A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

It didn’t need to be said out loud, but a sovereign’s plans are not shared with all of his vassals.

The more important a plan is, the less it should leak to the outside, and for that same reason, those who know its true contents are reduced to a few.

Viscount Oleg Lerum’s plan was no exception.

“Who would’ve thought that right after clearing the landslides, the bridge would collapse too.”

“Looks like we’ll have to keep seeing those guys for another fifteen days. What bad luck.”

The novice knights who had only recently entered the service of House Lerum clicked their tongues while casting sidelong glances at Lucian’s troops.

Although they were supposedly guests, the presence of no fewer than five thousand soldiers from another territory was enough to cause unease.

And they weren’t just soldiers; the problem was that there were also three hundred knights among them.

“Did you see how those guys walk? Their necks are so stiff it looks like they’re about to snap.”

“They strut around just because they’re under a duke’s command. What irritating bastards.”

“It’s their lord who’s a duke, not them. It’s really ridiculous.”

The knights of the viscount’s house gathered in a corner to vent.

Even if two knights were the same age and had the same skill, their status varied enormously depending on the position of the lord they served.

The knights under Lucian’s command looked down their noses at those of House Lerum, treating them as inferiors.

For the latter, it was unbearable.

Being looked down on by a veteran might still be tolerable, but being treated like a subordinate by someone of the same generation was another matter entirely.

The more they talked, the more the anger in their hearts grew.

“They could at least ask for a practice duel, but they don’t even dare to fight.”

“Must be that they don’t trust their own skill. If they really fought, they’d obviously get beaten to a pulp.”

“Do they know how to do anything other than crush others with their lord’s authority? In the end, that’s how people from the north are.”

“And on top of that, one of them was saying recently that he’s a royal knight. I could barely hold back my laughter.”

“Seriously? How absurd. Since when does anyone in this Empire recognize a duke as a king?”

“Looks like they thought dragging out the first prince would accomplish something. You can see their intentions from a mile away.”

The conversation, which had started as simple complaints, began to cross the line.

Under normal circumstances, someone would have stepped in before it went this far.

But this time no one did; everyone was too absorbed in the chatter.

Knowing that they would have to endure another fifteen days of the northern knights’ arrogance had made them lose their composure.

Without realizing it, they were already laughing and talking so animatedly that they didn’t even notice what was happening around them.

“A king who can’t even clear some rocks or build a bridge.”

“The dignity of the king is on the ground. Better to call him an incompetent king.”

“Or how about parasite king, who just comes to devour other people’s food?”

“Ha! Either one fits him perfectly, it’s hard to choose.”

“Then do you want me to choose for you?”

The voice that suddenly rose behind them made the knights of House Lerum freeze in place.

When they slowly turned around, they met Hugo’s icy gaze.

“What fascinating conversations. Incompetent king and parasite king, huh?”

“H-Hugo, sir. That’s not—”

“That’s not it? Then I’d like to know what it is. Come on, explain.”

Under Hugo’s pressure, the knights began to break out in a cold sweat like a waterfall.

Deep down, they had always looked down on him for his street origins.

But regardless of his past, the fact that Hugo was the man closest to Lucian did not change.

If that conversation had reached Hugo’s ears, it would undoubtedly be reported directly to Lucian.

And no one knew how an enraged Lucian would react.

When the knights, finally aware of the gravity of the situation, were trembling and unable to say a word—

“If you have nothing to say, then it’s simple.”

Thwap!

“Hng!”

One of the knights was struck in the face by something and let out a pathetic sound.

An instant later, everyone realized that what had flown was a glove, and their eyes opened wide.

“H-Hugo, sir.”

“Words aren’t necessary. A duel.”

Upon hearing those words, the knights’ faces darkened even further.

***

The duel between knights is usually divided into two types.

The first if you lose, there are problems, but if you win, everything is resolved without major complications.

The second whether you win or lose, the result is always a loss.

The duel that Hugo had requested clearly belonged, in anyone’s eyes, to the second type.

‘Damn it. Whether I win or lose the duel, it’ll be reported to the duke anyway. Does doing this really make any sense?’

‘Even if I win, there’s absolutely nothing to gain. Showing that one of his close aides wins would only add fuel to the duke’s anger.’

‘And losing on purpose isn’t an option either. After mocking him like that, even if we accept defeat, he won’t let us live.’

The knights who were forced to accept the duel clutched their heads at the worst possible scenario.

If they won, Lucian would grow even angrier.

If they lost, they would surely use any “accident” as an excuse to kill them.

But if they refused the duel, they could lose their last chance to end everything in a relatively peaceful manner.

Before the matter escalated, it had to be extinguished with a one-on-one duel.

Otherwise, there was a real possibility that Lucian, blinded by rage, would move his five thousand troops and wipe out the viscount’s house.

However, Hugo, completely ignoring—or pretending to ignore—the knights’ anguish, continued to worsen the situation.

“The more official witnesses the duel has, the better. I’ll go inform the others of the scheduled time, so come back here tonight.”

“W-wait a moment, please!”

“Rejected.”

Hugo ignored their desperate shouts and left without looking back.

With no other choice, the knights went to inform Viscount Oleg Lerum of the situation.

After hearing everything, the viscount shouted, his face pale as paper.

“You damned idiots! How the hell did you let your tongues move to say such things?”

“We have no excuse…”

“This is not the time for false modesty! Say anything you have to, but propose a solution! Right now!”

Despite the viscount’s shouting, the knights were unable to open their mouths.

The situation had long since surpassed anything they could fix.

In the end, Oleg Lerum let out a deep sigh and went personally to see Lucian.

“Your Majesty, please forgive the mistakes of my knights. No… you don’t need to forgive them. If you wish, you may punish them yourself. I only beg that we resolve this peacefully.”

“Resolve it peacefully? Are you asking me to pretend that my knight’s request for a duel never existed?”

“Yes.”

“Ridiculous. The time of the duel has already spread everywhere, and now you ask me to cancel it. Do you want me to make the knight who stood up for me look like an idiot?”

“N-no, that wasn’t my intention…!”

“That’s enough. Do not further humiliate my knight. Accept the duel with dignity. I have nothing more to say.”

Faced with that decisive tone, Viscount Oleg had no choice but to bow his head and withdraw.

Insisting further would only serve to inflame Lucian’s anger even more.

Thus, unable to devise any countermeasure, the viscount had to face the arrival of the night on which the duel was scheduled.

***

As soon as word spread that Hugo would duel a knight, spectators gathered in droves.

As expected, the vast majority were soldiers brought by Lucian.

Surrounding the dueling grounds, they murmured among themselves.

“Did you hear that the knights insulted His Majesty?”

“They say they called us parasites who only eat, and called the king a parasite king.”

“What? Are they insane? Shouldn’t this be a direct execution instead of a duel?”

“They’re knights of another house. Not even His Majesty can execute them lightly.”

“Then start a war and wipe them all out.”

Hearing those murmurs, not only the knights but even Viscount Oleg himself turned pale.

It didn’t sound like simple ignorant chatter from common soldiers; the atmosphere was dangerously hostile.

‘This is bad… If this continues, all the cordial treatment we’ve given them so far will have been for nothing.’

The reason Viscount Lerum had treated those troops so well was simple to prevent them, even if they ended up being detained there, from developing hostility toward House Lerum.

Even if the landslides and the destruction of the bridge were presented as natural disasters, there was no way to eliminate the soldiers’ accumulated irritation.

In the worst case, that hostility could be directed at House Lerum, the administrator of those lands.

That was why Oleg had offered more generous treatment than anyone else.

If he behaved as an exemplary host, they wouldn’t be able to complain openly.

‘The original plan was for the soldiers’ frustration and anger to lose their direction and, after circling aimlessly, turn into apathy. Repeating that several times until, by the time they reached the house of the Marquis Roglan, they had already lost all their intimidating presence…’

Oleg pressed a hand to his throbbing temple.

Until just now, everything had been going well. How could it all go wrong in a single day?

If this continued, he would earn not only Lucian’s enmity, but that of all five thousand soldiers.

“Both combatants, step forward!”

When the appointed time arrived, Marius, acting as judge, raised his voice loudly.

The knight of House Lerum designated as the opponent, Polcar, advanced reluctantly when called.

‘Damn it… I didn’t want to fight to begin with, and on top of that the judge is that suspicious mage.’

Polcar felt an inexplicable chill.

He knew that not all mages were the same as black mages, but having someone who knew nothing about knightly duels act as judge was unsettling.

Who knew what tricks he might use during the duel?

Even so, he couldn’t voice that complaint aloud.

After provoking the duel by insulting Lucian, was he now going to reject even the court mage of Asagrim?

That could turn the duel into a war without any trouble.

“May this duel be a fair contest, without shame before the Eight Gods.”

Fortunately, Marius finished with a brief ceremony and withdrew.

The instant the announcement of the start concluded, Polcar drew his sword and lunged at Hugo.

‘Since it’s begun, I’ll end it as quickly as possible.’

He couldn’t humiliate Hugo, but he wasn’t going to let himself be killed on purpose either.

His sole objective was the opponent’s weapon.

If he could knock the sword out of Hugo’s hand, he could win without inflicting excessive humiliation.

Polcar rushed forward at full speed and was about to swing his sword when—

‘What? Why isn’t he even taking a stance?’

Hugo hurriedly raised his sword to block the attack, but his posture was far too sloppy.

He looked like someone caught off guard by a sudden attack.

Not understanding the reason, Polcar decided to take advantage of the opportunity and deflected his sword to the side.

Clang!

“Kgh!”

At the instant the swords collided, Hugo’s cry rang out.

From the sensation transmitted through the blade, Polcar realized that something was wrong.

‘This guy didn’t reinforce his body with mana!’

In combat between knights, bodily reinforcement with mana was absolutely essential.

Even an attack delivered without much force could be lethal if it struck an unreinforced body.

And yet, Hugo had entered the duel with practically a bare body.

“No, why—!”

Thud!

“Ugh!?”

As Polcar froze at the sight of Hugo being sent flying, he himself was struck by a brutal impact and fell to the ground.

It had been Felicia, who leapt like lightning from the stands and delivered a kick to his side.

Rolling on the ground without understanding what had happened, Polcar heard Felicia’s furious shout.

“Attacking before the duel even begins! You couldn’t be more vile!”

“…!?”