How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 275: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 (4)

However, it was hard to deny that the arrival of the elf king had invigorated other participants, regardless of the elf king’s incomprehensible logic.

The authority of a jousting tournament is determined by the honor of the person holding the tournament and the honor of the participants.

While many nobles didn’t participate themselves but sent their knights as their representatives, the elf king who proudly led his horse to participate received cheers from the crowd.

━𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲!

━𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭!

In the south, the elf king’s popularity was quite high. This was due to the war with the emperor’s faction.

Although the feudal lords of the empire were wary of the elf king’s influence spreading to the empire, the commoners were not. To them, the elf king was a savior who had come from the distant west with knights for honor and justice.

It would be strange if such a person were unpopular. Johan and the elf king were the ones with the most stories and songs about them.

“Since they believed in the count’s honor, the count must respond in honor.”

“That’s not the answer I’m talking about. What I meant was that if they challenge you to a duel, you should accept it.”

“. . .”

Johan was at a loss for words at the elf king’s words. Come to think of it, the elf king wouldn’t have been interested in protecting their lives. If someone tarnished his honor, he might duel them, but why would he do that?

“But I don’t think the count’s suggestion is bad either.”

“. . .Thank you.”

“I should rest until the tournament begins! Glory awaits me in this jousting tournament. With God’s help, I will be able to show myself in front of the count without shame.”

“?”

Johan was puzzled as he watched the elf king’s back as he left.

‘𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵. . . 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨?’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

When the jousting tournament began and the knights of various families came, the mercenaries were unknowingly excited.

The jousting tournament was not just a competition for knights. There were also some light competitions that commoners and serfs could participate in, and there were competitions that mercenaries could participate in.

There were competitions where they fought and wrestled barehanded after getting off their horses, competitions where they competed with thick wooden bows, and even competitions where they carried wooden barrels or drank a lot of alcohol.

It would be an understatement to say that the prizes for these competitions were generous, considering that they were just for entertainment. The eyes of the mercenaries sparkled, and it must have felt even more so for the commoners.

Above all, the fact that they could catch the eye of a feudal lord here was a big deal. There was more than one way to make a career by performing on the battlefield.

As such, the mercenaries were excited and clamoring, but. . .

“What happened, Matter, you b*stard! We were completely ignored, let alone hired!”

The captain of another mercenary group shouted in anger as he looked at Matter.

There was a reason why the captain of the mercenaries was angry.

Matter and his men had teamed up to try to extort the count.

Their plan started the moment they heard the rumor about the silver mine.

After the war, when they had no money and the mercenaries were starving, the sudden news of the silver mine felt as sweet as honey.

Originally, they would have attacked the silver mine to loot it, or driven out the miners and workers and occupied it for a while. . .

. . . but Johan’s reputation from the recent war was so fearsome that they simply couldn’t do it.

Other feudal lords might have given up or compromised without easily conquering it, but that young count didn’t seem like he would do that. With so many soldiers under his command, why would he make concessions?

The mercenaries didn’t want to easily make a fortune or have a bloody fight with Johan’s crack troops. Furthermore, seeing the silver mine, the large number of people, and the tight security made them even more fearful.

In the end, they changed their plan.

━𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐮𝐬? 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐧. 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬.

━𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲?

━𝐘𝐞𝐬! 𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬?

━𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐧? 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. . .

━𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭? 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭!

Among the feudal lords, there were many who hesitated or ignored such accusations. Accusations from mercenaries are somewhat difficult to believe.

However, that was something that only old and experienced people would say, and it was not something that the count, who was still in his youth, would understand. Would someone who fearlessly charged at the emperor’s army with a spear be afraid of the Castellan of Vipen and endure it?

━𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐨. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨?

━𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐬. 𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭.

No matter how insignificant a person’s words may be, they carry more weight when many people agree. Furthermore, Johan had just acquired the silver mine. If he pushed it a little, suspicion would grow like a landslide.

The mercenary captains were convinced that they knew the young count and did not doubt it.

However. . .

“Calm down! Things are still in progress. The jousting tournament was originally planned, and all the mercenary groups in the vicinity have been granted permission to station themselves. What does this mean? It means that the count intends to hire them.”

“. . .”

At Matter’s words, the captain of the mercenaries loosened their frown. It was true that they couldn’t say that he had no intention of hiring mercenaries, looking at the way things were going.

The jousting tournament could have gathered people. . .

“But I heard there was a rumor that the Castellan of Vipen was invited?”

“That’s even better. Do you think the suspicion will be cleared if you see it in person? If we all deny it to the end, the count will have no choice but to believe us!”

‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴.’

The other mercenary captains nodded as if they agreed, but one quick-witted mercenary captain felt something ominous about the way things were going.

It’s hard to express it exactly, but there’s something ominously different from what was expected!

’𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?’

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Your Excellency Count, it is an honor to meet you.”

“Raise your head. Castellan.”

The moment he met the Castellan of Vipen, Johan instinctively realized that the mercenaries had lied.

Of course, Johan could have been wrong. However, for that to be the case, the Castellan of Vipen would have had to be a truly incredible liar. The castellan exuded an air similar to that of a devout priest.

“I heard about Your Excellency Count from Baron Serderdits. He said that you are a man of true faith. I never thought I would meet such a person.”

‘𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺.’

He could feel Iselia looking at the castellan with a not-so-good look in her eyes. Iselia was not without faith, but she was not close to the priests.

The virtues that Iselia liked were usually sins that priests hated.

“It seems that you were deeply moved by the baron’s sermon.”

“Yes! If the brothers of the Empire, who share the same faith, had had a more sincere faith, would such a fight have taken place?”

‘𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯.’

“That makes sense.”

“I am glad that you agree.”

When Johan agreed with a few words, the castellan enthusiastically began to talk about things that he hadn’t even asked about.

It was a story about how the fiefdoms in the northern part of the Empire lacked faith and had corrupt bishops in their ranks.

Even though knights had come from various families in the north, it seemed that he would catch them and give them a sermon. The poor knights of the north would have no choice but to endure it without being able to get angry.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨.’

Both the baron and the castellan were spreading such fervent faith, which was a strange thing.

However, in Johan’s eyes, it eventually had its limits. No matter how much they preached, that was it. If the feudal lords of other regions did not listen, they could do nothing.

Kidnapping a feudal lord was a last resort that was only possible when the feudal lord was really colluding with the cult, and doing it in normal times would immediately draw criticism from within the order. . .

“I understand. Castellan. Go back and rest.”

“Aren’t you going to ask?”

After the castellan bowed and stepped back, Iselia asked as if she was puzzled. Johan shook his head.

“If I try to prolong this and listen to everything one by one, it will only become a nuisance.”

“That’s right. I didn’t think the castellan would have done such a thing.”

“Those mercenary b*stards must have gotten carried away.”

As befitting those who didn’t value their lives, the mercenaries often did such things without fear. Johan gave several orders to arrest and punish the mercenaries, and then stopped thinking about them. It was a minor matter that he didn’t need to worry about.

“There will be a lot to prepare for those who will come to the jousting tournament, but there shouldn’t be any other problems, right?”

“Yes. Your Excellency.”

Although Johan was frugal, he could be criticized if he was frugal even with hospitality. Of course, he was making appropriate preparations.

Furthermore, Johan’s advantage was that he could bring in goods from the East through the trade routes under his command.

Silks and carpets that could only be found in the East decorated the banquet hall, and luxurious fruits with exotic scents were placed on top.

“But Your Excellency. . .”

“?”

Johan was puzzled when the merchant who had come to report hesitated.

“Speak comfortably.”

“I was careful because I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary negativity before a good thing, but. . . several merchant ships have been captured.”

“Merchant ships? By pirates?”

“No. It seems that the feudal lords of the East captured them.”

Johan frowned.

When people talked about the pagan East, they often thought of a land inhabited by evil spirits, but it was also a place where people lived.

And they did not prohibit or ban trade simply because they had different religions. Silver and gold were not worthless just because they were from the East. If the merchant ships from the West were needlessly tampered with, it would be a great loss to the feudal lords who ruled the ports in the East, as trade would be cut off.

Johan had sent merchant ships to several ports to operate trade routes, thanks to his friendship with the Vynashchtym Empire and the friendship he had built with the people of the East. Considering that the previous feudal lord had a good location but failed to utilize it, it was surprisingly extensive.

‘𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦.’

If the merchants had made a mistake, they would usually pay a fine, but they would not have their ships taken away. Of course, they would have made a plausible excuse on the other side, but Johan was not stupid enough to believe it.

Why are they trying to cut the belly of the goose that lays the golden eggs now, when they have benefited each other so far?

“I understand. I’ll have to think about what to do after the jousting tournament.”

“Yes! I’m sorry to report this.”

“It’s not your fault. It was something you had to be prepared for when you set sail for the East in the first place.”

When the merchant left, Iselia exclaimed in an angry voice.

“How dare they ignore you? You just leave it alone?”

“Calm down. Iselia. The distance is different from the old hundred kingdoms. We can’t just draw our swords.”

Unlike Iselia, who was furious at the insult to his honor, Johan was realistic and calm. The ships were expensive, but if he tried to recover the principal, it would be endless.

‘𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦.’

Iselia was disappointed at Johan’s words, but eventually she was convinced. She couldn’t bring the feudal lord from that far away to his knees here.

However, there was one thing that Johan was missing.

The fact that Johan’s merchant ships had been captured was not something that only the merchants knew.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Is that true?”

“Yes. Anyway, those savages in the East. . .”

The aristocrat of the Empire, who had heard the rumor from the people of the republic, looked down on the pagans of the East. There was nothing better to talk about before meals than this kind of story.

“How dare they touch the count’s ship!”

“His Excellency Count is a man of such deep faith. It must have been offensive.”

As they passed by, the Castellan of Vipen overheard their conversation by chance. The Castellan of Vipen trembled with shock and anger and asked.

“What did you just say?”