Chapter 254: 253

Chapter 253

Knight’s Land (3)

At this point, I had already made up my mind. This time, I would truly focus upon the growth of the knights, not myself. I was about to lead them to a higher place using this opportunity as a springboard. So, I was forced to stay still, my butt itching to move while I listened to the reports of messengers coming every day. It wasn’t easy.

I wanted to grab my sword and run out of the fort right now.

In particular, when one messenger spoke of a type of monster that was quite tough, my heart had already left the fort, charging over the wild plain. I was distracted while imagining myself run across the land, engaged in a fierce battle with monsters.

Into my mind came countless reasons for me not to leave the fortress. First, Arwen and the other champions needed information about monsters. My top priority was to look at the appearance and characteristics detailed in each report, gauge their identity, and tell the champions how sharp their teeth and potent their venom were.

Only then could the knights and soldiers stem the carnage and reduce the damage done to the suffering people. This would not be something I could do if I left the fort and wandered around the kingdom.

Secondly, I had to follow the royal decree. The king sent a messenger several times to warn me, urging me to stay stationary in the central region. The king had closed his eyes to my current behavior of refusing to return, but I knew he would tolerate no more disobedience. In the event of me violating this decree, I will be prevented from fighting where I want to fight in the coming war against the Empire. I would be stationed where the king wanted me stationed.

Thirdly, Vincent’s presence was on my mind.

In the end, it had been Vincent who persuaded the king not to keep me in the palace. Now, it was Vincent who would take responsibility for me in the event of an accident. It was something I never wished: for Vincent to be punished on my behalf.

There were countless other reasons why I shouldn’t leave the fortress. I reminded myself of that and forced myself to stay. It was a terrible punishment for me and unbearable torture.

The vitality I had regained after escaping from the cramped royal palace no longer remained in me. Day by day, I lost my lust for life. A terrible lethargy came upon me.

I felt like I would become mentally ill were I to persevere a little longer. By that time, the urgent reports and requests that had rained down upon me slowed to a trickle. The knights and champions had adapted to battling the ancient monsters, and my information was no longer needed.

Then, the stress that had accumulated within me made a gear explode in the clockwork of my mind.

“Uh…?”

When I came to my senses, I was galloping out of the fort and onto the plain.

“It’s true… I’ve already come out, so I can’t go back now.”

I looked toward the fortress, which was so distant that it soon went out of view, then turned myself straight on the horse. Just like that, I headed to the west, riding straight for a village afflicted by monsters.

It was unavoidable to wander longer on a journey without a capable guide, and I had none. However, I was able to reach my destination in good time after riding without halt. Once there, I acted as if I was one of the leading knights, reassuring the villagers. Just at the visit of one knight, they rejoiced as if they had been saved.

Standing before them, my cause became clear: the development of the kingdom’s knights was the priority. The penalties Vincent and I would face in the future became a minor nuisance when weighed against my purpose.

It was a matter of life or death for these villagers now, and I knew it was more important for me to endure for their sake so that they could enjoy peace tomorrow.

I shook the last bit of hesitation from my heart and took action. Through the tales of the villagers, I learned where the monster den was and attacked it straight away.

The monsters that I encountered weren’t very great. However, they had bred at a tremendous pace in a short time. And I, regrettably for them, poured out the bitter resentment I had held pent up within myself for the past half-year.

When I gripped my sword and cleaved into them, a pleasurable feeling coursed through me.

I was able to relieve some of my accumulated stress while I cut down the monsters that rushed at me in an endless horde. Once I completely destroyed their colony, I even felt full. My sense of satisfaction did not last too long.

“Your Highness, it’s time to stop.”

I had barely shaken the blood from my sword when Carls, his palace knights, and that damned Jordan came to me. For a moment, I thought I would run away, but Carls had read my thoughts well. He started listing to me what would happen were I to escape.

The consequences were as terrifying as possible, and Carls’ description was astonishingly vivid and in a tragic tone.

“All those futures will be averted if your Highness returns with us now.”

I was discouraged, considering the futures I had known would come to me, without having fully realized how grim they were. So, I returned with the search party.

My footsteps felt heavy. It was as if I was thirsty, yet my lips were wet. It was as if I hungered after barely brushing the crumbs from my mouth. It was then that I recalled the villagers’ faces, and so calmed my heart. They had been happy to see me and cheered when they heard that the monsters had been annihilated. I even laughed as I remembered their stupid faces when they realized that the one they had thought to be a knight was, in truth, the Crown Prince.

And I locked that memory away in my heart. Above all else, the priority now was to save those who had fallen in danger. The first thing I had to do was get the populace back to their peaceful routines.

In other words, I had done my duty as a crown prince and followed the sense of duty I bore as a knight.

“I heard your excuse.”

I woke up from my thoughts at that voice.

“So, your Highness wants to say your actions were not a big mistake because you see it as your knightly mission and your princely duty?”

Vincent was staring at me with a cold face.

“Uh…”

I once again justified my actions, even if my words might sound a bit brazen to Vincent. My second attempt didn’t work either.

“Didn’t you yourself say that by holding a sword on your own, you can settle this little mess, but it can’t be the fundamental solution?”

Vincent denied my cause with that single statement.

“Right now, neither the champions nor the knights need my information anymore-”

Before I was done speaking, Vincent snapped a stack of letters in front of me.

“These are the letters that flew into the fortress while your Highness was away. Please check who sent each letter and what they contain.”

I started with the pile of letters as I read them one by one. Some were from the champions, while others were from lords. Each sender was different, and the letters came from every direction, but their contents were similar.

The letters were asking me for information on newly revealed monsters and countermeasures to employ against them.

“Where are these guys crawling out from now?”

I turned away from Vincent with an awkward face and started writing replies to every letter.

‘Shwack!’ Vincent snatched up the letters I had finished writing.

He then called a knight who was waiting outside, handed him the letters, and spoke, making sure I heard him.

“This is very urgent. Pick out the fastest cavalry and make sure this correspondence arrives as quickly as possible.”

I was embarrassed, and Vincent turned to me with folded arms. There was no malice in his gaze.

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“Woo. That at least is done, good. In the first place, I didn’t believe your Highness would have an accident. Still, I can accept this.”

“Then-”

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“No. I will report it to his Majesty. Because that is the promise I had made.”

Vincent said that the Balahards never broke their promises, no matter what, and that he would report all events to the king. I didn’t have a reason to stop him — I didn’t care. I was deep in thought, wondering whether I might be completely excluded from the next war when I heard Vincent give a long sigh.

“His Majesty said he did not believe your Highness would fully follow the royal decree. So he told me that I could close my eyes to only one infraction. He also said he would trust my judgment of when to show leniency.”

So I wasn’t done for! Vincent’s words brought light to my eyes.

“I’m going to report that I was compelled by the lack of available troops in a situation where we were fighting against time. That is in my remit, so his Majesty will not consider it very strange.”

“That means…”

“Even if the report is sent, there will be no great disadvantage.”

“Vincent, you’re the best!”

I got up from my seat and hugged Vincent.

“Only this time. Next time, you will have to face his Majesty’s punishment directly.”

“Of course! I’m not going to have an accident again! This time I felt really cramped, so something happened to my head! I truly wondered if I would die from suffering such anxiety.

“I know. That’s why I didn’t stop your Highness, even when I saw you run off.”

Vincent said that even though he knew I was leaving the fort, he had tolerated it.

“Then why did Carls and Jordan-”

“I thought you would come back after riding away some of your boredom. If I knew you would go so far, I wouldn’t have let you leave.”

Vincent sighed and pushed me away. Then he took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to me.

“This letter is also for your Highness, so I hand it over,” Vincent said and turned around, leaving the room. I wasn’t sure if Vincent held it against me for leaving. Hearing him speak with the knights outside the door, I checked the origin of the letter.

It came from the Gifted Lion Citadel. Without hesitation, I removed the seal from the envelope, and inside were two letters with different seals.

I first read the one stamped by Montpellier.

———

As a result of secretly spreading rumors, as commanded, a large number of mercenaries have been gathered. I will filter out those among them who are notorious or suspicious and send them back over the border.

———

I immediately checked the other letter. It was stamped with the seal of the Central Army’s commander, tasked with guarding the border.

———

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The work of sorting out and classifying those who appear to be spies and impure individuals from among the groups sent by Count Montpellier has been completed. However, the number of those remaining is much larger than expected. Confusion is expected to spread if they are sent into the kingdom at once.

I seek your Highness’s wisdom on how to do this.

———

I went through past reports I kept in my drawer before writing a reply to the commander. Among them, I found the name of the champion who was closest to the southern fortress and grabbed my pen.

———

I will send Bernardo Eli. Hand the mercenaries over to him.

———

Another letter was also written on the spot, urging Eli to head south. I called Carls, who was waiting outside the door. I stressed the urgent need and that he had to make sure the letters were delivered as soon as possible.

Carls, having been instructed, looked down and tried to leave the room.

“There is one more thing,” I stopped him. “There should be a guy named Hansen among the rangers from the north at this time.”

“Ah. The ranger, Jordan’s-”

I nodded at Carls and ordered, “Find him and tell him to come to my room right away.”

“I will take care of it straight away.”

Soon after Carls had left, the new ranger found my room. Next to him was Jordan, who I had not even called.

“He’s in the presence of the Crown Prince of Leonberg. If he makes a mistake, I won’t let it go,” Jordan growled. The ranger rookie, who had been frozen, tensed even tighter. Looking at his form, I was sure there had been an intimate conversation between the two before they came here. I had to laugh.

“Your Highness may have heard rumors, but this guy knows nothing on the subject of respect. So, in case he might make a mistake in front of your Highness, I firmly trained him before he came,” Jordan said in a tone supportive of me. He didn’t know what I was thinking.

“Is it possible that you raised your hand to him?” I asked, just in case.

“What a thing to say! There is no such childish behavior in the traditions of we Balahard Rangers!” Jordan protested as I stared at him.

“Although, there is a tradition of breaking in the new ranks by talking openly in order to better understand each other. Or, we have a little rough-and-tumble in preparation for a real battle!”

Hearing that, I laughed again. It sounded like Jordan already held an open conversation or a little fight with Hansen before coming here.

“Jordan.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

I looked at the ranger, who was still unable to figure out the situation.

“Please, in the future, I hope you will be able to keep your ass as safe as you do now.”

I first expressed my condolences for his upcoming tragedy. I looked at the poor Ranger Jordan, who could only blink in confusion. With that, I focused on the man standing next to him.

There had existed a man who, once angry, was so tough that even the Dragon Slayer had struggled to calm him. This Sword Master was called a ‘dirty woodcutter’ by his comrades and a ‘wild slayer’ by his enemies. After Gallahan and Boris, the third scion of the kingdom’s ancient order appeared in front of me.

The man had been Hannibal, the most violent and fierce Blood Lion, and his descendant was before my eyes. And this man had not only Hannibal’s talent but also his wild nature. I happily laughed as I watched the lion cub who had not yet realized his identity but who would soon carry on the legacy of his ancestor.

All the while, I had begun to deeply mourn for the poor ranger.

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