The life of a mercenary is rough.
A rough man’s life, unable to let go of his weapon.
If he could survive even if he became disabled, he was considered fortunate, and if he made it out unscathed while gaining experience, he became a veteran mercenary.
Now, the mercenaries following Hans were somewhat seasoned.
Although they couldn’t wear metal armor like a well-off mercenary band, it was commendable that they were fully equipped with gambesons.
Gambesons are effective in blocking blades and provide some protection against arrows.
Moreover, about half of them were wielding shields, making Hans and Gunther’s mercenary band quite well-known in the area.
Just mentioning the names Hans and Gunther was enough to give them an edge.
Even though they were seasoned, they were currently unable to do anything about what was happening right before their eyes.
“If you don’t answer my question this time, the next person to get caught by me will have their limbs broken.”
His voice was like the threatening growl of a beast.
And the smell of urine began to spread from somewhere.
All these factors began to urgently ring alarm bells for the mercenaries, culminating in the pitiful sight of Hans, who was unconscious ahead of them.
Staying still meant getting hurt.
But even swinging their weapons might lead to harm.
The mercenaries quickly accelerated their thoughts based on countless experiences they had faced until now, soon reaching a conclusion.
If staying still meant certain defeat, it was better to at least resist!
“Damn it…! Kill him!”
Four mercenaries moved simultaneously.
Their weapons—a club, a pike, and a crude spear—rushed toward the large man from different directions.
However, the man stood still and watched them.
The expressions of the mercenaries wielding their weapons twisted grotesquely.
What is he doing?
Why isn’t he moving?
Those thoughts didn’t linger long and ended abruptly.
With a chilling sound like bones cracking, their vision turned pitch black.
“Guh….”
“Ah….”
Keldric looked at the five unconscious mercenaries with a grim expression.
Except for the first man who fainted after having his wrist crushed and getting punched in the face, the other four had their arms and legs twisted in different directions.
Their appearance, resembling a Buddhist swastika, was, of course, the work of Keldric.
And he did it with his bare hands.
Although he ambushed them while they were off guard, it was still impressive that he subdued five fully armed men with just his hands.
Realizing this fact, Keldric felt quite encouraged, but his head quickly cooled.
‘I didn’t intend to go this far.’
The situation had become quite complicated.
Originally, according to Keldric’s plan, he needed to capture at least one of the five in their right mind for a simple interrogation.
Keldric looked again at the five mercenaries lying on the floor.
‘Should I try waking them up?’
He thought about it, but soon shook his head.
They looked like they wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, no matter who looked at them.
Keldric tapped the scabbard hanging at his waist with his fingers.
He grumbled as if the sword sleeping inside was complaining about why he didn’t draw it.
However, he couldn’t use his sword in a situation like before.
Though he had sheathed his sword in preparation for such a situation, the distance was too close to draw it, especially since weapons were flying right in front of him.
Keldric’s rough hands gently caressed the sword’s pommel.
Yet, he didn’t stop thinking.
‘They are relatively well-equipped.’
The five mercenaries lying on the ground had random gear, but they were at least equipped enough to protect themselves somewhat.
Four of them wore thick gambesons, while the first one to faint was in leather armor.
At least they were wearing something that could block blades, so their level of armament was commendable for mercenaries.
Keldric hadn’t seen such armament in recent villages.
No, if he had to specify, he had seen it only once.
He recalled Joseph’s appearance a few days ago.
He had brought a couple of pack mules and carts, along with ten sturdy mercenaries standing behind him.
Two of them were wearing leather armor, and the armor of the man Keldric first punched was the same as theirs.
Keldric clicked his tongue.
It was clear that these mercenaries were likely hired by Joseph.
If so, why did they launch a nighttime raid on the lord’s manor?
Simply to steal?
‘Not really.’
Keldric’s thoughts were different.
He remembered Miriam’s report of Joseph secretly meeting Fritz.
And these mercenaries were the ones hired by Joseph.
Not a bunch of riffraff, but a decent group of mercenaries, even ten of them.
It must have cost quite a bit.
However, that money likely didn’t come from Joseph’s pocket.
The source of the money was probably his older brother, Fritz.
So now, what should he do?
‘At the very least, I can’t just sit still.’
At that moment, Keldric finally felt he had a grasp on the situation.
If he had decided on a direction, he needed to act.
After tossing the five still unconscious mercenaries into a corner of the front yard, Keldric picked up a club among the weapons they had.
He planned to give it to Malcom or Miriam.
He couldn’t take a shield; they had all been split in two because Keldric had kicked or punched them.
After gathering the unconscious mercenaries’ belongings, Keldric’s massive figure melted into the darkness.
First, he aimed to head to the armory.
The armory was not far from the front yard.
It was already a dim time, but after finishing his adaptation to the dark, Keldric slowly approached the faint outline of the armory.
Malcom, who was supposed to be waiting for Keldric outside, was absent.
Only a bit of snow had begun to pile up on an old chair placed in front of the armory.
Keldric reached out cautiously.
The cold snowflakes melted on contact with his palm without a trace.
Come to think of it, it had been snowing since earlier.
“Malcom, are you there?”
Keldric whispered cautiously.
The answer returned quicker than he expected.
-K, Keldric?
Keldric walked toward the trembling voice of Malcom.
“Lord Keldric! Are you there?!”
Malcolm’s voice was coming from inside the tightly shut armory door.
It seemed he had locked the door and hidden inside.
“Yes, it’s me. Can you open the door?”
There was a reply asking him to wait a moment.
Keldric quietly waited.
The old lock rattled, and soon the armory door slid open.
“Malcolm.”
“Oh, Lord Keldric! I’m glad you’re safe!”
Malcolm cautiously poked his head out from inside the armory.
Upon seeing Keldric, he grabbed Keldric’s pant leg with a relieved expression, beginning to cling to him.
Whether he realized Keldric’s slightly uncomfortable expression or not, Malcolm’s body, drenched in cold sweat, trembled like a quaking aspen.
“I just tried to step inside the armory for a moment because it was cold, and suddenly those strange guys appeared out of nowhere!”
“…Ah, I see.”
Now that he thought about it, it was ultimately Keldric’s fault.
If he had returned the sword earlier, Malcolm wouldn’t have been shivering outside at such a late hour.
“Anyway, those guys came to the armory and started banging on the door! They were planning to lock themselves in from inside!”
“Yes, good job.”
“I heard everything they were talking about! They said they were going in through the back door of the kitchen, behind the lord’s manor!”
“…The back door of the kitchen?”
“041!”
Malcolm vigorously nodded his head.
For someone who had eavesdropped, he had a surprisingly detailed understanding of the situation.
However, that didn’t bode well for Keldric.
In fact, his expression began to darken.
Seeing Keldric’s face, Malcolm swallowed hard and asked, “Why, why is that? Is there a problem…?”
“First of all, they’re mercenaries. And I’m not entirely sure, but it seems Joseph has hired them.”
“Joseph?”
Keldric provided a brief explanation to Malcolm.
At first, Malcolm’s expression was one of confusion, but as the story progressed, it gradually distorted.
“That bastard! That lowly, greedy merchant has betrayed the Bellaf family, hasn’t he?”
“That’s right. So I’ll ask again: Is Joseph staying in the lord’s manor?”
“I heard it in passing, but he’s said to be staying in the guest room.”
“Right… Malcolm.”
Suddenly, Keldric placed his hand on Malcolm’s shoulder.
“Yes?”
“What does that mean—?”
“It seems one of the servants in our mansion is connected to Joseph.”
“Joseph doesn’t even know the location of the back door of the kitchen. If so, someone who knows that location must have told the mercenaries how to get there.”
In reality, that wasn’t the case. If someone had informed them, Fritz would have told them long ago.
Keldric was suspicious of Malcolm.
His actions were an attempt to determine whether Malcolm had genuinely eavesdropped on the mercenaries or was subtly leaking previously known information.
“Ah… Ah! That seems to be it!”
And Malcolm, still looking clueless, agreed vigorously.
Malcolm was innocent.
Keldric nodded, his expression slightly relaxing.
“Alright. So…”
Keldric suddenly handed something to Malcolm.
With a puzzled expression, Malcolm accepted it.
“Lord Keldric, this is…?”
It was a sturdy wooden club.
Malcolm might not have known, but Keldric had picked it up after knocking out the mercenaries earlier.
“Lock yourself inside the armory until I return. If someone else comes looking for you, don’t open the door unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Got it! I’ll remember!”
“Should anyone force the door open… hit them with that. At least it should knock them out.”
There were plenty of weapons in the armory.
However, whether Malcolm could properly use them was uncertain.
As a soldier of the territory, the only weapon Malcolm could handle was probably a spear at most.
He wouldn’t be unable to wield a sword, but if the mercenaries invaded, it would be a one-versus-many fight.
And in such a fight, it was better to have as many usable weapons as possible.
Keldric pointed to a corner of the armory.
“You can use the spear over there. Think of it as a backup weapon.”
“Don’t worry! If someone tries to force their way in, I’ll…!”
“Right. I trust you.”
Unlike with Miriam, this time he had no choice but to trust him.
‘I wonder if Miriam is safe. The servants’ quarters are right behind the kitchen.’
Finishing his thought, Keldric was about to leave the armory when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
In addition to the weapons, there was armor that the nobleman had left in front of Keldric.
“Hey, Malcolm.”
“Yes, Lord Keldric?”
“I’d like to wear some armor. Can you help me?”
Keldric pointed to a corner of the narrow armory.
At the end of that point was a set of armor.
A surcoat dyed a deep blue, a large chainmail, a coat made of hard leather sewn together like armor, and accessories including gauntlets.
The most eye-catching was a helmet that looked like a large tin can.
It was what was known as a great helm, and it certainly drew attention.
Keldric approached it directly, and Malcolm quickly followed behind him.
“I’ll help you!”
“Right. I need to put it on as quickly as possible.”
Fortunately, it was chainmail, which was easier to wear than plate armor, which would have taken quite some time to don.
A moment later, the only one who stepped out of the armory was a large man clad in proper armor and a surcoat.
‘Shall I go?’
Keldric, who received a torch from Malcolm, firmly locked the armory door and began to walk.
The destination was the back door of the kitchen.