Episode 128

Villa Hora fortress, western watchtower.

Just a few hours ago, when the sun was still up, this place was fiercely defended by the archers and wizards of Baron Custer.

Now, as night has fallen, only two men remain on guard.

Ideally, they should be fighting off sleep with idle chatter while keeping an eye on the area below the tower and the enemy lines, but…

“Yeah, meat… give me more meat…”

Both are now nodding off, mumbling in their sleep.

If no high-ranking officer comes by until the next shift, they might enjoy a sweet nap despite being on duty, but…

The sleeping guards were caught by a junior knight’s squire.

“Sleeping while on guard duty during war! They wouldn’t be missed if their heads were chopped off!”

Normally, soldiers caught sleeping on duty would be whipped fifty times as a punishment, half-killing them, and during wartime, they would be beheaded the next day as an example, according to military law.

However, Hilde, the junior knight whom the squire serves, stopped her.

“Stop getting so angry. Why so furious?”

The squire shook her head.

“Lady Bauman, you know as well as I do that sleeping on guard duty during wartime is punishable by death, no exceptions. Especially now, when we never know when the enemy might attack. We must set a strict example, even if they are lowly serfs, to maintain discipline.”

Hilde smiled at her and gently rebuked her.

“Sophie, calm down.”

“Yes…”

“Sleeping on guard duty during wartime is indeed a serious offense punishable by death according to military law. But if you’re too harsh on them, eventually, even your own soldiers will refuse to follow you. If you want to be a knight worthy of your late father, sometimes you need to show mercy.”

Sophie calmed down and suppressed her anger.

“Yes, Lady Bauman.”

Hilde patted the squire on the shoulder, seeing her reflect and calm down.

“We’re both women. To be recognized as knights in women’s bodies, we must be stronger than men and know when to show kindness.”

Sophie looked down at her own body.

Her armor covered two mounds of flesh, her breasts, a testament to her womanhood.

Hilde patted her on the shoulder again.

“But being too lenient won’t do either. You need to know when to use both the carrot and the stick. Let’s go wake them up.”

“Yes, Lady Bauman.”

Hilde quickly approached the guards at the watchtower.

The two sleeping did not hear her footsteps and continued to dream…

“Wake up! What do you think you’re doing, sleeping on guard duty!”

Startled by the loud voice filled with Aura, the sleeping guards woke up.

Seeing where the sound came from, the two broke out in cold sweat, thinking,

‘We’re really dead.’

If the person who woke them had been just a squad leader or a lieutenant under Baron Custer, they might have gotten away with a beating…

But if it was a ‘knight’ who didn’t even regard serfs as people, they were likely to be killed.

“We’re sorry, so sorry!”

Hilde felt pity for them, knowing they had fought in battle until exhausted, hadn’t eaten properly, and had to stand guard.

‘It’s understandable they’d fall asleep from exhaustion.’

However, she didn’t show her feelings and continued to scold them.

“Do you realize what you’ve done? It’s lucky for you that the enemy didn’t attack while you were sleeping here, but what if they had tried to sneak attack us?”

“We’re so sorry!”

“You would have been killed right here, and if we were unlucky, the gate might have been opened. Then, including Baron Custer, we all could have become prisoners of the Medici army or killed. And if we lost the war badly, your families and hometowns would be trampled as well.”

The guards remembered.

!

In the aftermath of defeat in war, mercenaries plundering a territory would not leave even the minimum amount of food, stripping everything away as a matter of course. If they encountered even more ruthless ones…

The conversation shifted to the horrors of torture, rape, and being sold into slavery, leading to a life of unbearable suffering.

“Therefore, the military law dictates that anyone found sleeping on guard duty during war, regardless of their status, shall be executed. You are aware of this, aren’t you?”

The serf guards nodded at these words.

“Sophie.”

At Hilde’s command, her squire was about to subdue the serf guards when they knelt down, crying and begging.

“Please spare us. If I die, what will become of my elderly mother and my children? They are too young to inherit the right to farm as serfs.”

“And what of my wife and daughters?”

“Please, just spare my wife and daughters from falling into a life of prostitution. Just this once, give us a chance…”

Hilde sighed, seemingly out of options.

“According to military law, all of you should be executed, but the Baron would not wish for your families to suffer. He cares for his people. So, I’ll pretend I didn’t see this and let it go.”

Truth be told, Baron Custer couldn’t care less whether his serfs were happy or miserable, but Hilde, a low-ranking knight, had never met the Baron up close.

She only knew him as a great lord who would surely reward loyalty, based on what her late father had taught her.

She then noticed the bruises and wounds covering the bodies of the serfs.

“Looking at you, I can tell that, despite being serfs, you’ve fought valiantly for the Baron. Survive and return, and you shall be rewarded.”

Moved by her words, the serfs shed tears of gratitude.

Despite deserving death for sleeping on guard duty, they were not only spared but also received words of encouragement from a noble knight.

They were deeply touched.

“Thank you, thank you, milady…”

Hilde handed over a cloth bag she had been carrying.

“Inside are hardtack and jerky. Eating well is vital when you’re hurt and tired. Share these after your shift ends. Let’s go, Sophie.”

As they hurried away, the sounds of the serfs sobbing could be heard in the background.

Hilde glanced back at them for a moment and smiled.

“Sophie, my father always said that even serfs are Deus’s precious children. Don’t just whip them thinking they’re lowly; win their hearts.”

“Is that so?”

Speaking of her respected father, Hilde’s face lit up with a smile.

“Yes. That’s why, although my father never advanced beyond an intermediate level of Aura, he was a true knight respected by his soldiers and serfs alike.”

She remembered her father, who had passed away five years earlier.

He enjoyed training with his soldiers, sweating alongside them, and despite his modest income, he ensured his soldiers were never hungry.

When village chiefs or administrators attempted to collect excessive taxes, he, as a knight, would step in and advocate for the serfs.

“That’s why during the harvest season, serfs would bring gifts of cheese, wild berries, and freshly milled wheat flour as tokens of gratitude. The soldiers would also pool their wages to give my father heartfelt gifts on major holidays.”

Her father, deeply respected by both serfs and soldiers, was a figure she aspired to emulate.

“Thanks to him, even if his Aura level was low, he always played a significant role in wars. He never returned empty-handed, even if he didn’t achieve great feats.”

Although advancing from a low-ranking knight to ‘intermediate’ required a significant accomplishment, her father always remained a low-ranking knight…

But she deeply respected him for being respected and always fighting well.

“I wanted to be like my father, so I never neglected my training. As a result, I became an expert at a younger age than most.”

Sophie listened intently to her story, as if hearing it for the first time.

“Regardless of how many times I hear it, he was truly remarkable. It would have been difficult for a female knight to achieve so much otherwise.”

Hilde stretched her right hand towards the sky and clenched her fist.

A gentle smile spread across her lips.

“And now, the opportunity to prove my worth to my lord has arrived.”

Sophie suddenly spoke up.

“What if Baron Custer does not recognize you, Lady Bauman, simply because you are a woman?”

Hilde clenched her teeth, her smile vanishing.

Not being recognized for her abilities was not only about personal ambition or desire for wealth but also about living up to her father’s teachings and her sole goal of loyalty to the Baron.

“Even so, I am a lesser knight of the Barony of Custer. It is painful to be unrecognized, but how can I not be loyal to this house?”

While they were talking, several knights spotted Hilde and pointed their lances at her.

“Hilde Baumann, junior knight, you are under arrest for betraying Baron Custer.”

Gulping, she was dragged before the baron.