The longsword that flew through the air pinned Proctor straight to the beam. As Proctor screamed again and again, Gerald stared at him and continued speaking.
“If you doubt us, send someone to the palace at once and verify our identities. We are Gerald and Heinrich of the Duke Knights.”
Unable to get a grasp on the situation, the constable had no choice but to agree. If they truly were Duke Knights, he could not deal with them carelessly. It was a hundred times better to act after finding out the details.
“V-very well.”
The constable called over a swift-footed soldier and gave him his orders. The imposing air he had shown earlier had already lost much of its force.
A short while later, the soldier who had gone to the palace began reporting in a low voice. As the constable listened, his complexion visibly paled.
“Among the Duke Knights who came as part of the official delegation, there were indeed men named Gerald and Heinrich. They said they had gone out on personal business.”
“Is, is that true?”
“Yes. In particular, they say the knight named Gerald even fought a friendly match before His Majesty the King himself. His Majesty praised Sir Gerald’s swordsmanship and personally awarded him prize money.”
“Good heavens……”
The constable’s mouth fell open. He had never dreamed that those two shabby-looking youngsters had such a background. The soldier continued his report with a cautious expression.
“When he heard the full story, the officer in charge of the Capital Knights was greatly startled. By now, the commander of the Capital Knights should be on his way here.”
Only then did the constable manage to calm his pounding heart. He could well understand the officer’s reaction. The Duke Knights were a first-rate knight order, among the very top class. In general, if a regular knight were injured or killed in another country, it was a grave matter that could even escalate into a diplomatic incident. Especially if trouble befell a knight of the superpower known as the Crosen Empire, the officer in charge would not get away unscathed. Of course, the same applied to him as well…… Once he grasped the situation, the constable’s expression changed completely. The blustering manner from moments ago vanished without a trace, and he even wore a servile look as he rubbed his hands together.
“Y-your identities have been confirmed. Please forgive my rudeness…… Then, would you explain the circumstances to me?”
Heinrich was somewhat taken aback by the constable’s sudden change in attitude. The man who had been snarling as though he would devour them only moments ago had turned around one hundred and eighty degrees. Gerald, however, responded without hesitation. He had already overheard the soldier’s report.
“We will reveal the full story after your country’s commander of the Capital Knights arrives.”
The constable’s face turned pale. His earlier conduct weighed on his mind.
“Please forgive my rudeness from a moment ago. I was merely carrying out my duties as constable, and had no choice…… To understand the situation properly, I need to know the full account, so I beg you.”
Gerald looked at the constable with an expressionless gaze.
“It does not matter what you say. We intend to explain the situation before someone we can trust……”
The constable’s expression became desperate. Now the hilt of the blade was in their hands. If his cozy relationship with Proctor were exposed, it was all but certain his head would fly, and he did not know what to do. After thinking it over and over, he glared at Proctor with a fierce gaze.
“To think you would dare distort the truth…… Men! Arrest that vile bastard at once.”
But the constabulary soldiers did not move rashly. Since the situation had flowed in such a strange direction, they could not get their bearings at all. Moreover, they had always been treated generously by Proctor. Since they had been entertained with wine and food almost every day, it seemed they could not easily bring themselves to act. Seeing this, anger welled up in the constable’s eyes.
“You damned fools…… Will you not arrest him at once?”
Growing impatient, the constable tried to approach Proctor himself. Only then did the soldiers begin to move. They started tying Proctor’s hands and feet tightly with rope as he trembled all over in pain.
When one soldier pulled out the sword lodged deep in his thigh, Proctor was finally able to come to his senses. Once he could barely grasp the situation, Proctor wore a stunned expression.
Proctor had never imagined the constabulary soldiers would bind him. He stared at the constable as though he found it absurd.
“W-what on earth is this?”
“Shut your mouth, you bastard.”
The constable glared at Proctor with bulging eyes. His gaze seemed to say that he could not bear how much he hated Proctor for dragging him into such danger. As if trying to stop his mouth entirely, he shouted again and again.
“To think you dared report regular knights of the great Crosen Empire as robbers…… You must truly wish to die. How could you utter such nonsense unless you had gone mad?”
“I, I……”
“You still dare……”
As the constable glared with all his might, a group of troops hurried into the mansion. They were knights clad in armor, and among them was the commander of Tezeros’s Capital Knights. Of course, having watched the duel, there was no way he would not recognize Gerald’s face.
“What has happened here? No—?”
The commander of the Capital Knights was startled. He had seen the quarrel embedded in Gerald’s thigh.
“What on earth happened? You were shot by an arrow……”
In an instant, the knight commander’s face turned deathly white. A regular knight of the Duke Knights being shot by an arrow in Tezeros was an enormous matter indeed. In the worst case, it had more than enough potential to escalate into a serious diplomatic issue. Growing urgent, he hastened toward Gerald.
“Could you explain in detail exactly what happened?”
Gerald glanced up at the knight commander and quietly began explaining the whole story. First, Gerald laid bare his old grudge with Proctor, then testified that Proctor had mobilized one hundred mercenaries for the champion duel and had tried to kill them without a trace and bury them.
“He had archers shoot at our backs. We were in the middle of fighting among the mercenaries, so it was impossible to dodge.”
After hearing Gerald’s explanation, the knight commander’s face flushed red. The fact that one of his own countrymen had set a trap with the intent of killing two Duke Knights, and had even gone so far as to fire crossbows at them, was an extremely serious matter.
If Duke Ferstein were to learn of this, there was no telling what might happen. The duke was already renowned for caring fiercely for the knights under his command. Since the evidence was clear, the commander gave orders to the knights under him as though there was nothing to consider.
“Bind that wicked man at once. He will be dealt with severely according to the law of the land.”
“Yes, sir.”
The knights rushed in with swift movements. Proctor, who had already been bound once by the constabulary soldiers, was pitifully fated to be bound all over again by the knights’ harsh hands. As Proctor stood there with a dazed expression, the knights tied him up without the slightest mercy.
“The rest of you, go to the backyard and arrest that man’s subordinates. In particular, do not let a single one of the archers who fired the crossbows escape.”
A group of knights hurried toward the backyard. Having dealt with the most urgent matter, the knight commander’s gaze turned this time to the constable. The constable, who had been standing blankly, snapped to attention. The commander of the Capital Knights was a superior he would not dare even meet face-to-face.
“Are you the constable of this area?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“For something like this to happen in your jurisdiction…… I trust you are prepared to take off that uniform?”
The constable did not even dare answer and merely trembled. At that moment, Heinrich cautiously approached the knight commander.
“I have something to tell you, Commander.”
“Speak.”
In a low voice, Heinrich continued speaking to the knight commander. He explained in detail the rude actions the constable had committed against them.
“As soon as he saw us, he tried to arrest us without asking a single question. He did not ask anything about what had happened.”
“He did?”
“He also ordered his men to kill us without mercy on the grounds that we had resisted the constabulary soldiers. Judging from that, I believe the constable must have some kind of connection with Proctor……”
After hearing Heinrich’s explanation, the knight commander glared at the constable with a fierce gaze. The constable’s face was already deathly pale. Heinrich looked at him with an expression that said it served him right. The knight commander gave the order as though there was nothing to think about.
“Arrest him as well.”
The knights rushed in the moment the order fell. The unfortunate constable did not even dare make an excuse and ended up sharing Proctor’s fate. The two of them merely stood there blankly, not knowing what to do.
“Escort the criminals to the dungeon of the constabulary at once. I will personally interrogate them.”
“Understood.”
Having finished dealing with the matter, the knight commander hurried over to Gerald. Only then had Gerald pulled the quarrel from his thigh and begun administering first aid. Thinking he had to soothe him first, the knight commander spoke in a gentle voice.
“I apologize on behalf of my office for this unpleasant incident. I am truly sorry.”
“Not at all. We are the ones who are sorry for causing trouble on your country’s soil.”
Though Gerald was a Tezerosian, because he belonged to the Duke Knights, the knight commander regarded him as a foreign knight and treated him with the utmost courtesy.
“No. Having heard the circumstances, I can fully understand. If such a thing had happened, I would certainly have challenged him to a duel as well. The ones who can never be forgiven are those men, who used underhanded methods in a formal match. I swear on my honor that I will interrogate them severely.”
However, Gerald wore an indifferent expression. It was also a decisive blow meant to completely block Proctor’s path of retreat.
“But I know that man Proctor to be extraordinarily resourceful in his methods. I once heard rumors that he had the entire constabulary under his thumb. It seems I will have to report this matter to my superiors……”
At that, the one who grew urgent was the commander of the Capital Knights. If this matter became known, there was no telling what might happen. Thinking that he absolutely had to settle it at his own level, he repeatedly tried to appease Gerald.
“To think such a thing could happen…… As the commander of Tezeros’s knights, this is a matter I can by no means tolerate. We will escort him not to the constabulary, but to the headquarters of the Capital Knights for investigation. If necessary, I am prepared to investigate every member of the constabulary.”
After finishing his words, the knight commander turned his head without even waiting for Gerald’s reply.
“Take all the constabulary soldiers to the knights’ headquarters. They will be investigated thoroughly.”
The constabulary soldiers who had come running were also placed in a position where they would be disarmed and escorted to the headquarters of the Capital Knights. Since their opponents were knights of the Capital Knights, they did not dare resist.
Only then did Gerald’s expression ease.
“I sincerely thank you for your thorough handling of the matter, Commander.”
“Not at all…… I swear on my honor that I will uncover the whole truth. So for now, why not go to headquarters and receive treatment?”
“No. It is time for us to return.”
“B-but……”
The knight commander fidgeted anxiously. If this reached the ears of the commander of the Duke Knights, it would inevitably become even more difficult to handle. As though guessing his feelings, Gerald quietly shook his head.
“I will not report this matter for the time being, not until the results of the interrogation are out. If that man receives appropriate punishment, I am willing to bury it in secrecy forever.”
At those words, the knight commander’s face brightened at once.
“Of course. I promise that those men will be severely interrogated and appropriately punished according to the law of the land.”
“Then we will take our leave……”
Gerald and Heinrich quietly rose to their feet. Pain came from the spot where he had been shot, but there was nothing particularly uncomfortable about walking.