How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 303

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 (2)

“Are. . . are you joking right now?”

“No. I’m serious.”

Johan was being earnest.

“Didn’t the captain of the castle guard here originate from around these parts? What I’ve heard is that he came from a lower noble family, in service on an upward trajectory, and that he has the favor of his subordinates.”

“Is. . . is that so?”

Surprisingly, despite having only just arrived, the Duke knew quite a lot about the castle’s guard captain.

While the other nobles of the expeditionary force were focused on the enemy and the spoils that could be taken, the Duke had been closely inspecting the castle’s interior.

“If such a man has taken a bribe, then he will have taken it quietly, and not made a scene about it, so wouldn’t it actually create more of a problem if we start making a fuss about it?”

“But Your Highness, if the accusations are true, then this is a serious problem!”

After all, the fall of castles and fortresses that had previously seemed impregnable had often been the result of just such betrayals.

Normally, it was extremely rare for a castle to fall to a direct assault; more commonly, the people inside would surrender due to hunger or fear, or the captain of the guard would betray them.

Galvar knew this, so even though Johan had said what he did, he couldn’t just let the matter drop.

‘𝘕𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘐. . .?’

Originally, he had tried to defend the captain of the guard, but the Duke’s outrageous remarks had led him, despite himself, into taking the position of an attacker.

Galvar was dismayed when he realized this.

“I trust the captain of the guard.”

“Your Highness. . .”

“I looked into his eyes and saw the soul within them. He is not the kind of man to lie.”

Johan spoke in a serious voice. His solemn and pious manner momentarily overwhelmed Galvar.

Sometimes, a person’s inherent dignity and strength of character could be more powerful than their title or their accomplishments. When the Duke spoke in this way, Galvar, despite himself, found himself unable to argue.

‘𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦.’

Galvar bowed his head, no longer saying anything. He meant to convey that he would follow Johan’s wishes.

After Galvar left with his attendants, Suetlg asked curiously.

“Was that captain really that trustworthy?”

“How would I know?”

“. . .???”

“Send some men to keep an eye on the captain of the guard. Make sure they do it covertly, disguised as servants.”

“Yes!”

Johan called upon some of the slave soldiers who were most loyal to him and had them keep watch over the captain of the guard. Suetlg, seeing this, exclaimed in disbelief.

“So you didn’t really trust him!”

“Excuse me? That’s what I said.”

Johan replied, feigning surprise. Suetlg was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even speak. Even a wizard like Suetlg had been taken in by the Duke’s convincing act.

And yet, it had all been a lie.

“How could you make such a judgment after meeting the captain of the guard for such a short time? You just said that in case we mistakenly aroused his suspicions, we’d be adding fuel to the fire. And who knows how many people overheard you?”

Johan didn’t trust Galvar’s attendants or servants, not to mention Galvar himself.

If they were to behave even slightly suspiciously towards the captain of the guard, and word were to spread among them, then that would be enough to provoke the captain’s ire.

The guardsmen in the fortress numbered a mere few hundred, a drop in the bucket compared to the size of the expeditionary force as a whole, but Johan made no move to treat them with contempt.

He knew very well how troublesome it was to have to deal with hostile commanders who were familiar with the surrounding territory.

“Jeez. . . I really thought you could see right through people’s souls.”

“Oh, Suetlg-nim, can you do that?”

“Of course not. What do you think a wizard is?”

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The waiting was tedious. Only the messengers, envoys, travelers, and merchants came and went, busy with their errands. In the meantime, Suhekhar was forced to set up camp and appease the nobles who were eager to attack.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“To be honest, I’d rather just tell them to charge right in.”

Suhekhar felt the same way, but whenever a situation like this arose, it was always the wise men who suffered.

With so many enemy soldiers to fight, what would become of his men if they were to throw them all at a single castle?

“Are rumors spreading inside the castle?”

“Yes. From the spies, to the merchants, to the common folk. The rumors should be quite ripe by now.”

“Very good. God is helping us.”

Suhekhar refrained from plundering or blockading the merchants passing by. Normally, a siege involved cutting off all such supplies and starving the people inside to death. . .

However, the fortress was well-stocked with enough food and water to last through a long siege, and there was even an escape route leading behind the cliffs. This was no ordinary siege situation, so it was better to exploit that fact.

The spies mixed in with the merchants were diligently spreading rumors.

“Alright. Prepare the envoy.”

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The news that a pagan envoy had arrived caused a stir within the castle. The mere arrival of an envoy from another fiefdom was enough to change the atmosphere, so the arrival of a pagan envoy was a major development.

They could not afford to show any disrespect, so the nobles inside the castle donned their finest armor and clothing and awaited the arrival of the envoy.

Accompanied by the sounds of exotic instruments, the enemy envoy entered. They walked slowly along the main road before entering the castle and kneeling before the captain of the guard.

“My master has sent Your Highness a gift.”

“. . .Ah, no. What is the meaning of this impropriety? His Highness  the Duke is right behind you!”

The captain of the guard was shocked and leapt to his feet. The captain of the guard had already been losing sleep due to the strange rumors circulating within the castle.

And yet, the man who had come as an envoy was addressing the captain of the guard first, ignoring the Duke, and offering him a gift.

Of course, the captain of the guard was the one in charge of the castle, but in terms of both title and reputation, the Duke was the noble who should be given the most respect. Not only the Duke himself, but also all the other nobles from the west, would think the same.

If the captain of the guard were to accept the gift first in such a situation, the other nobles would surely feel deeply insulted.

Johan spoke with a smile.

“It seems they didn’t know that we had arrived. Don’t you think that’s strange? How could they have failed to notice how quickly and quietly we moved?”

“Well said, Your Highness!”

Hearing Johan’s words, one of the castellans clapped his hands and nodded. After all, anything a high-ranking person said was inherently amusing and clever.

“It’s our own fault for arriving so quickly. There’s no need to blame them. Captain of the guard, go and receive it.”

“T-Thank you.”

It was common knowledge that if a ruse were too elaborate, it would arouse suspicion.

An ordinary, overly suspicious noble would have suspected the captain of the guard upon seeing such a ruse, but Johan was even more suspicious than that.

Around this time, another thought came to him.

They must have known that Johan had entered the castle, yet they acted in this way. Could it be. . .

“Don’t tell me those b*stards are trying to sow discord between us?”

“. . .It’s possible.”

“It’s absurd to assume that something like that would work.”

“You’re right. They’re disregarding your honor.”

Iselia spoke with an indignant expression. She had also heard the rumors that Johan believed in the captain of the guard’s honor and had refused to investigate the suspicious rumors.

Truly, it was a knightly rumor, and Iselia had been greatly moved by it. Thanks to that, Johan had been unable to mention that he had secretly sent some spies. If he had, the romantic mood would have evaporated in an instant.

Suetlg, who knew the truth, had a feeble expression. Johan also exchanged glances with him ambiguously.

“Hmm. . .”

“Uh, hum. . .”

“??”

“It’s nothing. Iselia, that’s right. That’s what I said.”

“I wonder how you knew.”

“Should I say that I could tell what kind of soul he had the moment I looked into the captain of the guard’s eyes?”

“As expected. . .”

Iselia exclaimed in admiration, her eyes sparkling with innocence. Not only that, but the other nobles present also overheard her words and nodded in admiration.

The rumors circulating within the castle must have been true.

“Did you hear that? His Highness  the Duke. . .”

“Isn’t he a knight favored by God? He is not swayed by wicked rumors.”

Of course, there were still some nobles who suspected the captain of the guard. Some nobles complained that the captain of the guard was arrogant and disrespectful to the Duke.

However, even those nobles dared not raise any objections when Johan spoke as he did.

After the audience with the envoy was over, Johan ordered sub-captain Bars, the leader of the vanguard.

“Send someone to deliver a message pretending to be from the captain of the guard. We’ll see if they take the bait.”

“Yes! I will do my best.”

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Johan had thought that the mission might have failed when the envoy returned with such a disappointing report, but things proceeded much more quickly than Suhekhar had anticipated.

One of the captain of the guard’s subordinates had secretly slipped out and approached them.

━𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭.

“Hmm.”

As Suhekhar hesitated, the slave who was assisting him asked, looking perplexed.

“Isn’t this a good thing, master?”

“Yes, it is. But I have a strange feeling about this. I need to think about it a little more. . .”

However, Suhekhar didn’t have that luxury. Word of what had happened had spread among the knights who were waiting.

“Suhekhar-nim, I heard the story. Please allow me to lead the vanguard!”

“It’s not decided yet. . .”

“How much longer do you expect us to wait!”

These men were just as hungry for glory and reward as anyone else. Their eyes gleaming with greed, they were ready to charge in of their own accord if Suhekhar refused to give them permission.

“Very well. If you insist, I will grant you the opportunity to lead the vanguard.”

Suhekhar agreed to proceed with the plan, although he still felt uneasy. It was too valuable an opportunity to simply pass up.

Nevertheless, just in case, Suhekhar called upon a trustworthy knight.

“Sir Almahood. I want you to accompany them. If anything seems suspicious, feel free to act at your own discretion. They’ll be taking several times more men than they told you, so even if it is a trap, we should be fine.”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Sir Almahood was a seasoned knight. He would be able to detect and respond to any pitfalls, like ballistae being aimed at them from above the castle walls or traps being dug.

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When the enemy took the bait so readily, Johan could no longer hide it from the captain of the guard.

“Actually, this happened. I didn’t tell you because I was worried about you.”

“No! I am grateful for Your Highness’s kindness.”

The captain of the guard spoke with tears in his eyes, strangely enough. The captain of the guard’s adjutants standing beside him also looked at Johan with moved expressions.

“. . .??”

Johan was rather flustered by the overly warm response, seeing as how he had impersonated the captain of the guard without his permission, exchanged letters with the other side, set a trap, and then sprung it on them.

Even if he was a duke, this was the sort of thing that would normally cause resentment, so he had intended to apologize. . .

“Do you have any complaints?”

“No! I would never dare!”

“No. . . if you have any, please tell me. Really, it’s fine.”

“I really don’t!”

“There’s no way you don’t. Why don’t you tell me?”

“I really don’t. . .”

Suetlg sighed as he listened to their inane conversation.

“Before you create a complaint out of thin air, stop it! People are allowed to be moved, so why can’t you believe it?”

“Even if they’re moved, it doesn’t mean they won’t have any complaints. . .”

“They will. Prepare for battle.”

Johan nodded. This was not the time to be arguing about such things.

Deceiving the other side was difficult, but what was even more difficult was devouring them after deceiving them. If he made a single mistake, they would slip through his fingers.

Johan, who had been pondering how to avoid detection, decided to keep things simple.

━I don’t need to kill everyone here anyway. All I need to do is guard the fortress, so all I have to do is crush their morale.

He decided not to set any elaborate traps, schemes, or ambushes. If the other side noticed anything suspicious, it would only complicate things.

“I see torches. The enemy is approaching! I can’t get a good count on their numbers. . .”

“So they brought a lot of men, as expected.”

Johan felt a sense of camaraderie with the enemy commander, whom he had never even met. Johan must have brought just as many. Blessed Johan’s eyes pierced through the veil of darkness, allowing him to see the number of men hidden within.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes!!!”

The knights nodded with shining eyes. They were men from different fiefdoms, each with their own thoughts and goals, but their thoughts were surprisingly unified at this moment. A surge of heat flared up, piercing through the cold chill of the night air.

“Open the gate. We charge.”

Johan’s chosen method was a frontal assault. The knights’ fierce roars shattered the silence of the night.

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