Chapter 15

Chapter 15. Hostage

The Rong tribe lived in the northern mountains of the Empire, hunting deer and ferocious beasts such as bears, wolves, and tigers. On average, they were at least a head taller than the people of the Empire, and their chest circumference was one and a half times larger. All of them had solid, muscular bodies trained through hunting.

The interpreter approached them and greeted them in the Rong tribe’s language.

“Greetings. The envoy of the Empire offers his greetings to the Rong tribe.”

The Rong tribe nodded and received them.

“You have come a long way. The great chief of the Rong tribe told us to convey his welcome to you.”

Since Aslaf had encountered a few members of the Rong tribe while wandering as a gypsy, he knew a little of their language. However, he could understand what the Rong tribe were saying now far better than he should have been able to. It felt familiar, as though he had learned the Rong tribe’s language for a long time.

‘Ah, right. Alexei I could speak the Rong tribe’s language too.’

It seemed that after recovering Alexei I’s memories, he had also recovered the language ability from his past life.

“Then let us hold the ceremony to conclude the peace treaty.”

Each side signed the documents for the hostage exchange.

“This is Young Master Aslaf Lenke, the second son of Baron Oleg Lenke of Beden Castle. He is sixteen years old.”

The envoy introduced Aslaf to the Rong tribe through the interpreter.

“This is Nkun, the seventh son of Chief Untet. He is sixteen as well, so you are the same age.”

It seemed the Rong tribe would also send a hostage, and they would exchange them with each other.

A boy who had been standing among them came forward. The Rong tribe were tall by nature, but Nkun was large even among them. His thick chest and rugged muscles on his arms and legs did not look like those of a boy. His gaze was sharp, and even though he was entering the territory of enemies he did not know at all, he did not seem frightened or intimidated in the slightest.

‘He’s got quite a bit of nerve.’

Perhaps he could have such confidence because he was not lacking in size.

Still, when Aslaf looked at his face, the plumpness of his cheeks made him look young.

‘He is indeed Untet’s son. He looked exactly like Untet when he was young.’

Untet had been the great chief of the Rong tribe during the time of Alexei I.

After the Rong tribe was defeated by Alexei I and concluded a peace treaty, he had observed the agreement with the Empire and managed the Rong tribe so they would not invade the border.

He had also made a mercenary contract with Alexei I, fought alongside him during war, and cooperated with him.

The Rong tribe, superior in strength and size, had stood at the vanguard and broken the enemy’s momentum. They had been an important fighting force in Alexei I’s army.

Yet strangely, in the final battle against Georg, there had been no response at all to the request for mercenaries.

Having to fight Georg and Sigrid’s large forces without the powerful Rong tribe mercenaries had been one of the causes of defeat.

‘Untet. Why did you do that? Why did you turn your back on me?’

Aslaf clicked his tongue in bitterness. He had believed Untet was absolutely not someone who would betray him.

‘Did I misjudge him?’

He wondered why, when Alexei I needed mercenaries most, Untet had refused to respond to the request for troops and remained silent.

Nkun looked at Aslaf, who would be exchanged with him, and spoke to the interpreter in a mocking tone.

“Can those guys survive in the mountains? Tell them to be careful not to get lost while wandering around or get bitten by wolves. The Rong tribe might be resented for nothing.”

His gaze looked down on Aslaf, a young master raised delicately in the Empire, as though questioning whether he could live well in the harsh mountains.

Aslaf smiled at Nkun’s provocation.

‘This little guy is kind of cute.’

Nkun was more than two handspans taller than him, but since he was the son of Untet, whom Aslaf had known in his past life, he felt like a nephew.

The way he pretended to be strong and bluffed somehow made Aslaf want to tease him and play along rather than dislike him.

The other Rong tribe members also chuckled and looked down on Aslaf in the same way.

“I’ll bet my axe that those Empire bastards freeze to death in this winter’s cold.”

“They’ll be lucky if they don’t starve before that. They must’ve eaten only fine white flour in the Empire. Will they even adapt to the food here?”

The Rong tribe openly mocked Aslaf, thinking he could not understand their words.

The interpreter stayed silent, perhaps thinking there was no need to convey their teasing words.

Aslaf shrugged and spoke in the Rong tribe’s language.

“Nkun. When you go to the Empire, beware of merchants who act kind.”

Nkun saw Aslaf speak fluent Rong and opened his mouth in shock. He looked as if he doubted whether he had heard correctly.

“Wh-what? Why should I beware of kind merchants?”

“If they act too kind, it means they see you as an easy mark and are trying to overcharge you. If you can’t repay credit, you’ll be flogged. Don’t trust words. Leave written records.”

“I-is that so?”

Nkun’s expression turned serious. Aslaf’s advice was realistically helpful for adapting to the Empire.

“Hmm. You can speak the Rong tribe’s language?”

Nkun turned his head in embarrassment and muttered to himself. It seemed he was shocked that while he did not know the Empire’s language, Aslaf had prepared so thoroughly that he had even learned the Rong tribe’s language. Nkun had known nothing about the Empire while acting superior and mocking Aslaf, but Aslaf had investigated and prepared for the Rong tribe and even given sharp advice. Nkun had been completely caught off guard.

“They say the people of the Empire are clever, and I suppose it wasn’t empty talk.”

The other Rong tribe members also realized that Aslaf had understood all their mockery. Suddenly, all of them shut their mouths and became as silent as if they had eaten honey, staring off at distant mountains.

The ceremony to conclude the peace treaty ended with the treaty documents read in both languages and sealed.

Both sides exchanged greetings and went their separate ways.

“Then please take good care of Young Master Aslaf for one year.”

“We ask you to take good care of Young Master Nkun as well.”

“For peace.”

“Go safely.”

Nkun headed south with the delegation, while Aslaf and Iwan followed the Rong tribe north.

“My name is Mwayo.”

One member of the Rong tribe approached him and spoke in the Empire’s language.

“From now on, I will attend to you. Please tell me if you need anything.”

Iwan asked him with curious eyes.

“Huh? You can speak the Empire’s language. How did you learn it?”

Since Iwan did not know the Rong tribe’s language, he must have been glad to meet someone who spoke the Empire’s language.

Mwayo looked elsewhere and answered bluntly.

“When I was thirteen, the Empire burned a Rong tribe village and captured the villagers to sell as slaves. I was sold to the Empire then too, and I lived there for five years while learning the Empire’s language.”

Aslaf felt a strange hostility in his words, but he did not lose courtesy and asked calmly,

“How was life as a slave?”

“At first, I was lucky enough to meet a good master, so it wasn’t bad. But the second master was a real piece of trash. He beat me, cursed me, and starved me all the time, so I escaped and returned to the Rong tribe.”

Mwayo had tempted his master by saying that if he bought the Rong tribe’s animal hides cheaply and sold them, he could get a high price. He said he had asked his master for money to buy hides, then run away.

Half of it was a story to boast about his escape, but seeing that he still told his story honestly, there seemed to be room for him to open his heart.

“You went through a great deal.”

When Aslaf listened to his story, Mwayo seemed to feel that Aslaf was an open-minded person without prejudice, and the more he talked, the more he revealed his true feelings.

“Still, life in the Empire was good. If my master hadn’t changed, I’d probably still be living in the Empire now. Here, it’s a world where the weak are prey to the strong, so it’s hard. You always have to live on edge.”

A deer grazing among the trees saw them, startled, and leaped away.

“It is an environment where the Rong tribe has no choice but to become excellent warriors.”

Aslaf nodded. Ferocious beasts were one thing, but in a place without laws or patrols, one had to protect everything by oneself.

After walking through the mountains for two more days, they finally arrived at the Rong tribe’s village.

“We have arrived.”

Mwayo pointed to the village. Houses made of logs were clustered together in the valley.

‘I’ve been here before.’

At the familiar scenery, Aslaf searched his memories.

Compared to the Empire’s large cities, it was small, but this place was practically the capital of the Rong tribe. Facilities the Rong tribe needed, such as a blacksmithy, clinic, butcher shop, herb shop, and mill, were gathered here.

‘I surrounded this place and received the Rong tribe’s surrender.’

It was the place where Alexei I and the Rong tribe had fought. The war had ended with the Rong tribe’s surrender, and after concluding a peace treaty, Alexei I had hired them as mercenaries and returned to the Empire.

They arrived in front of a large log house.

“Please enter.”

When they entered, the inside was a room whose walls were decorated with the heads of beasts such as bears and tigers.

The chiefs, who had been sitting in a circle and holding a meeting, looked back at him.

The one sitting in the center was Great Chief Umbeji. He had fought his first battle against the Empire when he was only ten years old, and although he had led countless fierce battles from the very front, he had survived like an immortal. The sword scars here and there on his shoulders and arms told the story of his life.

He gave off such a terrifying aura that ordinary people’s knees would weaken just from seeing his gaze.

‘To think Umbeji became the great chief.’

Aslaf clicked his tongue inwardly.

Umbeji was a hardliner even among the Rong tribe, one who insisted on fighting against the Empire. The war between Alexei I and the Rong tribe had also been led by him. After the Rong tribe lost the war, he had taken responsibility and stepped down from the position of great chief.

After Alexei I won the war against the Rong tribe, Untet, a moderate who advocated peace with the Empire, gained support and became the great chief, allowing them to live peacefully. Since Nkun, who had been exchanged as a hostage this time, was also his son, it seemed Untet still followed a moderate line toward the Empire.

After Alexei I died, the Rong tribe again elevated Umbeji, a hardliner, as great chief. It was not entirely the Rong tribe’s fault. Unlike Alexei I, who had suppressed the Rong tribe with force while also using conciliatory policies, Marquis Georg rejected the Rong tribe yet paid no attention to border security. In such a situation, the hardliners had no choice but to gain power.

After Umbeji became great chief, the Rong tribe had continued to cross the lax border and carry out plundering, both large and small. In the end, the damage had to be borne entirely by the residents of the borderlands.

“This is Young Master Aslaf Lenke, who has come as a messenger of peace. He is the second son of Baron Oleg Lenke.”

Mwayo introduced Aslaf to them.

Umbeji looked down at Aslaf arrogantly.

“A messenger of peace? We do not particularly need peace.”

Although the Rong tribe had accepted the peacekeeping period with the Empire because of the conciliatory offer of gifts and permission for trade, Umbeji did not seem to have any intention of stopping his plundering.

Untet, the moderate, spoke.

“Since we have made a peace treaty, we should keep faith with the Empire and ask them to formally permit trade again.”

He spoke seriously in a patient tone.

“There is a limit to obtaining insufficient food through plundering every time. If we want a stable supply of food, trade is a better method.”

Since he had sent his son Nkun to the Empire as a hostage, he must have wanted to get along well with the Empire all the more.

“The Empire will not permit trade. Do you think we’ll be fooled once or twice?”

Umbeji snorted and leaned back in his chair.

“Enough. Hurry and get out.”

As if he found it too troublesome to even speak, he pointed at the door and gestured for Aslaf to leave.

‘Umbeji, you bastard. You’re as rude as ever.’

His unchanged attitude was so exactly as expected that Aslaf let out a hollow laugh.

He could leave the room as ordered, but he did not feel like going out while being treated so poorly. To obediently follow Umbeji’s command, which treated an envoy from the Empire so rudely like a servant, would damage not only Aslaf’s own authority but the Empire’s authority as well.

‘Though I am a hostage, I represent the Empire.’

If he wanted to live comfortably among the Rong tribe for the next year, he needed to leave a clear impression and seize the initiative.

Instead of leaving the room, Aslaf walked toward Umbeji.

“Wh-what? The great chief told him to leave.”

“Why is he doing that?”

“Does he not understand our language?”

The Rong tribe leaned forward in surprise and watched as the young master of the Empire calmly approached the great chief they feared head-on.