The winters in the North are cruel, but the winters in the West are no less so.
The winter on the desolate moor, with nowhere to hide, treated the people of the West harshly with its cutting winds.
Just like here and now.
"...You should have offered your neck instead."
Gaidar's vestibule. Knights' Hall.
The man sitting at the highest point had an intimidating stature that anyone could see.
"I can't believe they stripped you of your sword. Can you still call yourself a knight?"
Count Sigmund Gaidar.
The new Western loser who expelled the Ramanov family looked at his son without hiding his anger.
"I'm sorry, Father."
Stephen, trembling with fear as always, could only bow his head at Sigmund's harsh words.
Bang!
"I thought I was finally calming down, but you provoked me like this!"
Bloodshot eyes and a trembling beard.
The armrests of the chair couldn't withstand the pressure and collapsed.
The greedy Western loser felt his whole body boiling with anger at the news of the defeat brought by his son.
"Was it not for that shining Rutiger, but for that pale-faced brat who just received the title of knight?"
It was a duel that should not have been lost.
To be precise, it was a duel he was sure he would win.
However, Stephen was defeated and in return handed over his sword.
To be precise, he had handed over all influence over Deirmar to Bayezid along with his sword.
"What have you done! What the hell were you doing while they treated my son like a bastard!"
Painful mistakes and losses.
Sigmund's anger spread everywhere as he tasted the bitter taste of defeat for the first time in a long while.
"There's no shame, Count."
Although the anger was violent, Godin simply stood tall with a dignified posture.
"I heard you knew him!"
"...If I had to be specific, he would probably be related to the Count."
There was an old relationship.
Although it was a bad relationship and I thought I had finally broken it, there was still a thread of connection in Soara.
"This is the one who saved the runaway knight, Jorge. His talent was immense, and the level of the knights around him was also excellent."
Sigmund paused for a moment when he heard the name Jorge.
"More than anything, they took advantage of the terrain. It was an unexpected challenge."
In the duel that day, Stephen was crossing swords with Vlad, but Godin, who was standing as an observer, was involved in an invisible strength struggle with Jager, who was standing on the other side.
He was a knight who had such a strange aura that one would wonder why his name was not well known in the North.
"Jorge... that bastard."
Sigmund recalled old memories as he listened to Godin.
The knight whom his uncle, who was the previous head of the family, especially appreciated, was also a man who did not acknowledge him until the end.
So I killed him.
"You're going to screw me over until the end."
And the newly standing northerner."
The Troublesome Dwarven Liberation Front.
And the newly standing northerner.
The ashes scattered by the knight named Jorge still bothered Sigmund.
"...Gaidar must not be snatched away."
Whatever you have in hand, somehow put it in your stomach.
Then, use the two hands you have left to steal and preserve what belongs to others.
Only then can you survive in this wild West.
He stole, destroyed, and brought down his entire life.
To enemies, to others, and to family members with whom I share blood.
So, the only person left here and now.
"Somehow, bring back my son's sword. Godin."
"Alright."
He's a usurper who can't tolerate defeat. He was Count Gaidar.
***
"Are you really not going?"
A snowy morning in Shoara.
Vlad stood in front of the stable Marcella had specially built, looking at Noir.
Neigh—
"I'm not going to work today."
Vlad clicked his tongue as he looked at the black horse seeming to convey that.
"I don't think this is right."
[It's a problem even if your brain is too good.]
A spacious stable enough to accommodate five horses.
But there was only one horse resting inside—Noir.
The piles of hay scattered around here and there to ward off the cold and the warm boiled feed clearly showed what kind of reward this guy with the grin of a rose was enjoying.
"...Who would believe that guy was a wild horse?"
Noir followed the kid and gave up his freedom, but in return enjoyed the clear benefits of civilization.
When Vlad saw Noir lying comfortably and smiling while showing his gums, Vlad was filled with jealousy.
At least he came running to me when it was a mission, so I had to take that as consolation.
"Oh, it's cold."
Vlad left Noir, who was disobedient to the end, and headed to Soara's town hall, walking through ankle-deep snow.
Now that he was a knight, it was enough to call for a carriage and ride, but the hunger pangs ingrained in his bones always made Vlad a frugal person.
"This is the first time I'm receiving a salary."
Vlad had lived his whole life without receiving fair compensation.
From being a back alley youth to becoming Jorge's dagger and Joseph's squire.
Occasional pocket money was the child's means of survival, but that would change starting today.
"Mr. Bordan, it's me."
"Come in, Vlad."
A knight who couldn't lift a sword.
Standing in front of Bordan's office, Vlad entered, smelling the sweet aroma coming from all directions.
"Your face is full of color."
In a place where heaps of snacks were scattered, there was a fat man who seemed to need to take care of his health as much as Joseph.
"Shouldn't you at least do some exercise?"
"If you move too much, you'll die prematurely."
Bordan said something ungentlemanly and pulled a small bag from a drawer and placed it on the desk.
"You knew how to read, right? Then I'll also give you a statement, so wait."
Although knights held a semi-noble position, many were illiterate.
However, Vlad could read and understand despite his stammering, so it would be more appropriate to write it down on paper rather than communicate it verbally.
"…"
Bordan writes the statement with a crisp sound.
Vlad, who was watching him, opened the bag of gold coins with a swift motion and checked what was inside.
Indeed, it was the skill of a former pickpocket.
"It's 4 gold coins."
Bordan's eyes were on the paper, but his ears seemed to be tuned to Vlad, as he calmly told him this month's salary amount.
"What's wrong? Are you disappointed?"
"...No. No."
Though he said it aloud, he sincerely felt disappointed.
'If you count it for a year, it's 50 gold...'
Before meeting Joseph, Vlad had saved less than 1 gold coin in his entire life.
The now broken sword was worth 5 gold coins.
Although it was definitely a better amount than before, 4 gold coins definitely weren't enough to satisfy Vlad now that he had become a knight.
"What a kid."
Bordan let out a small sigh as he looked at Vlad, who still acted clumsily.
Because he felt like he knew why Jager was still keeping the kid close.
"A knight doesn't save money through salary."
"Yes?"
Bordan dropped the pen with a dull sound, as if he had finally finished completing the statement, and looked at Vlad with a meaningful smile.
"A knight should uphold honor, have corresponding duty and responsibility."
"...But."
Vlad was taken aback by Bordan's words, which suddenly shifted from talking about money to the fundamentals of knighthood.
"It's all about money."
All valuable things can be converted into money.
Vlad knew money was valuable, but he had no idea how to earn it.
He was so anxious he went hungry his whole life, but he didn't know what to do because he had never experienced it.
"The price of honor will be paid all at once at the end of the year. It's called a special subsidy."
A well-fed cat doesn't catch mice.
If you want to gain money and fame, you have to put in a lot of effort.
"You can look forward to it."
As Bordan said, the kid was one of the main characters who glorified Bayezid's name this year.
Peter, the head of the family, Rutiger, who borrowed the kid, and Joseph, the original lord, surely would take this into account.
"So, what's the price of duty and responsibility?"
Vlad, who was finally starting to understand Bordan's words, eagerly awaited the next gold coin with shining eyes, but Bordan just shrugged.
"I don't think it's right to ask this when you bring the Hainal family treasure."
"That's not mine. It was definitely borrowed."
Vlad protested to Bordan with an offended voice.
Because he felt like he was remembering the teasing he received from the older knights all the way to Soara.
"If I had known that was the case, I wouldn't have accepted it."
"Well. Maintain that stance even in front of others. That's the justification."
"…"
He had no idea that amber could be interpreted this way.
It was just an amber stone he brought at the risk of being spoiled by Alicia, if it were such a significant item he would have thought twice.
"Even if you become a noble later, don't forget me."
How about aspiring to success as a knight?
Bordan looked at Vlad, who was trying his hardest to conceal his burning ambition, and gave him a look that said he knew everything without saying anything.
With the words that Joseph is looking for him.
"You knew, right?"
[…It's good. Nobility.]
Vlad, who stepped out into the hallway, could only sigh in response to the voice he heard.
There's no one in the world to believe in.
Since it was a world where the ones who suffered were criminals, Vlad could only blame his momentarily softened state of mind.
***
"I'll give you a patrol area."
A bottle of wine warmed by the stove with a fragrant aroma.
A one-eyed knight sitting at the guest table, quietly closing his eyes.
And even Stephen's sword hanging on the wall.
"Now that you've become a knight, you must take on more responsibilities and obligations."
Joseph, who had finally set aside his documents, picked up the bottle of wine next to the fire and began pouring it into a glass.
Of all alcohols, whisky was his favorite, but in winter, when the days grew very cold, he drank hot spiced wine that was good for the respiratory tract.
"Will I do it alone?"
"I'll send the guards, but you'll be the one in charge."
Vlad has done well so far.
He performed his duties well and brought even more value to Bayezid.
That's why we need to further cultivate him.
"It will be a completely different position from the leadership you held during your mercenary days."
"Alright."
Vlad, to whom Joseph handed the wine glass, accepted the warmth that emanated with both hands.
"A back alley would be a good area, right? It may be bothersome to others, but for you, it's like being at home."
"That's right."
From the moment he opened the castle door with a single word on a dark night until now, Vlad still didn't know his location.
Although it's fine.
Time and experience will be medicines for Vlad, who is still young.
"There will be a shortage of people. Guards are people who need to be used here and there, not just patrolling."
There are six knights in total in Soara.
Except for Jager and Bordan, who were on special missions, all were in charge of security in their own areas, as Vlad is now.
And to ensure that mission, Joseph maintained security by hiring his own people, not just the troops he provided.
Because it was both a duty and a privilege of a knight.
"I'll support the salaries for up to four people. Try to hire people to work under your command."
A knight is one who takes the initiative.
A person who can become a representative anywhere.
Now that Vlad was a knight, he was qualified to hire and employ his own people.
"Now you have to live up to the title of a knight."
More responsibilities, more obligations.
And more interest.
Even now, Rose's smile was full of merchants waiting for Vlad.
Everyone had predicted the current situation.____
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