How to Live as a Wandering Knight - Chapter 292: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 (10)

“It’s not cowardly, but. . .”

“Jeez.”

Lamar was younger than the other leaders of the tribe, but he had helped Ohmal several times.

That was why he couldn’t retort properly when Ohmal spoke.

But, even so, this was just too much. He simply couldn’t agree with Ohmal’s words. How could he talk about the duke like he was some kind of hero from an ancient tale?

“But, it’s the truth. That foreign duke is no ordinary eccentric fellow.”

“The fates of the great ones are always twisted and full of hardship. That’s why it’s hard for others to understand.”

“Please look at the facts and stop spouting proverbs! The duke is more dangerous than you think.”

Lamar quickly explained how he had been captured. Even though he was a duke himself, the duke had broken tradition by arresting an envoy.

But Ohmal seemed even more impressed by this.

“Sometimes, you need to throw away your pride and be like a wolf to be considered a hero.”

“No. . .”

Lamar was speechless once more.

“Lamar, of course I understand that you’re upset because you were captured through a cowardly scheme. But there’s nothing we can do about it. Are you going to go tell the others down in the valley? Or will you appeal to the others in the mountain range?”

“. . . . . . . . .”

Lamar knew that Ohmal was right. Regardless of whether or not the duke’s actions were justified, there was nothing they could do to punish him.

Even if he told the tribes in the valley, the duke was infamous already so they probably wouldn’t believe him. Plus, they were much more likely not to listen to rogues. And if he were to try to talk to the rogues, that would be ridiculous. . .

“I think we should join hands with the duke.”

It seemed that Ohmal was even more impressed by the duke than Lamar thought. Of course, someone who showed up with giants right before he was about to be eaten would leave quite an impression.

But of course, Ohmal didn’t say that just because of that.

“The enemy of our enemy can be our friend. Right now, the nobles who serve the sultan are trying to push us out, so we might as well cooperate with those from the west.”

“!”

Lamar was surprised by Ohmal’s words. It wasn’t wrong, actually. Even though they continued to persevere in these mountains, it was almost like they were trapped.

It was only thanks to the sultans being preoccupied with the fertile western lands that they had been able to avoid being conquered. Otherwise, they might have fallen long ago.

The problem was. . .

The rogues here were not on good terms with the monotheists from the west.

To be exact, the rogues were the ones who had caused the rift. They would capture monotheists crossing the mountain range on a pilgrimage and demand a ransom.

Before they could get close enough to discuss cooperation, they were already hurling insults at each other, so it was unlikely that anything good would come of it.

“Do you think the duke would accept such an offer?”

“Hmm, well, he might not accept it. Someone who values his honor might refuse. But if what you said is true, and the duke can see the big picture, I don’t think he’ll reject our offer so easily. If there’s a strong alliance behind the pilgrims as they travel south, wouldn’t that be helpful?”

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“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Johan cut him off as soon as he heard it, leaving Lamar feeling embarrassed after struggling to bring it up.

“Your Highness. I. . .”

“Alright, there are two ways you can be free. Pay the ransom, or die. If you keep coming up with excuses and wasting time, I can always just burn the fortress down and leave.”

“No, Your Highness! It’s not that I don’t want to pay the ransom!”

Lamar said hurriedly.

“We will pay the ransom. And we’ll release the pilgrims as well.”

“And for the sheep and cows that were given for you as well.”

“. . .Yes. Of course, we’ll pay for the sheep and cows that were given for us as well.”

“Oh, is that so? I guess I misunderstood.”

Johan’s voice softened. Lamar was shocked.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦. . . 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺. . .?!’

He had just been talking with Ohmal about what a great hero the duke was, so he was quite confused by this reaction.

“So, you want to form an alliance?”

“Yes.”

“How can I trust you?”

This was a natural question. Lamar brought out the answer he had prepared.

“If you form an alliance with us, we will prove it with our actions. No monotheist crossing the mountains will be harmed. Your Highness.”

“And the polytheists?”

“Ah. . .”

Lamar was flustered. It would be a huge loss if they couldn’t capture the easterners as well.

They could give up on the pilgrims, but shouldn’t they still be able to target the easterners?

“I’m joking. You can do whatever you want with the polytheists.”

“T-Thank you!”

“Prove it with your actions. . .”

Johan was lost in thought after receiving the unexpected offer.

In fact, from Johan’s perspective, this was an offer with no downsides. Since he would get back the pilgrims and receive the ransom, he would definitely make a profit.

Even if they betrayed him and captured other pilgrims to collect a ransom, Johan wouldn’t lose anything.

A sense of betrayal?

‘𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. . .’

Johan didn’t trust them that much to begin with, so he wouldn’t feel betrayed even if they did betray him.

“Alright. I’ll take your word for it.”

“!!!”

Lamar was even more surprised when Johan accepted so readily, without even hesitating.

“Why are you so surprised? Did you think I would refuse?”

“N-No, sir. Thank you!”

Honestly, he had thought Johan would refuse, or at least take some time to consider it even if he did accept. After all, this was an alliance with rogues.

Someone like the duke would have quite a lot of pride.

‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘖𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’

Lamar was confused. Just like an old riddle that had yet to be solved, the duke had a knack for making people feel bewildered.

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Johan’s army set out after making ample preparations, but many others had set out before them. A holy war was something that was supposed to be embarked upon out of religious fervor, not cold, rational thinking.

Many of them were injured and fell behind, but even more of them managed to reach their destination safely thanks to luck and experience.

It was the fiefdom that had been occupied and established by monotheists who had left over a hundred years ago.

Since they were surrounded by pagans on all sides, the fiefdom of the monotheists nestled between these lands was seen as a miracle by the pilgrims. The pilgrims who arrived kissed the ground with joy.

“Let me meet with Your Excellency the Count. I have a letter from the bishop.”

“I will deliver the message, so wait until I return with an answer. And it’s not Your Excellency the Count. Be careful not to make such a rude mistake again.”

The pilgrims were slightly taken aback by the condescending attitude of the soldiers guarding the gate.

Before they left, they had heard that this area was clearly ruled by Count Ineressa, who was also a monotheist.

But if he wasn’t a count, then what was he?

“T-Then. . .?”

“Call him your majesty. I’ll let you off with a warning since you’ve come from far away, but don’t let it happen again.”

“???”

The pilgrims were confused. One of them, who seemed to be a lower noble and thus somewhat knowledgeable about the system of titles, stepped forward to ask a question.

“He wasn’t crowned by the Pope himself, and he hasn’t inherited any western throne, so why is he your majesty?”

“You impudent fool. Arrest him.”

“Ah. . . N-No!”

Even monotheists showed respect to pilgrims who had come from far away, so the visitors were shocked to see the pilgrims being treated so rudely in the land of their fellow believers.

It took several lashes of the whip before the pilgrims came to humbly admit their mistake.

“Do you understand? If you dare to speak so casually of his majesty, our master and divine king who rules this land, you will pay dearly!”

“Y-Yes. . . Yes!”

It was impossible for such rumors not to spread. The rumors that spread among the pilgrims eventually reached the ears of the nobles who arrived later.

Ulrike frowned and said,

“The count has gone mad. . .”

“He’s completely lost her mind!”

Biorarn, the emperor’s third son, shouted angrily from the side. As the de facto grand feudal lord of the western Empire, there weren’t many people who could raise their voices in front of Ulrike, who had won a great victory in the Empire’s civil war.

In fact, Biorarn’s status wasn’t high enough for that, either. Biorarn’s current actions fell somewhere in the ambiguous area between rudeness and bravery.

Despite the glares from his subordinates, Ulrike didn’t reprimand Biorarn. Biorarn was useful in many ways.

First of all, he was an excellent knight, and he led loyal northern knights. Plus, even though Biorarn was despised in the Empire, his family was a great house in the north. There was no harm in being friendly with them now that the civil war was over.

That’s why Ulrike didn’t try to stop Biorarn from joining them.

━𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮!-

━. . .𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨. 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭.

Of course, Ulrike didn’t completely believe in Biorarn’s innocence. She still suspected him a little. But she hid it well enough that Biorarn didn’t notice. . .

“I never thought Count Ineressa would become so arrogant. This complicates things.”

“Shall we go and condemn him?”

Biorarn was confident in the abilities of his knights. However, Ulrike shook her head firmly.

The enemy they were targeting was still far away, so it would be pointless to fight among themselves here.

Even if they succeeded in capturing the castle and arresting the count, if rumors of it spread to the surrounding areas, the other feudal lords would side with the count, not them.

“Something’s strange, though. I didn’t think the count would act like this.”

The monotheist feudal lords who had arrived over a hundred years ago had somehow managed to establish themselves in this land, but their position was precarious. They were like an island floating in a sea of enemies.

The only people they could rely on were their fellow believers in the west. They had built relationships with the order, and they had built relationships with the feudal lords of the Empire and the kingdom. . .

Their communication had become somewhat lacking recently, but no one had expected the count to reveal his true colors so blatantly.

“Your Highness. I’ve heard rumors that Count Ineressa has remarried. He formed a marital alliance with a nearby pagan feudal lord.”

“So that’s why.”

Ulrike clicked her tongue. It was unfortunate that a reliable allied force had suddenly become neutral.

While Biorarn insulted and cursed the count’s honor from the side, Ulrike pondered her next move.

“We shouldn’t enter the count’s inner castle. We should set up camp outside. It’s risky to accept the count’s invitation in this situation.”

“Should we. . . not even accept the invitation?”

Biorarn couldn’t hide the pained expression on his face. It was unimaginable for a noble, regardless of their god, to invite someone and then betray them or set a trap.

However, Ulrike had learned from Count Abner not to fully trust anyone.

“Yes. If we have to meet, we should tell him to come out and meet us.”

“Will he accept that offer?”

“If he doesn’t have any ulterior motives, he might accept it. Duke Johan isn’t someone who falls for tricks. Tell the soldiers to be on alert. Your Highness. . . Also, warn the nobles passing through the area. It’s not safe here, Your Highness.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Ulrike planned to rest here for a while. If she let her soldiers rest and recover while waiting for the forces from the west to arrive, the count might change his mind again.

If he didn’t, she would decide what to do then.

“. . .Wait. Is someone coming from over there? Why are the merchants heading that way?”

As Ulrike looked over the camp from a high vantage point, she was puzzled by the merchants passing by in the opposite direction.

With that many of them, the scale of their intended customer must be quite large.

“I will go and investigate.”

Several subordinate knights rode off on their horses. Moments later, they returned to report.

“We’ve received word that His HighnessDuke Yeats, has arrived in the vicinity with his army.”

“Duke Yeats?! Tell him I wish to see him.”

“T-That. . .”

One of the knights spoke with a troubled expression.

“Duke Yeats, Your Highness, has already accepted the count’s invitation and headed to the castle.”

“. . . . . .”