The Third Son of a Medieval Knight Family Chapter 11 - Prologue (10)

Both Viktor and Lukovich stared ahead for a while, unable to say anything.

It seemed that some places were still burning with smoke rising here and there, but most of the village looked completely burned down, reduced to charred ashes.

There was no sign of people, all the palisades were destroyed, and the moats had been filled in.

“This can’t be…”

Lukovich’s hands trembled as if he still couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

How could they have attacked the village first?!

It made no sense.

“It certainly doesn’t make sense… but right now, there seem to be more important matters.”

Despite his pounding heart, Viktor spoke, maintaining his cold rationality.

He was shocked, but he didn’t think getting excited and frantic would help in this situation.

When he spoke coldly, Lukovich began shaking his head rapidly from side to side.

“No, no… Lord Viktor! What could be more important than this? We’re finished! They must have brought a witch with them! Otherwise, there’s no way the village could have burned first!”

“Lukovich. Calm down and listen to me carefully.”

Lukovich seemed to be in a state of panic, unable to gather his wits.

When Viktor placed his hand on his shoulder and applied pressure, Lukovich seemed to snap back to reality and looked at Viktor.

“The village’s destruction is already a fact. Now we have two choices. Either we flee from here quickly, or we check the state of the village. Do you understand?”

“I, I understand. S-sorry, but your hand…”

“No, you still don’t seem to have regained your senses. I’ll explain again. Either we escape before we’re surrounded, or we go check what happened to the village. We must choose one of these options.”

“I understand, I understand! I’ve come to my senses! It really hurts, aargh, I won’t do it again, please!”

Only after he pleaded as if screaming did Viktor loosen his grip.

Lukovich massaged his shoulder with a grimace.

‘I was already in my right mind…’

But he couldn’t dare say that out loud.

If he said “I’ve already come to my senses,” he might slap his cheek next.

Lukovich lowered his hand from his shoulder, which now felt numb, and said,

“Wouldn’t it be better to flee? It would be terrible if enemies are still stationed in the village.”

Viktor began to carefully examine the village.

The rising smoke obscured his vision somewhat, but he couldn’t see anyone moving around.

“Hmm… I don’t seem to see any enemies. What do you think about looking around a bit?”

“No, can you see that? I’m not sure… are you worried about Lord Kobarov’s fate?”

From Lukovich’s perspective, the best option in the current situation was to escape quickly.

Even without checking, it was clear that the village had been reduced to ashes and was finished.

If there was a reason to go to the village, wouldn’t it be curiosity about the family’s fate?

‘Well, his family would have all been in the village, so it’s natural to be worried…’

While Lukovich understood his feelings, he also felt somewhat frustrated.

Just by looking at the surface, the village was completely burned down, and no matter how he thought about it, it seemed unlikely anyone had survived that chaos.

“What are you talking about?”

However, when Viktor reacted as if he’d heard something absurd, Lukovich was taken aback.

“Ah, am I wrong? I thought you were concerned about your family members…”

“If they were destined to survive, they would have. In this state, they’re either dead or have fled. One of the two, right?”

Viktor spoke matter-of-factly.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t curious about what happened to his family, but he wasn’t particularly worried.

They weren’t that close, and there wasn’t much of an emotional bond that would make him feel familial affection toward them.

If there was anyone he was concerned about, it would be the servant Pim, whom he had been relatively friendly with.

“Uh… then why go to the village…?”

“There might be something worth salvaging. From what I’ve seen, there were quite a few good items in the village storehouse. If they haven’t been looted, you could also be well-armed.”

“…!”

The reason was more practical than expected.

Lukovich sweated profusely but still added one more comment.

“W-well, it would be good if there were things worth salvaging, but enemies might still be there. Wouldn’t it be better to flee first?”

“Hmm… but they don’t seem to be visible. Besides, there might be survivors? What, did you really think I just wanted to go because I’m greedy for the remaining property?”

“Gasp! Of course not! That’s impossible! My, I’m being foolish. I understand. If there are no enemies, I had some acquaintances there too, so looking around wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Lukovich nodded.

Yes, Lord Viktor isn’t that kind of person!

****

The two men cautiously rode their horses toward the village entrance.

Fortunately, the bridge leading into the village was intact.

In the shallow moat were fragments of broken palisades mixed with overturned corpses.

“Hmm… they didn’t clear away the bodies…”

When Viktor muttered this, Lukovich tilted his head in confusion while covering his nose.

“What do you mean by that?”

Viktor looked at Lukovich with a mix of slight shock and bewilderment.

“Well, isn’t it natural to gather and burn the bodies after a war ends? And the bodies of allies should be collected and buried separately.”

“Pardon? Why would anyone do such a thing? Barbarians don’t care about such details after they’ve finished looting. They just leave everything as is.”

“…!”

In Viktor’s common sense, it was natural to either dispose of or bury bodies after battle, but the barbarians simply took the spoils and didn’t deal with the corpses separately.

Since they weren’t going to use the village again anyway, not only did they not bother with the bodies, but burning everything down was nothing unusual.

It was a mindset distinctly different from that of settled residents who had a firm sense of territory and valued villages and cities.

“Huh… I see.”

It was a perspective Viktor had never considered.

These people didn’t seem to have any notion of preventing the spread of disease or showing respect to fallen comrades.

The two men passed through the main gate and entered the village.

The village was in a miserable state.

All the houses had burned down, and untended corpses were scattered everywhere.

Some bodies had been stripped naked, showing signs of looting.

“Urgh…”

Lukovich exhaled sharply as if about to vomit.

However, Viktor dismounted without showing any reaction and walked toward the interior, passing between the corpses.

Although it wasn’t his first time seeing a corpse, it was his first time witnessing so many people who had died horribly.

Yet Viktor’s mind was firmly armored.

He maintained a stony expression as he entered the heart of the village.

“…Lord Kobarov.”

And he discovered Lord Kobarov’s head hanging from a large wooden post.

Lord Kobarov’s head, with empty eyes, swayed back and forth along with his tied hair.

It was a miserable end.

Viktor looked around.

Besides Lord Kobarov, no familiar faces were visible.

‘Igor and Nikita… did the two of them escape safely?’

Viktor’s face hardened a bit more as he moved forward.

The hall where the storehouse was located was half-burned, but fortunately, it still maintained its shape.

As soon as he entered the hall, his foot caught on something, and he turned it over.

The body was charred black, making it difficult to identify the face, but it was clearly a child’s corpse.

Viktor’s already rigid face hardened further.

‘Ramil… the youngest one.’

Though they had rarely conversed, he remembered his face.

Judging by the build, it was unmistakably the youngest.

Viktor pulled out the axe hanging at his waist.

Then, gripping it so tightly that the handle bent, he began to descend.

Though he had spoken that way to Lukovich, seeing the deaths of the family members with whom he had lived since birth in this world was enough to make him feel conflicted.

The looting had been thorough.

There didn’t seem to be any survivors, and all valuables had been completely stripped.

Eventually, reaching a dead end, he saw an open storehouse.

Viktor pushed aside the bodies lying in front of the storehouse and entered.

The empty storehouse seemed to have been completely looted, with almost nothing remaining.

Viktor didn’t give up and continued to look around.

That’s when it happened.

“Unngh…”

Someone was still alive!

Viktor rushed to where the faint groan was coming from.

A man wearing familiar clothes was lying face down.

Carefully turning him over, he saw a man bleeding from his head.

It was the servant, Pim.

“Hey, wake up!”

“Unngh… wa-water…”

Pim was already dying.

Viktor quickly searched through his belongings but realized he had left the water pouch with his horse’s load.

“Sigh…”

Viktor looked at Pim with a regretful heart.

He seemed to have taken a severe abdominal wound, with too much blood seeping out.

This was already beyond saving.

“Mo… mother… ah…”

Pim soon breathed his last.

Viktor closed his eyes for a moment, then closed Pim’s eyes.

Not only had he failed to salvage anything, but he had also witnessed a bitter death.

With mixed feelings, Viktor stared at Pim’s body before noticing that he was clutching something in his hand.

Upon checking, it was a small key.

‘This is…’

The somewhat tarnished but quite refined-looking key was definitely one he had seen before.

‘Lord Kobarov’s safe key…!’

Although he didn’t know why Pim, rather than the storekeeper, had the key that should have been in the storekeeper’s possession, Viktor picked it up and examined the inside of the storehouse.

‘There it is!’

He spotted a small safe that had fallen to the floor.

The exterior seemed damaged as if it had been struck several times, but it still appeared intact.

They probably tried to break it open when they couldn’t unlock it, but gave up and left when they couldn’t succeed.

Viktor approached the safe, inserted the key, and turned it.

With a click, the safe opened, and its contents came into view.

A small leather pouch and a dagger.

The dagger wasn’t sharpened and looked old, suggesting it wasn’t meant for combat.

After collecting it anyway, Viktor opened the leather pouch.

A brilliant golden color.

Two beautiful, shining gold coins and ten silver coins were neatly arranged inside.

‘Great…!’

He had never even seen a silver coin, let alone a gold one, since birth.

This must have been Lord Kobarov’s emergency fund.

Why he had stashed it in the storehouse rather than his room was unclear, but…

‘I’ll put it to good use.’

Viktor pocketed the leather pouch, gave one final bow to Pim’s body, and slowly walked out.

This amount of money would be a great help for his future.

As Viktor exited the hall, Lukovich had already brought the horses to the front.

“Ah, Lukovich. Have you calmed down a bit?”

“It’s embarrassing… but more importantly, over there, Lord Kobarov… shouldn’t we retrieve him?”

Lukovich couldn’t even look directly at Lord Kobarov’s head hanging from the post as he spoke.

Few people could maintain their composure while witnessing the grotesque sight of the head of a noble who had been a fierce and powerful knight and the owner of a village.

“I was just thinking the same. There are a few others inside that need to be retrieved as well. But will it be all right? While we’re digging graves, enemies could arrive at any moment.”

“Ah… that’s true, but… it still feels wrong to just leave like this.”

Viktor nodded.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no sign of enemies in the vicinity, so if they buried them quickly and fled, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

The two men began digging in a corner in front of the hall.

Lord Kobarov’s head, Ramil, Pim, and several other bodies were buried there.

After covering them with soil and even offering a brief prayer, it finally began to feel real.

‘So the Kobarov family has come to an end…’

By now, even the smoke that had been rising high into the sky was beginning to subside.

The village, which held Viktor’s childhood memories, had completely come to an end.

It would take a very long time for this village to be rebuilt.

The Kobarov family, who had owned the village, had also come to an end.

The head of the family was dead, and the heirs to the family were missing in action.

Viktor, who had survived, might be able to claim succession and inherit the village, but that would be a matter for after the war ended.

For a while, it would be impossible to even set foot in this area.

Though Viktor found his future uncertain, he also discovered a sense of relief within himself.

Even though the people he had lived with had died and the village had been completely destroyed, he felt a complex mix of sadness and relief, and Viktor finally realized,

That this village had been a prison for him.

Viktor lowered his head as he gazed at the mound of soil swaying slightly in the passing breeze.

Along with it, his childhood seemed to be coming to an end as well.