𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 (2)

Johan made great efforts to win over the hearts of the people around him, even as he advanced rapidly. It was a rare virtue to see someone distribute his own wealth for relief, even in regions not part of his fiefdom.

Charity and benevolence were considered inherent values even among the nobility, but few truly adhered to them. Typically, such acts of charity were more for show, flashy but lacking in substance.

That’s why the vassals were quite perplexed by Johan’s actions.

━𝐇𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡.

━𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞.

━𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨?

The church might shout, ‘𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺,’ ‘𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘴,’ ‘𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵,’ but nobles usually turned a deaf ear.

Nobles like Johan, who actually listened, were rare.

But Johan’s actions were not motivated by the church. Of course, it was amusing to see the priests praise him every time he made a charitable act. . .

Ultimately, he did it to gain control over the area.

Frankly, the nobles greatly underestimated the serfs.

The nobles might argue, ‘𝘞𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘹 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵?’ but it was not about that, it was a matter of mindset.

Seeing others as mere beings to tax and exploit for more money when needed, as entirely different from themselves, was the problem. This limited way of thinking was inevitable.

The result was right there with the marquis.

Such a miserable end for acting as if it was all natural.

“Arrange for the bodies to be collected and given proper funerals.”

As Johan spoke, he looked at his knights. They could not meet his gaze and bowed their heads.

It was natural for them to avoid his gaze, having slain the marquis instead of capturing him.

Everyone present was complicit.

“The marquis’s knights resisted fiercely, so it couldn’t be helped.”

“Yes. . . Yes, Your Excellency.”

“They attacked us despite our offer of surrender.”

Johan nodded. Only when their lord closed his eyes to their actions did the vassals finally breathe a sigh of relief. But behind Johan, the eyes of others held a faint contempt.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥.’

Johan had not wanted to kill the marquis himself. It was better not to stain his hands directly with blood. The best scenario was for his vassals to take such initiative. . .

Since the marquis’s vassals acted as expected, he had to be grateful. Of course, they would bear any suspicion or contempt, but Johan was prepared to take full responsibility for that.

Loyalty among vassals was built in this way.

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𝕒𝚠𝐞𝔟𝘴𝔱𝙤ʀɪ𝕖𝔰.𝐜ᴏᴍ

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥? 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳.’

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳.’

Envoys from the republic moved quickly. They traveled up the river from the western port and then rode quickly to the marquis’s territory.

It was eerily quiet nearby, as if the recent uproar with pirates was just a lie. It felt real that the pirates had been thoroughly defeated.

In the distance, they saw figures with flags moving. They were vassals returning to their fiefdoms after the battle.

It was noticeable that following them were slaves with carts. Clearly, they were spoils from the battle.

“Good heavens. How much had those pirates amassed?”

The republic’s envoys were astounded. The amount seemed enough to compensate for the vassals’ losses and more. The captured pirates would either be sold as slaves or distributed among the towns.

Considering that this was just the share given to the vassals, Johan, the commander, must have taken many times more.

The envoy clicked his tongue without realizing it.

“Shh. Be mindful of your demeanor.”

“I’m aware.”

The vassal of the town where the republic’s fleet was anchored, and the land they were passing through, also belonged to vassals serving Johan.

“Are you from the republic?”

Mercenaries patrolling the area approached, having recognized the flag of the republic.

Even as the vassals returned to their fiefdoms, Johan’s direct mercenaries remained. They were well-armed and looked prosperous.

️The envoys involuntarily pulled their coats closer. The winter in the south wasn’t very cold unless it rained, but now, even without rain, it felt chillingly cold. It was due to a sense of guilt.

“Yes. Please guide us to His Excellency.”

“Certainly. Follow me.”

Fortunately, the mercenaries were courteous. The envoys felt somewhat relieved at their demeanor.

Johan’s main force was not in the marquis’s castle near the mountains, but in the plains below. Despite having the option to stay in the castle, Johan chose to stay in the same camp as his soldiers.

“What is that?”

“Those are the slaves captured recently.”

“Are you planning to train them as slave soldiers?”

The republic’s envoys looked on curiously. There seemed to be at least a few hundred young slaves running around, sweating.

“Are you training these pagans for some purpose?”

“His Excellency has converted them.”

‘𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰.’

The envoys didn’t understand Johan’s actions. Pagan slaves were typically sold or used as servants, not trained from the start. What if they started a rebellion?

In the Eastern Empire, training slaves as soldiers was a practice, but to the people of the republic, it seemed ludicrous. Handing swords to slaves because of a lack of warriors?

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