The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 19

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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 19
The next morning, two advance scouts departed first.
They rejoined the group by evening.
“A portion of the mountainside has collapsed, and debris covers part of the road. With some work, a small carriage could pass through, but the Huksong won’t make it.”
Their assessment matched what Rhea had said.
So the party adjusted their route according to the path Rhea had indicated.
Around noon the next day, the group arrived at the edge of the forest Rhea had described.
At first glance, it was a forest that barely felt the touch of human passage.
Orbin studied the forest with a look of concern.
‘Is this really going to be all right?’
The biggest problem was the terrain itself.
The ground, layered with fallen leaves and decomposing soil, appeared sound enough on the surface but gave no indication of where it might be soft—the wagon wheels would sink easily.
A broken axle would be nothing but trouble.
The next problem was navigation.
Inside a densely wooded forest, it was difficult to maintain direction; one mistake and they’d wander aimlessly.
But having come this far, voicing objections now would only appear like needless obstruction.
He scratched the back of his head.
‘Hell, this is odd. The lord doesn’t usually trust people so readily.’
At first, the princess’s manner of speaking her mind freely before her sovereign had felt refreshing and intriguing.
As a subordinate, there was something satisfying about her saying the things he could not, scratching an itch he couldn’t reach himself.
Now he was beginning to feel uneasy.
‘The princess seems to have provoked the lord with good intentions, but still.’
Orbin had been surprised when Carrion decided to cover up the Poema governor’s smuggling operation.
It was an uncharacteristic decision for a lord of his reputation.
He regretted that his lord had gained nothing from the governor in return, yet that very restraint felt lordly and made him proud as a trusted aide.
‘No, I’m jumping to conclusions. Surely that wasn’t because of the princess.’
He nodded to himself, affirming his own reasoning.
When he looked up, he caught sight of a slender figure on horseback.
‘Surely the lord isn’t actually going to marry that princess?’
He welcomed his lord’s accumulation of merit.
But the price of marrying a princess whose true nature remained opaque unsettled him.
He would have preferred an excessive grant of wealth or privileges instead.
‘Thank goodness the lord drew a firm line.’
To understand the princess’s true intentions, he would first need to grasp the situation in the Zephyros Kingdom itself.
How could he obtain information about Zephyros?
He had been preoccupied with this problem lately.
‘What in the world.’
Contrary to Orbin’s worry, the forest path proved excellent.
As if someone had deliberately carved it out, the wide forest trail was clear of trees, filled only with ankle-high weeds.
The path stretched on, smooth and flat, with nothing to snag wagon wheels.
‘Why is there a path like this here?’
Orbin was taken aback.
The Empire’s greatest advantage in controlling the continent stemmed from its dominion over the roads.
A monopoly on information about routes the Empire had yet to discover held tremendous strategic value.
Orbin glanced at Rhea, who rode ahead of him.
She had taken the lead of the column to guide them.
“I know the way, so I’ll take the front.”
“The front can be dangerous. What about riding in the second row instead?”
“What danger could there be?”
“Bears, as you mentioned.”
“That won’t happen. And even if a mad bear did appear, it’s something we’d have to accept. That’s the role of someone leading people from the front, isn’t it?”
Orbin turned that conversation over in his mind repeatedly.
‘It must have been meaningless talk.’
She couldn’t have spoken those words if she truly grasped the weight behind them.
He shook his head to clear the thought, but another doubt soon surfaced.
‘How does she know of a path like this? A princess from an insular kingdom?’
Carrion was entertaining similar thoughts.
‘The princess couldn’t possibly be unaware of this path’s value.’
What if she had appeared as their savior after they’d suffered misfortune on the originally planned route?
She could have demanded much as the price of that information.
Yet she had not chosen the path of profit.
She had offered her kindness with remarkable ease.
If calculated, it was a meticulous and clever strategy—the kind that left a deep impression on everyone.
Everyone had been moved by it.
But strangely, he felt no suspicion that she harbored some hidden agenda.
She must have simply wanted to help before anyone fell into difficulty.
Having reached this conclusion, Carrion shook his head to clear the thought away.
‘What do you think you know about that woman?’
He found himself ridiculous for making such judgments.
It was absurd how easily his guard had crumbled, yet stranger still was the fact that he had no desire to repair it.
They did not emerge from the forest until sunset.
“We should be able to leave the forest by noon tomorrow at the latest.”
Rhea’s voice carried conviction.
No one questioned her.
Honestly, it seemed as though following her lead would present no problems whatsoever.
A few exchanged glances with peculiar expressions.
Rhea had quietly assumed leadership of the group.
She moved with practiced ease, and it was clear she had extensive experience leading others.
The party selected a suitable spot in the heart of the forest for their encampment.
“Since bears have been spotted, we need to increase the number of people standing watch tonight.”
“Keep the tents close together. Set up campfires in several places.”
“Gather the horses in one spot and keep watch over them all night.”
While people bustled about with preparations, Carrion sat alone in the Huksong command tent, lost in thought.
It had been four days since they departed from the Poema garrison—today marked the fourth.
Until last night, he had suffered through a seizure every single night for all four days.
‘It’s getting worse.’
If he defined seizure pain in three levels of intensity, the last night at the Poema garrison had been level one.
On the first night of travel, sleeping outdoors, he had endured level-two pain. Last night had been level three.
In other words, yesterday’s pain had been nearly equal to the intensity of his usual seizures.
If the pattern continued, tonight would be worse.
The problem was that he could not know whether he would be able to endure pain of greater intensity.
He had experienced seizures worse than his typical ones only twice before.
Once when he entered Forest Village, and once that night in the bedroom.
Both times, he had been unable to overcome it alone and had needed her help.
‘Sigh……’
He pressed his forehead with one hand and bowed his head.
It was not simply a matter of unwillingness to show weakness.
Her help meant physical contact.
How could he call upon her? What could he possibly say?
His beautiful face sank into deep troubled waters.
* * *
The Zephyros Delegation gathered around the campfire.
Since the party traveled in three separate carriages, they could only gather in one place at lunch and dinner.
Each time, Rhea brought everyone together and offered encouragement.
Rhea had suspected that all the delegation members were deeply anxious.
Most had left the kingdom for the first time, undertaking a long journey to deliver a surrender document.
It would be wonderful if things went smoothly, but they had to prepare for the worst.
Everyone had accepted the role of envoy with their lives on the line.
Rhea wanted to ease their tension.
Nothing grandiose was required.
She checked whether anyone in the party was ill.
She shared information about how much further they had to travel.
And simply by allowing everyone to freely share casual conversation each night, their expressions became noticeably more at ease.
The delegation relied on her far more than she had anticipated.
Her mere presence had made them all optimists.
With the princess at their side, somehow everything seemed as though it would turn out well.
“Miss, how did you come to know this path? Even people from the Empire don’t know it. And this is your first time coming here.”
When Peni asked, everyone feigned indifference while straining to listen.
“There are ways. Our Kingdom Intelligence Bureau is quite capable.”
“Ah…….”
Peni nodded, accepting the explanation as truth.
Her faith in Rhea was so unshakeable that even if the princess pointed to the sun and called it the moon, Peni would agree without hesitation.
Kasim saw through the lie.
He was the king’s closest advisor, with access to the kingdom’s most sensitive intelligence.
There was no way the Kingdom Intelligence Bureau—which didn’t even possess a proper continental map—would have information about forest paths like these.
‘What secret are you carrying, Your Highness?’
Kasim had heard that Rhea had saved the kingdom after receiving a Premonition Dream.
Watching over her since she left the kingdom, he’d begun to suspect there might be other secrets she held.
Yet he had no desire to pry them loose, nor did he wish to cultivate curiosity about them.
He only worried that the weight of whatever burden she carried might become too much for her to bear.
Rhea brought a finger to her lips and let out a soft “Shh.”
“Peni. What we know about our Intelligence Bureau stays between us.”
“Of course, don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”
The rest of the party, listening from nearby, nodded in agreement.

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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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