Arslan Senki

As soon as the news of the Crown Prince's return had reached Peshawar, the Marzban Kishward, who was in charge of its troops, led 500 horsemen to meet Arslan outside the fortress.

Azrael jumped from Arslan's shoulder to Kishward's arm, and after a warm greeting, returned to Arslan's shoulder. It was as if he had an unbreakable affection for both his owners.

"Ah, Azrael! I see you’ve chosen His Highness over me. It's really breaking my heart!"

Kishward joked with a smile, however, when he learned of the Marzban Bahman’s death, he immediately collected his expression and prayed for the blessing of the gods for Bahman.

"However, dying in the service of His Highness the Crown Prince is a fulfillment of his life's wish. Please forgive me for being so bold as to ask Your Highness not to grieve, and to cherish the life that Marzban Bahman gave his life to protect."

"Kishward is right. To repay Bahman, I must take back the royal capital and save my father and mother."

"That's more like the Crown Prince of Pars! Although I am not talented, I am willing to do my best to serve Your Highness."

"I'm counting on you."

Smiling slightly, Arslan left Kishward's side.

Later that day, Arslan had scheduled an archery lesson from Farangis. Arslan's arm strength was not enough to use such a powerful bow as Daryun's, so it was better to learn from Farangis first. This was the common opinion of the group.

After seeing Arslan with Azrael resting on his shoulder, Kishward made his way towards Narsus’s office.

Narsus could now safely leave the overseeing of troops to Kishward and Daryun, but he was still very busy taking care of political and strategic matters.

First, he had to implement the policy of emancipating the slaves, which had been drafted before the expedition to Sindhura, and move them to the west bank of the Kaveri River. The next step was then to start preparing for the pursuit of the Lusitanian army by issuing a call in Arslan’s name on the lords of the land to join them. In addition, in order to make Arslan's position on political reform clear, a manifesto for the abolition of slavery had to be written.

Although he kept repeating that he was very busy, Narsus was happy. For he could conceive and implement good government and good laws for a good king.

When Kishward came to his office, Narsus had taken a break and was drinking some tea. Kishward accepted Narsus' hospitality and sat down to share tea as well, and after the two of them had chatted for a while, Kishward brought up an important topic.

"Lord Narsus, there is one thing I want to make clear. Even if His Highness Arslan does not have the bloodline of the Parsian royal family, our loyalty to him will not change at all."

On this topic, Narsus had complete trust in Kishward. However, there were still some things that made him uneasy. He tapped his fingertips on the earthenware cup from which he had finished his green tea and said,

"Of course, His Highness Arslan is in need of your loyalty. However, after rescuing King Andragoras, I am afraid that there will be some friction between him and His Highness Arslan. What will happen then, Lord Kishward?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think King Andragoras will agree to the abolition of slavery. What would Lord Kishward do when the king and the crown prince become at odds over political matters?"

Kishward was a Marzban of Pars and came from a family line that had served the king's family for generations. Compared to people like Gieve and Jaswant, he carried a very different responsibility, and was not in the same position as Daryun and Narsus, and could not incur the displeasure of King Andragoras. Even if he wanted to support Arslan, if he was in a hostile situation with King Andragoras, it would be a difficult decision.

"Lord Narsus is right to worry, but we should let this matter rest until after retaking the royal capital Ecbatana, and rescuing His Majesty Andragoras."

"Perhaps!"

Narsus also nodded in agreement.

"Next time, forgive me for having trouble accepting the responsibility of staying behind in the fortress. I want to stand at the front line and lead the attack on the king's capital."

"Does Lord Kishward, the hero of the battlefield, find it aggravating to stay in the city?"

"Well ……"

For some reason, Kishward seemed a little hesitant.

"Staying in the fortress for three months is a bit boring, that's true. But something strange has happened recently."

"Strange?”

"Well, in fact, it was really quite creepy ……"

"Oh? Even a man like Lord Kishward gets scared?"

The Marzban, also known as the twin blade general, smiled bitterly and stroked his beard.

"I fear no human, but according to the soldiers' rumors, the enemy here is something else. I heard that he can freely pass through walls or ceilings. He’s also stolen food, drank water from the well, and even hurt the soldiers."

"Were there any killed?"

"Yes, three people died. There's no evidence that it was the shadow who did it, I think it was purely accidental, but the soldiers don't think so. It's really a little hard to handle."

"Well, now ……"

Narsus was deep in thought, and his cautious attitude even made Kishwardh feel suspicious.

A little while after Kishward had left Narsus' office in order to discuss with Daryun about the cavalry troops, Elam was called to Narsus' room.

"Elam, this is the secret letter that Lord Vaphreze gave to Lord Bahman. I have been trying to hide it somewhere, but as I have been too busy lately, could you hide it in Lord Vaphreze's room for me?"

Narsus’s complete trust lifted Elam's spirit. He wrapped the letter tightly in waterproof oil paper, tied it with a string, and took it to Bahman's room. After many considerations, he finally found a secluded spot. There was a tropical fish bowl by the window with a thick layer of mud at the bottom. Elam hid the letter in the mud.

That night, Gieve came to visit Narsus. Hearing rumors of the shadow that haunted the fortress, Gieve remembered the strange feeling he had experienced there three months earlier. The two men then went to that same corridor and searched the walls and floors for a while, but they did not find anything.

When Narsus and Gieve returned to the room together, Alfred seemed to be extremely excited and shouted. Elam was also there.

"Narsus, where have you been? I've been looking for you!"

"What is it?"

A piece of paper was handed to Narsus. A few lines of Parsian writing caught Narsus' eye. The content was a great surprise.

"To the fools who follow Prince Arslan, the secret letter of General Vaphreze, which you have failed to conceal, has fallen into my hands. Remember this lesson and do not be so careless in the future ……"

"So, what do we do?"

Looking at Narsus' extremely harsh expression, Elam tried to quickly calm him down.

"I went to investigate first. The secret letter from Eran Vaphreze is still well hidden in the ……"

Elam's voice disappeared like a candle blown out by the wind. Narsus had silently rushed out of the room as if he was chasing prey, and Gieve ran out after him without knowing why.

Across the corridor, Narsus kicked open the door to Bahman's room with little grace. The door made a grinding sound and opened with a loud bang.

An incredible sight appeared before him.

Hanging upside down from the ceiling was a pair of human hands. One hand was clutching the secret letter, and the other hand was grasping a short sword. The hand holding the letter disappeared silently towards the ceiling, while the other hand waved the short sword in a threatening manner.

Narsus' sword flew out of its scabbard and made a slash toward the ceiling.

The hand holding the short sword was sliced off from the elbow and fell to the floor with a burst of blood. At the same time, leaping upward, Gieve thrust his longsword vertically upward, piercing the thick ceiling.

There was a slight reverberation from the tip of the sword. Gieve staggered and pulled the sword back. The blade was stained with blood, but it didn't seem to have caused much damage.

"He was even willing to sacrifice an arm. It seems that the other party really is no ordinary person."

Gieve muttered while waving off the drops of blood that clung to his blade.

Elam stood in the doorway, still stunned.

"Lord Narsus, what the hell is going on? I really don't have any ……"

Gieve sheathed his sword and looked at Narsus.

"I think I understand what happened. That is, the boy was the bait."

"The musician is absolutely right."

Narsus gathered up the hair that fell on his forehead and looked unpleasantly at the arm that had fallen to the ground.

"That's it, Elam. That man originally did not know where Eran Vaphreze' secret letter was. So, he wrote such a letter for you to find. Of course, you ran to check if the letter was still safe when you read it. Then he followed you in secret……"

……

"Ah!"

Elam cried out. He realized that it was actually himself who had brought the thief right to his destination. What an unforgivable blunder. It turned out that he had been acting exactly as the enemy wanted.

Elam looked downcast. When Narsus was about to say something else, he didn't expect Alfreed to come to Elam's defense.

"It’s not Elam's fault, I am also responsible. Don't blame Elam, Lord Narsus."

Being supported by his usually quarrelsome friend, Elam didn't seem to know what kind of expression to have for a moment. Narsus smiled bitterly and gently raised a hand to the red-haired maiden.

"No, Alfreed, can you listen to me for a moment ……"

"Elam can definitely make up for his mistake! It was a big one, but it’s not fair to judge him just for one mistake."

"I said please listen to me! Actually, the responsibility should be mine. Please don't worry, Elam, the secret letter that was snatched away was actually a fake."

"Huh?"

Alfreed exclaimed loudly, and Elam's eyes widened. Narsus scratched his head.

"I'm sorry, Elam. Actually, Lord Vaphreze' secret letter still hasn't been found at all. It was a trap on my part."

Gieve, who had sheathed his sword, shifted his eyes from the ceiling.

"That's true, but Lord Narsus, who do you think he was? He escaped without a trace.”

"I don't know."

Narsus answered dryly, he did not like to make any speculation without investigation. He was a wise man, but he was not a clairvoyant.

Originally, he had forged the letter and set up the trap to catch the shadow because he suspected that it had been infiltrating the city in order to find the secret letter. However, the other party is not an ordinary person. He not only got the secret letter, but also managed to escape. If he had been caught, Narsus might have been able to get some information out of him, but now it was too late.

Although the stolen letter was fake and would not cause any harm, the ominous feelings of being set up by the other side could not be waved away. At present, this matter will be reported to Arslan, and they will carry out a strict search of the fortress.

……

At this time, the man who had sacrificed one arm to get the secret letter had already escaped from Peshawar. He wrapped a cloth around the wound on his right arm and murmured lowly in the depths of darkness.

    "Master, Master… Sanjeh has fulfilled your command. I have the secret letter, and I will send it to Ecbatana at once…"