Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Rong Tribe (1)

Aslaf looked into Umbeji’s eyes and spoke clearly in the Rong tribe’s language.

“To the eyes of one seeking someone to fight, only enemies are visible. To the eyes of one seeking someone to join hands with, only collaborators are visible.”

The chiefs, who had expected Aslaf would not understand what they were saying, all stared at him in surprise. They were all silent, but Aslaf could tell they were thinking the same thing.

‘What? He speaks the Rong tribe’s language?’

‘They say the people of the Empire look down on the Rong tribe as barbarians, but this man doesn’t.’

“Even in the Empire, there are different opinions on whether to fight the Rong tribe or join hands with them. I have come as a representative of the people who say we should live peacefully with the Rong tribe.”

Once the chiefs realized that Aslaf had not simply been pushed into coming as a hostage, but had come with a goal, they understood that through Aslaf, they might be able to create public opinion in the Empire friendly to the Rong tribe.

‘This young master has quite a grand dream.’

‘If he returns to the Empire, he might work as a diplomat for the Rong tribe and influence policy toward us.’

When the chiefs’ gazes turned somewhat curious, Aslaf calmly continued.

“In Alexei I’s time, people who wanted peace joined hands, so everyone could live in abundance. Now, those on both sides who want to fight are clashing against one another. Will you keep living like this, shedding blood forever?”

None of the chiefs answered, but all of them looked deep in thought. It seemed their hearts had wavered slightly, as they had only vaguely held hostility toward the Empire until a man of the Empire appeared before them and spoke of peace in the Rong tribe’s language.

‘He knows the Rong tribe’s circumstances well.’

‘I don’t know if we can trust him, but he seems easier to talk to than other people of the Empire.’

“You say we should live peacefully with each other? Since Alexei I, you’re the first person from the Empire to say that.”

Umbeji furrowed his brow and pointed loudly into the air.

“But even that Alexei  betrayed us. In the end, none of the people of the Empire can be trusted. They’re all the same liars, smooth-talking in front of you, but never keeping their promises.”

‘Betrayed them?’

Aslaf had no memory of betraying the Rong tribe in his past life.

On the contrary, he had been curious as to why the Rong tribe had suddenly broken their peace treaty with Alexei I. He had been about to send a messenger to learn the reason when Marquis Georg invaded, and he died while fighting that war, so the cause of the breakdown in relations with the Rong tribe had remained a mystery.

He had thought the Rong tribe betrayed him, yet the Rong tribe believed Alexei I had betrayed them. It was enough to make him jump in frustration.

Umbeji seemed displeased that Aslaf, a man from the Empire, had joined their meeting, understood everything they said, and even spoke up, moving the chiefs’ hearts. When Aslaf opened his mouth to answer, Umbeji raised his hand and pointed at the door. Still, compared to before, he requested far more politely that Aslaf leave.

“We must continue our meeting, so let us speak later. Young master, please leave us for now.”

Since he spoke this courteously, Aslaf also gave the chiefs a formal greeting and withdrew. At Aslaf’s dignified bearing, the chiefs unconsciously twitched their heads and received his greeting in the same manner.

Once they left the log house, Iwan let out the sigh he had been holding and stroked his chest.

“I was so nervous. Why did you go out of your way to say something to the great chief?”

“If I show their leader that I stand on equal footing with him, no one will be able to look down on me.”

Aslaf knew that in Rong tribe society, a chief’s words were law.

Now that he had left a clear impression on the chiefs, it would be easier to live among the Rong tribe.

Mwayo guided them to the log house where they would stay.

“Please stay here.”

In the log house, whose floor and walls were made of uneven logs, there was no bed, only animal hides laid over piles of straw.

“Sometimes hungry wolves come down to the village, so make sure to lock the door well when you sleep, and always keep a sword nearby.”

Aslaf asked Mwayo,

“What did he mean when he said Alexei I betrayed the Rong tribe?”

“In exchange for allowing trade with the Rong tribe, he agreed to permit trade. But in late winter, when we had run out of food and were starving, he suddenly sent a letter saying trade would be suspended. If breaking a promise of trade at our most difficult time isn’t betrayal, then what is?”

To the Rong tribe, who found it difficult to produce grain and had no choice but to rely on the Empire for food, suspending trade in winter was no different from telling them to starve to death.

“Did that happen? The Empire knows nothing of it.”

Aslaf had no memory of sending the Rong tribe a letter saying he would suspend trade in his past life. It seemed there had been some serious misunderstanding.

“As an envoy of Alexei I definitely brought a letter bearing his seal.”

‘A letter with my seal?’

Since Alexei I had not sent such a letter, it must have been forged by someone.

‘An envoy of Alexei I brought it?’

He had hired Rong tribe messengers to deliver letters to the Rong tribe. That was because the Rong tribe knew how to travel through the roadless mountains to their village.

‘Who was it? Ah, the messenger then was Ungus.’

The messenger who had been in charge of delivering letters to the Rong tribe had been a young Rong man named Ungus.

‘Is he still alive?’

He had been in his twenties back then, so he would still not be forty now. There was a good chance he was alive. It seemed Aslaf would have to find him to understand what had happened.

He asked Mwayo if he knew anyone named Ungus.

“Ungus? That’s a common name here, so I’m not sure who you mean......”

“He’s a man around forty. He speaks the Empire’s language well. His cheekbones stick out, and his eyes are small.”

Aslaf explained as much as he remembered, but his face might have changed a great deal from sixteen years ago. Mwayo shook his head, saying he did not know.

‘I suppose I’ll have to search for him myself.’

He decided to look for Ungus slowly, and first, he had to fill his stomach.

“I’m hungry.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Mwayo brought them deer-meat stew and wild raspberries for dinner. Perhaps because it had plenty of fresh herbs picked from the mountain, it was savory without tasting greasy.

“It tastes just like beef.”

“Oh, it’s tender and delicious.”

Aslaf did not like deer meat because it was fatty, but the deer-meat stew smoked in the Rong tribe style was quite good.

“These look different from the raspberries at Beden Castle. The color is dark too.”

Iwan picked up a raspberry, smelled it, then put it in his mouth.

“Mmm, it’s sweet. Try some. I should go around starting tomorrow and see what kinds of food the Rong tribe mainly lives on.”

Excited after tasting new food, Iwan’s eyes sparkled, and he clapped his hands.

Iwan adapted surprisingly well to life among the Rong tribe. Drawing on his experience working at the mill, he taught the Rong tribe recipes for baking the Empire’s sweets, and he also learned the Rong tribe’s cooking methods.

He followed the Rong tribe around, gathered all kinds of herbs and mushrooms, cooked them, made jam from fruits such as wild grapes and cherries, and brewed alcohol.

Thanks to that, Aslaf could enjoy meals made from fresh ingredients Iwan gathered in the mountains.

Aslaf walked around the village, searching for and meeting people named Ungus. However, among them, there was no Ungus who had been a messenger.

‘Is he not here? Could he still be living in the Empire?’

Back then, he had been attached to Alexei I’s unit and also knew people in the Empire, so it was possible he might be living there.

‘Do I really need to go looking for something from my past life?’

It might be more practical to simply return to Pordis after one year and search for goods to trade with the Rong tribe.

‘No. I still have to clear up the misunderstanding with Untet.’

He had learned that Untet had not sent mercenaries because Alexei I had suspended trade, but he needed to hear the situation from that time in more detail.

‘I can’t just leave the Rong tribe believing that people of the Empire betray them in the end.’

Mwayo, who attended Aslaf, was a member of Untet’s tribe. When Aslaf told him he wanted to meet Untet, Mwayo guided him to Untet’s house.

For now, Untet, who was friendly toward the Empire and had exchanged his son as a hostage to the Empire, was the person Aslaf could trust most.

“Young Master Aslaf. What did you wish to see me about?”

Untet, who had been sitting in a chair, invited Aslaf to sit as well.

Untet’s hair had turned whiter than it had been sixteen years ago when he negotiated peace with Alexei I, but his impression had not changed much. His protruding forehead, deeply sunken eyes like valleys, and nose standing tall like a mountain were typical Rong tribe features, but his eyebrows, drooping gently like pine branches, and his serious gaze were the same as ever.

‘Untet. It’s been a long time.’

Facing Untet, Aslaf was overcome with emotion.

Though he had been a moderate, that did not mean he was not a brave warrior. In fact, it was Untet who had made the soldiers of the duchy tremble more than the ferocious Umbeji. Unlike Umbeji, who attacked while shouting noisily, Untet’s soldiers moved nimbly and silently, attacking at moments their enemies could never anticipate.

However, once peace negotiations began, Untet devoted himself more passionately than anyone to preserving peace. He soothed the hearts of the Rong tribe, whose emotions had been inflamed by war, and entered negotiations while taking as much practical benefit as possible. Umbeji had mocked him as the Empire’s lackey, but in the end, he had secured the food trade he wanted and created a stable source of income by making a mercenary contract with Alexei I.

‘We fought together against the Yeon tribe.’

If he had not allied with the Rong tribe, he would not have been able to fight and defeat the terrifying Yeon tribe. Untet had personally led the Rong tribe into battle, and because they had held out without retreating to the end, Aslaf’s cavalry had been able to cut off the Yeon tribe’s retreat and annihilate the fleeing Yeon.

Now that he faced Untet, old memories again rose one after another in his mind.

His heart pounded with many memories and emotions, but Aslaf set aside the old recollections for a moment and opened his mouth.

“Chief Untet, I have heard much about you. Thanks to you sending your son to the Empire, the Empire and the Rong tribe will be able to live in peace for at least one year, so I wished to offer my thanks.”

Untet looked deep into Aslaf’s eyes, as if trying to determine whether he was someone he could trust.

“We are the ones who are grateful that the negotiations could proceed because of your courageous decision to come here, Young Master Aslaf. It may be inconvenient in many ways because this place is different from the Empire, but if you speak to Mwayo, he will meet your requests as much as possible.”

When negotiating with Alexei I, Untet had also persistently dug into his gaze, trying to see what he was thinking and whether he was lying or bluffing.

So at first, Aslaf had wondered if he was a somewhat rude and petty person, but once trust had built through several small negotiations and trades, Untet had trusted Alexei I completely afterward and accepted his proposals with great generosity.

“In both the Empire and the Rong tribe, there are people interested in peace and prosperity, and conversely, there are people who pursue only their own gain whether war breaks out or not. I hope there will be more people among the Rong tribe who care about peace, like you, Chief Untet.”

To soften Untet’s wariness, Aslaf spoke about the situation in Beden Castle, where he had grown up, and the Empire, letting Untet know that he was not someone interested only in bluffing or profit.

Untet gradually listened to Aslaf’s story and spoke of his own thoughts.

“The Rong tribe tried to maintain good relations while trading with the Empire. Whenever the Empire wanted mercenaries, we responded. But the Empire changed its attitude capriciously. I never imagined Alexei I, who was the most trustworthy man among the people of the Empire, would suddenly change his attitude like that. That is why the Rong tribe says the people of the Empire cannot be trusted.”

Because of Alexei I’s sudden suspension of trade, Untet, who had been the great chief, had found himself in a difficult position. In the end, as the man who had led the peace negotiations with the Empire, he had been forced to step down from his position as great chief. In his place, the hardliner Umbeji had been elevated as great chief and began committing plunder.

“I heard Alexei I sent a letter suspending trade, but this is the first the Empire has heard of it. Did such a thing truly happen?”

Aslaf asked to confirm the fact that relations with the Rong tribe had broken down because of a letter he had not sent.

“That is true. Every member of the Rong tribe knows it. Everyone saw that letter.”

Whenever possible, Untet had informed the tribe transparently of letters or communications from the Empire. Except in cases of confidential matters, he had disclosed the details of negotiations with the Empire without hiding anything, and that was how he had earned the tribe’s trust and proceeded with negotiations. Therefore, Untet was likely not lying.

“The messenger who always delivered Alexei I’s letters brought that letter.”