novelraw Chapter 67 : Chapter 67
Chapter 67 : Chapter 67
Chapter 67
The soldiers, who had been chatting loudly, fell silent at the same time and looked at me with flushed faces.
“You cunning bastard.”
At my blunt voice, Vergil grinned, revealing his white teeth.
“Well, I thought you might refuse if it wasn't now.”
Vergil subtly gestured towards Tail and the soldiers.
There was no way I could cast out Vergil, the son of a count and the commander of the knightly order, in front of the soldiers.
Of course, I didn't entirely dislike Vergil with his sly expression.
Because I knew how much weight the sword he offered with both hands held.
“A cunning and crafty bastard.”
Still, I couldn't help finding him sly, so I shot another glare at Vergil.
To think this guy would beat me to it before I could even bestow a sword upon Lina.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
I looked down for a moment at the man who had become unbelievably brazen in just a week, then snatched the sword from Vergil's hand.
How did that go again……
“I, the rightful master of Moner and the last guard dog protecting humanity, do swear-”
As I gripped the blade with my hand, a drop of red blood trickled down.
“Though my family may fall and my soul may perish, I will not let go of the sword I have raised, and I will fight for all who live under the name of Moner.”
The knighting ceremonies of other families were no different from festivals, but Moner's was literally closer to an oath.
An oath to fight until the very moment the master of ‘Moner’ dies, and.
“O fang of Moner, my proud sword.
Will you too fight until the moment you breathe your last?”
Thud!
Vergil slammed his head down with all his might and said.
“There will be no greater glory than to be a sword only for my master, to fight until the day I break.”
An oath that ‘my’ sword too would fight until the day it broke.
“Until the day our oath is broken, I shall be your master, and you shall be my sword.”
I tapped Vergil's shoulder and head with the blood-stained sword and said.
“Cut down all that I command.”
Crack.
Vergil carefully pulled out the sword that had been driven into the ground.
The satisfied smile that filled his face was so irksome that my mouth moved on its own.
“You were already a knight, what changes now?”
“A sword without a master is nothing but scrap metal.”
“You fool, and you chose me?”
“I would not have pledged allegiance to anyone but the Young Lord.”
I couldn't understand Vergil who spoke with a grin.
Of all the families in the world, the one he chose wasn't a family that promised wealth, nor one that swore honor, power, or glory, but a family that promised death.
“A cunning, crafty, and foolish bastard.”
“It seems like something is being added on?”
“The more I see, the more new things I find.”
“…I am not a fool, sir?”
To Vergil, who retorted with a confident face as if asking what I was talking about, I said bluntly.
“The guy who was running in armor.”
Vergil, who moved his lips a few times, answered in a low, whispering voice.
“Well, because I'm a knight……”
After chuckling at the foolish knight, I got up from my seat.
“I’m going to go check on the situation over there one last time, so stay here.
Tell them to drink in moderation and then pack up.”
“Yes, understood.”
As I was about to leave the campsite, Hoodwock ran up, handed me a liquor bottle from a leather pouch, and said.
“Commander, this.”
A drink for the scouting party members who couldn't make it back alive, he said.
I took the leather pouch, poured it on the ground, and muttered.
“Don't worry about a thing.”
Because I will tear to shreds all the bastards who did this to you.
“I’ll send you off without any regrets.”
***
On top of the tree used for reconnaissance.
“Heh……”
I sipped the liquor I had forgotten to give him and looked at the Orc encampment.
I could see the Orcs moving busily, but there was no movement on the inner castle side, so it seemed both Ogres hadn't regained consciousness yet.
Or they were both dead.
“Ogres……”
Remembering the two dead Ogres, I tilted the liquor bottle.
Drip, drip.
“It probably won't suit your taste.”
What did it matter.
There was no one else but me who would offer a requiem drink to a mere monster.
As I was sitting alone on the tree, wallowing in self-pity.
“Uh……?”
I felt a vibration from the encampment.
-□□□!
A smile naturally formed on my lips at the vibration that resonated through my soul, even from such a great distance.
“You’re awake.”
I could vividly feel the earnest anger of the Ogre that had wished for rest.
If she, who was in a much more serious condition, had survived, then the other Ogre, the one who was holding the baby, must have survived as well.
After watching dozens of Orcs move hastily in the distance, I came down from the tree.
It was time to return to the fortress.
***
Inside a conference room lavishly decorated with gold.
Trimia, fuming, shouted at the King.
“Do you truly believe that Reime can exist where they have fallen!”
The House of Moner, that House of Moner, had requested help from the royal family.
The House of Moner, who had never once asked for a favor, even after the Duke disappeared, even if it meant chewing on bread mixed with sand.
“Moner will not fall.”
Trimia, who had been glaring at the King who kept repeating the same thing, turned his head and called out to the First prince.
“Older brother!”
Thinking that even if the King, who had already lost faith in him, didn't listen to his words, he wouldn't ignore the First prince's words.
Surely, the ever-so-clever First prince would…….
“Calm down, my brother.
I do not understand what you are so worried about.”
At the faint sneer on his calm face, my heart sank for a moment.
“What, what do you mean, what am I worried about……”
If Moner falls, Reime is no more.
Could it be that this was seen as concern for a friend, a shallow ploy to protect the political forces that supported me?
Was he so blinded by the throne that he couldn't understand that when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold?
“Older brother, if Moner falls, who will protect the forest of demonic beasts!”
“That Moner will fall, you worry too much.
Even if they were to fall, the soldiers of the kingdom would surely be able to protect the people of the kingdom.”
“It would be a relief if they could even protect the capital!
If we move all our forces to protect the forest of demonic beasts, the nobles will take advantage of the weakened royal power and act like bandits, and if we don't stop the forest of demonic beasts, the subjects of the kingdom will die from the monsters that escape the forest day after day!”
At Trimia’s words, which were close to a shout, the First prince raised the corners of his lips and said.
“My brother, a straight tree is broken by the typhoon.”
To Trimia, who had flushed red as if asking what nonsense he was spouting, the First prince said as if teaching him.
“If we order the nobles to stop the forest of demonic beasts, wouldn't the nobles' power weaken day by day?”
A voice without a hint of doubt followed, as if reading a novel whose ending was already known.
“If only Moner would fall, the royal family would be able to build a stronger power than ever before.”
I felt like vomiting at his confident appearance.
To think that such a stupid bastard was the one who would inherit the throne.
I turned my head and looked at the King.
The King, who had his eyes closed as if he didn't want to talk anymore, waved his hand.
“Moner is a bunch we don’t need to worry about.
Even if the Front Hold falls, there are the Central Hold and the Failsafe behind it, so there will be plenty of time.”
Contrary to Trimia’s thoughts, the King had already made his decision as a king.
It was a good thing for the royal family that the fortress fell and the Moner family’s fortunes declined.
Moner would no longer be able to treat the royal family carelessly, and the royal family could take this opportunity to completely swallow Moner.
‘Even just putting a leash on the beast would be a great help to the royal family.’
So, after the fortress has fallen, when the battle begins again at the Central Hold.
After obtaining everything that could be obtained from Moner, it wouldn't be too late to send an army, pretending to be benevolent.
“The decision has already been made, so you may leave.”
Trimia, who had scrunched up his face at the firm royal command, stormed out of the conference room, and the First prince quietly followed him with an undisguised sneer.
“Tsk.
Pathetic fools.”
One could only see the immediate benefits, and the other couldn't even see that.
And to think he was representing Moner, not the royal family or the kingdom.
“Are you there.”
As the King opened his mouth to the empty air, a deep, low voice answered.
“Yes.”
“Have you still not been able to kill that illegitimate daughter of Obsol?”
“As if anticipating an assassination, she has not left the side of her knight for a moment.
If you command it, I will kill both the knight and the target.”
“Ha, it’s been over a month, and she still has a knight with her?”
At first, I thought she was just a cowardly wench.
“She is convinced of the assassination.
She seems to be a smarter girl than I thought.”
The King, who had clicked his tongue, tapped the desk.
If he could kill her naturally, it would be one thing, but if it was revealed that the kingdom had killed a noble, even an illegitimate daughter, he would surely not be able to avoid the nobles' resentment.
“She is a worthless wench who could perish at any time.
Ignore that side until further orders.”
“Yes.”
“And the Young Lord?”
“…We have lost contact with the Shadow that was following the Young Lord.”
The King’s gaze, upon hearing the report, grew cold.
“So it is Moner after all……”
Dozens of Shadows had already died in Moner’s land.
I had believed that it would be possible to at least spy on the Young Lord, but it seemed Moner had no intention of showing its shame.
“Another Shadow has been lost due to my mistake.
I am sorry.”
“We simply follow Your Majesty’s will.”
Tsk.
“Instead of Shadows, send people to gather information.
I need to know exactly what the situation in Moner is.”
The King asked, massaging his brow.
“It’s a good thing.
The nobles' voices were growing loud enough to hurt my eardrums.
If the fortress is attacked, I'll have to order them to support Moner.”
By the time the nobles’ army, which had moved as slowly as possible, arrived at Moner, the fortress would be no more.
“I’ll have to teach them a proper lesson this time.”
The King's voice echoed in the empty conference hall.
***
“Damn it!”
Trimia, who had returned to his detached palace, shouted in the empty corridor.
This was the first time he had resented this empty detached palace.
If he had even a few servants, he would have taken them and headed to Moner.
“The Holy Nation is also busy right now, so Shendelzar won’t be able to help either……”
He tried to think of someone he could ask for help, but there was no one a prince without a single servant could rely on.
“Hmph.
Since when did I rely on others?”
That was always his life.
An empty life with nothing but bloodline and status.
The only thing of value in that life was.
“I’ll have to do it myself.”
This body was all he had, wasn't it?
Trimia, who had roughly strapped on a sword he had never swung before, hurried his steps to head to the House of Moner.
***
“I have reported to the royal family.”
Sven said to the woman who appeared above the magic sphere.
“You have done well.”
At the calm voice, Sven furrowed his brow.
“They will not give you a single sword.
If they extend a hand, they will have a poisoned dagger hidden in it.”
“I am well aware of that.”
Lina, the woman on the other side of the magic sphere, continued calmly.
“As you said, if the enemy is that dangerous, we had to request reinforcements now.
It will be half a year before we see even a single hair of the reinforcements.”
The count quietly nodded.
Requesting help now, when the enemy wasn't even in sight, was just an insurance policy to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
“Then let us move on to the next agenda.”
The conversation between Lina and the count continued late into the night.