How to Live as a Wandering Knight
Chapter 295: ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ (3)โOh. . . oh!โ
One of the squires who had been watching couldnโt help but shout.
Valeon flew up too high.
With a โ๐ต๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฅ,โ Valeon hit the ceiling of the hall and then fell quickly to the floor. Johan was taken aback. He had been careful to control his strength, but he didnโt expect to fail this badly.
โ๐๐ฉ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ.โ
Johan moved quickly and caught the falling Valeon in his arms.
๐๐ก๐ฎ๐โ
Valeon, as shy as a new bride, blushed with humiliation in Johanโs arms.
โ. . . . . .โ
โ. . . . . .โBiorarn, who was watching, couldnโt help but speak.
โWouldnโt it be better to just let him go. . .?โ
No matter what he did, he had already been thoroughly humiliated, but even so, it would be better to let him go than to keep holding him like this. . .
Johan released Valeon when he heard that. Valeon, who had fallen to the floor, stood up quickly.
โ๐โ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต. ๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐บ.โ
The atmosphere would have been festive with the old king, and if he had gotten into a light scuffle with Valeon and then subdued him appropriately, both of them would have saved face.
โ๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ง. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐จ๐. ๐ ๐ค๐ง๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐.
โ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐. ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐. ๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ!
. . .He had intended to have a similar conversation.
The problem was that he didnโt know how skilled Valeon was.
So Johan grabbed him and pulled him up. He planned to control Valeon with finesse once he lost his balance and staggered.
However, Valeon lacked the strength to resist more than Johan thought. Or perhaps he underestimated Johanโs strength. He couldnโt even resist and flew straight up.
โLong live Your Highness!โ
โPraise Your Highness!!!โ
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ-๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด.โ
The servants who had been watching cheered, stamping their feet. It was understandable that the servants would do that, but it was infuriating to see the knights that Biorarn had brought with him clapping with great joy.
How could knights have such poor judgment?
Valeon must have been terribly embarrassed, because he didnโt say anything more and ran away.
Johan wanted to somehow catch him, but even Johan couldnโt think of anything to say in the current situation.
โ๐๐จ๐ฉ.โ
โHeโs such an idiot! I told him not to do it, but he went ahead and humiliated himself!โ
The only saving grace was that the old king didnโt seem to be very angry.
Perhaps because the son who had ignored him and barged in seemed quite arrogant, the old king was rather relieved.
Seizing the opportunity, Johan sighed in relief and said.
โSir Valeonโs skills were not bad either.โ
โNot bad? He thinks heโs something just because he won a few tournaments. That guy has no humility! Heโll start protesting if he doesnโt get more fiefdoms.โ
Once one became a feudal lord, the power struggle between the ruler and the heir outweighed the affection between parent and child.
Parents with fiefdoms wanted to reign as feudal lords until they died, while the younger children wanted to inherit more rights as soon as possible, even if it was just one year sooner.
Usually, a compromise would be reached and they would wait while inheriting part of the fiefdom, but in the case of greedy successors, they would act more aggressively.
They would incite their vassals, perform great feats to pressure the feudal lord, or even rebel outright. . .
Rebelling against oneโs parents was seen as immoral, but it was surprisingly common. In the face of power, the affection between parent and child was nothing.
Johan, who had read the old kingโs wariness, adjusted his tone.
โSir Valeon is truly an unfortunate man.โ
โ. . .What do you mean by that?โ
โYour Majesty rules this fiefdom so perfectly, even if he were to inherit it and rule it diligently, how could it compare? That is why I cannot help but feel sorry for him.โ
โHahahahahaha!โ
Biorarn, who was listening from the side, asked one of his knights, not understanding.
โIs the duke flattering him now? Why?โ
โUm. . . well. . .โ
โNo, is he? Is that King really ruling well?โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
After the banquet, Johan and the old king cleared up their misunderstandings with each other.
The old king promised to release all the pilgrims he had captured and to treat them more kindly. Johan apologized for bringing too many escorts and promised to respect the old kingโs authority.
โHow dare they confiscate the dukeโs ship! Those pagan heathens will be punished by God!โ
โIt wasnโt just confiscation, Your Majesty. They even sent assassins.โ
โAssassins. . .?โ
The old king was shocked when he heard what Biorarnโs knight said. He could understand confiscating the ship, but he couldnโt understand why they would send assassins all the way to the west.
However, the Empire people, including Biorarn, were adamant.
โI swear on my honor and the name of my family that they sent assassins.โ
โBut. . .?โ
โArenโt the Easterners known for sending assassins?โ
โWell, yes.โ
The old king nodded with a grave expression.
In the East, there had been several famous orders of assassins since ancient times. Most of them had disappeared due to fierce wars, but they were once notorious for assassinating monotheists and polytheists alike, while worshipping pagan gods.
Hearing that, it seemed possible that they might have sent assassins again. If the duke died, they would be too confused to retaliate.
Judging from the fact that the western feudal lords had gathered like this. . .
โBut duke. You have to be careful about attacking them.โ
The old king said, frowning even more. He was reminded of the memories that had plagued him since his youth.
โIndividually, they may seem weak because they are not very large, but the moment you touch them, they will unite with each other. They are especially unforgiving towards pagans.โ
On the coast of the so-called โHoly Landโ that the westerners talked about, there were many feudal lords.
They were independent feudal lords, distinctly different from the Eastern Empire to the north, and they fought fiercely with each other just like the feudal lords of the Empire.
However, when it came to dealing with those from the West, they were unforgiving. Not only did they unite with each other, they also unabashedly asked for support from the Eastern Empire to the north.
From the perspective of the sultan who ruled the Eastern Empire, it was an opportunity to extend his influence all the way down there, so there was no reason to refuse.
Then, the monotheistic feudal lords were literally like islands surrounded by enemies from the north, east, and south.
โIโve been besieged several times in the past. If I had been pushed back then, my family would have disappeared. Those who donโt know that shouldnโt be allied with the pagans. . .โ
As the old king grumbled, Johan fell into thought.
โ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถโ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐จ๐ถ๐บ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ.โ
If Johan had come on an expedition, he wouldnโt have acted like those who came before him. When one came on a long expedition, it was only natural to get along with the people there.
Since they swung their sword all the way and threatened to kill them if they didnโt convert, this is how they made enemies. . .
โ๐๐ฏ๐บ๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ.โ
One was the alliance of enemy feudal lords. Judging from the old kingโs behavior, it was clear that they would unite in a truly vicious way.
And the other was the support of the Eastern Empire. Since the land was so vast, they couldnโt catch everyone who passed by, but it was likely that they would form an army and come down to support them as time went on.
โ๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ง ๐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ญ๐บ? ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ช๐ญ๐จ๐ณ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ. . . ๐๐ฐ. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ. ๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ถ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ. . .โ
The old king would have been shocked if he knew, but Johan had no intention of burning down the castle of the feudal lord who had insulted him and planting the orderโs flag around it.
He was thinking about getting proper compensation from the feudal lord who had insulted him and then taking over the port before returning.
It was rare for people to be so foolish as to try to finish each other off in such a distant land. Johan was extremely pragmatic.
โI see. Was I talking nonsense?โ
The old king opened his mouth, watching Johan, who had been quietly contemplating.
โ?โ
โArenโt you already prepared to fight? You intend to fight your enemies no matter what hardships and trials come your way. In the name of the Almighty God!โ
โThat is right.โ
The knights answered instead of Johan. Johan wanted to look at the knights as if he couldnโt believe it, but he had to restrain himself because the old king was in front of him.
โ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ค๐ณ๐ข๐ป๐บ ๐ฃ*๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด. . .โ
โLetโs call the people from the family that married Valeon. Since they are pagans, they will be good, no, helpful to the duke.โ
โThank you.โ
โWe will join you as well. The pagans might target Your Highness.โ
Biorarnโs knights said with a sense of duty, their eyes shining. Their voices were sincere. They truly believed that the pagans might try to assassinate him.
โ. . .Very well.โ
Johan replied a little late. The knights thought that the reason the duke hesitated was because he felt sorry for making the honorable knights do such a troublesome job.
โYour Highness. You donโt have to worry. It is an honor for us.โ
โ. . . . . .โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
Contrary to Johanโs worries, the knights didnโt make rude jokes or anything like that at the place where they were talking. They frisked Johan or glared at him fiercely, but they didnโt open their mouths unless Johan allowed them to.
However, the problem came from a different source.
The people from the pagan family that the old king had formed a marriage alliance with, the Zurebek family, were much more wary of Johan than he had thought.
They were polite, but they were extremely cautious, as if they might say something wrong. It was clear that they were very afraid of Johan.
โWhat can I do? Itโs impossible to tell a mouse not to be afraid of a lion.โ
Johan clicked his tongue in annoyance, and Suetlg consoled him as if he felt sorry for him.
โI guess they canโt help but be afraid of you.โ
โI understand, but isnโt this ridiculous? Did I pillage anything on my way here? Other feudal lords wage wars against each other and frequently pillage, yet you fear me less than them even though we believe in the same god.โ
Johan grumbled, having accumulated quite a bit of dissatisfaction. Caenerna, who had been listening, laughed.
The duke had always shown a mature appearance that didnโt match his young age, but this was something new.
โThen, did you gain anything at all. . .?โ
โI learned that the writer of Manansir believes in a lot of strange things.โ
Viceroy Manansir, or perhaps count or king.
The titles of the East were not fully compatible with those of the Empire, so there was some confusion when they were called. The people of the republic usually called them viceroys. It was a title that had existed since the time when this area was a unified kingdom long ago.
Anyway, the Viceroy Manansir was quite an ambitious man. He didnโt just seize Johanโs ship out of greed.
Apparently, he had been gradually advancing his ambitions by conquering neighboring fiefdoms, increasing the number of soldiers, and strengthening alliances.
The most recent alliance was none other than the alliance with the sultan of the Eastern Empire. That was probably why he was able to capture Johanโs ship.
โIf heโs that ambitious, wouldnโt the other feudal lords be dissatisfied?โ
โThatโs why I thought I could persuade them, but what is this. . .โ
Johan sighed and lay down on the reclining chair. Caenerna picked up a piece of fruit and put it in the dukeโs mouth instead. Johan sighed and sat up.
โNow. Letโs talk. What should I do to make them trust me?โ
โHmmmmm.โ
โHmmmmm. . .โ
Johanโs subordinates, who were more accustomed to using their bodies than their heads, were not quick to respond. Iselia was among them, but she wanted to be a little more forward because she had some pride.
โHow about forming a marriage alliance to gain their trust?โ
โThatโs not a good idea. If the duke marries a pagan, many people, starting with the order, will be shaken.โ
Suetlg said firmly. Iselia frowned. Johan looked at Iselia with a grave expression.
As Johan and his men were pondering, someone knocked on the door. It was the captains of the republic.
โUlrike-gong has entered the castle.โ
โIs that so? I have to go greet her.โ
โBy the way, were you talking about something?โ
When the captain asked, Johan shrugged his shoulders and answered. It wasnโt something he needed to hide.
The captain asked in surprise when he heard that.
โDo they hate Your Highness that much? Thatโs strange. We have different religions, but we can negotiate to some extent.โ
โWell, you have the accumulated trust and connections, so thatโs probably why.โ
The captain was even more bewildered by Johanโs words.
โBut Your Highness. . . You know many nobles in the East, donโt you?โ
โ. . .Oh.โ
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