CH 91

A man followed behind Morrison. Judging by the full head of hair, the man wasn’t a monk; furthermore, he was quite dressed up. Luisen had no idea who he was, but the man seemed quite glad to see the young lord, “Esteemed Pilgrim. It seems that we meet again so soon.”

“Ahaha. Yes. Of course. Who are you…?” Luisen smiled awkwardly and stared at the Inquisitor.

Morrison explained, “This person was on the boat crossing Mittil just a little while ago. Apparently, he works as an errand boy at this monastery.”

“I greeted you when you dismounted the ship, but you must have forgotten. I had implored you to visit our abbey, as I wanted to repay you.”

Honestly, Luisen didn’t usually remember any of those well wishes, greetings, or other such formalities. At that time, more than one or two people had greeted him similarly; also, he was shocked by the events that happened that day–Morrison had kidnapped him–so, the young lord could hardly remember anyone’s face. “I–I apologize. My memory is a bit…”

“That’s alright. These things can happen. I heard you wanted an audience with Duke Assylus–I believe I can help with that.” He said that the Eastern Great Lord had recently commissioned a book from the monastery. This person happened to be the one chosen to deliver the book and was willing to take Luisen’s party with him.

Of course, the man wasn’t of a status that could directly greet the Eastern Great Lord. However, the party could accompany him to the insides of the Great Lord’s barracks, and, when he hands the book off to a servant, he could secretly mention Luisen.

“If you do this for us, I would of course be extremely grateful, but I wonder if we’re asking a difficult favor from you…”

The errand boy waved away Luisen’s concern, “I owe the esteemed pilgrim a great favor. Saying a few words cannot compare to the difficulties the pilgrim faces. And, since the Duke is deeply religious, he is already interested in the recently famous pilgrim.”

“Me?”

“I’m sure he’d love to hear about the esteemed pilgrim’s activities aboard the ship. Since it happened in the east. I’m sure he’ll offer great compliments.”

“Then, I’ll leave this to you.” Luisen decided to accept the man’s offer–there was no reason to refuse. Besides, Morrison’s smile seemed to indicate that the messenger had no other options.

‘I suppose being famous isn’t always a bad thing.’

Even without Morrison’s pressure, there would still be many people willing to help him. Though it may be overly prideful, Luisen was still proud to think that this was because of his accomplishments.

***

The Eastern Great Lord was staying in a tent on a plain about a half day’s journey away from the abbey. His crew was moving toward the capital at an incredibly slow pace.

When Luisen arrived at the plain, he saw dozens of large and small tents erected atop the flat plain. A wood fence was set up around the boundary, making the whole camp resemble a nomadic village. In the center, a red wave-patterned flag, which symbolized the Eastern Great Lord, fluttered in the air.

Various other flags representing other aristocratic families were also erected around the central flag: it seemed that the Eastern Great Lord had attracted other forces, and they were all traveling together en masse.

As the world remained chaotic, the aristocratic union in the east showcased their robustness and intent to highlight the authority of their Great Lord.

There were a great many people outside the wooden fence–these consisted of those who could not join the Easter Great Lord’s party and were camped near the entrance to see a glimpse of the great noble’s face. They begged the soldiers, bribed them… In any case, things were a mess.

‘It must have been difficult to even make it this far.’

Once they learned the location of the Great Lord, Luisen thought it would somehow be possible to be granted a meeting. But now that he saw the situation with his own two eyes, the young lord thought he wouldn’t be able to go near the entrance.

Perhaps if he removed his hood and identified himself, Luisen would be able to pass easily. However, Luisen wanted to hide his identity as much as possible; he thought it would be best to reveal his identity when he met the Great Lord.

Luisen’s party easily passed through the wooden barrier thanks to their introduction as an errand-group. The audience’s jealous eyes fell upon the young lord.

The Great Lord’s servant came out to greet the messenger. “My lord has been eagerly looking forward to this book.” The servants wore gloves before examining the book, page by page. These books, which were hand-written and hand-drawn by the monks, were like works of art.

The errand boy–the messenger–quietly brought up Luisen’s party while staring into the servant’s eyes.

“I’ve heard of their group from a rumor going around–I suppose the Lord will be interested in this story. What fortune–the banquet has just gotten boring, so I believe it’ll be alright to introduce….” At that moment, the servant glanced towards Luisen and nodded when he saw the young lord.

The messenger quietly remarked that things had gone well before turning around; Luisen and his companions were guided to a splendid tent–large and colorful due to its red embroidery.

Another servant entered the tent and told them that he’d ask for an audience for the pilgrim from the Eastern Great Lord. The servant who had accompanied Luisen’s party had the pleasure of laying out basic etiquette to Luisen; the words went in one ear and out the next for the young lord.

‘I won’t be chased away this time, right?’

Things had changed since the regression. He knew that intimately, but a little anxiety was inevitable as the young lord recalled old memories.

At that moment, Carlton sneakily took the young lord’s hand. The mercenary’s palms wrapped tightly around the back of the young lord’s hand–that alone reassured Luisen. ‘That’s right. If anything happens, Carlton will carry me and escape.’

The servant that just entered the tent called for Luisen, “Please enter.”

“Once we’re inside, please leave things to me. Both of you, try to refrain from speaking as much as possible.”

“Understood.”

“Alright.”

“Haah.” Luisen took a deep breath and walked inside. The attending servant and Luisen took the lead followed by Carlton and Morrison.

The banquet was in full swing inside the tent; a band played music, and the nobles chatted as they ate and drank. The attending servants were busy at work, and the knights stood upright and vigilant.

This scene was similar to banquets in the duke’s castle. However, Luisen was surprised by the sheer number of nobles. It seemed like all the lords of the eastern territories were gathered here. The nobles were so busy playing among themselves that they didn’t even look towards Luisen’s group.

‘Wherever we went, we heard that the nobles had fled. I suppose this was where everyone gathered.’

As the situation was unstable, perhaps it was reasonable for the nobles to gather underneath the Great Lord’s wing. The choice was made for survival, but their behavior seemed pathetic to the outside eye.

Bandits and monsters ran rampant outside; day by day, people turned their backs on their hometowns, unable to survive. These so-called lords sat here, busy drinking and playing. In exchange for their comfortable drinks, their denizens may wander, never able to settle down.

As he thought about that, Luisen became desperate to return to his throne.

The young lord reached the end of the carpet and stood in front of the Eastern Great Lord. He, in turn, sat on a chair decorated with gems. Uncaring of Luisen’s approach, he laughed and exchanged jokes with young maids. Deliberately not paying attention to Luisen was a small show of the Eastern Great Lord’s authority.

The Duke of Assylus, the Eastern Great Lord, looked the same as he did in Luisen’s memory–a face of a relaxed and kind old man, whose eyes shone as brightly as any other youth’s. The man was a sophisticated politician; a man who held his powerful post for many years.

‘A very consistent man.’

Because of that, the rest of Luisen’s anxiety flew away. As he watched the Eastern Great Lord show off, the young lord’s heart yearned to match the man’s rhythm. Although he was seeking help, Luisen was similarly another Great Lord.

He was Luisen Anies. If the ruler of the golden fields had to kneel, he should only kneel twice: once before God and once before the king.

Come to think of it, he knelt several times in front of Carlton, but that was tied to the duchy’s fate… so the young lord could let that go. In any case, it hurt his pride to be the first to bow down.

Luisen stood at a distance and waited for the Eastern Great Lord to see him.

“Hem. Hem Hem.” The servant coughed in vain, trying to give him a hint. Nevertheless, Luisen acted as if he didn’t understand. At that point, the servant lowered his voice and urged, “Look here–what are you doing, being so discourteous to the Lord!”

Luisen ignored the servant’s shouts. He looked back, just to check; Morrison and Carlton sat with one knee on the floor with their heads bowed down.

The sight of them being so polite was quite refreshing–after all, whether their opponents were aristocrats or not, they were more likely to bash their opponents’ heads in.

“Have you ever seen such a wicked man?! I can’t believe he’d greet our Lord with his back straightened!” As the servant roared, the knights also approached angrily. At that time, the nobles also looked at Luisen, wondering what was going on. The masses stirred slightly when they saw Luisen standing far away.

The Easter Great Lord also glanced at Luisen’s party after being alerted by the disturbance. Just as Luisen thought he should slowly begin to speak, the other spoke first.

“Wait.”

At that word, all the servants and knights stopped in their tracks; the nobles all held their breath, watching for their duke’s next movement. Since the Eastern Great Lord’s authority was clearly established, the hierarchy was clearly delineated, even in such chaotic situations. The noisy barracks became quiet.