A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

“Are you saying that House Lerum has sent an envoy of surrender?”

“Yes. altitude They have sent Sir Polcar as the envoy.”

Lucian let out a dry, incredulous laugh.

“Well…”

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If it was going to end like this, why had they dared to provoke Lucian so recklessly in the first place?

Only a single day had passed, and they were already talking about surrender.

To make matters worse, they had chosen none other than Polcar as the envoy—the very source of nearly this entire disaster.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“I suppose he finally ran headlong into reality. august While he hesitated, he must have realized that his family could truly be annihilated, and only then did he react.”

At a glance, it might have seemed like an appropriate choice, but in truth, it was nothing more than sending a vassal as a scapegoat.

In terms of the relationship between lord and subject, that was equivalent to throwing away mutual trust, the most important thing of all.

“Is the viscount out of his mind? agent Throwing away, on his own, the honor he valued so highly.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“Well, he certainly reacted early.”

Under the gaze of the soldiers, Polcar was kneeling with his forehead pressed to the ground, not moving in the slightest.

Grumbling, Lucian stepped outside the tent.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“The King, you say?”

“The unworthy Polcar presents himself before His Majesty the King!”

Even as an envoy of surrender, it was an excessively humiliating posture for a knight.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

That sudden change in attitude drew a sneer from Lucian’s lips.

But now that war was at the doorstep, no one had even asked them to, and they were already rushing to use that title.

Hearing Polcar’s shout, Lucian smiled with irony. matrix Until now, they had only called him “Your Majesty,” carefully avoiding the word king.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“How pleasant that sounds. airport I’ll have to tell Marquis Bernhardt. crystal That House Lerum has called me king. audit I’m sure he’ll be delighted and consider them the pride of the west.”

Servility that would have been unthinkable in the Polcar of before.

“Of course. abstract Until now, we failed to show the proper respect to His Majesty the King, but having come to our senses, even if late, how could that not be a cause for joy? aspect The marquis will surely be pleased as well!”

Far from being startled, Polcar immediately accepted Lucian’s mockery and pressed his head even harder against the ground.

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Lucian clicked his tongue.

“Impressive. arch That a person can change so much in just one day is truly admirable.”

“Enough. attic Shut your mouth. acoustic It’s starting to sound more like sarcasm than flattery.”

“Thank—”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Just as he had suspected, it was not pure flattery, but a clumsy, desperate attempt at resistance.

When Lucian’s voice turned cold, Polcar shuddered.

“Take out the surrender document the viscount gave you. artist I’m curious to see what nonsense he wrote this time.”

So pathetic that it was utterly meaningless.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Though he pressed his lips together at the blatant humiliation toward his lord, Polcar took the document from his chest.

“So you’ll throw open the castle gates to welcome me, and in exchange, I leave your territory intact?”

Lucian received it through a soldier, read it, and formed an icy smile.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“W-what?”

“At a glance, it’s a trap. aspect The moment I cross the gates, you plan to assassinate me.”

“That is correct. timber The viscount wishes—”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

He had come personally to deliver the document, prepared to become a sacrificial outlet if necessary.

“In any group, losing the leader is enough for everything to collapse. arch The viscount thought this through well. artist And in a chaos that has barely even begun—who would have thought he’d be this adept at strategy.”

At those unexpected words, Polcar’s face turned white as paper.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

And yet—assassination?

He had even endured humiliation that would remain an eternal disgrace to his lineage.

“It’s a misunderstanding! palette This is nothing more than—”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“Y-Your Majesty the King!”

“I don’t need such pitiful excuses. harbor If you want to prove it’s a misunderstanding, tell the viscount to come himself and kneel.”

“What? acid Is that unreasonable? agent If the head of the family comes in person, no one will doubt your sincerity.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“Go and tell the viscount. athlete Tell him not to send another scapegoat and to come himself. canvas And if this time as well he intends to protect his honor to the very end, tell him that I will strip away everything else.”

Polcar was about to argue back, but when he met Lucian’s eyes, he stopped.

He understood instantly that no matter what he said, Lucian had no intention whatsoever of changing his conditions.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Despite the humiliation of the condition, Polcar could only nod, lacking the strength to do anything else.

After all, he had not even managed to fulfill the role of sacrifice that had been assigned to him.

“…Yes.”

***

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Accompanied only by a minimal escort, he reached the camp and spoke in a dry voice.

Viscount Oleg Lerum, lamenting Lucian’s proposal but with no other choice, personally went out through the castle gate.

“Your Majesty the King, as you ordered, I have come in person.”

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“…”

“So you came yourself. academy The head of a noble family, kneeling to come beg for forgiveness.”

“Don’t you have even a shred of dignity? alert No, I misspoke. canvas Why was someone without dignity so arrogant in front of me?”

At Lucian’s insults, Viscount Oleg trembled with shame.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

For a moment, he even thought it would be better to die fighting than to endure such humiliation, but he did not have the courage to do so.

He had never thought that, as the head of his family, he would be treated in such a manner.

He knew he had been summoned with the intention of humiliating him, but experiencing it firsthand was far more painful than he had imagined.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“If you indicate a punishment befitting my offenses, I will carry it out with complete sincerity.”

“…Even if I had ten mouths, I would have nothing to say. wizard I can only beg for your forgiveness, Your Majesty.”

As the one responsible for his lineage, he could not allow a momentary impulse to doom his entire family.

“Forgiveness? absorb It’s not impossible to grant. august As long as you pay the price for your sins.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“Until the bridge is fully repaired, you will treat my soldiers generously. arcade In addition, you will pay compensation befitting the injuries suffered by my knight, Hugo. echo And you will hand over an arm from the knights who insulted me.”

The first and second conditions, though painful, were acceptable.

The viscount’s eyes shook violently.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

But the third condition was impossible to accept.

Lucian had deliberately left the terms ambiguous to inflate the cost, but even so, they were payments the family could bear if it squeezed all its resources.

“I will comply with any other demand, but please do not touch my knights.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“Your Majesty the King…!”

Viscount Oleg struck his forehead against the ground, begging desperately.

“They insulted me. album Didn’t they call me an incompetent king and a parasite king? voyage At this point, it wouldn’t even be strange to cut off their heads.”

Sending Polcar as a scapegoat had been, barely, something tolerable.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

He had probably believed that sacrificing himself was the only way to recover honor already sunk in the mud.

Although he had fallen into a trap, Polcar was responsible for at least half of the conflict, and moreover, he himself had vehemently insisted on taking on that role.

But cutting off the arms of the knights was an entirely different matter.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Unlike Polcar, they had only muttered a few words in secret.

‘Even if it’s an order from their lord, what knight would hand over an arm that is worth as much as his life?’

Demanding an arm from them for that was excessive.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Using a lord’s authority to demand arms as punishment for insults would not only destroy the knights’ loyalty, but would also turn the viscount into an object of contempt throughout the entire Empire.

For a knight, losing the use of an arm was not merely becoming crippled.

Even other vassals might turn their backs on him.

It meant completely losing his art with the sword, his reason for existing, and never again being able to return to the battlefield.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“Yes.”

“Your Majesty the King, I beg you to reconsider the third condition. riddle I will do anything else…”

“Anything? palette Are you serious?”

The viscount answered without hesitation.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“Eh? acid The bridge is still destroyed…”

He did not believe it possible that Lucian would propose something even worse.

Satisfied, Lucian asked.

“Let me ask you something. alert Can the river be crossed?”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

It was not easy.

“That is possible.”

“I’m not talking about moving an entire army. anxiety I mean sending one or two people to the other side of the river.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Even a strong swimmer could be dragged to death by the current.

“Good. arena Then send a messenger.”

Even so, with safety ropes tied around the waist and people pulling from behind in case of emergency, it was possible to send one or two people across.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“To the feudal lords who, like you, decided to grab my ankle along the way.”

Lucian smiled darkly.

“A messenger? abandon To whom…?”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“…”

“Is the bridge still destroyed?”

***

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Karyan Baltz, viscount of House Baltz, burst into laughter.

“Puhahaha! orbit Viscount Oleg is doing an excellent job!”

“Yes. palette It seems it broke again when it was already almost repaired.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

If such a force unleashed chaos in the west, he would have no way to stop it.

They could not even get past House Lerum, located on the western edge, and were just going around in circles without advancing.

When he first heard that an army of five thousand men from the north was advancing, he had been extremely tense.

But now, what was happening?

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“At this rate, they might return to the north exhausted before even reaching our lands. shadow I prepared thoroughly at the marquis’s request, and it turns out Oleg will take all the credit by himself.”

Though he said it that way, there was no real regret on Karyan’s face.

It no longer looked like an army of five thousand men, but five thousand idiots.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Allowing an outside army of five thousand men to enter his territory was hardly a pleasant experience.

“Viscount! audit A letter from House Lerum has arrived!”

While calmly drinking his tea, Karyan blinked at the voice from outside.

‘It’s about time they learn their place and go crawling back to the north.’

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

“It seems the messenger swam across the river!”

A letter just after receiving the report that the bridge was still destroyed?

“How the hell did they send a letter if the bridge is broken?”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

Karyan frowned, perplexed.

“What? audit But why?”

In the past, someone skilled at swimming would cross first and then shoot the letter tied to an arrow, keeping it from getting wet.

It was not the first time a messenger from House Lerum had crossed the river by swimming when a natural disaster destroyed the bridge.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

He sat down calmly and opened it.

With doubts, Karyan took the letter. accent The seal was perfect, and despite having been carried by someone soaked, the text was intact.

However, it was a dangerous method, with a real risk of drowning, used only in extreme emergencies.

‘What urgent matter could House Lerum have now to risk a messenger like that?’

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 189 published by TrungTu Reads.

— The duke has occupied my castle.

The moment he read the first line, his expression froze.