Shadow's Oath

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Chapter 44: The Fortune (1)

Ram faintly heard the sound of galloping hooves from the moment Olga began divining with her rune stones.

However, the atmosphere had turned so eerie by the time Olga finished speaking that Ram hesitated to say anything.

When it became certain that riders were approaching, Ram turned to Damion and said,

"Your Highness, cavalry is headed this way. At least ten riders."

Damion snapped out of his thoughts and responded,

"Go confirm it."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Before Ram could even open the door, commotion broke out outside.

Shouts of warnings from the knights mixed with commands like,

"Who goes there? Halt! Identify yourself!"

When Ram opened the door, a cavalry unit was approaching, galloping at full speed.

The horses only came to a stop directly in front of Olga's house.

They were knights of Born.

Leading them was Rusef, who dismounted his horse even before it had fully stopped.

"Charlon!"

The royal knights barred Rusef’s path.

"Stand down. His Highness is inside."

"I’ve come to see my sister. Why is she meeting with the witch of the barbarians?"

Rusef growled, pushing past three royal knights with his body.

Ram approached him and said,

"Calm down and wait here for a moment. I will call His Highness."

"How dare you order me, you insolent—"

As Rusef’s fury turned toward Ram, Charlon shouted from inside the house,

"Brother Rusef! I’ll come out. Nothing’s happening here."

Ram heard the sound of three people rising from their chairs and heading toward the door but didn’t look back.

Rusef was already reaching for his sword, ready to cut down the three knights blocking him and then kill Ram to enter the house.

Ram observed his movements and calculated silently:

‘If he tries to draw his sword, I’ll block the hilt and force him to put it back’

Charlon’s voice came from behind,

"I’ll go out, Stuga. Step aside."

The exit of Hag’s house was so narrow that Ram pressed his back against the wall to let her pass.

Charlon pushed past Ram and shoved Rusef back.

"I’m fine, Rusef! Stop picking fights with innocent people!"

Rusef glared at Ram before following Charlon.

Ram waited inside for Damion, who remained focused on the commotion outside.

Ram only heard Damion’s voice,

"I don’t have anything to say right now, Olga. It would hurt my pride to simply parrot back your words, so I’ll prepare a proper response later."

"I’ll be waiting, Your Highness,"

Olga said cheerfully.

Ram stepped aside by the door.

Damion exited first, followed by Jedrick.

"Then, we’ll take our leave,"

Ram said, bowing to Olga and moving to close the door.

Just then, Olga spoke up,

"Stuga."

Ram turned his head quickly, startled by the sudden address, and looked back inside the house.

Olga, as if conserving the light, began blowing out the many Ramps she had lit earlier.

"There’s one thing I didn’t mention about Maraka."

Outside, Rusef and Charlon were still arguing.

"Spending the night in the banquet hall wasn’t part of the agreement to begin with."

"It wasn’t even an agreement. They just assumed it was fine.”

"And what do you think will happen because of it? It’s a good thing Odel rode in the middle of the night to warn us. It could’ve been disastrous!"

"You know Odel exaggerates. She’d call a cat’s scratch a lion’s bite! What disaster?"

"Enough. Let’s return to camp. The tents are already set up, and the Born knights are on full guard."

Damion joined the argument, making things more complicated.

"I requested it, Rusef. General Terdin also approved."

"Don’t underestimate them, Your Highness. I planned to mention this tomorrow, but now seems like the right time. There are reports of an unidentified barbarian army stationed a day’s distance away."

"Retreating, no doubt."

"It’s too slow for a retreat. Their movements suggest they’re circling this village. They might attack—either the village or our camp."

"Wouldn’t that make the camp outside the village more dangerous? The fortress here is much safer."

While the heated discussion outside continued, Ram focused on Olga’s quiet voice.

"Tanu is the god of death. Maraka may be a greedy and impatient old man, but he’s not without skill. I don’t know what he saw to call you Tanu. Would you like to try my runes and find out for yourself?"

Ram responded instantly,

"No."

"I wouldn’t force my stones on someone unwilling. But if you’re ever curious, come find me. Oh, and one more thing!"

Olga casually tossed a dagger that had been lying on the table.

It flew without care, clinking lightly as it landed near Ram’s feet.

Ram stopped the sliding dagger with his foot.

He couldn’t help but recall the same movement he had used to catch the dagger Maraka had thrown at the banquet hall.

"Take it. It’s yours."

"It isn’t mine. Please dispose of it."

"You brought it to me because it might be dangerous. I’ve confirmed it’s not. My job is done, so I’m returning it. It’s yours now."

"I don’t need it."

"Then throw it away."

"The chief Ikarum instructed me not to discard it carelessly."

"Then burn it."

"I can’t burn someone else’s belongings."

“So what am I supposed to do then?”

Olga spoke as if she were joking, extinguishing all the remaining lanterns.

In the darkness, only the shape of her lips was visible.

It was only because the light from the outside torches reached through the slightly open door that she could be seen at all.

Without that, the room would likely plunge into complete darkness.

Was this woman confined to such a place?

In this darkness?

For several months?

“Then at least you should keep it for tonight. It seems like that sword is needed by you, so that’s why you took it.”

“You describe this sword as if it were alive. Didn’t you say there were no curses or dangers?”

“Because it’s in your hand, it’s not dangerous.”

“What do you mean?”

“Keep holding onto it. So it won’t be dangerous.”

Ram wanted to keep asking what she meant, but he couldn’t.

Olga kept laughing playfully.

Giggle giggle.

She really seemed like a child.

No, in the darkness, she looked like a girl not even ten years old.

No, he couldn’t see her, but it felt like an illusion that she looked that way.

Only her voice was heard.

“Tanu.

Tanu.

Tanu.

You have to keep killing someone to stay alive.

Who will you kill today to sustain your life tomorrow?”

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It was a rhythmic song.

It felt like a requiem.

Ram closed the door.

Her voice was no longer heard.

Her voice didn’t seep through the crack of the door either.

With Ram’s hearing, he should still be able to hear her song even after the door was closed.

But it abruptly stopped.

Did she shut her mouth as soon as the door closed?

Or was the sound completely blocked?

Ram approached Damion with a dagger in hand.

Damion, Charlon, and Rusef were still arguing.

Only Jedrick stood apart, arms crossed, looking elsewhere.

It was unclear whether he was gazing at the horizon faintly visible under the moonlight beyond the hill or at the night sky.

Was Jedrick also pondering the prophecy he had just heard?

Ram wanted to talk to someone.

He wanted to spill everything.

He wanted to consult and seek help.

Yesterday, Kura had told Ram that he would obtain a sword.

It was a ridiculous story.

He already had a sword.

As a guard, he was authorized to carry a weapon, so without a dagger like Maraka’s, he could kill anyone.

If he set his mind to it, he could kill Damion or Charlon, no matter how many guards they had.

Whether it was Jedrick, Terdin, Rusef…

Even Ikarum!

But Ram didn’t want anyone to die.

‘There’s no one here I want to kill.’

At that moment, General Terdin arrived belatedly.

“What on earth is all this commotion about?”

As soon as Terdin got off the horse, Ram rushed to him urgently, like a dog meeting its master after a long time.

The first person the general should meet was naturally Damion.

He would listen to the current situation, mediate as always, and resolve it.

Then he would leave for another busy task, and Ram would lose his chance to assassinate.

Just like he had been the past few days.

Before that, Ram had blocked the general’s path.

He had actually blocked the general’s way to the prince.

It was a terribly rude action, something he should never have done as a slave.

But Ram couldn’t hold back anymore.

“General, I need to speak with you.”

The general responded naturally.

“Let’s do it later. Now is….”

“It’s about your son.”

“My son?” “

Astian.”

Terdin looked at Ram with a strange gaze and patted his shoulder.

“Understood.”

Ram wasn’t sure what Terdin had understood, but he waited.

Terdin spoke with the prince and also conversed with the Vormont siblings.

Although he hadn’t lowered his voice, and Ram could have easily eavesdropped with his hearing, he couldn’t properly catch what they were saying.

Ram could only think about what to do next.

Terdin arrived and the situation was quickly resolved.

Damion, Jedrick, and Charlon returned to the banquet hall with the knights, and Rusef went back with the knights of Born.

Although they looked displeased,

Terdin said to Damion,

“I need to talk with Shadow for a moment,”

and then returned to Ram.

“The chief of the Ikarum clan has also given me his own quarters. Let’s talk there.”

Terdin’s quarters were a small hut located less than twenty steps away from the banquet hall.

It was so flimsy that any warrior of Geron, who had vowed revenge, could infiltrate it.

Although guarded by one knight, it was no match in an emergency.

‘If the prince or the general gets hurt or killed in this village, Ikarum and the village itself become endangered. So, if they’re not preparing any defenses, the Gerons would admire their courage instead.’

The advice Jedrick had given was already being implemented by the general.

The small room contained almost nothing besides a bed, a table, and chairs.

Ram recalled the moment he first met Terdin, standing alone in the barracks and lowering the head of Mantum.

It had only been about twenty days, but it felt like a year had already passed.

“Alright, this should be enough to talk, right?”

Terdin sat on a small wooden chair.

It was smaller than the chairs in his barracks.

The table was even smaller—a tiny table that could be filled with one loaf of bread and one wooden cup.

Ram placed Maraka’s dagger on the table and said,

“Today, I think I’m destined to kill you, General.”

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