How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 293

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 (1)

Biorarn was astonished at Ulrike’s flustered state; it was rare to find Ulrike in such a bewildered state.

“Wouldn’t it be better to send knights to escort His Highness the Duke?”

“. . .Let it be done.”

“Understood. Knights of honor, come forth! We have a fiefdom to enter!”

While Biorarn did that, Ulrike sank into thought.

Initially flustered, she realized upon reflection that the Duke was not a naive person. He was not one who would easily accept the invitation, even if it was from Count Ineresa.

What on earth was the Duke thinking?

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“Invitation?”

“He has quite a poor reputation among the pilgrims. There are a lot of bad rumors circulating. Even the feudal lords from the west flatly refuse the Count’s invitation. . .”

Johan had also received an invitation from Count Ineresa, or rather the self-proclaimed king. As the pilgrims had their own sources of information, they tried to dissuade the Duke from accepting the invitation. There were seriously sinister rumors circulating.

“Even though it seems rather exaggerated, the invitation is definitely somewhat suspicious.”

“It’s dangerous dealing with someone who calls himself honorable, my dear.”

Suetlg and Iselia also agreed. Once a bad rumor spread, it tended to snowball, but even considering that, the invitation from “King” Ineresa was. . . suspicious.

If he were to be captured so far away from home, dealing with the aftermath would be a headache.

“While we should cooperate with the monotheist feudal lords here, cooperating with someone like that could stir up trouble. Wouldn’t it be better to attract another lord?”

“Hmm. . .”

Johan pondered and shook his head before saying,

“No. I will accept the invitation.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There is no reason to refuse.”

In Johan’s view, it didn’t seem like a personal whim of King Ineresa. Rather than a single person acting crazy, it was more likely that the atmosphere in this region was like that.

It had been a long time since they had crossed over, and communication wasn’t great, so it wasn’t surprising that the feudal lords, after growing more powerful, had appointed themselves as kings.

And if that was true, it would be quite troublesome to seek cooperation from these lords. As they would not unconditionally favor the lords from the west, but would feign neutrality and watch cautiously.

From Johan’s experience, there was no more annoying opponent than those who tried to walk the tightrope between the two sides in such a fight.

Even if they were to ignore the self-proclaimed king and seek out another feudal lord, there was no guarantee that this situation would not repeat itself. To negotiate, they needed to take the reins first.

“If we avoid the count here, the other feudal lords will hear about it and won’t take our army lightly. In that case, it would probably be better to persuade the Count directly.”

“That sounds reasonable. . . but isn’t that assuming that he can be persuaded?”

Suetlg expressed his concern. While it didn’t matter if they couldn’t persuade him, it would still be a huge headache if the self-styled king were to do anything crazy.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“. . .?”

“I plan to go in prepared so that they can’t do anything crazy.”

As soon as Johan finished speaking, his subordinates stepped forward one by one. For an invitation from a noble to enter a fiefdom, it was. . . well, quite a large number of soldiers.

Caenerna asked in a surprised voice,

“Surely you don’t plan to take all of them with you?”

“We need an escort.”

Caenerna burst out laughing at Johan’s cheeky response. They probably thought that the other party would bring a few dozen attendants at most.

How would they react when they saw this army?

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“His Highness the Duke wishes to see you.”

“Really!”

King Ineresa exclaimed with delight. The old king’s outburst caused the surrounding attendants to breathe a sigh of relief. If even Duke Yeats declined the offer, one of the attendants might have been whipped.

While he had been quite wise and humble when he was young, King Ineresa had long since lost that demeanor as he aged. The current King Ineresa was closer to a blind feudal lord who only listened to flattery.

“How wonderful. The Duke, upon hearing of Your Majesty’s reputation, dared not refuse!”

The chamberlain opened his mouth, gauging the king’s mood. The king nodded in satisfaction.

“That’s right. . . That’s how it should be! Would it make sense if those who came to this land for the Holy War did not seek out the descendants of the family that successfully completed the Holy War?”

The refusal of the invitation by the feudal lords from the west was a considerable blow to his pride. Though he didn’t show it, anyone could guess from his foul mood.

That said, they couldn’t attack the arrogant army from the west head-on, and they had no choice but to keep the gates closed and adopt an attitude of ‘𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵’. . .

This time, the Duke had accepted the invitation. He couldn’t be happier.

Not to mention, who was Duke Yeats?

He was a noble with such fame and honor that even in this distant land, rumors of him could be heard. His feat of defeating the emperor and emerging victorious from the civil war was a rare achievement even in these eastern lands.

“Make sure you prepare properly to receive the guest. Now, hurry up!”

The old king clapped his hands and urged them on. Preparations were essential to welcome noble guests from afar.

Silverware was placed one by one on the tables set up in the grand hall, and rare fruits and ice, hard to come by in this season, were piled up nearby.

In addition to these special luxuries, the basic dishes were also prepared quite lavishly. Whole fattened calves were roasted and stuffed with eggs, cheese, dates, and spices, making the slave preparing them salivate.

Of course, not all of this was prepared out of pure goodwill. This was a kind of show of force and a preemptive strike. The more lavishly the host prepared, the more naturally the host’s power and authority would be revealed.

Of course, Johan was someone who was completely unimpressed by such things, but there was no way the old king could know that.

“Don’t forget. When the meal starts and the fun is at its peak, you will open your mouth and speak.”

“Will there be any? Don’t worry.”

The old king had a specific request for this banquet. It was for the Duke to acknowledge his title.

No matter how much he didn’t care about the west and claimed to have appointed himself as king, people like him tended to be more concerned about others in secret.

If he were to have the title he declared acknowledged and recognized by those who had come to the Holy War this time, his family would be eternally honored with this royal title.

“But. . . what if His Highness the Duke refuses?”

“We can’t let him refuse. Don’t ask stupid questions.”

The chamberlain was irritated by the clueless young attendant’s question. If the old king had heard that, he would have gotten angry right away.

The old king had no intention of arbitrarily capturing the guests who had come from afar. No matter how tempting it was, he wouldn’t go that far.

However, he did intend to hint at it and threaten them.

Since the Duke had entered after receiving the invitation, the old king had no intention of letting him go easily until he gained the Duke’s recognition.

“That seems like a very insulting proposal.”

“It can’t be helped if it’s insulting. The Duke will also realize that it’s better to declare a few words than to be unnecessarily captured.”

Even if his pride was hurt, it was better than being captured here. And the old king was someone who would really capture and detain them if things didn’t go as he wanted.

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“. . . . . .”

“T-This. . .?”

The soldiers guarding the gate were shocked to see hundreds of people passing easily. For a moment, they thought that the feudal lords from the west had launched an attack.

However, there was only one Duke’s flag flying in front.

“Wait a minute! I’ll go and contact them.”

“Fine. Is there any need to bother His Majesty with this?”

“No, I have to contact. . .”

The soldiers knew, unless they were complete *ssholes, that something was strange about the current situation with hundreds of escorts. They were trying to buy time and report to the king.

And of course, Johan knew that too.

𝐑𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞!

“Quickly go and report. . . who the hell opened the gate?!!!”

The defenders on the ramparts were terrified by the sight of the approaching enemies, no, the Duke’s escorts. It was as if someone had raised the gate from inside and they were pouring in.

Sub-captain Bars, who was leading the slave soldiers, was the first to rush up to the ramparts. As he looked around with his eastern eyes sparkling, the defenders naturally took their hands off their weapons.

“Do. . . do you know what you’re doing. . .?”

“His Highness the Duke has arrived with an escort. Is there a problem? Is there a problem!”

At the murderous words, as if he would swing his sword at any moment, the captain shook his head and said hurriedly,

“No!”

“Of course! Unnecessarily keeping the gate closed and wasting time is a tremendous disrespect to His Highness the Duke! He acted himself to avoid such disrespect. Be grateful!”

“Th. . . Thank you. Thank you!”

The soldiers on the ramparts had to thank the Duke awkwardly for no reason.

Suetlg, who was below, looked at Bars and was impressed. Not just Bars, but the other sub-captain Alangka and the slave soldiers moved faster than anyone else.

“They really work hard.”

“Sub-captain Bars? He’s so loyal that I don’t know how to reward him.”

“What’s new? Are you the only one with such loyal followers? If you just give them a town, they’ll be loyal to you until the end of the world. Since I can’t give it to them now, I guess I’d better make up for it with warm words.”

As they were talking, things were almost sorted out. The ‘escorts’ that Johan had brought with him surrounded the defenders. It wasn’t exactly capture, but it was a subtle position that gave the impression of being captured.

The captain didn’t know anything else, but he just wanted to ask how they had opened the gate. He had no choice but to endure it, as his life was precious. . .

‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳? 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘰𝘸. . .?’

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“Deploy soldiers at the gates. Make sure no one escapes from the castle. It’ll be troublesome if they escape.”

“Yes. I will guard it with my life.”

“You don’t have to guard it with your life. If your life is in danger, retreat and report back.”

“Thank you. . .! I will do it with my life.”

“. . .T-That’s right. Work hard.”

Johan started to say something to Sub-captain Alangka’s blind words, but stopped. He was dealing with someone who didn’t understand jokes.

‘𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.’

If it was a mercenary captain, a joke like ‘𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦?’ would have been possible. Then the mercenary captain would have smiled and accepted it.

If he made such jokes to slave soldiers, a few of them would definitely hang themselves.

“What. . . what. . . what. . .???”

The chamberlain, who came running out of the inner palace late, didn’t seem to understand the situation and just kept his mouth agape. He had a puzzled expression on his face, unable to tell if they had come as enemies or if there was something else going on.

𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠!

Johan put both hands on the chamberlain’s shoulders and said in a friendly manner.

“We have come at His Majesty’s invitation. Guide us.”

“Th. . . th. . . the soldiers. . .?”

“Is there a problem with my escorts? Think carefully and answer.”

“. . . . . .”

Only then did the chamberlain, who had finally come to his senses, realize the situation and was aghast.

Just as the old king had hinted at the possibility of capture and tried to threaten him, the Duke was now subtly hinting and threatening him.

And he was risking his life!

He had heard a lot about the Duke being a hero who had accomplished great things at a young age, but even so, he couldn’t believe that he would bring an army into the castle and do something like this in broad daylight.

“Your Highness. . . a pagan. . . a devout. . . a real one. . . if this is the case. . .?”

“What did you say? I can’t hear you well.”

“. . .I will guide you. Please come this way!”

As Johan’s voice dropped menacingly, the chamberlain decided to protect himself instead of asking any further questions. He had done what he could.

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