TGS - Chapter 33
Chapter 33: The Pardon
When Lotus and the others arrived at the main tent, an envoy from Akhet was chatting amiably with several of the legion commanders.
The moment Alyuin arrived, he immediately cut off his conversation and sized up the princess with a meaningful gaze.
"You have finally arrived, Your Highness," the envoy said, drawing out his words with a sigh. "How quickly time passes. The little girl from all those years ago is now a grown woman. If the former king knew, he would be most gratified."
Alyuin gave a cool nod.
"What is your business?"
The envoy appeared quite affable. "Your Highness, there is no need to be so guarded. I bring good news."
He cleared his throat, his expression growing solemn. "I hereby convey the King's will: Though Princess Alyuin's sinner's blood has not yet been fully cleansed, she has repeatedly taken to the battlefield, achieved great military merit, and done her utmost to defend Solancia. By special grace, she is permitted to depart for Akhet immediately and once again enjoy the honors of the royal family."
He wasn't even halfway through this long pronouncement when Alyuin's lips curled into a cold smirk.
Receiving a pardon to return to Akhet sounded like good news, but a moment's thought revealed it was riddled with pitfalls.
Although a pardon had been issued, it deliberately emphasized that her so-called sinner's blood had not been cleansed. It permitted her return to the royal city, yet demanded she depart at once.
Was this truly an act of grace, or was there another scheme afoot?
Seeing their silence, the envoy said cordially, "Your Highness, you will be able to return home soon. Are you not pleased?"
Alyuin said airily, "Pleased? Of course, I am. However, it seems the news from the royal city is a bit outdated."
"Oh? I would be interested to hear more."
"My bloodline is pure. The benevolent Goddess of the Yilu River favors me; she sent her messenger to bestow upon me the winter snowtu flower. This occurred before many witnesses."
As the princess spoke, her gaze swept, as if by chance, over Lotus, her tone adding emphasis to the word "favors."
Lotus raised her eyes at that very moment, and her gaze met the princess's in mid-air. It was as if, surrounded by the crowd, they had exchanged a secret known only to the two of them.
The envoy hadn't expected the princess to mention this matter and was momentarily at a loss for words.
Alyuin pressed her advantage. "Or do you believe that the Goddess Lotus would show favor to one who bears a sinner's blood?"
"...You misunderstand. I was merely surprised, as I had never heard this news before."
"It seems you truly were unaware." Alyuin shook her head as if in regret, a hint of sarcasm in her smile. "What a pity. And here I thought my uncle would be paying closer attention to me."
The smile on the envoy's face faded somewhat. He scrutinized the princess once more, as if seeing her for the very first time.
After a moment, he stood. "I have conveyed the King's will. Please complete the handover of your duties as soon as possible and depart for Akhet."
"I will," Alyuin replied.
The envoy bowed his head and left the main tent without looking back.
The moment he was gone, all eyes in the tent focused on the princess.
The legion commander who was nominally Alyuin's superior spoke first.
"Your Highness, do you truly intend to return?" the legion commander asked, his brow deeply furrowed. "Horst means you no good. If you go back now, I fear you will be at a disadvantage."
These officers had worked alongside the princess for four years. Even if they were unaware at first, they had all come to sense her ambition. It was a tacit understanding between them, one that was never spoken aloud.
But at a moment like this, if they did not speak openly, they might never have the chance.
Alyuin gave a wry smile. "I must return. To do otherwise would be rebellion."
One of the more hot-tempered legion commanders blurted out, "So what if it's rebellion? We all saw how many assassination attempts you survived when you first arrived. Horst was the one who forsook decency first!"
Another chimed in, "Your power base in Akhet is weak. It's too dangerous to return. At least here, you have us."
"Indeed. No matter how capable you are, it will be difficult to act freely once you return to the royal city."
"You should stay on the border. If Horst tries anything, we'll all just down tools and see what he does then."
The legion commanders stated their positions one by one, but the general seated at the head of the table remained silent. He was the supreme commander of the border legions and had been an old friend of the former king.
In their regular councils, this taciturn commander would always listen quietly, only speaking at the end to make the final decision. After Alyuin had distinguished herself and become the de facto leader on the border, he spoke even more rarely.
Nevertheless, he still held an extremely high status. If Alyuin was the newly risen pillar of the border, then he was the bedrock of Digebia, unshakeable for the past ten years.
This time was no different. Only after everyone else had spoken did the general say slowly, "Your Highness, I ask only one thing: are you confident you can retreat unscathed?"
Alyuin's reply was brief. "I am."
"In that case, I support your decision." The general's promise carried immense weight. "You are the one true princess, the one who has fought shoulder to shoulder with us. I swear to the great God of the Sky that no matter what happens, the border legions will stand with you."
Alyuin returned the gesture with solemnity.
She knew that regardless of success or failure in Akhet, Digebia would always be her fallback.
Only, she had no intention of failing.
There were no more words of farewell. Now that the path ahead was clear, they had to press forward without hesitation.
After a tense handover of duties, the princess and her party set out on the road to Akhet. As the decree stipulated, they had to depart "immediately," lest they be accused of defying a royal command.
However—
"It says we must depart immediately, but it doesn't specify how long the journey must take, does it?"
Lotus chuckled softly in the carriage as it swayed gently with the horses' gait.
Alyuin was perfectly composed. "Exactly. So there's no harm in escorting a merchant caravan to other major cities along the way. We are, after all, heading back to Akhet in the end."
With that, the two of them exchanged a smile.
Horst's intentions were all too easy to guess.
When Alyuin had first arrived at the barracks, she had faced several assassination attempts. The masterminds were, without a doubt, the faction back in the royal city.
But as time went on and the princess began to distinguish herself, the assassination attempts gradually ceased. Ultimately, it was because they had realized her value and wanted to use her to fend off the attacks from the Sanur Tribe.
Now that the Sanur had been beaten into obscurity and Alyuin had garnered immense support in Digebia, those in the royal city were finally growing nervous.
Border commanders growing powerful with their armies and launching rebellions were not without historical precedent.
They were afraid, so they had hastily summoned her back, terrified of the situation spiraling out of their control.
But they would never have guessed that Alyuin had never intended to launch a rebellion relying solely on the border legions. Such a move would lack legitimacy and would only invite greater resistance down the line.
She was, after all, the sole direct heir of the royal bloodline in her generation. Why would she relinquish such an advantage?
Only by daring to return to Akhet could she maximize her popular support, rally allies, and expose the truth of the past for all to see.
Not just within the city, but along the journey there.
Under the warm sun, a long convoy of carriages made its way across the open plains. The Royal Guard rode on horseback at the front and rear, while two fully grown golden eagles soared high above, their sharp, keen eyes scanning for any potential danger.
The moment they spotted anything unusual, they would dive to deliver a warning signal to their master.
Escorting merchant caravans was one of the army's duties, but for the princess herself to serve as the guard was likely a first in history.
The caravan master sat in another carriage, his smile even more earnest than that of the Akhet envoy across from him. "Well, that's the situation. It's on our way, in any case. Her Highness the Princess is simply too considerate."
The envoy stared silently at the caravan route map in his hands, feeling an urgent need for medicine to treat a heart attack.
He was, of course, the envoy sent to proclaim the king's will, but he was also the watchdog Horst had sent to ensure the princess returned to the capital.
The king had instructed him to see to it that Alyuin departed immediately, without delay, but he hadn't said what to do if she deliberately stalled for time on the journey!
He pointed at the route map, no longer bothering to feign a smile. "You call this 'on the way'?"
The caravan master replied, "Is it not?"
The envoy: "..."
Winding through several major cities, this route wasn't just indirect—it was practically a grand tour of Solancia.
Clinging to his last shred of hope, he asked with great difficulty, "How long will this journey take your caravan?"
The caravan master replied, "Oh, it's very quick. A year and a half at most."
The envoy's eyes glazed over. "Right. I understand."
At that moment, he had only one thought.
Let's get to the next city quickly. I have to send word back. But faced with a situation like this, does the King truly have any way to handle it...?
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