingers roughly through my increasingly soaked hair. A wave of futility washed over me, as though I were desperately trying to protect a sandcastle before the tide.
With darkened eyes fixed on the ashen sky, I slowly crossed the Training Grounds.
Passing through the Garden, rich with the scent of earth, and entering the Main Castle, a servant rushed toward me with a towel in hand. Taking it and roughly drying the moisture from my hair, I asked a question.
“Where is the Grand Duchess?”
“Your Highness has not yet returned.”
Barcas paused and turned to face the servant.
“You mean she has gone out?”
“She has not left the castle grounds. This morning she mentioned going to the Healer’s Cottage, so she is likely there….”
He furrowed his brow.
He had heard that she frequently visited the Healer’s residence, but since his own return, he had never seen her absent from the Main Palace for any extended period.
“Where exactly is the Healer’s residence located?”
“It is situated at the end of the northern Garden beyond Laedgo Castle.”
Barcas immediately crossed the Hall and slipped out through the rear entrance.
After passing through the rain-soaked clearing and along the forest path shrouded in deep gray shadows, I arrived at the Spring where we had reunited.
I gazed for a moment at the silver surface of the water as raindrops fell upon it, then proceeded along the muddy path toward the City Walls.
Before long, a well-tended herb garden and a small Stone Building came into view. As I approached, I knocked on the door without hesitation. A calm voice soon answered.
“Please come in.”
I immediately grasped the door handle. The Healer, who had been compounding medicine at a table, jumped up in surprise.
“G-Grand Duke, sir! What brings you here….”
“I was told my wife is here.”
I slowly surveyed the room.
Within the spacious chamber, a work table, shelves stacked with hundreds of medicine bottles, and drying racks hung with bundles of herbs were arranged in orderly fashion.
As I examined them in turn, my gaze settled upon a shabby bed. Talia lay sleeping soundly, dressed in a thin summer dress of pale blue.
Observing her defenseless form, I turned my attention to a book carelessly placed beside her head.
Upon the finely bound leather volume, the title “Punishment” was embossed in gold leaf.
As I picked it up and carefully leafed through it, lines formed at the corners of my eyes. The book she had been reading was a personal account recorded by Elixir, a hero of the Empire’s founding era, who had witnessed hell itself and returned to document what he had seen.
‘…Her reading tastes have scarcely changed.’
Even as a child, she had devoured books of dark themes day and night, and it seemed that peculiar taste remained unchanged into adulthood.
As I read passages describing the wretched forms of sinners fallen into purgatory, I unhesitatingly cast the volume into the fireplace.
The Healer let out a small cry upon seeing the precious old book consumed by flames.
I immediately shot her a warning glance. The woman, her face flustered as she stared at the fireplace, quickly closed her mouth.
I examined her complexion once more. She slept so deeply that she lay motionless, breathing only in shallow gasps.
“Did she perhaps take a sleeping draught?”
“She complained that her legs ached particularly when it rains, so I gave her a rather strong pain reliever.”
The Healer answered in a hushed voice.
After studying her face for some time, I carefully bent down and lifted her limp body into my arms.
“Where is the Wolf Beast?”
“K-Khan is….”
The woman, showing a moment of confusion, moistened her dry lips before continuing in a more composed voice.
“He has been temporarily confined to an enclosure prepared in the Separate Palace.”
“An enclosure?”
My eyebrows rose sharply.
For the past several days, that beast had not wished to leave her side for a single moment. Talia, too, had devoted herself to the creature with unusual devotion, so this sudden measure seemed peculiar.
“Why would such a decision be made so abruptly?”
“I… recently advised His Majesty that Khan’s excessive vigilance seems to stem from his protective instinct toward you overstepping its bounds.”
The Healer continued carefully, her gaze lowered.
“Moreover, since you’ve returned, I suggested that Khan should begin learning to spend time apart from His Majesty. It appears he’s decided to keep them separated at least in the evenings.”
In that instant, a peculiar tension settled around Barcas’s lips.

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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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