novelraw Chapter 107 : Chapter 107
Chapter 107 : Chapter 107
Chapter : 107
The preparations to go to the Duchy of Bourgogne took less time than expected.
I had already experienced it when I went to the Holy See.
Thanks to that, I was able to pack various valuables and trade goods to present as gifts to the Duke of Bourgogne and finish the preparations at a very fast pace.
The number of people organized for this trip was 150.
Fifty elf knights, 80 escort soldiers, and the remaining personnel were the nobles accompanying me and their attendants.
"Isn't this too few compared to last time? Weren't there far more when we returned from the Holy See?"
Inside the swaying carriage, Magician Agpiel looked outside and asked with a worried tone.
And for good reason.
The number was almost half of what we had when we returned to the domain from the Holy See.
Considering the overflowing bands of thieves and starving monsters in the era of [Pangea Universalise], it was certainly something to worry about.
"Why are you being like that again?"
But I pointed forward with my finger.
There stood 50 fully armed elf knights.
From lances to maces, swords, and even large shields. The elf knights were heavily armed as if they were going off to war.
"As I see it, I don't think anyone would be mad enough to attack us, Magician Agpiel."
"Hmm…. I suppose you have a point."
Magician Agpiel, who hadn't realized the elf knights would be so extreme, could only be bewildered.
Certainly, anyone who saw that outrageous armament would surely be terrified and flee.
"Anyway, I hope this journey passes quietly without any major problems."
Magician Agpiel had been through all sorts of things while following me. He earnestly wished to spend this trip in peace.
Seeing Agpiel like that, I shrugged my shoulders and said.
"Surely, nothing will happen. I even brought a special carriage because you seemed to be having a hard time."
"Indeed, surely not. There's probably no one who would pick a fight with a military force of this size."
"Yes. So please rest comfortably, Magician Agpiel."
I said so and leaned back slowly in the carriage seat. I wanted to go quietly, enjoying the leisure.
Just as Agpiel said, without any particular problems.
But then.
"My lord!"
"???"
Somehow, it seemed that the 'surely not' always became a reality. Biden, who had opened the carriage door and entered, was looking at me with a serious expression.
"You need to come and see. There's a problem."
***
What on earth did he mean by a problem?
I frowned and asked.
"A problem?"
At that, Biden saw my expression and carefully opened his mouth.
"The, the elf knights are fighting, out of control."
"What? Why? Why are they fighting?"
"W-well, a baron's soldiers suddenly blocked the passage on the bridge."
"???"
What did that even mean?
The more I heard, the less I understood. Why did a baron's army suddenly appear, and why were they blocking a bridge?
"My apologies, my lord. I failed to control them…."
"No. It's fine, things like this can happen."
What could be done about something that had already happened?
I just had to live with it.
However, I was very curious about the current situation.
‘What in the world happened?’
And as I walked to the front of the column with Biden.
"You cur! Do you have any idea whose path you are blocking! If you know what honor is, you will open the way at once."
"Your honor is not more important than the mission I've been given. Step aside."
"Tch! You human knight! Draw your sword! A duel-!"
A downright pathetic mess was unfolding.
The elf knights were fuming, for what reason I didn't know, and among them stood a man who looked like a knight, calmly.
The man, along with a dozen soldiers, had firmly blockaded the bridge and was just repeating like a cuckoo that we could not pass.
‘Oh, my head….’
What kind of new and bizarre mess was this?
"Enough! What is all this commotion?"
"Ah. Y-Your Excellency!"
Only when I shouted did the elf knights, who finally noticed me, come running over and start tattling on every little detail.
"Margrave!"
"Those honorless fools have occupied the bridge and dared to block our march."
"They are madmen. How dare they tell Your Excellency to turn back!"
"Just give the order. We will slaughter them at once."
These guys….
Just as you'd expect from elves, they were truly belligerent without any thought for the consequences.
"That's enough. Quiet your mouths."
A throbbing headache made me massage my temples.
"Are you the one in charge?"
I asked the man who looked like a knight. I still didn't quite understand the situation.
"I am Knight Rodric… Margrave."
"Ah, I see. Sir Rodric. For what reason have you blocked the way? If it's for some trivial reason, even someone as generous as myself will find it difficult to be patient."
The same words carry different weight.
The words of a knight and a lord.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Rodric broke into a cold sweat and watched my expression.
"M-Margrave. I am merely following the orders of Baron Vigneux, the rightful authority of this domain."
"Ha, so you're saying blocking this bridge is the right of your esteemed Baron Vigneux?"
Well, the right of passage on a bridge did belong to the lord who built it. But usually, one didn't create a dispute by blocking the way so high-handedly….
"What if I were to say I must pass through here? Would you really stop me?"
At that moment.
-Clank.
As if on cue, the surrounding soldiers readjusted their grip on their spears. The elf knights also touched the hilts of their swords, ready to attack at a moment's notice if I gave the order.
The scale and state of their armament.
In no aspect were they superior to my soldiers. If their plan was to carelessly extort money, they should have backed down at this level of threat.
But.
"Th-Threatening me won't do any good. I am only following orders, Your Excellency."
Sir Rodric's reaction was unexpected.
"Even if you are the Margrave, you cannot infringe upon a rightful authority. This is clearly an act deserving of censure!"
"???"
He squeezed his eyes shut and trembled, yet he said his piece. In a way, he looked quite bold.
"A knight with some courage. Though it's closer to recklessness."
Magician Agpiel seemed to have a somewhat positive view, just like me.
But our goat beastman was, as always, different.
"Meeeeh! How rude. Does he not know who our lord is? Meeh!"
Having listened quietly from the side, he witnessed the disrespectful act and began to throw a fit.
"How dare! A mere knight."
"Your Excellency. Do not tolerate this. Just say the word and I will slaughter this human knight."
"Give the order!"
"No, brothers! Baron Vigneux must also be held responsible for this! Let us contact Your Excellency's domain. We must destroy Baron Vigneux's castle!"
"……."
These crazy elf knights really spoke without thinking things through. I was so dumbfounded that I shouted.
"Quiet! Silence."
At this point, I was actually more curious than angry.
It didn't seem like they had blocked the path simply to extort some money.
"It seems something is going on, doesn't it?"
"I was thinking the same thing, Magician Agpiel."
"Meeeeh! What's going on? My loord. We must punish that one!"
Besides, Baron Vigneux's territory was a small domain held by a nearby lord.
What could he possibly gain by daring to get on my bad side, a Margrave?
"Sir Rodric."
"……."
He didn't answer my call. His determined expression looked as if he was already prepared to disregard his own life.
"No matter how I think about it, I cannot understand Baron Vigneux's actions. What are your thoughts, Sir?"
"……."
"My loord. I have been as patient as I can be. Merr! We must punish him now. Meeeeh!"
"...Bishop Marco. Aren't you a clergyman? You should at least hear the story to the end."
"Meeeeh…."
The goat beastman Bishop Marco snorted as if in disapproval, but I ignored him.
"Why? Why was the bridge blockaded? I know it is the baron's exclusive right. However, by convention, it is not proper to block the procession of a noble."
"Th-that is…."
At that, Rodric hesitated.
Magician Agpiel, who had been watching from the side, spoke in a benevolent voice.
"I understand your position, but are you not committing a sufficient rudeness? The Margrave is generous, but it will be difficult for him to forgive continued insolence."
Finally, the hesitant Rodric squeezed his eyes shut and opened his mouth.
"That is…."
***
The full story I heard from Sir Rodric was this.
The Barony of Vigneux was currently waging a holy battle.
Against the fallen.
He said that witches were rampant within, and a plague was spreading due to a witch's curse.
And my impression upon hearing that story was.
‘What is this nonsense?’
A fight against witches?
Then shouldn't they have requested support from other domains? But why had they instead sealed off the domain and blocked passage?
"Th-that is…."
Again, Rodric hesitated to speak.
"Speak in detail. Without hiding anything. This is by no means a light matter."
At my threatening words, Rodric finally confessed.
"The madness spread from the lord's castle. The first person to go mad was…. the Baroness."
"Heavens!"
"Oh my goodness…. Lord have mercy."
The Baroness was a witch.
No wonder. There was a reason why Baron Vigneux had sealed off his domain like this.
If this fact were to spread now, he would be facing not a witch hunt, but the immediate loss of his own head.
At that, the elf knights and the goat beastman Bishop Marco started acting up again.
"Meeeeh! A witch! My loord. A witch must be burned. Merr."
"That is right, Your Excellency! Let us execute the witch in Your Excellency's holy name."
"I will gladly draw my sword if you but give the command, Your Excellency! The order."
However, Magician Agpiel and I, having heard the whole story.
"How bizarre."
"Is it really a curse? No, are there even witches in the first place?"
We could only wear skeptical expressions.
"Hmm, well, witches might exist. But they are likely quite different from what people think."
"And the curse?"
"Well, if there are witches, there would be curses cast by them. However…."
Magician Agpiel, scanning the surroundings, trailed off. If there was a curse that could spread throughout the entire barony, an aura of dark mystery should have been palpable.
But no matter where he looked here, nothing of the sort could be felt.
"Just like last time in Canton, this doesn't seem to be a curse."
"Just as I thought, right?"
"Indeed."
At Magician Agpiel's words, I nodded and looked at Rodric. For some reason, this situation felt like something I was very familiar with.
"By any chance, what was the witch's curse, and what were the witch's actions like?"
"Pardon?"
At my question, Rodric tilted his head.
"I am asking what the behavior of the Baroness you serve was like."
"W-well…. it is too shameful to speak of."
Shameful? Then it was probably what I thought it was.
"Oh, do not worry. I will not spread rumors anywhere. And I will help so that no harm comes to you."
"Is that truly so?"
"Yes. Do you not trust my promise?"
After some coaxing and soothing, Rodric's sealed lips began to open smoothly.
"She rides a broomstick naked and harasses the maids. On top of that, she spouts incomprehensible words, oh heavens!"
As if he had a lot pent up, Rodric's voice grew louder and louder.
"It was the wail of hell, Margrave."
"Ah, yes? And so."
"Occasionally, she returns to her senses, and at those times, she is calm. The problem is that it doesn't last long."
As he said this, Rodric thumped his chest in frustration.
"The problem is our lord. He cannot do anything about the Baroness and has simply confined her. Thanks to that, similar symptoms are breaking out simultaneously throughout the domain! Ahh…."
"Then what is this about a curse and a plague?"
"The limbs of those afflicted with madness rot and decay, and the men, in particular, lose their reason and become like beasts. They crawl around on all fours and bite people."
"Hmm…."
It was just as I thought.
The disease often misunderstood in medieval Europe, and one that often appeared as an event in [Pangea Universalise].
The curse was, in fact, ergot poisoning.