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𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 (3)
‘𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.’
Johan was certain. As he gained more experience dealing with various people, he became better at reading the subtle reactions of his opponents.
The captured envoy was clearly wavering.
His anxious, blinking eyes and conspicuously dripping beads of sweat. His fidgety hands that couldn’t stay still.
The envoy also knew full well. That the current situation of the Emperor faction was not very good.
‘𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥.’
Johan thought to himself. Surprisingly, the nobles of this world rarely broke their oaths and defected even when their lord lost several wars.
There were issues of honor and trust, but more than that, the outcomes of wars were not usually so extreme.
Unless there were special circumstances, losing a war did not mean losing everything.
Of course they would have to pay reparations and ransoms, but in the case of great feudal lords, they would not completely collapse just from that.
Even now as the Emperor was failing to properly suppress the southern rebellion and continuing to make more enemies, no one thought that losing here would make the Emperor’s family lose everything.
Even rich families that go bankrupt take three years to fall.
Along with massive reparations, the southern vassals may defect and the next Emperor title may be lost as well but. . .
Still, the Emperor family’s personal domains in the north and central regions would remain.
This kind of situation was probably why the Emperor’s vassals continued to show loyalty despite the incessant tyranny and disadvantageous circumstances. The influence built up by the family over a long period did not disappear easily.
That’s why Johan attacked the Emperor as an individual rather than the currently unfavorable situation.
“Think about Cardirian’s dishonorable actions. He arbitrarily executed many nobles.”
“T-That was because of the rebellion and his collusion with the pagan wizards. . .”
“You know full well those were false accusations. If they were true, why would the southern nobles be so angry?”
No matter how deep-rooted the Emperor and his power seemed, defection was inevitable if the one wielding that power was dishonorable and immoral.
Johan attacking the Emperor made him look even more contrasted. On one side was a blasphemer who arbitrarily executed nobles and attacked the religious order, on the other was a faithful knight earning the praise of nobles.
“B-But I still cannot betray my oath of fealty.”
‘𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵.’
Johan clicked his tongue inwardly. He thought the envoy was hooked.
If the other party was a mercenary captain or greedy noble, they would have defected immediately. But the other party was trying to keep his honor as a noble and oath as a vassal.
‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵.’
Johan regretfully decided to withdraw cleanly. Pushing further would just reveal his true intentions.
“I see. It’s a shame but I will respect your loyalty.”
“Your Excellency Count. As repayment for the favor you have shown me, I have some information to share.”
“?”
“I’ve received intelligence that many nobles in the western Empire are gathering troops. Judging by the circumstances, the King of Erlans and several high nobles will likely join forces against His Majesty the Emperor.”
“!”
Traditionally, the feudal lords of the western Empire maintained close ties with the nearby Erlans Kingdom.
Just as the Empire’s feudal lords took great interest in the Kingdom, the Kingdom’s feudal lords were also very interested in the Empire. In particular, the Elf King was very interested in the Empire’s succession line.
“I knew relations weren’t very good but. . . they’re really gathering a coalition army to fight?”
“Yes. I’m almost certain.”
With our feet bound in the south, and a large army coming from the west. . .
“I heard because of that news, the southern nobles who were scattered and protesting have gathered to fight. . .”
“Then isn’t it even more dangerous?”
“To be honest. . . yes. I think so too.”
The envoy thought the emperor would give up and retreat to his fiefdom. Facing such large armies was suicidal.
“So Your Excellency Count need not worry about His Majesty.”
“!”
Johan was slightly moved. He had been cursing to himself a bit because they didn’t give in after all that persuasion, so this reciprocation surprised him.
It was worthwhile coming here everyday and spewing unwanted words.
“Thanks for letting me know. Of course I didn’t think Cardirian would bring an army over the mountain range, but it puts my mind at ease a bit.”
“Eh? No, that’s not what I meant.”
“?”
Johan was puzzled. If that’s not what he meant, then what did he mean by that?
“Um, weren’t you going to attack the cities to the west that are loyal to His Majesty?”
“. . . . . .”
The free cities gained their freedom through negotiations or struggles, but if you trace their history back, they originally belonged to someone.
Of course not all cities gained their freedom, and there were many that remained loyal to the emperor.
The envoys from the Empire thought that would be Count’s next target. Not just the envoys, but the captured knights had similar thoughts.
━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥? 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥.
━𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤?
“. . . . . .”
It was just outrageous talk to Johan, who had no such thoughts.
‘𝘕𝘰, 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘴𝘰.’
After hearing what the envoy said, Johan thought that it might look that way to others too. To others, Johan’s appearance might not be that of a young ambitious man armed with devout faith, but rather.
Even without such intentions, the cities could have been frightened.
“. . .I didn’t really intend to, but thanks for letting me know.”
“And Your Excellency. This is a rumor, but I’ve heard that influential people in the city are trying to assassinate Adviko-gong.”
“I know that too.”
Johan was not very surprised. There had already been three attempts just found. He had earned hatred from such a wide range of classes that the attempts were also diverse.
Adviko also knew this, so he was living extremely cautiously with maximum security. In Johan’s eyes, it looked like he should just bolt out of the city, but. . .
‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.’
If he wants to die embracing power, it’s his choice. Johan had no intention of intervening.
“Adviko-gong will prepare well himself. But we can’t interrogate innocent citizens with no crimes, can we?”
“Yes. In fact, I’m not too concerned about it either.”
“I see.”
Unlike his respectful attitude towards Johan, the envoy was very cold towards Adviko. It was none of his business whether the despicable man who had betrayed and was now wielding his sword around lived or died.
“It’s just that there are a lot of ominous rumors, from hiring pagan wizards and more, so I had to let you know just in case any harm comes to Your Excellency.”
“Your honor touches me deeply.”
“Compared to Your Excellency’s honor?”
The sight of hostile knights respecting each other and fostering friendship was truly heartwarming and beautiful.
. . .At least to the knights.
If Uterman were alive, his guts would have crumbled seeing this.
Is that what you inform me of!
Even if the pagan magic goes awry and the count gets hurt, we should be thankful rather than trying to prevent it. . .
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“It is true that there are many pagan wizards around here.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, there are mountain ranges here, right? Not only dwarves live on the mountains, but there are also villages of other races. Some of them believe in different faiths that have been passed down from ancient times.”
“Oh. What kind of faiths? Do you know of any places?”
Johan held the title of Guardian of the Order, Sword of the Order, but he himself was very interested in pagan faiths.
From Johan’s perspective, having received the blessings of a pagan goddess himself, it was like ‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴?’
“. . .This is not something I should say, but please keep your voice down!”
Suetlg said as if he was flabbergasted. There was no one else listening in the large manor, but who knows what might happen in this world. If a priest happened to overhear, he might have a heart attack.
“There is no one here.”
“If you can’t even watch what you say. . . Anyway, the magic those wizards use does tend to be obscure and creepy. I suppose ancient magic had quite a bit of savagery.”
While Suetlg did not care much for the Monotheist Order, he did not deny that they had brought civilization instead of savagery.
If it hadn’t been for the Order’s priests, nobles would still be stabbing each other in drunken brawls.
“Besides, curses don’t single out individuals like arrows do. I understand that envoy’s worries. . . .Wait. Why did you tell him all this?”
“Is it not the honor of a knight to do so?”
“. . . . . .”
Suetlg seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment before speaking again.
“In any case, regardless of the grudge against Adviko, it would be better to prevent such things from happening beforehand.”
“I agree, your excellency.”
Suetlg nodded at Johan’s words. It was natural for him as a wizard to step in for matters involving magic.
“. . .But. . .”
“Why do you say that?”
“Isn’t this composition a bit much?”
Suetlg whispered while looking at those gathered. While they were lightly armed, their postures felt out of the ordinary. It was the aura that only well-trained knights could emit.
The problem was. . . these were Empire knights!
Those who had been taken prisoner in the last war!
“The other knights went to subdue monsters with hired mercenaries, right?”
“What! No matter what, this is too much! Where are the other troops? Don’t you have mercenary captains and warriors too?”
While not knights skilled in pitched battles, the skills of seasoned mercenaries could not be looked down on either. And there were the nomadic warriors from the east. They were formidable fighters even when dismounted.
“They have to maintain order as well, and the eastern warriors are not used to fighting in cities either. . . Most of all, wouldn’t it be a waste if they got caught up in pointless business like this and got hurt?”
“. . . . . .”
Suetlg was at a loss for words.
So in other words, he didn’t want his own subordinates getting hurt, and that’s why he called on these knights whom he didn’t care if they got hurt or not.
It would have been a grave insult if the knights heard this.
However, the knights gathered had no idea what Johan and Suetlg were talking about. On the contrary, they were delighted at Johan’s suggestion.
Giving back the armor and swords to the prisoners was proof of trust. One could not show them such treatment without respecting and trusting them as knights.
“What were you two discussing?”
“Oh. Suetlg was saying that I shouldn’t send knights who aren’t even my vassals to fight filthy wizards.”
“What! Suetlg-gong. As knights, it is our duty to step forward! This is about subduing evil pagans!”
‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵. . .’
Suetlg bit his tongue as he looked at the knights. When dealing with knights as a wizard, he sometimes felt a sense of helplessness as if he was dealing with an entirely different species. That didn’t change even as he aged.
“Yes. Seeing you step forward reassures me. You are indeed knights who understand honor.”
“We thank you for the praise.”
The knights quickly grew bashful at Suetlg’s praise. They were quite easy to handle.
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“Don’t they come at once?”
“We don’t even know who the enemies are or where they are. It’s impossible. And if we all swarm like that, there will be rumors.”
Although Johan had gathered the knights, he had no intention to charge in with them.
Johan ordered them to move separately like seeds. There were many people in the city and wandering knights from the Empire often appeared, so it wasn’t strange.
Not many people knew the faces of the knights, so they wouldn’t be suspected if they wandered separately.
“Pretend to be wandering knights and ask around if there’s anything you can do. You know what I mean?”
“Haha. Count. Someone as noble as you may not have experienced this, but when I was young, I wandered the Empire as a wandering knight.”
“I-I see. Trustworthy?”
Suetlg looked at the Empire knight as if he was flabbergasted by their conversation.