How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 183

𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 (1) 

Saying that something should not be taken away in front of a noble was itself an insult to the other person’s honor. Originally, she should not have spoken without thinking.  

However, if the other person knew the mysteries of magic, the story would have been different. It would not be strange for them to covet the wand made by Jyanina.

“. . .I won’t take it away.”

Of course, that was just Jyanina’s thought. From Johan’s perspective, who was listening, it was just absurd. Johan looked at Jyanina with a look of contempt and absurdity. Jyanina blushed and avoided his gaze.

“What kind of magic can you do by putting the heart of a manticore like this?”

“There are usually two ways to control and manipulate monsters. Either scare and subdue the other party, or seduce and befriend them. The manticore’s heart is. . .”  

“The former, right?”

“You know it well.”

“But we’ll soon arrive at Vynashchtym. Is it okay to carry such a sinister item around?”

“Oh, Your Grace. You seem to not know anything.”

Jyanina smiled and shrank back under Johan’s stern gaze. She cleared her throat and said, 

“Um. . . It’s not like I’m openly carrying it around. As you can see, it’s hidden well, right? Most people won’t even know what this is.”

Magic often had ambiguous parts. Unless you were a wizard who could sense the mysteries within, it was difficult to recognize them. Ordinary people thought things were magic if they looked peculiar or strange in some way.

From that perspective, Jyanina’s wand was just an ordinary, nondescript wand. Even if you uncovered the heart attached inside by peeling off the silk and leather, people still wouldn’t know what it was.

“Is that so? If you say that much, I guess it’s fine. Vynashchtym is different from the Holy Empire, so be careful. If a problem arises inside, I may not be able to help you.”  

Jyanina didn’t really take Johan’s words to heart. The Holy Empire and Vynashchtym were both empires, and nobles were nobles.

And when it came to dealing with nobles, Jyanina was a wizard with experience. She knew well what greedy, arrogant nobles wanted, what words they liked, what magic they desired.

“. . .So if I just have the appropriate status backing me up, I can handle them no problem.”

Johan asked in pure puzzlement at her words.

“Then why couldn’t you make use of your skills in my fiefdom?”

“. . . . . .”  

Jyanina cursed Johan in her head.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Emperor and Johan left the fiefdom with a splendid send-off. The knights of the order voluntarily followed the emperor’s procession to see them off.

It was natural for knights to see off precious people, but their attitude was strangely polite and devoted, which made the emperor uncomfortable.   

Those guys who don’t even do well usually. . .

“Can’t they at least wave their hands to the ones waving flags from afar?”

“I don’t really feel like it.”

Even if there were thousands of soldiers, they would move fragmentedly when on the move. Moreover, they were even more fragmented when moving along the avenue. 

After the advance party passed by, the emperor and Johan moved quickly with only dozens of elites. Johan waved at the knights who came out to escort them nearby.

As they raced down the avenue and got closer to Vynashchtym, Johan began to worry about what he had to do.

“So what did you usually do?”

“Well, that’s the thing. . .”

The emperor had various imperial guards and personal guards around him. There were imperial guards protecting the palace, personal guards dedicated to the imperial family, security guards in charge of capital security, or aristocratic personal guards made up of nobles from Vynashchtym.

But the most trusted by the emperor were the Draconian personal guards with history and tradition, and the ones he had been taking care of for a long time and could trust. They were composed of outsiders who had always shown unwavering loyalty. 

As such, to ask what Johan had to do as the captain of the emperor’s personal guard, it was best to ask the captain of the personal guard nearby.

“Your Excellency, I really. . . I really don’t have any advice to offer.”

The burly captain of the guard with a thick, bushy beard spoke awkwardly, not matching his stature.

If he had asked the aristocratic personal guards instead, Johan might have gotten the answer he wanted, but the Draconian personal guards did not know much about the politics of Vynashchtym.   

As a result, what the captain of the guard did was simple.

Train in the barracks near the capital when ordered, lead the subordinates and move. If it’s not a big enough issue to mobilize everyone, pick some excellent sub-captains and dispatch them.

These were people who did not mingle well with other personal guards or imperial guards, and the emperor did not want that either. Mixing them would mean losing their value.

The problem was that Johan’s chest felt stuffy when he heard that.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯. . .’

It was too difficult a task to demonstrate military prowess as a warrior as well as political prowess. Most knights could not do that.   

It’s always harder for competent people. Clicking his tongue, Johan said,

“Never mind the advice, just tell me what you know so I can get a feel for things.”

Even if he couldn’t get direct advice, he thought he could figure it out by picking up bits and pieces here and there. The captain nodded and said, 

“First of all, His Majesty usually sleeps near the barracks.”

“. . .Don’t tell me he keeps doing that even in the capital?”

“Oh no. Of course he doesn’t sleep in the barracks. There’s a palace next to it.”

“That’s a relief. . . I guess?” 

“You’re asking the wrong guy. . .”

The capital was very large, and befitting its history, there were many palaces inside. Although he usually stayed in one of these palaces, the emperor had a small palace built near the outer wall of the barracks and stayed there.   

“When he wakes up, he trains the soldiers, inspects equipment, examines the training status of the soldiers. . . I guess that’s about it?”

“Doesn’t he do anything else?”

“Occasionally he rides a horse. . .”

“At least tell me he summons nobles and goes hunting or something.”

“. . .He goes to other barracks to check on the soldiers. . .”

Johan sighed. Of course, treating his soldiers well was a good thing. The loyalty that money couldn’t buy came from parts like this.

But still, he couldn’t only care about soldiers in that vast capital. If he didn’t care about the nobles and citizens, a rebellion would be a natural occurrence.  

Seeing Johan’s face darken so much, the captain of the guard hastily defended himself.

“But don’t worry, Your Highness. His younger sister, Her other Majesty, takes care of those duties.”

“Oh right.”

Vynashchtym had two co-emperors. Come to think of it, the emperor wanted a captain who could take care of external affairs so that he could focus on the military. Upon arriving at the capital, there was a high possibility that Johan would mingle more with his younger sister.

“Your Majesty. Do you by any chance plan to attend some nobles’ banquets, go around theaters, and watch gladiator fights?” 

“No.”

“Quite a firm answer. . .”

“Didn’t I pay a lot of money?”

When he asked the emperor, he got a very firm answer. Johan gave up. He had to respect the emperor’s stubbornness after receiving such gold and privileges.

That’s the power of gold.

Johan asked the captain of the imperial guard again.

“Younger sister. . . Gaoalkana was it? What kind of person is she?”

“Uh. . . Um. . . That. . .”

The captain pulled at his stiff beard as if he was going to pluck it out, hesitating. Johan felt a very bad feeling from that reaction. 

Usually when a subordinate hesitates like that, something is up. . .

“Do you have anything to say about my younger sister?”

“No, Your Majesty! I didn’t say anything!”

“You can be honest about my younger sister. I permit it.”

If it was Johan, he would have been honest, but the captain had a lot to lose and was a loyal man. He could not do it.

“I’ll say it. She’s a cheerful and easygoing younger sister.”

“Oh. Is she easy to handle?”

“Whether she’s. . . easy to handle, I don’t really know?”

The young emperor tilted his head. He was his younger sister, but whether he was easy to handle was questionable. 

“She’s a bit stubborn.”

“Hmm.”

“What does that ‘hmm’ mean?”

Johan was a little surprised by the sharp point, thinking ‘𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥?’

“Well, since we’ll have to live together, I was just a little worried that she’s stubborn.”

“Uh-huh. That’s certainly. . .”

The young emperor seemed to not have thought that far as he frowned.

Johan’s political ability and military force were unquestionable, but come to think of it, for various events, it would be his younger sister accompanying him. It could cause problems if they don’t get along.

“I should have thought of that beforehand. . ?”

“How can you think that far when recruiting talent?” 

The emperor clicked his tongue. Embedded in those words was a firm trust in Johan’s abilities, and Johan felt a little proud.

The emperor had various shortcomings, but he had a definite strength in aspects like this. Once convinced, he pushes forward unwaveringly.

“If you’re worried, Your Majesty should make efforts in socializing with me. . .”

“Ah, I said no.”

The emperor refused outright, even putting on a serious face. It was clear he genuinely didn’t want to do it. Johan was about to say ‘𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰?’, but held back.

Honestly, from the emperor’s position, it’s not Johan’s business and he could say ‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩?’. 

“Then. . . I’ll make efforts to get along with your younger sister.”

“Hmm. I’ll ask him to.”

The frugal emperor who liked the military, training, and tactics got along quite well with Johan, but whether his opposite younger sister would as well was questionable.

Johan wondered what he should do when he arrives at Vynashchtym.

‘𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

As they arrived at the mountain peak after galloping along the road, the group stopped in their tracks. Both centaurs and dwarves were at a loss for words. The majestic sight of a gigantic city, larger than any they had seen in their lives, was revealing its splendor before them. 

For the centaurs roaming the meadows, even a town of a few thousand was considered big, and a city of over ten thousand was regarded as a metropolis. But Vynashchtym dwarfed those metropoleis over tenfold.

Even the dwarves who had seen some cities in the Holy Empire with populations surpassing tens of thousands were not much different from the centaurs. Stroking their beards, they kept letting out exclamations of wonder.

Seeing their reactions, the people of Vynashchtym, from the highest nobility down to the lowest commoners, all felt a sense of pride for their city. This was Vynashchtym, the successor of the ancient empire.

‘𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. . .’

The emperor looked expectantly at Johan, but there seemed to be little change in Johan’s expression. He didn’t appear to be too surprised either. 

“Have you been here before by any chance?”

“No.”

Hearing Johan say he had never been here, the emperor grew even more puzzled. Of course, deep down Johan was quite impressed.

‘𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥.’

The architectural feats of the ancient empire had often left Johan in awe. The long, imposing walls majestically enveloped the city, and countless ships gracefully traversed the sea above. 

This alone could pass for a small kingdom, not just a city.

“The palace is near the eastern Gate of Cadal. Let’s head that way.”

The walls were endless, and the gates were too numerous to count.

As they rode down the road, the emperor pointed to the distance. Near the city walls stood a small palace and drilling grounds for the armies. Having traveled long, the emperor planned to rest there, catch up on work, and summon the nobles to update them on matters that had piled up.

“Won’t the nobles complain if you summon us to the palace?”

“They might.”

‘. . .𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥?’

It could turn into an awkward situation. . .

Seeing the emperor’s banner, the guards at the gate hastily showed courtesy and pushed back the bystanders. As they passed the gate, a lively celebration unfolded on a nearby field.

Several large jars were filled to the brim with wine, which people poured into their cups as if sprinkling around. Already heavily drunk, their clothes were stained the color of wine. 

Some sang boisterously, some recited poems, and some mimicked short skits.

Among them, a tall female dragon beastman with lush golden hair climbed onto a horse sculpture and bellowed, imitating the unique harmonics of centaur voices.

“I shouldn’t say this, but don’t centaurs have a rather negative image in Vynashchtym? To mimic them like that seems either fearless or foolish. . .”

“Ahem. That’s my sister.”

“. . .On second thought, she seems valiant beyond measure.”