Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 160.2

Translator: Pai_

After learning of Meisa’s pregnancy, Turan placed restrictions to ensure that her movements and range of activity never strayed far from his side.

Just like the time when she had exhausted herself making the Sun Cloak for Solif.

Only the most trustworthy maids were allowed to stay close enough to detect signs like morning sickness, and on top of that, one more measure was added.

“I truly did wrong, Family Head... Please, I beg you, just this once, forgive me...”

“Take her away.”

At Turan’s command, the maid who had been tearfully pleading was dragged away by the knights.

To a place from which she could never return.

Standing beside him, Ashiz muttered as he watched the maid being taken away, his expression bitter as though he had just swallowed medicine.

“Yanel... She used to play house with me when we were kids.”

Originally, Turan had been somewhat tolerant of local spies who had been recruited rather than directly dispatched from other houses.

After all, it wasn’t easy for such people to steal critical internal information, and removing them too thoroughly might only prompt more insidious infiltration attempts.

But now that something had to be hidden at all costs, he began a full-scale purge of traitors within the house, using every tool at his disposal, including the Zahar bloodline’s distinctive sense of smell.

As a result, he discovered that far more people were under the influence of other noble houses than he had expected.

Even the maid who had just been taken away, as Ashiz mentioned, was one of those who had served House Berk for many years and had been granted permission to attend Meisa.

"Should I leave this to someone else if it's too difficult?"

“No, it’s fine. I’m the butler, I have to take care of it. Hm.”

Ashiz, who had briefly wavered, shook his head and spoke with a determined expression.

Turan’s role was only to identify whether someone was a spy or not.

The decisions on how to deal with those proven to be traitors, and the selection of new replacements to fill the vacancies, were all Ashiz’s responsibility.

That’s what being a butler was all about.

After encouraging Ashiz, Turan walked down the now somewhat empty corridor, glancing around.

Perhaps because a storm had just passed through, the once lively atmosphere within the household had clearly tightened.

‘Looks like it’ll stay like this for a while...’

Just yesterday, the same people who were laughing and chatting had now been executed for being spies from other noble houses, so it was inevitable.

This was also one of the reasons Turan had delayed the purge of spies until now.

Even if they were driven out, more would come in or try to bribe others.

Conducting inspections and chasing them out every time was not only exhausting for him, but also a serious blow to everyone’s morale.

Even though Turan had valid grounds for his purges, for those being searched, it might feel like they could be dragged away at any moment.

‘Still, what surprised me most was that there were more from the Aravion side than I expected.’

It was unexpected that more than half of the purged spies were from House Aravion or House Nagin.

Since Badal’s failed raid last time, they had outwardly acted as though House Parsha didn’t even exist.

Given what Badal had said at the end of that encounter, Turan had assumed they were preoccupied internally with something important and thus had no interest in his side.

But in truth, while pretending outwardly, they had been obsessively trying to extract information from his camp behind the scenes.

In contrast, the number of spies from House Zahar was far smaller than expected.

Less even than those from House Carmine or House Ruvan.

This was likely due to Berit’s presence.

They probably assumed that any information maids could bring back was something Berit herself could already access.

Of course, since it had recently been made known that Berit was sent to Varaha, House Zahar might soon try to deploy new spies again...

‘At least it’s a relief that we can now get a glimpse into their side too.’

Upon entering his office, Turan opened a sealed document case and took out a few reports he had received from Berit not long ago.

It contained information on none other than the high-ranking nobles of the current House Zahar.

Who they were, their names, their family relations, their usual personalities, and what secrets they might be hiding.......

Of course, since Berit, the one who conducted the investigation, was merely accorded a modest level of respect as a descendant of the heir, it couldn't be considered flawless. But even so, this was far better than knowing absolutely nothing.

Among them, what caught Turan’s attention the most was the document placed at the very top.

An elderly man with half-whitened hair combed back.

“Haroon Zahar.......”

The head of House Zahar, the man Turan was soon to meet, had his information recorded right there.

*

At the end of winter, just when the first sprouts began to bud, House Parsha was bustling with preparations for a large-scale expedition.

An event involving over five hundred people.

It was to welcome the head of House Zahar, who was visiting from the Enril Desert in the southeast.

“Hey! You packed the freezer properly, right?”

“Of course! Uh, wait a second.......”

“You didn’t pack it! Are you looking to die!?”

There were a few mishaps here and there, as most lacked experience in this sort of thing, but thanks to having ample time to prepare, things moved forward one way or another.

Before long, the southern gate of Kalamaf opened, and the long procession began to move.

There were magical beasts carrying large loads, people walking on foot, and a dozen or so riding the beasts.

Citizens watching the deployment of a great noble house that guarded the Gray Zone gasped in admiration.

They hadn’t realized how formidable it was when individuals moved separately, but now that they saw them assembled, the majesty was overwhelming.

“That’s seriously incredible.”

“But why are so many wizards moving? Is it war again?”

“I know someone at the fortress, and they said the head of House Zahar is coming to visit.”

“Is that true?”

"That's what I heard."

“Then are we going to war with Zahar too? Feels like the whole world is turning into enemies.”

“Even if it’s not war, when family heads meet, of course there needs to be an army! Humans are no different from animals, if you go to talk and the other side seems weak, don’t you want to gobble them up?”

“Huh, I guess that makes sense.......”

They had enforced some level of confidentiality, but naturally, rumors like this spread in whispers. It wasn’t something they could completely suppress anyway, so they didn’t try too hard to stop it.

At the rear of the procession, before departing, Turan gently touched cheeks with Meisa for a parting gesture.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“I really wish I could go with you.......”

“It’s fine. Like I said, if anything happens, evacuate to Varaha. That’s why I left Armania behind.”

Initially, when they scheduled the meeting, Meisa was supposed to accompany him. But circumstances had changed.

If he took her and a fight broke out, and the child was harmed by an unexpected blow, he would never be able to forgive himself.

“I’m more worried about you than me.”

“Solif is going with me, remember? There’s no problem.”

“I know, but still.”

Solif was currently in disguise, borrowing Turan’s mask and posing as his personal servant.

Turan’s inner circle, of course, knew his identity, but the Zahar side probably didn’t suspect a thing.

Even if some kind of trap had been laid, with the two of them leading the army, they would be more than capable of overcoming it and surviving.

Moreover, Lavitas, who had recently returned, was also with them.

After calming Meisa with a few more reassurances, Turan returned to the center of the formation and gave the command to march.

House Parsha’s force consisted of around fifty nobles and four hundred eighty knights.

Several wandering nobles who had recently joined were added to the count, and to prepare for this meeting, they had temporarily recruited more forces from among their vassals.

Amidst the astonished gasps of the people, the army began its smooth advance toward the southeast.

It took about four days to travel from Kalamaf to Bigen, the city closest to the Enril Desert.

While on the move, Turan handed some jerky to Bije, who had returned with news from the southern Lavitas side, and asked her a question.

“Good girl, eat well. How far have they gotten?”

-Here, about a day away at the pack's pace!

“At that pace, they’ll arrive exactly on time for the rendezvous. Good. Glad we don’t have to rush. What about Zahar?”

-I saw them on the way, but they're a bit late!

"So they're going to be tardy."

A day’s distance for the armies of the three houses was, by Bije’s standards, barely a few minutes. So Turan was able to confirm and coordinate everyone's movements this way.

Even this pace was only possible because the armies were made up of wizards and magical beasts.

If commoners with good stamina had tried to follow on foot, they probably would have sprinted for the first few minutes and then collapsed from exhaustion.

After marching for one more day, just as Bije had said, the army from Lavitas arrived nearly on cue.

Osel joked as he saw Turan.

"I spent almost my entire life confined within the family compound until becoming the family head, yet somehow I've been going on external trips more often since becoming the head."

“I’m just grateful that you came.”

"Don't mention it. It's only natural to comply with the request of House Parsha's head. I've received no small amount of favors." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Normally, family heads or their successors from great noble houses would never leave their main residences, to guard against ambushes.

In fact, the past few years could be considered an era in which that common sense had been completely overturned.

“No one else came with you?”

"Yes, that's how it turned out."

While Turan said that aloud, he quietly relayed through wind magic that Solif had come along.

Upon hearing this, Osel merely twitched an eyebrow slightly and said nothing in response.

While the two heads of noble houses conversed, their subordinates quickly began decorating the border zone with prepared items.

It was a major occasion where the heads of three great noble houses were to meet and talk.

Watching the barren wilderness rapidly transform into an impressive structure was enough to elicit admiration.

While this setup was underway, Turan politely excused himself from Osel and, together with Bije, used Concealment to secretly slip out of the campsite toward the southeast.

Before long, they could see an approaching army heading toward their location.

‘Let’s see... alright, there they are.’

Turan had come ahead of time to verify that they wouldn’t be lured here while their home base was attacked.

Of course, Berit had assured him that there was no such danger, but it was still better to be cautious.

That worry proved unfounded, as within the ranks of the approaching Zahar army, a presence could be felt, a being with magical power stronger than even Osel or Reshion.

The head of House Zahar was right there, at the center of the procession.

*****

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