Shadow Oath

Chapter 22: The Wizard’s Advice

‘Is the sword properly secured at my belt?’

Ram thought without moving.

He wondered if he had removed the sword while walking here or put it down by mistake while eating.

His hand did not move.

‘Can the wizard dodge my sword? Could he stop me with magic faster than I can draw it?’

Given the nature of his work, Ram had always practiced drawing his sword quickly.

He had honed actions like drawing and slashing or stabbing instantly to a level nearly invisible to the naked eye.

He had considered if he could draw even faster but never trained further.

It wasn’t necessary.

After all, Ram’s approach was simple—sneak up unnoticed and stab.

There was no need to practice rapid drawing when it was more useful to focus on moving silently.

However, now was a moment when speed mattered.

Still, he didn’t place his hand on the sword hilt preemptively.

Doing so would only heighten the opponent’s vigilance.

His expression remained unchanged, his breathing steady.

His movements were minimal.

He didn’t want his opponent to sense his tension.

“There’s no need to be so cautious, child.”

The young wizard spoke.

“I’m only here to offer advice. It won’t be too late, even after you’ve listened.”

“What do you mean by ‘too late’?”

“It won’t be too late to report to General Terrdin or to stab me right here and now.”

“You wizards are the ones who said magic can’t be stopped once it’s used.”

“We don’t cast magic with words.”

“Then how do you cast it?”

“We use various methods. But casting magic on someone as wary as you would be nearly impossible.”

“No one would casually claim they can easily kill their enemy when they’re standing right in front of them.”

The wizard seemed to give up on persuading Ram.

“What I’m about to say is something that could save your life. You’d do well to listen.”

“If your next words seem suspicious, I’ll have no choice but to stab you.”

Ram meant it.

At the very least, he intended to shove his sword into the wizard’s mouth to prevent those ‘next words.’

‘Various methods,’ the wizard had said, but ultimately magic must involve chanting, right?

Ram had never seen magic being used in person, though…

The young wizard smiled.

“Shall we start by sharing our names?”

“I don’t have a name. I’m just a shadow.”

“Then may I at least tell you mine? I want you to think of me not as some faceless, mysterious figure but as a living person with flesh and blood.”

“Hearing a name won’t make me think that.”

“My name is Kura. The older wizard who was with me, from your perspective, is named Kaimule.”

“Get to the point, Kura.”

“Soon, the king will summon you. He will assign you the task of assassinating General Terrdin.”

The combination of the word ‘assassination’ with the name ‘Terrdin’ weighed heavily on Ram’s shoulders.

“Why?”

“The king has plenty of reasons to want General Terrdin dead—and just as many reasons to keep him alive. But it seems the king has chosen the path of killing him this time.”

“And he wants me to do it?”

“Correct.”

“I don’t know the king. I’ve never met him and never will. The king has no reason to meet me, either.”

“There is a reason.”

“What reason?”

“Because you killed Mantum.”

Ram’s thoughts raced.

He wasn’t used to thinking so much, and it confused him.

“You wizards told him, didn’t you? General Terrdin specifically asked you not to, but you broke your promise, didn’t you?”

“Hmm, so you did kill Mantum.”

“What?”

“You just confessed. You admitted to killing Mantum.”

“Well…”

Ram’s confusion only deepened.

The young wizard spoke gently, as if to soothe him.

“Think back to that conversation carefully. The General never explicitly told us you killed Mantum. I inferred it from the context. And someone close to the king likely made a similar inference. Look at yourself now.”

The young wizard reached out a hand, pointing at Ram.

Even that small motion seemed like a magical gesture, and it made Ram tense.

“You’re someone whose inner thoughts are easily revealed, easily swayed, and easily controlled.”

Ram knew that, but hearing it stated so plainly by his opponent was terrifying.

The wizard continued in a whisper.

“Seeing you now, it’s clear General Terrdin made a grave mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“Keeping you close. If he wanted to keep you hidden, he should never have let you be seen. But I can understand his reasoning. You’re far too valuable to waste.”

“I’m just a slave.”

“In war, origins don’t matter. Talent like yours is one in a million. No, in all my years, I’ve never encountered someone with your skills. If you were a noble, you’d already stand at the pinnacle of the world. If you had been born a warrior of the Gerans, it wouldn’t be Mantum who died in this war—it would be General Terrdin. No one in the entire Triton army could stop you.”

“I don’t understand a single word you’re saying.”

“The king will learn through other means that you’re an assassin. And he will try to claim your talent for himself.”

“Who told the king? Adun, the adjutant?”

Adun wouldn’t betray General Terrdin deliberately.

But if ordered by the king, he might have no choice but to reveal the truth.

Perhaps he let something slip unintentionally.

“Or was it the soldiers who saw me after I first killed Mantum? Did they tell him?”

“Either could be true. But I suspect it was Ril.”

“Ril? Who is that?”

“Ril Badio.”

Kura didn’t use an honorific for Badio.

Now that Ram thought about it, Kura hadn’t used titles like ‘king’ or ‘archbishop’ either, addressing everyone by name.

It felt strange to Ram.

“That man…”

It wasn’t exactly ‘why,’ but Ram had a hunch.

The memory of being grabbed by the collar and scolded by Ril not long ago was still vivid.

Kura didn’t wait for Ram to finish his thought.

“Ril wanted the position of corps commander from the start of this war. The king initially intended to give it to him. But Archbishop Aikop strongly supported Terrdin.”

“Is the General close to the Archbishop?”

Ram remembered Terrdin’s advice to always refer to Aikop as ‘His Excellency the Archbishop.’

Yet now, he had picked up Kura’s casual way of speaking.

“It’s the opposite. The Archbishop wants Terrdin to die in this war. Or at the very least, he plans to ensure Terrdin doesn’t achieve victory, so he can use that as an excuse to weaken him.”

“Was that why the supply lines were so poor?”

“Have you only been by Terrdin’s side for a few days? You sure know a lot.”

It wasn’t impressive.

Adun, the adjutant, often grumbled about such matters.

“So, is the plan to assassinate General Terrdin Count Badio’s doing? To take his position?”

“That much, I cannot be certain of.”

“Are you suggesting I kill General Terrdin?”

“I mean that the king will assign you that mission.”

“Are you telling me to accept it?”

“Whether you accept or not is up to you.”

“Then it’s a pointless question. I will never kill him, no matter who orders it.”

“You can tell His Majesty that directly.”

Ram fell back into complicated thoughts, but he didn’t have time to think for long.

“Then why are you telling me this now?”

If Kura hadn’t come, Ram would have been surprised to hear the king’s orders, but he would have made the same decision.

It was fortunate that Kura came and informed him in advance. But ultimately, the decision didn’t change.

Kura wasn’t trying to persuade him to change his mind. So why go out of his way to come?

Ram needed to figure out Kura’s ulterior motive.

“If it doesn’t matter what I choose, why did you come to me, Kura?”

“I came to assist in your choice. Today, our Senerot sent a message.”

Ram vaguely recognized the name Senerot but couldn’t recall it clearly.

“What message was it?”

“Do you know a girl named Lan?”

Ram closed his mouth and instinctively drew his sword.

He was so tense that hearing an unexpected name caused the movement he’d been readying to spring out reflexively.

Kura flinched, raising both hands and leaning back.

Drawing the sword was a mistake, but once it was out, Ram didn’t put it away.

He didn’t notice his ragged breathing or the trembling in his hands. He had never felt this way in front of a target before.

“I didn’t expect this name to shock you so much.”

Kura swallowed hard, his voice sounding slightly different, as if he were speaking with his throat rather than whispering.

“Seneron—no, Sene…rot, that is, the wizard—how does he know that name?”

Ram stammered as he spoke.

The young wizard’s voice returned to its soft tone.

“That, I do not know. The message I received was a prophecy. It said that if you accept the king’s mission and assassinate Terrdin, you will become a noble and meet a woman named Lan in the capital. But if you refuse the mission, you will never see her again.”

Ram didn’t believe it.

“Prophecies are for people far more important. I was a slave. Lan was a slave too. Who is Senerot again? I think I remember—wasn’t he called the wisest of wizards? So, he must be a very important figure.”

“Not necessarily…”

Ram ignored Kura’s response.

To a slave, nobles arguing about rank seemed as absurd as mountains competing to pierce the clouds.

“Someone like that wouldn’t waste a prophecy on a slave’s future or whether a slave girl he barely knew could be met. How do you know that name? Even Baron Selkon wouldn’t remember a name like that—how do you know it?”

“I don’t know. I only conveyed Senerot’s insight. I was just as surprised that he went to such lengths to deliver something as ‘trivial’ as this. But it is significant. Honestly, how would I know who this Lan girl is? I only just learned she was a slave from your own words.”

Kura coughed, the sound like the last breaths of an old man nearing death.

Ram had seen many elderly slaves die like that, coughing their lives away within days.

Of course, none of them had lived as long as this young wizard, who claimed to be over 130 years old.

Kura stopped coughing and spoke with difficulty.

“Understand this yourself. You are becoming the most important person on this battlefield, even if you don’t realize it.”

“That’s impossible. It will never happen.”

“I told you—you don’t realize it. On this battlefield, you are…”

“The war is over!”

“It is. But the chaos has only grown. You must sense it too, even vaguely. Unknowable fragments are swirling. In the early days of this war, when hundreds were dying, I felt peace. Some would die, some would win, and someone would claim this land. I could remain an observer. But now that the war is over, the strings of fate are trembling violently.”

Kura pointed a finger at Ram.

Once again, Ram felt as though that finger could unleash a magical attack, and fear gripped him.

“You were the start. The Geran chieftain staying here magnified the tremors, and with the king’s arrival today, everything has become a muddy chaos, impossible to see.”

Kura coughed again.

Ram wanted to tell him to stop talking and rest but couldn’t bring himself to interrupt.

He was too curious about what Kura would say next.

“Without needing Senerot’s prophecy, I can tell you this: you are the center. The one who can destroy everything within this vortex—or stop it.”

At that moment, Ram swiftly raised a hand to Kura, pressing a finger to his lips.

Someone was approaching.

Though Kura’s voice was naturally soft and unlikely to carry outside, Ram’s could.

A moment later, a sharp shout came from outside.

“Stuga!”

Ram immediately poked his head out of the tent.

Half his body remained inside, ready to act, while the sword in his hand was hidden behind his back.

A knight Ram had never seen before waited in front of the tent.

The knight wore a silver breastplate adorned with the emblem of a golden lion and a pristine white cloak unstained by dirt.

It signified a royal knight.

“Are you the soldier named Stuga?”

“Yes.”

“That name sounds barbaric. His Majesty has summoned you. Come with me.”

“May I report to General Terrdin first? I belong to him and must report before going anywhere…”

“His Majesty’s orders. You need not report to anyone else!”

The knight spoke forcefully, leaving Ram no choice but to comply.

“Do I have to go now?”

“Immediately.”

Ram turned back to look inside the tent.

No one was there anymore.

Whether Kura had left as silently as he’d come or was still hiding in the shadows of the tent, Ram couldn’t tell.

Even Kura’s coughing had ceased.

‘Kura, just as you said. Is everything going to happen as you foretold?’

Ram followed the royal knight.