#107
“Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s a bit late. Something like a name.”
“That’s true, but I want to be able to call the young master by name soon.”
Just as he said this, the baby grabbed the rattle firmly. Pol showered praise on the baby with a face full of smiles. Enrique shook his head, thinking that although he was the one who gave birth, it seemed Pol had become more of a doting parent.
The war situation changed daily. The King of Shamier, accepting Enrique’s wishes, moved all the troops stationed at the Monta border northward. Some lords of Monta, already terrified by the mere existence of the allied forces, surrendered as soon as they saw the Shamier army flying the allied flags.
This was probably Anture’s doing. While he showed mercy to the lords who surrendered and offered their territories, the lords who chose to resist and their heirs were invariably beheaded. After the capital of Monta was nearly surrounded, Monta’s lords were forced into a situation where they had to fend for themselves.
As Monta began to lose its territory gradually from the sides and bottom, it had now lost most of its land except for the central capital and the coastal territories. The capital and the coast where the fleet was stationed. Now only the two most difficult targets remained.
Enrique gently stroked the black hair of the baby playing with bubbles, thinking of Anture. Now that winter had come again, Anture was just nineteen years old. Although considered an adult, he was still young. However, as a prince of the Ruben Empire, he was showing excellent military achievements and progress. Judging from his accomplishments so far, he would likely be appointed as the crown prince after this war. There was no one else qualified to become the crown prince of Ruben.
In Enrique’s view, Anture was an excellent strategist. Both in war and in winning his heart, Anture was doing remarkably well.
Thinking about Anture ascending to the position of crown prince made Enrique feel somewhat lonely. After their marriage ended and he returned to Ruben, Anture would probably be busy learning about state affairs, participating in them, and raising an heir. He would be busy, and so would Enrique. Living such busy lives, perhaps their longing for each other would gradually fade. Yes, that would be better.
“But at least I have you,” Enrique said, smiling as he stroked the child who looked exactly like Anture. With this child by his side, his future wouldn’t be so lonely. Enrique decided to take comfort in that thought.
*
“Why are you silent?”
Enrique looked at Pol with puzzled eyes and asked.
Pol, who had just returned from going out, was standing still with his mouth tightly shut. Knowing that the purpose of this outing was to hear about the meeting’s contents, Enrique waited for Pol to chatter. But Pol didn’t easily open his mouth.
“Pol?”
Enrique called Pol’s name as if urging him. But seeing Pol unable to speak easily, a deep sense of unease welled up.
“Did something happen to Anture?”
When Enrique asked, Pol nodded slowly.
Enrique stopped breathing for a moment. It was as if he had forgotten how to breathe.
‘Calm down. I need to calm down.’
Enrique soothed himself inwardly. Only after muttering this several times could he finally take a breath.
“Tell me in detail.”
He tried to speak calmly, but his voice trembling was inevitable. Pol swallowed hard once and then spoke with difficulty.
“They successfully captured the capital and entered the royal castle, but they couldn’t find the whereabouts of the King of Monta. After hearing from a spy that the King of Monta had escaped the castle using a secret passage, he chased after him with his guard knights through the secret passage, but…”
Pol trailed off. Enrique couldn’t bring himself to urge Pol to continue and just stared intently at Pol’s mouth with anxious eyes.
“It seems some kind of trap was set in the secret passage, causing the entrance to collapse, and now he’s missing…”
“Did they check the exit of the passage?”
“About that, the spy only knew about the entrance of the secret passage and didn’t know where the exit led.”
“Is there a possibility that the spy disclosed a fake secret passage to lead them into a trap?”
“I heard they’re interrogating the spy with that possibility in mind.”
“…”
“The entrance of the secret passage is made of heavy rocks, and the inside of the passage has also collapsed, so they said it would take a long time to clear everything and enter.”
Pol, who had spoken in a solemn voice, closed his mouth again.
Enrique took a heavy breath and buried his forehead in his hands. He felt dizzy and his breathing became rapid.
“He should have sent his subordinates, why did he rush in there himself?”
Enrique muttered softly. His voice came out trembling.
“The exit… He must have gone out through the exit. He’s probably chasing the King of Monta.”
Enrique removed his hand from his forehead and spoke looking at Pol. He could see from Pol’s expression that his own gaze was filled with desperation.
“Yes, that’s right, Your Highness. Since the entrance is blocked, he must be continuing to chase the King of Monta through the exit. That must be it.”
Pol nodded vigorously, reinforcing Enrique’s hope.
“Yes. That must be it.”
Enrique muttered as if reassuring himself, gripping the armrest of the sofa tightly.
After receiving news about Anture, Enrique could no longer hold back and began attending meetings. Knowing the reason, the King of Shamier no longer tried to stop his son.
Although there was confusion due to Anture’s disappearance, the war was slowly entering its final phase regardless. The capital and royal castle had fallen, and the king had fled and gone missing. It would be difficult for the country to maintain itself in this situation.
Now, all that remained was the coast of Monta. The ships that had sailed to the coast of Ruben were now returning and gathering along the coastline. Although there were probably differing opinions within the fleet, they had not yet expressed any intention to surrender.
They were troublesome opponents. It was difficult to assemble a new fleet to attack them, and even if a fleet was assembled and an attack launched, it would be hard to win. Furthermore, even if they gained the upper hand, it would not be easy to catch them if they fled, as they knew the Monta coast inside out. Even if they occupied the coastal cities and cut off supplies, they had the ability to procure supplies independently from nearby islands.
The allied forces deployed troops to the coastal cities and entered the phase of wrapping up the war. It wasn’t just about winning. Completely absorbing the occupied territories would take considerable effort and time.
Many talented individuals from Shamier were urgently dispatched to the capital of Monta and various territories that would soon be absorbed into Shamier. It was for investigation to grasp the situation accurately and prepare for absorption into Shamier. Ruben was probably doing the same thing in Baron’s territory.
Although the aftermath was being handled smoothly, there had been no news of Anture for over a month. This was despite the Ruben Emperor desperately searching for Anture’s whereabouts using many troops.
‘The Ruben prince fell for the King of Monta’s scheme and died trapped in a secret passage.’
Such rumors were quietly circulating throughout the continent. Enrique felt an unbearable sense of helplessness and guilt. If only he hadn’t asked Anture to bring him the King of Monta’s head, Anture wouldn’t have rushed in so recklessly.
Enrique sat blankly in the small greenhouse of the garden, holding the sleeping baby, Bayan. The space that held memories of passionate love with Anture had now turned into a hall of guilt.
No matter how much he thought about it, it was unbelievable. Anture was only nineteen years old. It was hard to believe that he, born as a prince of Ruben and soon to become the crown prince, might be dead.
But all circumstances pointed to Anture’s death. It had already been a month since he went missing. If he were alive, he would surely have made contact or shown himself. But there had been no news of him at all.
“Your Highness.”
Pol, who had briefly gone outside the greenhouse, approached with somewhat hurried steps. Enrique forcibly focused his blank eyes.
“Your Highness, they say they’ve found the whereabouts of the King of Monta.”
“…What?”
“The King of Monta has reportedly joined the fleet stationed on the Monta coast.”
“Ah…”
Enrique let out a somewhat stupid sound. Although he was clearly hearing it, it took some time for the information to register in his head. Enrique tried to think about the information he had just heard. He felt as if he had become an idiot.
“The King of Monta has joined the fleet?”
When Enrique spoke with furrowed brows, Pol nodded.
“The King of Monta has joined the fleet…”
Enrique muttered softly, trying to think rationally. Fortunately, his mind cleared somewhat before long.
“Your Highness?”
As Enrique sat blankly looking down at the sleeping Bayan, Pol called out in a worried voice. Without answering, Enrique stroked Bayan’s jet-black hair and then suddenly raised his head.
“I have to go.”
“…Pardon?”
Pol made a puzzled sound at the sudden statement. Enrique sprang up from his seat, handed Bayan to Pol, and spoke again.
“I need to go to the Monta coast. Anture must be there.”
“Your Highness…”
Pol’s face filled with difficult and pitiful emotions. Enrique patted Pol’s cheek lightly.
“Are you looking at me like that because you think I’ve lost my mind? How impertinent.”
“But Your Highness, the prince…”
Pol couldn’t finish his sentence and trailed off.
