The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 34

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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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Episode 34
Among the imperial princes, there was no rigid hierarchy.
The numbers corresponding to age was merely happenstance.
The Emperor had simply numbered them in the order he acknowledged each as his son.
Still, Enoch, the first of the five, held a certain distinction.
After all, he was the child the Emperor had recognized first.
The second through fourth princes differed in age by only a year or two, but Enoch was four years older than Carrion.
Between them personally, there was little animosity.
The incident in Hecatia had not yet strained their relations.
Carrion treated Enoch with deference, partly to gauge the intentions behind the summons.
Enoch smiled pleasantly, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Word of the Northeast Commander’s reputation has reached even my ears. The Emperor truly has a keen eye. He appointed precisely the right person for the position.”
“I couldn’t say what rumors you’ve heard, but most are exaggerated. I simply discharge my duties as commander.”
“Attending to fundamentals proves harder than one might think. Now that you’ve returned after so long, how do you find things?”
“I notice no marked changes.”
Indeed, with the Emperor steadfast at the Imperial Palace, what transformation could there be? I’m simply grateful for this peace. The Northeast must flourish equally under his grace, I imagine?”
“There have been no significant incidents.”
“And how are you managing? Surely you find life here lacks much compared to the capital.”
“I adapt well enough. I can’t say I’m uncomfortable.”
One flat response followed another.
Enoch regarded Carrion while taking care not to let his frustration show on his face.
‘A wooden creature, this one.’
Among the five imperial princes, Enoch had thrust himself deepest into the affairs of state.
As Minister of the Imperial Audit, he occupied a position from which he could scrutinize the empire’s finances.
Moreover, his mother hailed from the Valentino house, the empire’s most prestigious noble family.
From childhood, he had cultivated connections with those of noble birth.
Backed by factions within the Religious Order and the support of central nobility, he had steadily expanded his influence.
For his age, Enoch was remarkably deft.
Having dealt with so many people, he could read someone from mere scraps of conversation.
He excelled at embedding subtle subtext in casual discourse, probing his interlocutor’s depths.
Most people grew tense in his presence and found themselves caught in his web.
Those few who resisted proved difficult.
They were either more cunning than he, or stubbornly forthright.
The fourth prince before him now seemed to lean toward the latter.
‘Is this truly what Carrion’s nature is?’
Growing up, Enoch had paid little attention to him.
Carrion had no maternal connections in the capital and kept himself apart, shunning the cultivation of networks, so he posed no threat.
‘Perhaps I should have nurtured him, shown him more care.’
The forthright do not waver.
Winning their trust is the difficulty.
Had he played the part of a dependable older brother in those early years, Carrion might by now be a dog hanging on his every word.
Enoch felt a trace of regret.
“While you’re in the capital, why not take your time and enjoy yourself? The Social Season begins soon, after all.”
“I don’t care for loud gatherings.”
“Ah, that’s right—I’ve never seen you at banquets. Are you planning to return to the Northeast right away?”
Carrion did not answer.
Betrothing himself to her and proceeding with marriage would consume another month or two.
How long he would remain in the capital was impossible to predict now.
“If there’s no rush, I could arrange an occasion for you.”
“What sort of occasion?”
“The pretext matters little—one justifies as needed. A gathering to welcome the return of the Northeast Commander? Even if you’re unaccustomed to such affairs, you ought to acquit yourself reasonably well. Unless you mean to live alone your whole life.”
“I’ll consider it.”
What Enoch truly wished to know lay elsewhere.
He was curious why Carrion had requested a private audience with the Emperor.
Asking outright would be the tactic of an amateur.
Enoch steered the conversation toward personal matters alone.
As Carrion departed Chamok Garden and made her way back to her own chambers, she formed an assessment of Enoch.
‘He doesn’t yet know about Hecatia. A cunning one, this man.’
In their youth, they had seldom crossed paths, making it difficult to take the measure of each other.
During the hour they spent over tea, Enoch’s active direction of conversation afforded her ample opportunity to observe.
Enoch was mistaken about one thing.
Carrion’s talents simply suited the military well; he was no mere blunt instrument of war.
He was closer to a keen observer.
Experience had taught him that appearing dull made life easier.
‘There’s nothing to gain by getting close to him.’
Enoch belonged to the type of person Carrion despised.
The kind who wore masks, positioning others like pieces on a board.
Carrion had already guessed why Enoch had summoned him so suddenly.
‘He wanted to know why I met with the Emperor.’
When he returned to the Jajeop Residence, a gift from the Empress awaited him.
It was a belt adorned with jade.
The delicate jade work bore the touch of a master’s hand—refined rather than ornate.
The Empress had no children of her own.
The Emperor, using her barrenness as excuse, had taken countless women to his bed.
The Empress had never tormented these women or their bastard offspring.
Instead, she looked after the ones abandoned after a single night with the Emperor—the illegitimate children who were never acknowledged as princes.
Her treatment of the five imperial sons remained consistent.
She sent gifts on every commemorative day, and when he came to pay his respects, she offered only kind words.
Yet she never played the role of a compassionate mother embracing them all.
She simply maintained her dignity as Empress.
‘I’ve received a gift. I should pay my respects.’
If Carrion harbored any warmth toward anyone in the Imperial Palace, it was the Empress.
She was the only one who sent him gifts on his birthday.
* * *
The Emperor did not summon Carrion until sunset.
It couldn’t possibly be from lack of time for a brief meeting.
According to the attendants, the Emperor’s schedule for the day had been light.
‘Wretched old man.’
He was deliberately making him wait.
The Emperor always did this.
He hadn’t been able to prevent it this time, so the seizure would come.
Carrion went to bed braced for it.
Late in the night, he woke gasping for air.
“Hah—hah.”
His breathing came hot, and fever swept through his entire body.
His limbs felt heavy as waterlogged cotton, sinking into darkness.
It was as if he were submerged in slowly boiling water, his mind cooking inside his skull.
This was unlike the seizures he’d endured since childhood.
It resembled the dawn of the day the wildfire had broken out.
He opened and closed his eyes slowly.
Heat poured from his eyelids. His vision blurred.
This state was dangerous.
But he lacked even the strength to twitch a finger.
‘What do you want? What are you trying to do?’
A Spirit? Communion?
This creature was only waiting for a chance to devour him.
‘There’s no one here to soothe you now.’
That dawn, he’d been nearly resigned. Now, fury burned in him.
He didn’t want to die.
‘Will you kill me and go hunting for prey elsewhere? Will she welcome you? You can only obtain the Wind Essence if I survive.’
Then Carrion felt his body shift.
He forced strength into his fingers.
The trembling digits obeyed him just enough to clench into a fist.
‘Surely not.’
He was uncertain.
Had the Spirit actually listened to him?
He took a deep breath and spoke low.
‘Let’s make a deal. Just give way for now. Let me move my body, and I’ll go to the Princess at once. Bear it just a little longer.’
An odd sensation bloomed in him.
A burning energy deep in his belly began to rotate, coiling inward.
It did not hurt.
There was simply a sensation of something foreign settling inside his body.
He had never experienced this before.
The heat drained from his limbs.
Each breath came easier than the last.
Carrion rose slowly to his feet.
He flexed his hands open and closed, then rotated his shoulders to test them.
The fever left him slightly dazed, but there were no other symptoms.
‘Did it truly understand me?’
He straightened abruptly.
There was no time to waste.
He had to move before the Spirit changed its mind again.
The obstacle was time itself.
The gates of the Imperial Palace opened and closed at fixed hours, dawn and dusk.
To leave, he would have to wait until sunrise—if the Spirit could be patient that long, which seemed doubtful.
Carrion sought out an expert without delay.
Fortunately, Luke, the commander of the guard, was staying at the Jajeop Residence with him.
“Luke.”
Luke appeared, his expression startled.
“Your Highness. What is the matter?”
“I need to leave the Imperial Palace now.”
Carrion had no doubt that Luke would know a way.

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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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