The Bof family manor rested on an elevated patch of land, which had been made by creating a sizable mound of dirt.
Five hundred years ago, the Mulan family had rebuilt their household so that it could look down on the city with as much majesty as Sibiak’s royal castle. It was also intended to provide a vantage point from which far-off enemies could be seen.
First, they’d dug a well. Then, they’d piled up earth—five meters high—while they extended the well’s hole upward. Once they’d amassed a large dirt platform, they’d built a four-story building on top of it.
Construction techniques had been poor in those days. They’d regressed considerably, in fact. Much of the technology that had existed during the days of the Shantila Empire had been lost in war. The carpenters who built the manor had been grossly ignorant—so much so, in fact, that they hadn’t realized that the mound of earth would gradually subside.
Four years after the manor’s completion, the subsidence had caused cracks to form throughout the whole structure. The corridors had grown so warped that many doors would no longer close. Leaks had appeared in the roof because it was impossible to keep its surfaces even. Eventually, the whole thing had needed to be rebuilt.
The current Bof family manor stood on that same mound of earth, but it had gradually compacted and stabilized over the course of several years. It was the roots of trees, not stone foundations, that supported it in the end.
Although technically four stories high, the building’s top floor consisted of just one room with a staircase at one side. It was basically a glorified watchtower. Still, it was higher than the city walls, providing a clear view of the land beyond in all directions, just as the designers had intended.
At that moment, three people were gathered there, including Orone Bof’s wife, Clarine. Her maiden name was Atsuto. She came from a branch family of no real significance, but Orone had made her his wife after being taken by her exceptional beauty.
“Lady Clarine, what do you intend to do?” Tigris Harmon asked.
The Harmon family was a branch of the Bof family, and for generations, the title of lord-of-estates has been given to its head. As one of the most influential families in Bof Province, they governed a city named Mestina, which was situated between mountains. As the kingdom’s second largest producer of gold, Mestina was a wealthy mining city.
Following a recent declaration of war, invaders had been sweeping through the Bof Province’s castles and cities like a storm, triggering one surrender after another. When this news had reached Clarine, she’d sent word to the towns and cities, ordering the immediate assembly of an army in Koturah. Tigris Harmon was one of those who had heeded the call.
“I’m still thinking,” Clarine replied.
“Lord Einora, what is your opinion?”
Einora Bof was Orone Bof’s only legitimate son. Orone had fathered many children, but Einora was the only one born of his first wife, Clarine. His bastard sons had all been forced upon other families or left to live as commoners. Given that no one knew whether Orone Bof was still alive, Einora was being treated as the head of family until his father’s fate had been determined.
“I don’t know. I’m thinking about it,” Einora said lazily as he folded his arms over his large body.
“We need more than thought!” Tigris replied. “Your citizens are on the verge of an uprising! Why won’t you open the city gates and let them leave?!”
The enemy was positioned so as to prevent any escape from the city. The Rube family had three thousand soldiers at the north gate, and the Ho family had three thousand soldiers at the south gate.
The Bof family still had four thousand soldiers left in Koturah, but the moment they would gather to attack the enemy at one side, the opposite gate might be breached. It seemed the enemy’s strategy was to force the Bof family into making the first move.
There was no hope of reinforcements because Koturah was now completely isolated. To make matters worse, the Ho family’s current head, Yuri Ho, had publicly announced his intention to hold his position until the moment a crusade force arrived. There wouldn’t be an assault on the city. If Koturah’s rulers chose death, Yuri Ho would have them die fighting crusaders.
Yuri Ho had added, however, that he wouldn’t place blame on the city’s commoners, so they were allowed to leave via the south gate. The enemy had promised that if the gate was opened for this purpose, it wouldn’t be used as an opportunity to strike the Bof family army.
To complicate things further, this message—along with a story about the Bof family betraying the kingdom with the witches—had been written on small pieces of paper and spread through the city streets. Needless to say, the people had become enraged and demanded that the gate be opened.
“We will await an opportunity,” Clarine Bof said.
It made no sense whatsoever for Clarine to have a say in military affairs. At thirty-two years old, Einora was still young, but he was ten years older than Yuri Ho. He certainly shouldn’t have needed his mother to speak for him.
“What opportunity?” Tigris scoffed. “Do you suppose the crusaders will come to our aid?”
“How dare you mock me?!” Clarine’s voice seemed impossibly loud for someone with such a thin frame.
For a moment, Tigris struggled not to recoil from her. “Then what? I beg you, help me understand what you’re planning.”
“We still have ample provisions for our soldiers. We can afford to wait for the Ho family to approach us with an offer.”
“You think you can fix this with diplomacy?”
Tigris looked out of the window. Beyond the reach of the city’s archers, the Ho family army was erecting fences and stakes that would prevent a cavalry charge. A third of the soldiers were positioned along the fences, while the remainder were conducting military drills.
Also visible, a southward procession of commoners were fleeing Rube Province while giving Koturah’s city walls a wide berth.
The tents set up outside were too numerous to be all for soldiers. It appeared some were being used by the commoners. From this high vantage point, it looked as though food was also being given out.
“That’s right. We don’t need to act rashly. It hasn’t even been a week since they began encircling the city. I say we wait a month to see how things turn out,” Clarine said.
They would only need to wait two days before Yuri Ho invited the Bof family to negotiate.
✧✧✧
They entered the tent and found that, as previously agreed, there were eight men inside—guards included.
Yuri Ho and Kien Rube sat on the opposite side of a long table, ready to negotiate.
Tigris, having never seen Yuri Ho before, was shocked to see how young he was. He looked like a new recruit, fresh out of the Knight Academy. Out of either arrogance or sheer disrespect, he was calmly sitting at the head of the table, while Kien Rube—the recipient of a Sun Star Medal—sat below him.
“You’re late. You made us wait,” Yuri Ho said when he saw the Bof family’s representatives enter the tent.
He was right. Clarine had spent so long getting dressed that the Bof family’s representatives had arrived thirty minutes late.
“My apologies,” Clarine said.
Her motion was elegant and ladylike as she took a seat, with Einora sitting above her. Since there were only two chairs, Tigris was forced to stand.
The enemy’s delegation also appeared to include two important figures who’d been left standing. There were four guards, positioned two at each end of the table. Likewise, four of the Bof family’s guards had positioned themselves so as to face the guards from the other delegation across the table.
With the agreement of both parties, a tent had been set up a short distance away from the south gate. Any assassination attempt here would prove difficult since the guards couldn’t be killed quickly. Even if one delegation did succeed in killing the other, both sides had archers stationed close by who would prevent the survivors from making an easy escape.