Soy Sauce 9. The Two Brothers
by Foreigner ยท 2026-08-26
The expedition arrived at the royal capital on the twelfth day of their campaign.
They had set out with 1,000 knights.
They returned with close to 1,000 knights.
That was even stranger.
People were gathered in front of the castle gate.
There were more than at the victory parade.
But no one made a sound.
Because a stretcher was passing by.
Yuris III watched it from inside the castle gate.
The stretcher drew closer.
The King took a step forward.
He stopped as he was going out.
The reason he stopped was that his legs gave out.
๋ก์๋: Roena grabbed his arm.
Roena: Your Majesty.
Yuris III: ......
Roena: You must stand.
The King stood.
Ains had a fever.
Three court physicians attended him.
The wound on his side was shallow.
It was shallow, but it wouldn't heal.
"We don't know what was applied to it."
Yuris III: What if they don't know?
"......"
Yuris III: What if they don't know, I asked.
Roena: What do we do if you don't know?
๋ก์๋: Roena grabbed the King's sleeve.
Roena: Your Majesty.
Roena: It's not their fault.
Roena: They know best.
The King fell silent.
Duke Hail entered that night.
The King was sitting beside his son.
ํ์ผ: He had been doing that for three hours.
Hail: Your Majesty.
Yuris III: ......
Hail: It's Hail.
์ ๋ฆฌ์ค3์ธ: Yuris III raised his head.
Yuris III: Hail.
Hail: Yes.
The King tried to say something.
He couldn't.
ํ์ผ: He tried about three times.
Hail: He will be fine.
ํ์ผ: Hail said.
Hail: Your Highness is young.
Yuris III: ......
Hail: The fever will go down.
์ ๋ฆฌ์ค3์ธ: The King looked at him.
Yuris III: Hail.
Hail: Yes.
Yuris III: ......You.
Hail: Yes.
์ ๋ฆฌ์ค3์ธ: Yuris III took his son's hand.
Yuris III: You did this alone.
Yuris III: He went out to the river.
Hail: ......
Yuris III: ......
Hail: Your Majesty.
Yuris III: Your Majesty.
Yuris III: No.
์ ๋ฆฌ์ค3์ธ: The king waved his hand.
Yuris III: No.
And he cried.
This time, he didn't turn his back.
Hail stood there.
He stood and watched his brother cry.
Seirin was in the hallway.
Roena came out.
์ธ์ด๋ฆฐ: They looked at each other.
Seirin: Madam.
Roena: Your Majesty.
Roena was about to say something but stopped.
์ธ์ด๋ฆฐ: Seirin spoke first.
Seirin: I'm relieved.
Roena: ......
Seirin: I'm relieved that His Highness survived.
Roena couldn't answer that.
It was something a person who lost a son would say to a person whose son survived.
But Seirin didn't think she had lost her son.
So her words were sincere.
That made it even harder for Roena.
Hans saw Berin in the Bronzestorm quarters.
Berin was sitting.
ํ์ค: His left sleeve was folded and tied.
Hans: Commander.
Berin: ......
Berin: It's Berin.
ํ์ค: Hans stood in front of him.
Hans: Your arm.
Hans: ......
Berin: The prince is alive.
Hans: The prince survived.
ํ์ค: Hans didn't say anything for a long time.
Hans: I heard three died.
Hans: Name.
Berin: Names.
Berin said three names.
Hans took out a notebook.
He wrote them down.
There were already two names in the notebook.
Aron Arneit zi Erseneus.
Olan.
At the same time, a carrier pigeon flew into Duke Cale's private residence.
Zekin opened the tube.
The paper was two finger-widths long.
The writing was large.
'Seton. Day 8. Walls intact. People present.'
Cale read it.
Zekin: Your Grace.
Cale: ......
Zekin: Seton held out.
Cale: Seton held out.
Cale didn't answer.
He stood there, calculating.
If Seton fell, the east would be breached.
If the east was breached, the royal family would have to conscript noble private armies.
If they conscripted, Heness would have its first unified force.
Who would command that force was the next problem.
'.......'
์ผ์ผ: But Seton survived.
Cale: Zekin.
Zekin: Yes, my lord.
Cale: The one I put in Rudie.
Zekin: It's alive.
Cale: How far has it come?
Zekin: They should be near Seton by now.
Cale: By now, it should be near Seton.
Zekin: There are fifty.
Cale: And the mages?
Zekin: And the mage?
Zekin: One is attached.
Cale went to the window.
์ผ์ผ: It was dark outside.
Cale: Zekin.
Zekin: Yes.
Cale: Seton has fallen.
์ ํจ: Zekin looked at him.
Zekin: my lord, the carrier pigeon says...
Zekin: ......
Cale: ......
Cale: Make it so.
Zekin understood his words.
์ ํจ: It took him three seconds to understand.
Zekin: Are there any conditions?
Cale: Two.
์ผ์ผ: Cale turned from the window.
Zekin: ......
Cale: ......
Cale: It must appear to be the work of orcs.
Zekin: Yes.
Cale: Then.
์ผ์ผ: Cale was silent for a moment.
Cale: There must be no one left to tell the tale.
Cale: And one more thing.
Zekin: And one more thing.
Zekin: Yes.
Cale: Count the bodies.
Zekin: ......Yes?
Cale: I mean, count the number of people who were inside the castle.
Zekin: ......
Zekin: Count them and report if it's correct.
Zekin left.
Cale was left alone.
He sat down and reconsidered what he had been protecting for thirty years.
์ ๋น์: It's not dead until the body is confirmed.
The door opened.
Selvia: Father.
์ผ์ผ: It was Selvia.
์ ๋น์: She was holding a book.
Cale: Come in.
Selvia: You're late today.
Cale: There was something I had to do.
์ผ์ผ: Selvia sat down.
Selvia: Father.
Cale: Yes.
Selvia: Today at school, we learned about geography.
Cale: ......
Selvia: Where is this place called Seton?
์ ๋น์: Cale looked at his daughter.
Cale: ......It's at the eastern edge.
Selvia: They said orcs came there.
Cale: So they did.
Selvia: Are the people okay?
์ ๋น์: Cale did not answer that question.
์ผ์ผ: Selvia looked at her father.
Selvia: ......
Cale: ......I don't know.
Cale: ......
Cale: Not yet.
Selvia nodded and left.