How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 295: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 (3)

“Oh. . . oh!”

One of the squires who had been watching couldn’t help but shout.

Valeon flew up too high.

With a ‘𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥,’ Valeon hit the ceiling of the hall and then fell quickly to the floor. Johan was taken aback. He had been careful to control his strength, but he didn’t expect to fail this badly.

‘𝘖𝘩, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭.’

Johan moved quickly and caught the falling Valeon in his arms.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝━

Valeon, as shy as a new bride, blushed with humiliation in Johan’s arms.

“. . . . . .”

Biorarn, who was watching, couldn’t help but speak.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just let him go. . .?”

No matter what he did, he had already been thoroughly humiliated, but even so, it would be better to let him go than to keep holding him like this. . .

Johan released Valeon when he heard that. Valeon, who had fallen to the floor, stood up quickly.

‘𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺.’

The atmosphere would have been festive with the old king, and if he had gotten into a light scuffle with Valeon and then subdued him appropriately, both of them would have saved face.

━𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟. 𝐀 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞.

━𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬!

. . .He had intended to have a similar conversation.

The problem was that he didn’t know how skilled Valeon was.

So Johan grabbed him and pulled him up. He planned to control Valeon with finesse once he lost his balance and staggered.

However, Valeon lacked the strength to resist more than Johan thought. Or perhaps he underestimated Johan’s strength. He couldn’t even resist and flew straight up.

“Long live Your Highness!”

“Praise Your Highness!!!”

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯-𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴.’

The servants who had been watching cheered, stamping their feet. It was understandable that the servants would do that, but it was infuriating to see the knights that Biorarn had brought with him clapping with great joy.

How could knights have such poor judgment?

Valeon must have been terribly embarrassed, because he didn’t say anything more and ran away.

Johan wanted to somehow catch him, but even Johan couldn’t think of anything to say in the current situation.

‘𝘜𝘨𝘩.’

“He’s such an idiot! I told him not to do it, but he went ahead and humiliated himself!”

The only saving grace was that the old king didn’t seem to be very angry.

Perhaps because the son who had ignored him and barged in seemed quite arrogant, the old king was rather relieved.

Seizing the opportunity, Johan sighed in relief and said.

“Sir Valeon’s skills were not bad either.”

“Not bad? He thinks he’s something just because he won a few tournaments. That guy has no humility! He’ll start protesting if he doesn’t get more fiefdoms.”

Once one became a feudal lord, the power struggle between the ruler and the heir outweighed the affection between parent and child.

Parents with fiefdoms wanted to reign as feudal lords until they died, while the younger children wanted to inherit more rights as soon as possible, even if it was just one year sooner.

Usually, a compromise would be reached and they would wait while inheriting part of the fiefdom, but in the case of greedy successors, they would act more aggressively.

They would incite their vassals, perform great feats to pressure the feudal lord, or even rebel outright. . .

Rebelling against one’s parents was seen as immoral, but it was surprisingly common. In the face of power, the affection between parent and child was nothing.

Johan, who had read the old king’s wariness, adjusted his tone.

“Sir Valeon is truly an unfortunate man.”

“. . .What do you mean by that?”

“Your Majesty rules this fiefdom so perfectly, even if he were to inherit it and rule it diligently, how could it compare? That is why I cannot help but feel sorry for him.”

“Hahahahahaha!”

Biorarn, who was listening from the side, asked one of his knights, not understanding.

“Is the duke flattering him now? Why?”

“Um. . . well. . .”

“No, is he? Is that King really ruling well?”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

After the banquet, Johan and the old king cleared up their misunderstandings with each other.

The old king promised to release all the pilgrims he had captured and to treat them more kindly. Johan apologized for bringing too many escorts and promised to respect the old king’s authority.

“How dare they confiscate the duke’s ship! Those pagan heathens will be punished by God!”

“It wasn’t just confiscation, Your Majesty. They even sent assassins.”

“Assassins. . .?”

The old king was shocked when he heard what Biorarn’s knight said. He could understand confiscating the ship, but he couldn’t understand why they would send assassins all the way to the west.

However, the Empire people, including Biorarn, were adamant.

“I swear on my honor and the name of my family that they sent assassins.”

“But. . .?”

“Aren’t the Easterners known for sending assassins?”

“Well, yes.”

The old king nodded with a grave expression.

In the East, there had been several famous orders of assassins since ancient times. Most of them had disappeared due to fierce wars, but they were once notorious for assassinating monotheists and polytheists alike, while worshipping pagan gods.

Hearing that, it seemed possible that they might have sent assassins again. If the duke died, they would be too confused to retaliate.

Judging from the fact that the western feudal lords had gathered like this. . .

“But duke. You have to be careful about attacking them.”

The old king said, frowning even more. He was reminded of the memories that had plagued him since his youth.

“Individually, they may seem weak because they are not very large, but the moment you touch them, they will unite with each other. They are especially unforgiving towards pagans.”

On the coast of the so-called ‘Holy Land’ that the westerners talked about, there were many feudal lords.

They were independent feudal lords, distinctly different from the Eastern Empire to the north, and they fought fiercely with each other just like the feudal lords of the Empire.

However, when it came to dealing with those from the West, they were unforgiving. Not only did they unite with each other, they also unabashedly asked for support from the Eastern Empire to the north.

From the perspective of the sultan who ruled the Eastern Empire, it was an opportunity to extend his influence all the way down there, so there was no reason to refuse.

Then, the monotheistic feudal lords were literally like islands surrounded by enemies from the north, east, and south.

“I’ve been besieged several times in the past. If I had been pushed back then, my family would have disappeared. Those who don’t know that shouldn’t be allied with the pagans. . .”

As the old king grumbled, Johan fell into thought.

‘𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰.’

If Johan had come on an expedition, he wouldn’t have acted like those who came before him. When one came on a long expedition, it was only natural to get along with the people there.

Since they swung their sword all the way and threatened to kill them if they didn’t convert, this is how they made enemies. . .

‘𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸.’

One was the alliance of enemy feudal lords. Judging from the old king’s behavior, it was clear that they would unite in a truly vicious way.

And the other was the support of the Eastern Empire. Since the land was so vast, they couldn’t catch everyone who passed by, but it was likely that they would form an army and come down to support them as time went on.

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺? 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦. . . 𝘕𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦. . .’

The old king would have been shocked if he knew, but Johan had no intention of burning down the castle of the feudal lord who had insulted him and planting the order’s flag around it.

He was thinking about getting proper compensation from the feudal lord who had insulted him and then taking over the port before returning.

It was rare for people to be so foolish as to try to finish each other off in such a distant land. Johan was extremely pragmatic.

“I see. Was I talking nonsense?”

The old king opened his mouth, watching Johan, who had been quietly contemplating.

“?”

“Aren’t you already prepared to fight? You intend to fight your enemies no matter what hardships and trials come your way. In the name of the Almighty God!”

“That is right.”

The knights answered instead of Johan. Johan wanted to look at the knights as if he couldn’t believe it, but he had to restrain himself because the old king was in front of him.

‘𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘣*𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴. . .’

“Let’s call the people from the family that married Valeon. Since they are pagans, they will be good, no, helpful to the duke.”

“Thank you.”

“We will join you as well. The pagans might target Your Highness.”

Biorarn’s knights said with a sense of duty, their eyes shining. Their voices were sincere. They truly believed that the pagans might try to assassinate him.

“. . .Very well.”

Johan replied a little late. The knights thought that the reason the duke hesitated was because he felt sorry for making the honorable knights do such a troublesome job.

“Your Highness. You don’t have to worry. It is an honor for us.”

“. . . . . .”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Contrary to Johan’s worries, the knights didn’t make rude jokes or anything like that at the place where they were talking. They frisked Johan or glared at him fiercely, but they didn’t open their mouths unless Johan allowed them to.

However, the problem came from a different source.

The people from the pagan family that the old king had formed a marriage alliance with, the Zurebek family, were much more wary of Johan than he had thought.

They were polite, but they were extremely cautious, as if they might say something wrong. It was clear that they were very afraid of Johan.

“What can I do? It’s impossible to tell a mouse not to be afraid of a lion.”

Johan clicked his tongue in annoyance, and Suetlg consoled him as if he felt sorry for him.

“I guess they can’t help but be afraid of you.”

“I understand, but isn’t this ridiculous? Did I pillage anything on my way here? Other feudal lords wage wars against each other and frequently pillage, yet you fear me less than them even though we believe in the same god.”

Johan grumbled, having accumulated quite a bit of dissatisfaction. Caenerna, who had been listening, laughed.

The duke had always shown a mature appearance that didn’t match his young age, but this was something new.

“Then, did you gain anything at all. . .?”

“I learned that the writer of Manansir believes in a lot of strange things.”

Viceroy Manansir, or perhaps count or king.

The titles of the East were not fully compatible with those of the Empire, so there was some confusion when they were called. The people of the republic usually called them viceroys. It was a title that had existed since the time when this area was a unified kingdom long ago.

Anyway, the Viceroy Manansir was quite an ambitious man. He didn’t just seize Johan’s ship out of greed.

Apparently, he had been gradually advancing his ambitions by conquering neighboring fiefdoms, increasing the number of soldiers, and strengthening alliances.

The most recent alliance was none other than the alliance with the sultan of the Eastern Empire. That was probably why he was able to capture Johan’s ship.

“If he’s that ambitious, wouldn’t the other feudal lords be dissatisfied?”

“That’s why I thought I could persuade them, but what is this. . .”

Johan sighed and lay down on the reclining chair. Caenerna picked up a piece of fruit and put it in the duke’s mouth instead. Johan sighed and sat up.

“Now. Let’s talk. What should I do to make them trust me?”

“Hmmmmm.”

“Hmmmmm. . .”

Johan’s subordinates, who were more accustomed to using their bodies than their heads, were not quick to respond. Iselia was among them, but she wanted to be a little more forward because she had some pride.

“How about forming a marriage alliance to gain their trust?”

“That’s not a good idea. If the duke marries a pagan, many people, starting with the order, will be shaken.”

Suetlg said firmly. Iselia frowned. Johan looked at Iselia with a grave expression.

As Johan and his men were pondering, someone knocked on the door. It was the captains of the republic.

“Ulrike-gong has entered the castle.”

“Is that so? I have to go greet her.”

“By the way, were you talking about something?”

When the captain asked, Johan shrugged his shoulders and answered. It wasn’t something he needed to hide.

The captain asked in surprise when he heard that.

“Do they hate Your Highness that much? That’s strange. We have different religions, but we can negotiate to some extent.”

“Well, you have the accumulated trust and connections, so that’s probably why.”

The captain was even more bewildered by Johan’s words.

“But Your Highness. . . You know many nobles in the East, don’t you?”

“. . .Oh.”