# Chapter 59
Even though Ion knew every noble from the enemy country with the rank of count or higher, the name the soldier mentioned was certainly unfamiliar, as he had never heard it before.
“From what I’ve heard, Count Lance belongs to his unit, and there’s talk that they temporarily granted him a count title to give him the rank of unit commander. Some say it’s just for show.”
Even with this information, Ion couldn’t quite grasp who this person was. However, a common soldier couldn’t be expected to fully understand the complex relationships between nobles, so no further details emerged.
Count Lance was a capable imperial guard directly under the Emperor of the Caron Empire. If someone of his caliber had come all the way here, it confirmed that Antarbo and the Iron Fortress were indeed important.
The two soldiers who had become allies mentioned that their shift change was about two hours away, and no one would come in their direction before then, as they handed over their armor. Ion and Owen put on the soldiers’ heavy armor and pulled down helmets that covered most of their faces instead of using masks.
Having learned the timing of the fortress patrols from the two soldiers, Ion and Owen fortunately managed to reach the stairs leading up to the ramparts without encountering any other soldiers.
‘What kind of carefree person would be sightseeing outside in a place like this….’
It was increasingly absurd to think about. Even if he was a young man rumored to have received only a temporary count title, this level of carelessness was like a child who had come just to watch the war. Indeed, such a childish young noble must be merely for show, with Count Lance undoubtedly being the real power within. Though Ion couldn’t understand why they would need such a setup.
‘Anyway, if possible, it would be good to make that noble my subordinate too.’
A noble would be more useful than a common soldier. Especially a count, even if just in name, would be very beneficial.
With these thoughts, Ion stealthily climbed up to the ramparts and soon spotted a black silhouette standing in the distance. A young man in black clothing stood in the middle of one side of the wall, quietly gazing outside the Iron Fortress, and somehow looked familiar.
Soon, as the wind blew the young man’s hair, revealing his face, Ion had no choice but to freeze in place as if turned to ice.
Owen, who had been following behind, immediately gripped the handle of his sword with a tense expression when Ion suddenly stopped.
They were moving with minimal presence, stooping low at the bottom of the dark staircase. In such conditions, it would be difficult for the noble on the ramparts to notice them, especially without any guards, but if things became troublesome, they would need to rush in and slit his throat immediately.
In any case, for his lord to create a loyal subordinate, he would need to kill the target first and then feed them his blood, so there was no need to hesitate.
As Owen tensed, ready to spring forward at any signal from Ion, he faltered when he suddenly saw a hand restraining him.
Ion, who had stopped Owen, ordered him with a simple gesture to wait there. Then, contrary to his order, he himself took steps up the stairs. Owen looked puzzled, but since it was an order from his lord, he remained still as a stone.
As Ion climbed the last steps, countless thoughts raced through his mind.
The most prominent was the instinct to rush forward without thinking and simply kidnap the young man.
But that method had the lowest chance of success, and there was no way that young man would be subdued easily. A physical confrontation might accidentally injure him. Meanwhile, the fortress would notice the commotion.
If that happened, their stealthy infiltration would be meaningless. Despite being confident in his strength and able to create loyal immortal allies, they couldn’t face tens of thousands of garrison troops with just the two of them. Moreover, there were certain restrictions to creating immortal allies.
‘That would be the worst approach. I need to stay calm.’
The fact that they had infiltrated the fortress would make the enemy extremely vigilant, strengthening their defenses. They might even devise different defensive methods or ambushes, excluding the secret passage they had discovered.
As Ion took slow steps onto the ramparts, his mind continued to race with complex thoughts.
The conclusion he painfully reached was that now was not the time.
Thud— Thud—
The sound of footsteps, deliberately not concealing his presence, gradually turned the young man’s gaze toward him.
‘Ah….’
Ion let out a silent sigh inside his helmet.
He was right there, looking at him… yet Ion couldn’t reach out and grab him. The young man’s white face and deep black eyes, illuminated by the flickering fire, made Ion’s heart race violently.
‘Levi…’
He almost called out the name aloud. He wanted to embrace him affectionately and whine like a child, to nuzzle his neck and tell him how much he missed him.
But he knew that now, more than ever, he needed to remain calm. Just as Hest had advised.
“Remember, Ion. If you want to keep Levi completely by your side, the only way now is to capture him as a ‘prisoner of war.’ Capture him legitimately as a prisoner and, just as you did with the Black Forest, ask for Levi as a reward for your achievements.”
In retrospect, Hest, intelligent and level-headed despite his appearance, seemed to have foreseen that Levi would become a “noble of the enemy country.”
For a noble of the enemy country, not just a common soldier, the moment they were brought to one’s own country, they had to choose between two options: asylum or prisoner.
The last time Ion saw Levi, his distrust and hostility were intense. Whatever brainwashing the enemy emperor had done to Levi, with that level of frightening animosity that Ion had never seen before, Levi would never choose asylum.
As a prisoner, he would naturally have to go to his country’s underground prison. Afterward, it was obvious that he would have to endure unspeakable things in that dungeon.
However, if one fought fiercely against the enemy army, emerged victorious, and personally brought their general as a prisoner, the commander would have the right to decide the prisoner’s life and possession. Usually, commanders would hand over such rights and the prisoner to their country, receiving immense wealth and honor as a reward for victory, but Ion had no intention of doing so with Levi.
Ultimately, as long as Levi was a noble of the enemy country, to keep him by his side legitimately without anyone’s interference, Ion needed to capture him as a prisoner of war.
For that, he had to endure now.
Ion bit his lip with difficulty inside his helmet as he approached Levi and gave a light bow.
“The air is cold. Would you like to go inside?”
He asked casually, swallowing the tremor in his voice. Thanks to the pill that made his voice hoarse, the slight trembling in his growling voice wasn’t very noticeable.
The black eyes that met his showed no emotion. There was no trace of the warm interest Ion could detect even in their younger days, nor the pure bewilderment after their long-awaited meeting, nor the sharp hostility that had unknowingly built up layer by layer of misunderstanding—nothing.
With his face hidden by the helmet, the brown hair and eyes barely visible through it made Levi regard Ion as simply a stranger.
Levi quietly looked at the soldier in ally armor, then turned his gaze back outside the ramparts. Ion stood beside the silent Levi, looking in the same direction.
All that stretched out into the distant horizon was deep darkness.
“May I ask what you’re looking for?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
Levi answered without taking his eyes off the darkness.
“I was told there’s someone with gold here.”
Ion immediately realized that Levi was talking about him. Among the enemy troops guarding the Iron Fortress and the allied forces stationed at the border, he was the only one with the “gold” that Levi mentioned.
Ion felt his heart pounding so hard it almost hurt to know that Levi had been looking for him.
“What do you plan to do when you find them?”
There was a slight hope. Maybe the reason for looking for him was because some memories had returned, or perhaps to ask for rescue from the hands of the Caron Emperor even now.
Contrary to such hope, Levi’s emotionless eyes gradually filled with sharp feelings.
“Kill them.”
It felt like a finely honed dagger had been thrust into the center of his pleasantly tingling heart. Levi’s clear hostility was so painful that a groan rose to Ion’s throat.
Despite this, a chilling thrill ran through him. Had Levi ever shown such strong emotions toward anyone? The fact that he had become the object of those emotions filled Ion with a strange sense of fulfillment.
“…You will find them.”
Standing right beside him but hiding his complex emotions, Ion looked in the same direction as Levi. Beyond the south gate of the Iron Fortress where Levi was looking, there was still only deep darkness with nothing visible. The thought that Levi was waiting for him to come and would look for him from this spot made his heart beat faster.
