CH 10

Carlton’s army was able to simply enter the duke’s castle, rendering the two days of battle futile. With the owner of the castle, Luisen, standing at the front, the gate which had not opened despite all imminent threats began to creep ajar.

The people stationed at the outskirts had no idea why Luisen appeared from outside the walls, nor why he was with the enemies. However, they had no choice but to open the gates for their lord.

As soon as Carlton stepped foot inside, he skillfully disarmed most of the still-resisting soldiers and seized the castle. Many of the soldiers were peasants in the first place. When the gate unlatched, many were shocked and preoccupied with running away.

The retainers, who had heard the news from a messenger from the outer walls, gathered in front of the inner door.  Rather than to welcome Carlton, they were practically salivating to catch Luisen and figure things out.

“I’ll give you a moment to have a conversation.”

At Carlton’s kind offer, Luisen’s complexion became pale. The brazen, pretentious image of a noble disappeared, and it was replaced by an expression befitting a pig being dragged to a slaughterhouse. He gulped back a cry of denial. Carlton observed his demeanor, pleased.

‘Ah, come on! It’s common sense to separate the lord from his advisors so they can’t do anything foolish!’

However, he was too afraid of Carlton to complain and couldn’t utter a single protest. Instead, he was pushed into the conference room with the rest of his retainers. Luisen turned around hesitantly.

The conference room was filled with terrible silence. As if to ask each other what had happened, the retainers simply stared at one another. Luisen felt as if their gazes were choking him.

He sweated profusely. Unable to stand the silence, he began talking.

“I surrendered.”

“Are you out of your mind?” the normally soft-spoken treasurer shouted.

Though the others in the room did not raise their voices, they all agreed silently with him. Is he sane? Is he crazy? What on earth has our lord done?! Even if they didn’t voice their thoughts, Luisen could see their questions written plainly on their faces.

“So what will we do now?”

“You’ll be seen as a traitor! This matter won’t just blow over.”

“Don’t you know why that barbarian was sent here? He was tasked with razing the whole kingdom, leaving no survivors!”

“What the hell were you thinking? Surrendering?!”

The knight commander clenched his fist and hit his chest, trying to chase away his frustration. Swords and armor were confiscated from the pitiful-looking knights–they stared at Luisen with a despondent expression. The tender-hearted servants around them wept as they imagined a terrible future.

“There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll all be fine,” Luisen said.

“How so?” the treasurer asked.

“What the first prince wants is not the fall of our dukedom.” Luisen once again told the others what he had told Carlton. All his theories, his knowledge for why Carlton was sent here, the first prince’s test for both of them.

“And so Sir Carlton agreed. There will be no pillaging in our lands, nor will he harass our people.”

“Is that true?”

The treasurer was surprised to hear that the enemy would not be looting them. Maintaining the army required a great deal of wealth. Without the backing of a wealthy family, supplies would run thin, so looting recouped losses. In particular, mercenaries like Carlton were famous for their lack of compassion and were no different from bandits.

“Carlton is following the prince’s orders to gather the allegiances of the southern lords that were not originally on Prince Ellion’s side. Peaceful transition would be impossible without our help, so the enemy is being cautious.” It was hard to find fault with Luisen’s claims. His uncharacteristic cleverness impressed the butler, who had already unconditionally favored him. However, most of the others doubted Luisen.

They may have listened if these same words came from another’s mouth. But from Luisen….it was an issue…

‘The lord can’t possibly say something intelligent…’

‘Can we believe those claims? Isn’t he just spouting drivel from that mouth?’

All of the advisors in the duchy did not trust Luisen at all. He was a lord who had never stayed in the territory for longer than a month within a year. Perhaps they could have trusted him if he were to stay still, but he was the type of trash to get into scandal after scandal. He was the one to throw his quiet family into the whirlwind of civil war.

Instead of listening to Luisen, who squandered the respected position as the Duke of Anies, the retainers looked towards the general, who had effectively led the estate on Luisen’s behalf. What did he think of these claims?

Bearing the weight of confused gazes, the general opened his mouth calmly.

“Whether the duke’s judgement was logical or not, the gates have already been opened. Carlton’s soldiers have already taken control of the castle. All we can do now is wait.”

“But commander, even so….”

“Do you have a better idea?”

The general neither affirmed nor denied Luisen’s words. Luisen felt even more anxious, waiting for some kind of judgement.

“But I’m disappointed, my lord.”

Luisen’s heart dropped. To him, the general was more than just a retainer. He was his teacher, a replacement for his father. On one hand, he was sick of being under his control; on the other hand, he was afraid to disappoint him. Even now, the general’s statement tormented his heart.

“Once again you’ve arbitrarily run off without properly consulting anyone.”

“I apologize……”

“Even if you were to surrender, there are procedures that suit the status of a duke. You ignored all that and went to the enemy camp alone, kneeling to another. What would the people of the kingdom think of this?”

“…They’d probably say that I was terrified and begged for my life. That I threw away all dignity.”

“And you….knowingly made that mistake?” The general took a deep breath, trying to constrain his rising anger. His tone was as calm as always, but there was unmistakable fury hidden within his voice.

“I’ve taught you time and time again. Whatever you do, think of the honor of the Anies Duchy,” the general continued.

“I did…” Luisen mumbled. He always felt like a 10-year old child when standing in front of the general. The general had given up on past Luisen’s indifference and laziness, but he would not concede on maintaining a noble’s honor.

The dukedom was the royal family’s granary. Without the wheat produced from this territory, the kingdom could not survive. The Anies family had ruled this land longer than the royal family without ever being invaded.

The general loved this land, and he was proud of dedicating his life to the duke’s family. Knowing how much he had pledged to the duchy, Luisen couldn’t raise his head in front of him.

But Luisen did not have any regrets. This decision was perhaps the best choice he had made in his time as a lord. It was regrettable that the general’s pride and heart were inevitably hurt.

“Honor and pride do not save lives,” he said.

“And does someone who idled their life away as a delinquent have the right to say that?”

“Just be honest and say that you wanted to live. You haven’t stayed at the estate for longer than a month since you were sixteen, so don’t make the excuse that you somehow care for the territory now. Didn’t you say you had no desire to waste time in a rural village and instead wanted to be in the capital with your friends?”

Luisen felt the governor’s long-standing resentment from his words.

‘Did I say things like that?’

Luisen was speechless. To be honest, he had no memory of any of this. No matter how hard he tried, his delinquency was a dim, hazy memory of many years ago. He only knew how he chased pleasure, like water chasing water.

“Let’s stop this argument. As the general said, we have no choice but to sit still and wait.” The treasurer stepped up to mediate, “Let’s hope the lord’s judgement was correct.”

“Tch. How did we become people who would wait around for a mercenary’s instructions.”

The general left without hiding a single ounce of his disappointment. The knight commander quickly followed as well. The treasurer hesitated, noting the tension between Luisen and the general, but ultimately followed the two out of the room. As each minister and the heads of each organization filed out of the conference room, everyone else also made themselves scarce.

They gave Luisen pointed and hostile glares. Some even sighed or cursed quietly. According to the mood, if Luisen were not the lord, he would have been stoned as a traitor by now.

“Are you all right, my lord?” The butler remained to console Luisen.

“Everyone is just very proud of the duchy and this estate. It’s the first time in history that these southern lands have been conquered, so everyone’s pride is smarting. They’re searching for avenues to lash out. They’ll understand you…gradually.”

“….Thank you,” Luisen sighed. The consoling butler also did not seem to trust in his judgement. He just had more compassion for Luisen than anger for his actions.

‘My past truly is a shackle on my ankle. It’s all my fault.’

That’s right, who told him to act like trash? This was why people said that it was best to live a sincere, kind, and faithful life.

Though the fact that no one understood his true feelings made him sad, Luisen accepted his fate calmly. He had known it would be like this–actually it was more heartbreaking than he had prepared himself for, but this hurt was inevitable. The past could not be erased.

But that was okay. The horrid night he had regretted had already passed, and a new morning, a new hope, had arrived. The unhappy future had already shifted. He would no longer wander around miserably and suffer the harassment from the spirits of those he had indirectly killed.

He had made a new future for himself.

When Luisen looked out the window, he saw the panorama of the dukedom under the soft glow of the morning sun. The endless fields of wheat sported a deeper golden color, more so than any other harvest season.

***

Since the day the duchy was seized, a blue lion flag hung next to the golden wheat flag that symbolized the Anies family. News of the duke’s defeat spread throughout the entirety of the southern region.

No one was predicting the duke’s victory. The general public rather laughed at the absurdity of the duke’s choice to fight back. However, the blue flag hanging at the castle still came as a shock.

How did the duke feel when he knelt to Carlton who, despite being the first prince’s agent, was still a mercenary from the common people? What would happen now to the duchy and the citizens of the south? Many people desperately observed the castle, but no further news arrived.

Carlton and his men took control with remarkable skill and neutralized all enemy forces. They locked the gates to the castle and simultaneously banned all access.

“I bet something terrible is happening there.”

“As expected of Carlton. I don’t know if anyone in that castle will be left alive.”

“Then, what’ll happen to the duke?”

The common people expected hell to unleash–Carlton and his troops were just too notorious.

“I bet he’s alive but…to the pride of a great lord…he’d be living without truly being alive.”

Everyone thought the same. People sympathized with Luisen’s situation. Though they thought him foolish and may have cursed his name, they didn’t think he deserved the horrors Carlton would inflict upon him. Either way, the people agreed that his future looked extremely bleak and miserable.