As Harchen passed through Trier on the outskirts of the capital, a black condor flew circling overhead. Calip rode close to Harchen’s side and gestured.

“My lord, there’s a messenger bird up there.”

I see, Philip. He finally sent a messenger bird. I’ll spare his life for now.

“Whistle!”

At Harchen’s signal, the condor descended rapidly.

The condor was sent by Assistant Philip.

Carolina, who had returned to the palace from the Heun hunter village for charity work at the poorhouse, went to Assistant Philip. She told him to send a message to the emperor, saying it was the empress’s order.

Philip had already hesitated several times looking at the messenger birds. There was no clear justification for disobeying the empress dowager’s order of silence. The empress’s order was sufficient.

“Your Majesty,

The empress was attacked and injured by people hired by Tane, the imperial concubine.

Though not in critical condition, she is currently staying in the Heun hunter village on Mount Roche as moving could be dangerous.

Sir Jake, a knight from the guard who joined Your Majesty’s team, knows the location of their hideout on Mount Roche as he accompanied the guard captain on his last visit.

I couldn’t report this news due to the empress dowager’s order of silence, but I’m sending this bird today on the empress’s instructions.

We await your safe return to the palace.

Assistant Philip”

She’s too injured to move.

Harchen only stopped his galloping horse after finishing reading the letter.

“Calip! Find and bring Sir Jake from the guard.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Calip turned his horse around and searched for Jake among the forest of knights. Jake was barely keeping up at the very back of the procession, his face flushed red.

Jake was a guard knight selected for the emperor’s retinue for his outstanding sword skills. Though his swordsmanship was excellent, this was his first time joining the famous “hell crossing” he had only heard about.

They dismounted for about three hours a day. And they rode day and night. After riding for three days and nights, he had even learned to doze off with his eyes closed for brief moments while riding on flat plains.

Jake had been dozing off and waking up repeatedly while holding the reins when Calip’s call startled him awake. Following Calip’s instructions, he went to the emperor who was far ahead.

“We’ll soon reach the capital Riswan. Lead the way to the Heun hunter village on Mount Roche.”

Jake pressed his forehead against his bent arm at the instruction not to dismount.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Calip. You and Lean follow me. The rest return to the palace under the captain of the royal guard’s command.”

“As you command.”

With only a small group remaining, Jake rode nervously next to the emperor, his gaze fixed straight ahead as if his hair was glued in place. They entered the capital and headed towards Mount Cao instead of Carsic Palace.

As they rode along the lakeshore, Harchen’s gaze was momentarily drawn to the lake’s surface. The sunlight falling straight down broke into small white fragments as it hit the gently rippling water surface.

Patricia.

He had carefully observed her golden hair shimmering in the light falling at right angles in the bedroom of Aster Palace.

The dazzling sight then, her soft warm body asleep in his arms, the overwhelming emotions – they all came rushing back, piercing his heart.

The empress dowager’s order of silence.

He couldn’t understand his mother. If his wife was injured, he should have been notified first as her husband.

If it had been one of the imperial princesses, Mother’s daughters, she would have surely acted differently in that situation. She would have gone to see for herself. Yet she ordered silence.

From the beginning, Mother had disapproved of and opposed this royal marriage.

Could she be critically injured? They said assassins.

Harchen’s hands trembled as he gripped the reins. As they rode the treacherous mountain paths of Mount Roche past Mount Cao, he had a bad feeling.

She’s in such a remote mountainous place? Could she be held captive?

He felt dizzy as he recalled the moment the white bird arrow shot by the Heun hunter flew in.

He tried to remember that the Heun hunter chief had punished the traitorous hunter, and the blood oath signed by the remaining seven hunters.

But the Heun hunters were skilled with poisonous herbs. They might use herbs that cause hallucinations.

Harchen moved up close beside Jake who was riding right in front.

“Is it still far?”

“We’re almost there, Your Majesty. It’s right there.”

Jake pointed to several wooden buildings clustered in a hollow valley below the steep path. The old, worn wooden buildings looked shabby exposed to the honest midday sunlight.

Patricia is there? She must be held captive. If they’ve laid even a finger on her, I’ll wipe out not just the Heun people or the village, but all of Mount Roche without leaving a trace.

Harchen’s mind went blank from the countless horrific scenarios he imagined.

*

“Why don’t you eat meals together?”

Patricia asked while watching Biyi and Bark chopping firewood together in the middle of the yard. Bark had never eaten meals with them since Patricia arrived here.

Bark glanced at her without answering and grinned. Then he picked up a large axe with cloth wrapped around the handle and split a long log in half.

Each time the wood was cut with a thud, white birds fluttered and changed positions.

“Will you eat lunch together?”

“You… want to eat together, it seems?”

“It’s nice to eat together with others.”

Bark stopped what he was doing, straightened up and rotated his arm while gripping his shoulder with one hand.

“I’ll set up a table under that cherry tree over there. Biyi, you join too.”

“No, why me?”

Biyi was reluctant. For them, lunch was just quickly wolfing down some rye bread rolled up with a few pieces of meat, perched on a tree while working.

During hunts, they would light a fire, eat with a single wooden skewer by the fire, and toss the leftover meat and bones around.

But eating with ladies took at least an hour. It wasn’t just the time, but having to divide each mouthful into three or four bites was bothersome.

It was awkward now too. What was so interesting about chopping firewood that she sat with her chin propped on the woodpile, exclaiming in admiration every time the axe swung down?

Even more surprising was the chief’s attitude. Usually, the chief didn’t bother with women, whether children or adults.

Biyi had expected him to tell her to go away or throw down the axe and leave, but he offered to set up a table under the cherry tree.

“If you set up the table now, Annie and I would like to decorate it while you work.”

“Alright, go on Biyi.”

Bark turned to Biyi and said.

What was there to decorate when you just eat at the table? Biyi was annoyed. The chief clearly preferred the black-haired imperial princess, but it was strange how he meekly listened to this empress woman, unlike his usual self.

With a frown of irritation, Biyi set up a long rectangular wooden table under the cherry tree with Bern.

Patricia limped over with Annie and covered the table with a white linen cloth. Annie went to the edge of the yard and picked an armful of wildflowers.

The Heun people didn’t use glass, so everything was brass dishes.

Annie divided the colorful wildflowers into two deep, concave bowls and placed them at both ends of the table. The delicate wildflowers went surprisingly well with the brass dishes.

As she looked at the table, Annie picked three yellow flowers with lush petals and long stems like drooping dress hems, and placed them next to the brass bowls.

“Annie’s decorating skills are the best as always.”

Bern put down the wooden tray of food he brought with the Heun woman on a chair and pointed to the yellow flowers.

“Oh, these flowers. Um, what are these flowers?”

Bern asked the Heun woman.

What kind of question is that? Patricia laughed dismissively.

“Brugmansia arborea. Also called angel’s trumpet. It’s a poisonous plant.”

“What? Please tell me more. It’s important.”

Bern earnestly asked the Heun woman.

“It’s used to make a deadly poison along with datura purple. Oh, and if you mix it well with those herbs over there, you can make an antidote too.”

The Heun woman gestured towards the edge of the yard as she walked. Bern followed behind her.

The one with only pale green leaves piled up was silk vine. Next to it, the one with small white flowers was houttuynia, she said. It was an herb the Heun people used to make antidotes.

“Let me ask you something. One day, a small plant about this tall turned completely black.”

Bern spread his palm to indicate the height of the plant.

“But a few days later, the blackened stems and leaves turned pale green and came back to life. Is that possible?”

“It’s possible. If it died from poison but the roots survived, it can grow back even greener and faster with proper detoxification. That’s the principle we use to treat diseases.”

Bern was surprised. It was indeed Imperial Princess Alesia who had killed and then revived the undergrowth behind the outer wall of Carsic Palace. And Alesia had also picked the strangely shaped yellow flowers.

Imperial Princess Alesia, nicknamed the walking encyclopedia, wasn’t just spouting knowledge.

“Sir Bern. Come quickly.”

Lunch under the cherry tree was awkward. Though Patricia and Annie took the lead in making conversation, the three men just nodded as they consciously chewed their food slowly.

Satisfied that they were eating together at the table, Patricia suggested having tea after the meal.

“Your Majesty, I’m in need of a cigar. Would you like to smoke one with me?”

Bern suggested, looking at Biyi. Though Biyi had no interest in cigars that only noble gentlemen smoked pretentiously, it seemed better than sitting close to the empress drinking tea, so he readily followed.

Bern and Biyi climbed up the steep mountainside where the waterfall was.

Annie, who had come down with the tea, saw the empty cherry bowl and went to the stream to wash more cherries.

Bark read the intentions of Sir Bern and Biyi and laughed, uncrossing his arms and legs.

“Our Empress doesn’t seem to realize that her subordinates find her intimidating?”

“Am I intimidating? You too?”

“Well, not me.”

Bark turned his chair towards Patricia and leaned his upper body closer to her as he spoke.

“I’ve seen you a long time ago.”

“When?”

Just then, the sound of horse hooves was heard. At the same time, people on horseback entered the yard. Patricia turned her head.

“Ha, rchen, Harchen!”

Harchen stopped on his horse. Red flames shot up in his mind that had gone blank.

Is this the feeling one would have standing before a fiery hell with black ashes and white bone powder floating in the air?

He slowly dismounted from his black horse. He walked towards the man and woman sitting intimately close under the cherry tree, glaring at them.

Patricia, how badly are you hurt? I missed you so much I thought I would die. I love you. I rode all night thinking only of you.

He had practiced countless times what he would say when he met her.

He approached under the cherry tree and pulled Patricia up from her chair.

“Bark, say hello.”

“Never mind that. Seems you enjoyed yourself with that man while I was gone.”