Keldric first decided to head towards Belaf, the cradle of the North.
Belaf was the closest point of contact for smooth communication with Baron Yaben.
By now, Baron Yaben would have left some troops in Carlton Village and returned. Of course, there was no way to know his exact location.
With the territory war just around the corner, it was a reasonable guess that he had returned from Carlton Village.
“Ugh… it feels like it’s been a while since I felt this chilly wind.”
Lord Henri shuddered and slightly tightened the cloak around his neck.
Succumbing to the cold wasn’t a virtue, but that only applied to the men of the North.
The Barony of Candeillon was where wine grapes were grown, so it must be a warm region. It was understandable that he would complain about the cold.
“Shall I switch cloaks with you?”
“Hmm? No, well… I’m fine. I’ll probably get used to it after a while.”
Keldric fiddled with his shaggy wolf fur cloak. This fur, given to him by Baron Spitzenberg, was definitely high quality.
Even if Keldric wasn’t particularly susceptible to the cold, the wind could be chilly when traveling around the North and camping out.
Maintaining body temperature was important in the North. Warm body temperature ensured good blood circulation and helped maintain a proper level of alertness, making it easier to respond to unexpected situations.
That was true anywhere, but it was especially important in the North, where the entire land was like a freezer.
“By the way, what happened with Lord Jacquemont’s marriage?”
“Hmm? That’s Jacquemont’s business. I’m just here representing the main family.”
“Don’t you have any thoughts of marrying?”
“Me, me? I, um…”
Lord Henri, who had been fidgeting with his cloak because of the cold, fell silent.
Keldric tactfully ended the conversation there. If Lord Henri, who was usually so talkative, was silent, it must be a family matter.
Keldric didn’t know how great the Candeillon baronial family was, but if they owned a manor with vineyards for wine grapes, they were probably quite high up.
Not all barons were just the dregs of the aristocracy. That was a surprisingly common misconception.
Although it wasn’t common, emperors or kings sometimes bestowed court titles on barons or entrusted them with specific regions.
In that case, the baron would serve the king directly, acting as a virtually independent and powerful lord without any liege lords like counts or dukes above him.
The Empire had something similar. Those who were directly under the Emperor were distinguished as Imperial Counts or Imperial Barons.
The Candeillon baronial family was probably in such a position. Wine grapes were a more precious and valuable regional specialty than one might think.
“Marriage, marriage… Ugh! Why are we even talking about this?”
“No, well… sorry.”
Keldric apologized awkwardly. It seemed that Lord Henri had some bad memories associated with marriage.
As he racked his brain, Lord Alan’s words, which he had heard when he first came to Bogenberg, gradually came back to him.
‘I heard there’s a good-for-nothing knight who abandoned his sorceress fiancée because he was afraid of magic……. I wonder who that is.’
A good-for-nothing knight who abandoned his fiancée because he was afraid of magic. That must be referring to Lord Henri.
Keldric didn’t know why Lord Henri was afraid of magic, but if that was the case, he could understand why he was afraid of Alyssa.
“Come to think of it, where did Lord Alan go? Wasn’t he with me when I left for Spitzenberg?”
Lord Henri seemed quite pleased that the topic of conversation had changed.
He sniffled his nose, which had turned bright red, and said,
“Ah… you mean that Britas knight with no honor whatsoever?”
“Still treating him like that? You’re still narrow-minded.”
“What! That son of a bitch dared to disgrace our family!”
“Come on, don’t you have any friendship built up together?”
“That’s a load of bull. Friendship, my ass……. I just felt like I was dealing with a common thug.”
Lord Henri’s hostile attitude towards Lord Alan was unchanged. No, it seemed to have gotten even worse.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
He wasn’t like this when he parted ways with Keldric. They might bicker a bit, but it seemed to have calmed down after a good fight.
Listening to Lord Henri’s rambling, it seemed that something bad had happened again at the very end.
Keldric stared at Lord Henri with a disgusted look. He had only intended to ask about Lord Alan’s whereabouts, but all he got in return was a barrage of curses that sprayed saliva everywhere.
“Lord Henri. There are many eyes watching. I’m worried that speaking so vulgarly might damage your dignity.”
“Ahem! You’re right.”
Lord Henri’s fervor subsided as if he had been waiting for it. At this point, Keldric was dumbfounded.
It would be wise to view it as just a common squabble between a Britas knight and a Frank knight.
“More importantly, Lord Keldric. What is that beautiful trophy that your attendant is carrying?”
The sparkling eyes of a certain womanizing Frank knight turned towards the bundle carried by Arno.
Inside was a skull carefully wrapped in cloth. It was the skull of the monster Keldric had hunted in Spitzenberg.
Since Lord Henri had apparently seen Arno packing the luggage, Keldric casually answered while driving Boreas.
“I just came back from Spitzenberg, didn’t I?”
“Did you?”
“I went there and unexpectedly hunted a monster.”
“You hunted a monster?! Tell me more about it!”
This time, Lord Henri spat as he rushed in, but with a different meaning.
This energetic Frank knight couldn’t hide his true feelings at all.
While he thought of the immeasurable honor and glory in hunting a monster, there was no greed, only pure admiration and curiosity.
At that innocent and unreserved appearance, Keldric slowly began to tell the story of what had happened in Spitzenberg.
“A few days after arriving there, Duke Spitzenberg called for me.”
“And?”
“He asked me to hunt a monster, so I agreed. I couldn’t bear to see a monster harming innocent people.”
“Ooh…!”
The sun was still high above the mountains.
It would take a day or two to cross the small mountain range that separated Yaben and Bogenberg. They had to move diligently.
Keldric intended to pass the time by being a conversational partner for Lord Henri during the six-day journey to Belaf.
As the two knights leading the group chatted boisterously, the attendants and soldiers following behind also moved comfortably in a slightly relaxed atmosphere.
A life-threatening battle was scheduled for the future. No one knew how many of the soldiers would survive.
No matter how elite they were, it was inevitable that they would be nervous.
If these small talks could relieve that tension appropriately, it would be a good thing.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
Keldric and the soldiers walked for three days straight.
During that time, Keldric didn’t have to pay special attention to anything. There wasn’t a single enemy soldier or even a bandit in sight.
The road connecting Belaf and Bogenberg was generally well-maintained. Baron Yaben and Count Bogenberg were equally interested in their territories.
Thanks to that, the journey was pleasant, and the only thing to worry about was the mercenary bandits sent by Count Rasau.
“The weather…”
Alyssa, who was slightly behind Keldric, subtly spurred her horse and approached Keldric’s side.
“It seems more snow has accumulated. It’s unusual for the road to be so messy.”
“Hmm?”
Perhaps because of the snow piled up everywhere, Alyssa shielded her eyes from the sunlight with her hand and pointed to the road.
Keldric turned his gaze along her slender finger. Sure enough, the road stretching out ahead was becoming increasingly messy with snow.
“That’s strange. Saltzfluss should be nearby.”
Saltzfluss, a village that mined rock salt. It was there that Keldric had his first meeting with Lord Henri when he was traveling from Belaf to Bogenberg.
Located in the middle of the road connecting Belaf and Bogenberg, countless merchants passed through Saltzfluss.
There were merchants selling leather, and others bringing food from Bogenberg.
In other words, the road that Keldric and his party were walking on was a frequently traveled route.
A frequently traveled route would naturally have the snow melted or cleared by the passage of carts and people, so snow wouldn’t accumulate easily without special management.
However, the road was becoming increasingly messy with accumulated snow. Occasionally, there were traces of wagon wheels or hoofprints.
Keldric couldn’t hide his unease as he drove Avelin along the road. He had a bad feeling.
“Could it be that the merchants heard about the territory war and pulled out?”
Lord Henri offered a plausible guess. However, after thinking for a moment, Keldric shook his head.
“I don’t think so. This is still Lord Yaben’s territory.”
Baron Yaben valued commerce. Thanks to that, Belaf had grown into the leading trading city and commercial hub in the North.
Even with the rising tension due to the territory war, it seemed unlikely that Baron Yaben would abandon commerce altogether.
The barren permafrost of the North made farming difficult.
Instead, there were many villages that engaged in animal husbandry, but even so, they needed grains with a much higher population-supporting capacity to feed their territory residents.
That was why Baron Yaben actively encouraged commerce. Since food was fundamentally scarce, it was better to bring it in from the outside.
Now was the time when the territory war was approaching. Commerce, which allowed them to accumulate food, was important.
Unless Baron Yaben was a fool, there was no way he wouldn’t manage the salt merchants of Saltzfluss, who earned food by selling salt.
“Lord Keldric. Something is definitely wrong.”
“You think so too?”
“Yes. Merchants usually see the territory war as an opportunity. But this state of affairs means…..”
“There must be a reason. Someone must have blocked the road.”
Alyssa nodded with a worried look. Keldric fiddled with the helmet hanging on his side.
He hadn’t seen a single bandit on the way.
In that case, there were only a few forces that could block the road. For example, the troops sent by Baron Goffried.
‘I hope nothing bad has happened.’
It could be just a needless worry.
Perhaps Saltzfluss was running perfectly fine, and the reason the road was dirty with snow was simply because the merchants had ignored it and passed by.
However, Keldric had a strong feeling that something bad was going to happen.
And that became a reality after walking for another half a day.
“Lord Keldric! Saltzfluss!”
Far away, Saltzfluss, a village in Baron Yaben’s territory that made a living by mining rock salt.
From that place, which he was encountering for the first time in a long time, thick smoke was billowing.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
Keldric spurred Avelin as fast as he could.
There was no time to delay. The sight of Saltzfluss, with flames already rising, was rapidly approaching.
Lord Henri, who was urging his horse in the same way beside him, hurriedly put on his helmet and shouted.
“Lord Keldric! It’s an attack!”
“I know that!”
It had been over a week since Count Bogenberg had sent a proclamation through Baron Yaben.
The proclamation had probably already arrived, and Baron Yaben and Baron Goffried were already engaged in military actions.
And that appeared before Keldric’s eyes. It had only been three days since he left Bogenberg.
However, this could only be explained as a pre-planned attack. No matter how early the proclamation arrived, how could they send troops so quickly?
Perhaps Baron Yaben’s army, which had clashed with Baron Goffried once, had been defeated.
There was no time to continue such ominous thoughts. The territory war had already begun.
Ahead, at the entrance of the village, a few cavalrymen and soldiers with axes were rampaging. Keldric’s eyes narrowed.
Lord Henri seemed to see it too, craning his neck and sighing.
“Those are…?”
Clanging metal scale armor, gambesons embroidered with exotic patterns.
The drooping chain aventails covered their necks, connecting to visors that completely concealed their faces.
‘Soldiers of the Principality of Lisse!’
Keldric recalled the marauders from the Principality of Lisse who had attacked Schapendorf.
Back then, they lacked in terms of equipment. They didn’t even have proper spears and had to rely on their bodies.
But now, it was different.
As the screams from Salzfluss grew clearer, Keldric, who had briefly stopped near the village entrance, shouted loudly.
“Soldiers, form a dense formation! Archers, forward!”
The soldiers, who had been frantically following Keldric, began to form ranks in a flurry.
Amidst them, Keldric saw Arno and Helga, lagging behind with Alyssa.
The two young squires were trembling with fear at the sight of the Lisse cavalry.
Those terrifying foreign cavalrymen who had once burned down their peaceful village.
There was no time to delay. If the village turned to ashes, the territory would suffer a great loss. Just like the village where Arno and Helga had lived.
“Lord Henri!”
And that was not what Keldric wanted.
“We must charge!”
Through the eye slits of Lord Henri’s helmet, his pupils, widened with excitement, trembled greatly.
A glorious cavalry charge! What else could stir the heart of a knight like that?
“Sir…! I entrust my sword to you! I will join this honorable charge!”
There was no need to argue. The archers, having formed their ranks, unleashed a volley of arrows, and with that as a signal, the soldiers and the two warhorses kicked off the ground.
The usually calm and benevolent knight, and the womanizing rogue knight, were nowhere to be found here.
There were only two knights who had spent their entire lives training to kill enemies.
Martial arts, honed to the extreme, would cut down enemies with razor-sharp blades, and the terror of the battlefield was another name for a knight.
“Charge! Charge!”
“You bug-like bastards! I’ll kill you all!”
Now, the time had come to prove it.