Ian placed a hand over his throbbing abdomen. The numbing effect of the healing magic was beginning to wear off. If he didn’t receive another treatment within an hour or two, significant pain would likely resurface, yet the meeting of the self-proclaimed representatives of the residents showed no sign of ending. In truth, it sounded less like a meeting and more like one side desperately pleading with the other.

Since the door to the conference room was practically falling off its hinges, their conversation drifted clearly into the hallway.

“How can a man live while abandoning his beliefs? We are citizens of Burgos. There is nothing more shameful than cooperating with the enemy.”

“Don’t say that. Think differently, please. If you don’t, you will die. Did you not see with your own eyes what war is?”

“I saw it. I saw my parents dying with my own eyes. That is precisely why I cannot back down. I would rather choose death than live without a soul.”

“You stubborn fool. This isn’t just about you. The fate and lives of everyone who wants to survive are on the line. We aren’t asking for much—just to report the news of Aguiar’s fall and recommend surrender to other cities. Don’t think of it as shame; think of it the other way around. You could save countless lives.”

“That is correct. Honestly, what is left of this ruined motherland that you would lay down your life to resist? The leaders of Aguiar have all fled. Why must we take responsibility for the end?”

“Because this is our home!”

“Now, now, everyone calm down. Let’s lower our voices.”

“If we live, another opportunity will come. For now, let us cooperate with Bariel and preserve our lives. Please.”

Clack.

Tweller shook his head slightly, taking a sip from his glass, the ice clinking against the rim. If they were his own people, he would have praised their high spirits, but these men were citizens of Burgos. If they did not surrender, he would have no choice but to make an example of them with death.

“The night is late. How about we wrap this up soon?”

“Yes. Look at the time already.”

Ian nodded, agreeing with Tweller’s suggestion. An opportunity is given only once. Just by offering them a choice, Bariel had already shown sufficient leniency.

Ian tapped his fingertips against the table in time with the ticking second hand. Just as he was about to signal the soldiers—

“By the way, there is one thing I wish to ask.”

Tweller spoke up. It was something he had been curious about since they were at the castle, but given the sensitivity of the matter, he had been waiting for the right moment.

Ian smiled, indicating he could speak freely.

“Yes. Please ask.”

“Lord Ian… that is, how did your parents in the original timeline pass away?”

It was an unexpected question.

Ian paused for a moment, then traced back through his memories. His father and mother hadn’t died with a large gap of time between them. Both had passed before Ian turned five, separated by only a single season.

“To be honest, I do not know for certain how they passed. According to my nanny at the time, my father’s chronic illness worsened, leading to his death, and my mother wasted away rapidly after he passed.”

“I see. Indeed, you were so young, it makes sense you wouldn’t know well.”

Was it an unknown plague? Young Ian hadn’t been allowed to see his mother’s face once she fell ill. He had only stolen listens to her weak, agonized groans from outside the door.

“But why do you ask?”

Tweller roughly rubbed his face, which was flushed from the alcohol, then shrugged to indicate Ian shouldn’t misunderstand his intent. He stroked his beard, wiping away a drop of liquor from the corner of his mouth.

“Do you happen to know of a man named ‘Parmadinia,’ who is praised as the greatest Minister of Imperial Defense in history?”

“I have heard the name. He was one of the figures who followed the previous Emperor to pioneer the borderlands during the early days of Bariel’s founding.”

“Do you know what he said as he died?”

“No. Did he die on the battlefield?”

“It was a battlefield, yes, but the cause of death was illness. Now, it is presumed to have been poisoning, but at the time, no one knew. Even as he was dying, it is said his eyes burned bright as he spoke these words.”

Tweller drew a line across his mouth with his finger and whispered low, mimicking Parmadinia’s final moment.

“Everyone, stop your crying. I cannot hear the laughter of the one rejoicing in my death.”

Ian instantly understood what Tweller was trying to say.

Does death not always have a cause? There is the unavoidable death bestowed by God, and the death brought about by human hands.

Since the victim cannot distinguish between the two, Parmadinia had strained his ears. To find the faint laughter mixed within the weeping.

“Hearing your story, Lord Ian… this man Crony is truly cunning, and his political maneuvering is formidable. Usually, men like that do not sit and wait for an opportunity to arrive. They create it, by any means necessary. Lord Ian. Do you recall? What was Crony’s reaction to your parents’ deaths?”

Ian froze, his words caught in his throat. Not once had he ever considered that his parents’ deaths might be related to Crony.

Certainly, Crony was the man who led him to ruin and gifted him a life as turbulent as a storm. But subconsciously, Ian had drawn a line, believing his parents’ deaths were unrelated. Coincidentally, his first meeting with Crony had been at the funeral.

“I remember Crony, but… I don’t know.”

“Yes. I am not asserting it as fact, but simply offering an old man’s small worry that you should continue to doubt and be wary. The dead tell no tales, so must the living not dig tenaciously for the truth?”

He had thought it was a trick of fate, a coincidence that tangled him with Crony. But what if it wasn’t? What if everything had been in that man’s grasp from the very beginning?

Ian swept his hair back lightly. Tweller looked at the boy with concern, but the expression on Ian’s face was different from what he expected.

“It must have been truly easy.”

It was a look of clear mockery. A sneer directed at Crony, the greedy man who had bound him so tightly.

“Don’t you agree? If he truly was involved in my parents’ deaths… Crony must have seen me as laughably easy. A five-year-old orphan who lost his parents, following him without knowing the truth—how stupid and funny I must have looked to him.”

“Lord Ian.”

“Do not worry. I have simply opened my eyes to a possibility thanks to you, Minister Tweller. Thank you. I will keep it in mind and think deeply on it.”

Even if he wanted to investigate right now, there was no way. Crony did not exist in Jin’s Bariel.

As Ian moistened his throat with wine, Tweller suddenly realized the outside had gone quiet. The raised voices of the resident representatives had settled. He signaled his direct subordinate with his eyes to check the situation.

Creak.

But before the soldier could move, the Aguiar residents entered first. Having concluded their discussion, they bowed to the two men with stiff faces, as if thanking them for waiting.

“Is the opinion settled?”

“Yes. We apologize for the delay. We will cooperate fully, as Bariel desires. We will also draft the letter urging against resistance, so we earnestly beg you to ensure the safety of the civilians.”

“Our Emperor does not go back on his word. You will live under the benevolence of the Great Empire, so do not worry. Before that—who was the one raising his voice earlier?”

Specifically, the one who claimed he would rather be a prisoner of war than cooperate. The representatives waved their hands dismissively, bowing low to beg for leniency.

“W-We apologize. He belongs to the Aguiar Guard and is a youth representative of the vigilante corps. During the civil war, when public security was unstable, the residents of Aguiar banded together, and he was responsible enough to take on all the dirty work back then. It was a remark born of youthful indiscretion, so please, overlook it just this once. I will scold him firmly.”

As the old man rubbed his hands together in supplication, Tweller lit a cigar.

“He is a man who loves his country; why would I raise my voice against him? It is fine. However, since he seems to have the deep trust of the Aguiar residents, I shall assign him the task of handling the taxes paid to Bariel and the disposal of the Burgos soldiers’ corpses.”

The eyes of the old man listening went wide. To collect the lifeblood of his own people to offer to Bariel with his own hands, and to recover the bodies of those who were his family and friends. Was that not a truly cruel punishment?

Tweller continued, his tone quite ruthless.

“Is there a problem?”

“…No. I will convey the order.”

As they bowed their heads deeply, Tweller looked back at Ian and nodded slightly. It was a tactic—the carrot and the stick for propaganda purposes.

The resentment toward Bariel was not limited to that one young man. Even those professing cooperation surely harbored anger toward Bariel in their hearts.

For the sake of the next battle, once a place is conquered, it must be settled without lingering issues. Especially now, with the southward march imminent. If we leave sloppy loose ends, we will surely be surrounded from both front and rear.

The most effective way to manage public sentiment immediately was to maintain balance. If the Ministry of Defense whipped them, the Ministry of Magic would soothe them, ensuring they felt no extreme bias.

Though the Ministry of Magic was also a Bariel force, they would be led to misunderstand. To think that an independent force called the ‘Ministry of Magic’ was looking out for Aguiar.

Wouldn’t the young Lord Ian be more advantageous for propaganda than a grim-looking old man?

Tweller’s smile seemed to say as much.

Instead of answering, Ian lowered his gaze and issued instructions to the bowed men.

“The tax will be determined in detail after His Imperial Majesty personally confirms your sincerity. We will prepare the messenger, so the person in charge should come this way. And is there anyone familiar with the geography of this area? There were conflicting parts in the map found at Aguiar Castle that need verification.”

“Ah, I will look at the map. I have lived in Aguiar for sixty years. I can navigate most places with my eyes closed.”

“We need tough leather and scrap iron. Tell the residents to offer these goods.”

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

“And…”

They glanced back and forth between Tweller and Ian as they answered. Seeing a young boy step forward to bark orders while the white-haired old man sat back, they looked confused about the hierarchy.

However, judging by the atmosphere, it was undeniable that Ian looked far softer and more moderate than the hard-boned warrior.

Rumble.

Just as Ian was about to continue, the wall shook very faintly. An earthquake? The residents, sensitive from the damage caused by the wall explosion, reacted sharply, freezing in place.

“Did you feel that, Minister Tweller?”

“Yes. Faint, but there was definitely a tremor. Outside! Is there any trouble?”

At Tweller’s fierce shout, a soldier who had been outside rushed in. He swallowed dryly, looking unsure.

“N-No abnormalities reported!”

“Is that so?”

Hmm, strange.

One might dismiss it as a simple natural phenomenon, but until now, every time the earth shook, it was related to a specific event. A distortion in a rift, or perhaps someone engaged in an explosive battle.

Ian closed the documents and looked up at the sky outside. It was still pitch black; nothing could be seen.

“I heard the Ministry of Magic and the Imperial Guard went out for a night search nearby.”

“I heard that as well, but—hmm. In that case, the Ministry of Defense will send follow-up scouts.”

Scouts, not a search party. The purpose was clearly different. Ian nodded, indicating he wouldn’t interfere, and Tweller called for the soldier standing guard outside.

“We will select scouts. Call Xiaoshi.”

“Yes, Minister.”

“Irene! Shift change!”

Soldiers bustled past the open crack of the door, and amidst the noise, a youthful voice was heard. A voice that sounded strangely familiar to his ears. Ian turned his head toward the sound and called out to her.

“Hey, wait.”

“Pardon? Do you mean me?”

Soon, their gazes met perfectly.