How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 262: 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 (2)

Mercenaries who followed Johan had several similarities, regardless of their race or origin.

They had combat experience gained from traveling to many places while following their lord, they had good equipment, and they had a strong loyalty that could do anything to carry out their lord’s orders.

These people were like gentle sheep in front of their lord, but they moved like ferocious wolves in the absence of their lord.

Just like now.

“What. . .”

“Take your hand off your waist. If you touch it, I’ll cut off your wrist and put it around your neck.”

The mercenary captain, who was about to lose his temper at the absurd insult, flinched. The appearance of the soldiers who followed the castellan was not insignificant.

If it were a worthless rogue, he would have lost his temper and been angry here, but the mercenary captain was a wiser man. He thought that the opponent was coming out strong for a reason and took a step back.

“Where. . . are you from?”

The soldiers spoke without regard for the castellan. From their attitude, the mercenary captain realized that the soldiers’ backgrounds were stronger than he had thought.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦. . . 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.’

It was rare for someone to be able to easily accept being humiliated like this in their own fiefdom. The mercenary captain gritted his teeth but held back.

“l. . . I understand. I will follow you. But still, shouldn’t you tell me where I am going? As the legitimate right of a Empire noble. . .”

“You sound like a noble.”

The soldiers scoffed, but the castellan spoke up instead, still on the same side. Although they often ignored each other because they were not on good terms, they were on the same side after all.

“Your Excellency Count has brought his army to this area.”

“Wh. . . what? Why? Who?”

“I don’t know the reason either! Anyway, I said the reason, so get ready soon.”

The mercenary captain had a better sense of danger than the castellan.

What could the feudal lord who brought the army do?

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺!’

The war might have ended, but the south was in a chaotic time. It was a period when those with power could lead an army and seize a fiefdom, and if you were powerless, it was hard to complain.

The mercenary captain knew better than anyone that a just cause could be created if you had the power.

“Please. . . Just wait a moment, Sir Knights.”

“I’m not a knight, you fool. Do you have eyes but cannot see?”

Johan’s soldiers were experienced. They did not care about being flatteringly called knights by the mercenary captain. Usually, being called a knight would make someone’s face light up.

“If I need to speak to Your Excellency the Count, shouldn’t I bring someone who knows well about my fiefdom? Please let me take him with me.”

The soldiers looked at each other and murmured. It wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Fine. We’ll give you some time. But keep in mind, if you try any foolishness, you’ll have something sticking in your back.”

’𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘪𝘵.’

As the conversation went on, one might expect gaps to appear, but the mercenary captain clicked his tongue at the sight of them pointing their weapons without a single lapse.

They were completely different from his own subordinates who were drunk in the town from early in the day.

Even if they woke up, there was a good chance that the mercenary captain would die before they could save him. Of course, he was skeptical that his subordinates would come to save him. It was more likely that they would run away without looking back.

“Hurry up and get priest Valberga!”

“B-But the priest is at the monastery.”

“Go right now and get him. If you’re late. . .”

“Is there a problem?”

“No!”

The mercenary captain, who was strangling the servant, quickly changed his attitude when he heard the question flying from behind.

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“A feudal lord has come?”

“Yes, priest! It seems that another noble has come with an army. He wants to hear about how the fiefdom is doing!”

Valberga’s face clouded over. This was not good news.

The town had originally been the fiefdom of the Aitz family, but after the family fell into ruin and several frequent disputes, the position of lord was given to a newly arrived mercenary captain.

Of course, even lords who had ruled their fiefs since birth did not rule them so well, so it was unlikely that a mercenary captain would rule well.

The mercenary captain was even worse at ruling the town than Sir Gessen.

He was so bad that he was even said to be better off when he was drunk. He was ignorant of management, but he had many desires, so the ones who died were the lower-ranking people.

At first, the mercenaries who wanted to do something realized that management was not their responsibility and entrusted everything to Valberga. Of course, that was not easy. If he had not been a patient priest, he would have run away long ago.

“Why are you so worried, Priest? Isn’t this a good thing?”

“It’s more likely to be a bad thing.”

The servants thought that the distant feudal lord would come and fix the mercenary captain’s mistakes, but the priest was not so naive.

The distant feudal lord was more likely to want money.

If so, the mercenary captain would have to squeeze money out of the people, and the damage would remain the same. . .

“In any case, we need to prepare. Wait here.”

Valberga the priest called a few monks from the monastery and had them hold papers with the number of fiefdoms written on them. It would take great skill and evidence to persuade the feudal lord.

“Priest, do I have to go too?”

“Don’t worry. No one will recognize Fern. I need your help.”

Fern Aitz was once a nobleman of the Aitz family, but he is now a monk at the monastery.

The emperor was not a busy man who would go out of his way to kill every single descendant who did not have a right to inherit, but it was not good to be seen.

Since Fern had entered the monastery with the help of Priest Valberga, he could not refuse the priest’s request.

“I understand. I’ll do my best to help.”

“Thank you! The townspeople will be grateful too.”

“Why would I need the gratitude of such people?”

Fern grumbled. Over time, he had come to understand who were friends and who were foes. Everyone from the village chief to the slaves had fawned over him when times were good, but it had all been an illusion.

“Fern-nim, please don’t hate the townspeople too much.”

“Alright, I understand. Please stop now.”

Fern picked up his luggage and followed the priest, along with the other monks.

‘𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦.’

Although he didn’t show it, Fern had a considerable respect for Priest Valberga. It was hard not to respect someone who had risked their life to hide him and his brother.

While others had left the fiefdom to try their luck elsewhere, Fern had entered a nearby monastery. He was scared, but he also wanted to help the priest.

“Are you here? Move quickly! I won’t forgive you if I get whipped because of you!”

The mercenary captain was furious when he saw the priest running towards him from afar.

‘𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.’

Fern, as well as the other monks, were also frowning. The mercenary captain’s lack of respect for the priest was simply too much. At the very least, he could have lent him his horse if he was in a hurry.

The soldiers waiting there yawned.

“Are you all gathered?”

“Yes!”

“Come here.”

“?”

The mercenary captain approached with a look of innocence that did not match his size. The soldier immediately raised his spear and struck him in the face.

“Gah!”

“How dare you yell at the priest? If you want to be cursed, then take it on yourself!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Get off your horse! Let the priests ride behind you.”

The soldiers made the mercenary captain walk. Even though it was a small town, he was the captain, and the treatment was too humiliating.

However, no one stopped him. The townspeople were actually looking at him with satisfaction. The mercenary captain’s subordinates, who came out late, hid in fear.

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“Oh, is priest Valberga still here? I thought he might have moved on since he’s been here for a while.”

“That’s good news.”

While waiting, Johan had captured a townsperson and was asking him about the situation.

If he had looked calmly, he would have realized that Johan’s face was familiar, but the townsperson was too scared to look up.

Joseph was also grateful to the priest, even if not as much as Johan, so he was also pleased to hear the name.

“I see that the situation in the town is not good.”

“Well, it’s rare for a town ruled by mercenaries to be doing well.”

Among the eastern rangers, there were those who had distinguished themselves and risen to prominence, and had been given small towns. And usually, the end of these people was not very good.

“He held a trial without having the right to do so and hanged a person. . . it would have been difficult to resist because it was a small town. He also violated the custom and requisitioned more days for corvée labor. He believed in evil heresy and performed suspicious rituals.”

“. . .Yes? Was he a cultist?”

Joseph asked in surprise. He had heard the other things, but this was the first time he had heard the story.

Johan answered with an indifferent expression.

“I added one more just to make it look more realistic.”

“. . .Oh, I see. Yes.”

In the distance, the mercenary captain’s entourage could be seen approaching. The castellan and the mercenary captain hurried over and knelt down.

“Your Excellency Count! It is an honor to meet you. Your reputation has reached even the corners of this Empire, and I thought that if I could meet you even once as a warrior, I would die without any regrets.”

“Is that so? That’s good. What are the monks behind you doing?”

“I brought these knowledgeable people with me in case Your Excellency has any questions! They will answer anything!”

The mercenary captain trusted priest Valberga. Even though the priest was usually annoying with all sorts of bothersome talk, he was not the type of person to act clueless in this situation.

However, the count shook his head without any expression.

“No need.”

“Oh. . . is that so? Then. . .”

Johan gestured. Then, the soldiers who had been waiting stepped forward and grabbed the mercenary captain’s arms and forced him to kneel forward.

“The crime of holding a trial without jurisdiction and executing a feudal lord’s people. The crime of violating customs, collecting taxes, and extending the number of days of labor. The crime of believing in an evil religion and performing sinister rituals. In return for these crimes, I will punish you.”

“. . .Yes? Your Excellency! Your Excellency! What is that! I am a legitimate aristocrat of the Empire. . .!”

Johan did not have the hobby of listening to the words of the rogue who had turned his hometown into a mess in the meantime. The soldiers immediately knelt the mercenary captain down and cut his neck. It was a movement so quick that none of the servants could react.

“!!!”

“The rest of you, go and catch all the cultists who colluded with this man.”

“Yes, sir!”

After finishing his work, Johan looked around and said to the priest, who he found, with great joy.

“No. priest. It’s been a long time. Have you been well?”

“. . .??!!”

Priest Valberga was surprised as if she had seen a ghost.

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The castellan’s face was ashen after seeing the mercenary captain’s head fly off next to him. Johan didn’t pay any attention to the castellan’s reaction and spoke to the priest.

“I’m surprised to see you here still.”

“It’s only natural that I’m here since these are my brothers. . . I guess I should call you Count.”

“You can call me by my name as you used to.”

“I. . . I suppose I could. . .”

“Why not? We’re friends, after all.”

The castellan’s face began to return to normal when he saw that the two were clearly close friends. Even if their social statuses were different, their friendship would not change as if they had been friends since childhood.

“Valberga is a wonderful priest. I often call him to hear his good words and pray.”

Johan stared at the castellan intently instead of answering. The castellan was shocked, as if his heart had stopped.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation.”

“Anyway, priest. I have a question for you. Do you know how those who ran away at that time are doing?

Johan’s question brought a smile to Valberga’s face.

“That’s good timing, Count. Fern-nim is right behind me.”

“Fern? You mean. . .he’s a slave now?”

“What are you talking about? He’s a monk.”

“A monk?”

Johan couldn’t believe his ears. Fern was never the type to be a monk.

“He’s right there. . . uh?”

Priest Valberga was confused for the first time. One of the monks had disappeared. It was of course Fern.

“What happened?”

“He ran away after seeing the execution earlier.”

“No. . .”

Valberga looked shocked.

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