The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 28

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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 28
“City Administrator.”
The City Administrator answered, visibly tense.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Has anything like this happened before?”
“No, Your Highness. Though we have already received Tax Deferment twice now. These men are indeed Tax Collectors sent from the Finance Ministry.”
“That’s beside the point. The problem is that they moved the army. Using the Imperial Army without authorization—that is a grave offense.”
Carrion had effectively obstructed the First Prince’s state affairs, but the First Prince would not be able to press the matter.
If Carrion raised the question of Abuse of Authority, the First Prince himself would be in an awkward position.
Even if the incident became a matter of contention, it was not serious enough to question his position as Commander-in-Chief.
In other words, Carrion had nothing to lose from this.
“City Administrator. Detain those men as long as possible. If they attempt to contact the Capital City, use the excuse that I ordered it. Should anyone come from the Capital, tell them they are being held on my authority and that only I can authorize their release.”
The City Administrator blinked, studying Carrion’s face.
“As for the taxes themselves, I have no recourse. But time—time I can buy.”
The fact that Tax Deferment had already been granted twice suggested that Heketi’s tax revenue was not of significant scale.
If he could stretch things out until summer, by the time autumn approached, the Finance Ministry would be too preoccupied with preparations to concern itself with Heketi’s unpaid taxes.
The unpaid taxes would not simply disappear, and Tax Collectors might arrive again next year, but that was a problem for next year.
Having faced it once this year, Heketi might have time to prepare a response.
‘Ah.’
The confusion vanished from the City Administrator’s expression.
“Yes, Your Highness. I shall do as you command. Thank you so much for your—”
“It is no favor. I am merely fulfilling my duty as Commander-in-Chief to manage the army properly.”
The City Administrator bowed deeply.
When Lea arrived at the City Administrator’s residence, Carrion and the Royal Guard knights were already departing.
Carrion turned to Lea with a question.
“Did you find the person you were looking for?”
“Yes. Are we finished already?”
“We are. Let us go.”
‘That quickly? What just happened?’
There was no opportunity to ask in front of the others, so she returned in silence to the camp where the rest of the delegation awaited.
* * *
Cedric approached Lea and spoke.
“His Highness wishes to see you briefly.”
“Very well.”
Lea rose and accompanied Cedric to the Black Castle.
Penny watched her receding figure, her lip jutting out.
‘Always with the “brief audience” this and that.’
Every evening, it had become routine for Lea to enter the Black Castle and have a private audience with the Prince.
The Commander-in-Chief’s attendants, who at first had pretended not to notice, had begun exchanging glances and murmuring amongst themselves.
There had even been subtle attempts to approach the delegation members to uncover Lea’s identity.
Yet the delegation remained tight-lipped as clams.
Though they too were curious about the reason for these repeated private meetings, their faith in Lea was greater.
Apart from their curiosity about Lea’s identity and what the two discussed, no one placed particular significance on the fact that they were an unmarried man and woman.
The Commander-in-Chief they had observed was an abstemious man.
Romance had seemed unimaginable for him.
But Penny’s thoughts differed.
‘Something is off. There’s definitely something strange about this.’
She had not heard or witnessed anything definitive.
Yet there was a subtle undercurrent flowing between the two—or was it merely her imagination?
Penny sat beside Kassim at dinner in the tent.
Finding no one else nearby, she leaned over and whispered to him.
“Kassim, isn’t something odd about this?”
“Odd about what?”
“Do you think he might have feelings for our princess? Is that why he keeps summoning her?”
Kassim’s eyes widened, then he let out a low chuckle.
He spoke between spoonfuls of soup.
“And what did the princess have to say?”
“Nothing like that. But still—two people alone in such close quarters, and feelings can grow where none existed before. Besides, our princess is rather beautiful, isn’t she?”
To Penny, Lea was the most beautiful woman in the world, and the King was the most handsome man.
Any man with eyes in his head would fall for the princess.
“Penny. We’re not here on holiday.”
“……Yes, I know.”
“The Princess is working toward our kingdom’s future. Don’t be hasty in your judgments, and mind your tongue.”
“Yes…….”
In truth, Penny had something else entirely on her mind.
‘The Princess has changed.’
From what Penny remembered, ever since that calamity befell the kingdom, the Princess had become a different person entirely.
And during their long journey together, she’d felt it clearly.
The Princess of old had been fearful, unable to speak harshly to anyone.
‘She would never have dreamed of riding alone with a man in a carriage. When did she become so bold?’
‘Hmm…….’
In truth, Kassim too felt uneasy about it.
Just as Penny said, the two of them were spending far too much time alone in that carriage.
The Empire’s prince was a strikingly handsome young man—so much so that even a man of Kassim’s years had to admire him.
‘Mark that down as a drawback.’
In all his years, Kassim had never known a man with a pretty face who didn’t cause trouble.
And this one was one of five imperial princes, with no confirmed succession yet secured.
‘Another mark against him.’
Stand too close to the wrong man, and you catch stones meant for him.
‘Our Princess deserves someone sincere and gentle, a man devoted only to her. Better still if he came from a peaceful household, raised well by loving parents.’
Kassim trusted Lea.
She wouldn’t be swayed by mere beauty or power.
And at that very moment.
‘What a pleasure for the eyes.’
Lea was delighted to observe the man’s face openly. And he was a beauty of uncommon rarity.
“By tomorrow morning, we’ll enter the Gate City. Until now, we’ve chosen paths where few people travel, but once we cross into a Gate City, there’s no more sleeping rough. A Gate City is…….”
‘They look so alike, yet how can they feel so different?’
Whenever Lea looked at Carrion, her thoughts naturally turned to Nela.
When she had met Nela, the woman was nearly sixty years old.
Even at that age, she had been a great beauty.
Hair half black and half white, crimson eyes—they emanated an air of mystery.
The lines etched by time were imbued with fierce dignity, harmonizing perfectly with her striking features.
It seemed impossible that anyone could be more fitted for a throne.
In Lea’s heart, Nela had become a landmark of life itself.
Carrion bore a striking resemblance to Nela, yet lacked that distinctly feminine grace.
Instead, masculine traits stood out all the more sharply.
It was as though some artist-god had painted identical twins of opposite sex, tailoring each feature perfectly to their gender.
“Are you listening?”
Hardly at all. She’d been too busy admiring his face.
Yet Lea answered as though she had been listening with complete attention.
“Of course.”
Like a master catching a student in mischief, Carrion did not let it pass.
“Then what was I saying?”
“Tomorrow we’ll enter the Gate City of Lumina. It’s one of the twelve Gate Cities of the Empire. No matter which direction you depart from, you must pass through a Gate City to reach the Capital. Without a Travel Permit issued by a Gate City, you cannot pass through the Capital’s gates.”
Since these were facts she already knew, Lea answered without hesitation.
The Empire’s territory is divided into three regions.
The Capital centered on the Imperial Capital, the border line connecting the twelve Gate Cities, and the territory beyond that line.
The region beyond the line consists of conquered lands that have been annexed or made tributary states.
The region within the line is the Empire’s traditional territory.
“After passing through a Gate City, you must be careful—assume watchful eyes will follow you. And word of the Northeast Commander heading toward the Capital will reach His Imperial Majesty as well.”
“I didn’t say that last part.”
His expression seemed to press the accusation: ‘You weren’t really listening, were you?’
Lea rolled her eyes, feigning innocence.
“If you already knew the material, you wouldn’t have bothered with such a long explanation.”
“It wasn’t pointless. There might have been something I didn’t know.”
She enjoyed the sound of his voice and kept listening anyway.
“How long has it been since you’ve been to the Capital?”
“Six years.”
“It’s been a while then. I heard His Imperial Majesty summoned you, and you’re bringing our party along on the way.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Was there something I wasn’t supposed to know?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then I’ll let it go. I don’t want to pry.”
Besides, it was obvious who would have told her.
Either Cedric or Orbin.
Whichever one it was, she hadn’t asked out of any desire to blame them.
But the way she hedged and shifted the subject irritated her.
“And besides, this isn’t just a matter of convenience anymore. We’re going to be married.”
…….

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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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