"So you think that this might be a conspiracy against you?"
Jusha Lale raised his gaze to the zhireng’s face, giving him a long look, the red hue of the fire making his hair shimmer like silk. "A conspiracy? No, I don’t think anything like that would’ve happened. Maybe there were some that hoped to have somebody else accede to the throne. Maybe there were even some that would’ve supported my uncle in that position rather than me. Maybe some even mentioned it to him and made him get this idea. But I do think that, in the end, he was the one who made the decision to actually summon a demon. There are not many people stupid enough to take such a risk. Most will know it would just come back to bite them."
Susha Unhuor nodded slowly, feeling that it was true. There were not many demons. In fact, he felt that with the years, their numbers had waned. After all, with the horror stories of what chaos even a single demon could cause being spread, people had started to realize that this was something they should not mess with.
Even those that had the fleeting thought of maybe summoning a weak one would usually not go through with it. And those who were actually dumb enough to give it a try would normally run to find a zhireng to clean up their mess immediately.
To summon one that was actually supposed to assassinate a king … No, he did not believe that there would be a row of people stupid enough to try that. It was much more likely that the dan’s uncle had acted all alone. The timing was curious though. Jusha Lale had been reigning for several years already. Why would his uncle try this right now? "Did anything happen recently that might have prompted your uncle to do this?"
Jusha Lale shook his head without hesitation. "Believe me, I have thought about this all the time since it happened. But I cannot think of anything. In fact, my relationship with my maternal family is not bad. My uncle’s status is also high thanks to his relationship with my mother. I really do not see the reason for him to do this. Especially considering the risk it would bring."
Susha Unhuor gave a hum, trying to make sense of it. He could understand if someone in the dan’s position would not want to speak about the true things going on behind the scenes but Jusha Lale seemed pretty open-minded. In the situation that they were in right now, he probably wouldn’t lie. That had to mean that he really did not think that his uncle had any reason to do this. Maybe it really was that he just wanted the throne and wasn’t willing to wait any longer. His patience might have run out. "Well, that probably makes things easier. Does your family know what happened?"
Jusha Lale shook his head. "No, I did not tell them any details. In fact, save for the high priest that was with me at the time and Shunche and Chomong whom I told, nobody knows what exactly happened that day."
His two guards nodded promptly. "We were right outside the Hall when it happened to make sure the dan is safe. Because of that, we were able to see a little when we turned at the sound of the brazier falling. Everyone else was further away so they shouldn’t have been able to see."
Susha Unhuor nodded and turned back to Jusha Lale. "Then what do they believe happened?" It couldn’t be that he had just let the body disappear, right? The dan did not strike him as that kind of crude person.
"That my uncle is a hero who saved my life. That day, the temple caught fire immediately. Both the high priest and I managed to leave without further injuries. At most, I suffered a fright. I knew though that, later on, when people went to clear out the hall and see what could be salvaged, my uncle’s body would be found. Thus, I excused myself and had Shunche tell people that my uncle had gone to try and save me but was unfortunately stuck inside and thus died."
Susha Unhuor stared at the young king in a daze. What quick thinking … Honestly, this was a little horrifying to think about. But then again, that really was the best way to solve the situation. This way, he could play it off like an accident caused by the demon and that his uncle had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. He could let this person die a hero instead of a criminal, making sure that there would be no fallout with his uncle’s family while also reassuring everybody else. What better way was there to deal with this?
Susha Unhuor finally nodded. The fewer people knew about this, the better it was for him anyway. If there was chaos among the public, it would be hard to go and fight the demon. "I see. So, right now, nobody other than these four people knows about the origin of this demon."
Jusha Lale nodded. "That is the case. Unless … my uncle told somebody beforehand. I wouldn’t know about that but I doubt it though. He always struck me as a … Well, I wouldn’t want to call him a secretive person but at least he was somebody that rather kept to himself. Especially in the last few years. Maybe there were a few confidants that he had but not many and the ones that I know don’t strike me as people that would want to kill me."
The zhireng gave a grunt. His uncle hadn’t struck him as one either so he wasn’t sure if he should trust in the dan’s gut feeling. "I might need to talk to do these people. The more information I can gather upfront, the safer it will be to fight this demon, giving me a higher chance to succeed."
"Then I will send one of my guards ahead with the message. Would zhireng Susha want to meet them in the capital city or would it be alright to meet them outside?"
Susha Unhuor smiled lightly. He really liked this dan’s style of discussion. "It would be safer to meet them outside. Will that be possible?"
"I had everybody evacuated from En. So all of them will already be outside anyway. If the darkness hasn’t spread until there, then it should not be a problem. We can just stop there on our way to the capital."
This time, Susha Unhuor didn’t know what to say. He kept quiet for a moment but then couldn’t help but make sure that he had understood right. "You’ve had the whole capital city evacuated?"
Jusha Lale slightly raised his brows at him. "Should I not have done that? If I understand it right, then there is no way to tell what kind of person will be the demon’s next victim. If it cannot get a person, then it will take whatever else it can get its hands on. Whether it is artifacts, the palace, the buildings, anyone’s belongings … While it might be sad to lose it, it can be replaced. Human lives, on the other hand, can not be replaced.
"Thus I had the guards escort everybody out under the lead of my ministers. They have been distributed over the towns and villages close by. The ministers and generals have been instructed to escort them further away from the capital city if necessary. They will fall back no matter how far it has to be. In the worst case, they will have to leave the kingdom. But that … would be much more difficult so I did not want to take any chances. For the time being, they will still stay close to En."
"Aren’t you afraid?"
"Afraid of what? A rebellion?" Jusha Lale actually laughed at that. "Zhireng Susha, there is a demon inside the palace. The capital city might fall. What would I have to be afraid of? A king is nothing but a normal man without his people. If I do not save them, why should I try to save myself?"
Susha Unhuor stared at him, unable to form a coherent thought for a moment. This king … he really was not what he had expected. He was afraid that if it had been anyone else, they would’ve put their own lives first. But instead, this Jusha Lale had made sure that no matter whether it was the high-ranking ministers or the simple citizens, they had all been evacuated from that place to make sure that they would not be swallowed by the darkness. He could not deny that he felt some admiration toward this man.
The longer he thought about it, the more he was intrigued. "Why did you come yourself to ask me? Did you do the same thing with the other zhireng?"
Jusha Lale didn’t know why he would suddenly ask this but he nodded, turning serious again. "I don’t know if I should say this to your face but not all of the zhireng are like you. As somebody chosen by the gods, naturally, some of them will have quite the proud temperament. It is likely that they would never answer if I didn’t come myself to ask them."
Susha Unhuor could not deny it. "Yes, I know what you mean. I’ve met some of those myself." They were indeed haughty and they would take advantage of their status without a second thought. That, as well, was one of the reasons why he had grappled with being one of the zhireng. He just could not shake the thought that maybe he wasn’t any different from these people.
Jusha Lale did not seem surprised. This zhireng in front of him had proven to be quite different from the others. There was no reason for him to deny such an obvious fact. "So you see, I really had no other choice. I really would’ve liked to stay if I am being honest. It makes me not just a little nervous to think that I have been traveling for so long without result while my people are still there, in a situation fraught with danger.
"Even though everybody has made it out of the city, that doesn’t mean that they won’t have to worry anymore. The darkness will inevitably follow them. And being so far away, there’s really nothing I can do. I don’t know what the situation is, I cannot give any comments. I can only hope that they will still be alive when I return." Once again, worry clouded his expression, making Susha Unhuor turn away.
"I’m sorry for bringing it up."
"There’s no need to. Whether you bring it up or not, it will not change the situation. It is as it is. Anyway, I am glad that you are willing to help out."
Susha Unhuor nodded slowly but didn’t say anything else. In his mind, this was his duty. If there had been others willing to do it, he likely would have refused but since that wasn’t the case, he could not bring himself to say no. After all, he had been given the power to help in such a situation. To not use it … Well, he just could not bring himself to do that.
Jusha Lale waited for a while and then couldn’t help but speak up again. "About sending my guard … should I do so now or only when we get closer to the city?"
"We still have to travel for a few days but it would be best if they could prepare. If you can, it would be good if you send him right now." He looked at the two guards, wondering if they would indeed just leave. A dan only traveling with two guards was already quite a risk. To reduce that to just one man … it likely would be worse. Especially in a situation where there was already great risk to the capital city. Having trouble dealing with the demon was bad enough. If the people also lost their king, that would be even worse.
Jusha Lale looked at his guards thoughtfully. It seemed as if he was pondering the very same question. In the end, he motioned to one of them. "Shunche, you will leave tomorrow morning. Gather all the people that were in regular contact with my uncle. I don’t care if it is any of his friends or the servant working in his house, even his wife or children will do.
"Don’t tell them what this is about it. We cannot give anything away. Have them wait in separate places so they can’t talk amongst each other. If anybody knows something, it would be bad for us if they noticed beforehand and made up some story. Questioning them without preparation is the most important."
Shunche gave Susha Unhuor a worried look and for a moment, it seemed as if he wanted to speak up but, finally, he inclined his head. "Yes, dan." With that, he went back to taking care of the food, not saying anything else.
Susha Unhuor slightly raised his brows. It seemed that the young king had his two guards under control rather well. Even if they had different thoughts, they still wouldn’t speak about them and just follow his orders. In the situation, it really was valuable.
He turned back to the king, wondering if there was something else he had to bring up. Since speaking to him was much easier than expected, he was willing to give it a try to work together. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really come up with anything. "Well, when we do reach that place, I would like to question them together with you. You know them so you will also know more about their relationship. Furthermore, they might have some misgivings about telling me but it might be easier when it is you."
"I will do that. But you can’t forget that, on the other hand, if they knew about any plans to assassinate me and take the throne from me, that would be a crime on their heads as well. They would be unlikely to confess to anything of that matter."
Susha Unhuor nodded. "Then maybe just stay close by. Anyway, they will know that I’ve spoken to you. And with the threat of the demon looming over their heads, they might be willing to at least tell us part of what they knew. That would already be very valuable."
Jusha Lale nodded. "We will do as you suggest then."
The two of them fell quiet and the next morning, they once again went on a silent journey, until finally, the towns and villages surrounding the capital city came into view.
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