After the group followed Krovitz inside, the remaining princesses and their entourages could only cast envious looks after them.
“My goodness... If the commander of the Duke Knights and the eldest son of Duke Perstein came out to receive them in person...”
“If they truly are members of the Kassim Mercenary Corps, then it makes sense.”
Among the murmuring people, Princess Servalti could also be seen standing there blankly, as if her soul had left her body.
Before long, the members of the Kassim Mercenary Corps began their journey to the capital. One group had already departed, and a second was preparing to set out, but they began their journey independently. Judging by that, it seemed their intention was to have Damon meet Duke Perstein before the selection ceremony was held.
Although they departed separately, their scale was by no means inferior to that of the group that had left before them. As many as one thousand soldiers and two hundred carefully selected guard knights were arrayed around five large carriages, protecting the party like an iron wall. Among the guard knights were fifteen Sword Masters, making it abundantly clear just how much effort Duke Perstein was putting into Damon.
Kassim and Damon, who could be called the true leadership of the Kassim Mercenary Corps, boarded a large carriage together with Krovitz and Krancia, while the remaining mercenaries, including Mitchell, rode in the next carriage. Juliana was assigned a luxurious carriage of her own and ten maids. Sword Masters rode in the foremost and rearmost carriages, preparing for any unforeseen situation.
Considering that even two hundred knights had been assigned among the escort force, it was a level of protection beyond imagination. And so, the members of the Kassim Mercenary Corps began their journey to Pelzentin, the capital of the Croisen Empire.
“It will take about a day and a half to reach Pelzentin. Please rest at ease until then.”
Damon, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned his head at Krovitz’s words.
“Thank you. But the scale of the escort force is truly astounding. Are all of them Duke Perstein’s private soldiers?”
Krovitz smiled faintly and nodded.
“That is correct. But please do not worry. Nearly all of the division commanders of the Croisen Empire are under the command of His Grace Duke Perstein. In other words, His Grace controls even the regular army.”
“Amazing.”
Damon nodded silently. It was the moment he truly felt the hidden power of Duke Perstein. Slowly, he turned his head toward Krancia, who was seated beside Krovitz. In that instant, surprise flashed across his face.
‘To have reached a level so close to the peak at that age... astonishing.’
No matter how he looked at him, Krancia did not appear to be past his mid-twenties, yet he had reached a realm where becoming a Sword Master was nearly within sight. It was a level not particularly inferior to Mitchell’s. Perhaps unable to believe that such an achievement had been made by the son of a man who dominated a great empire, Damon continued to voice his admiration.
“An impressive achievement. Just how diligently must you have trained...”
Krancia’s face flushed slightly.
“I am embarrassed. It is all thanks to the great help of my seniors in the knight order.”
Krovitz, who had been watching, quietly joined in.
“He is famous among the knights of our Duke Knights as a training fanatic. But what matters most is that he became a vice-commander through an utterly fair competition. His Grace Duke Perstein gave strict orders that no special treatment whatsoever was to be given simply because he is his son. Because of that, the knights of our Duke Knights regard him as nothing more than a comrade.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. In fact, the seniors rebuke him harshly whenever he makes a mistake. Because if they were to let a mistake pass without rebuking him, they would receive severe punishment. That, too, is His Grace’s order.”
At Krovitz’s words, Damon’s mouth fell open. It sounded easy enough, but there were not many people in power who actually put such a thing into practice. Love for one’s child was a parent’s instinct.
‘What an extraordinary man. To actually recreate the way a lion raises its cub...’
The thought that Duke Perstein might be far more remarkable than he had expected flashed through Damon’s mind. Seeing how he had trained his child to that extent, Damon thought he was certainly a man with the caliber to covet the Croisen Empire.
When Damon fell silent, Kassim, who had been listening, opened his mouth. Much of his surprise seemed to have subsided, and his gaze had regained a measure of calm.
“If you are the commander of the Duke Knights, then your title must be...”
Krovitz answered with a gentle smile.
“I have no title. My lifelong wish is to devote my loyalty to His Grace until the day I die. The same is true for most of the vice-commanders of the Duke Knights. While other noble knights spend their time attending balls and banquets, we voluntarily returned our titles so that we could devote ourselves to sword training.”
Kassim, too, could only stare with his mouth agape. With such a mindset, it was obvious that the Duke Knights would soon surpass the stronghold of the Croisen Knight Order. At the same time, even fear began to well up within him toward Duke Perstein, who commanded such subordinates.
‘I have never seen Duke Perstein before, but he truly is an extraordinary man. To be able to draw this much loyalty from his subordinates...’
After that, they continued to converse amiably. Under the ironclad protection of one thousand carefully selected elite soldiers, the party gradually advanced toward Pelzentin.
From the carriage following behind, quiet conversation could also be heard.
“Was there really any need to kill that guard knight?”
“......”
Gerald said nothing and remained silent. Watching him, Mitchell’s brow slowly furrowed.
“Did you perhaps kill him because he insulted Juliana?”
Gerald, who had been listening, gave a faint nod. Mitchell frowned.
“Even so. To kill a man over such a trivial thing...”
Gerald lifted his head and shouted.
“Such a trivial thing? Instructor, you heard the insults that bastard hurled at her too, didn’t you?”
“But Juliana was the one who started using foul language first.”
“That’s different. Princess Juliana is a woman, so one might let it pass, but for that bastard to dare...”
At those words, Mitchell wore an expression of disbelief.
“Don’t tell me you have feelings for that Juliana girl?”
Gerald’s face turned bright red. He looked as if Mitchell had hit the mark.
“N-no. How could I dare...”
Watching Gerald hurriedly turn his head away, Mitchell clicked his tongue.
‘What kind of damned situation is this? There’s a girl who yearns for someone more than twenty times older than her, and now there’s a fellow who has a one-sided love for that very girl... Tsk, tsk.’
Mitchell shook his head.
‘What a pathetic fool. Even after experiencing Juliana’s temper firsthand...’
If Juliana ever found out about this, the entire mercenary corps would undoubtedly be turned upside down. As far as Mitchell knew, it would not be an exaggeration to call Juliana the proudest girl on the continent. The only problem, if it could be called one, was that she seemed to feel some mysterious emotion toward Damon... Turning his gaze away from Gerald, who had rolled over, Mitchell tilted his head.
‘Love, huh...’
Suddenly, Mitchell realized that he had never once loved anyone in his life. While he had devoted himself to sword training, there had been no chance to meet anyone, and after he grew older, he had deliberately refused to grow attached to anyone in order to leave Carcel behind.
Countless maidens of Carcel had cast flirtatious glances his way, but Mitchell had not so much as looked at them. To Mitchell, who had dreamed of a romance with a beautiful noble lady, the innocent maidens of Carcel could never have caught his eye. Remembering those days, Mitchell gave a bitter smile.
‘I truly was immature back then. Blinded by vain ambition, you could say.’
Mitchell silently cast his gaze out the window.
‘If the opportunity comes, perhaps it would not be bad to let passion burn for once. Whoever the other person may be...’
Outside the window, the scenery of southern Croisen was rapidly passing by.
“T-terrible news.”
Marquis Williams, who had been seated in his office attending to his duties, slowly rose to greet the man who had suddenly rushed in.
“What is it, Consul Theodor?”
Deep worry was etched across the face of the young consul, Theodor.
“According to intelligence that has just come in, the black mage of Sevain who has caused such a stir lately, along with his mercenary corps, is now on his way to Pelzentin.”
“Is... is that true?”
A furious gleam appeared on Marquis Williams’s face. Of course, there was no way he would not know of the black mage of Sevain. He was the very one who had brutally annihilated the punitive force, including the Guard Knight Elkein, and utterly tarnished the reputation of the Croisen Knight Order. Though revenge had been postponed for the sake of protecting the emperor, was he not the opponent Marquis Williams had sworn to seek out one day and make pay dearly? At the news that such a detestable being was coming to Pelzentin without fear, Marquis Williams rose without even thinking. His momentum was such that he seemed ready to go out at once and tear him apart.
“Where is that man now?”
However, at the consul’s next words, Marquis Williams froze on the spot.
“He is said to be coming here under the close escort of Krovitz, commander of the Duke Knights. An escort force of one thousand soldiers and two hundred Duke Knights is said to be guarding him.”
“T-this is grave indeed.”
Marquis Williams’s face darkened instantly. Only then did he grasp the seriousness of the situation. If it was true that the man was being escorted by the Duke Knights, there was only one thing to think.
“If he joins hands with Duke Perstein... Hoo, it is dreadful just to imagine. If that man, who commands four Grand Master-class Death Knights and a Bone Dragon, were to join him, there would be nothing left to hinder Duke Perstein.”
“Indeed. This must be stopped at all costs.”
A sense of desperation hung over Theodor’s face. Until now, they had kept Duke Perstein in check with the power of the Croisen Knight Order, but if this came to pass, that balance would be shattered completely. The Death Knights and Bone Dragon commanded by the black mage of Sevain were truly enormous military assets. If, by any chance, they joined forces with the Duke Knights, the Croisen Knight Order would never be able to stand against them. In other words, they would no longer be able to ensure the safety of the imperial family. Imagining that situation, Theodor trembled faintly.
“We must prevent them from meeting Duke Perstein by any means necessary.”
“Of course we must.”
“We must dispatch a raid unit. If we cannot kill the black mage or at least gravely wound him, we will have no more chances.”
A deep shadow lay across Marquis Williams’s face as he silently nodded.
“I agree. However, we cannot mobilize members of our Croisen Knight Order for the raid. Every knight under my command has a well-known face, so deploying them rashly would be suicide.”
Of course, Theodor knew that as well. If it were discovered that members of the Croisen Knight Order were among the raiding party, the ensuing developments would be beyond imagination. Theodor’s expression hardened as if he had made up his mind.
“It seems we must use the assassins we have been secretly training.”
At those words, Marquis Williams was startled.
“B-but they will not be able to handle the Duke Knights... As you know, Consul, assassins are no match for Paladins.”
“It is fine. Our objective is to kill the black mage or wound him, after all.”
The smile on Theodor’s face deepened.
“I intend to attack once using catapults and crossbows. If we launch long-range attacks and then retreat, repeating hit-and-run tactics, we should be able to effectively impede the escort. With luck, we may even kill him.”
At Theodor’s words, Marquis Williams nodded in satisfaction.
“That method is the most suitable under the current circumstances. In that case, I will have my adjutant look for terrain suitable for an ambush.”
“I ask that you do so. And if possible, I would like you to prepare catapults that do not bear the insignia of our forces. The type does not matter, whether catapults or ballistae.”
Hearing those words, Marquis Williams’s face brightened.
“A good idea has come to me. In the 13th Armory, located in southern Pelzentin, large siege weapons confiscated from various nations have been stored all this time. There should be at least a hundred catapults there. Of course, since they bear the insignia of various kingdoms, they would be perfect for concealing the identity of the raiding party. Moreover, in the 11th Armory a short distance from there, about five hundred crossbows from the Kingdom of Harzel, known as masterpieces, are being stored. As you know, they are powerful crossbows capable of piercing steel armor with ease.”
“An excellent idea.”
A look of admiration appeared on Consul Theodor’s face. Since they were weapons confiscated from various kingdoms, there could be no more suitable arms for launching a surprise attack without revealing their identity.
Until now, the Croisen Empire had mediated the wars of many kingdoms. Whenever a war seemed likely to expand into an all-out conflict, the Croisen Empire immediately deployed a large army to prevent the war from spreading. No kingdom continued to insist on war before the powerful army of the Croisen Empire.
Because of that, the armies of countless kingdoms had been disarmed by the Croisen Empire, and the weapons seized in that process had been brought intact to the Croisen Empire. Marquis Williams had proposed using precisely those weapons. Consul Theodor rose without hesitation.
“I will dispatch the assassin unit tonight and have them secure the weapons. So, Marquis, please inspect the state of security there.”
“Since they are large siege weapons, the defenses should not be very strict. The problem is the 11th Armory where the crossbows are stored. There should be quite a number of guards...”
“They are assassins skilled in surprise attacks, so there should be no great difficulty in securing the weapons. I will instruct them to avoid taking the guards’ lives as much as possible.”
Having finished speaking, Theodor turned around. His mind was filled with nothing but the thought of quickly dispatching the assassin unit. Left alone, Marquis Williams let out a long sigh and sank into his chair.
“To think I must use the assassin unit I painstakingly raised to attack our own side... How could such a thing happen in this world?”
Perhaps because his feelings were troubled, sorrow deepened on his face.