Chapter 17

Chapter 17. Rong Tribe (2)

“Who was the messenger?”

Aslaf asked the name of the person who had delivered the letter to make certain.

“A man named Ungus. He said he had even seen Alexei I seal the letter himself and stamp it with his seal.”

Ungus’s words were lies. Aslaf had never ordered him to deliver such a letter.

“Do you still have that letter by any chance? May I see it? No one in the Empire knows about that letter.”

At Aslaf’s words, Untet took a bundle of letters he had exchanged with Alexei I from a box beneath his desk.

“This is it.”

The letter he held out bore Alexei I’s red seal. However, Aslaf could tell at a glance that it was forged.

‘It’s fake.’

The shape of the seal was subtly different from the one he had used. Alexei I’s seal had an eagle carved into it. On the small seal, the feathers of the eagle with its wings spread, its beak, eyes, and claws had all been delicately carved. It had been made over a long period with great care by the finest artisan among the Batu tribe, who were famous for metalwork, so it could not be easily imitated.

‘There are no claws. The beak shape is different too. You can’t fool my eyes.’

The seal stamped on the letter was similar in overall shape, but the details were different. In the delicate carved parts such as the feathers, beak, and claws, it was obvious that it had been stamped with a hastily made seal whose details were blurred.

If a noble who frequently used seals had compared it carefully, he would have felt that something was strange, but the Rong tribe, who did not use seals, would not have examined it that closely.

‘Who the hell forged my letter and sent it?’

Because of this one letter, the relationship between the Rong tribe and Alexei I had broken down. Alexei I had been unable to receive support from the Rong tribe mercenaries, which had left him struggling in the final war against Georg.

He had kept sending letters to the unresponsive Rong tribe, trying to find out what had happened, but things had not gone his way. Thinking back now, the messenger, Ungus, must have intercepted the letters midway without delivering them properly.

“I have seen it well. It seems there was a misunderstanding because the Empire did not know about this matter.”

For now, Aslaf returned the letter to him.

It was frustrating that the Rong tribe all believed the forged letter was real and were hostile toward the people of the Empire.

To think Alexei I was being cursed as a traitor because of a letter he had not even known existed.

Their trust had been broken by an unnecessary misunderstanding, and they had been fighting the Rong tribe as enemies for more than ten years.

‘Ungus, you bastard. Just let me catch you. I won’t let you be.’

After confirming the forged letter with his own eyes, Aslaf became even more determined to clearly uncover the truth of the matter.

Though it was already in the past, he would find Ungus and make him confess every detail of how the letter had been forged.

“Do you happen to know where Ungus, the man who brought the letter, is now?”

“He lives in a house at the southern foot of the mountain near the village. But he spends a great deal of time in the Empire, so he probably will not be home.”

Untet knew where Ungus was. He had been living surprisingly close by.

However, if he mostly lived and spent his time in the Empire, Aslaf would have to wait until he came to the village. As a hostage, Aslaf could not leave the Rong tribe’s village.

At that moment, a commotion sounded outside.

“Let go! How can I just sit still?!”

“Endure it. Don’t get excited.”

“Could you endure it if you were me, Brother? They’re looking down on our family.”

“If you touch Great Chief Umbeji’s son, there’ll be serious trouble. Endure it for Father’s sake.”

Untet excused himself for a moment and went outside the room.

“What is the matter?”

Aslaf went to the door and listened to the conversation outside.

Outside the door, Untet’s fourth son was angry, and his third son was stopping him.

“Am I supposed to just watch while Umkton flirts with my wife?”

It seemed Umkton, Great Chief Umbeji’s son, had set his sights on Unbelin’s wife. Unbelin was Untet’s fourth son.

Apparently, whenever they met at the market or in the square, Umkton openly harassed her. Unbelin’s wife was so frightened of him that she could not even go outside the house.

“Umbeji naming our Nkun as the hostage was also something he did because he looks down on our tribe. The goat that disappeared last time was clearly taken by Umbeji’s tribe too, judging by the circumstances. How long are we supposed to endure?”

Unbelin snorted in fury, holding an axe as if he might run to Umbeji’s tribe at once.

“Endure it. Do not make this into a larger matter.”

Despite his third elder brother’s attempts to stop him, Unbelin looked ready to fight to the death.

“They’re the ones making it into a larger matter. Since she won’t leave the house, now he’s even sending people asking her to meet him. Everyone will know soon, won’t they? If people find out, how am I supposed to hold my head up? They’ll laugh at me as a coward who can’t even say anything when another bastard covets his wife.”

Untet spoke calmly.

“It is not yet time to fight.”

He spoke to Unbelin in a stern voice.

“What matters is not your feelings, but the honor of the tribe. When the time comes to fight, even if you say you will not fight, I, as your father, will order you to go forward and fight for the honor of the tribe.”

To the Rong tribe, the words of the head of a household were absolute orders. At Untet’s words, Unbelin breathed heavily and steadied his emotions, then let the arm holding the axe hang limply and returned to his room.

“Pardon me for a moment.”

Untet returned to Aslaf in the room.

Unlike the Empire, where laws existed and matters were managed through trials, even if they were applied according to the lord’s wishes, the Rong tribe had no written laws.

Great matters were decided in tribal councils, small matters were decided by each chief, and disputes between tribes followed the decision of the great chief without trial.

If the parties were dissatisfied with the great chief’s decision, they sometimes settled the matter by fighting each other until one side surrendered or became unable to fight.

It looked as though Unbelin and Umkton would soon have a major clash. If that happened, the sparks might spread to the entire tribe.

“Did you send a letter to Alexei I asking why he had suspended trade?”

At Aslaf’s question, Untet answered,

“Of course, I sent an envoy to learn the circumstances. However, Alexei I had already departed to wage war against Marquis Georg. By the time our envoy arrived at the battlefield, Alexei I had already died in battle.”

In the end, the truth of the letter had been buried without anyone knowing it. The Rong tribe believed Alexei I had betrayed them, while Alexei I had died without resolving the question of why Untet had not responded to his request for reinforcements.

“Thank you for speaking with me today. May I visit you from time to time?”

“Please do. I enjoyed our conversation as well.”

They exchanged warm farewells and parted.

‘Untet didn’t abandon me. The Rong tribe was deceived too.’

After seeing the letter and understanding why the Rong tribe considered Alexei I a traitor, Aslaf’s curiosity was resolved, and his heart felt much lighter.

‘That’s what I thought. There’s no way Untet would betray me.’

The doubt he had felt because Untet had not responded to his request for mercenaries in the war against Georg also cleared once he learned the truth.

If he found the messenger Ungus and learned the circumstances of how the fake letter had been delivered, all his questions would be answered.

Then one day, a noisy sound came from the village square.

‘What’s going on?’

In the normally quiet Rong tribe village, the only loud sounds were usually the voices of children playing, so he was curious what had happened.

“Who came?”

“They say smugglers from the Empire have arrived.”

Trade had been suspended, but not everyone obeyed simply because the state forbade something.

There were smugglers who secretly crossed the border to buy and sell goods. Since it was dangerous work, they could sell at a higher price and leave themselves greater profits.

Moreover, since peace trade had now been temporarily permitted for one year, trade was even more active.

‘Should I go take a look? See what goods they’re selling.’

With market research in mind as well, Aslaf visited the smuggler’s market spread out in the square.

Many members of the Rong tribe had already gathered to look at the goods. Clothes and food that were common in the Empire were rare treasures here.

“Wow, look at this silk fabric. It shines more than armor.”

“The flour is really soft. One more sack here, please.”

“Do you have sugar? Sugar?”

“As expected, goods from the Empire are good.”

Rather than looking at the goods, Aslaf examined the smugglers’ faces. And among them, he discovered a familiar face.

‘Ungus. So you were here.’

Among the smugglers was the messenger he had been searching for, Ungus. He had grown older and become middle-aged now, but Aslaf recognized him at a glance.

Pretending to examine the goods, Aslaf moved his feet and approached Ungus.

“How much is this?”

When Aslaf picked up a teacup and asked in the Empire’s language, Ungus turned his head and looked at him.

“You are from the Empire, sir?”

“That’s right. I am Aslaf, son of Baron Lenke, lord of Beden Castle.”

“I thought so. You know how to look at goods. That is a special teacup supplied even to the emperor.”

Hearing his voice made it even clearer that he was the messenger Aslaf had been looking for.

‘Caught you, you bastard.’

Pretending nothing was wrong, Aslaf paid a reasonable price and bought the teacup, then asked him,

“Can you procure other things I need from the Empire besides this?”

“Just tell me anything you need.”

Ungus smiled and rubbed his hands together. It seemed he had a feeling Aslaf might become a regular customer.

“Get me some books. There are no books here, so I’m bored. If there are any newly published poetry collections or plays, bring me a few. And if a new Empire casebook has been published, bring that too.”

“Understood. I travel to the Empire once every fifteen days, so I’ll bring them the next time I go.”

Aslaf opened a transaction with him, bought his goods, and grew closer to him.

Aslaf bought the books Ungus procured and praised him, saying it was good that he could read and knew how to recognize good books. Ungus felt proud and told Aslaf many stories.

When Aslaf said he wanted to visit his house, Ungus gladly invited Aslaf to his cabin at the southern foot of the mountain.

Whenever Aslaf visited, he brought fruit wine made by Iwan, so Ungus would often be the first to invite Aslaf to come to his house for dinner.

When Aslaf asked about his youth, Ungus said he had been a mercenary in the Empire.

“You were a mercenary in the Empire? Truly?”

Aslaf pretended not to know and looked surprised at his words.

“Of course. I may not look it, but I rose to a fairly high position in the Empire.”

Red-faced from the raspberry wine Aslaf had brought, Ungus slurred his words, staggered, and struck his chest with his fist.

“Then why did you leave the Imperial Army?”

“I was in Alexei I’s army, but after he died, all the barbarians were driven out of the army.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Thinking about it now....”

Ungus hesitated as if he were about to say something, then closed his mouth.

When asked about his time in the Imperial Army, he bragged and exaggerated about other stories, but when it came to Alexei I, he always kept his mouth shut.

Aslaf had a hunch that Ungus had not simply delivered the fake letter, but had actively participated in sowing discord between the two sides.

Alexei I had personally written, sealed, and given him most important letters sent to the Rong tribe. For unimportant letters, he sometimes had subordinates write them instead, but it was safe to say that he almost never had letters bearing Alexei I’s seal delivered through anyone else.

Therefore, if someone else had instructed him to deliver a letter bearing the seal, he should have reported to Alexei I later that such a thing had happened. The fact that he had kept silent meant that he too had been deeply involved in the incident.

Also, Untet said he had sent a reply, but since Aslaf had no memory of receiving it, that too must have been intercepted by Ungus and never delivered.

“I hear you brought both Alexei I’s letter requesting mercenaries and the letter suspending trade. You delivered all the important letters.”

The next time Ungus was drunk and out of it, Aslaf asked again. But this time as well, Ungus only boasted that Alexei I had trusted him, and kept silent about everything else.

‘How do I make him open his mouth?’

To uncover who had instigated him, how it had happened, and the full truth of the matter, Ungus’s testimony was decisive.

However, even when he was dead drunk, Ungus did not say a single word about Alexei I.