80 — 8 (10)

Gaion’s instinctive judgment had proved correct. Not long after, Gaion — who was leading the remnants — encountered Louis’s army. Louis accepted the stragglers without complaint, fed the hungry, treated the wounded, and even sent them into the city. The ordinary soldiers already seemed to recognize Louis as their new master, but Gaion, Jodan, and Anok still kept their distance. They had served Fred for so long that it was natural they could not change their minds easily. Still, after confronting Louis, Gaion could no longer trust his own eyes.

‘He had grown terrifyingly. Truly, one could not predict even a step ahead in life.’

Gaion — who had been plunged into despair by the loss of Fred — felt a new wind beginning to blow.

After taking in the remnants, Louis immediately received the loyalty of his officers. Some soldiers still bore displeased expressions, but the situation had reached the point where there was no choice left. After all, Louis was now the only blood relative eligible to inherit the vast fortune of Pontina Remitri. Louis had not yet received the king’s approval, but he was unofficially called duke, and in fact acted as one; once the king’s sanction came, he would become a full duke.

Inheritance in this age meant not only property but also the vassalage of the houses that followed the duke. Those who disliked that would face the harsh process of leading their retainers out beyond the domain. Louis expected that winning over the first brother’s troops — bound by personal loyalty rather than money like the second brother’s — would take time, but to his surprise every officer who faced Louis sang his praises as a ruler; not one refused to swear the oath.

No — there had been one who seemed likely to refuse. Because they were on the march, the oaths had to be taken quickly, and the loyalty ceremony was held as soon as they met, so it was now late at night.

The atmosphere was barren and utterly different from the party they had held recently in the port city of Kayani; the only warmth came from the torches the soldiers carried. In the strict, tense setting, Louis alone sat in the center. Those who had taken the oath and those waiting both sat solemnly, but few remained waiting. Although the oaths of several chiliarchs were important, the most crucial were the three individual pledges.

There was the veteran Gaion, who knew tactics and strategy well, and Jodan, who combined personal martial skill with sound tactical judgment — though Jodan was still unconscious and could be set aside for the moment. The talent Louis coveted above all was the Sword Expert Anok. Whether he would swear his loyalty was the most important question, but Anok had not shown his face; nobody knew where he was nursing his pride.

‘Hm… it would be trouble if that bastard deserted.’

Louis lacked strong armed forces at that point, so Anok’s presence was vitally important. He was inwardly anxious, but he kept a poker face. As a lord, he believed showing an unshakable posture was important to firm up the hearts of those who had only just turned to him.

Just as the last man finished his oath and the ceremony was about to end, two guards suddenly sprang aside and a very drunk Anok appeared. Unlike a short time before he did not have his face smeared with blood, but his hair was still disheveled enough to reveal his mental state, and the strong reek of alcohol that accompanied him reached even Louis.

But Louis did not care much for such manners. He would have punished an ordinary man without mercy, but he could tolerate this level of rudeness to obtain the talent he wanted. Glad that he had not yet declared the ceremony closed, Louis was about to call for Anok’s oath when one chiliarch exploded in rage.

“You insolent bastard!!! Who do you think you are, coming here reeking of drink like that!!!”

Whether from longstanding ill will toward Anok or from a desire to show loyalty to the newly chosen Louis, the voice lacked true anger. Still, understanding the gravity of the occasion, the iron-willed Anok fell to his knees before Louis.

“…….First, I must apologize to the duke for my conduct.”

There was a long silence. But Louis planned to endure greater discourtesies to win the Sword Expert, so he had no reason to be angry with Anok’s immediate apology.

“Alright, rise. I forgive your breach of etiquette. I, too, have lost all my brothers and, if I could, I would drown myself in drink — yet there are duties to fulfill. Though I was forced to draw a blade against Brother Fred, I did not wish for matters to be decided this way. This is the affair of House Pontina, and it should have been resolved in the Pontina manner. I will accept no interference. That is my decision. It would have been the same even if it had been my brother. Now listen, Anok. I, Pontina Louis, will make Marquis Gangpireu understand the meaning of the Pontina sigil. I will ravage his city, take everything he possesses, cut off his head and stick it upon a pike, and burn their banner before their families’ eyes. Anok, I ask you: will you help me, or will you flee like a coward?”

Half of it was sincerity and half was rhetoric mixed with many things. Anok had only one possible answer, and Louis delivered it with heartfelt intent. Perhaps Louis had been too clever — before Louis had finished speaking, Anok was already crying. The resolution of vengeance for family had deeply moved this ingenuous commander.

Anok composed himself as if he had not been drinking at all and knelt properly before Louis.

“I realize now that I am stupid and had so many misunderstandings and imagined things. Duke Louis, unlike inexperienced me, you saw far more. Please forgive me and trust me. I beg you to allow me to join that great plan.”

Louis smiled with satisfaction, completed a brief formal procedure, and patted the shoulder of the tearful, guileless commander. With that, aside from the unconscious Jodan, he had reabsorbed all the military figures; and given Jodan’s doctrinaire nature, it was obvious that he would swear allegiance to Louis the moment he woke. What remained now was to devise a way to win the war against Marquis Gangpireu.

The next morning, the long-unconscious Jodan finally opened his eyes. Word reached Louis immediately. Louis went straight to Jodan and demanded an oath. Jodan hesitated slightly in deference to Fred’s dying wish, but ultimately swore fealty to Louis. And when Louis spoke of his plan to exact revenge on Marquis Gangpireu, Jodan revealed the cause of Fred’s death that no one had known until then: the presence of Mihoff.

“He was a young swordsman. He looked barely 170 cm tall and was of slight build, yet he had terrifying swordsmanship. That man appears to have delivered the mortal blow to Lord Fred. The blade that severed my left hand was his as well. Duke Louis — you must be careful.”