Chapter 244 : Chapter 244
Chapter 244
The military camp was all in a commotion.
It was because of the two individuals, a man and a woman, who had suddenly appeared.
The Imperial soldiers all chattered, but they dared not raise their voices.
“…My goodness. Why are those two here?”
“Haven't they left the capital for the last half-century?”
“…Just as I'd heard, an incredible spirit. He must be over eighty….”
The man and woman on horseback looked at each other.
The man was an old man, and the woman was middle-aged.
However, both exuded a spirit that belied their ages.
The woman spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Father, you're very popular with the soldiers.”
“I have no interest, Marina.”
“Please at least wave your hand. The young men in the military respect you more than His Majesty, you know.”
“That is a very irreverent remark.”
“What does it matter? I am a member of the Imperial Family too.”
Marina Debius chuckled.
Her left hand had only two fingers.
It was a scar from her time as the Seven-Forged General.
When she waved the hand, which had only its thumb and index finger remaining, at the soldiers, a cheer erupted.
“You are all working hard, everyone.”
The soldiers, without exception, raised their voices.
‘Wha- Her Highness the Imperial Consort looked at me!’
‘No. She was looking at me, next to you!’
‘Is it okay to just use this line like this?’
‘More importantly, is it still okay to call Her Highness the Imperial Consort? The Great Emperor has retired….’
‘What does it matter! She is Marina Debius!’
Soon, someone shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Debius!”
The pinnacle of the Imperial military, the most prestigious of the noble houses.
The name of the family that any young man belonging to the military couldn't help but admire.
One shouted, so two shouted.
Two shouted, so four shouted.
Like that, soon, tens of thousands were shouting thunderously.
“““Debius! Debius! Debius-!!!”””
Hmph.
The old man snorted.
His name was Deballo Debius.
One of Continua the Great Emperor's three trusted retainers.
The apex of the Cordis military, the general of generals.
The 1st seat of the Ten Great Generals of the Empire, the Grand General.
Deballo merely spurred his horse on while receiving the fervent cheers.
It was a contrast to Marina, who giggled, saying it had been a long time since she'd had such a reaction.
However, he did not stop the soldiers.
It was because his daughter's appearance, enjoying the cheers, was pathetic and at the same time, cute.
He allowed Marina Debius, who had returned to the battlefield, to immerse herself in old memories.
He thought to himself that the child, once called the flower of the battlefield, must have felt suffocated, having been confined in the Great Imperial Palace for over twenty years.
Thump, thump. Footsteps approached from a distance.
It was Secundus Debius, a giant figure three heads taller than others.
Secundus held the high position of Three-Mi Grand General, but to Deballo, he was merely his grandson, and to Marina, her only son.
They did not dismount from their horses as they greeted Secundus.
“You've come running in a hurry, Three-Mi Grand General.”
“…Grand General, why have you come all this way without sending a word?”
“There is much to discuss.”
Deballo Debius spoke as if spitting out the words, yet his spirit was terrifying.
It was to the extent that even Secundus flinched unknowingly.
“However, there are many eyes watching. Let us go inside and talk first.”
“…Yes, let us do so.”
***
“We don't need refreshments, Secundus.”
Upon entering the barracks, Deballo immediately dropped the formal speech.
A moment ago, he had shown consideration for Secundus's dignity as the supreme commander because there were many soldiers, but if there were no watching eyes, Secundus was just his grandson.
Secundus, also aware of this, bowed his head politely.
Deballo glanced sideways at Kateka, who was standing beside him.
“You, the Great Emperor's third son…. What was your name again.”
“…Kateka Keshulei, Grand General.”
“Hmm. Right. No, should I speak formally. Yes, Your Highness. Please leave… no, please be leaving? Please be left outside? We Debius have things to talk about.”
“…I will be outside….”
Kateka disappeared outside the barracks without any sign of being offended.
Since his opponent was Deballo Debius, he didn't even feel like he was being ignored.
What did it matter if Kateka Keshulei was the Great Emperor's son?
Deballo Debius was the apex of the Imperial military, a powerful man second only to the emperor (though it couldn't be openly declared, depending on the time and place, he was even more than the emperor).
“Why are you standing, Secundus.”
Deballo gestured with his chin.
“Sit there.”
“…Yes, Grandfather.”
“Have you been well? How long has it been?”
“…We saw each other after the Horm conquest. It hasn't even been half a year.”
“If the family hasn't seen each other for half a year, that's a long time.”
The old man pushed the refreshment plate in front of Secundus.
He might not eat, but his grandson might, wouldn't he?
Secundus expressed his thanks and reached out his hand.
It wasn't very sweet, but it tasted good.
“First, let me ask you, Secundus.”
Deballo Debius was a veteran general.
The traces of time remained everywhere on him like furrows.
Therefore, Secundus couldn't help but be tense.
It was because he knew that those who had experienced the war 53 years ago, like Niko Nereyades, were all giants whose inner thoughts were impossible to guess.
“What are you plotting?”
“……”
Secundus Debius's eyes sank.
At Deballo's question, he inevitably had to recall his ambition to break the Empire into pieces.
However, he tried hard not to show it.
“…Hmm. I am not quite sure. Plotting, you say?”
“I mean, why are you dragging out the war?”
“……”
Struck in his vital point, Secundus's lips clamped shut.
Deballo Debius, an eighty-year-old man who had lived his entire life on the battlefield, how much had he seen through?
He tried to rack his brain in haste, but Deballo once again stabbed deep into his heart.
“It's no use trying to come up with a useless excuse. You have no talent for lying. I already have an idea of what's on your mind, so confess honestly.”
Speaking of lies, it reminds me, the Fifth Prince who was on your side during the Succession War… was it Zionis? That brat was overflowing with talent for lying.
At Deballo's words, Secundus slowly opened his lips.
“…If you have an idea, how much?”
“To the extent that if Volmark, Horm, and the West move at the same time, Cordis will be shattered.”
“……!!!”
It meant he had seen through everything.
Secundus's eyes flew wide open.
“…Well, it seems to have ended absurdly before it even began.”
He tried hard to act composed.
“The crime of treason means immediate execution, so it will be difficult to even keep my life….”
“The crime of treason? Who, you mean?”
Secundus let out a groan at Deballo Debius's question.
“I tried to shatter the Empire, so would I not naturally be charged with conspiracy to revolt?”
“If I reported this incident to my superiors, it would turn out that way.”
“……Are you not going to report it?”
“Why should I report it?”
The old man guffawed.
He was a man who had not even a speck of loyalty toward Ferbias.
That's why, until Ferbias asked the Great Emperor, he had pretended to listen but let whatever orders he gave pass in one ear and out the other.
Only then could Secundus let out a sigh of relief.
“You foolish grandson, if I have three generations seized and killed for the crime of revolt, wouldn't your mother and I also get caught?”
“…Is that the reason?”
“No. Actually, it doesn't matter at all. Whether you commit insubordination or beat Ferbias to death, we have no interest.”
Who was the 'we' Deballo was speaking of?
It was obvious without even hearing it.
It would be Continua the Great Emperor and his three trusted retainers, the four old men who were still practically the symbols of the Empire.
“So it is regrettable. It was a shallow plan, Secundus. Too shallow.”
“…What was so shallow about it?”
“It might have been enough to draw Ferbias out, but if you're shattering the Empire, the Great Emperor wouldn't stand still either. Continua the Great Emperor has sent the three of us. Therefore, it means you have failed.”
“……Well. One never knows how things will turn out.”
“Do you truly mean that?”
Deballo Debius was an old man like a lion.
It wasn't just because of his bushy hair and beard; his dignified attitude, as if he had been born without knowing how to back down, was reminiscent of an old male lion.
“Putting me aside, Kerenneus and Hermai have headed for the Throat Gate. It's truly unfortunate for the people there.”
“……”
Secundus ended up grinding his teeth.
Kerenneus Cansella Caseptus, the old man who resembled a bald eagle, had also left the capital Lutilium and come to the West?
Kerenneus was a cruel and brilliant politician and administrator.
Since the old man, who calculates people as numbers, had moved, blood would surely flow.
“It's your mistake. Secundus. You were too hasty.”
Deballo Debius did not hide his pity.
“Were you drunk on the success of the Horm conquest? It is not yet time for us to move. It is too early. But you provoked Ferbias, so we had no choice but to move.”
The Three-Mi Grand General's eyes shot up.
In an instant, he filled the inside of the barracks with a tremendous aura.
It was such a dense aura that even Marina Debius was startled and trembled.
However, Deballo didn't bat an eyelid.
Secundus bared his teeth and growled.
“…What are you telling me to do?”
“You are young. What were you in such a hurry for? You just needed to aim for the next opportunity. You just needed to use this incident as fertilizer and grow.”
“The lives that will be lost until then?”
“That is truly something that cannot be helped. Do you still not know about war, Secundus?”
“Seeing how my anger surges like this, it seems I do not.”
“I thought you were just young, but you're even childish.”
Deballo Debius waved his hand.
“Let's stop this conversation. Nothing good will come from talking further. My advice as a grandfather ends here.”
The old man's gaze changed in an instant.
His blazing eyes were just like a fierce beast's, making one's knees buckle.
Secundus Debius felt a chill down his spine.
“Three-Mi Grand General, I will be taking over your command authority. Have your staff officers finish all reports by today.”
“……”
“Do you not answer, General Secundus?”
Deballo's eyes glared intensely.
“Answer-!”
“…Yes, I will do so, Grand General Deballo.”
“Good. That's how it should be.”
Only then did Marina Debius cut in.
“Dad. Don't be too hard on him. What is there to scold this cute child about?”
“Marina. You're too soft just because he's your son. This is also discipline. Though I agree with the part about him being cute with no room for scolding.”
“Right? Whose son do you think he is.”
The man, who was three heads taller than others, scratched his chin with an embarrassed face.
He shatters fortress gates with his fists and makes horses faint with his shouts.
But Deballo and Marina treated him just like a newborn baby, so he couldn't help but be embarrassed.
“More importantly, Secundus, you didn't even look at me.”
“…Hmm. My apologies, Your Highness.”
“Your Highness? How stiff you are with your mother!”
Marina Debius giggled.
There was an innocence to her that didn't suit her age.
“Don't be so nervous. One way or another, we came here to help you.”
“…Is your body alright?”
“My body? Do you know how hard I've trained these past few years? Losing just three fingers is nothing. I'd say I'm near my prime.”
The former Seven-Forged General held up her left hand, which had only its thumb and index finger remaining.
“More importantly, that guy with the jade-colored eyes from the old days is also in the West, right? You know, the one who beat me at the Grand Convergence of the Succession War.”
“You mean Amethus.”
“Right! He was His Majesty Ferbias's confidant… Come to think of it, it's strange. Why is he in the West? Have you run into him? How is he compared to back then?”
“Hmm. He is incomparably stronger than he was 7 years ago.”
“Oh my! Looks like my training will be worth it!”
Marina smiled with her eyes and looked at Deballo.
Her appearance and her demeanor made it impossible to see her as a woman over forty.
“Let's hurry, Dad.”
“First, we have to break through the defenses.”
“How long will it take?”
“Well, Marina. I left all my soldiers behind and brought at most a hundred retainers, so….”
Deballo Debius stroked his beard.
“Wouldn't it take about three days?”