CHAPTER 107……………………………..
2023.12.16
“Do you remember the person with a knife scar on his cheek?”
“Was he Riqui, the chieftain of the Deep Swamp tribe?”
“Yes. He’s one of the people we need to be wary of. He has many aggressive warriors under him and his power is growing—he’s a strong supporter of Lord Rakki Kun. He’s also Alaxia Katun’s father.”
“How is the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Prince?”
“The relationship? If you mean how they get along, I’d say it’s the worst. Though it’s mostly one-sided hatred from Lord Rakki Kun.”
“Because of the prophecy?”
Kichef blinked once.
“Well… that’s the biggest reason. But even without it, I doubt they would’ve gotten along.”
“……”
“Lord Rakki Kun and the Prince have different mothers. Half-siblings like that are common, of course. The problem is the imbalance of power and affection.”
Kichef went on to explain the history of their hostile sibling relationship.
A daughter of a chieftain with overwhelming power, and her maid.
The former became the Katun of the Khan, while the maid became the third Domikatun.
It was obvious who the Khan’s affection would lean toward: the politically advantageous woman, or the woman he chose himself.
“So the Katun, who lost the Khan’s favor, came to hate the Domikatun who used to be her maid?”
“Yes. But the Domikatun must have felt wronged too. It was the Katun herself who suggested to the Khan that he bring her in as Domikatun.”
According to Kichef, the story was like this:
The Katun, trying to test or provoke the stoic Khan, suggested that her maid be brought in as a Domikatun. But she was shocked when the Khan actually accepted her suggestion and took the maid as his wife.
She felt humiliated at having a husband who shared the same woman as she did.
“Still, the Khan didn’t treat her differently out of affection. Even if his feelings didn’t go to the Katun, it was still a marriage she had agreed to. But the Katun wasn’t satisfied.”
“……”
“She took several lovers in secret. Young men who would love her exclusively, instead of her husband’s lukewarm affection.”
And so Lord Rakki Kun was born. Giovanni was born several years after that.
The couple’s relationship completely broke down after the Khan personally witnessed the Katun’s infidelity.
Enraged, the Khan left with his warriors, saying he didn’t want to see her face anymore. Taking advantage of this, the Katun tried to eliminate the thorn in her side—the Domikatun—and Giovanni, who was an obstacle to her son.
Only then did the Khan realize his mistake and return to Pyeche, calling Giovanni back. But he could not save Giovanni’s mother.
“It’s only natural that the Prince hates the prophecy so much. He was exposed to too many threats at such a young age.”
Kichef slammed his fist on the desk in frustration.
“The Prince’s abilities are the best among all warriors. No one can match him. His wisdom, his consideration for the weak, his strength, his powerful body—he is in no way lacking as a Khan. So why does everything keep going wrong…?”
With a sigh, Kichef muttered gloomily.
“I need a drink.”
The atmosphere in the room, filled with talk of attacks against Giovanni, felt suffocating.
“I’ll take my leave first.”
“Drink with me.”
Kichef, still in the motion of standing up, looked at me awkwardly.
“Pardon?”
“Drinking is more fun with someone.”
Kichef paused.
“Why? You don’t want to?”
Then, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly smiled brightly.
“No. That’s a wonderful idea. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. Let me show you the true taste of the desert.”
His half-hidden eyes gleamed.
That look seemed to say it was finally time to mess with me.
At last, I was about to properly drink imperial alcohol.
‘I did try something called airak from the Garche chieftain, but that was more like a soft drink.’
They say imperial people drink alcohol like water, so I had been looking forward to tasting it. But the moment I took my first sip—
“Ugh.”
The thick white liquor smelled foul, like water soaked in a rotten rag.
I took one sip, set it down far away, and Kichef—already finishing his first cup—laughed as if he expected this.
“It’s called Palke. It’s made by fermenting plant sap.”
I tried again, grabbing the cup I had pushed aside.
The imperial cup was at least twice the size of the kingdom’s.
Unlike me, covering my nose, Kichef drank the unpleasant alcohol like water.
After two cups, his expression loosened. After three, his eyes grew unfocused. After four—
We decided to drop formal speech.
“So what you’re saying is, we need power.”
Thud!
Kichef slammed his cup down, his speech slurred like a drunkard’s.
I refilled his empty cup, and his lips curled into a silly grin.
“Mm, good. Thanks.”
Kichef really liked alcohol. No—he liked it a lot.
“What about using the Warriors’ Day? They say you can take rights by winning in the warrior ritual.”
“That’s true… in theory. But over time, the meaning of the ritual has faded. Only when the powers are evenly matched can status be overturned. Otherwise, it’s just a win and nothing more.”
“……”
“It’s the position of the Khan at stake. If the two of them face off in the ritual, the Prince would obviously win. But if we try to decide the Khan’s position that way, Lord Rakki Kun would immediately rally the warriors. If it turns into a power struggle, we can’t win.”
At that point, he suddenly muttered a curse, anger flaring.
“Damn Rakki.”
“You’ve got a lot of resentment built up.”
“That bastard is trash…”
Kichef spent a long time cursing Rakki, then downed more alcohol and caught his breath. I fell into thought.
“How about making the Great Chieftain our ally?”
“You think that’s easy? He’s extremely strict. He was the Khan’s teacher, and he never intervened in succession disputes. It’s the same this time.”
“But if we do bring him to our side, it’ll help.”
“Easy for you to say. The whole balance would shift. Lord Rakki Kun already tried hard to bring the Great Chieftain’s granddaughter in as a Domikatun.”
Kichef’s lips trembled.
“He failed!”
Seeing him giggle happily, I quietly moved the alcohol jar away.
‘Since when did he get this drunk?’
He kept pouring drinks to get me drunk, but he ended up getting drunk first.
Suddenly, Kichef snapped his eyes open. I flinched while hiding the jar, and he stared at me.
“Why aren’t you drinking?”
“I did.”
“What do you mean you did? Come on, come on. Drink it down properly.”
He snatched the jar from my hands and poured me another cup with a ladle. The foul smell rose again.
Kichef grinned.
“Having trouble drinking?”
Looking him in the eyes, I downed it in one go.
“You… you’re actually pretty good at drinking.”
With his already-loose eyes, I snapped my fingers in front of him.
“Focus. Talk.”
“About what?”
“The Great Chieftain.”
“……Why?”
“We need to persuade him.”
“What? You like old men?”
I swung a large cup and hit his head.
“Ugh!” Kichef groaned, clutching the back of his head.
“What kind of person is the Great Chieftain?”
“What kind… He’s strong in battle, great at leading, has many subordinates, drinks well…”
Grumbling, he answered obediently—and I pricked up my ears.
“He drinks well?”
“Yeah. He once drank an entire barrel in one sitting. Even the Khan can’t beat him. Probably similar to Lord Rakki Kun.”
“So he likes alcohol too?”
“Of course. He’s a collector of fine liquor. He loves good alcohol.”
“I see.”
I fell into thought.
To persuade someone, you need to leave a good impression. And to leave a good impression, an impressive gift is effective.
‘Good. I can already see the outline of a plan.’
“Hey, why aren’t you drinking? Your cup’s empty.”
“Just sleep.”
“Why are you pretending to be all serious? Boring. Act like your nickname.”
“My nickname?”
Kichef laughed.
“You’re a crazy woman, aren’t you? A crazy woman.”
“……”
I cleared away the existing cup and poured alcohol into an even larger one.
“Drink.”
The overflowing liquid trembled at the edge.
Kichef leaned back slightly.
“I think you should drink instead of me…”
Smiling, I pushed the cup toward him.
“No, you drink.”
“I’m fine—”
“Don’t refuse.”
I grabbed the back of his neck as he tried to retreat and poured the alcohol into his open mouth.
“Gah—stop, ngh!”
I held him firmly as he struggled.
Glug, glug.
By the time the cup was nearly empty—
“What exactly are you doing?”
Giovanni, who had gone to meet the Khan privately, had returned.
He stopped at the doorway, then entered and frowned.
“It reeks in here.”
“……”
Rolling my eyes, I let go of Kichef, who was still struggling.
“You’re back early?”
“……”
“He got excited since he hadn’t had a drink in a while.”
I smiled brightly.
Just then—
Thud!
Kichef’s forehead hit the desk.
“Uuuugh…”
“……”
“……”
Giovanni’s gaze turned to us.
I awkwardly smiled and quickly propped Kichef up.
‘Ugh.’
The foul smell of Palke hit me again, and I turned my face away slightly.
“I’ll take him somewhere to rest.”
Saying that, I slung Kichef’s arm over my shoulder.
‘He’s ridiculously heavy.’
As I tried to drag him away—
With a sigh, Giovanni took him from me.
“Wait.”
Then he strode forward. Kichef hung limp from his arm like a rag.
‘He’s going to throw up at this rate.’
Just as I thought that, Giovanni gently tilted Kichef’s head to the side so he could breathe properly.
That careful gesture made me quietly admire him.
‘As expected of Giovanni.’
Tyirin spoke dryly.
“I don’t see what there is to admire.”
Giovanni soon returned to the study.
The desk had already been cleared. I acted as if nothing had happened.
“How was your talk with the Khan? It seemed to take quite a while.”
“I drank.”
“……”
“Like you.”
I coughed awkwardly.
A faint smile softened Giovanni’s expression.
“Drinking too much is bad for you.”
“I’ll drink in moderation.”
“You’ve probably looked around the palace. How does it seem so far?”
“It’s better than I expected. Neat, calm. Only what’s necessary—kind of like you, Prince.”
Giovanni gave a small nod.
I stared at him quietly.
‘He looks a bit tired.’
Even though he had returned to his homeland after so long, his expression remained calm and unreadable, which lingered in my mind.
