NLS Ch10

Someone called out Ashin’s name loudly from nearby.

“Ashin!”

A woman shorter than Ashin pushed through the soldiers and stood before her.

“Ashin!”

“Liyora.”

Liyora, panting, examined Ashin’s body from head to toe.

“Are you crazy? That range just now… you could have died!”

Judging by her reaction, it seemed Ashin neglecting her own well-being wasn’t a rare occurrence.

“Uh, uh, I’m, I’m okay.”

The voice she deliberately strengthened trembled miserably.

The body leaning on him was the same. Liyora seemed to notice it, but she appeared to decide to be fooled by Ashin, who was forcing a smile. Tsk, Liyora clicked her tongue lightly and grabbed Ashin’s arm, pulling her away. Her hand naturally slipped away from him.

Leotar raised his hand and held it up before his eyes. Golden dust remained like an afterimage. It flickered like an illusion, but it didn’t disappear even when he brushed it with his fingers.

Not long after, it was revealed that the culprit who started the war was the King of Pihan’s younger brother, the Prince.

The Prince of Pihan had meticulously prepared for the war for years in order to seize Ismil’s water source. All sorts of curses and spells were prepared for each battle, and units without priests were unilaterally devastated to the point where it was fair to say they were completely defeated.

Until then, curses had been dismissed as mere magic that caused diseases in people or poisoned fresh food. The Imperial army, which had never imagined that curses could manipulate human will and sicken the land, becoming so powerful as to threaten an entire nation’s army, was helplessly defeated and ceded territory to Pihan.

However, there was something the Prince hadn’t anticipated.

The emergence of Ashin Judin.

Flap, Leotar was jolted out of his reverie as his hawk landed on his shoulder.

He reflexively raised his head. The moon was setting over the gently flowing stream. How much time had passed? Thinking about Ashin in Ismil made time stretch endlessly.

Leotar couldn’t exactly explain why he was like this either.

Was it because she was his life’s savior?

But it wasn’t as if no one had ever saved him before. From his earliest childhood memories, his life had always been precarious. His life was a continuous struggle to survive because the person who most desperately wanted him dead was his own father, and because of that, he had unintentionally received quite a bit of help.

It had become a rare occurrence after he came of age, but it wasn’t unfamiliar.

Then it could have been because of their mysterious first encounter, or the lingering residue of the spell containing the caster’s wishes, or the act of unhesitatingly holding hands and leaning on him… he could only speculate.

In that canyon, Ashin may have seen him as one of a thousand lives, but for Leotar, Ashin alone was imprinted in his mind.

Was that why? From some point on, whenever he regained his senses on the battlefield, he was always looking at Ashin. He hoped she was safe. Of course, as commander, he wanted all Imperial soldiers to be safe, but he was a little more personally concerned about her.

Confirming with his own eyes that Ashin was safe and sound became his daily routine to finish the day. Ashin, exhausted but tending to the wounded late into the night, Ashin shivering in the cold and wrapping her scarf tightly around her forehead and ears, Ashin making a face because the food didn’t suit her taste, and… Ashin actually crying.

That was all.

Kneeling, Leotar scooped up water from the river and washed his face. The blood that had stained his cheeks and forehead was faintly washed away. All of this had to be unrelated to Ashin. Leotar knew very well how fiercely Ashin fought on the battlefield. He also knew how painful the war must have been for Ashin, who even cared about wildflowers being trampled by warhorses.

That’s why he understood that her desire to travel all over the continent wasn’t a whim, as Vize suspected, but genuine. Ashin needed to take care of herself more carefully.

So she just needed to travel through peaceful landscapes and live a peaceful daily life.

“My Lord.”

Nigel approached and handed him something.

Leotar unfolded the small paper, read it, and crumpled it into his pocket.

“What about Judin?”

“She is currently at the residence. The residence is also secure.”

As Ashin had guessed, Leotar’s subordinates were indeed monitoring Ashin’s residence. Although for a different reason than Ashin thought.

“No matter how persistent their backers are, they wouldn’t dare to touch Lord Judin.”

Leotar thought the same, but he couldn’t let his guard down. From the moment Vize linked Ashin to him, Ashin could be exposed to danger at any time. Recently, the Marquisate had been sending scouts and assassins so recklessly that they might even target Ashin.

“How many are left?”

“Approximately 50 cavalry and three hundred soldiers.”

“The elite squad?”

“Sixteen.”

“If Judin leaves the residence, two units are to be stationed permanently at the Tower.”

The Vice-Commander closed his mouth tightly without answering.

“If the forces are dispersed again…”

“Nigel.”

Leotar rubbed his tired eyes.

“I told you, manpower isn’t the problem.”

“Understood.”

Nigel moved a little closer and examined his complexion.

“I heard you’ve decided on the marriage. How is it?”

Hearing the word “marriage” made his heart beat uncomfortably. The events of the night he visited Ashin’s residence flashed through his mind. The green eyes wide with dissatisfaction, the loud demand to be kissed, and then the lips reddening as she quickly exhaled, the soft, yielding body brushing against him through the fabric.

“…Unfamiliar and tiring.”

Having to consider Ashin in every move was very annoying. If the endlessly repeated assassination attempts reached Ashin… Even if that happened, he couldn’t actually harm Ashin, but he was concerned.

He ran his wet hands over his face.

Marriage was not a personal matter. Ashin needed him to protect the Tower, and he needed Ashin for three years, so their marriage was a typical transaction between families.

There was no perfectly safe transaction. Both had to accept a certain degree of risk. So worrying about Ashin, who could easily deal with assassinations or threats, was a waste of time. He repeated it countless times, but….

His face was reflected on the wavering surface of the water.

Leotar couldn’t face himself and turned away.

***

Ashin was staring blankly into the air.

Her gaze was directed towards the Imperial Palace’s garden, but her mind was filled with other thoughts. She couldn’t even hear what Vize was saying next to her.

“…shin.”

One or two clouds floated by.

“Ashin!”

Ashin flinched and came to her senses.

“Oh, Your Majesty.”

Only then did she return to reality. Ashin was currently being dragged along on Vize’s stroll, being made to admire the newly landscaped garden from the Imperial carriage.

“Are you unwell?”

“Your Majesty, I’ve been a bit strange lately.”

Vize replied without much surprise.

“It’s not like you being strange is anything new.”

“My mind keeps wandering somewhere, I don’t know if it’s because I can’t believe I’m getting married. It all doesn’t feel real.”

“Everyone’s like that before marriage. It’s about a week away.”

“Were you like that too, Your Majesty?”

“I wasn’t.”

“What…”

Ashin frowned and narrowed her brow.

As time passed, Ashin had no choice but to take the marriage more and more seriously, just as Leotar had said. That was because, in Imperial society, marriage wasn’t just about two people getting together, but had a deep meaning as an alliance between families.

However, there were only sorcerers around her who were too busy taking care of themselves to even think about marriage, so she couldn’t get advice from anyone. Commoners generally lived without getting married. The only person she knew closely who was married was Vize, but wasn’t she the Emperor¹?

There was no way Vize could understand how Ashin, a mere commoner, felt towards the great Mur family.

First of all, marriage alliances also came with a lot of obligations. The obligation of succession, the obligation of fidelity, the obligation of assistance, the obligation of relief… As preparations progressed, the practical aspects became a burden. Leotar had a lot of subordinates, but Ashin was all alone. The sorcerers of the Tower and her friends from the same tribe weren’t her subordinates. So, compared to Leotar, who had overflowing assets and manpower, the obligations Ashin could fulfill were limited.

No matter how outstanding Ashin was, she was just good on her own, and she didn’t have a family to back her up. If Vize heard, she would jump up and scold Ashin, but the Imperial Family was just the Imperial Family, and the Imperial Family wasn’t Ashin’s real bloodline. She had lived her whole life without ever feeling intimidated, but she hated this feeling of being indebted from the start.

It was all canceled out that she thought this marriage was more necessary for Leotar.

All of her achievements and accomplishments felt meaningless in front of the great noble family with its grand history. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t catch up with those countless years.

If she had chosen a suitable family, Ashin could have maintained her dignity without shrinking back, but Vize didn’t know the limit at all.

“But isn’t Mur in a situation where they may or may not be able to inherit the family right now?”

“So he’s not a man who could even bring up the idea of marriage if it wasn’t for this time.”

This sounded like the marriage was a rather unscrupulous deal. Perhaps it was humiliating from Leotar’s perspective.

“What if he can’t inherit?”

“That won’t happen, so rest assured.”

“Aren’t I the only one who’s going to be ruined?”

“Are you saying that after experiencing Leotar on the battlefield?”

She was just complaining because she wanted to avoid the inevitable fate somehow, but Ashin knew it too. That man wouldn’t lose. Politics always turned out strangely, and just because you had power didn’t mean you always won, so Leotar was probably in a trap right now. And just like Ashin had, he would easily overcome the hardship with his own strength.

“I’ve never held a losing hand.”