The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 3

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

Episode 3
“In truth, I’ve been mulling this over for some time now. One path: open the borders. The other: become a Vassal State of the Empire.”
Rhea stared at Aren with widened eyes.
She had been wrestling with how to persuade him, yet here he stood with the same resolution already formed.
Aren’s strategy aligned perfectly with what Rhea and Nortia’s king had concluded after their own bitter deliberations.
“You’ve been considering this all along?”
“Yes. But the opposition has been fierce. Had I made it public, opinion would have fractured so violently the kingdom itself might have split in two.”
Rhea exhaled slowly. She’d had no idea Aren carried such weight during this period.
“And now those who opposed you have all been swept away by these events.”
The two fell silent, eyes meeting across the space between them.
The same thought flickered through both their minds: had those who resisted truly done so for the kingdom’s sake?
“The current Emperor changed his conquest strategy from annexation to Vassal State status. A Vassal State at least receives minimal autonomy.”
“Our kingdom is small, and we have no resources the Empire covets. Their pressure will be negligible.”
“Zephiros is a small desert kingdom, but it carries something unique—it traces its roots to one of the four ancient kingdoms that once dominated the continent in ages past.”
“Should we declare ourselves a Vassal State, the Emperor will open both arms to receive us.”
Brother and sister bantered back and forth, and then, catching each other’s gaze, they smiled.
“I’ll go to the Empire,” Rhea said.
There was someone she absolutely had to meet.
‘Commander of the Northeast Territory, Fourth Prince Carrion.’
He was the son of Nortia’s King Nella.
“Return to the past. Correct your regrets. Prevent your kingdom’s ruin and save those dear to you. And after that……”
Nella gazed into the distance, his eyes brimming with remorse, before he spoke.
“Save my son.”
His expression as he uttered these words remained calm.
“That is all.”
‘Your Majesty. I will save your son. I swear it.’
Preventing his son’s death mattered more than stopping the ascension of the First Prince, Enoch.
* * *
Half a year later, Rhea departed as the chief envoy of a Zephiros delegation, traveling with her retinue.
“Fifteen of you in total? We’ve only three large rooms left, and I’m afraid we’re pressed for space. You could manage if you crowded in, but it won’t be comfortable.”
“The other inns are all full. What’s the occasion?”
“The Arena opens soon. You didn’t come for that, did you?”
“Ah, the Arena. We’re headed to Elios, so we’re merely passing through.”
“Just passing, then. Bad timing, I’d say.”
“Indeed. We’ll take the rooms. What’s the total—one night’s lodging, meals, and feed for our horses?”
“Fifteen silver coins.”
“Here’s thirteen in advance. We’ll be leaving at first light.”
The innkeeper scratched his head vigorously, smacked his lips, and nodded.
“So be it.”
The rest of the party stood idle as they always did while Rhea negotiated, a habit now.
After setting their things in the rooms, Rhea spoke to Kasim.
“I’m going to walk around for a bit. Rest well while I’m gone.”
“Ah—but, ma’am. Alone again……?”
“Don’t worry. The security here is sound.”
Kasim reached out toward Rhea’s departing figure, then let his hand fall without a word.
As both guardian and protector, he felt oddly as though he were the one being protected.
No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t understand.
A princess who’d scarcely left the palace—how did she navigate the continent’s geography so deftly, and approach strangers without the slightest awkwardness?
He recalled a conversation with the king before their departure.
“That child has changed. You’ve felt it too, haven’t you?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“She was so fearful she wouldn’t leave her chambers once the sun set. I remember her weeping until her eyes were swollen at the sight of a fledgling bird fallen from its nest—such a tender heart. You knew her then as well.”
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
“My younger sister, whom I thought I needed to protect—when did she gain that gaze that looks toward distant horizons? Is it because I’ve been lacking that she’s grown up? Or is this simply who she was always meant to become?”
“Your Majesty. The princess has simply come of age. She’s reached that season of life.”
“And yet here I stand, leaning on this changed child of mine. Brother becomes burden-bearer—my pride is quite dented.”
“Your Majesty. The princess would be genuinely delighted to be of strength to you.”
“When Rhea reaches the Empire, she may be taken as a hostage. Yet I send her anyway, for there is no one better suited to this task. I entrust her to you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will protect the princess with my life.”
Kasim’s resolve was about to be tested sooner than he could have imagined.
“She’s gone!”
The next morning, Penny rushed in screaming, clutching a letter Rhea had left behind.
—I’m heading to Foema first. There’s something important I need to do there. I’ve sketched the route to Foema roughly below. Just follow it and you should arrive within ten days. See you later.
‘Your Highness, no!’
He gripped the letter with trembling hands, his silent roar contained only in his chest.
* * *
Standing atop a rise, Rhea gazed out across the endless sprawl of plains below.
For the first time since returning, she was alone.
Memories surfaced—days when she’d had to maintain vigilance every single moment just to survive.
With those thoughts came a sudden tightening of her chest, all the slack draining away.
She was traveling alone for one reason: speed.
At the marketplace, she’d gleaned crucial intelligence.
‘The Commander of the Northeast Territory is in Foema right now!’
Zephiros’s intelligence network couldn’t pinpoint his exact whereabouts.
So she’d planned to go to Foema, the closest city in the Northeast Territory’s jurisdiction, and search for him there.
Fortune had smiled on her—he was already there.
She’d never laid eyes on the Commander of the Northeast Territory, the Fourth Prince, before.
‘It doesn’t matter what kind of man he is.’
What mattered to Rhea was only one fact: he was Nella’s son.
She was prepared to stake her own life to prevent his death.
‘If I can repay the debt I owe him with my one life, it’s a bargain.’
After five days of travel, she arrived at the garrison in Foema.
She’d sent a spirit to scout—the garrison’s security was airtight.
Rhea wanted to meet the Fourth Prince unofficially.
There was no chance of an audience if she didn’t reveal her identity.
‘There’s no choice. I’ll have to slip in. I’m counting on you.’
She whispered to the spirit.
As if in answer, a breeze tickled the back of her neck.
Rhea smiled and stepped forward.
The spirit would show her the hidden paths that could elude human eyes.
* * *
Inside the administrative office of the Foema garrison commander’s residence.
A man with jet-black hair sat tilted back in his chair, legs propped on the desk, reading the Imperial Edict that the Emperor’s envoy had brought.
—The cold winds of the Northeast have frozen the commander’s devotion as well, it seems. I scarce remember your face any longer. Present yourself at the capital before the full moon and let me see your countenance. I shall pour you a cup of warm tea.
A faint smirk flickered across his colorless gray eyes.
The Emperor didn’t truly miss his son.
To the Emperor, his five sons were tools to showcase the firmness of imperial authority and interchangeable parts he could discard at will.
Carrion had been out of sight for so long that the Emperor merely wanted to manage him, fearing he might slip beyond his control.
He flicked a finger.
Whoosh—
The Emperor’s edict flew through the air and fell to the floor.
Orvin, the intelligence officer, picked up the edict and spoke.
“Your Highness. You have already ignored two imperial commands. Next time, it won’t be an envoy who arrives, but hunting dogs. This time, you must go.”
Carrion, Fourth Prince and Commander of the Northeast Territory of the Terra Empire, spent all year touring garrisons managing the annexed territories and vassal states of the Northeast.
He’d become commander six years ago and left the capital.
For several years now, whenever the Emperor summoned him, he’d manufactured excuses and sent the envoy back.
“It’s noisy outside.”
Carrion turned his gaze toward Sedric, his aide.
“Find out what’s happening.”
“At once, Your Highness.”
Not long after Sedric left, the noise outside grew louder.
He could hear voices shouting “This way!” and the sound of multiple footsteps running down the corridor.
“Your Highness, you should cancel the next tour—”
Before Orvin could finish speaking, the door burst open and someone slipped inside, closing it behind them.
A hood pulled deep over their head obscured their face completely.
Orvin’s face twisted with menace as he drew his sword.
“Who are you?”
“I have an urgent matter to discuss with Your Highness.”
Hearing the intruder’s soft voice, Orvin hesitated.
As the stranger pulled the hood back over their head, the face of a woman with her hair tied back came into view.
Her golden hair, the color of sand gleaming in sunlight, was tied back yet fell abundantly across her shoulders.
Light seemed to emanate from her pale skin of its own accord.
Her clear green eyes, like shallow water, sparkled as if reflecting sunlight dancing on waves.
‘Oh.’
Orvin genuinely caught his breath.
He had seen no small number of beautiful women, but this one felt different.
Vibrant, perhaps, or refreshingly alive.
She seized the eye immediately—and it was impossible to look away.
Orvin glanced cautiously at Carrion.
‘It can’t be, but still, what if.’
If there was some romantic entanglement between the prince and this woman, he couldn’t afford to step in blindly.
“I am Rhea, Princess of Zephiros. I have been discourteous in seeking an audience with Your Highness away from prying eyes.”
Carrion looked her over with the clinical gaze of someone appraising merchandise, then spoke coldly.
“Princess of Zephiros?”
“Yes.”
Carrion lowered his leg from the desk and rose to his feet.
As he approached Rhea with heavy strides, she remained perfectly still.
The closer the distance between them grew, the more naturally her gaze lifted to meet his.
“An unexpected guest has arrived. If you truly are the Princess of Zephiros—”
“Someone will arrive to verify my identity. An official delegation dispatched by my kingdom should arrive within days.”
“Why would Zephiros’s delegation come here instead of to the capital?”
“Because there is an urgent matter I must discuss with Your Highness.”
“If it is business that can be concluded in a single sentence, I will hear it.”
The words amounted to: leave at once, I have no interest in this.
Rhea did not flinch at his frigid reception. Meeting his gaze steadily, she spoke with quiet resolve.
“Marry me.”
Oh.
It seemed as though someone had let out an involuntary gasp.

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