Episode 27
“Did you… accept him?”
“I kindly request this.”
“That’s amazing.”
Zyleson didn’t know the value of Varyan.
I just thought of him as a craftsman who would make prosthetic legs for my younger brother.
“How is Sir Ambrose?”
“You’re working hard on your training.”
“I guess there won’t be any significant results.”
In the history of the kingdom of Zeno, there was no knight who achieved fame with one leg. But even so, Zylson did not give up hope.
“That child will definitely rise again someday.”
“Have you seen the ambassador?”
“What difference would it make if I left it to that old lady?”
“Would you mind if I met Sir Ambrose?”
I heard that Ambrod is a recluse who forbids contact with outsiders.
Sir Jayleson’s eyes sharpened.
“What is your purpose?”
‘Yeah, it should come out like this.’
I now felt like I was dealing with a nobleman. The atmosphere in Hebron was so relaxed that I could not feel the tension typical of a nobleman’s household.
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
In particular, there could be no such thing as good intentions in the dealings of the nobility.
“Delgaine.”
“Are you telling me not to get involved because you’re going to hit Baron Delgain? Are you telling me to just watch Hebron grow?”
“Baron Delgain has accepted the Nurhah clan.”
Baron Delgain’s sister was Baron Nurha. Baron Delgain paid a reward of 400 gold and brought back the Nurha clan who had been held captive in Hebron.
There was no justification for starting a civil war using the prisoners given in exchange for money as an excuse. However, it was enough to find fault.
If Baron Delgain were to continue to appeal to the discomfort of Nurha’s bloodline in Hebron, he would react by becoming pressured or angry.
Hebron is now beginning to stretch its legs. Nurha and Delgain are only springboards, and I do not find it difficult to take Delgain.
“Are you really planning to start a civil war?”
“I intend to revive Hebron.”
A strange light appeared in Jailson’s eyes.
He tried to gauge me.
“Is it my turn next?”
“South of Hebron is a wasteland. Beyond that is the ruins of the Kingdom of Antaria, and monsters abound. There are also rumors that a plague has spread and that people cannot live there. To the west is said to be the Jailson Viscounty, but it is virtually impossible to fight while crossing the cloud bridge. At best, there are merchants coming and going. To the north of Hebron is the Barony of Biskin, and to the east is the Barony of Delgain.”
“So the next one after Delgain is Biskin. With that much territory, it would be more than enough to request a title from the royal family.”
Jayson’s judgment was wrong.
Hebron, Nurha, Delgain, and Biskin combined could not surpass the military and economic power of Zailson, because all four were insignificant fiefdoms.
From then on, I had to struggle to aim for the title of Viscount. If I had just raised the title in a half-hearted manner, it would have been a sure way to ruin my family.
“The Viscount Zailson and his neighbor, the Viscount Slane, have connections to the Duke of Braio.”
“What?”
“Count Srein promised to give his daughter to Pakus, the chief wizard of the House of Braio.”
Pacus was a 7th class wizard who turned 60 this year. He was considered to be the next Magic Tower Master, but he was only a perennial candidate. There were two 8th class archmages who were better than him.
Duke Breyo supported Pacus wholeheartedly. He used his political power to establish him as the Lord of the Tower, but the wizards never acknowledged Pacus.
However, Duke Breyo did not cast out Pacus.
It was true that his magical skills were third in the Zenon Kingdom, but his combat magic abilities were the best.
“You gave that old man your daughter who had just become an adult? That bastard Srein is so blinded by power!”
“The Duke of Breo does not like scandal, so Pacus is quietly looking for an opportunity to consummate the marriage.”
I heard rumors about Pacus before I was reborn as Louis de Hebron.
As I was locked up in the basement of the duke’s house, the maids living on the same floor started to gossip all kinds of things. At first, they were careful not to speak outside my room, but later they treated me like I didn’t exist.
I liked that too. It was because I could hear stories about the outside world, even if indirectly.
Pacus’ interest was in stamina. Although he was over sixty, his s*xual desire was so strong that he changed women every day.
“How can I believe you?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to lose than to gain? All we have to do is spread a single rumor in the duchy. As soon as word gets out that Viscount Srein has given his young daughter to the old wizard of the duchy, the Duke of Braio will react. Braio will not tolerate any flaws.”
Pacus was a figure who claimed the limits of theoretical magic. In his previous life, he pretended to take my side while hitting me in the back of the head at crucial moments.
No, it might have been a choice for him to survive.
‘It’s your fault, Pacus. Choices come with consequences.’
“How do you know that?”
“There are eyes and ears everywhere.”
Zyleson glared at me. It was too serious a rumor to be dismissed as a braggart from a young child. If I missed the right moment, the Zyleson family could suffer.
“If you doubt my words, check Srein’s medical history.”
As soon as his daughter and Pacus were married, Count Slane would start a fight with Count Jailson. He would raise an army and devour Jailson.
According to what Serpens had to say, Count Srein had spent a lot of money recruiting wandering knights, and had also made a contract with the Zyle mercenary group.
“There may be a warning from Lord Pacus.”
“That would be a rumor. Is Pakus the only old wizard in the duke’s family? Aren’t skilled wizards usually old? What would you do if Pakus were to marry the Viscount’s daughter? The grand wizard of the duke’s family, Pakus, became Viscount Srein’s son-in-law. What would you do to stop them then? Would you even submit a petition to His Majesty the King?”
“Ugh… … !”
As rumored, Zylson was a very closed-minded person.
He had no cunning.
‘It’s none of my business anyway, so do as you please. Fight with Srein, or just sit back and take it. When you come to your senses, no matter when, you won’t be able to handle Hebron.’
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“I will go and see Sir Ambrose.”
* * *
Sir Ambrose was sitting in the middle of the training grounds, practicing his aura.
As if to reveal his complicated state of mind, his aura swirled wildly.
The knight opened his mouth with his eyes closed.
“Who gave you permission to come here? This is a training ground that only direct descendants of Zyleson are allowed to enter.”
“Your Majesty has given permission.”
Ambrod opened his eyes. The eyes of the knight commander who had been famous on the battlefield were filled with murderous intent. It was the first time I had actually received such a gaze, so I flinched without realizing it.
“You gave permission? You little brat, you don’t know a thing about manners! Are you trying to humiliate me because you think I look funny?”
“I thought you were a total idiot, but you’re still full of energy.”
“Inom!”
Ambrod reached out and picked up his weapon. It wasn’t a sword, it was a bow.
“Is that your choice? A knight who has laid down his sword, how worth seeing.”
One-legged Ambrod rose from his seat and pulled back the bowstring with all his might.
“Inferno.”
An intermediate fire spirit blocked my path. The fire spirit could not block the knight’s arrows, but it could burn the knight who could not escape.
I approached Ambrod, slightly raising both hands.
It was to inform that they were unarmed.
Snap!
I grabbed Ambrod’s wrist.
I concentrated and examined his body.
‘The Knight Commander of the Author is definitely different.’
Compared to Brown, the difference was clear.
Perhaps because he never stopped training despite losing a leg to an orc, Ambrod was quite healthy. However, since he only stood on his left leg, his body tilted and his aura tended to be concentrated on the left side.
“I will prepare some medicine that is good for blood circulation. Have your servant boil it and drink it.”
“Huh! Does the young lord of Hebron know how to heal? Are you asking me to believe the nonsense of a young fool?”
Ambrod was ready to stab me in the neck with the arrow he was holding in his left hand.
“There’s nothing you can’t do. If you’re interested, you can learn it too. If you read about 100 books, you’ll get the feel of it.”
He threw a book at Ambrod’s feet.
He rolled his eyes and looked down at the book, which didn’t even have a title.
“What is this?”
“A Book of Swordsmanship for the One-Legged Knight.”
“Oh, there’s something like that? What article is it written in?”
Only then did Ambrod show interest. He picked up the book and looked through its contents.
“I wrote it.”
“what?”
“I’ve included a picture, even if it’s a bit crude, so take a look and get used to it. I made it based solely on theory, so I’m not sure if it’ll work in practice.”
There was a time when I was called a genius in theory. Now I consider myself inferior to that, but that doesn’t mean I was completely useless. Based on the medical and swordsmanship books I had learned, I wrote
It often played out in my head, but I wondered what the actual one-legged knight would be like.
“I am not your toy!”
Shhhhhhh, bang!
An arrow grazed my neck.
I wrapped my hand around my neck because I felt a stinging sensation. It wasn’t because of pain. It was because I didn’t want to show the sight of the wound bubbling and naturally healing.
“I didn’t come to you because I have a lot of time on my hands. Just calm down and read the book. I’m not sure if it will work well either, so study hard and show me. If there’s anything you don’t understand, let me know.”
* * *
“Shoot an arrow at someone who offers to help you? You started off wrong. I’ll show you how serious that is.”
The wound on my neck had long since healed. But that didn’t mean the arrow had disappeared. I still had a pretty good memory, although it wasn’t as good as it used to be.
“That would only be possible if Ambrod came under me… … .”
I wasn’t sure that Ambrod would kneel to me right away. I wrote “The Book of Swordsmanship for the One-Legged Knight,” but that was just theory. Each person had a different level of disability and physical condition, so adjustments were essential for actual combat.
Ambrod was half mentally broken. He was holding on with the will to get back up, but he too would eventually break down sooner or later. The
‘He’s not necessarily needed. The Jailson Estates are also a barrier that Hebron will have to overcome someday. For now, they’ll have to act as a western barrier.’
I asked about the location of the Serpens upper court. He was organizing the Hebron market. When the skybridge connecting Hebron and Jailson was built, the peddlers gathered in Hebron.
Serpens took the lead in the market and opened a stall in a prime location. On one side, a Serpens store was under construction.
“Are you busy?”
“Thanks to you, Baron, I’m so busy I don’t even have time to breathe. Haha!”
Serpens’s gaze was set on the future. He prepared for the time when the rainbow bridge of Varyan would be completed.
Engineer Baryan first improved the shortcomings of the cloud bridge to make it less wobbly.
Thanks to this, workers were able to cross the cloud bridge relatively safely.
