Chapter 23. It's nice to have something to look at
***
"On a day like today, I won't let you make a mistake!"
They all tensed up at the chef's words.
The day of the banquet arrived, and the kitchen staff was on edge.
Ihedia had been starving since yesterday, but she could barely feel her hunger.
The kitchen staff was limited, and the sudden need to prepare for such a large-scale banquet meant that no amount of scrambling could reduce the mountain of work.
In front of the kitchen table, the women of the outbuildings were lined up to serve the finished dishes.
Each woman carried a tray, one by one, and hurried in and out of the kitchen.
But with such a shortage of labor, it was noticeably slower to get the food out than it was to serve it.
The chef's eyes crinkled at the sight.
He called out to Ihedia, who was cleaning the bowls.
"77, you take this to the banquet hall."
By the time Ihedia hesitantly accepted the tray, she had already been chased out of the kitchen.
She didn't know where the ballroom was, so she hurried after the women who had gone before her.
After a short distance, a loud noise filled the hall.
She followed the women through a large iron gate with a black wolf emblem on it and into a room so large that it was impossible to see at first glance.
Overwhelmed by the grandeur of the room, which was more than double the size of Elmir’s ballroom, Ihedia felt as if she were in an outdoor plaza.
At the end of the hall were several long tables, piled so high with all the food she had seen in the kitchen that the white tablecloths were barely visible.
The Anuts sitting in front of them were drunkenly chattering away.
Mixed in with them were some of the envoys from Elmir’s banquet the night before.
She looked around and saw Kayan at the head of the table, with Netira to his left and Doa to his right.
Kayan and Netira were laughing and chatting as they refilled each other's empty glasses.
Then Ellie whispered something to Netira, and she followed her out of the ballroom.
After she was gone, Kayan glanced over at Ihedia, who had appeared very briefly with a tray.
But he quickly looked away as if he hadn't seen anything and drank wordlessly.
Doa, at his side, caught sight of Ihedia a moment later and gave her a wink.
Ihedia returned the gesture with a smile so faint that no one else noticed.
She slowly set down the food on her tray and was about to take the neatly emptied bowls back.
A man at the table rose from his seat and made his way to the center of the ballroom.
Ihedia's gaze moved involuntarily to follow him.
As he passed by, he glanced in her direction.
'That man is........'
The red-eyed man who drove Monica to her death.
Ihedia was surprised to recognize him, but she couldn't hide it.
She reflexively ducked her head and half-turned, afraid he might recognize her.
Fortunately, he walked past her quietly.
Then a belligerent man's voice caught her attention.
"To you, Lord Kayan, leader of the Great Black Wolf, Hulkan Terun formally requests."
"..."
"I ask you to grant me an honorable duel with Doa Chatalq."
At the man's words, the tumultuous atmosphere dissipated into silence at once.
Kayan's blue eyes met Hulkan's with faint interest.
After a long pause, Hulkan spoke in a persuasive tone.
"Isn't it a sacred Anut custom to prove a warrior's strength?"
Kayan sipped his drink, unperturbed by Hulkan’s aggressive demeanor.
"It is a sacred custom......."
Kayan smirked and gulped the strong drink down the back of his throat in one swallow.
Hulkan was not wrong.
Strength was what made Anut tick, and as a warrior of the Wolf Clan, it was common for him to show off his prowess in any way he could.
Defeat a strong opponent and you get what you deserve.
It was simple, clean logic.
The flaw was that it sometimes came with a downside.
Kayan looked up at Doa.
His expression was not good.
He hadn't wanted to be associated with Hulkan in the past, and he wasn't going to be happy about this now.
"Does that mean you can defeat Doa Chatalq?"
"I don't think anybody knows until they've gone head-to-head."
"A brave Anut warrior indeed."
Kayan chuckled, cupping his chin with one hand.
Doa had rightfully beaten every warrior of the Black Wolf to his current position.
Still, Hulkan was unhappy to see him in such a high position, unbefitting his young age.
No wonder the hierarchy was so shaky when you were so young and had so little majesty.
Though Doa and Hulkan had yet to formally duel, Kayan already knew the outcome.
Hulkan was a good fighter, but he was no match for Doa.
Most likely, Hulkan had underestimated Doa, who hadn't shown his full potential in public.
"There's nothing more dangerous than letting people see your weaknesses, and proving your strength is the least you can do.”
“The only time you should be fighting at full strength is when warriors are pitted against each other."
It was something Kayan had always said to Doa.
That's why Doa didn't try to show off his skills unless it was a real emergency.
Of course, it hadn't taken much for him to earn the respect of the other black wolves.
It wasn't a bad way to build his reputation.
His piercing gaze locked onto the red eyes of the man who was consumed with hostility.
The end of a duel between wolf warriors was, of course, death.
If Hulkan didn't know Doa's skill, he didn't know why he was entering a duel that could be won or lost.
His foolhardy courage to challenge his superior in front of everyone who could see what he was up to should be applauded.
There was a strange chill in Kayan's eyes as he turned to face Hulkan.
‘I wonder if you have any faith in yourself.’
He wondered why Hulkan would do anything to offend him now that Odant Bayate was gone.
Hulkan was close to his ancestral chief, Odant Bayate.
In that way, Hulkan was similar to Kayan.
Hulkan was Odant's son and had been raised by the Bayate family since childhood, and was close to Netira.
Odant had raised Hulkan, the son of a friend who had laid down his life for him, overlooking the countless wrongs he had committed.
Maybe that's why.
Until Kayan took over Odant's position, he lived like a bastard who didn't know what he was doing.
But even as a child, he was perceptive enough that he didn't cause much friction with Kayan, Odant's protégé and the next leader.
He didn't try to get too close to him, though.
It was just a casual relationship, one that would have turned into something more if not for the common denominator of Bayate.
Even now that Odant was gone, he was still hard on his new leader, but he felt no loyalty to him.
For that alone, Hulkan deserved to be dead, but with Odant and then Netira circling him, he simply didn't care that he existed.
"Lord Kayan."
Hulkan's eyebrows knit together in disapproval of his laid-back response.
Kayan straightened, leaning back against the backrest.
"It's nice to have something to look at when I'm not around, but it could be a blemish on your reputation, so I hope you'll think about it more carefully."
"..."
"Do you really want to be remembered as the pathetic warrior who got his head blown off because he challenged his superiors to a fight over something he wasn't even good at?"
Hulkan didn't know if he was trying to discourage a fight or intentionally stroke his ego to make him feel better.
Hulkan's ears burned red at the near-insult.
"That's......."
"You want it so badly, I'll let you have it, it's not hard, but you don't realize that one of you will have to give your life."
Slightly intoxicated, Kayan's voice was languid, but the meaningful words in it cut straight to the man's heart.
Hulkan paused for a moment as Kayan's chilling influence took hold, but he quickly gathered himself and made his decision.
"With the honor of the Black Wolf Warriors on the line, I will humbly accept whatever the outcome may be."
Kayan gave him one last chance to flee, but Hulkan waved it away.
There was no point in arguing if his life was not worth it.
Even if it did catch Netira, who collapsed in shock.
Doa stood up from his seat at Kayan's next gesture.
His face, once so innocent that one might have thought he was a black puppy rather than a black wolf, was now filled with a fierce aura.
Doa stepped to the center of the ballroom and bowed to Hulkan, giving him the proper courtesy.
Status-wise, Doa looked down on him, but he had been in the Black Wolf organization longer than he had, and he wanted to show him some respect.
"Start."
The banquet hall was transformed into a gladiatorial arena the moment the dull announcement of the start of the duel was made.
It was a rare sight, and everyone in the ballroom had long since become a spectator.
Everyone watched with bated breath as the two duelists drew their swords.
***
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Write a comment
Io (Sunday, 14 January 2024 16:34)
I wonder just how interested Kayan is in Ihedia? Thank you so much for the chapter!!�❤️