Page 10 of The Wild Prince’s Favorite (The Dragon Empire Saga #3)
“Alright,” he mumbled. “Since we’re both obviously enjoying this very much, I’m just going to continue.
.. The generals’ latest report mentioned six attacks from the Northern barbarians within the last ten days, which is not an unusual rate, but they have definitely been more vehement than normal.
It seems they were trying to capture some of the men, but so far, we only have a few victims to account for, and all the bodies were retrieved.
We still do not know why they are so set on taking them alive, and the units that were captured the previous time still haven’t been recovered.
They might... find it nice if Your Highness went to free them. ..?”
Tievin waited, for the sake of it, his eyes going around the floor at his feet for a few seconds, before he answered himself.
“Right, they are probably dead already; may their souls rest in peace. Let’s move on. It’s not like anyone’s ever returned anyway. Not that we should perhaps try to retrieve our men, but, really, who cares? Not Your Highness, clearly...”
He dared to glance up to see how his foolhardy words were perceived, but again, only the darkness answered.
He sighed. Sometimes, he hated this position.
.. He glanced at his notes and immediately regretted his short-lived bravery.
The next thing on the list was definitely going to put his superior in a foul mood.
After a hesitation, Tievin very slowly took a little step back, preparing himself.
“Next, you received a letter... from your family.”
“I’m sure I told you to burn them all,” the Prince’s voice suddenly thundered, making Tievin jump.
“You did, sir, but a letter from the Imperial Family is not something that someone like me can freely dispose of...”
“I said to burn it!”
Tievin had to gather all of his strength and self-control to not leave the tent running.
It was one thing to know the Prince wouldn’t kill him, it was another to wonder how many limbs he could lose if he pressed him any further.
He took a few seconds to carefully think of his next words, as well as taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.
“Did you consider that maybe, this letter might come from your older sis–”
“If you mention my older sister or brother again, Tievin, not even the Emperor will be able to save you.”
Tievin immediately pressed his lips together, sealing his mouth firmly before he actually lost something, probably his life. He waited a few seconds and then nodded.
“...That will be it for today, then,” he muttered.
He suddenly felt movement in the tent, but in this darkness, it was hard to tell what was going on.
He heard the sound of clothes, metal, and heavy, angry steps.
His only reflex was to freeze where he stood and wait.
After just a handful of seconds, a large figure walked past him and furiously flipped the tent’s opening before disappearing.
Tievin waited a couple more seconds in complete silence before he finally let out a sigh.
“I swear I’m going to die young and lose my hair before that,” he grumbled, nervously combing his long black hair.
“No, no, no hair loss. Think about the money. Think about how much you’re paid to endure this horrible temper of his.
.. You can do this, Tievin. If Father endured thirty years by their side, you can do this for a few more years. ..”
He took another deep breath and then forced himself to exit the tent.
It blinded him for a second to suddenly be back in the bright light of the day after the darkness of that tent. Two soldiers who were standing guard by the tent ran to him.
“The Commander in Chief just left toward the Northern Forest,” one of them reported to him.
“Send three units with him... no, behind him. Tell them to not bother him, just clean up the mess if they can.”
“Should we tell them to hunt with the Commander...?”
Tievin scoffed.
“They can try, but then you might want to warn them they are at risk of losing a limb. For the smartest ones of the bunch, tell them to simply collect whatever the Prin–the Commander leaves behind. We can always use more furs and leather... Make sure to do a rough inspection of the surroundings while you’re at it.
The Commander’s presence will probably chase any of those barbarians out of the woods and back into their mountains, so capture them if you see any.
Who knows, it might not be too late for an exchange. ..”
“What about... the dragon?”
Tievin grimaced.
“If you think that thing is near, stay behind the Commander. Never, ever get between him and his dragon. And don’t run, either. It excites that stupid thing. Make sure someone reports to me as soon as the Commander is back.”
“You’re not coming along, Grand Intendant?”
Tievin glanced at the man as if he’d said something completely stupid.
“What for? To get drenched in inches of snow and watch the beast butcher whatever crosses his path? No thanks. I’m going to go to my tent, work, and finally have my breakfast.”
“You haven’t eaten yet, Grand Intendant?”
Tievin sighed but turned around with no intention to respond.
No, he hadn’t. He would have been an idiot to think it was smart to have anything in his stomach before confronting the beast..
. He slowly walked back to his tent, taking a detour to inspect the camp.
Things were rough, as usual. The winter was getting into its worst part, meaning the snow was piling up, the prey was getting harder to hunt, and the men were getting restless, exhausted by the biting cold.
The good part was that they would look forward to the next fights, anything to provide them excitement and a good occasion to warm up these days.
Tievin took note of a tent that needed to be repaired and then glanced back at the mountains behind them.
Those things were like a long stone wall they had pushed as close to as they could, but the North Army could go no farther as the tribes would fight fiercely.
What had the Emperor thought, to send his reckless brother here?
Although he had been there to listen to this nonsense order, Tievin himself was still confused.
Pacify the north. That was the only order the Emperor had given his younger brother.
It was an order, a punishment, and a challenge all at once.
A way to send his troublesome younger brother away from the Capital, to the cold, bitter north where the Wild Prince would be able to fight and kill to his heart’s content.
And kill he had. In just a couple years’ time, the North Army had gone further north than ever before, forcing the Northern barbarians to hide in their mountains and only come down for desperate attacks against the camp.
Now, it was like they were trapped in the fight, both opponents stuck where they stood.
The barbarians wouldn’t leave their mountains, and the North Army couldn’t risk going up.
The Prince had pushed the North Army as far north as he could, but what could possibly come next?
Hence why Tievin thought the Emperor had given him a cruel order.
There was no easy way to end this battle that had already taken place for centuries.
The mere word “pacify” could mean a lot of things, so it was up to the Wild Prince to come up with a means to end this war.
Either that or they would stay stuck in the north forever.
.. What a scary thought. He shivered and resumed his walk.
Perhaps that impossible dragon would somehow manage to kick the barbarians out of their mountains, who knew.
If only that wretched thing could be tamed. ..
Tievin went back to his tent, and by the time he got there, he was freezing and mentally complaining about the cold.
He couldn’t help but think his father had somehow punished him too by sending him to this hell of a place with the Prince.
.. As soon as he was back, he tried to get the fire going again and wrapped himself in new, dry fur coats before sitting down to have breakfast while going through the paperwork.
Still, they weren’t short on materials or provisions, and wouldn’t run out any time soon.
The Prince had made sure they were well stocked before the worst of the snow arrived.
The Northern Forest was full of creatures that had roamed freely for decades, and thanks to the long hours Kassein had spent hunting to his heart’s content, they had enough fur, leather, and meat to trade and use.
Whatever they couldn’t use here was sent to the closest villages and sold for what they couldn’t hunt or find.
The mere presence of the Prince in the Northern Region had improved the quality of life of all the nearby villages.
He didn’t keep anything he didn’t need for himself, nor sought merit.
He always did a lot by himself without requiring assistance, and he didn’t order the men around needlessly.
He was extremely cold and unforgiving, but he wasn’t unfair.
This, among other things, explained why the Wild Prince was popular despite his horrible temper.
He was both feared and respected by his men and the locals, a necessary quality for whoever was in charge of the cold north.
In the North Army were only the best soldiers, or the worst people.
It wasn’t rare that criminals were sent here to serve their sentence, by fighting without pay for the length of their punishment.
They were clothed, fed, and provided shelter, but their lives belonged to the Wild Prince.
Due to that, it took an inflexible man to lead the camp, nip rebellions in the bud, and maintain order.
Fights were common within the ranks, but no one was stupid enough to do anything to provoke the Commander in Chief.
They knew there was never a second warning.