How a Second Life Knight Lives

23. Why is my brother here?

No one spoke.

The space, filled with misdirected anger, froze in astonishment and then horror.

“Ah, so, um. So what you’re saying is.”

The count, barely regaining his composure and trying to articulate his unorganized thoughts, closed his mouth again.

Because his second son, Kaelin, interrupted him.

“Yes. Whoever it may be, the countess’s new fiancé will be chosen soon, right? Let’s kill him. And if someone else is chosen, we’ll kill them too. We’ll cover chaos with chaos. If Talin died alone on a prostitute’s ship, it would be our disgrace, but if the fiancés keep dying, it will seem like the Kalmar Count’s family is caught in a conspiracy. We will also become one of the victims. We won’t have to act so pathetically anymore. Although the chances are very low, we might be able to seize a new opportunity. People in a corner tend to make foolish choices.”

“It’s a crazy plan.”

That was Count Flens’ impression.

He had regained his composure after the initial shock.

The count tilted his head, considering the feasibility of the plan.

The vassals who saw this were horrified.

The old retainers who had spent a long time with the Count knew what the Count’s tilted head meant.

That gesture was a habitual sign that the Count was positively considering the matter presented to him.

“No, Count. It’s too dangerous. If the secret is revealed, we will not only be at odds with Kalmar but also become enemies with the families of the deceased fiancées. That would be the end. We cannot stake the Count’s family on an uncertain gamble.”

“Absolutely not. Just discussing this matter puts us on the edge of a cliff. If rumors spread, it will take ages just to explain.”

Count Flens briefly glanced at his second son, who had a cold, hardened face, and then looked around the drawing room.

Then he gave an order.

“Callin.”

“Yes, Count.”

Callin looked at where the Count was gazing.

There, a servant was standing in the corner of the drawing room, sweating.

He belonged to the high-class inn where Count Flens and his party were staying.

Callin walked towards the servant.

Sensing his fate, the servant could barely move out of fear.

All he could do was utter a single word.

“Please, spare me. Please.”

Callin did not respond.

Instead, he drew his sword in front of the servant and stabbed him in the stomach.

Then, he stabbed the servant’s neck once more as he fell, unable to resist.

“Now, there is no chance of the words spoken here leaking out. Can I trust you all?”

“Thank you for your trust. We will not betray it.”

“Of course. I was just having a cup of tea here.”

Beyond the retainers who hurriedly bowed their heads and watched their surroundings, the Count and his son exchanged conspiratorial glances.

* * *

Interestingly, all of Zhukov’s relatives resembled Zhukov.

Their facial features, height, build, and even hair were all similar.

The only difference was age, but it was clear at a glance that they were all from the same family.

Moreover, like Zhukov, Zhukov’s father, his father’s brothers, and Zhukov’s cousins were all cheerful and sociable people.

Thanks to this, the current deal quickly reached a mutually satisfactory agreement after a bit of haggling.

Even though they decided to pay a bit more, they were able to arrange delivery to the city of Kalmar.

This was thanks to Zhukov’s father, the village chief of Nordkapp.

“You don’t have to worry about the quantity, Sir William. We can supply up to four times the minimum contract amount. We have an abundance of bellflowers and yanyam. Even if it’s not us, there are many places where you can get the roots, not the flowers.”

“As you know, the reason we came all the way to Norkap to get the roots of bellflowers and yanyam is to prevent any supply issues.”

“I understand roughly what you mean. You don’t want to be swayed by wholesalers. It’s the same for us who live in the mountains. It’s good to have multiple buyers for our products. Recently, the herb buyers who go around the mountain villages have been getting more and more arrogant, so I hope this serves as a good warning.”

“I’m young and inexperienced, so I was just worrying without making any progress. But meeting you has solved all my problems, and I’m very grateful. It seems I was very lucky to meet Jukop.”

“Don’t mention it. Rather, it was Jukop who was lucky to meet you, Sir William. Thanks to you, we were able to return home safely, and my whole family is grateful to you.”

Jukop’s father and I were exchanging thanks and compliments, reaffirming that we were in the same boat. The homemade wine from the mountain village was a bonus.

While everyone was enjoying the food and drinks with a joyful heart, the door of the village hall suddenly burst open.

Along with the chilly wind unique to the mountain village, a slender person barged into the feast.

“Chief! How could you do this? Weren’t we supposed to collect all the herbs from Norkap? How could you bypass us and give the quantity to a complete stranger?”

“Halta, that’s rude. No matter how urgent it is, you shouldn’t act like this in front of our guests.”

“Chief, how can I be more polite here? I also have promised quantities to the merchants.”

“Ah, I didn’t touch your youngest brother-in-law’s quantity!”

“Brother-in-law, really?”

“You need the flowers and leaves. Sir William needs the roots. The roots.”

“Why the roots?”

“How would I know?”

“Ah! Brother-in-law, speak properly! Properly!”

That’s right.

People living in rural areas, if you look closely, are all relatives.

It’s even more so in the mountains.

So it’s not surprising that a person working as a herb collector for a wholesaler and the village chief of a mountain village are brothers-in-law.

After all, they are all from the same village.

But.

Brother Halta.

Why are you here?

Was this your hometown?

The hometown that was said to have been wiped out by looting and arson was here?

I swallowed the words that were rising inside me.

I know him, but the person arguing with my brother-in-law over there doesn’t know me.

The time he spent with me doesn’t exist for him.

There will be none in the future either.

When you think about it, the Dallaben River was a place that could not escape the influence of the city of Kalmar.

We built a watchtower on the Dallaben River and stuck a straw into the city of Kalmar, but my subordinates were ultimately people who had one foot in the city of Kalmar.

They were bound to be weak to the city’s persuasion from the beginning.

Even my former subordinates, who were good at swearing, running, and negotiating with fences, were the same.

Even though they were so angry about the looting of their hometown, when a pardon was issued in the name of the Countess, they switched sides to become guides for the punitive force.

Well, you weren’t the only one.

As I watched the two’s banter with cold eyes,

They finally seemed to notice my gaze, stopped their bickering, and approached me with awkward smiles.

“Sir William. This guy grew up without manners, so he’s a bit rough, but he’s not a bad guy. Most of the herbs in Norcap are gathered by him and his friend. They’re working for the Kalmar herb wholesaler now, but it might be useful to know them later.”

“Sorry for the noise. My name is Halta. I’m a local here.”

Seeing the back of Halta’s head as he bowed politely, I remembered that day.

The day we were shattered.

*

“Bandit Knight William! Surrender immediately. If you surrender, I will give you the opportunity to die honorably.”

“Honorable my ass. Eat shit!”

As soon as we confronted the punitive force, we were hit unilaterally by their catapults, and my head felt so dazed that I felt like an idiot.

The palisade surrounding the watchtower was shattered, and I was pushed to the outskirts of the waterway with the surviving subordinates, catching my breath.

The subordinates who had climbed the watchtower in the center of the waterway to resist were isolated. The ladder was hit directly by a rock from the catapult and shattered. Moreover, we ran out of arrows, so we had to tear down the watchtower to throw stones.

These bastards who don’t know moderation.

They even brought a catapult to smash a place where refugee imitators of bandits were huddling together and playing house.

The rumor that the Countess of Kalmar was not an ordinary rich person was not a lie.

“You bandits in the watchtower! Come down with your hands up. If you come down quietly, we will spare your lives. But if you continue to resist up there, we will destroy the watchtower with the catapult. Surrender before the rocks from the catapult fall on your heads!”

Apart from the noise urging us to surrender, the well-armed punitive force slowly advanced and occupied the waterway.

There was nothing I could do for the subordinates isolated in the watchtower.

I didn’t know what to do.

“Boss. Let’s retreat. There’s no way now.”

“But there are still some left in the watchtower?”

“They’re just unlucky to be there.”

“Damn it.”

While I was tearing at my hair, the guys on the watchtower moved busily and hung up a pair of yellow underwear.

They probably hung it up as a white flag.

We didn’t have anything that could be called white clothes.

I just hope the suppression army recognizes it as a white flag.

Fortunately, the suppression army accepted the yellow underwear as a white flag.

I decided to retreat, leaving behind my subordinates who were coming down one by one on the rope.

When I say retreat, it sounds like we had somewhere to go,

but there was nowhere for us to go from the Dalraben River where the suppression army was swarming.

Other bandits were being equally crushed.

Some bandits who joined hands with the nobles even joined the suppression army.

So we went to the mountains.

Instead of the familiar reed fields by the river, we decided to hide our bodies between the trees and hills.

But even in the mountains, we couldn’t escape the suppression army.

An enemy with a small shield and a short sword charged at me.

Behind him, a man with a long spear was watching for an opportunity to target my body.

At the moment the shield collided, I barely managed to block it with my arm guard. I also narrowly avoided the short sword that was stabbing at my side.

But I couldn’t even think of avoiding the spear blade that was flying at me from a distance.

Whoosh!

I threw myself to the side with a chilling feeling, but I couldn’t avoid the spear blade that grazed my cheek. I had to be thankful that it didn’t pierce my face.

As I rolled down the mountain slope, thinking I was going to die like this, an arrow flew from a close distance.

When the enemy who had been stabbing me with the spear was hit by the arrow and fell, the one with the shield blew a whistle and retreated.

“Captain, hurry!”

It was Halta, who could run well even in the mountains like on flat ground.

I desperately ran, staring at the back of Halta’s head as he ran ahead.

I didn’t even care about the wound on my cheek.

That day, I was able to survive like that.

*

The back of the head from that time is right in front of me.

It was a really strange feeling.

It felt like the past and present were together.

Still, I could keep the smiling mask from breaking.

Let’s do business. Let’s make a living.

I chanted a spell once and pushed everything, past or present, far away into some dark, hidden corner of my heart.

And when I returned to the city of Kalmar, rumors were sweeping through the city that the Countess’s new fiancé had been decided.