My Villains Chapter 530
68. Traveling to the Royal Road (3)
The total number of thieves lurking in the forest was thirty-three.
This was quite a large scale for an ordinary group of bandits, and if the governor of Gedenmunz tried to deal with it only with the town’s power, it was an opponent that might have suffered a great loss.
Of the dogs, two were taken prisoner. As a result of interrogation by his subordinates, half of the bandits were deserters from a faraway province called ‘Uben’.
It was a case in which conscripts who were mobilized in a civil war between minor aristocrats were caught robbing aristocratic mansions and houses, and the whole group fled. It is unfortunate that they were forcibly conscripted and taken to the battlefield, but they committed looting, rape, desertion, and even theft, so there is no reason to sympathize with them.
The rest of the stories were similar, so they were outlaws who joined the gang after wandering around the mountains and fields. Beings like the dregs left by war and disorder.
The fact that they were vicious with no room for regeneration relieved much of the guilt that I had put off for a while to quickly quench the thirst I had endured.
“It’s… like unlucky bastards.”
It was Mittelman who reported the interrogation results, but the guy who muttered to himself had a mysterious expression.
“luck? What do you mean?”
“Uh, that’s why I get useless thoughts when I see them… It’s nothing.”
“Why are you talking about it? Speak properly
.” When I urged, narrowing my forehead, Mi Telman scratched the back of his head and replied.
“Aren’t those bastards no different from my new self before meeting the master?”
“Oh deserters?”
“yes.”
Mittelman was a deformed child with an extra thumb on his left hand and an orphan with no blood in the world. At one time, he was a tramp wandering the back alleys, a bully doing all sorts of dirty things, and a despicable deserter who ran away in front of his enemies.
Mi Telman let out a low, heavy laugh, perhaps remembering her past.
“If the dead Donnell hadn’t persuaded his master to follow him, I would have been in a similar situation by now. At least it would have been better than being left in the woods as pieces of meat.”
“what the. What else am I saying?”
Mittelman, an outcast and a deserter, became a bodyguard wearing a sergeant rank insignia and stylish insignia.
He bought a big and decent house on No. 2 Eisbovald, married a lady who worked at a crossroads inn – famous for her sharp eyes and big butt – and had a son who was in good shape.
Even though I didn’t get a knighthood, this is enough to be called a career. Seeing such a guy immersed in useless sentimentality makes me laugh out loud.
“If you know that you are lucky, think about repaying me for the favor in your time of distress. Or go find Donell and sprinkle brandy on the grave.” Mittelman grinned.
“I stopped by the day before departure, but the monk was making a fuss.”
“why?”
“How can the old gravekeeper be so picky for a day or two? They shuddered at the idea that offering alcohol to a dead comrade is something a pagan would do.”
“okay? It’s strange. He never said that to me.”
“Is that so?”
The guy who tilted his head shrugged his shoulders and continued.
“Hey, who can stop the lord? It’s not that strange that a red knight is performing a pagan ritual.”
“This bastard.”
When I faked a frown, Mittelman giggled and walked away.
The group left Gedenmunz on the very next day after clearing out the gang of bandits.
He is continuing his journey leisurely, even being conscious of the eyes of the young people and the tribal people who might be mixed in between them.
However, it was not a leisurely situation to waste an extra day just by beating a few thieves. Since it was something that could be left to the government official to take care of, and I didn’t exert myself enough to need a break, there was no reason to stay here any longer.
Right after breakfast, I waited for the dawn and went out on the road, but a group of villagers gathered at the entrance of the village.
“May there be light on the road ahead of you, Lord!”
“Long live the valiant and merciful Countess!” “hurray!” A crowd of over 300, regardless of gender and age. It is almost making my ears tingle from the sound of them shouting hurrah with one voice.
“…do something stupid.”
When I looked back at Gedenmundz’s crown with a slight frown, he quickly lowered his head with an expression of regret.
“You misunderstand, sir. It’s not what I did. You must have heard from those who returned.”
Of those who disappeared in the forest, only a young charcoal burner and an old hunter returned alive. The rest had already been killed, so only the bodies were collected. It wasn’t a perfect achievement because we couldn’t save all the missing people.
The residents of Gedenmundz seemed to have a slightly different opinion. They were genuinely happy.
It wasn’t easy to pinpoint the cause of that much joy.
It may be for the survivors, or it may be for the revenge of innocently murdered neighbors. It could be because I, the lord, confirmed that I was providing the protection I deserved, or it could be because I was an indirect witness to an incident that will be talked about for a while.
I tried to smile.
It’s hard to laugh because the bright faces of the residents poke at the conscience. The applause and respect you receive in return for relieving your dirty desires. I wanted to pull the reins hard and get out of this funny situation.
“Kyung, insisting on being too modest is not the attitude of a lord.”
Theodora, driving Brightmere to the side, smiled softly and gave advice.
“Show your dignity. It is to engrave the figure of the prince in their heads.”
“…yes. Thanks for the advice.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded his head awkwardly at the gaze of the princess, then straightened his back. I wonder if the bicorn also got the posture right, and it feels like my eye level has risen by a couple of feet in an instant.
He stopped the ridiculous wriggling of his hardened facial muscles. It will reveal Zaharkar’s characteristic cold face, but much better than an awkward, unnatural smile.
He raised his hand.
The cheers of the villagers doubled.
It must have been about two hours since we headed west from Gedenmunz. When the wide flagstone road entered a shallow valley, I found a small, fat stone. An object that can sometimes be seen on Dayval Road. It is a tombstone that was probably erected six or seven hundred years ago.
The contents engraved on the surface have been weathered beyond recognition due to long years and countless rainstorms and rare touches. However, it was possible to recognize that this tombstone serves as a marker to separate Angst from Obdorf through the relatively recently written character string on the flat upper surface.
After passing through several valleys and valleys on a winding road, a familiar-looking fortress appeared. It was the fortress ‘Zirna’ that guarded the northeast side of Angst.
This area, including Zirna, and the citadel ‘Untrier’, located somewhat to the south, belonged to the Angst region, but were not loyal to the Prince of Angst.
This is because, according to a series of contracts made at the end of the Blade Mann War, the lord of the barons who govern Zirna and Untrier became Ruyan, the ‘young dragon’, the owner of the Imperial Marquis encompassing Angst and Obdorf.
However, now Lu Yan was unable to exert any control over the two barons. What are you going to do with a god who only has patterns as the great lord?
It was the three naughty grown-ups who made our young, ambitious and even beautiful Marquis the chief of staff. The ‘arrogant’ Lord Laiam, who has made the Bulfurt stronghold his command post, Harold, the ‘commander of the prince’ who is acting as the military adviser to the Imperial Marquis, and I, a direct vassal of the Marquess and lifelong marshal of the Imperial Marquis.
Due to the agreement of the three of us, Jirna and the barons of Untrier were given autonomy at the level of an independent domain. He did not meddle in my affairs, did not collect taxes, and did not impose unnecessary obligations. It was a goodwill for the comrades who served the prince together, and at the same time, it was a measure to rapidly grow the power of the alliance.
Was it effective in its own way or was it because the newly appointed baron was able to take all the spoils he had obtained from the war with only the blades, Girna had changed considerably over the past two years.
Two layers of wooden fences were added around the well-maintained castle, and the secluded castle town developed to the level of a fairly small town. According to rumors, the nine villages under Zirna’s control seemed to be enjoying peace and prosperity in their own way.
“I’m sorry, Your Excellency. The lord is absent.”
“this.”
Entering Zirna with my party,
I expected to see a familiar face after a long time, but unfortunately the roads diverged. Well, since I didn’t send a message before visiting, it wasn’t unusually bad luck.
“why? what brings you here?”
It was not the ‘painter’ Hilter Seymour who greeted me at Zirna, but his retainers, including the butler and the steward training leader. The butler, who acted as the representative of the vassals, politely bowed his head and explained the situation.
“About a month ago, a village to the southeast was attacked by a thuggish group. The number of killed residents exceeds thirty, and the lord of the castle is personally searching the area with his cavalry soldiers.”
“Did something like that happen?”
Perhaps the ‘reckless bunch’ that disturbed Sir Filter’s estate are the same ones I dealt with yesterday.
When I told him what had happened in Gedenmunz and these speculations, the training commander of Zirna showed a happy expression, but clicked his tongue slightly.
“Your Excellency’s guess may be correct, but due to the character of the lord, he won’t come back empty-handed. You’ll need to catch another group of bandits or even kill a few kobolds in the woods before you’re satisfied. Or you can take your anger out by stirring the Bühlsruhe once.”
“Hmm, I don’t know about anything else, but it’s difficult at Bullsru. It’s been a long time since you’ve sorted out the confusion, so poking at it won’t work.”
Despite my concerns, the training leader slowly built the maze.
“Your Excellency is well aware of this, but Lord Hilter is a person who does not care about anything. As a backup, you’ve drawn up a maneuver plan, and you might use it as an opportunity to verify it.”
“I see…
I scratched my eyebrows and decided to put an end to unnecessary worries.
“Well, Lord Filter will take care of it. He’s far more expert than I am at things around here.”
The two fortresses, Zirna and Untrier, are the points facing the estates of the Duke of Strom and the viceroyalty of Alzenberg. In other words, only the blade plays a role in directly checking the two electoral princes who were our enemies during the war.
As such, it was an area where military activities were active, and local wars often took place.
“Damn it, the vassals of the Mittergerant Empire fight all the time. What is the emperor doing without disciplining his subordinates?”
When I grumbled in a joking tone, my men and Sir Filter’s vassals laughed wildly. The sound of hostile laughter. It must have been about the emperor who neglected the chaos within the empire, obsessed with the southern continent, or the electors who once crossed swords.
In any case, Lord Hilter, the owner of Zirna Castle, was very talented and had a good knowledge of training and commanding cavalrymen, so he took the lead in these military conflicts.
“I will send a message to the lord for now. If it’s short, you should be able to come back in about two days at the most.”
At the suggestion of the old steward, I silently shook my head.
“No way. It was just a short stop on the way.”
“Are you leaving right away like this?”
“yes. I’m thinking of staying at Untrier.
I’ll leave a letter or something, so give it to me later.”
In Zirna, we were planning to leave after seeing Sir Filter’s face anyway, so after lunch, we took a break for about an hour and started our journey again.
The next target was the domain of Lord Ariad, the ‘Shining-eyed Viper’ of Fortress Untrier.
