Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Cadet William

The man who had introduced himself as William slowly explained:
— We are peasants who serve in Duke Urey’s territory. As you know, since the Grand Council, Duke Urey has been collecting excessive taxes, which has caused more and more people to abandon their homeland.
— I know it well. Nearly a hundred bastards like you have already entered.
— We came to the Far East for that dream as well.
— Does that dream include attacking a merchant’s carriage and killing him?
— Of course, we think that is something you could easily misunderstand, Lord Regent.
One wrong word and his head would go flying.
William swallowed hard and filled his voice with desperation.
— I swear that we have absolutely nothing to do with that attack. The only reason we found that carriage was because someone told us about it.
— Someone told you?
— Yes.
William explained the incident.
— As we were heading toward the Archduchy, someone approached us. They looked similar to us, but they were armed. We were wary, thinking they might be bandits trying to rob what little we had left, but that was not the case. Rather, they showed us kindness.
— What kind of kindness?
— They said they could give food to the hungry.
Ferda tilted his head.
— You don’t look stupid enough to believe that.
— If you were desperate enough, would you believe it?
When a person is desperate, what wouldn’t they do?
He decided to understand it.
— Continue.
— Anyway… that’s how we arrived at that horrific scene you saw, Lord Regent. There were dead people, fresh food scattered across the ground, weapons to protect oneself lying around, and even precious jewels.
Ferda read the intent behind those words and asked directly:
— The fact that you deliberately mentioned the jewels, is that because you are trying to claim your innocence?
— But as I said before, we are starving refugees. At that moment, we were only hungry, and gold cannot be eaten. That is why we did not touch it.
— For people who claim that, you certainly took things that cannot be eaten either.
Ferda recalled the missing weapons and questioned him.
— We took the weapons because we needed a means to protect ourselves during the rest of the journey. After all, there is no guarantee that we won’t be attacked again.
— The food would surely have rotted, so you picked it up, and you needed weapons to protect yourselves. Is that what you are saying?
— That is correct.
Ferda looked at them and let out a laugh as if he found it ridiculous.
— Sure, let’s say those reasons exist. Then what about that gold coin you pocketed?
— Huh?
— Did you pocket it in case we refused to take you in as refugees?
— What do you mean by that…?
— Don’t play dumb. How do you think we found you and came all the way here?
William put on an expression that genuinely reflected he didn’t have the slightest clue.
It was impossible to tell whether that was pure shamelessness or if it was truly the first time he had heard of it.
— Lord Ferda.
At that moment, Isabella suddenly intervened.
— That gold coin was not taken by the man named William.
— Then someone else?
Isabella tilted her head and pointed at someone among the group of refugees.
The exact point her finger indicated was not clear, but among them, a man was trembling so visibly that she could be certain.
— William. Bring that crawling bastard over here.
— Yes.
William dragged the man Ferda had pointed out.
The face of the man who had been bowing his head was revealed.
A thief with a guilty conscience was dripping with cold sweat.
William glared at him with fury and pressed him:
— Turn your pockets inside out.
— …
— What are you waiting for? Show them right now!
The man turned his pockets inside out with trembling hands.
Clack—.
What fell out was a single gold coin.
Ferda picked up the gold coin.
Unmistakably, it was the gold coin used as currency.
— That is quite a large sum of money for refugees to have, isn’t it?
William grabbed the man by the collar with an expression of betrayal.
— Evans! I clearly told you not to touch the valuables! Didn’t I tell you that you would invite misfortune if you carelessly touched the treasure of the dead?
— I-I’m sorry. But opportunities like this don’t come often, and who knows when another one will come? I thought a single gold coin would be fine…
— You idiot! Do you know what kind of situation your action has caused—!?
— Enough.
Ferda cut off their argument.
— Cut the farce and kneel down.
William and the man knelt again.
The man named Evans trembled, while William listed what he had done and pleaded:
— Your Regency. Please generously overlook this mistake born of our stupidity.
— Why should I?
— Although we couldn’t bury them for fear of hindering the investigation, we recovered all the bodies and held funerals for them. And knowing that the carriage was heading to Count Consillus’s territory, I went there myself and reported it. If you take me with you, they will recognize me.
— You reported the incident and held funerals, so you want me to turn a blind eye to what you did?
— Please forgive the transgression of these foolish people and give us a chance. There is a god in their hearts.
William appealed with a voice full of conviction.
However, Ferda’s eyes looking at William were infinitely cold.
— Given that you touched the treasure of a merchant belonging to the Archduchy, I have no intention of viewing you as mere refugees. You are crawling bastards trying to sneak into the Archduchy, and there is no need to show you mercy. How can you guarantee you did not participate in the murder?
— …
— Even if you claim you arranged things to honor the souls of the dead, the fact that you stole money from the merchant’s pocket does not change. Saying you did it because you were hungry is just an excuse. If you find yourself desperate again, you will steal again and again. Am I wrong?
It was an assertion he did not dare deny outright.
In the awkward silence, Ferda spoke again.
— But there is a way.
William raised his head at a single thread of hope.
— What is it?
— The one who committed the sin only needs to receive the proper punishment.
Ferda threw the sword lying beside him in front of the man named Evans.
— Wash away your sin with your blood.
— T-that is…
— Was that too difficult? I’ll put it in simple terms.
Ferda made a throat-slitting gesture with his index finger and said:
— It means kill yourself.
All color drained from Evans’s face.
— If you die, the rest live. It is a more than fair deal, don’t you think?
— I, I…
— Your Regency!
William intervened.
— He may be a fool, but he has a good heart. He only risked his life for his comrades in this harsh winter. Please show mercy.
— I will not. End this quickly.
Ferda stood firm, but William insisted with tenacity.
— I am the representative of these refugees. Can you not take one of my arms instead and appease your anger?
— An arm?
Ferda made a face of disgust.
— You are talking nonsense.
— If that is not enough, something else…
— Didn’t I tell you? You are crawling bastards. If a baby rat stole from the granary, would cutting off the mother rat’s arm satisfy you?
What was reflected in his eyes was revulsion.
— Mother, cub, leader, subordinate… a rat is just a rat. A life for a life. If you are going to substitute Evans’s life, it can only be with your life.
A life.
William glanced at Evans’s face.
He was trembling with fear.
He did not want to die.
That was natural for a human being.
William closed his eyes and reflected briefly.
— Understood.
William accepted the reality without hesitation and dragged the knife placed before Evans toward himself.
Then, the refugees who had been lowering their heads protested:
— Wh-what!
— That is not allowed!
— How can you do this to us after bringing us all the way here…!
Bang—!
— Kyaak!
A blast of wind from Ferda’s hand silenced the murmurs.
— There will not be a next time. If you want to die in his place, go ahead, keep chattering. As I said, crawling bastards are crawling bastards.
No one could open their mouths after that.
They knew their own lives were more precious than those of others.
When there was no response even after several minutes, Ferda said with a scoff:
— This man stepped up for you, but you don’t even have the courage to step up for him.
Ferda swept the sword before him to the side.
Instead, he placed his hand on William’s head.
— I myself will end you painlessly. Any last words?
Facing impending death, William spoke with a trembling voice:
— If you take these people safely to the Archduchy, I will have nothing more to say.
— Loud and clear.
Mana concentrated in Ferda’s hand.
The impact of mana struck his head.
Thud!
With a dull thud, William’s body collapsed limply.
William was not originally a common peasant.
And he was someone who had no need to become the leader of refugees.
He was a knight cadet, a man who stood out among the cadets.
He understood honor and never neglected the duty of the privileged.
His martial arts were outstanding, and he accumulated military merits even in the war against King Hudret.
No one doubted that he would become a knight.
However, his path was not smooth.
It happened on the day when his knighting ceremony was not far off; precisely when only one trial remained before he could become a knight.
That day, the war with King Hudret came to an end at the Grand Council.
The fate of the defeated is always miserable.
Especially for the people of Duke Urey’s territory, even more so.
The defeated Duke Urey owed sixty thousand gold coins in reparations.
To an ordinary noble it would have been pocket change, but to Duke Urey, who had already spent money on this war, sixty thousand gold coins was an enormous sum.
And it was already too late to borrow from anyone.
In the end, he began squeezing the surrounding villages to settle the debt.
Because of that, the refugees abandoning their villages increased.
Duke Urey could not simply let that pass.
Population is national power.
Duke Urey tracked down the refugees, captured them all, made them slaves, and publicly executed some with ostentatious cruelty.
Tyranny in the name of unity began.
William had to participate in such a mission.
As the final trial to become a knight from his position as a cadet, he was assigned to track down slaves.
William led the soldiers and successfully tracked the refugees.
Until he undertook the mission, he was full of spirit.
Refugees are a plague.
When the territory was in chaos, he could not forgive citizens who fled instead of helping.
They were troublesome scum, forces of evil, wicked enemies who deserved punishment.
But what lay before his eyes was a complicated reality, very different from his ideals.
No, it wasn’t even complicated.
While accumulating books and honor, he had simply failed to look at what he should have seen.
Those who were supposedly plunging the duchy into chaos were emaciated and helpless.
Nothing remained but skin and bones, and even babies who should have been plump could only gasp for air without the strength to cry.
All they had were things like pitchforks and shovels.
They were all desperately facing a fully armed army.
The reason was simple.
Because they wanted to live.
At that moment, William thought about what he had to defend.
The people serve the lord.
The king exists by serving the people.
What is left of a king who does not serve the people?
It was a simple yet cruel mission, and William was tormented.
One last time.
Just one last time; if he turned a blind eye and pretended not to know, his life would proceed smoothly.
In the end, he made his decision.
The sword that should have pointed at the refugees pointed at the soldier following him.
William wounded his own followers with his sword, made it look like they had betrayed him, and sent them away.
After that, William slit the throat of the horse he had arrived on and fed the refugees with its meat.
He could not become a knight, but William had no regrets.
Because he did not doubt that this was the reason he held a sword, he did not consider even this death to be in vain.
— Gasp!
William sat up abruptly like someone waking from a terrible nightmare.
He definitely thought he had died, so there should not have been another awakening.
He felt his own body and muttered:
— I-is this the afterlife?
— This is the world of the living.
— Gasp!
William was startled once again.
That voice that had insulted and despised him was right beside him.
He turned his head and there was Ferda.
— You were unconscious for an hour.
That look in his eyes from before was no longer there.
He wondered if he had truly ended up in another world.
— Am I… not dead?
— Far from dying. I only struck your head with a common stun spell.
— Why didn’t you kill me…?
— Only because it would be a waste to kill a well-trained knight.
William’s eyes widened.
Ferda looked at him with a pathetic expression.
— Did you think you hid it well? It was so obvious it was pitiful.
— I see…
Thinking about it, it wasn’t that strange.
He was wearing half-plate armor and even had a sword.
— But I am not a knight. At best, I am just a nobody who is barely a knight cadet.
— Even a knight cadet mixed in with refugees is not ordinary.
— That is true.
— Then you betrayed your lord.
At those words, William smiled bitterly.
— I did something deserving of death. A knight who betrays his own master…
It was clearly treason, and William did not deny it.
— It doesn’t matter. You said you were only a cadet, right?
— That is true, but…
— You were not officially a knight yet, so there is no treason either. You are just an ordinary deserter.
Ferda knew it well, coming from a family of knights.
— I have something to ask you, who returned from death.
— Speak.
— Was it worth it?
Ferda turned his head.
There were the refugees.
They were all cheerfully eating stew together.
— You sacrificed yourself for that fellow, but not a single one of them sacrificed themselves for you. Even so, was it worth sacrificing yourself for them?
What Ferda was saying was something William also remembered.
Facing death, he had told whoever would die in his place to break the silence.
However, no one broke the silence.
It was enough to feel betrayed.
— Nobody wants to die.
Even so, William smiled.
— That is precisely why I am the one leading them.
He betrayed his lord, but he did not betray his conviction.
— I understand.
Ferda looked at him with a satisfied expression and then turned his head.
Beside him was a kneeling man.
The man who stole a gold coin, Evans.
— Was your name Evans?
— Huh? Y-yes, that’s right!
The kneeling man nodded vigorously.
— This man took the blame for your foolish action. What do you think that means?
— I… I owe him a debt.
— Not just any debt; you owe him your life. So from now on, you will be William’s loyal servant. If he dies, I will show you what a dog’s life truly is. Understood?
— Y-yes! I understand! I will engrave those words in my heart!
Having said what he needed to say, Ferda stood up.
— Then see you later. Sir William.
— Yes, please go carefully.
The moment he saw him off, a single syllable echoed in his ear.
— Sir…?
Sir.
A title that only knights can possess.
Yet, William is someone who could not become a knight.
Or did Ferda simply bestow it on him by mistake?
Or does it mean he properly recognizes him as a knight?
To the current William, it was a question that would end in a Zen riddle.
It seemed that the case of the carriage attack was proceeding without any particular gain.
Just as Ferda was about to return to the castle with Ruri, Isabella called out to Ferda.
— Lord Regent. During the inquiry, there are people who could be witnesses. I think you should listen to their story at least once.
Her tone suggested they were quite important figures.
Standing next to her were a woman and a child.
Ferda asked the woman:
— Do you have something to say?
— I’m sorry, but it’s not me… my son knows something…
The one he had to speak with was a snot-nosed six-year-old brat.
— What’s your name?
— I’m Ian.
— Child, you are supposed to say “imnida.” Lord Regent, I am sorry. The child has not matured yet…
— I don’t care about trivial titles. Ian, do you have something to tell me?
The brat nodded.
— It was when Uncle Grim Reaper and Uncle Knight were talking to each other.
— Uncle Grim Reaper?
The woman answered in his place:
— He was wearing a black robe, so he said he looked like that.
— I see. Continue.
— Yes. So that Uncle Grim Reaper was riding a horse and leaving somewhere, and I saw him drop something. It didn’t look like anyone else saw it, so I secretly put it in my pocket to give it to Mommy.
— What did he drop?
— I-it’s this.
The woman who had been keeping it pulled something out and showed it to Ferda.
It was a scarf.
The scarf made of green fabric did not seem particularly unusual at first glance, but seeing the pattern embedded in the corner made him change his mind.
‘This is…’
Ferda narrowed his eyes.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this unique scale pattern was the Pascal family crest.
‘And the two swords in the background between those…’
Without a doubt.
It belonged to the Pascal Mercenary Company.