Chapter 275 : Chapter 275
Chapter 275
'Kerenneus Cansella Caseptus….'
Grand Duke Pret repeated the name of the man he was about to meet in his mind.
'I have heard rumors of him ad nauseam since I was young.'
The Grand Duke is an old man over seventy.
Fifty-three years ago, he was a young man in his prime.
It means he is of the generation that directly experienced the great feats of Great Emperor Continua and his three henchmen.
Deballo, Hermai, Kerenneus.
And more fearful than anyone, Continua!
'I thought the henchmen would step down when the Great Emperor retired… to think I would meet him again like this….'
He was a person he would not have wanted to meet if he had only thought of himself.
'The most seasoned of the three henchmen. A strategist among strategists… wise in a despicable way.'
That was Kerenneus.
Except for the Imperial Family, he is the master of Caseptus, the most high-ranking family in the Great Empire.
The current Emperor's maternal grandfather.
The Prime Minister of Cordis.
A member of the Eight Sages.
If Deballo Debius is at the top of the imperial military, Kerenneus holds the leash of the imperial bureaucrats.
In other words, it means he is the undisputed second-in-command of Cordis's power.
'What is Emperor Ferbias plotting? To have Kerenneus arrange a meeting like this… well, it is enough for me if I just get the information.'
What is the hidden intention behind the recommendation to end the war?
Whether he should really accept this recommendation.
Although not quite at Kerenneus's level, Grand Duke Pret was also a seasoned politician.
It is natural since he has lived as the head of a country for nearly twenty years.
He glanced behind him.
Several carts were following.
They were all filled with precious gifts.
In particular, there was a lot of top-quality wine from Bururade.
It was because of the rumor that Great Emperor Continua liked it.
That was a gift, and at the same time, a shield protecting Grand Duke Pret.
'I have prepared the best hospitality. If one were to harm me like this, a great flaw would appear on Emperor Ferbias's reputation. As an Emperor who has already lost much public sentiment by killing Grand General Secundus, he would definitely want to avoid it.'
Grand Duke Pret's eyes sank.
It was well known even in the West that Emperor Ferbias valued honor.
And yet, he had already lost much honor.
He is bound to be even more sensitive about protecting what honor remains.
Considering that the Emperor is Kerenneus's maternal grandson, he was even safer.
'…….'
As he dwelled on safety, a new worry came to mind.
To be precise, it was something that had already settled inside him, but that is not an important fact.
'…Shion, looked terribly lonely.'
He recalled Shion fighting with the other Elders.
Shion was screaming.
He cried out like a madman, all alone.
He had always covered his face with a thin layer of cynicism or mockery, but now he seemed too exhausted to hide his inner feelings.
No, perhaps Shion had always been weary.
He might have endured and endured until he could no longer hold on, eventually revealing his heart.
It means he was broken.
Bandages wound tightly around his whole body, necrotic black flesh peeking from within, fangs and scales that did not look human…….
Shion was gradually breaking down in anyone's eyes.
Or perhaps he could no longer hide a soul that had been broken long ago.
Either way, it is just sad.
'At such a young age.'
Grand Duke Pret felt sorry for Shion.
He had experienced many battlefields, but he had never been broken to that extent.
Ah, if he had to recall, there was a time that came to mind.
It was a matter of fifty-three years ago.
Grand Duke Pret had faced Deballo Debius on the battlefield.
He did not even have the courage to face him with a sword, so he hid in a trench and waited for Deballo to disappear.
At that time, he ended up peeking at how fear can break a person's mind.
Grand Duke Pret had glimpsed brokenness for such a very brief moment, but Shion had probably been like that for several years…….
What on earth made him like that…….
"You fight as if you have absolutely no one on your side, always, Shion."
He even pushes hearts away with an invisible hand.
Grand Duke Pret accurately pinpointed the core of the man named Shion without realizing it himself.
However, he moved his steps without knowing he had hit the answer even after hitting it.
"I will prove that there is someone on your side here."
***
It was an old castle.
A little west of the Throat Gate, an old castle located at a point that the Cordis army had not yet occupied, but was also difficult for the West to approach easily.
It was a suitable place for the leaders of each camp to hold a secret meeting.
It was dreary all over.
Stone walls closer to ash than gray, symbols of old authority that approached heavily due to excessive antique nature, the center of a large room that was emptily void, and a bald old man sitting languidly.
The old man was skinny.
He had a hooked nose and sharp eyes.
He reminded one of a thousand-year-old eagle.
His attire was also peculiar.
Wrapped loosely in a single large white cloth, it was the attire of a noble from a very long time ago.
Because he was as antique as if he had popped out of an ancient tomb sculpture, he matched well with this dreary old castle as if they were one.
"You took a long time."
"…Are you Kerenneus?"
"Who else would I be?"
Kerenneus Cansella Caseptus spoke.
"You came alone as promised."
"There are gifts outside. I told them to just move those and leave."
"I will not need them, but I suppose I should accept them."
"I came wearing a sword, but must I put it down?"
"Why bother?"
Kerenneus tilted his head.
"More than that, what is your name?"
"Pret."
The Grand Duke gave his name without any sign of hurt pride.
At an age over seventy, and in the position of a head of a country, he could have been offended, but he was not offended at all.
Kerenneus glanced at Grand Duke Pret with one eye.
The wrinkles on his forehead were deep.
"Grand Duke Pret. I was just feeling bored."
Kerenneus opened a wooden box on the table.
Inside were dozens of small pieces.
Next to it, there was also a wooden board well-trimmed in the shape of a large rectangular parallelepiped.
"So first, let us play a round."
He began to arrange the pieces on the wooden board.
Grand Duke Pret asked with a reluctant face.
"…What is that? It looks like a board game."
"It is Janggi. Do you not know it?"
"There is no way I would not know. It is just very different from what I know."
Grand Duke Pret looked down at the wooden board.
The Janggi he knew was played with 16 pieces each on a board of 8 rows and 9 columns.
But this wooden board was 12 rows and 12 columns, and the number of pieces looked much larger.
Kerenneus arranged the pieces on the board as if it were nothing.
"This is the Hotus style. Both the board and the pieces were made a thousand years ago."
"A thousand years, you say? Is magic cast on them?"
"No. I do not like such things."
"A wooden board lasting a thousand years without magic…. It seems rather like magic."
"Correct. I think these things are what truly have value."
Kerenneus smiled.
He seemed happy that someone recognized the value of the object he cherished.
So Grand Duke Pret suddenly felt goosebumps.
Was Kerenneus Cansella Caseptus a man who could smile like this?
The cold-blooded of the cold-blooded, the strategist who did not view people even as numbers, was also a human being who had hobbies and smiled?
It was somewhat shocking to accept all at once.
"Come, sit. I will explain it to you."
Kerenneus slowly recited the rules of the Janggi from a thousand years ago.
"There are eight important pieces. The low four pieces: Prisoner, Dancer, Slave, and Clown. The high four pieces: Mage, Minister, General, and……."
The old man who resembled an eagle muttered.
"……Emperor."
He had a cautious attitude.
Even while simply explaining the names of the pieces, he seemed to worry that this act might be irreverent.
Is it loyalty towards the Emperor?
It was too reverent to simply be lumped together as loyalty, and a terrible awe dwelt within it.
For Grand Duke Pret, who did not serve the Emperor, it was burdensome enough that he wanted to change the subject.
"……The number of soldiers is large. Are there twenty each?"
"A bit many, right? It was like that back then. Here, twenty-eight pieces each like this."
Kerenneus continued his explanation, chattering slightly.
It was in contrast to his solemn voice.
"The rules are a little different, but I have explained all the big things. In the end, the side whose Emperor can no longer escape loses. Even if it is a game, one cannot kill the Emperor, so tell the opponent that it is over when you have made their Emperor unable to escape."
"It is complicated."
"Old things are usually like that. They tend not to be refined. But do they not have memories?"
"…Hmm. I do not know how to have memories of an object from a thousand years ago, but…."
"Come, let us start."
Kerenneus urged Grand Duke Pret.
He playfully crumpled his eyes that were like a bird of prey.
"Or perhaps…… Are you scared?"
"Scared?"
Grand Duke Pret's eyebrows curved.
"Look here, Prime Minister Kerenneus. 99, 86, 9, 4! Do you know what this is?"
"What is it?"
"This is Pret's total career record. 99 matches, 86 wins, 9 losses, 4 draws!"
He shouted confidently.
The Grand Duke is the champion of the West-Erta Janggi Association for 21 consecutive years.
At the same time, he challenged for the unified throne of the West four times and eventually grasped it.
Of course, he is retired now, but no matter how unfamiliar the rules were, there was no reason to be scared of Janggi.
"Is that so?"
At Grand Duke Pret's confident attitude, Kerenneus smiled even more deeply.
"This is becoming very exciting. I will yield the first move. Let us start, Grand Duke Pret."
"Are we going to bet on something?"
"If you wish. But not particularly."
"Then neither will I, particularly."
"Good. There were too many words."
The skinny old man, Kerenneus, giggled.
"Come, let us play a round."
***
The old castle was filled only with clattering sounds.
They exchanged moves.
Grand Duke Pret engaged in the game with a defensive attitude, wary of the unfamiliar rules.
He watched Kerenneus's movements and looked back to see if there were any gaps he had missed.
While doing so, he solidified his own camp.
Kerenneus placed his pieces without hesitation.
He moved his pieces and passed his turn within a few seconds without thinking for long.
And yet, there were no gaps.
He looked not just accustomed to this Janggi, but sick of it.
"……."
The Grand Duke concentrated on the game.
Enough to wonder when he had last concentrated to this extent, but soon enough to forget even this question.
He moved his pieces very faithfully to the rule of protecting his own Emperor and preventing the opponent's Emperor from escaping.
Moving a piece once is one move.
Moving ten times is ten moves.
If the Grand Duke made ten moves, Kerenneus also made ten moves, so it means the pieces moved twenty times.
Ten moves soon became twenty moves, quickly thirty moves, and soon seventy, eighty, ninety…….
The number of times pieces went back and forth on the board had already far exceeded a hundred, and many soldiers had been captured.
"……Astonishing, Grand Duke."
Prime Minister Kerenneus sighed.
He looked at his pieces.
There were none of the twenty soldiers, only the eight important pieces remained.
However, none of them could budge.
The Emperor piece was the same.
"It is over."
Grand Duke Pret said.
"Your Emperor cannot escape, Prime Minister."
"Your skill is good. It must have been unfamiliar rules…."
He did not spare his praise.
"I am just amazed. Your acumen was very outstanding. Accurately grasping what you have, aiming for the time with all your might within that, and taking maximum profit when a gap is seen…. Doing your best of best……. Thank you for responding diligently, Grand Duke."
Kerenneus clapped his palms.
Clap, clap, sounds rang out.
His Emperor piece was overflowing with composure despite being cornered.
"It was a very laughable sight."
"……."
Grand Duke Pret frowned.
"Are you insulting the opponent because you lost the game? If you were going to do that, you should not have recommended it in the first place. For someone called the Empire's Prime Minister to act like a child…."
"Lost?"
The old man resembling an eagle tilted his head.
"Who?"
"…Why are you planning to flip the Janggi board?"
"That would be uncool. It is only a game if we play within the rules, is it not? Now, then it is my turn……."
Kerenneus touched his pieces.
"The low four and the high four are all alive, but everyone else has died. In this case, a special rule can be applied."
"……I have never heard of it?"
"Because I did not tell you. But it is a rule that clearly exists."
He shrugged his shoulders as if asking what could be done.
"Based on the special rule, I dedicate all twenty dead soldiers to summon the Demon King."