WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈
Chapter 43: Getting in Line (2)
──────
A luxurious room provided by the Count.
Click.
Eugene opened the chest with a tense expression, and the reflected silver light dazzled his eyes.
“This is it!”
“Waaah.”
The country boy and girl were awestruck by the heap of silver coins.
Clink, clink!
Homi scooped up the silver coins with both hands and let them fall, filling the room with a delightful sound.
“House Morad possesses one of the continent’s most productive gold mines. They also cultivate high-quality vineyards on a vast scale.”
“They’ve picked out everything that makes money, whether it can be eaten or not.”
“Without the Emperor backing them, House Duran would not have dared challenge them so carelessly.”
Separate from the chest of silver, there was also a pouch containing the gold coins Roxanne had sent as ransom for the knights.
“I was happy enough to earn a few copper coins selling herbs and hides, and now I have this much money.”
“Why do you think knights try so hard to catch the eyes of nobles? The title of Victor Knight is certainly glorious. But if you want to rule as a leader, you need money more than glory.”
“This should be enough to keep the mercenaries for several years. We can look for other ways to make money in the meantime.”
The burden that had sat in Eugene’s chest like indigestion ever since he hired the mercenaries vanished at once.
“You’ve caught the Count’s favor, so an opportunity will come in some form. Didn’t he even hint at granting you a fief?”
He did not yet know what sort of fief it would be, but the Count had his dignity to consider. He would give Eugene a decent village, at least.
Having a steady income and a base to maintain were extremely important. He also needed somewhere to store spoils such as the Wendigo trophy.
“Do you know much about Count Morad? He feels very different from the people I’ve met so far.”
“To say he feels different, the Count has quite a few things in common with you.”
“With me?”
“He knows how to use tradition without being bound by it. He is selective about the people he keeps close, but not about the people he employs. When necessary, he knows how to break the rules.”
“...Is that praise or an insult?”
Eugene looked uncertain.
“It is better than either. It means you are dangerous.”
“So I should be even more cautious around Count Morad. Understood.”
Eugene nodded. He did not think of himself as a dangerous person at all. He thought his personality was similar to Cressy, who had died in the Hall War.
“...”
“...”
Homi and Varda could only look at him in disbelief.
“Anyway, you’ve made an excellent connection. Count Morad may be harsh to his enemies, but he is generous to his allies.”
“We’ll have to see what kind of work he asks of me. He cannot simply hand me a fief when he has retainers to consider.”
No matter how famous Eugene was, he was still an outsider who had rolled in from elsewhere. To gain a fief, one of the most important interests at stake, he needed to earn clear and undeniable merit.
* * *
When House Morad mobilized its forces and began patrolling, House Duran withdrew its troops for the time being. Things felt more peaceful after the declaration of war.
“House Morad is not a family House Duran would dare challenge.”
The clerk showing Eugene around the castle spoke with pride.
“Could the war end in a truce like this?”
“Wars that fizzle out that way are common. They may have only wanted to show their loyalty to the Emperor and never intended to fight seriously in the first place.”
“Count Morad seems like the sort who would always repay what was done to him, with interest.”
“You have judged him precisely. If House Duran wants a truce, they will have to offer something substantial.”
“I don’t understand.”
House Duran might have been greedy, but they were not foolish. They would not have impulsively started a war against House Morad, known as the ruler of western Roman.
“In truth, they have already gained what they desperately wanted.”
“What was that?”
“The declaration of war referred to their lord as Count Duran.”
Eugene understood immediately.
“They received the title of Count from the Emperor in exchange for fighting the anti-Emperor faction.”
“Yes. Despite having enough power, they had long been bitter about their low title because the imperial family disliked them. They must have wanted the title of Count badly enough to accept a peace agreement that put them at a loss.”
“But would the Emperor be satisfied with so little?”
They had stirred up trouble here and there, but they had not accomplished anything worth calling a real blow.
“If they had succeeded in kidnapping Lady Roxanne, it would have been a very different story. Still, that is their problem.”
“She was bold and strong. There was no way she would fall to such a half-baked ambush.”
With his growing experience, Eugene could roughly judge someone’s strength without fighting them.
Roxanne was a formidable knight who would not fall short even compared to Karas. Considering her age, she was an exceptional knight whose future growth was worth watching.
“Hearing you say so makes me happy as well.”
Though she was not the heir, Roxanne was popular among the retainers for her outstanding skill as a knight and her leadership.
“You must have received invitations from many places, yet you accepted our family’s invitation. You will never regret it.”
“I think you’re right.”
Even from the composition of forces coming and going, Eugene could see House Morad’s deep reserves. There were more heavily armed soldiers belonging to the house than mercenaries.
Private soldiers equipped with standard gear could not be compared to mercenaries in training, morale, or loyalty.
It was not as if other nobles did not know this. They simply could not afford the enormous cost of maintaining a standing army.
‘I think I picked the right side.’
Eugene became certain once more that his choice had been correct.
Being granted a fief would not make him subordinate to the Count. Their relationship would be more like a tighter mercenary contract.
* * *
Eugene and Varda were invited to dine with the Count.
When they arrived at the meeting place, a man welcomed them. He was Timothy, House Morad’s eldest son and heir.
“Good to meet you. I’ve heard much about you from Uncle Benjamin.”
Like Roxanne, Timothy was a handsome man with black curly hair.
Yet he had none of his father’s imposing presence or his younger sister’s sharpness. Rather than the eldest son meant to lead the family, he looked more like the secret male lover the eldest son kept hidden.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. It seems Lord Benjamin has spoken highly of me everywhere. I should thank him later.”
“Uncle can be rather stubborn, but he’s a good man.”
“This is Varda, the mage of the Emerald Forest.”
Varda, who had been standing behind Eugene, lowered her hood and offered a greeting.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Timothy.”
“You are as beautiful as I heard! Father should have stopped obsessing over Sir Gopri and tried harder to win over a mage like you.”
“It is an honor to be welcomed by the heir of the esteemed House Morad.”
Varda smiled gracefully and sat beside Eugene.
“You’re all here already?”
Roxanne, the second child, entered while fanning herself with one hand.
She wore ordinary clothes and seemed to have just finished training. Her white top was damp with sweat in several places, turning gray.
“Roxanne! It is rude to appear like this at a dinner Father is hosting. You must maintain your dignity as a lady of House Morad.”
“I’ll be more careful next time.”
Roxanne smiled and let the remark go in one ear and out the other. She casually used the napkin on the table to wipe the sweat from her neck and cleavage. A warrior woman was a warrior woman.
“Tch!”
Timothy did not say anything further. It was obvious she would not listen. The hostility in his gaze toward his younger sister was hard to believe between blood relatives.
“The Count is entering.”
At the servant’s announcement, everyone rose and paid their respects.
“Sit. And Roxanne.”
As the Count took his seat, he looked at his eldest daughter with cold eyes.
“If you plan to come to a place like this after training, at least change your clothes. Or wear a color that does not show sweat.”
“Unlike my brother, you are not telling me not to train.”
“Every child has a use. You were born with the talent and nature to do things no one else in this family can. It would be foolish to limit that simply because it looks a little improper to others.”
“...”
Timothy listened with a resentful expression.
Roxanne was a blessed warrior who surpassed the eldest son in both martial skill and leadership. His inferiority ran deep because even the family’s retainer knights supported her more than they supported him, the heir.
“Sir Eugene. Unfortunately, Benjamin could not attend due to work outside the castle.”
“In wartime, he handles the work of hundreds of soldiers by himself. It is unfortunate, but it cannot be helped.”
“You would have done well as a clerk instead of a knight.”
With all the guests present, dish after dish was brought out. There were four kinds of soft bread, including pastries, along with six kinds of jam and cheese for dipping.
The spice-seasoned young deer meat was so tender it fell apart at the touch of a knife. The trout freshly caught from the castle’s artificial pond and roasted mountain birds braised in sauce were also excellent.
“Did you know Benjamin owns a fief?”
The Count asked as he watched Eugene eat heartily.
“I heard it from the clerk. He owns a village in the northern part of Morad territory.”
“It is a timber-producing area called Richwood, and the river runs beside it, making transport easy. This table was made from wood brought from there.”
Unlike the custom in which the eldest inherited everything, Benjamin owned a fief despite being the second son. The current Count had granted it to him.
“As you said, he can replace hundreds of soldiers with his tongue. To work properly, wouldn’t he need resources and a base he can use freely? One fief is hardly too much to give him.”
Roxanne nodded as though it was only natural, but Timothy looked deeply uncomfortable. It meant the share he would inherit had been reduced.
“There is a problem in Richwood Village. Predators and monsters that should be deep within the forest have been causing havoc around the outskirts.”
Varda, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“There has been a disruption in the forest ecosystem. It happens when a ferocious monster appears and destroys the existing territorial structure.”
“That is what the retainers predicted as well.”
Even Count Morad did not speak down to Varda.
“It is unfortunate for my younger brother, who works tirelessly for the family. With the war, he will have even less time to tend to his fief.”
Eugene guessed that this was why he had been invited to dinner.
“I would like to ask you to save the village. Whatever is inside that forest, a knight who defeated a Wendigo should be more than capable of handling it. Will you undertake the subjugation as my representative, acting with my full authority?”
“How could I refuse when the Count asks it of me? I will do as you say.”
‘This is the first hurdle before being granted a fief.’
Eugene accepted at once. With someone like the Count, asking about compensation now would only lower his own value.
“Thank you. Benjamin will be the happiest of all to know you are stepping forward.”
The Count seemed cold, but he truly cared for his younger brother.
“I will help as well.”
“How could I refuse the aid of a renowned mage?”
When Varda stepped forward, the Count nodded with satisfaction. This was why he had invited her to dinner in the first place.
Richwood’s forest was vast, and finding a particular monster within it would be extremely difficult. Ordinarily, it would require a large force, but there was no room for that during a war.
Things would be different with a mage who wielded forest magic accompanying them.
“Fath-, no, Count!”
Timothy was the only one dissatisfied.
“Would it not be an insult to entrust such a backwater task to an honorable knight like Sir Eugene?”
“...”
Timothy had spoken with great energy, but the Count’s icy stare silenced him. It was as if every thought he had prepared had evaporated.
“Why have you stopped speaking? Will you become a lord who falls silent whenever the other side threatens you during negotiations?”
Roxanne had lowered her face. Judging by her trembling shoulders, she was holding back laughter.
“Du-, Duran’s war with us has begun. If the Victor Knight charges beneath House Morad’s banner, the enemy will collapse like leaves in an autumn wind. Would there be a better use for him?”
‘Use for him.’
Perhaps because he was flustered, Timothy even used an insulting expression.
“House Morad’s foundations run deep. We can teach House Duran a lesson without the help of a guest.”
“From the look of things, it doesn’t seem like they even intend to fight properly. They struck first, then ran off.”
Timothy’s face twisted at the words of the Count and his daughter.
Secretly, he had welcomed the threat to Richwood. If the fief suffered damage, then after he inherited the family, he would have grounds to hold Benjamin responsible for mismanagement and confiscate it.
“I am relieved you are going. I felt sorry for Uncle, worrying about his fief while he is already drowning in work.”
Roxanne spoke as she put a piece of meat from her knife into her mouth.
She did not use a fork. She held a knife in each hand. It was undignified behavior for a noble lady, but it suited Roxanne perfectly.
Only Timothy, excluded from the family’s warm conversation, picked at his food with a sour expression.
‘When things turn out like this, the eldest son usually overreaches and causes some kind of trouble.’
Feeling stifled for no reason, Eugene gulped down some water. Only now did he realize how comfortable his days in Bonyard City had been, spending time with Fannis.
* * *
Two days later, reinforcements departed for Richwood Village in the north. Including Eugene, his direct subordinates, and the mercenaries sent by House Morad, they numbered nearly a hundred.
‘Good. They are providing troops, and our wages are covered too.’
House Morad had agreed to pay the wages and expenses of Eugene’s mercenaries as well. The thought of having no fixed costs was enough to make him hum.
As he looked at the horizon stretching across the north with an unburdened heart, it felt as though his chest had opened wide.
“You look happy. Are you that excited about getting a fief?”
“It is too early to be thinking about a fief. First, I need to earn merit worthy of one.”
Even if Eugene received a fief, he intended to appoint a representative and continue wandering the world.
“I was smiling because I simply enjoy traveling.”
Whether for gaining experience or making money, he preferred a wandering life to staying in one place. One day, when his body and mind grew tired, he might want to settle down, but not yet.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
