During his brief stay in Belam, Keldric had a few things to take care of.
The first thing he did was visit the Bogenberg Trading Company.
Ludovico, who had recommended the Bogenberg Tournament to him before, was now the branch manager and greeted Keldric.
“Lord Keldric of the honorable Bellaf Family. It is an honor to see you again.”
“Ludovico.”
Keldric wasn’t close enough to Ludovico to reminisce about old times. However, these small gestures were how one managed their connections.
From Ludovico’s perspective, giving the recommendation letter was a clear act of goodwill and an investment. Keldric didn’t need to repay him financially right away.
However, Keldric accepted Ludovico into his network.
That was good for both of them. Keldric could easily draw on the Trading Company’s connections when he acquired a territory later on, and Ludovico had nothing to lose by being friendly with a skilled knight.
“I have heard many rumors about you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You won the Bogenberg Tournament admirably. As expected, my judgment was spot on.”
“Don’t flatter me too much. I was just lucky.”
“Then, the gods must have blessed you. Such luck to win a tournament of that magnitude. It must be a divine blessing.”
As Keldric chatted with Ludovico about this and that, the topic inevitably shifted to the territory war.
“Do you know Lord Gerhard of the Olenmeier Family?”
“Lord Gerhard, you say? I’ve heard of him in passing.”
Ludovico would now settle in Belam and spend the rest of his life here, but his true nature was that of an itinerant merchant who wandered from place to place.
He was well-informed about the territory war rumors. It was thanks to the merchants affiliated with the Trading Company branch who brought in various news.
Since the Bogenberg Trading Company was in charge of a portion of the Yaben barony’s logistics, the merchants naturally saw and heard things as they traveled.
“The Olenmeier Family is a new family. But they seem to have prepared thoroughly.”
“Since when?”
“At least three or four years.”
“Is the Olenmeier Family of barbarian origin?”
“Barbarian… not quite… but it is certainly true that they are descendants of barbarians.”
Keldric roughly summarized what Ludovico was saying.
The Olenmeier Family had received their title and name from the Emperor for political reasons. And that was only a few months ago.
Moreover, they were descendants of barbarians who lived in the far northwestern corner of the Empire, on a peninsula- like land.
Even if they had been civilized and converted to the Imperial faith, the gap of the past hundreds of years could not be bridged in an instant.
There must have been some kind of deal between them.
Emperor and Count Gottfried recognized the right of taxation as a hereditary knight’s title and fief, and the Olenmeier Family, having gained a small amount of legitimacy, would help Count Gottfried’s territory war to establish their position.
There was nothing they could do about legitimacy. It required time to inherit and maintain the family for generations, in other words, to solidify ownership of the land.
And to survive in the meantime, it was crucial to establish a foothold in aristocratic society.
“I enjoyed today. If you don’t mind, I’ll come again sometime.”
“Oh, how could I mind? Please come whenever you feel comfortable.”
Keldric was quite satisfied with his meeting with Ludovico.
Keldric knew very well how important it was to gather information he didn’t know.
When he first came out into the world from Carlton Village, he had been in trouble more than once because he didn’t know anything.
Knowledge is power. If he were faced with a territory war situation like now, Keldric valued information about the enemy above all else.
However, even if knowing the enemy and knowing yourself guarantees victory, if there was a crack in the interior, he would have to quickly patch it up before worrying about the enemy.
On the way back to the inner castle, Keldric somehow had that thought.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
“Oh, Lord Keldric.”
“…Lord Lothar.”
Keldric barely managed to hide his displeased expression as he happened to run into Lord Lothar.
First impressions determine everything.
And looking back, Lord Lothar’s first impression was the worst.
His attitude of ordering a complete stranger around. Keldric didn’t like that at all.
It was common for nobles and knights to be arrogant, but most of them were like that while still being able to tell right from wrong.
“What a coincidence. Why don’t we have a sparring match? I want to practice combat wrestling.”
“Lord Lothar. Sparring is fine, but we should avoid anything that could cause injury in a situation where we are about to go to war.”
“Just don’t get hurt.”
“….”
In that sense, Lord Lothar seemed a little… off.
He wasn’t mean or had a bad personality. Lord Lothar said that without batting an eye and talked normally.
In other words, he thought that was normal.
A hothouse flower shivers even when a cold breeze blows. That was probably the perfect description for Lord Lothar.
In other words, Lord Lothar seemed to be ignorant of the world.
“Well… if you don’t want to spar, let’s talk about something else.”
“Alright.”
“I heard you won the Bogenberg Tournament?”
“I was lucky.”
“Luck. Well, I guess that played a part.”
“….”
Keldric frowned. Lord Lothar, who was walking next to him, was only looking ahead.
Looking at him, Keldric was racking his brains with thoughts like, ‘What is this idiot?’
Lord Lothar, the eldest son of Count Yaben.
One might mistakenly think that Count Yaben was a vassal of Count Bogenberg.
However, although they were close, Count Yaben was clearly an independent lord with strong authority.
Influential nobles were not just those of high status, such as counts or dukes.
A count who had grown greatly as an independent lord, like Count Yaben, was greatly respected in aristocratic society.
Keldric felt like he knew the circumstances of how Lord Lothar had been raised so pampered.
And he could roughly guess where Lord Lothar’s bad habit of blurting out words without thinking came from.
Living like a complete tyrant was something that only happened in novels. If you wanted to find such a tyrant in reality, Lord Lothar would be the best candidate.
“Lord Keldric. What do you think is our potential problem?”
Keldric paused for a moment. From now on, he would have to carefully choose his words.
“Potential problem, you say…?”
“Well. Not that I want to blame my father, but the last defeat was quite painful.”
“Oh……”
Keldric couldn’t help but exclaim.
He had thought he was just a thoughtless, immature brat, but he had been keeping his father’s defeat in his heart all along.
Perhaps he had been too hasty. Too much prejudice can obscure a person’s good qualities.
“In fact, I just came back from checking on the soldiers yesterday.”
“Is that so?”
“Everything was a mess. They were caught up in some strange defeatism… They didn’t look like soldiers from a winning army at all.”
That was only natural, since they had been defeated in the last battle.
However, Lord Lothar didn’t seem to think so.
“Lord Keldric. I think the soldiers you brought are excellent.”
“They are Count Bogenberg’s soldiers. They have been trained as elites.”
“Indeed, they seem to be elites. I heard they fought once before coming here.”
Keldric briefly recalled the battle at Salzfluss.
The way they had fearlessly dealt with the mercenaries of the Reiss Principality. That was certainly the behavior of well-trained soldiers.
There was even a joke going around that ‘They are not afraid of anything except their wives nagging them.’ A single victory had noticeably boosted the morale of the soldiers.
“Since my father is currently in bed, I should thank you on his behalf. Thank you for your efforts for the territory.”
“It was something I had to do.”
Keldric had a new perspective on Lord Lothar.
Lord Lothar still didn’t know much about the world and blurted out words without thinking, but he seemed to have some sense in his head.
“More than that, Lord Keldric. If the soldiers you brought are that elite… can I expect something from you in the next battle?”
“I can’t give you a definite answer, but the soldiers will do their best.”
“I also have high expectations for your performance. You are the winner of the Bogenberg Tournament, after all.”
That damn Bogenberg Tournament winner.
Keldric realized for the first time in his meeting with Lord Lothar that there were disadvantages to having a reputation.
“So, Lord Keldric. I would like to entrust you with the vanguard in the next battle…”
“Lord Lothar.”
So, wouldn’t it be okay to correct Lord Lothar now?
Keldric saw a glimmer of potential in Lord Lothar. As the saying goes, even a blank sheet of paper is better than nothing.
Even if he was just an immature noble young master now, he could be reborn as a new person if he was properly molded.
“I don’t think such things should be decided rashly.”
“Hmm?”
“I can’t give you a definite answer on a matter where we don’t know where the next battlefield will be or when it will take place.”
“….”
“The charge of me and the other knights should also be decided after assessing the situation.”
Lord Lothar looked like he didn’t understand at all. Keldric sighed at that point.
“If a knight charges, what sharp tactics would they have?”
“Pardon?”
“Since the soldiers you brought are also forty elites, if you put them in front and you become the main force to charge, the enemies will surely collapse.”
“Lord Lothar. Count Gottfried also has knights.”
“They are no match for us.”
The words, ‘Is that why you came back so beautifully broken?’ rose to Keldric’s throat, but he barely managed to swallow them.
It was a disaster. Keldric changed his mind. This wasn’t a problem with Lord Lothar’s character.
“If we have the heavily armored mercenaries advance and the archers support them, the knights can charge in the meantime…”
“….”
The real problem was the lack of experience, as if he had never fought a single battle!
People who have eaten rice cakes know how to eat them. Lord Lothar, who had not experienced much fighting, was lacking in strategy and tactics.
It would be one thing if he was only lacking in that, but he was even as stubborn as an ox. Keldric felt a headache coming on.
“Lord Lothar. I don’t think this is a matter you should decide alone.”
“But I am my father’s proxy.”
“Count Yaben would not have decided such matters alone either. Let’s calmly share our opinions.”
“…If that’s your opinion.”
Lord Lothar looked like he was eating shit even though he had reluctantly agreed, but it was a relief that he had retreated even half a step.
Keldric felt uneasy about the upcoming territory war.
It was an uneasiness that it might turn out to be more troublesome than he thought.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
From early dawn, people flocked to Belam.
It wasn’t just merchants. After Count Yaben’s last defeat, the vassal knights from each region, who had regrouped, gathered with their soldiers.
At best, each knight brought four or five soldiers, which was considered a lot, but since they were gathering mercenaries anyway, the manpower was sufficient.
Thanks to this, Keldric had to respond to Lord Lothar’s call from early in the morning.
“Huuu…”
Inside the cold inner castle, Alyssa followed Keldric with stiff steps.
The cold of the north was gradually getting stronger. The cold would subside when winter passed and spring came, but it
was because the sporadic blizzards that occurred in summer were approaching.
Perhaps soon, after the month changed, blizzards would rage.
After wandering around the cool inner castle like a freezer, Keldric and Alyssa arrived at a room where several knights were gathered.
The warmth melted the chill clinging to his skin. Flames blazed in the large fireplace situated on one side of the room.
“Lord Keldric.”
“Lord Henri.”
With a long table between them, Keldric went to sit next to Lord Henri. Alyssa naturally took the seat beside him.
“A goddamn awful morning. I can’t seem to get used to this blasted cold.”
“It’s bearable enough.”
“God damn it, are you Northerners even the same species as me?”
Ignoring Lord Henri’s nonsense, Keldric surveyed the knights gathered around the table.
Three knights sat with their respective squires. After waiting a little longer, another knight entered, bringing the total to four.
Including Keldric and Lord Henri, there were six knights in all. With this many knights gathered, it wasn’t difficult for Keldric to guess what lay ahead.
“We’re going to be busy.”
“…Indeed.”
A full-scale battle was just around the corner. Keldric’s fist clenched tightly.
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