The Third Son of a Medieval Knight Family Chapter 24 - Knight of the Principality (10)

Dawn was breaking.

Though he had been drinking with Bostov all night, Viktor remained perfectly sober.

Ironically, Bostov, who had suggested drinking in the first place, frowned as if his head was hurting.

“Sir Knight, you are truly manly. I can drink quite well myself, but I cannot possibly keep up with you.”

“Nonsense. After everything that happened yesterday, you weren’t in your normal state either. Next time, invite me to a proper banquet. We can compete again then.”

“Haha, I’m honored that you would say so. I will definitely host the largest banquet in the city, upon my name! Though I may be a mere merchant, I am still a man of the North, and I pride myself on my drinking abilities. Hahaha!”

Bostov beamed with delight at Viktor’s words.

While the two were conversing amiably, Maksim began walking toward them from a distance.

He looked haggard, as if he hadn’t slept all night, but his expression was bright.

It was clear he had spent the night tormenting the prisoners.

Hiding his stained hands behind his back, Maksim cheerfully began to speak.

“Good morning, Sir Knight.”

“Oh, Maksim. Don’t tell me you’ve been up all night?”

“Hahaha, how could I sleep when I had the knight’s orders to carry out? I’ve handled the matter you entrusted to me. Would you like me to report now?”

Viktor was somewhat taken aback by Maksim’s behavior, treating him as if he were his direct superior.

‘Is he like this from lack of sleep?’

After all, Bostov was the employer, and even so, mercenaries rarely acted this servile even toward their employers.

Despite his inner bewilderment, Viktor’s mouth moved naturally.

“Haha, reliable indeed. It would be quite helpful to have a mercenary like you in my employ.”

“My goodness, Sir Knight. We plan to stay in the city for a while after this job is done. If you have any work, please call upon us anytime!”

Maksim nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling at Viktor’s casual remark.

‘If I could work with this knight, I could make a lot of money…’

Watching this, Bostov spoke with discomfort in his voice.

“Don’t forget that I am still your employer. So, what information did you get?”

“Ah, I apologize, my lord. Of course there were results. One of them was a unit commander of sorts. He knew quite a bit.”

Maksim cleared his throat and then continued with a suddenly hardened face.

“To get straight to the point, they are mercenaries hired from the south.”

“The south?”

Maksim nodded at Viktor’s question.

“Yes, they were quite notorious in the southern principality. They said they were hired by a lord from the eastern region.”

“Is that so? But why would men hired by an eastern lord be lurking near our city?”

Bostov scratched his chin with a suspicious expression.

“Well… they were crushed in a battle with the barbarians.”

“…!”

“Is that true?”

“The other prisoner said the same thing. It seems the eastern lords scraped together troops for a major battle against the barbarians… and were completely defeated.”

According to the two prisoners, after losing the battle, the eastern forces were scattered, and they had been wandering around after deserting the battlefield.

In other words, they were remnants of a defeated army.

Bostov’s face hardened.

If this was true, it was a very serious matter.

If it wasn’t just sporadic conflicts throughout the east, but rather the united forces of the lords had been crushed at once, then the east was essentially up for grabs.

While the lords regrouped and gathered their strength again, it was obvious that the barbarians would be roaming freely throughout the principality, plundering as they pleased.

‘Now I understand. Those idiots, how could they…’

He had wondered how barbarians could be roaming so close to the city, and now his doubts were somewhat cleared.

Bostov began to consider how best to report this matter.

While he was frowning, Viktor asked another curious question.

“But if the eastern lords combined their forces, they should have been able to gather quite a substantial army… how did they lose?”

“Ah, well… according to these fellows, they relied only on numbers and fought on the plains.”

Viktor nodded.

If that was the case, it made some sense why they were so thoroughly defeated.

Considering that the barbarians were almost entirely mounted warriors, engaging them in open battle was tantamount to suicide.

This wasn’t just a skirmish between small forces—in a large-scale conflict, the outcome was even more predictable.

‘Mercenaries and conscripts alone would have been limited… they must have placed too much faith in their knights.’

Both his family members and the eastern lords tended to overestimate the effectiveness of knight forces in this era.

While knights were indeed powerful, in Viktor’s opinion, they weren’t invincible.

They too were human and would die if stabbed with a sword.

In the chaos of a battlefield, even a knight could die in an instant of bad luck.

“Good work. It seems we should avoid the eastern region for quite some time.”

Maksim agreed with Viktor’s lighthearted comment.

“That’s right, indeed. Who knows how long these madmen will rampage… By the way, what should we do with the two prisoners?”

“Hmm? The prisoners? Is it appropriate for me to decide?”

“Of course, you should! Since you captured them, Sir Knight, the right is naturally yours.”

Bostov chimed in with additional explanation.

“There’s no need to drag them along with you. If you wish, I know a slave trader whom I could arrange to meet you.”

“Hmm… no, it would be troublesome to drag them all the way to the city. Just show them mercy.”

“Pardon? Um… when you say show mercy…”

As Maksim hesitated, not understanding what he meant, Viktor answered clearly.

“They would only be torn apart by beasts if we left them. Kill them.”

“Indeed, understood!”

‘Their legs are already crushed, and they’re in terrible shape from the torture. This is kinder.’

Thus, the fate of the prisoners was decided.

Bostov spoke up.

“It would be best to get into the city as quickly as possible. Everyone is probably unaware of the current situation.”

“That sounds good. Lukovich, my horse.”

The group hastily finished preparations and began riding swiftly along the highway.

****

“Wow, impressive.”

Bostov smiled proudly at Viktor’s exclamation.

“Haha, welcome to Permikoff, the pride of the principality, Sir Knight!”

At the end of the wide highway, a massive city flanked by dense forests came into view.

Thick forests covered the high hills on either side of the city, and following these natural fortifications, rows of enormous palisades built from stacked logs reached toward the sky.

Between them, a massive drawbridge stood firmly closed.

“Is that the entrance?”

“Yes. Usually it’s wide open, but recently they’ve been keeping it closed. The number of travelers coming and going through this east gate has drastically decreased.”

Bostov replied while urging his wagon to move a bit faster.

As the group approached, a soldier standing on the watchtower above the palisade shouted.

“Halt! Who comes there? Few people travel in this area these days.”

Bostov shouted loudly.

“I am Bostov of House Smolen, proud member of the veche! Open the gate, soldier!”

“Please wait a moment! I’ll send soldiers down!”

As he shouted, a small door beside the drawbridge opened and a group of soldiers began approaching.

They came to verify identities.

A clerk-like figure who approached with the soldiers received Bostov’s seal and documents.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but procedure is procedure… please wait a moment.”

The clerk bowed apologetically, suggesting that even though they knew each other’s faces, separate verification was necessary.

Bostov responded with an expression of complete understanding.

“Haha, of course verification is necessary. Take your time.”

Viktor admired the city’s systematic organization, where even high-ranking individuals were subject to proper procedures.

“Impressive. Well-ordered.”

“Well, it’s not usually this strict during peaceful times… but now it can’t be helped. Besides, normally we coordinate everything in advance, but today we couldn’t…”

Viktor nodded at his words.

Bostov had said that the other servants and staff he had brought with him were all killed when the barbarians attacked.

With these right-hand people swept away, it was difficult to send a messenger in advance.

One might ask why not send the mercenaries, but they too were proud in their own way.

If ordered to do such menial work, they would certainly become angry.

After waiting for some time, the clerk who had received the communication respectfully returned what he had been given with a bow.

“Verified. Welcome back to the city, Lord Bostov.”

“Good, thank you for your work.”

The drawbridge slowly opened, and the group was finally able to enter the city.

The panorama of this renowned city, built not on plains but on hilly terrain behind the massive log palisades, gradually came into view.

Densely packed wooden houses with distinctive roof styles occupied the terraced areas.

Remarkably, the main road cutting through the center of the city was paved with bricks, and numerous people and wagons traveled back and forth upon it.

Viktor’s heart began to race at the sight of this city, which was far larger and more vibrant than he had expected.

‘This is the first time I’ve been to a city since being born in this world.’

It was a beautiful and unique landscape.

Of course, it couldn’t compare to modern cities, but it looked a hundred times better than the small, insignificant village where he had lived.

However, Maksim and the mercenaries who were sneaking glances at him from the side fell into an odd disappointment.

Viktor’s face showed none of the dumbfounded expression typically displayed by country folk visiting a city for the first time.

Unfortunately, Viktor wasn’t the type whose emotions were readily visible on his face.

From the side, Bostov cleared his throat and began speaking.

“Now that we’ve safely entered the city… I’ll quickly settle accounts and take care of business.”

“Settle accounts? What do you mean?”

In response to Viktor’s question, Maksim pointed to the wagon.

“The equipment and goods we seized on the way, Sir Knight. There’s quite a lot… distribution will take some time.”

While the barbarians hadn’t been carrying much, the mercenary group that attacked them was different.

True to their reputation, their equipment was sturdy and of good quality, and there were many items that could fetch a good price.

Bostov spoke with the eyes of an experienced merchant.

“According to the original contract terms… items acquired in battle should be distributed according to regulations, with the primary employer taking one part, the mercenary company taking two, and the remainder distributed according to contribution, but…”

This time was different.

Viktor’s share, who had intervened in the middle, was certain.

Without him, they all would not have safely returned to the city.

Maksim nodded as if this were obvious.

“All of these spoils should naturally go to the knight. We have our sense of honor.”

“Hmm… I think so too. Sir Viktor, they are all yours. Use them as you wish.”

Some mercenaries swallowed regretfully, but soon everyone shook their heads.

The condition of the items was excellent, but no one was foolish enough to show greed here.

That’s when Viktor unexpectedly spoke up.

“What are you saying? We all fought together. Bostov, if it’s alright, please dispose of all these items. Let’s divide the proceeds equally.”

“No, Sir Knight. Are you really sure about this? Though I know you are an honorable knight, you don’t need to be so considerate toward mercenaries…”

“No. In matters like this, calculations should be clear. I’ll entrust it to you.”

Maksim and the mercenaries looked at Viktor with moved expressions at his words.

“Truly… truly generous! Sir Knight, please don’t forget the name of our mercenary company. The Birch Tree Mercenary Company will always be waiting for the day we can be of service to you!”

Knights who showed such consideration to mercenaries were rare.

In their experience, mercenaries were treated as less valuable than roadside stones.

Maksim sniffled for no reason.

Though this journey had been more dangerous than expected, just being able to serve such an excellent knight was enough to boast about.

When he met the regretful expression of Bostov, Maksim spat firmly.

‘Still a cock of a merchant. Acting like he’s a real noble.’

‘Such an impudent mercenary. Daring to defy me even within the city?’

Bostov frowned and spoke again.

“Understood. Then, Sir Viktor, if you have nowhere to stay, may I escort you to my house? If you’ll wait just a moment, I’ll quickly take care of the remaining matters and return.”

“My, should I impose so much? I feel rather sorry.”

“There’s no need to think that way at all! After you saved my life. Haha, then I’ll take that as permission. Now, please follow me.”

Bostov smiled, seeing servants hurrying toward them from a distance.

Viktor began to follow Bostov, leaving behind the mercenaries who continued to offer their greetings.