The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 33

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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 33
Before Mariel left, Orbin sought her out privately.
He had come to suspect some misunderstanding in communication between his lord and the princess.
“I apologize for the trouble of coming all this way, but I ought to inquire again with His Highness.”
“No, there’s no need for that. It’s a simple matter, really.”
“Simple?”
“The patron is planning a surprise gift. Please don’t bungle things by meddling in the middle.”
A hollow laugh escaped Orbin.
‘A surprise gift? If one knew even half of what the Crown Prince is like, you couldn’t say such a thing.’
A month ago, he would have insisted otherwise.
That he was not the sort of man to do such things.
But now he was no longer certain.
He said nothing and let Mariel go.
After Mariel departed, Lea and Peni caught each other’s eye and broke into laughter at the same moment.
“Peni, your expression is like someone who’s just received a scolding from their nurse and lost half their wits.”
“And what of your expression, Your Highness?”
Peni giggled, then let out an exaggerated sigh.
“I think that person will strip away every coin I have just to buy their clothes. I’ve never seen a merchant speak so sweetly and smoothly. It’s enough to blind a person. Do all the tailors in the Empire speak with such aristocratic manners?”
“Not all of them, surely. That person is probably among the most renowned tailors in the Capital.”
“That does seem likely. Their clothes must be terribly expensive too. They wouldn’t try to overcharge you, would they?”
“They wouldn’t dare. They know where they are.”
“Ah…….”
Peni nodded with a sullen expression.
‘She’s assuming I invoked the Crown Prince as my backer. Well, it’s true enough that we’re indebted here and receiving his help.’
Peni’s heart was complicated.
To Peni, the princess was a person of higher station than anyone else.
But here, the princess had become someone standing in another’s shadow.
It made her somewhat resentful, and she worried the princess might lose her confidence.
Unlike Peni’s fears, Lea did not lose her footing, but the encounter became a moment for her to reckon with her own shortcomings.
She had been about to ask Orbin to summon the tailor.
When Orbin arrived with the tailor before she could even speak, she felt grateful to Carrion.
He had listened to her words and seen to it through Orbin that her need was met.
What Lea wanted was a few suitable day dresses for going out.
Pieces of quality that would not be unseemly even when visiting an aristocratic residence.
The reason for purchasing already-made garments was partly a matter of time, but also price.
Most ateliers carry unsold stock, and such clothes could be purchased far more cheaply.
‘That tailor seems to be quite renowned in the Capital.’
Lea had made a grave mistake.
She had called upon a famous tailor and then asked to buy from their stock.
There was no point in questioning why she had summoned someone so renowned.
The tailor the Empire’s Crown Prince calls upon is simply of that caliber.
Any lower rank would not even enter into consideration.
This was precisely the greatest obstacle Lea and Nela had encountered when planning their strategy in her past life.
There was a gulf in culture and economic scale between the Zephyros Kingdom and the Empire.
What she had enjoyed as a princess in her childhood was of an entirely different order from the luxuries of the Empire’s upper classes.
From the day she fled the kingdom, she had been hunted.
At first she was pursued by the forces of the stepmother who seized her throne; later, branded as a rebel leader commanding vagrants, she was hunted by the Empire itself.
She knew how to hunt beasts and skin them, but she knew nothing of the social culture of the Empire’s elite circles.
Lea had grasped the framework of her grand plan: to marry Carrion and plunge herself into the heart of high society.
Her greatest stumbling block was her own ignorance.
Nela could not help her.
She too was an outsider to the Empire’s social culture.
Lea had asked, perplexed.
“Did you not say you lived in the Empire for ten years?”
Nela glanced away and answered.
“I lived there, yes.”
From her answer, Lea gathered something of the truth.
During those ten years in the Empire, Nela had refused to immerse herself in that world.
It was not difficult to understand why.
The Nortia Kingdom had submitted to the Empire’s invasion and become a Tributary State.
Moreover, Nela, dragged to the Empire as a hostage, must have been beside herself with anguish.
She would have been in no mood to attend social gatherings and laugh and chatter.
“This won’t do. Go back and learn it yourself.”
“Then might you at least recommend a good teacher?”
“I can’t speak to that, but when you go to the Capital, I’ll introduce you to a few people who can help you. Though I make no guarantees.”
That was why Lea was so intent on finding outdoor clothing to wear.
In her mind’s eye lay a map—uncertain, its authenticity unknown.
She needed to dig it up soon and see if there was treasure; if not, she’d have to devise another plan.
‘I couldn’t even handle the tailor with any real skill. I have to learn the grammar of high society before I set foot in the Imperial Palace.’
It was fortunate that Carrion’s residence lay in District 3.
District 3 offered far greater freedom of movement than Districts 1 and 2.
There was somewhere she wanted to go the moment her outdoor clothes arrived.
‘For now, though, I need to rest.’
Merely meeting with the tailor had drained her of energy. That tailor was no ordinary person.
* * *
The moment Carrion opened his eyes, the unfamiliar bedroom startled him.
He soon remembered where he was and sat up.
He swept his hand absently across his chest.
‘My body felt strange yesterday, yet I slept well.’
When he pulled the bell-cord, servants entered at once.
After so long, being waited upon—washing and dressing—felt awkward.
During his time at the Northeastern Residence, he’d forgone such attendants and managed most things himself.
After a simple breakfast, he summoned Cedric.
“Find the chamberlain Balto and ask about the Emperor’s schedule for today. Tell him His Majesty was curious about when he might summon me, and that should prompt an answer.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Carrion sat before a table and rested his chin in his hand.
The Emperor had granted him a private audience, but when to summon him was the Emperor’s prerogative.
It could be today, or it could be days from now.
He was bound to wait here, trapped.
After so long without respite, and now forced into it, he didn’t know what to do with himself.
He recalled the past six years.
When he was first appointed Commander-in-Chief and departed for the Northeast, he hadn’t known precisely what his role would be.
Soon enough, he grasped the shabby reality of the great Imperial Army and was appalled.
A military in peacetime was a breeding ground for corruption.
Soldiers drained of their edge were as limp as mollusks.
Push too hard and resistance would mount; leave things be and they would rot beyond recovery.
The trick was to tighten and loosen in measured turns.
That was the Commander-in-Chief’s role.
Within a year, he moved tirelessly through the Northeast, visiting all fourteen garrison posts across the region.
Everywhere he went, there was work waiting.
He lived busily, and the military suited him in ways he hadn’t expected.
The regular, predictable rhythm of repetition without variables brought him peace.
Until recently, his life had been like the smooth surface of a still lake.
Then some woman appeared and threw a stone.
Not just a stone, either—a boulder.
He let out a soft laugh.
‘There I go, thinking about that woman again.’
The frequency seemed to be increasing.
“Your Highness.”
A servant’s voice came from outside.
“What is it?”
The servant entered and made his report.
“A servant from Chamok Won has brought a message from the First Prince.”
Chamok Won was the name by which the First Prince’s palace was known.
“Bid him enter.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The servant departed and returned with the messenger from Chamok Won.
The messenger from Chamok Won spoke.
“Your Highness. The First Prince sends word that he rejoices in your return and wishes to share fine tea with you. He requests that you visit Chamok Won at your earliest convenience.”
Carrion’s brow furrowed.
‘Could it be because of Hekethia?’
The five princes each had a different mother.
Carrion felt no particular bond with his brothers.
Except for the youngest, the fifth prince, the other four were close enough in age that they had been rivals since childhood.
Whenever they crossed paths by chance, they either ignored each other or exchanged cutting remarks wrapped in courtesy.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never really clashed with Enoch.’
There was nothing to do in any case. Carrion rose from his seat.
“Is it all right if I go now?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Carrion went to Chamok Won with his attendant.
Enoch’s private residence, surrounded by towering oaks, lay south of the inner palace and was quite far from Carrion’s own.
Enoch greeted him with a radiant smile.
“Welcome, Fourth Prince. I’m grateful you accepted my invitation. Please, sit here.”
“It’s been a while.”
Carrion bowed his head, his tone formal and courteous.

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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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