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It was Carlton’s men who broke the tension during this bizarre standoff.
“Captain! Captain!!” Carlton’s men rushed in as if they had been waiting hours for his arrival.
Carlton felt a bit annoyed as a distraction appeared right at his moment of victory. “What?”
Carlton’s men, accustomed to his blunt attitude, did not shrink back in fear. Instead, they took a deep breath and said, “The surrender envoy from Vinard estate has arrived.”
At that moment, everyone–the general, the butler, Luisen, and Carlton–immediately turned their attention towards the men.
Among the southern lords who supported the second prince, Vinard was the only estate which did not surrender to Carlton. Carlton had mobilized to punish them, but the schedule was delayed by Luisen’s failure and the subsequent distribution of rations. Following the original plan, Carlton would have broken into their front gates by now and held a knife to the lord’s neck.
“You’re saying they’ve come to surrender now?” Carlton grew serious under these unexpected circumstances.
It was later than late! It had already been days since the locust storm passed the duchy. Thanks to the thorough preparation and the village’s support, they had been told that the swarm of locusts had split into multiple groups and were no longer such a threat.
“If they were going to surrender, they should have done so immediately. Why would they send an envoy now?” Luisen looked towards the general, but the general also seemed to be oblivious.
Carlton’s men continued, “But the envoy from Vinard
it seems they’re in a strange state.”
“Strange how?”
“They claim that we’re deceiving them–babbling and causing all sorts of mayhem. They claim they ‘don’t believe it,’ and are asking us to bring forth the Duke of Anies.”
“Me?” Luisen’s eyes grew round.
“Yes. You, sir duke. They refuse to say a word until the duke arrives.”
Next to him, Carlton’s face twisted violently. “Is it time for them to kick the bucket? If they can’t believe anything, then let them stay that way. What’s there to ‘believe?’ Since when were we the type to talk things out?”
“Haah. You’re right, Captain.”
Carlton’s boorish comments made his subordinate giggle. Carlton and his men always seemed to match each other well–harmonious as always.
Shouldn’t the subordinate at least pretend to restrain his leader at this time?
Luisen was forced to step in. “Sir Carlton, please calm down. Why don’t I go with you? I’m also wondering what is happening.”
“Well
” Carlton seemed reluctant, but he had no strong objections.
But stubborn opposition sprang forth from an unexpected source. “Absolutely not.”
It was the general.
“Even if Vinard’s lord may be a lord, he is a mere vassal compared to you. Perhaps if he personally came to request an audience
as it stands, he has no right to order you to come and go as he pleases.”
“This situation is peculiar. 1 I’m also curious as to what’s with the behavior of Vinard’s envoys.”
Carlton’s purpose was to subjugate the southern lords under the first prince’s banner.
Once Vinard’s surrender was clarified and confirmed, there would be no reason for him to stay in the south. The mission would be over. Carlton would then leave the duchy, and freedom would be restored to them. The shackles that bound the retainers and Luisen would disappear, and all authority would be returned to the duke.
That was a moment everyone in the Anies duchy had been waiting for with bated breaths. Therefore, Vinard’s refusal to surrender was also an important issue to Luisen.
“But
”
“If it’s safety the general is concerned about, then there’s no need. I have Carlton, after all.”
“That’s also a problem,” the general grumbled.
“If the surrender envoy was in danger while on his way to the duchy, it’s not something to be taken lightly.”
“That’s true, but
” The general’s resolve slightly relented at Luisen’s persuasion.
“Hm.” Carlton wasn’t too inclined to take Luisen to the meeting with the envoy either. However, when the general opposed his participation, a desire to act like a green frog popped up. 2
“Alright then. Let’s go together.”
“Really?” Luisen asked.
“Yes. But you must promise to stay close to me and not cause any trouble.”
“Am I a child?”
“Would you like to peacefully remain at the castle?”
“No! I won’t make trouble. I promise.”
Carlton gave a small chuckle at Luisen’s quick turnaround.
‘He’s definitely changed,’ Luisen thought.
He didn’t smile as if he were pretending to be kind, as he had before. His laughter lacked some sharpness and sarcasm. Luisen thought the mercenary had gotten nicer as well. So, lately, he’d been less scared of Carlton in the past few days. Luisen did not know the reason for this sudden change, but he liked it.
‘I mean, I think I’m doing pretty well these days. Maybe that’s why Carlton’s gotten softer on me. Haha!’
“Then, I shall follow you as well,” the general squeezed in. He was determined not to leave the two, Luisen and Carlton, alone.
However, Luisen refused to cooperate. “You should guard the castle. The acting lord and the lord should not both leave the premises.”
“That’s right. There’s no reason for the both of you to go,” Carlton chimed in.
At that impudence, the general’s anger soared to the tip of his head. “Then, at the very least, you’d better bring your servant. Let’s call for Ruger.” The general rushed into the building, attempting to find Luisen’s chief attendant.
As soon as he left, Luisen turned to Carlton. “Let’s get going.”
“You’re alright with leaving your attendant behind?”
“That punk is probably idling–hiding from his job–in some hidden location. If we wait for him, the whole day might pass us by.”
“Well then.” Carlton mounted Luisen onto his horse. He had no choice: if Luisen were to ride his own horse, they may get separated or the ride down would take all night. If the general had seen it, he would have fainted
but Carlton and Luisen left before the man returned.
******
The thoroughbred warhorse quickly carried the two, galloping at breakneck speed along the straight stretch of road leading to the gate. It was so quick that Luisen, who had been distracted by various worries, arrived far faster than he had expected. When the guards confirmed that Carlton was present, the gate opened.
There was a tent built just outside the gates–previously, this was where all the surrender envoys had been received and dealt with. The guards approached their captain; they were surprised to see Luisen in Carlton’s arms.
“
It seems the duke has tagged along.”
Carlton dismounted first and, very naturally, he held the duke with both hands to help him get off as well. Though the men knew Luisen couldn’t easily get off the horse alone, they were still so surprised they were rendered speechless. ‘What on earth is going on??’
“The envoy?”
“
.Te-tent
Let’s go inside.” Carlton men led the two to their destination with trembling faces. Five men stood inside the tent–four of them were wearing armor, and the other donned clothes made of soft cloth. He was immediately recognizable as the chief envoy sent to broker the terms of surrender.
“You. Are you in charge of delivering the news of surrender?” Carlton asked. The envoy snorted and raised his head. Since the man was sitting down, he looked up at the mercenary, but it somehow felt like he was looking down at Carlton instead.
Luisen could infer exactly what kind of man he was: a noble who did not yet know how high the sky was.
“Are you Carlton? I’m Bolton, the heir and eldest son to the Vinard territory. I’m in charge of this procession. It’s said that you’re a common man
don’t you know how to pay respects to nobles?”
Sure enough, Bolton was blue-blooded through and through. He wasn’t daunted by Carlton and instead provoked him for what he’s worth. It was clear he was immersed in the advantages his station of birth afforded him and mistook himself as absolutely superior in any situation.
Carlton took an angry step forward; only then did Bolton flinch.
“F-fine. Looking at you, it’s not as if you look educated. I’ll show you mercy this time. Why don’t you speak with me
your men were speaking some nonsense to me.” Bolton attempted to get a handle on the situation.
Luisen grimaced and grabbed Carlton by the arm–he was sure the man was about to kill the Vinard envoy.
“It’s alright. I won’t kill him.”
“It’s not about killing. If you hit an envoy, you’ll gain more notoriety and the surrender negotiations could go awry.”
Carlton’s expression softened slightly as Luisen clung anxiously onto him. Then, Bolton noticed Luisen’s presence.
“Oh! Uh! A-aren’t you the duke?!” Bolton leapt to his feet and humbly greeted Luisen. His head bowed down as deep as it could, almost reaching his knees. “Goodness me, how are you, my duke? I am Bolton Vinard. We met briefly last year at the New Year’s celebration.”
“Did we, now?”
“Yes. We even talked for over five minutes at that time
In anycase, have you come all this way for us? The duke’s generosity makes this Bolton’s head hang low and his heart overflow with gratitude.” Bolton acted as if he was moved to tears as he kowtowed towards Luisen. Carlton, on the other hand, was dumbfounded at how the Vinard heir seemed to be a completely different man.
Luisen also felt awkward, as it had been a long time since he had received such blatant flattery. ‘Just from the way he speaks, it looks like he’s fine.’
On the surface, it didn’t seem like he’d run into much trouble. The envoy’s clothes had become dirty after travelling a long way, and his face was lined with fatigue. But, he didn’t seem to have suffered much hardship–rather, the journey seemed to have been quite smooth.
“Let’s stop with the useless small talk. Now, tell me, why have you made such a fuss and requested my presence?”
“What do you mean fuss? How could we dare cause trouble? We were just so frustrated and outraged at the unfairness of it all that we simply raised our voices a little.”
“What’s so unfair?” Luisen asked. Simultaneously, Bolton angrily glared at Carlton, but he couldn’t bring himself to openly show such hostility in front of the duke, so he restrained himself.
TL: Sorry for a bit of the delay guys >.< But the chapter’s here!
Footnotes
Originally, the novel says “this situation is a situation,” In korean, repeating like that often implies something special
It might not translate through well, so I found the English equivalent. Acting like a green frog is basically acting like a contrarian. You want to do the opposite of whatever others say.