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chapter 20
Monterno Aventurine entered to meet Dantes with courtesy, yet carried himself with confidence. It was a strikingly different appearance from the unruly behavior he had shown last time. Marco, sprawled lazily on the sofa, poked Cesario in the side.
“What’s this?”
“How badly did you give it to the kid?”
“He’s not a kid. And I didn’t give it to him at all.”
“You or Dantes, same difference.”
The whispered voices weren’t loud, but enough to grate on Dantes’ ears. He motioned for silence and turned his gaze to Monterno.
The evidence Monterno brought piqued Dantes’ interest. It was part of an insignia embroidered on the Terzes Kingdom’s military uniform. He claimed a hawk had torn it away. It was something that could not be obtained lightly, as it was only given to the elite forces.
That meant Monterno knew their location.
Dantes asked bluntly:
“Where are they?”
“If Your Majesty promises to take me to the capital, I will tell you where they are.”
“That is not an answer to my question.”
“…Pardon?”
“I did not ask for a deal. I asked a question. It’s your turn to answer.”
Monterno had spoken with bravado, only to be flatly refused, leaving him flustered. Dantes’ expression, however, remained serene.
“The Imperial Army of Delion has been attacked. A prison where the Imperial family kept a most important criminal was even raided. Answering my question is to serve the Empire. Refusing to answer is treason.”
“T-that…”
“Proposing a petty bargain to me as if I were some street rogue is arrogance enough for me to cut off your head or crush your skull right now.”
“Shall I do it?”
Gunter raised his massive weapon, offering to assist Dantes. The sight of the fearsome hammer alone made Monterno shrink his shoulders.
“Do I need to ask again?”
“T-then!”
“Fool. You only waste breath.”
Dantes shook a small container of painkiller. Sprinkling a little pale brown powder on the back of his hand, he inhaled it all at once. Normally, Dantes avoided using painkillers, but his head throbbed terribly. The image of Roberto, blood-soaked, was vivid in his mind. Worse still, Roberto had refused treatment, burning Dantes up inside.
He took the drug only to keep from losing his temper further, but Monterno, who had never seen such a thing, looked bewildered. The act even seemed threatening. Where Monterno came from, nasal painkillers were rare.
Cowed, he blurted out what he wanted to say:
“Then… please watch me through this task, and judge me again afterward!”
Dantes could not erase the look on his face, as though gazing at something worthless. There would be no second judgment. Whether or not Monterno led him into the Terzes army’s heart, he had already failed. Evaluating a man already fallen was meaningless.
Still, Dantes concealed his lack of interest and spoke evenly.
“Very well.”
“You mean it?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
His face was cold. He clearly did not wish for a long conversation. Monterno felt that even one more word might get his request denied outright.
“S-shall I guide you there right away?”
“The army needs time to prepare. We must confirm their numbers and exact location first.”
“Ah!”
“Cesario.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Lead a scouting party with Monterno Aventurine. No attacks—just observe and return. Take about five men.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll return swiftly.”
Dantes nodded, then turned to Marco.
“Marco. Ready the army to depart the moment Cesario returns. Once this is dealt with, we leave the Aventurine estate. There will be no problem, I trust?”
“This Marco Griffin will make sure there is none.”
Marco stretched his limbs and rolled his neck. He found it irritating when Dantes grew reckless and spouted nonsense, but he knew well what needed to be done now.
In fact, in times like this, it was even more important for Dantes’ three closest aides to remain level-headed.
We must return to the capital. To Senreita. To the Imperial Palace. There we can solve more of these problems.
Marco thought so, and likely Gunter and Cesario did too.
“Come on, everyone. Do your tasks, and let His Majesty close his eyes for a while. He hasn’t slept for days.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“No, Majesty. Please sleep. It’s us who are suffering otherwise.”
Dantes sat slouched, fatigue plastered across his face. Cesario took Monterno out, hoping at least he would have someone easier to talk to.
“I’m really fine. This much was common on the battlefield.”
“This isn’t a battlefield, Dantes.”
“Porto’s injured. It is a battlefield.”
“Yes, yes. But you yourself are wounded, aren’t you? Roberto is broken, without treatment. Magicians suddenly appear, Terzes runs wild, and meanwhile the Imperial Palace is empty?”
Marco’s sarcasm was heavy, but Dantes could not deny any of it. He had been so consumed with Roberto’s condition, he had given no thought to himself. Marco waved his hand quickly in front of Dantes’ eyes, urging him to rest.
“I’ll just close my eyes for a moment. Wake me when it’s time.”
“Fine. Even if I don’t, Cesario will. Don’t worry.”
Dantes did not reply. He leaned deep into the chair and finally shut his eyes.
He hadn’t lied—he could last a week without sleep, surviving on willpower alone, sharp enough to cut down hundreds with his sword.
But one Roberto had a greater impact than hundreds of enemies. Marco quietly studied his face as he drifted off. His expression, even with his eyes closed, did not know peace.
Perhaps finding Roberto was not fortunate after all. Not for Dantes. Not for us. Not even for Roberto.
Marco left the room with those unspoken thoughts. Only after some time did Dantes fall into a shallow sleep.
Monterno handled his hawks well—each as large as his own torso. There were four in total, taking turns leading the way along desolate paths.
But they were no ordinary hawks. Their bodies were bigger, their eyes a strange color. Cesario’s tone was sharp.
“What did you do to those innocent animals?”
“I didn’t do anything. They’re hybrids that can’t join normal hawk flocks. I think maybe a monster is in their bloodline. They look like a cross between a little dragon and a hawk.”
“You can speak with animals, then?”
“No?”
Monterno widened his eyes as if the question was absurd. Cesario doubted this boy’s abilities more and more. He prayed this scouting mission was not a waste. What he hated most was wasted time.
If Monterno had made a fool of him and Dantes, Cesario intended to kill him before they even returned to the Aventurine estate. His eyes narrowed.
“Then how do you know they’re hybrids?”
“Just seems that way. Their eye colors are all different, so are their feathers. And whenever they approach normal hawks, they’re driven off.”
Despite being only seventeen, Monterno’s face carried a wistful expression, as if recalling the past. Cesario pressed him.
“I asked how you knew.”
“I first met them last year. They were still chicks, attacked by huge hawks trying to kill them. I saved them. Planned to raise them and release them, but they kept coming back. Even then they were small and always injured. I never thought they’d grow this big.”
“I don’t understand.”
Cesario couldn’t make sense of it. What exactly were these hawks, and what were Monterno Aventurine’s true powers? Could he really be of use to Delion?
He withheld his judgment. First, they had to find the Terzes Kingdom’s hideout.
“I don’t know what they’re saying, but they seem to understand me. Honestly, locked up as I was, what else could I do but feed them and ramble? Couldn’t talk to servants, had no friends… When they brought me things like this, it was wonderful.”
The closer they came to the mountainside, the more Monterno babbled. His pale face showed his fear, growing as they neared the enemy camp. How this boy had ever dared to venture into goblin-infested lands was a mystery.
Cesario clicked his tongue. At that moment, the lead hawk dropped in altitude and darted into a cave. Cesario gestured to the soldiers behind them to halt.
“Only Monterno and I will enter.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s only reconnaissance.”
“T-then leave me here too!”
“There may be an ambush. You’re coming. Quiet now.”
Cesario firmly grabbed Monterno by the scruff and dragged him inside. Monterno wore a tearful face as he was pulled along.
The cave wasn’t deep, but difficult to traverse. Likely not the main entrance. Cesario moved toward where light spilled through. The hawk waited at that crack of light, staring at them. Cesario pressed his eye to a hole barely wide enough for a man’s head.
“…!”
His view filled with the Terzes Kingdom’s forces. This cave was above their hideout. Looking down, he counted not a small number. Roughly a hundred soldiers. And among them—the criminals they had killed so many of on the road. Now penned in wooden cages, at least two hundred of them.
“Heeey, there’s a lot of them!”
Monterno peeked out, awed. Cesario silenced him with a hand over his mouth, focusing on grasping the full scope.
At least five hundred strong. Much larger than expected.
I must report to Dantes immediately.
Cesario yanked Monterno along and retreated swiftly from the cave.
