TOPWL 205

Yudit immediately rose from his seat. He was already armed in preparation for such a time, so there was nothing to gather. When he stepped outside the tent, flames were blazing on all sides. Yudit looked around with a blank expression.

The screams of people, the clash of swords, even the smell of burning were all too vivid.

“Stay alert and keep the formation…!”

Before he could finish speaking, Yudit collided with someone and fell over.

“If you don’t run and just follow training, you can survive!”

But Yudit’s words reached no one. Most were dead or gravely wounded, and while others fled, enemy soldiers closed in on Yudit. Looking up, Yudit doubted his eyes. The enemy had Reginald’s face.

“You slipped away like a rat again and again, only to meet death helplessly on the battlefield.”

“Reginald.”

“Every day you lived and breathed in the Imperial Palace was humiliation to me. Now I, with my own hands, erase the shame of the royal family.”

Reginald swung his sword at Yudit. Yudit barely blocked it, but lacked the strength and was pushed back. Under the pouring blows, Yudit could not regain his senses. At last, he lost his grip on his sword and fell. A mocking smile rose on Reginald’s face.

“You won’t be lonely. I’ll soon send your lifeline, the duke, to your side.”

Reginald lifted his sword high. The blade’s arc cut across Yudit’s neck.

“Hah…!”

Yudit exhaled and woke from sleep. Though it was a cool summer night, his whole body was drenched in cold sweat. His dazed eyes found focus. Yudit looked around. Inside the tent, Shen and Bagon were sleeping, and across the brazier, Darius was standing watch. Seeing Yudit awake, Darius came over.

“……”

After checking Yudit’s condition, Darius went to the brazier, poured tea from the kettle hanging over it into a cup, and brought it along with a towel to Yudit.

“…Thank you.”

Darius bowed slightly and returned to his place. Wrapping his hands around the warm teacup calmed Yudit’s pounding chest a little. He checked the time and less than two hours had passed since he had fallen asleep.

Yudit sipped the tea and went over the dream in his mind. The dream had shown everything he feared. Subordinates not listening to him, and Khalid dying. Just imagining such things made his whole body feel cold. When he finished the tea, Yudit lay down again. Sleep did not come, but he had to force it. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. The tent grew quiet once more.

***

“Oh dear, you didn’t sleep?”

“Mm. How did you know?”

“You have dark circles under your eyes. Your complexion doesn’t look good either.”

Noban, speaking from his horse, looked at Yudit with concern. They were on their way to Breda Castle. Guiding horses through a rough mountain range was harder than expected. Reed, unaccustomed to mountain paths, grew irritable from the endless trail, and Yudit struggled to calm her. Meanwhile, the rain had still not stopped, wearing everyone down. The only advantage was the stronger scent of green trees and grass from the rain. Rubbing his face, Yudit spoke with a tired expression.

“I had a nightmare. I’m not sick.”

In the end, Yudit had hardly slept. His chest had pounded so hard he could not fall asleep.

“Noban. How was your first battle?”

“I struck down thirty enemies.”

“Really?”

Yudit looked at him with admiration, wondering if that was what made someone a knight commander. Noban, pretending to be stern, grinned.

“That was a lie. I’ll tell only you, Commander, I cried my eyes out. If it weren’t for the seniors helping me, I would have died there.”

“So you had such times too, Noban. How old were you then?”

“Thirteen, maybe fourteen.”

“You were young….”

Yudit’s eyes grew dim. If he himself felt this fear now, how terrified must Noban have been back then.

“Regardless of age, the first battle is always full of tension. To be honest, even at this age, I still tremble at even a small fight.”

“Then how can you look so calm?”

Noban, outwardly, showed no signs of shaking. Unlike the young knights, filled with nerves and excitement, Noban looked as relaxed as if he were just out shopping in the market.

“In the past, I endured because I had reliable comrades. When I became commander, I desperately pretended not to be nervous. If I looked nervous, the subordinates below me would only feel more nervous. After decades of doing that, I’ve become able to act relaxed.”

Yudit looked at Noban with admiration. Noban was experienced and seasoned. Yudit had learned a lot from him on the way here. Noban did not discriminate against him for being an omega, nor did he resent him for taking the commander’s seat. Knowing that he sincerely cared and thought of him, Yudit could open his heart to him easily.

“Noban, live long.”

“Longer than this?”

“Yes. If we win here and survive to the end….”

Noban’s eyes shone as if he was looking forward to it.

“I’ll send a lot of food into the 9th Knight Order. Good food.”

At Yudit’s words, Noban laughed.

“Then I’ll have to work them hard so my men don’t turn into fat pigs.”

Talking with Noban had eased some of Yudit’s tension. Reaching the top of the mountain, Noban pointed beyond the ridge. Beyond the mountains, at the highest point, stood a castle.

“That is Breda Castle.”

“It wasn’t carved out of the mountain.”

“Yes, they built a castle on the mountaintop and raised walls halfway up the mountain. They say it was built by a genius two hundred years ago.”

Yudit’s expression grew complicated as he looked at the castle. The thought of having to attack a fortress with solid stone walls standing so high up, and of destroying such a beautiful, dignified structure, weighed heavily on him. But Yudit soon steeled his mind.

‘Right now, all I can think about is winning.’

Yudit pulled out a map from his breast pocket and checked it. The scout who had drawn it must have been skilled, since the map was almost identical to the real sight of the castle. Yudit spoke to Centurion Darion, who was next to him.

“Give a reward to the scout who drew this map.”

“I will obey.”

After folding the map again, Yudit asked Noban.

“Where would be the best place to set up the camp?”

Noban, studying the walls carefully, stroked his chin and spoke.

“One-third on the peak of that summit, one-third on the ridge in front, and one-third surrounding the side of the wall. It would be best to disperse them that way.”

Yesterday’s meeting had reached a similar conclusion, but seeing it in person made him hesitate. The ridge in front was too close to the wall.

“Isn’t that too close? Will it be alright?”

“It should be fine. We need to show ourselves to some extent anyway, and Breda’s numbers are small. They will choose to defend rather than attack. Just as they always have.”

Breda, being in highlands with strong walls, had always chosen to hide instead of coming out, even when intruders appeared. But was there any guarantee they would do the same this time? When Yudit still could not put his mind at ease, Noban spoke in reassurance.

“Breda has just over two thousand people in total. Of those, fewer than seven hundred can fight. And since the other princes are also ravaging the Gotha Kingdom, the chance of reinforcements arriving is slim. Even if they come, it won’t be a meaningful number.”

Yudit too had heard of victories from various places. But he did not feel impatient. He only needed to move at his own pace. He did not want to rush and ruin things out of impatience. Yudit looked at the gradually approaching walls with a calm gaze.

“Has the envoy returned?”

“Not yet.”

Last night they had sent an envoy with a parchment agreed upon by all. It stated that those who surrendered would not be killed, and that freedom of religion would be guaranteed. Some had opposed this, saying that granting freedom of religion would only invite constant rebellion, but Yudit was certain they would never surrender without such a guarantee. That was how absolute Gotha Kingdom’s faith, the Dan religion, was. More than eighty percent of the people believed in it. Yudit too had once taken interest in the religion and knew about it.

One-third of the summit forces were drawn from the Devlin Knight Order and the 9th Knight Order. The commander of the Devlin Knight Order was put in charge of that position. Yudit stopped his horse at the ridge close to the wall. Looking up at the towering wall, Yudit spoke.

“Set up the catapults.”