How to Live as a Wandering Knight – Chapter 361

𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (5)

Johann wondered if he was already drunk, but on closer inspection, the attendant had indeed taken his cup.

“Ah, damn. . .”

While looking at the attendant, he accidentally dropped the knife. Johann called another attendant.

“Clean this up.”

“. . .”

Johann began to get a slight headache as he watched the other attendant carefully wrap the knife in a cloth and take it away.

“Is this some kind of local custom?”

The feudal lord, who was drunk enough to wrestle with the king, turned his head at Johann’s call.

“What do you mean. . . Oh, it’s nothing.”

“. . .You sure about that?”

“Well, don’t people want to possess something that belongs to someone sacred?”

It was a chaotic and difficult time. Everyone needed something they could rely on.

For Johann, it was the relic.

Something possessed by someone who performed a sacred miracle.

If you had one of those relics, you would be spared from misfortune and disaster, evil spirits and ghosts would run away, and even violent demons would not dare to approach. . .

“Superstition.”

“Superstition? But still. . .”

“It’s superstition.”

Despite Johann’s firm answer, the feudal lord was not easily persuaded. There was a relic that had been passed down through their family, and every time someone was hit with it, they repented their sins and became good people.

‘. . .𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. . .’

“In any case, if Your Highness is offended, I will give those bastards a stern scolding.”

The feudal lord groped for his sword with his drunken eyes. Johann, who had predicted what he was going to do, hurriedly stopped him.

“Don’t do that. I’m not offended.”

“No. . . No. Uurp. I have to set an example. . .”

Johann grabbed the feudal lord’s wrist tightly. The power seemed to blow away the lord’s drunkenness. The feudal lord shook his head repeatedly and shouted urgently.

“I won’t do it!”

“Fine.”

Johann let go of the feudal lord and enjoyed the rest of the meal. To be honest, the food was delicious. Originally, places connected to ports tended to have an abundance of food, and the feudal lord spared no expense in trying to treat the heroes.

There were roasted dishes of pigs, calves, roosters, and geese, fried dishes, fresh eggs and cheese, pigeons and woodcocks caught by hunters, roast lapwings, jellies made with sauces and spices, stews boiled with seafood and vegetables, freshly baked tarts and pies with soft and fragrant aromas, and so on.

And the most delicious spice of all was the sense of relief that he had returned safely. The sense of relief that came from returning to familiar scenery after a long journey was a spice that could not be compared to anything else.

“Your Highness, wipe your mouth with this.”

“Thank you. . . Wait, what’s this pattern?”

Johann stopped wiping his mouth with the cloth the feudal lord had offered him. It was not an ordinary cloth, but a fairly good cloth with a pattern embroidered on it.

The lord said with an embarrassed expression.

“It’s my family’s flag. I’ll cherish it as a relic.”

“. . . . . .”

He had thought that he didn’t care about what the attendants were doing since he didn’t seem interested, but it turned out he had been aiming for this from the beginning.

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“His Highness is coming!!”

“Wowwwwww!”

“Get out of the way! Hey! I said get out of the way!”

“Are these people crazy!?”

Johann’s men looked at their master with bewildered expressions. The people who had gathered after hearing the rumors were unexpectedly strong.

Normally, well-armed mercenaries would cause people to run away just by glaring at them, but these people were so ferocious that they ran without blinking an eye, trying to touch even the hem of the duke’s cloak.

Even the Sultan’s elite forces were not this brave. . .

“Everybody, step aside!”

Johann said forcefully. At his words, the people who had been rushing in like crazy parted to the sides. The men, who had been pushing people away with difficulty until just now, looked at the people as if they were dumbfounded.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴. . .’

‘𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱?’

“I’ve heard the story of the miracle where His Highness the Duke returned from the dead! I’m so glad to see you!”

“Your Highness! You froze the river and trampled the pagans. . .”

“Things are getting crazy. They’re getting crazy.”

Suetlg, who was following behind, shook his head. There seemed to be more people gathered than at a jousting tournament or festival.

At first, he was a little worried. Even if they were unarmed, if there were this many people, it could be powerful in itself. If someone started running towards the duke, even just to get his shoe, it could turn into a disaster.

However, Johann did not panic at all and swayed the gathered people.

Having gone through much more unfavorable situations than this several times, he had grown to the point where he did not even care about this much commotion.

‘𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯.’

“I suggested it, but I didn’t think they’d actually accept it. . .”

“It wasn’t a bad suggestion.”

Suetlg replied in agreement to Caenerna’s words.

Now that they had come all the way to the port, Caenerna suggested that they tour the empire. Rather than a simple stroll, it was closer to a triumphal procession led by an army of elite soldiers and pilgrims.

Normally, the thick-headed lords of the empire would never accept such a thing, but now they had an excuse that no one could refuse. After all, they had just returned from the expedition to the Holy Land.

With this as an excuse, no lord could grumble about touring the empire. Even if they didn’t like it, they would have to prepare to treat them lavishly.

“Whether they like it or not, the number of lords who have useless thoughts will decrease. Originally, there are many people who don’t know unless they see it in person, right?”

“That’s true. . .”

Caenerna deeply sympathized.

If they had returned from smashing the Sultan’s army in the distance and returned triumphantly, they should have accepted it by thinking, ‘𝘞𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨! 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.’ However, there were some who thought, ‘𝘖𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦! 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵.’

Such fools would naturally come out like maggots in spoiled food, so there was no way to stop them.

“If we let them have useless thoughts, it will only bother each other, so it’s not a bad idea to prevent them from having other thoughts like this.”

“Nobles are. . .”

“They’re foolish.”

The two wizards shook their heads as if they were pathetic. Caenerna suddenly thought of something and asked.

“Wait, isn’t the Abner family’s fiefdom just a little further up?”

“Oops. . . We have to be careful.”

“The fire of passion is more dangerous than the fire of magic.”

“Hmm.”

The two wizards were still worried that Ulrike might kill her spouse in a fit of jealousy. If Ulrike herself had known, it would have been an absurd thought enough to make her challenge the two wizards to a duel, but their thoughts did not waver.

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“The duke is coming from the west?”

“Did the knight hear a false rumor?”

News of the expedition was constantly coming into Countess Abner’s court as well. It was natural since Ulrike had led an army into battle.

So the news that suddenly came from the west was bewildering.

Why suddenly from the west, not the east or the south?

“He might have drifted west because he ran into trouble on his way back.”

“I see. Anyone can do that if they are unlucky enough to encounter a storm.”

“In any case, why is he in the empire instead of his own fiefdom now that he’s returned?”

A young knight wondered. Countess Abner smiled wryly at his appearance. He lacked judgment because he was still young and inexperienced.

“It’s foolish for those who recover the Holy Land to just let that opportunity slip away. He’s obviously trying to show the nobles of the empire that they shouldn’t have frivolous thoughts. He probably drifted the ship on purpose.”

“Indeed. . .!”

The countess’s vassals were impressed by the veteran countess’ analysis. Indeed, it seemed more likely that he used that as an excuse rather than getting caught up in a storm that wouldn’t happen so often.

He had already known since the empire’s civil war that the young duke was not an easy person. He was definitely not a simple knight like the elf king.

“What should we do?”

“Yes, what should we do?”

The vassals tensed up at the countess’s question. Countess Abner always tested her vassals with such questions. Vassals who gave the right answer here were highly regarded, while vassals who gave the wrong answer were poorly regarded.

The knight who had spoken earlier opened his mouth.

“Although His Highness the Duke has achieved great things, leading an army and marching through someone else’s fiefdom is an act of rudeness that goes against custom. Therefore, we must wield both the whip and the carrot at the same time. We should treat him according to custom, but there is no need for the countess to move until the duke himself comes to this castle, right?”

Several vassals nodded at the knight’s answer, which showed his pride as a knight. Restoring the Holy Land was a very happy and thrilling event for a monotheist, but pride was another thing. .

“That’s a good idea. Do you think so too, Your Excellency?”

“Yes, I actually thought so too.”

“Your Excellency?”

“Yes. . .”

An old vassal sighed inwardly. He was just following the countess’s lead because he was young.

“Prepare my carriage. I’ll go out and welcome him myself. Tell the pages to get ready quickly too.”

“Yes!”

“. . . . . .”

“. . . . . .”

The knights who had just spoken at the countess’s words looked bewildered. They had faces that could not accept the situation.

The old vassal said, as if to comfort them.

“You’ve been fooled.”

“Ah. . . No. Did I say something wrong?”

“There’s some truth to that plan. But think about it. The nobles of the empire will treat the duke as they please, but which one would you like? The duke is also a human being. You may have pride, but when there is something more expensive than that, you should know how to yield.”

The knights were enlightened by his words. Then they nodded.

“We didn’t know!”

“Yes. Do you understand now? What are you going to do?”

“I will ask His Highness the Duke for a chance to fight with a sword. I will show you my pride as a knight.”

“. . .Let me explain it to you again from the beginning. So. . .”

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Ulrike’s mood was not bad. First of all, the fact that she had entered her fiefdom was a high score.

As a noble, it was always a pleasure to entertain guests. As a master, she felt powerful, and as a monotheist, she was doing charity work.

It wasn’t a hobby of the nobles for nothing. The nobles did not invite people and hold banquets every time they were bored.

“There are a lot of forests and mountains, and the weather is chilly. . . It’s not like the kingdom though.”

“. . . . . .”

Of course, things were different when an annoying guest was in between. Ulrike was still annoyed that the elf king was in the procession.

he would say, ‘𝘐𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?’ and every time, ‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮’ came up to her throat.

And whenever that happened, the two wizards chattered behind her.

━𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬.

━𝐀 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥. . .

“I should meet Countess Abner once. Would it be better to enter the castle?”

“Probably.”

Ulrike did not have high expectations.

Countess Abner probably won’t run out to meet you, but she will probably be very happy (perhaps just pretending) if you visit her while she’s in the castle, and will give you a warm welcome.

If she had turned him away, she would have been a crazy b*stard. . .

“But wouldn’t she come to welcome you now that you’ve returned from the expedition?”

Johan already knew that the blood relations of the nobles were dry and cold, but there was still some lingering affection.

And an expedition to the Holy Land was an exceptional event. One couldn’t help but be happy if one’s own flesh and blood participated in such an event and returned successfully.

“The countess is definitely not the kind of person who would do that.”

Ulrike said firmly. She knew the countess better than Johan.

“I see.”

“If the countess comes out to greet me, I swear by. . .”

“I’m curious about what comes after that, but since you’re in a position to be treated well, I’ll tell you in advance. There’s the countess’s flag in front.”

As much as he had been blessed, Johan was the first to see the flag. Ulrike did not understand what he was talking about at first, and when she realized it belatedly, she was shocked.

“This is a trap!”

“. . .No. I don’t think so.”

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