novelraw Chapter 236: Childhood Friend - The Baron of Agnac
Chapter 236: Childhood Friend - The Baron of Agnac
235. Childhood Friend - The Baron of Agnac
"Oh, I mistook you for someone else. My apologies."
Rev, having made a quick comment, walked past Brian and sat down at a corner table. He leaned back on the creaking chair and waited for a while until the innkeeper, who resembled a scruffy alley rat with fur sticking out, approached. Rev ordered some drinks and simple snacks from the man, who looked filthy at a glance.
"Payment upfront..."
Ping!
A silver coin flicked by Rev’s thumb landed in the innkeeper's hand. Rev, with an air as if he were a swordmaster with some illicit and unhealthy hobby, spoke loudly enough for Brian to hear.
"Bring a woman too."
"Uh... we don't deal with women here..."
"Then bring your wife."
Ping!This time, a silver coin flicked by Rev's middle finger struck the innkeeper’s chest. The rat-like innkeeper nodded repeatedly, brought out the drinks and snacks, and then disappeared somewhere in a flash.
Was he really going to bring his wife?
Rev hummed a tune, looking expectant. He sipped the lukewarm alcohol while keeping an eye on Brian’s movements.
Brian was sneaking glances at him, likely trying to gauge who this supposedly great swordmaster was and what business he had here.
He needs to appear a little less threatening.
Just as Rev was almost done with his drink, the innkeeper returned with a woman whose face was heavily caked with makeup. Rev draped his arm over her shoulder and asked,
"I told the innkeeper to bring his wife... Is that you?"
The woman loosened a shoulder strap as if offering herself.
"Do you like that sort of thing?"
"No. But the guy following me seems to."
"Good thing. I can’t stand men like that. I work next door, so what do you do?"
Rev and the woman exchanged meaningless banter.
Despite his seemingly lewd actions, his tone was refined, prompting the woman to re-tie her loosened strap. Seeing this, Brian, perhaps concluding that Rev wasn’t entirely mad, stood up and approached them. Just as the drinking session ended and the woman was about to ask, "Shall we continue our conversation?" Brian interrupted.
"Pardon me. I have something to discuss with you."
"What is it?"
"It’s not something I can say here..."
Rev handed a coin each to the woman who had kept him company and to the innkeeper. Since there was a restaurant next door, they moved there, with the woman trailing behind.
When Rev shot her a look asking why she was following, she responded,
"I work here, I told you."
She then wiped off her makeup, returned, and took their order. Her makeup skills weren’t great to begin with.
"So, what business do you have with me?"
Rev asked as he sipped the aperitif the woman brought out. Brian cautiously inquired about Rev's relationship with Count Simon.
"Do you know me?"
That was originally the question Rev was supposed to ask. By turning the question back on Brian, Rev maintained some advantage in the conversation. The one who needed something and the one who might end up looking suspicious was Brian.
"I saw you at the castle gate earlier today. Ah, I won’t tell anyone about what I saw today. It was nothing, really, but men sometimes... well, you know."
"Yes, keeping it quiet would be good for your health."
He allowed Brian to think he had a slight hold over him.
Now, Rev listened intently, curious about what Brian would say next. Finally, Brian opened his mouth.
"Please help me. The House of Count Simon is an enemy of mine and of the family I served, the Baron of Agnac."
Not the Baron of Agata?
As Rev mused on what had gone wrong, Brian began to unravel his past.
---
In the front yard of a shabbily built mansion, two young boys were clashing wooden swords.
They were prodigies.
Despite wielding swords with tiny, delicate hands, their stances were extraordinary.
One boy had a very delicate appearance, with blue eyes. Clearly of noble birth, he swung his sword as if he were angry, while the other boy, with short eyebrows, reluctantly defended against the young noble’s tantrums.
Thwak!
The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed faintly through the yard, where crops, though diligently tended, failed to yield muChapter The blue-eyed boy soon turned his back, sulking.
"Lord Lloyd... I'm sorry."
The young boy, Brian, apologized.
But since he hadn’t actually rescinded his decision, Lloyd grumbled.
"Can’t you just become a knight? What’s so great about being a crusader... Is it because our family is poor?"
"...Yes. But please don’t misunderstand. I’ll definitely come back."
His words were sincere. Brian liked the young master, who was practically his friend, and he liked the House of Agnac even more.
Although the barony was always poor due to the summer northwesterly winds blowing in ash clouds from the Bomere Volcano, it was still his home, and the Baron of Agnac was a leader who even farmed with his own hands.
Brian had pledged his loyalty to this house. But he didn’t want to be a burden to the impoverished barony.
Though the salary of a knight, who lived off honor, was meager, it was too much for the House of Agnac to bear. However, if he could return as a crusader and build a church in this territory, which didn’t even have one...
Brian promised the young master that he would return as a crusader. He believed it was clearly a better choice than becoming a knight.
And so, Brian left.
The Baron of Agnac, understanding Brian’s intentions, told him that his sister, "Agnes Agnac," was in Lutetia and could help him there.
Though the barony had little to its name, the Baron guessed that his sister, who was currently making waves in high society, could surely be of assistance...
But in the end, nothing turned out as expected. Not the promise to young Lord Lloyd, nor Brian's vow, nor the Baron’s advice.
- “You must come back!”
The last words from the young master who had come to see him off.
Brian never even got to meet Agnes Agnac, the young lord’s aunt.
Brian failed to become a crusader.
This is how it happened.
Agnes Agnac, a beautiful woman, created a sensation in Lutetia’s high society. Though poor, her noble character made her the object of many men's admiration, and she had the knack for adorning herself beautifully even with cheap fabrics.
Agnes's status far exceeded that of the House of Agnac. She was courted by heirs of prominent families, and her future seemed bright, full of roses.
The peak of this rose-scented future came when the heir of the "House of Count Oscar" publicly proposed to her.
The public's interest was fixated on whether Agnes could wear the glass slipper.
The House of Count Oscar was one of the most prestigious families not only in the Holy Kingdom of Jerome but on the entire continent, while the House of Baron Agnac was exceedingly humble.
Could a young lady marry above her station purely on the strength of her character and beauty? Opinions were divided.
Romantics believed it was possible. In these times, it wasn’t unusual for heirs to marry for love. They polished the glass slipper for Agnes Agnac.
Realists thought it impossible. No matter how the world had changed, the House of Count Oscar was of a different class. Moreover, the proposal had been made by a young heir, overcome by youthful passion, without his family's consent, and was likely to fall through—they pointed out the flaws in the glass slipper.
Agnes’s foot was also naturally too small to fit the glass slipper.
While opinions among the nobles of Lutetia were divided, a man with a cunning plan appeared.
He was the head of the House of Count Simon, "Gruenbaum Simon."
He paid a large sum to the House of Baron Agnac to adopt Agnes.
By arranging a marriage of convenience, the families of Oscar and Simon would both benefit—one by forming an alliance, the other by gaining the capital needed to revitalize their failing house. It seemed a win-win for everyone.
But the plan, full of dreams and hopes, crumbled when "Agnes Simon," unknowingly adopted and now bearing a new name, confessed her predicament in utter despair.
She had secretly been in love with an heir of a baronial family, Berger Agata, and was pregnant.
Enraged, Count Simon immediately summoned Agnes to his estate. And it was during this time that Brian arrived in Lutetia after a long journey.
He later learned this was why he had been unable to meet her. The boy who had been searching for her was left with no choice but to knock on the doors of the cathedral alone.
It was a disadvantageous start.
Becoming a crusader, a knight who serves the gods, was a highly honorable achievement. It was prestigious for both the individual and the family or patron that supported them.
Therefore, many of those aspiring to become crusaders were bastards of noble birth. They received the backing of noble sponsors and sometimes even private lessons from royal knights, giving them a significant advantage.
Brian did not have access to such quality education. That was his excuse.
He had to compete with these formidable individuals using only his innate talent and the education provided by the cathedral. After much effort, he passed the first test but failed the final one.
Dejected, Brian drank himself into despair, knowing he would soon be expelled from the training facilities. That’s when someone woke him from
his stupor.
It was Sir Corin.
---
"What? Did you say Sir Corin?"
Rev, who had been quietly sipping the rich broth, found himself interrupting before he even realized it. Brian, who had been calmly recounting his past, widened his eyes in surprise and asked, “Do you know him?”
“…I’ve met him before.”
“Ah, so you’ve been to Bidorinin Castle. How is the old man doing?”
Rev quickly used his Tracking Skill to check Sir Corin's status and nodded. However, his mind was a tangled mess.
[Quest: Life of Dof Bizaine – Free Dof Bizaine from the shackles.]
When Rev had been a follower of Barbatos, Sir Corin had thrown himself before the Apostle of the sinister Ashin.
"O God. Do not forgive my sins. I… regret nothing!"
He had said something cryptic before colliding with the enormous black horse, Bante, his body igniting in white flames.
That could only mean one thing.
"Sir Corin has been freed from his shackles too."
The childhood friend scenario had changed drastically over the turbulent cycles.
With his father's release from his bonds, Rev’s mother, who should have been deceased, was now alive. The Barbatos clan, which should have been annihilated, was thriving. Rev, unlike other iterations of Leo, retained memories of his past and was aware of how different the village's atmosphere had become.
However, since he only remembered his "childhood without his father’s bonds," he had no way of knowing how his mother had died before. There were often changes whose causes were unknown, and one of them was...
The Priest Event.
The crusader escorting the priest who took Lena to the cathedral was no longer Sir Corin. Not this time.
There had been so many changes that Rev had noticed but dismissed them—he hadn’t had time to think it over as Lena was leaving. But now, Sir Corin, who had disappeared, reappeared here.
Rev apologized for interrupting and motioned for Brian to continue his story. Brian, who had been awkwardly tearing a piece of bread with his inconvenient hand, resumed his tale.
---
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. Failing to become a crusader isn’t something to beat yourself up over.”
“...That’s easy for you to say, since you gave up on being a crusader yourself.”
Brian hiccupped as he confessed. He had been secretly drinking, something he rarely did, when he was caught by his instructor, Sir Corin, who was teaching the trainees.
Brian, already resigned to his fate, since he knew he would be expelled the following week, had recklessly mocked Sir Corin, dismissing his advice as irrelevant to his own circumstances.
In truth, Sir Corin was not a crusader. He had been, but he had resigned voluntarily, unable to follow the church's edict to expel the barbarians who worshiped other gods.
However, resigning from the position of a crusader was not as simple as just leaving. Like priests, crusaders, who were endowed with divine power, had to transfer their powers to another cleric upon resignation. Sir Corin was serving as an instructor at the training facility to repay the education he had received in his youth.
This was supposed to be his last batch of students. Sir Corin, who was about to retire from teaching, lowered his strict demeanor and spoke candidly.
“I won’t say it’s pointless. It’s a noble pursuit. But it’s not the be-all and end-all of life.”
Sir Corin sat down beside the drunken young man, took the bottle from Brian’s hand, and pinpointed the cause of his dismay.
“Surely there’s something you want to do. Why did you want to become a crusader? Was it just to be a crusader?”
“...No.”
“That’s a relief. There are too many like that. So, what will you do now? Is what you want to do something that can only be done as a crusader?”
“...Yes. I wanted to build a church in my hometown. There’s a barony near the Bomere Volcano called Agnac…”
The young Brian began to open up about his story, explaining that he had promised his friend, practically his brother, and wanted to help the House of Agnac.
“Then you’ll have to give up on building the churChapter Reality is harsh. But,”
Sir Corin asserted,
“You must realize that both building the church and becoming a crusader were just means to an end. Your real goal is to help the House of Agnac and the young lord. Then, there’s no time to waste.”
“...!”
“Go wash your face and pack your things. There’s no point in staying here. I’ve also been wondering where I should go next, so this works out well. Let’s go together.”
In life, there are times when you don’t get what you want. But that’s no reason to give up. Often, it’s not the only path.
Realizing this, Brian ran to wash his face in cold water. He packed his belongings and left for the House of Agnac with Sir Corin...
Oh God. What had happened?
The House of Agnac had been annihilated. Attacked by the House of Count Simon, no one had survived, and the barony was now under the count’s control.
Brian wandered through the burned ruins, staring at the desolate courtyard where he used to spar with the young lord, his heart sinking into despair.
There are tragedies in life that no human strength can overcome.
Some are so overwhelming that even a resolute heart and strong will cannot bear them, leaving Sir Corin speechless.
Through inquiries with the surviving villagers, they learned that Count Simon had been furious when he heard of Lady Agnes's pregnancy after her adoption.
Hoping there might still be a chance, he forced her to take medicine and undergo an abortion, but the House of Count Oscar distanced itself, claiming the proposal was an unauthorized, impulsive act by their heir.
Enraged, Count Simon demanded the House of Agnac take responsibility for raising an unfit daughter.
But with nothing to offer, the House of Agnac was unable to placate the count, who ultimately wiped the barony off the map.
Brian harbored deep resentment.
While Count Simon was certainly to blame, he couldn’t help but loathe Lady Agnes, who had set off the chain of events.
However, it wasn’t long before he learned of Lady Agnes’s own miserable fate.
With her family destroyed, her child lost, and suffering in captivity under the House of Count Simon, Agnes attempted suicide multiple times. But
“You have to live so that we can legally own that land! You stupid, worthless woman.”
Gruenbaum Simon, the count, denied her even the solace of death. Despite being adopted, she was still the last remaining bloodline of the House of Agnac.
Lady Agnes endured days of utter misery. But someone came to her rescue,
‘Baron Berger Agata.’
Despite everything, the Baron did not abandon the woman he loved.
He sold off most of the lands held by the House of Agata to pay a dowry to the House of Count Simon, on the condition that they would not interfere with the Agnac estate, and married Agnes.
‘Agnes Agata’ could no longer conceive, possibly due to the forced medication, but Baron Agata’s devotion to her remained unwavering.
The two lived quietly in the only remaining possession of the Agata family, Bidorinin Castle.
“...So what will you do now? I’m thinking of going to see Baron Agata. He sounds like a good man, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go together.”
Sir Corin asked. Brian thought it might be a good idea, but something else came out of his mouth.
“If you’re going there, sir, I’ll pass. I… have something I need to do.”
He couldn’t forgive Count Simon.
Parting ways with Sir Corin, Brian headed alone to the House of Count Simon. Though he was nothing more than a common swordsman, without even a title, that very fact made his plan possible. If he could conceal his intentions and get close enough, even the count wouldn’t survive.
...Or so he thought.
---
Brian fidgeted with his damaged hand.
To think he hadn’t been able to exact his revenge himself and now had to beg a swordsman as young as Rev for help. If he had been as strong as Rev back then... or even half as strong, would the outcome have been different?
He sighed and continued his story. His index and thumb, the tendons severed, hung limply as he spoke.