IYAMD 129

IYAMD 129

Even after Marsilia could no longer see Jaha, he still couldn’t leave his spot easily. In the faint dawn light as the sun began to rise, the man’s back that had disappeared into the cold air kept lingering in his mind.

After standing there for a while, Marsilia turned around with a cold expression upon hearing an annoying voice from behind.

“Oh my, I knew you’d still be here. How wistful you look.” Serez, who had been clicking his tongue, flinched at Marsilia’s sharp gaze but soon curled his eyes in annoyance. He pulled an envelope from inside his chest and waved it gently.

“This is a letter from Jaha to His Majesty… but, with the way you’re glaring at me, I’m too scared to approach, Your Majesty. Oh dear, my shoulders are sore, I think I might be coming down with something… May I leave early today?”

While Serez was joking, Marsilia stepped closer and snatched the envelope from his hand.

“Did Jaha give this to you?”

As he hurriedly opened the envelope and pulled out the paper, he asked, and Serez, slowly retreating, responded.

“It was Gerald who handed it over.”

Marsilia glared at Serez with a displeased look before turning his attention back to the paper. As he saw the Eastern Continent characters filled across the page, he sighed.

“Written in Eastern Continent characters.”

“Gerald was asked to translate it.”

Marsilia folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope, then chuckled.

“It’s the first love letter I’ve received, so of course, I won’t show it to anyone.”

Marsilia thought he understood Jaha’s intention. While he might have written it in Eastern Continent characters because he couldn’t write, Jaha probably hoped he would spend the time finding each character and reading it carefully while waiting for his return.

Jaha, who considered a couple’s affairs private, would certainly not want to show his personal letter to anyone else.

Marsilia smiled and made his way into the city gates.

“Honestly, he’s a man who always surprises me.”

It would take quite some time to translate and read through both pages. He was in a rush, thinking that he needed to read them all and write a reply before Jaha returned.

“Serez, it looks like you’ll be busy for a while.”

“Your Majesty… Are you saying that you can’t work because of that letter?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Sigh….”

As Serez grumbled about needing to quit, Jaha moved through a portal to the intermediate region of Hamston.

I heard that it would take about two days by horse to reach the Thornton Territory from Hamston.

“Why doesn’t Thornton have a portal? I heard they make a lot of money.” As Sasha and Ian bought ingredients, Jaha, waiting in the market square, asked. Joshua, who had been stroking a horse’s mane next to him, responded with a shy smile.

“Thornton is quite a large territory, and while they make money, it’s not a heavily populated area. Territories that rely on livestock or farming tend to have fewer people. On the other hand, areas with developed commerce or larger temples tend to have more people.”

I see. Jaha nodded, mentally noting the new piece of information.

Indeed, Hamston seemed to have more people. The temple, though smaller than the capital’s main temple, was still quite large, and even though it was early morning, the square near the market was bustling.

“So, this is a commercially developed city?”

“Yes, Hamston connects to Thornton to the west and to Telan, a grain-producing region, to the south. It’s not far from the Doton territory, either. That’s why when the kingdom was founded, they made sure Royal Road passed through here. Roads tend to gather people, which led to Hamston’s development.”

Jaha looked at the man explaining eloquently with a curious expression. Joshua, noticing Jaha’s gaze, scratched the back of his head and blushed.

“Nobles are usually taught the empire’s history from a young age. Some attend the royal academy in the capital, while others hire private tutors.”

“Oh.”

Marsilia had talked about the academy while thinking about recruiting more knights. Most of the royal knights in the capital were the academy graduates.

“Did you graduate from the academy, Joshua?”

“Yes, my siblings and I all graduated from the [stolen content]academy. Except for Sasha, everyone in our group is an academy graduate.”

“Sasha didn’t?”

“No, he’s from a commoner background.”

“Oh.”

Now that he thought about it, Jaha realized he didn’t even know Sasha’s surname. Unlike nobles, commoners probably didn’t think much of their surnames. Marsilia hadn’t mentioned it when introducing Sasha either.

Wait, did he? He might not remember because he wasn’t in his right mind back then.

Jaha paused his thoughts for a moment before asking Joshua.

“Can’t commoners enter the academy?”

“Almost never. They need to be wealthy or exceptionally talented… and the latter is difficult. Most people are too busy just trying to survive to even discover their own talents.”

“I see.”

That might be one of the reasons why knights’ abilities were diminishing. There’s no rule against a legendary swordsman emerging from the common folk, but the problem was that they had no means to nurture their talent.

Stagnant water always grows foul. It wasn’t surprising that skills would decline when people of similar abilities competed with each other.

Jaha decided that once he returned to the Imperial Palace, he would unauthorized copy talk to Marsilia about this. He couldn’t afford to let the common people remain excluded, but perhaps there could be some way to support those who dream of becoming knights.

While it might cause issues due to social classes, if they were given a chance, they could find hidden gems among the commoners. It would be worth trying.

However, he found it odd that the clever man hadn’t realized this yet. Why hadn’t he tried? And why hadn’t past emperors done the same?

Arhen was wealthy and powerful, so surely the country could support commoners’ education.

In contrast, on the Eastern Continent, many regions had large and small martial arts sects, each training their disciples. There was more opportunity to discover talent there.

There wasn’t the same class system, which made it easier. Nobles and high-ranking officials had their respective social status, but martial artists were free from such constraints.

Jaha resolved once again to discuss this with Marsilia. He was determined to persuade him to ensure that even commoners would have a fair chance.

If it was impossible, he wanted to understand the reasons behind it. He wanted to learn more about things in Arhen that he didn’t know by having conversations with him.

After leaving Hamston, following the main road, and turning toward the path leading to Thornton, he soon saw vast grasslands stretching out.

Riding along the dirt paths between the meadows, Jaha thought about the man still in the Imperial Palace, looking at the wildflowers blooming along the way.

When Jaha stopped briefly, the knights following him halted their horses as well. He dismounted Ventus and asked a knight carrying a messenger falcon if he could send a letter to Marsilia.

“Can you send a letter to the emperor?”

“Yes, it’s possible.”

As a knight named Judith blew a small flute, the falcon that had been flying earlier appeared.

Jaha received paper and charcoal from Sasha, quickly wrote a short message, and picked two purple flowers from the roadside before handing them over to Judith.

“Send these too.”

After the delay in attaching the flowers and note to the falcon’s leg, the group resumed their ride.

Would the flowers arrive without wilting? Jaha let out a heavy sigh as he continued to think about it while riding.

Thinking about the flowers made him remember the man. Ah, love is love, after all.

…

Two days later, at dawn. Soldiers at Thornton Territory had spent the whole night defending against a goblin invasion that had started the previous day.

Thousands of goblins were blocked by the castle walls, unable to advance. However, like every year, they would soon make ladders to scale the walls.

Because the goblins had moved faster than usual, and support from the Imperial Palace had yet to arrive, the situation was even more problematic. Even if help arrived now, it would be difficult to break through the goblin horde and reach the castle.

Even though goblins were weak, dealing with such large numbers made them hard to handle.

Though hundreds of goblins were killed by Thornton’s soldiers and mercenaries during the day, the numbers hardly seemed to dwindle.

It was uncertain how many more days they would be stuck in this war of attrition. As time dragged on, more goblins would likely retreat to other territories. Nearby territories, which were smaller and had no walls, would suffer considerable damage. Smaller villages scattered throughout would undoubtedly face even worse destruction.

Jerome, the youngest son of the Thornton family, sighed as he gazed at the darkened horizon.

He had received word that the reinforcements had already left, so they should arrive either today or tomorrow. Yet, he had no idea how to break through the goblin forces.

He had learned swordsmanship at the academy, but his talent was too ordinary for him to become a knight. He could handle ten goblins at a time, but breaking through such large numbers was far beyond his abilities.

Jerome let out another long sigh, unintentionally furrowing his brows as he clung to the castle walls.

In the distance, he thought he saw something looming at the edge of the horizon. Although it was still too dark for the sun to rise, something pale seemed to appear in the sky.

Jerome, who had been squinting while staring at the approaching dot, ordered the soldier on duty.

“Bring the telescope! Bring the telescope!”

Hearing his shout, the soldier hurriedly approached and handed over the telescope. Jerome, looking through it, gasped.

A man in white clothes was riding a black horse, as dark as the night sky, with his jet-black hair flying wildly in the wind. Next to him, black shadows lined up like a wedge, undoubtedly the Emperor’s Black Knights.