How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 221

𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 (3)

Iselia also nodded at Suetlg’s words.

“My dear. It’s better not to underestimate love. Love is like a ghost that goes anywhere and a spear that pierces all shields.”

“I don’t want to hear a lesson about love from you.”  

Johan was dumbfounded. Getting a lesson on love from a tribe that cuts off enemies’ necks and hangs them under their lover’s window.

Judging by what she just said, it sounded like an elf’s lyric poem. As Iselia was also trained as a knight, she must have memorized a few lyrical verses suitable for courtly love.  

Of course, it was questionable whether she understood the meaning. . .

“For several reasons, it’s not good to block the approach. First of all, love is blind, so blocking it can make it even more fierce. You should know that much.”

“Let’s assume so. What’s the next reason?”

“And rumors don’t stop spreading just because you block them. If the other person clings on, they will inevitably spread. It’s not like you can whip the young lady of the Jarpen family either.”

Regardless of Johan trying to stop it, if Caccia clings on, the rumor would spread. And when Ulrike hears about it, she will be very angry.  

‘𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.’

Thinking of Ulrike’s knights coming to challenge him to a duel made him unable to hold back his laughter.

“Then is there a good way?”

“For now, keep a distance that is neither too close nor too far, and deal with her as much as possible in front of others. That way, even if a rumor spreads, there will be people to defend you. Where is Stephen?”

“He must be following the procession.”  

“It would be good to call him over and hear what he has to say about the Jarpen family or the Abner family. He probably knows them best.”

“He is an expert when it comes to receiving death threats from Ulrike-gong after all.”

Stephen, who was happily eating and playing with the nobles. Johan had no intention of bothering him, but things were different on this expedition.  

Since he had to deal with many Empire nobles, it was convenient in many ways to have a son of the Abner family with him. 

Besides, the current Abner Count cherishes Stephen in many ways, so it wouldn’t hurt to show off ‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭’.

“I didn’t know this career would be used like this.”

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“How dare you. . .?!”

After hearing the explanation, Stephen looked at Johan with a frightened face. He could not believe it. Out of all the people in the world, he had to seduce Ulrike’s wife. 

Of course, Johan was at an absolute advantage when it came to such seduction. He was young, brave, and had achievements. If he was with other knights, Johan would stand out.

But still, to seduce Ulrike’s wife!

“Stop it now. No matter how your lust boils, this is too much. There are many beauties in the world other than Caccia of the Jarpen family.”  

Iselia, who was listening nearby, said to Johan in a small voice.

“I don’t think it will help much, my dear.”

“I was thinking the same, your excellency.”

Johan asked Stephen.

“I was going to ask how you think Ulrike will react, but I guess there’s no need to ask.”

“Do you really need to ask?! You experienced her bullsh*t temper yourself!”  

Stephen exclaimed in disbelief. Although it had been a few years since he left the fiefdom, the memory of almost being assassinated was still vivid.

“I don’t think you received that much bullsh*t. . .”

“What. . . what?! She tried to kill me!”

“That was because you did something to provoke her.”

When Johan took Ulrike’s side instead of his, Stephen grumbled.

“I thought Ulrike would calmly respond to groundless rumors since she’s quite cold-hearted and wouldn’t make a fuss over something involving self-interest, but I guess not.”

“There’s nothing cold-hearted about Ulrike!”

Although she looked cold on the outside, Ulrike had a fiery passion inside. Stephen was certain that Ulrike would draw her sword when she heard the rumors.

“Now that I think about it, you held a grudge against Ulrike, didn’t you?”

“So now you can’t believe what I say because of that?!”

“No, that’s not necessarily the case. I just wanted to keep that in mind as a reference.”

“Isn’t that the same as not believing me?!”

“Anyway, go meet Caccia while you’re at it. I hope Caccia changes her mind.”

“I. . . I just want to stay here.”

Stephen was frightened. He was afraid of getting involved with Ulrike’s wife again and having his life threatened.

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“It seems difficult to hold out for long.”

Johan was discussing later matters with the captain of the guards who had been fighting to defend Parre,  

Originally, the castle itself could withstand attacks for years, but now Parre was too damaged to expect such defensive capabilities.

Moreover, since the enemies had retreated, there was no telling when more troops would swarm this way.

“It would be best to pull back our troops and people westward. The fiefdom of the Count is not far, so if we retreat nearby, the enemies would not dare chase us.”

Johan suggested this to save face before the Count as well as for his own reputation. 

Since he did not abandon the Count’s men and took them along, the Count would be grateful. And Johan would earn praise.

Also, moving with these people would reduce the chances of rumors about him and Caccia spreading. This was a far better option than taking only Caccia.

“But we don’t have permission from His Excellency the Count,”  

The captain said awkwardly. The allied forces were gathered near the city of Lebuten in the north, so Count Jarpen would naturally be staying there with his men.

Such lower nobles were wary of acting arrogantly.

“I will speak to His Excellency the Count about this. Count Jarpen is not foolish enough to forbid retreat in this situation.”

“Th. . . Thank you!”

The knights escorting Caccia responded with slightly dissatisfied expressions after Johan’s order.

“Your Excellency Count. The walls have collapsed a lot and the soldiers are injured, but isn’t abandoning the castle too. . . regrettable?”

“No.”

“?”

Before the knights could finish speaking, Caccia denied firmly.  

“The Count has made the right judgment. We don’t know when the enemies might charge in, do we?”

“Ah. . . Is that so. . .?”

The knights were at a loss for words with Caccia speaking like that. There was no way to argue back. Johan nodded and said,

“We must prepare for when more enemies come.”

“But to do this in an uncertain situation. . .”

Before the knights could complete their words, the centaur scouts returned from the east.

“Your Excellency! Enemies have appeared across the forest! They seem to be chasing us this way!”

“!”  

Johan was surprised. He had acted in preparation for such a situation, but for the chasers to actually show up!

‘𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥? 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴?’

But Johan and the knights were surprised for different reasons. The knights were astonished that Johan had predicted this situation perfectly.  

No matter what, it was unbelievable for a count who had been away from the Empire to read the enemies’ movements like this.

“Sorry for doubting you! Your Excellency!”

“It’s alright. It was reasonable.”

“Yes!”

The knights moved with an even more loyal attitude. Johan asked Iselia and the elven knights to escort and guard Caccia.

“It’s not a difficult task. Don’t worry.”  

Iselia readily agreed and gathered around Caccia with the elven knights. Caccia asked curiously,

“Your Excellency’s knights?”

“Knights bound by the promise of friendship.”

Lauren spoke proudly. Hearing that, Caccia nodded. They seemed to be knights who had fought shoulder to shoulder with Johan.  

Since he was an outstanding knight himself, it was nothing strange for him to have built friendship with elven knights.

“As expected, you are an excellent knight, Count.” 

“Hmm. I think so too.”

Iselia agreed. Although Johan tended to go a bit mad at times, he was mostly honorable and excellent, close to an ideal knight. 

“Is this person the closest to Your Excellency?”

Caccia pointed at Iselia and asked another elven knight. The knight nodded in agreement. Caccia assumed Iselia to be Johan’s top guard knight. She also looked quite strong. . .

“Brave Sir Knight. I have a request. . .”

“?”

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“Excellent. Sir Torsten! I will not forget this favor!”

“But, you see. Biorarn-gong. There were more enemies than we expected. And also. I heard more are coming after them. Count Yeats is famous and has many followers, so it would not be strange if other nobles’ armies arrive afterward. Isn’t that right?”  

Sir Torsten did not know how big Johan’s allied army was. He also did not know that what Johan had brought was only the advance guard.

So he did not realize that the random words he had picked up were accurately stabbing at the truth.

‘𝘈𝘩, 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘖𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. . .’

Sir Torsten was from a free city on the peninsula, not from the Empire. Thanks to that, he could hear rumors about Johan more vividly and exaggeratedly than other Empire nobles. The martial valor he had heard about Johan from close relatives was almost monstrous.

That’s why, even though he had failed to destroy the castle and lost his precious ransom, Sir Torsten was not too desperate. He was much more delighted to have barely escaped from that situation. 

But while retreating, he happened to encounter a series of armed forces led by Biorarn.  

The third son of the emperor, Biorarn.

He was a knight who was rumored to have inherited the most valor from Cardirian’s children. Living up to those rumors, Biorarn immediately turned around and started a pursuit as soon as he heard.

“I’ve been wanting to compete with that young count once! What a blessing this opportunity has come! If this is not God blessing me, what is it??”

“Maybe God cursing you. . .”

“What did you say! I can’t hear because it’s too noisy!”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Sir Torsten exaggerated Johan’s armed forces when he told Biorarn about them, but Biorarn paid them no mind. He charged ahead leading hundreds of his men. Torsten and his men were included, of course.

Although Biorarn’s men were several times better equipped and more experienced elites than Torsten’s, Torsten felt very uneasy.

Aren’t we chasing too deep when we still don’t have enough men?

“Oh. Biorarn-gong. That castle over there looks empty! That castle is on the verge of collapsing. What do you think about attacking that castle?”

“What’s the point of attacking a crumbling castle like that! Count Yeats is not far from here right now! Abandoning him to occupy a castle! Sir Torsten! Are you really a noble knight!? Let’s go!”

Biorarn had no interest in the castle. Anyway, it would be difficult to hold this area for long even if occupied. More than that, he wanted to compete with the enemy commander who was not far away.

“Go and tell the count! Biorarn has come to fight him!”

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“That’s all you can do? It’s not a trap?”

“Did you know His Excellency would say that and went around three more times? There was nothing there?”

Euclyia nodded her head at the centaurs’ words. The number of enemies was similar or less than those led by Johan. 

With what guts are they chasing us?

‘𝘋𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥? 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥. . .’

“If we maintain our distance and protect the larger ones, they won’t be able to charge easily. I will order them to be vigilant. . . It would be better if I was in the rear.”

“We will escort you ourselves.”  

“Thank you. I don’t know what they are doing.”

After about thirty minutes, Johan was able to understand what they were doing. He was dumbfounded by the words that the emperor’s child had come in person to fight.

“I will go out!”

“No! Me!”

The elven knights volunteered eagerly, extremely excited that the opponent had requested a duel. Johan made an incredulous expression when he discovered Iselia sneakily mixed in among those volunteering.

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