Luna left Yu's tent in tears and ran away. Sivina was waiting at the entrance to the tent, regretting that she had let her talk to Yu, even though she knew it would come to this.
But Sivina was relieved that Luna would no longer chase after him, even if Yu was responsible for it.
“Are Valarfin considered attractive among humans?”
“Why are you asking me?” Sivina averted her eyes from Kigaro's. She hadn't expected such a question out of the blue.
“Because you are human,” replied one of the roaron warriors standing guard outside the tent. If her memory serves her well, his name was Relgen.
“So...” Kigaro said. “You're around him all the time. To us roarons, a scrawny guy like that won't do, but it must be different for humans...”
“You've misunderstood something. I don't have my eye on Yu...”
He called her by her first name.
“Don't you think he is strong enough to mate?” Dimen asked, eating a loaf of bread by himself.
“Idiot! Humans don't talk about such things in public!” Kigaro slapped Dimen's hair-covered neck.
Sivina was red again, her body was burning. The new feelings she was beginning to feel were turning her into someone she wasn't.
“Kigaro.”
Yu came out of the tent, no emotion on his face.
They had been here for three days and Sivina realized that the Yu Valarfin smiling next to Yurine was just a father pretending to be happy so as not to upset his daughter.
There were very few times when Yurine was not with Yu, and Yu's face was always the same. Emotionless, expressionless, like a wall.
“We're going to see Cornelia, stay close to Yurine.”
“Okay.”
Even when he was with her, Yu kept the roarons around Yurine at all times. Sivina didn't know what was behind his trust in them, but because Yu trusted them, so did Sivina.
“Were you a guy who hurt girls in your past?” Sivina tried to start a conversation as they walked to Cornelia's tent.
“I don't think so, unless you count Lucie, who was hurt when she fell in love with me even though I gave her no hope.”
“I don't think your answer was very satisfactory.” Sivina was afraid of getting hurt. “Don't you know what you're doing?”
“My obsession with success-” Yu interrupted himself, then gave a different answer. “I was reluctant to relate to people. I don't know if I hurt anyone without realizing it.”
“I'm sure there were people who felt sorry for you when you left where you came from.”
She would have liked to understand Yu's feelings, but his face was like a wall. After hearing Sivina's words, he lowered his eyes to the ground.
“There's no one left to be sorry for.”
The answer also made Sivina turn her eyes to the ground. She felt sorry for reminding Yu of bad memories.
“What did I expect to hear when I asked such a thing?”
She spoke without raising her eyes again. “I apologize.”
“Why?”
“Why, why?”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“For bringing up something that upset you.”
“Old business is not something you should apologize for. The people in this world have nothing to do with what happened, so they are the last people who should apologize.”
He could not understand Yu, could never guess what he was thinking. Yu Valarfin might have been one of the people she was most curious about what was going on in his mind.
“I would like to know who you are,” she said. Yu, of course, said nothing.
At the top of the hill was Cornelia's tent. From there they could see both Vermia and the Jade Lake.
Trees were cut down and a wall was built around the hill. Ditches were dug in front of and behind it, and the ditches were filled with stakes.
It was as if Sivina could see the battle that would soon take place on those walls.
The trenches would be filled with blood and stakes would pierce the soldiers of both sides. The smell of urine, feces and sweat would permeate the entire battlefield. If this was going to happen, then she had to get a little closer to Yu before this, so she could smell more the lilac scent on Yu's body.
“Y-Yu Valarfin...” Cornelia dri Vermilia, the eldest remaining member of the Vermilia Family, emerged from the tent bearing the red color of her family.
When she first met Cornelia, she saw that she was tough, she even thought she could call her cruel, which she was when Yu wasn't around.
When she saw Yu, she changed and turned into a shy young girl.
To be objective, Sivina thought it was sweet, but she couldn't ignore the jealousy growing inside her. Why did Cornelia have a crush on Yu for no reason?
“I wanted to see how things were going and talk a little bit.”
Sivina wondered if Yu had noticed Cornelia's behavior. She knew he was an intelligent man and normally she wouldn't doubt that he had noticed, but after what had happened to him, she didn't think he was interested in anything that was going on around him.
“Sure, I was just about to go out for an inspection. We can go together, you can talk as much as you want.” Cornelia probably wasn't even thinking when she spoke. She was just saying the first things that came to her tongue.
“Yes.” Yu's voice was calm, unlike Cornelia's excited voice.
When Sivina, Yu and Cornelia took their first steps down the hill, they had to stop before they could continue because someone called out to Cornelia.
“Your Highness!”
It was Sir Devan von Bishory who called out to them. He came running up to them and bowed his head to Cornelia.
Needless to say, Sivina wouldn't even compare him to Yu. The fact that he was here when Yu was here only lowered the level.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Sir Devan said.
“We can talk at lunch,” Cornelia replied, “I will speak to Yu Valarfin now.”
Cornelia turned her face to Yu to avoid looking at Sir Devan and started walking. Sir Devan followed behind her.
“Then I'll stay with you, it's inconvenient for you to be on your own.”
“No need,” Cornelia had not turned to face Sir Devan. Not wanting to be left behind them, Sivina took a few quick steps and stepped between them.
“Your Highness, I'm worried about you. Please excuse me.”
As Cornelia exhaled loudly through her nose, Sir Devan followed them. At first he was walking behind them, but then he came up to Cornelia.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sivina could see that Cornelia was uncomfortable with her position, but she had no intention of stepping between the two of them and leaving her side by side with Yu.
“We won't be able to dig a hole for all the soldiers to enter,” Cornelia said. She was trying to look at Yu as she spoke, but she couldn't see him completely because of Sivina in the distance.
“I know, but the less tent density on the hill, the better. I think it was called a hot bed, it was about sleeping in the beds in shifts. Soldiers took turns sleeping in the same bed so it was always warm. This is how pits are used.”
Although she had never heard of the warm bed system Yu had described, she could understand the idea. Since the beds were never empty, they would always stay warm.
“How's the tunnel under the walls of Vermia?”
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“Your roarons are working fast,” Cornelia replied. “So far there have been no glitches.”
The roarons were divided into three groups of ten and worked in shifts. The first group was guarding Yurine, the second group was digging tunnels to collapse the walls of Vermia from below, and the third group was resting.
“We'll place the magic stones we brought here under the wall and detonate them. They are more powerful than ordinary stones, probably thousands of them can collapse the wall or weaken it for the catapults.”
Yu had a big sack of magic stones. He had brought them with him when he came from İlonya. Sivina didn't know where he got them, but she trusted Yu and didn't question him.
“There are inner walls,” Sir Devan reminded him.
“Tch,” Yu clicked his tongue. “How could that fool lose a city like this?” Yu's placid face filled with a hatred that Sivina could understand why.
It was the first time Yu had shown any emotion in Yurine’s absence. His cheeks contracted and his brow furrowed. Curses could spill from his lips at any moment.
Cornelia looked silently at Yu, but she couldn't see his face because Sivina was blocking her. She was aware that she felt embarrassed when she succeeded in understanding other girls' feelings.
“Aren't the gates of the inner walls also iron bayoneted?” Yu asked. “Of course they are, it will be harder to get through the gate than through the wall. There is nothing to do but climb up and down the stairs.”
Yu brought his left hand to his chin, but he could no longer hold his chin. In place of his lost left hand there was a wooden hand and its shape was fixed. Cornelia had one of her carpenters make it for Yu.
“What if we took the tunnel to collapse the wall under the gate. But the gate is built stronger than the walls. Anyway, even if we collapse the first wall, we'll encounter the inner walls. I wonder...” Yu seemed to have come up with a brilliant idea.
Sivina didn't realize it, but as she took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of Yu's body, she realized that she was walking closer to him than when they first started walking.
“What if we split the tunnel we're going to dig to breach the wall in two and extend one arm into the city? If we can get a group to go inside the city and open the inner gates... Even...” Yu stopped his own words. He sped up a little and moved ahead of the group. “It might take a long time, I can't imagine how long the siege will last, but what if the group that gets inside hides itself for a while and incites a riot among the people? We can incite a riot among the people, while we detonate the magic stones we've placed under the walls, and in the confusion our infiltrated soldiers can open the gates. I think Link would be willing to lead this, and I could put some of the roarons with him, and of course there would be other soldiers with them.”
“I have knights up to the task,” Cornelia said. “But it's a suicide mission, there will be thousands of soldiers inside the city. It is not certain that the gates can be opened.”
“I'm talking about a rebellion. How many times as many people are in the city as soldiers? But a riot can't be started by just anyone. How about someone the people know, like you? What if you appeared inside when everyone thought you were under siege?”
The dangers of the plan were clear to see, failure would result in Cornelia's death, but she couldn't say it didn't make sense. In their current situation they needed to do something epic to win the war, and this could be that epic thing.
But Sir Devan didn't think like Sivina. He stepped forward and was about to grab Yu's collar when Sivina moved like lightning and stepped between them.
“What nonsense are you talking, steward? How dare you think of endangering the lady!”
“If you think you can start a riot, you can go instead of Cornelia.”
“Don't call her by her name-”
“Sir Devan.” Cornelia stopped Sir Devan, who was about to draw his sword. “If you intend to cause trouble, let us meet later.”
“Your Highness, what happened to you all of a sudden?” Sir Devan was looking at Cornelia with his dark blue eyes. While Yu's eyes mesmerized Cornelia, she didn't need to look into Sir Devan's eyes for long.
She moved forward and this time to Yu's right. Now Sivina would have to put up with them walking together as it would look awkward if she got between them again.
“I'm sold on this plan,” Cornelia said, “and my people will listen to me. I am sure of it.”
“What if they don't listen?” Sir Devan asked as they started walking again.
Now Sivina was walking between Yu and Sir Devan and she was uncomfortable. She moved closer to Yu to get away from Sir Devan and their shoulders touched. Sivina felt her whole body throbbing as she trembled slightly.
“That would be bad,” Yu replied. “Still, Cornelia knows who in the city will be loyal to her. First she will gather a few people whose loyalty she is sure of, and then the number of rebels will grow.”
She just tilted her head out of curiosity and looked at Cornelia to see what she was thinking, but she regretted it. Cornelia, like Sivina, was walking close enough to touch Yu's shoulder.
“It shouldn't be difficult for her to win over the common people to her side by saying ‘Religion, Will of Azer Mazer and so on.’”
“Watch your tongue! You can't talk about our God like that!” Sir Devan was angry with Yu again, and he took up his sword and moved in front of them. Sivina was in front of Yu again. “Stop hiding behind a girl!”
“That's enough!” Cornelia raised her hand and pointed at Sir Devan. “The next time you disrespect me, I will fire you!”
“The disrespectful one...”
Seeing the anger burning in Cornelia's sharp eyes, Sir Devan bowed his head and walked to her, whispering a curse that Sivina couldn't hear. He wanted to get next to her.
“Sir Devan's devotion to his god is remarkable, but just because he loves his god so much doesn't mean we should ignore the way religion controls people. The reason why the ruling class loves religion so much in the first place is because it helps them control people. Otherwise, the people in the Church of Andromeda are not in love with Azer either.”
“You're right,” Cornelia said. Not that she was trying to curry favor with Yu, but she really seemed to think like Yu on this issue.
The area where they landed was the first of three gates that could be used to enter and exit the hill. The gate here faced east. The second gate looked west towards the Jade River. Finally, to the south was the third gate, a tunnel, which was being built at Yu's suggestion, hidden from Cecilus.
In fact, their east gate could hardly be called a gate at all. It was a tunnel dug big enough for only a few people to pass through, and Yu had coordinated the construction of this ‘door’ so perfectly that no one knew exactly what he was doing. Sivina admired him.
“At ease,” Cornelia said. Seeing her coming, the soldiers and villagers stood at attention. “Go on with your work.”
The soldiers and the villagers they had brought to help with the construction worked like ants. The construction would be finished before the enemy soldiers arrived.
“See those trees to the east?”
“Y-yeah...”
Yu snuggled up to Cornelia and pointed with the index finger of his right hand to a small wooded area some distance from their camp.
“It's out of range of our archers. The enemy will camp there when they encircle us. There is also a wooded area to the south of us, beyond the river. That area is quite far away, so it will be behind the camp they will set up to the south.”
The ‘door’ they had dug led exactly where he had indicated.
“Speed up the construction of the gate. We must finish it before the enemy arrives.”
“Mr. Valarfin, you must not speak to the lady as if you were giving her orders.” Sivina lowered Yu's raised arm and took the opportunity to step between Yu and Cornelia.
“I'm just telling what to do.”
“So rude.”
He turned his head began to walk along the wall that had been built.
“I... I don't mind,” Cornelia said. She quickened her pace to catch up with Yu and moved to his left.
Now they were walking side by side again. Sivina, who was unexpectedly left behind, was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
“How old are you?” Cornelia asked.
“I'll be twenty at the end of this summer.”
Cornelia clasped her hands behind her back. Sivina could read her movements. Cornelia was older than Yu and now afraid that Yu wouldn't want her because of the age difference.
“I'll be twenty-two too...” his voice trailed off as he spoke.
Yu kept walking without saying anything.
It was clear that the old Yu Valarfin would behave very differently. In fact, since he wanted to make her a duchess, he was sure that the old Yu Valarfin would try to seduce her.
But the current Yu Valarfin didn't even care about her and Sivina was a little bit happy about that.
“Let's get back to the point,” Sivina said. She wasn't going to let Cornelia continue her flirtatious efforts. “What do you plan to do with the tunnels? We don't have enough men to defeat them, even if we do a raid. Anyway, we'd be spotted passing the number of troops needed for a raid through those tunnels.”
“Our soldiers will come out of the first tunnel to the south, you know why the tunnel to the north was built, and the tunnel to the east...”
“Escape? No, it can't be.” If they had dug tunnels to escape, they would not have led to the enemy camp.
“Are you planning to set fire to enemy camps?” Cornelia asked.
“We'll do that too, but that's not what I had in mind.” Yu raised and grazed his left arm, which had a wooden hand attached to it. “After something happened to me, I did some experiments and found that my blood is poisoned. For now, the poison is very fast acting and kills the victim immediately. So I can't use it in its current form against large masses of people, but if I find a way to prolong its duration, which I'm working on, we can go through tunnels, infect food and drink with the poison and break the enemy.”
“This is not the honorable way,” Sir Devan muttered. He had spoken quietly so that Cornelia would not be angry with him again.
“How many Bishory soldiers were here? Two thousand? You can go with your soldiers to the enemy and die honorably if you wish, but I will neither die here nor lose the war.”
Sir Devan clenched his fists, still unable to say anything because of Cornelia's influence.
“I disagree with you this time, Yu.” Even if they could get Sivina's kuendo style to accept the poison, she still felt she was not dishonorable as a knight.
“I'm afraid but I don’t agree too,” Cornelia said.
“I understand,” Yu said silently and kept walking. “So you think it is honorable to condemn thousands of soldiers to death, to leave their wives widowed and their children orphaned, to cause their fathers and mothers filial pains, to steal the future dreams of those men who died.”
“We didn't say that,” Sivina said. “But there are unwritten rules, poison is a cowardly method.”
“For you it is because you are strong. Maybe Cornelia and Sir Devan are strong too. You may know that when you pick up a sword you can cut dozens of people and think you will survive. So you have different priorities, priorities that will make the battle more glorious for you.” Yu started talking to convince them and Sivina knew from the first sentence that she was going to be convinced.
“But it is not the same for the people here. For them there is nothing glorious about war, for them war is a massacre. Unlike you, they realize that they can easily die. Many of them are probably picking up a real weapon for the first time and even fewer want to fight. All they want is to go home and make love to their wives,” Cornelia and Sivina blushed at this part. “To smell their children's hair and keep their jobs to feed their families.”
Sivina's mind was still on the word Yu had just said. She had never done it before, but she knew how humans reproduce, and she remembered what she had seen when she was bathing Yu.
“Who will take care of their families when they die? Sivina, Cornelia, Devan?” He called their names to get an answer, but there was none. “Do you think if we had asked them they would have chosen to die honorably and leave their families alone so that you can feel good and honorable? Thousands of families, can you go to all these families one by one and tell them that their sons, fathers, lovers died because of your choice? Can you tell them ‘I made you a widow, I tore you away from your father, and I killed your son?”
None of them could answer. When Yu stood still and looked at them with his purple eyes, all they could do was bow their heads.
“If the answer is no, listen to me.”
None of them could resist and they inspected the hill without saying anything else.
Two days later, Ana and Link returned safely aboard the ships, bringing troops, supplies and the materials needed to build the siege weapons.
A week and a half later, the construction of their small fortress was finished and the banners of the enemy army were visible from the top of the hill.