The Third Son of a Knight Family – Chapter 12 – Prologue (11)

Author: Dawn

“By the way, what were you doing while I was in the hall?”

Viktor suddenly asked, as if he’d just remembered.

“Ah… I was just looking around to see if anyone was still alive. I also stopped by the quarters… but they were all burned down.”

Looking at Lukovich, who was lamenting that the slave quarters were completely burned and that he couldn’t find anyone alive, Viktor replied matter-of-factly.

“Is that so? Then I suppose you’re no longer a slave. All evidence of your status has been destroyed.”

“…!”

Lukovich’s eyes widened as if he’d heard something completely unexpected, and he exclaimed.

“Now that you mention it, that’s right! All the documents, everything burned… wait, does that legally make me a free man?”

“How would I know…?”

“Ah.”

Lukovich looked at Viktor.

Seeing a member of the Kobarov family still very much alive with piercing blue eyes, Lukovich began to regret his words and grew nervous.

Viktor smiled slightly and said.

“It was wrong for you to travel without a permit in the first place… but forcibly capturing people and turning them into slaves wasn’t right either. Now that the head of the family is gone, I’ll command in Lord Kobarov’s place. You are free.”

“…Ahhh…”

Lukovich’s entire body began to tremble.

If someone were to ask if he was content with his life as a slave, that would honestly be a lie.

Compared to his days as a peddler, freely traversing every corner of the principality as if it were his home, he had been forced to live a completely confined existence.

Of course, depending on the circumstances, a noble’s slaves sometimes received better treatment than not just commoners but even modest nobles, but Lord Kobarov wasn’t that significant a noble.

Lukovich was barely at a level where he wouldn’t be looked down upon by the village serfs.

Besides, being a slave meant constantly having to be mindful of his master’s moods, and if he ever thought of escaping, a terrible price awaited him.

‘Finally… freedom!’

But now Lord Kobarov was gone.

He opened his garment and, with trembling hands, tried desperately to remove the slave marker around his neck.

“Ugh…!”

However, it was designed to be difficult to remove without a key, and the metal restraint wouldn’t easily come off.

Unable to watch any longer, Viktor approached.

“Let me see.”

Thud- Clang.

The marker that wouldn’t break even with full force was easily removed and rolled on the ground.

“Thank you… thank you so much, Lord Viktor! I will never forget this kindness…!”

Lukovich repeatedly expressed his gratitude, bowing so deeply that his head nearly touched the ground.

Even for a ruined family, releasing a slave so simply was unheard of.

Lukovich was now openly weeping at such rare generosity.

“That’s enough. More importantly, what do you plan to do now?”

Viktor casually waved his hand, and Lukovich stopped bowing and stared at him with a confused expression.

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“You’re free now. Once you leave this place, do you plan to return to being a peddler?”

“Ah…!”

Viktor began to contemplate his own future as he looked at Lukovich, who seemed lost in thought as if he hadn’t considered what lay ahead.

‘Once we safely get out of here… what should I do for a living?’

Though he lacked the family seal to prove his identity, Viktor wasn’t particularly worried.

When he left the village, Viktor was already equipped with the armor he’d received and wore an elegant surcoat emblazoned with the Kobarov family symbol.

On top of that, he was riding a fine warhorse named Podaga, which was more than enough—in fact, it was excessive.

Though he had never been formally trained as a knight, his outward appearance was already that of a fully-fledged knight.

In this world, status was strictly defined by appearance, accent, minor habits, and ways of thinking.

Nobility didn’t actually bleed blue blood when cut, but nobles possessed evidence that commoners could never imitate.

Though Viktor was a country bumpkin in a sense, these proofs were unmistakably clear. In particular, his manners and accent, which others in the family lacked, were nearly perfect.

It was the result of his efforts to live like a civilized person by following priests since childhood.

As he was now, even without explicitly identifying himself as a member of the Kobarov family, anyone would see him as a reliable knight.

‘Since things have come to this, should I head south?’

The Old Empire in the south was truly an object of admiration.

A land with consistently warm, pleasant weather, vast territory, and abundant resources, with such tremendous wealth that it overflowed.

Judging by how lavishly even ordinary merchants who visited this remote area spent, it seemed an extremely attractive place even if only half the rumors were true.

Even the priests’ eyes would brighten and their spirits would rise whenever they spoke of the Old Empire, which suggested that at the very least, one wouldn’t starve to death there.

‘If all else fails, I could work as a mercenary…’

Just as Viktor was about to set his destination south, Lukovich opened his mouth with a solemn expression.

“I… I want to follow Lord Viktor!”

“…Huh? You want to follow me?”

Viktor tilted his head at these unexpected words, and Lukovich declared resolutely.

“Yes! I’ve already received overflowing kindness from Lord Viktor, and I, Lukovich, have no intention of letting it pass cowardly. If you’ll accept me, I’ll serve you!”

“Uh… you?”

Lukovich responded with a shocked expression.

“Could it be that I haven’t served Lord Viktor well until now?!”

“No… that’s not it, but…”

Viktor, who had intended to travel alone, was grateful but planned to decline.

“Of course, Lord Viktor is a noble of the principality, and you’d have no issues on your own, but having a servant would still help resolve annoying matters! Plus, I’ve worked as a peddler and as a slave for a long time, so I definitely won’t be a burden to Lord Viktor!”

“Um, well…”

“Besides, wouldn’t it better serve Lord Viktor’s dignity to have at least one servant rather than traveling alone? Please…!”

‘I think it would be better to live as a peddler…’

Viktor hesitated, but thought it wouldn’t be bad if he was this eager to help.

He could delegate bothersome chores, and as Lukovich said, having an attendant would look better than traveling alone.

‘This man is worth serving! Even if I wanted to return to being a peddler, I have no capital. In that case, I might as well serve him…!’

Lukovich had his own calculations.

From his perspective, this young noble Viktor was a promising knight with great potential for success.

Not only his character, but also his tremendous strength—though he hadn’t witnessed him fighting directly.

His ability to ride horses and learn anything instantly showed remarkable talent.

Ambition gleamed in his eyes.

‘If I serve him now, when he becomes great later, some benefits might fall to me!’

With a merchant’s intuition, Lukovich was making the bet of a lifetime.

Finally, Viktor nodded.

“Alright. If that’s what you want, let’s travel together.”

It was the moment when a young lord and a slave transformed into a pair of knight and attendant.

“Thank you so much! I will continue to serve you!”

Lukovich smiled brightly.

And then, from behind them, an arrow flew and struck between the two.

“…Hiccup!”

Lukovich froze with his smiling face still in place.

****

Warrior Puga was shouting in extreme frustration.

“These damned wolf bastards! When the hell are they going to arrive?!”

Beside him, his comrade Nitski was also fuming.

“Because these jerks are late, look at what’s happening to us!”

Puga and his fifty or so warriors under his command were waiting for the Uley region tribes who were lumbering along at a snail’s pace.

The Grand Chief’s main force had already wiped out the problematic village and rushed ahead to ravage the inner territories of the principality.

Unfortunately, they had been left behind as the rear guard to greet the Uley tribal coalition forces who were to join them.

“Lord Puga! Can’t we just ignore these bastards and go looting too? I’m itching all over!”

His subordinate warriors whined like children, but Puga merely wore a displeased expression without saying anything.

He shared their sentiment.

He was beginning to question why they had come all the way from the steppe to this place.

The village of whatever-Kobar was so small it might as well have been the size of a booger.

Something that small couldn’t possibly satisfy their hunger.

‘Damn it… should I just pretend to go crazy and join the main force?’

Since the Uley tribes were taking so long, what was he supposed to do?

As Puga was crushing the grass beneath his feet and chewing on his anger, a warrior who had gone scouting returned from the distance.

“It’s them! The advance party of the Uley bastards!”

All the warriors in the area rose with bright faces.

“Finally!”

“Even the dullest goats would be faster than those guys!”

Puga immediately rose and mounted his horse.

“Let’s go! Let’s hear why they’re so late!”

‘These damn bastards… if their excuse isn’t good enough, I’ll tear their chief to pieces!’

Puga was a typical warrior of the steppe.

Unless they were from his tribe, and especially if they didn’t show respect first, even if they were chiefs of another tribe, they were no different from enemies.

While the Grand Chief’s warriors were bustling about, dozens of warriors had already begun galloping toward them.

At the front was the old warrior, Kulak.

****

“Do you think what you’re saying makes any sense?!”

Puga growled threateningly as he puffed up his fur.

The fox beastkin Puga’s bright yellow fur bristled, making his already large body seem almost twice as big.

However, Kulak wasn’t intimidated at all.

“Listen, young warrior. What exactly doesn’t make sense?”

“While you were dawdling, we already finished that fine revenge of yours! But a so-called warrior like you should be ashamed! What? You were delayed because the path was difficult? Are you joking?”

“Those people were merely a passing phase. Do you think our anger is so shallow that it would be quenched by catching such trivial enemies?”

As Kulak coldly spoke, the atmosphere grew even chillier.

“Those guys are nothing. What’s truly important is the principality. In that regard, we’re not even late.”

“Ha! You speak well. Since when did wolf bastards become so cunning?”

“…Watch your tongue, young warrior. Remember that my restraint is not due to my mercy but out of respect for the alliance between our tribes.”

As Kulak curved his nose bridge and bared his teeth, Puga matched his glare.

How much time passed?

In the end, it was Puga who yielded first.

“…Hmph, fine. I apologize. But the Grand Chief will remember this.”

“As you wish.”

As the two warriors calmed their anger, their subordinates also relaxed their expressions and began to take positions on opposite sides.

The typical posturing that occurred when two steppe tribes met seemed to have ended in a draw.

But soon, Puga dropped another bombshell.

“What, what did you say?! Say that again!”

“I said… we have your chief’s daughter with us. Fortunately, we rescued her just before she was about to die. Of course, we’ll add this to the debt owed to your chief…”

“Damn it all! Is that what matters right now?! Where is she? Where is she now?”

As the old beastkin lunged forward as if to grab his collar, Puga retreated in surprise.

“Wait, why is this old man so stro–! Just calm down for a moment!”

“I’m asking where she is! Is her body intact? Is she injured?”

Puga glared at Kulak as if displeased, then finally spoke.

“If she was so precious, you should have come to rescue her earlier. Well, her limbs are intact.”

Kulak, who would normally have been angered by such provocation, merely showed relief.

“Really…? That’s truly fortunate, truly… But what did you say? Her limbs are intact?”

“Um… about that…”

****

Kulak was galloping madly with a face twisted like a demon.

Puga, barely keeping up from behind, shouted.

“Look, we already cleared that place out! We burned everything to the ground, not even a blade of grass left! Hey! Chase after that old man! Calm him down!”

But Kulak had lost his mind long ago.

Though the chief had callously abandoned her, she was like a granddaughter to him, whom he cherished and loved more than anyone, perhaps even more than the chief.

Though the law of the steppe was harsh, how could they leave her to die like that?

He had lamented his own age while contemplating dozens of times whether he should go rescue her alone…

Fortunately, the Grand Chief’s forces had swept away the enemy at an opportune time and were able to save her life, but after hearing the details of her condition, Kulak’s mind exploded with rage.

-These fucking fox-fucking garbage mongrel bastards!

-Wait, why are you acting like this…? And what did you say? Something about foxes?

-If I don’t put a nose ring through these bastards, I’m not a wolf!

-Hey, catch him!

Kulak immediately reached the outskirts of the village.

The village was mostly burned to ashes, but his anger only grew.

I should have been the one to burn this place down!

That’s when it happened.

Kulak’s eyes caught sight of two figures near the center of the village.

Their attire, appearance, and armament.

They were unmistakably principality people.

“URAAA-!!”