Chapter 27
“Did he… accept your offer?”
“I made a respectful request.”
“Surprising.”
Zylson didn’t understand Baryan’s true value.
To him, Baryan was nothing more than a blacksmith who made prosthetic legs for his younger brother.
“How is Lord Ambrod doing?”
“He’s devoted himself to training.”
“Then he’s likely making little progress.”
In the history of the Kingdom of Xenon, no knight had ever made a name for himself with only one leg. Even so, Zylson hadn’t let go of hope.
“That boy will stand again one day. I’m certain of it.”
“Have you shown him to the High Priest?”
“What would handing him over to that miser change?”
“Would it be all right for me to meet Lord Ambrod?”
I’d heard that Ambrod had completely shut himself off from the outside world, forbidding visitors.
Zylson’s eyes sharpened.
“What’s your purpose?”
‘Yes, that’s how you should respond.’
Only now did it feel like I was truly dealing with a noble. The atmosphere in Hebron was far too lax—none of the tension unique to noble circles.
There’s no such thing as a free favor.
Especially in dealings with nobles, there was never such a thing as pure goodwill.
“Delgain.”
“You want me to stay out of it? Let you attack House Delgain while I just stand by and watch Hebron grow?”
“Baron Delgain took in the Nurha bloodline.”
Baron Delgain’s sister had been the wife of the late Baron Nurha. Delgain paid a ransom of 400 gold to retrieve the Nurha family members who had been held captive in Hebron.
I had accepted the gold and handed over the prisoners, and starting a civil war over a legitimate transaction would lack justification. But it gave me enough of an excuse to provoke something.
If Hebron consistently showed public displeasure over the presence of Nurha blood within Delgain’s territory, it would surely prompt a reaction—whether frustration or pressure.
Hebron was only just beginning to stretch its limbs. Nurha and Delgain were nothing more than stepping stones, and I didn’t consider taking Delgain to be a particularly difficult task.
“You truly intend to start a civil war?”
“I intend to raise Hebron once more.”
Zylson’s gaze turned piercing.
He was trying to figure me out.
“Am I next, then?”
“To Hebron’s south lies a wasteland. Beyond that, the remnants of the Antaria Kingdom—swarming with monsters. There are even rumors of a plague, making the region uninhabitable. To the west is your domain, but crossing the cloud bridges to wage war would be nearly impossible. At best, it’s a path for merchants. North of Hebron is the Biskin Barony. East is Delgain.”
“So after Delgain comes Biskin. That much land would certainly justify a request for elevation in rank.”
Zylson’s assumption was mistaken.
Even if Hebron absorbed Nurha, Delgain, and Biskin, it wouldn’t surpass Zylson’s military or economic strength. All four territories were insignificant.
I would have to continue struggling far beyond that to aim for the title of a viscount. Rushing for a higher title would only hasten ruin.
“The Slein Viscounty, which borders your domain, has made ties with House Breio.”
“What?”
“Viscount Slein promised his daughter to Pakus, the Duke’s chief mage.”
Pakus was a seventh-class mage who had turned sixty this year. He was considered a potential candidate for the next Tower Master—but only barely. There were already two great mages of the eighth-class ahead of him.
The Duke of Breio supported Pakus unconditionally. He had even tried to use political influence to install him as Tower Master, but the mages had refused to recognize him.
Even so, the Duke hadn’t abandoned him.
Pakus was indeed the third most powerful mage in the Kingdom of Xenon—but when it came to combat magic, he was arguably the best.
“And that old man is marrying a girl who just came of age? Slein has truly lost his mind over power!”
“The Duke of Breio hates scandals. That’s why Pakus is waiting for the right time to quietly proceed with the marriage.”
Before I was reborn as Louis de Hebron, I had already heard the rumors about Pakus.
While imprisoned in the duke’s underground quarters, I had overheard the maids gossip endlessly. At first, they kept quiet around my door, but eventually, they acted like I didn’t even exist.
I preferred it that way. It gave me a window, however narrow, into the outside world.
Pakus was obsessed with stamina. Despite his age, his sexual desire was so strong that he changed women almost daily.
“How can I trust your word?”
“What do you have to lose? All it takes is a single rumor. Spread a whisper through House Breio—that Viscount Slein handed over his young daughter to an old court mage. Breio will react. They don’t tolerate flaws among their ranks.”
Pakus was a man who denied the limits of theoretical magic. In my past life, he pretended to support me—then betrayed me at every crucial moment.
No, for him, it must have been a matter of survival.
‘That’s your mistake, Pakus. Every choice comes with consequences.’
“How do you know about that?”
“I have eyes and ears everywhere.”
Zylson glared at me. The rumor was too serious to dismiss as the bluff of a young brat. If they missed the timing, the Zylson family could face disaster.
“If you doubt my words, verify Slein’s military forces for yourself.”
As soon as Viscount Slein’s daughter married Pakus, he would find a pretext to pick a fight with the Zylson Viscounty. The true purpose was to raise an army and devour Zylson.
According to what I heard from Serpens’ guildmaster, Viscount Slein had spent a fortune recruiting wandering knights and even signed a contract with the Zyle Mercenary Corps.
“Lord Pakus might fly into a rage.”
“Then let the rumors fly. Is Pakus the only old mage in House Breio? Aren’t the most powerful mages usually elderly? And what will you do if Pakus accepts the viscount’s daughter? What will you do then? The duke’s chief mage becomes Viscount Slein’s son-in-law—how will you stop them then? Will you appeal to His Majesty the King?”
“Hmph...!”
As the rumors said, Zylson was a rigid man.
He lacked tact.
‘Well, it’s not my problem, so do whatever you want. Clash with Slein or sit there and take the hit. Either way, by the time you come to your senses, you’ll no longer be able to handle Hebron.’
“I’ll go see Lord Ambrod.”
* * *
Lord Ambrod was sitting in the middle of the training ground, cultivating his aura.
His turbulent aura mirrored his inner turmoil.
Ambord sitting with his eyes closed, opened his mouth.
“Who gave you permission to enter? This place is reserved for Zylson’s direct descendants.”
“The Viscount gave me permission.”
Ambrod opened his eyes. The sharp glint in his eyes, once renowned on the battlefield, was menacing. It was the first time I’d been on the receiving end of such a gaze—I flinched instinctively.
“Permission? You impudent brat! Do you mock me because I look pathetic?!”
“I thought you’d be moping, but you’re still full of fire.”
“You insolent...!”
Ambrod reached for a weapon—not a sword, but a bow.
“So that’s your choice? A knight without a sword… this’ll be interesting.”
Ambrod rose to his feet, balancing on one leg, and pulled the bowstring taut.
“Inferno.”
Inferno appeared in front of me. It couldn’t block a knight’s arrow, but it could certainly burn a knight who couldn’t escape.
I raised both hands slightly and stepped toward Ambrod.
A gesture to show I was unarmed.
Snap!
I seized Ambrod’s wrist.
Focusing my energy, I examined his body.
‘So this is what a Viscount’s knight commander is like.’
Compared to Brown, the difference was clear.
Despite losing a leg to an orc, Ambrod had never stopped training—he was in surprisingly good health. However, because he stood solely on his left leg, his body tilted and his aura leaned left as well.
“I’ll prepare a tonic to improve your circulation. Have a servant boil and drink it.”
“Hah! And now the young lord of Hebron thinks he’s a physician? You expect me to believe the nonsense of a young brat?!”
Ambrod looked ready to stab me in the throat with the arrow still clenched in his left hand.
“Why not? If you’re interested, you could learn too. Read about a hundred medical texts and you’ll start to get the hang of it.”
I tossed a book at his feet.
Ambrod glanced down at the coverless book with a puzzled look.
“What’s this?”
“A swordsmanship manual for one-legged knights.”
“Th-There’s such a thing? Who wrote it?”
At last, he showed interest. He picked up the book and looked at its contents.
“I did.”
“What?”
“I even added some rough illustrations, so try learning from it. It’s based purely on theory, so I don’t know how well it’ll hold up in real combat.”
There was a time when people called me a theoretical genius. I didn’t think I was at that level anymore, but I wasn’t completely useless either. I had compiled everything I knew from medical texts and sword manuals to create <A Swordsmanship manual for One-Legged Knights>.
It made perfect sense in my head—but I wasn’t sure how it would work for an actual one-legged knight.
“I’m not your damn toy!”
Swish—Thunk!
An arrow grazed my neck.
I pressed a hand to it—not because of pain, but to hide the wound as it bubbled and rapidly healed itself.
“I didn’t come to you because I had time to waste. Swallow your pride and read the book. I’m not even sure it’ll work, so read it, practice, and report back. If anything’s off, let me know.”
* * *
“You shoot an arrow at the man offering help? You really messed up the first step. I’ll show you just how serious that mistake is.”
The cut on my neck had already healed. But that didn’t erase the fact that Ambrod had shot an arrow at me. My memory was still sharp, even if I wasn’t what I used to be.
“And that’s assuming Ambrod agrees to serve under me…”
I wasn’t certain he would kneel to me yet. I’d written <A Swordsmanship manual for One-Legged Knights>, but it was just theory. Every individual had different levels of disability and different physical conditions. Adjustments were essential for practical application.
Ambrod was mentally half-broken. He was holding on with sheer will to recover—but he was bound to collapse eventually. The manual might influence him then… or it might break him completely.
‘It’s not like I absolutely need him. The Zylson territory is a wall Hebron will have to overcome someday. For now, they just need to serve as the western barrier.’
I started asking around for the guildmaster’s whereabouts. He was reorganizing the market in Hebron. Since the construction of the cloud bridge connecting Hebron and Zylson, traveling merchants had begun flocking to Hebron.
The guildmaster had secured the market and set up stalls in prime locations. A Serpens Trading Company building was under construction nearby.
“Busy, are we?”
“Thanks to you, my lord, I barely have time to breathe! Haha!”
The guildmaster already had his sights set on the future. He was preparing for the completion of Baryan’s Rainbow Bridge.
Baryan had first addressed the cloud bridge’s instability, reducing its swaying.
Thanks to him, the laborers could now cross it relatively safely.
“By the way, have you found the blood wolves yet?”
